A second tryp to the Styx (Jaela)

[Anastasia]

You feel heavier, mostly. Then, as you reflect, you realize your mind does feel a bit sharper. clearer. Like you were half asleep until now. Yet the air seems to burn slightly, like sandpaper is being rubbed across your skin.

[Corwin]

"Interesting," Jaela's gravelly voice says. "Let's get going."

[Anastasia]

> roll 1d100
<Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=77 ]{77}

Spot checks, all.

[Corwin]

[19:20] <@Annerose> roll 1d20+13
[19:20] <Kobot> Annerose rolled 1d20+13 --> [ 1d20=17 ]{30}

[Anastasia]

> roll 1d20+24 Sylvie untrained
<Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+24 Sylvie untrained --> [ 1d20=19 ]{43}
> roll 1d20+5 Ellese irrelevant
<Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+5 Ellese irrelevant --> [ 1d20=1 ]{6}
> roll 1d20+40 Finnegan
<Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+40 Finnegan --> [ 1d20=11 ]{51}

"Huh," Sylvie stops a few minutes later, looking around carefully. She flies over an unremarkable stone lying by the riverbank.

"Yeah, you too?" Finnegan asks, "We've been here before."

"Thought that looked familiar," Sylvie agrees, examining it all closely then turning to Jaela, "Agreed, I think we've gone backwards somehow."

[Corwin]

"How is this possible?" Jaela asks Sylvie, bowing to her superior knowledge. For her part, she just studies the magic around them and upon them.

[Anastasia]

Spellcraft, Jaela.

"Stand back," Sylvie says, before the light of 21 bursts around her. She begins to chant and...

> roll 1d20+74 (+23 factotum)
<Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+74 (+23 factotum) --> [ 1d20=16 ]{90}
> roll 1d20+88 (+23 factotum, +10 lore of the gods)
<Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+88 (+23 factotum, +10 lore of the gods) --> [ 1d20=3 ]{91}

More in a sec, wanna resolve your check at the same time, Jaela.

[Corwin]

[19:38] <@Annerose> roll 1d20
[19:38] <Kobot> Annerose rolled 1d20 --> [ 1d20=2 ]{2}

2+36+15 = 53

[Anastasia]

DC on the Spellcraft was 90, Sylvie made it on the number. You'll see why the DC was so high in just a moment.

There's just the ambient mana of the Styx. Nothing unusual, but Sylvie's focus is still on it. "It's a misdirection. Brilliant," she breathes, "I've never seen a lie and the Weave manipulated just so before. Not even close. This is on Medi's level. I'm not sure Lixer could even do this, it might be the Lord of the Ninth's work. It's infinity. A loop. The Styx is endless and that principal has been applied, manipulated. A closed chain without beginning or end, disguised so that no one will ever notice. There's no serious guardians because there's no reason for them, this is as close to a perfect defense as I've ever seen."

Slowly Sylvie speaks, her voice shaking occasionally, "It's disturbingly complex and perfect. No way any mortal did this. It really might be his work. It's gorgeous, enslaving, stunning, chained. I doubt anti magic will work since this is probably his work and he'd be beyond that. The final defense is a lie, to make you believe a lie that nothing's here. One that erodes through with every droplet of Styx water you breathe in or splashes on your skin. Heh, but you can't lie to yourself with 21, a perfect counter."

Sylvie's voice is sounding farther and farther away, dream-like. "We're going around and around, and it wants you to believe there's no way out. No way to break it. No escape from the cold chains. You have to transverse infinity to reach the beginning or end of this. A distance that goes on and on and on forever, that you could walk until the end of Creation and come no closer to the source. I think that if I look any closer, my mind won't be able to handle it. Infinity, it's not something we can manage."

Finally Sylvie stops, holding her face in her hands and taking deep breaths. When they clear, "Oghma," she says, voice pleading. "This mission's doomed without a way to break that loop. If we do, I'm not sure we can stop whatever guardians await at the source. I don't think this is Lixer's venture, not entirely. It's Asmodeus's. It's why we absolutely have to stop it, yet I fear we don't have the means to do so. We weren't able to stop Taelfagn when he was serious and we walked into his trap, I have no illusions about being able to stop Asmodeus's."

[spoiler]

Celestial valor placeholder for everyone pending CL resolution: +8 saves vs fear/emotion, +4 sacred to attack rolls, damage rolls, armor class, saving throws, weapons count as holy (doesn't stack).

Ellese
HP: 445/445
Spells Active: Mind Blank (CL15), Fortunate Fate (CL13), Planar Tolerance (CL7), Greater Mage Armor (CL5)
Bonuses: -
Negative Conditions: -
Resources Used: -

Sylvie
HP: 305/305
Spells Active: Mind Blank (CL15), Fortunate Fate (CL13), Planar Tolerance (CL7), Greater Mage Armor (CL5), Deeper Darkvision (CL23), Overland Flight (CL23), Endure Elements (CL23), Greater Mighty Wallop (CL23), Lore of the Gods (CL23)
Bonuses: -
Negative Conditions: -
Resources Used: 1 stunning fist

Mirima
HP: 299/299
Spells Active: Mind Blank (CL15), Fortunate Fate (CL13), Planar Tolerance (CL7), Greater Mage Armor (CL9), Mirror Image (8 images)
Bonuses: -
Negative Conditions: -
Resources Used: 1 quickened mirror image

Ellese casts as a 21st level sorcerer. The save DCs are 18 + spell level. Her metamagic options are Empower Spell (+2), Energy Substitution(Acid) (+0), Energy Admixture (+1) and Maximize Spell (+3). Once per day she may automatically maximize any spell. Twice per day she may declare a spell a smiting spell, dealing an extra 13 points of damage.

[6/day]0: Acid Splash, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Ghost Sound, Mage Hand, Mending, Message, Prestidigitation, Resistance.
[8/day]1: AberrateBoVD, Protection from Good, Seething EyebaneBoVD, C, Shocking Grasp, StuporBoVD.
[7/day]2: Darkness, Devil's TongueBoVD, C, Mirror Image, Scorching Ray, Summon Swarm.
[7/day]3: Devil's EyeBoVD, Lightning Bolt, Love's PainBoVD, C, Rage.
[7/day]4: Absorb StrengthBoVD, C, Black Tentacles, Damning DarknessBoVD, Wall of Ice.
[5/day]5: Call Lemure HordeBoVD, Cone of Cold, Feeblemind, Morality UndoneFC1, Wall of OozeBoVD.
[4/day]6: Acid Fog, Chain Lightning, Freezing Sphere, Harm.
[5/day]7: Delayed Blast Fireball, Fiendish ClarityFC1, Rapture of RuptureBoVD, Whirlwind of TeethBoVD
[4/day]8: Create Greater Undead, Fire Storm, Horrid Wilting, Polar Ray.
[4/day]9: Apocalypse from the SkyBoVD, Eternity of TortureBoVD, MindrapeBoVD, UtterdarkLoM.
[2/day]10: Body SofteningHome, Gathgorian's FireballHome, Simmer's Contagious FireburstHome, True Meteor SwarmHome

BoVD - Book of Vile Darkness.
C - Corrupted spell. No corruption cost is noted as Ellese is immune to corruption costs.
FC1 - Fiendish Codex 1.
LoM - Lords of Madness.

Ellese casts as a 1st level death delver. The save DCs are 15 + spell level. Her metamagic options are Empower Spell (+2), Energy Substitution(Acid) (+0), Maximize Spell (+3) and Energy Admixture (+3). Once per day she may automatically maximize any spell. Twice per day she may declare a spell a smiting spell, dealing an extra 13 points of damage.

[1/day]1: Lesser Restorationx2

Always active: Deeper Darkvision, Greater Mighty Wallop, Endure Elements, Overland Flight.

Sylvie casts as a 13th level chameleon (Caster level 23rd.) Her save DCs are 24 + spell level (arcane) or 15 + spell level (divine). Her spell selection themes are personal power and planar survival.

Arcane casting

[4/day]0: Detect Magicx2, Prestidigitationx2
[8/day]1: Improvisationx3SC, Magic Missilex3, Shieldx2
[8/day]2: Body of the SunSC, Detect Thoughts, Electric LoopSCx2, Resist Energyx2, See Invisibilityx2
[7/day]3: Amorphous FormSC, Displacement, Greater Mighty Wallopx2RD, Heroism, Vampiric Touch
[7/day]4: Assay Spell ResistanceSC, Attune Formx2SC, Dimensional Anchor, Dimension Door, Enervationx2
[7/day]5: IndomitabilitySC, Overland Flight, Teleportx2, Wall of Force.
[7/day]6: Bite of the Weretigerx2, Disintegratex2, Greater Heroism.
[3/day]7: Greater Teleport, Limited Wish, Waves of Exhaustion.

RD - Races of the Dragon.
SC - Spell Compendium.

Divine casting

[4/day]0: Create Waterx3, Cure Minor Wounds.
[5/day]1: ConvictionSC, Divine Favorx2, Endure Elements, Foundation of StoneSC, Goodberry
[5/day]2: Aid, Lore of the Godsx2, Spiritual Weapon
[5/day]3: BlindsightSC, Cure Serious Woundsx2, Ghost Touch WeaponSC
[5/day]4: Death Wardx2, Divination, Divine Power, Freedom of Movement.
[4/day]5: Plane Shift, Righteous Might, Spell Resistance, Zone of RevelationSC
[4/day]6: Healx4.
[1/day]7: Aura of VitalitySC

CC - Complete Champion.
SC - Spell Compendium.

Arcane Dilettante casting. 9 spells with a maximum of level 8. Save DCs are 22 + spell level.

Bite of the Werebear, Cone of Cold, Enervation, Greater Mirror Image, Greater Invisibility, Greater Mighty Wallop, Greater Heroism, Polar Ray.

Spell like abilities

1/day-scorching ray. Caster level 20th. The save DCs are 19 + spell level.

Mirima casts as a 9th level sorcerer. The save DCs are 19 + spell level.

[6/day]0: Acid Splash, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Mage Hand, Mending, Message, Prestidigitation, Read Magic, Resistance.
[7/day]1: Endure Elements, Fist of StoneSC, Magic Missile, Shield, Weapon ShiftSC.
[5/day]2: False Life, Ray of WeaknessSC, Resist Energy, Whirling BladeSC.
[5/day]3: False GravitySC, Fly, Greater Mage ArmorSC.
[5/day]4: Greater Invisibility, Orb of Force
[3/day]5: Wall of Force

SC - Spell Compendium.
[/quote]
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[Corwin]

"Let's test ourselves against this brand of bullshit," Jaela finally says, after taking that all in. "21 and my strongest dispel, or a disjunction, whichever you think might fare better. If we break Lixer's shit we don't actually have to stick around for the guardians. He's got plenty of enemies who could pick up the slack, and it'd certainly be a good distraction for his forces. We do this, and then immediately retreat. Break past any obstructions with 21, and I plane shift us out. Can you think of any way to improve on the plan?"

[Anastasia]

"I think the trick is finding the right place to do that, and that's the problem," Sylvie says, "We can't attack the source or the end point because we can't reach them. I'm not sure what doing it in the middle of the loop will do."

"Better than giving up," Finnegan says, "Any fortress can fall if you hit it hard enough."

[Corwin]

"Worst case I waste a spell and we leave," Jaela says with a shrug, as she leads everyone fifty feet away from the Styx. "Ready? On three! Two! One!"

And she casts Disjunction right on top of the river!

Precasting Freedom of Movement, Divine Insight, Sign on myself. Haste and Celestial Valor on everyone.

[Anastasia]

Make your dispel check.

[spoiler]

Celestial valor placeholder for everyone pending CL resolution: +8 saves vs fear/emotion, +4 sacred to attack rolls, damage rolls, armor class, saving throws, weapons count as holy (doesn't stack). Ditto with haste.

Ellese
HP: 445/445
Spells Active: Mind Blank (CL15), Fortunate Fate (CL13), Planar Tolerance (CL7), Greater Mage Armor (CL5)
Bonuses: -
Negative Conditions: -
Resources Used: -

Sylvie
HP: 305/305
Spells Active: Mind Blank (CL15), Fortunate Fate (CL13), Planar Tolerance (CL7), Greater Mage Armor (CL5), Deeper Darkvision (CL23), Overland Flight (CL23), Endure Elements (CL23), Greater Mighty Wallop (CL23), Lore of the Gods (CL23)
Bonuses: -
Negative Conditions: -
Resources Used: 1 stunning fist

Mirima
HP: 299/299
Spells Active: Mind Blank (CL15), Fortunate Fate (CL13), Planar Tolerance (CL7), Greater Mage Armor (CL9), Mirror Image (8 images)
Bonuses: -
Negative Conditions: -
Resources Used: 1 quickened mirror image

Ellese casts as a 21st level sorcerer. The save DCs are 18 + spell level. Her metamagic options are Empower Spell (+2), Energy Substitution(Acid) (+0), Energy Admixture (+1) and Maximize Spell (+3). Once per day she may automatically maximize any spell. Twice per day she may declare a spell a smiting spell, dealing an extra 13 points of damage.

[6/day]0: Acid Splash, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Ghost Sound, Mage Hand, Mending, Message, Prestidigitation, Resistance.
[8/day]1: AberrateBoVD, Protection from Good, Seething EyebaneBoVD, C, Shocking Grasp, StuporBoVD.
[7/day]2: Darkness, Devil's TongueBoVD, C, Mirror Image, Scorching Ray, Summon Swarm.
[7/day]3: Devil's EyeBoVD, Lightning Bolt, Love's PainBoVD, C, Rage.
[7/day]4: Absorb StrengthBoVD, C, Black Tentacles, Damning DarknessBoVD, Wall of Ice.
[5/day]5: Call Lemure HordeBoVD, Cone of Cold, Feeblemind, Morality UndoneFC1, Wall of OozeBoVD.
[4/day]6: Acid Fog, Chain Lightning, Freezing Sphere, Harm.
[5/day]7: Delayed Blast Fireball, Fiendish ClarityFC1, Rapture of RuptureBoVD, Whirlwind of TeethBoVD
[4/day]8: Create Greater Undead, Fire Storm, Horrid Wilting, Polar Ray.
[4/day]9: Apocalypse from the SkyBoVD, Eternity of TortureBoVD, MindrapeBoVD, UtterdarkLoM.
[2/day]10: Body SofteningHome, Gathgorian's FireballHome, Simmer's Contagious FireburstHome, True Meteor SwarmHome

BoVD - Book of Vile Darkness.
C - Corrupted spell. No corruption cost is noted as Ellese is immune to corruption costs.
FC1 - Fiendish Codex 1.
LoM - Lords of Madness.

Ellese casts as a 1st level death delver. The save DCs are 15 + spell level. Her metamagic options are Empower Spell (+2), Energy Substitution(Acid) (+0), Maximize Spell (+3) and Energy Admixture (+3). Once per day she may automatically maximize any spell. Twice per day she may declare a spell a smiting spell, dealing an extra 13 points of damage.

[1/day]1: Lesser Restorationx2

Always active: Deeper Darkvision, Greater Mighty Wallop, Endure Elements, Overland Flight.

Sylvie casts as a 13th level chameleon (Caster level 23rd.) Her save DCs are 24 + spell level (arcane) or 15 + spell level (divine). Her spell selection themes are personal power and planar survival.

Arcane casting

[4/day]0: Detect Magicx2, Prestidigitationx2
[8/day]1: Improvisationx3SC, Magic Missilex3, Shieldx2
[8/day]2: Body of the SunSC, Detect Thoughts, Electric LoopSCx2, Resist Energyx2, See Invisibilityx2
[7/day]3: Amorphous FormSC, Displacement, Greater Mighty Wallopx2RD, Heroism, Vampiric Touch
[7/day]4: Assay Spell ResistanceSC, Attune Formx2SC, Dimensional Anchor, Dimension Door, Enervationx2
[7/day]5: IndomitabilitySC, Overland Flight, Teleportx2, Wall of Force.
[7/day]6: Bite of the Weretigerx2, Disintegratex2, Greater Heroism.
[3/day]7: Greater Teleport, Limited Wish, Waves of Exhaustion.

RD - Races of the Dragon.
SC - Spell Compendium.

Divine casting

[4/day]0: Create Waterx3, Cure Minor Wounds.
[5/day]1: ConvictionSC, Divine Favorx2, Endure Elements, Foundation of StoneSC, Goodberry
[5/day]2: Aid, Lore of the Godsx2, Spiritual Weapon
[5/day]3: BlindsightSC, Cure Serious Woundsx2, Ghost Touch WeaponSC
[5/day]4: Death Wardx2, Divination, Divine Power, Freedom of Movement.
[4/day]5: Plane Shift, Righteous Might, Spell Resistance, Zone of RevelationSC
[4/day]6: Healx4.
[1/day]7: Aura of VitalitySC

CC - Complete Champion.
SC - Spell Compendium.

Arcane Dilettante casting. 9 spells with a maximum of level 8. Save DCs are 22 + spell level.

Bite of the Werebear, Cone of Cold, Enervation, Greater Mirror Image, Greater Invisibility, Greater Mighty Wallop, Greater Heroism, Polar Ray.

Spell like abilities

1/day-scorching ray. Caster level 20th. The save DCs are 19 + spell level.

Mirima casts as a 9th level sorcerer. The save DCs are 19 + spell level.

[6/day]0: Acid Splash, Detect Magic, Detect Poison, Mage Hand, Mending, Message, Prestidigitation, Read Magic, Resistance.
[7/day]1: Endure Elements, Fist of StoneSC, Magic Missile, Shield, Weapon ShiftSC.
[5/day]2: False Life, Ray of WeaknessSC, Resist Energy, Whirling BladeSC.
[5/day]3: False GravitySC, Fly, Greater Mage ArmorSC.
[5/day]4: Greater Invisibility, Orb of Force
[3/day]5: Wall of Force

SC - Spell Compendium.
[/quote]
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[Corwin]

[21:14] <@Annerose> roll 1d20+32 disjunction
[21:14] <Kobot> Annerose rolled 1d20+32 disjunction --> [ 1d20=15 ]{47}

Gae Bolg out, Gambit stance in case of battle.

[spoiler]
Spells Per Day/Favored Soul:
lvl0 [DC24]: 6
lvl1 [DC25]: 8/10
lvl2 [DC26]: 5/10 (2 precast Lore of the Gods at CL25, 1 precast Divine Insight at CL25)
lvl3 [DC27]: 6/9 (2 precast MV at CL27)
lvl4 [DC28]: 1/7 (5 precast GMW at CL25)
lvl5 [DC29]: 9
lvl6 [DC30]: 9
lvl7 [DC31]: 3/8
lvl8 [DC32]: 5/8 (1 precast Righteous Halo at CL25)
lvl9 [DC33]: 8
lvl10 [DC34]: 0/6 (Curse of Inadequacy -> Gae Bolg)
lvl11 [DC35]: 2/4

Celestial Valor (still in effect)

-Control Water
-Teleport x1
-Greater Teleport
-Spell Turning (still in effect)
-Foresight x1 (still in effect)
-Freedom of Movement (still in effect)
-Haste x1 (still in effect)
-Disjunction
-Flame Strike x1

-Hallow
-Holy Word

[Anastasia]

You fire your disjunction, aiming to smash the magic of this place. At the same time, Sylvie draws 21 forth and fires it-

Make immediate Fortitude saves, all.