There's a lot to do, and for your node a chance to talk is the first todo by a mile.
However, so I can sort things out, what are your goals beyond that?
Ianvasah's thing and the Crown are big ones. Recruit my last node member/marshal/Moore-copy >.>. Get a practice area set up with Sylvie so I can have it to make forging and practicing easier. Pick a seed quest. Find a way to make Life-Drinker a real threat to the upper echelons of what we're fighting.
You return home.
All of you do, lost in processing what you have learned. Such heavy words and yet...
As you enter your office, everyone coming in?
A statue of an angel, carved of fine white stone and life sized, sits off to the side, between two bookshelves. You're pretty sure that's new, as well as the golden crystal it holds in its hands, offered up as if a gift from a supplicant.
Alyssa can guess what that is, but looks it over just to be sure.
Guessing that's the seed.
It is not the divine seed. Instead, as you look at it?
This statue will provide you a measure of privacy in your inner sanctum. None will hear your words but those within by any means, not even Shaundakul or Selune. Activate it by tapping the crystal with your finger.
It is powerful but limited, so do not use if frivolously.
"Is it limited to a number of uses by day?"
No. Touch the crystal and you will sense if it is running low on power. It will recharge, if slowly.
"Thank you."
Activate it for the coming conversation - it will serve well.
Alyssa does so!
Alyssa feels a soft warmth surround the room. It feels fully charged and ready to be used.
"Well, it appears we're now fully protected. We have things to discuss. Anyone want to bring up any worries before we get into it?'
"All of them," Bastian retorts right away, "But why don't we begin with the basics?"
"I'd like to know," Jarem agrees, as...
You can write out the expo or breeze over it as you like, up to you.
I'm at work and on a phone so breeze over is it.
"Well, we now know that Asmodeus is helping us. Well, helping himself by helping us. We'll have to go find divine seeds if we want any real chance of winning.
Speaking of those, Emily you're up to receive one. Go talk to your mom about it and the transition while Ianvash and I finish her quest."
Emily turns red at that and doesn't say anything, while meanwhile Jarem drums his fingers on his armrest. "So once you finish that, we need to go get seeds. Which ones?"
Dolmaya considers, "Will you continue to try and become One instead?"
"Yes, Jarem. The others have apparently already put effort into a few of them, so they're sorting out how close they are. Once it's all figured out, we'll have a more clearly defined list, but I suspect the rumors of Hades growing living things may be connected, so that's where we'll likely start."
She then looks at Dolmaya, "I have a lot of work to do still, but yes. I think it'll be a solid investment of effort.
Emily, why are you turning that color?"
"The one in Ysgard, maybe," Jarem murmurs, "I could call in a favor with someone." He's speaking more to himself than anything else.
Meanwhile Emily's quiet and finally says, "It's very sudden," she finally says. "I thought maybe one day, but...just like this, all of a sudden it's worries and looming destruction and worse."
To this Bastian has a tight little smile, not really much of a smile at all. "It's insanity is what it is. Gross, festering insanity that we don't have a choice about."
"Jarem, give Moore a visit. He's had ideas about the Ysgard one already. If you can help him round out his chances, do it.
Emily, our little group is the only one without any divinity in it. You grew up around it every day and we need someone who specializes in in holy wrath and smiting evil. That's you to a T almost. You'll adapt better and faster than anyone else. The next readily available option is Dolmaya and I recall her saying she had passed on it before.
And yes Bastian, it is insane. I think a fair chunk of those on our side are mildly insane in their own rights. I listened to Gods argue against cooperation with Asmodeus, in direct conflict with Zaphkiel advice, to prevent the absolute destruction and death of everything based on emotion. I'm not disregarding their points, but they completely lose sight of the big picture when it's brought up. And hey, we won't have a choice about dying with the rest of Creation, either."
Emily nods after a moment, "Alright," she says at last. "It's just so sudden."
"Completely insane," Ianvasah says, "I'm not even upset because I'm numb. What can we do in the face of such things?"
Here Jarem shakes his head, "Not insane, but the feuds between good and evil run deep. Far deeper than even the most crusading paladin would suspect."
"We don't have time to deal with feuds. In any case, Ianvash, all we can do is cultivate our own strength and throw the best punches we can.
Bastian will be helping one of Alicia's people with a seed in the Beastlands. If anyone else has strings they can pull, favors to call in, or experience with any of the others, let's get it on the table."
"Then let's go," Jarem says, as...
Moves here, Alyssa, as chat winds down?
Ianvasah's thing.
As you prepare for that, Bastian comes in. "Busy?" he asks, striding on in to your room.
Alyssa waives him in, continuing to look over reports. "What do you need?"
"Emily," Bastian says shortly.
"And her godhood?"
"Only incidentally," Bastian says, "Actually I figured it out, but I think if I'm right, I need to talk to you about it. Jarem and I have been working on this."
Alyssa drops her reports in delighted shock, "Oh, I'm so proud of you two! I'll make you into field researchers yet! Tell me what it is!"
"We're supposed to grow, and I had wondered about Emily for some time. She's a contrast between what she is and what she can be," A short, simple answer, "But the simple truth is that she's growing with all of us."
Alyssa nods, "Yes. She's in the middle like you think, but hasn't fully ascended yet, so her growth isn't as restricted as a true god yet. I imagine the bond that's been established has some effect, considering how it strengthens our abilities. The mechanism of it still isn't something I fully understand. What's your theory?"
A sensation, a feeling of connection to Bastian and yourself. You feel it glow bright as...
Node update.
Read it.
Alyssa chuckles, "I take that to mean you agree?"
"It's what I said. We grow and we get rewarded for it," Bastian agrees, "I see why it's happening now, too." With a half cocky little smile on his face, "I believe that proves everything I need to prove."
"Then prepare a full briefing and explanation to give everyone. I want us all on the same page and with the same understanding. If it positively impacts us all, we'll get it written up as a formal presentation, register it and publish it under your and Jarem's names with my endorsement and distribute it to the other groups.
Delaize will put a review board together for the process and if passes peer muster, we'll count it towards both an honorary title for you both and practical education towards an appropriate degree, since at that point, you'll both be published researchers. I'd suggest you and Jarem talk to Dolmaya and Delaize and find an assistant professor to help formalize what you come up with. Speaking of Jarem, a moment..."
Alyssa sends a mental message to Jarem, 'Come to my study when you get a moment. I have two things to discuss with you. If you can manage it soon, Bastian is here.'
"We could," Bastian says, "Or I could tell them in a ten minute conversation and use the rest of the time to work with Jessica." he doesn't even blink at all of that, "It's important, but we don't need a full report when I have enough walking ahead of me. Save it for those too old or tired to walk anymore."
"I agree that it'll take a back seat, but I still want it done, eventually. This bond is exceedingly useful and research will be done on it. You can either send a little free time to get the report done, or have a stream of people come find you to ask questions over and over. There's a lot of lore to go through.
Trust me, this is the easier way."
Bastian crosses his arm, "Five or six people is not a stream, and I don't think this is something anyone else will get out of it, from what I understand."
Alyssa raises an eyebrow, "How many people are in the other groups? Do you really expect them to all come together at once? You know perfectly well that unrecorded third hand knowledge is horribly unreliable, and our group isn't the only ones looking into it.
If we can get enough pieces about it together, we might be able to replicate it to some degree, or use it to enhance something similar. Like that one group of casters... War Weavers.
Look, I said find an assistant professor to help. They can take your diction and get it done faster than you will."
"I'll ask them and see if they need it, or if they've put it together themselves," Bastian says, "If they're all behind us, I will." A faint scowl, "I doubt they are, they aren't dumb."
"They're not, but if you tracked something down or figured something out they haven't, then it's worth doing. It's just a few minutes of diction, Bastian. You'll argue about it longer than it takes to actually do it."
"Then I'll talk to them," Bastian says shortly, before turning to go.
"Be careful out there. If you need back up, just call. I'd send Ianvash with you, if it w weren't for her quest."
Thus Ianvasah comes to you. "Are you prepared?" She asks once she does.
"Shortly, I sent a message to Jeram. I want him to work on something while we're gone."
"Then it's time to go shortly," Ianvasah says, "We've begun to grow like oaks, but we still need more."
Alyssa nods. "As soon as I talk to Jarem."
"Yes, and..."
It's at that moment you feel it. A connection with Ianvasah, strong and sharp as a blade.
Node update, go read.
A feat, nice.
"Well, I'm glad you're satisfied with things. My leadership seems to suit everyone recently."
A small smile before, "Do you recall our mission and our limitations on it, Alyssa?"
"Yes. And the clarifications. Chakrams only, but spells are acceptable as well."
"Then let's go get our chakrams," Ianvasah says.
Any prep, and are you otherwise good to be taken back?
Was waiting on Jarem to show up so I could talk about the fight.
Jarem soon enough arrives and says, "You wanted to talk?" he asks.
Go ahead.
"Yes. Before I leave with Ianvasah, I wanted to ask you for you assessment of our first fight with things from the Beyond and ask you to think on some tactics to improve our perfo6and to disseminate to our troops in case the worst happens."
To this Jarem elegantly says, "Fucked if I know."
After a beat for that, "How do you fight something that flips over the game board and does what it wants? We came out of it alive, so we got something right. Ask me again once I've talked to some of the others more."
Alyssa nods, "That's where I am, too. Do what you can to figure something out. Any point of view might lead us to something useful, when no e of the rules apply."
"I will," Jarem agrees, "All the reading I've done about Far Realm incursions since then, even if you cut past the madness, make it a tall task."
Alyssa nods again, "Yes, they do break things locally. I'd still feel better if we could get something put together, though. People tend to panic less if there's at least some semblance of a response planned out. Even if it's only shuffling people in groups around, it'll be less insanity to deal with if they're left to just guess about what to do on their own.
Your soldiers won't stand a chance if they do show up or we have to field them to complete a lesser objective, but they have the discipline and training to function in spite of that and do what they can to keep outside distractions at bay, so let's do what we can to get them ready for it."
"I'll figure out something and hope it doesn't come to it," Jarem says, "But we'll have bigger problems if they face what's Beyond, anyway."
"Yes, we're all dead if they are. Or soon to be. I'd like to do it without screaming people crashing into me at least."
With a half smile, "That's part of the experience of dying on a battlefield, Alyssa. At least you die with friends with any luck."
Alyssa chuckles. "Gon, get out of here. We need to be leaving too."
A nod and...
Ready to go now?
Yup
From there it's just travel and time. Travel and time until you return to the Moon as promised, to your return to the chakrams. They await the two of you, sitting in the moonlight.
Alyssa nudges Ianvash forward.
Ianvasah steps forward and takes one chakram in hand. When she does, a glitter of night's shadow plays across her and then the room.
"Take the other," Ianvasah says once done.
Alyssa goes up and takes the other one.
Darkness ripples over you like a cloud, choking away the moonlight. The chakram is terribly cold in your hand, cold as a winter's night without the heat of the hearth to warm you. You feel a chill and shiver go through you as you hold it.
Alyssa looks at it.
"That felt less than pleasant. Where to now, Ianvash?"
"We go to Ash and slay a champion of Shar there," Ianvasah explains simply, "We finish this."
"Did you have any of the diviners try to locate one, or do you have any idea where to find one?"
"I did, we have a few leads," Ianvasah agrees, "Did you find any of your own?"
"Not anything specific. Most of her champions are shielded, but we could always inquire with that super pleasant Archomental from last time."
"Let's not," Ianvasah says shortly, "Unless we must."
Alyssa nods. "Where to, then? I can Plane Shift us there and back."
"Have you ever heard of the Choking Hill?" Ianvasah asks. "There."
Have I?
K:P.
K:P:
Take 10 for 58. If terrain mastery applies, +3.
The Choking Hill is a particular hill in Ash. It's notable for the fact it's said that a pair of great wyrm silver dragons choked to death there and were devoured by the scavengers that live there.
That sounds fun and worth searching for bones and materials.
Alyssa uses Greater Plane Shift to get them there!
Quick CL check.
CL:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+35 : 1 + 35, total 36[/blockquote]
Quick check, do you have any sort of planar protection spell up or the like?
Planar Mastery (Aligned): You have the instinctive ability to mimic the dominant alignment of the plane. You incur none of the penalties for having an alignment at odds with that of the plane and spells and abilities that harm those of the opposite alignment don't affect you. You have the dominant alignment of the plane with regard to magic, but your behavior and any alignment-related class features you have are unaffected.
Talisman of Long-Life, 17,250: Immune to all harmful vapors and gases (such as cloudkill and stinking cloud effects, as well as inhaled poisons) and allowing him to breathe, even underwater or in a vacuum, and continually provides its wearer with life-sustaining nourishment, its wearer needs only sleep 2 hours per day to gain the benefit of 8 hours of sleep.
Those have protected me so far. If it won't, I'd have known? And prepared a spell for it.
Yeah, I see now that wasn't in the info result, my fault. You'd need serious protection here, at least a planar tolerance or the like.
Would you let me swap a single spell real quick to cover it?
No, due to the conditions of the trial, unfortunately. You'd need to wish it up or see if Ianvasah can cover it.
Upside is that you'd know it's an hour/level spell, so waiting out the spell failure is an option.
Don't have wish readied, so Ianvasah it is.
"Do you have protective spells for this place?"
"I do," Ianvasah agrees, "Hold and I'll take care of it." A few murmured words and a bit of holly later and the spell is in place.
Planar tolerance, CL 35.
Alyssa lets the magic wash over her.
With that done...you stand just atop a hill. A hill of ash in a realm forever and always just that. It is silent here save for the howling of the wind, the great heap of ash unremarkable on a glance save for one thing. A stone obelisk has been placed atop it, made of solid, dull red stone and about 20ft tall.
Alyssa inspects it! Study time!
As Ianvasah keeps watch, the chakram feels icy cold inyour grip. Your hand goes numb as you read it. In draconic you read the following: My beloved son and my son's mate: I avenged you.
"Hmm... So a grave for a parent... As much as I want to research it and find something of us... I'm no desecrater. Where do we go from here, Ianvasah?"
"There's word that Sharrans are near here," Ianvasah says, "Where better than a place of revenge and death?" She looks about, "All we have to do is find them."
"Hmmm... Let's get some altitude. Though, this is a good chance for you to learn another aspect of dragon-kind."
Alyssa heads up!
Thus Ianvasah transforms and flies up with you. The two of you go up and...
How far up?
Dunno, 100 ft or so. High enough to get a good view of the area so I can look for things out of place.
Sure, Perception.
Perception:
Take 10 for 58.
It's a hill, not the only one but the only one with an obelisk. Like most of Ash, nothing but ash is about, in heaps and blown on the wind.
Ianvasah circles about, gaze below.
> roll 1d20+51 Ianvasah perception
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 69 > [d20=18]
'There,' Ianvasah sends to you, starting to descend down.
Alyssa follows, readying the Chackram with her TK.
Speaking of the chakrams, what are the actual stats of this thing?
Dead Moons: 2 chakrams+6, unholy and returning. When both chakrams strike the creature, a delayed blast fireball modified by the corrupt spell metamagic is cast (CL24th), centered on where the creature stands. The thrower of Dead Moons is immune to this fireball. 287,500 gold.
Below Ianvasah lands, on a patch of ash the same as any other. "There's something here," she declares, giving the ground a few good stomps.
Alyssa uses her tremorsense to try and feel it out.
You can feel a hollow below, through all the ash.
Can I feel an entrance anything moving?
Yes, something a bit to the side, but you feel where the ash shifts.
"I can feel it. There's also something shifting the ash down there. I can take us down, but be ready to deal with whatever is down there. I'll try to track it's movement and put us behind it."
"Ready," Ianvasah says, awaiting you then.
Alyssa puts a hand on Ianvash and focuses on her tremorsense to track the movement and when she gets a solid feel for where they're going, she uses her Dimension Door ability to teleport them behind it.
Can you see in darkness or have darkvision?
Darkvision 60ft, Blindsight 30ft, Tremorsense 30ft
You can see in this hollow, in this cavern. Here bones lie, great heaps of ancient, forgotten bones. It is a winding burrow that heads deeper down and in.
Uh, what was moving?
That's a really good question, isn't it? I'd suggest looking around or some such.
Alyssa glances around, searching for what was moving, weapon ready.
Perception again, -5 circumstance penalty.
Perception/Cunning Knowledge:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+68 : 12 + 68, total 80[/blockquote]
THERE! You see it out of the corner of your eye, a moving blur - you don't feel it, but you can see it.
Alyssa tries to catch hold of it with her TK while firing off a mental, 'There it is!' to Ianvasah.
In that case, init.
Init:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+19 : 10 + 19, total 29[/blockquote]
> roll 1d20+12 Ianvasah
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 28 > [d20=16]
> roll 1d20+14
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 16 > [d20=2]
Init is Alyssa (29) > Ianvasah (28) > ??? (16)
Open.
Alyssa tries to seize the thing with her TK!
CMB.
CMB/Cunning Insight:35CL+5MotUH+11Int+3Gauntlets+11Cunning Insight
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+65 : 17 + 65, total 82[/blockquote]
Got it! It's a tiny black gemstone - no larger than a dot in the air. You hold it in place, the stone no longer able to move.
"A gem?" Ianvasah marvels, "Some sort of probe or familiar?"
"Possibly. Could be sentient in it's own right..."
Alyssa moves to inspect it, casting Detect Magic as she does.
Spellcraft then.
Spellcraft/Cunning Knowledge:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+85 : 9 + 85, total 94[/blockquote]
The gem looks to be the focus for a scrying spell, powerfully enhanced to see far more than a scrying does.
What options do I have to block this? Just a Dispel?
Yes, a dispel would get rid of it.
Alyssa sends to Ianvasah, 'It's an empowered scrying focus. Do you have a strong dispel prepared?'
'I do,' Ianvasah agrees, 'Do you?'
'No. I decided to go with a wide-area option and prepared Anti-magic Field. Please dispel this thing.'
> roll 1d20+35
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 36 > [d20=1]
Magic wraps around the thing and it goes still, plummeting to the ground. It lands and stays still.
I'd normally skip the roll since the CL wasn't high, but I was there anyway.
Alyssa floats it into her haversack for use later.
'So, we can assume they know we're here now. We can either ambush or move fast.'
"Move fast," Ianvasah says without hesitation. "Caverns and darkness are where they are strongest. We won't be able to ambush them easily with that."
'Then let's move.'
Where are you going?
I assumed it was a cave system. Is it not?
It is, just going down or...?
Yeah. Just heading in, whatever way Ianvash want.
The cavern continues in a generally downward, winding direction. There's no immediate resistance, your path ahead quiet as...
Perception and note if you have any special senses.
Dark vision 60ft, blind sight 30ft, tremorsense 30ft.
Perception:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 3 + 48, total 51[/blockquote]
+3 for terrain mastery underground.
You can sense it coming after a bit - 30ft ahead, a man approaching with a blade, yet unseen to your eyes completely. He glides over the ground, not quite getting your tremorsense.
Can I use TK to slam him to the ground and pin him, or is he like too hidden or something?
You could, sure. Blindsight overcomes invisibility.
Alyssa tries to snatch up the attacker with her Tk!
CMB since he's legitimately not going to do anything but keep moving this round, turns out.
TK CMB/Cunning Insight:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+65 : 1 + 65, total 66[/blockquote]
In that case, Init.
Init:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+18 : 10 + 18, total 28[/blockquote]
> roll 1d20+12 Ianvasah
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 27 > [d20=15]
> roll 1d20+10 ????
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 14 > [d20=4]
Init is Alyssa (28) > Ianvasah (27) > ???? (14)
Open.
TK CMB/Cunning Insight:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+65 : 1 + 65, total 66[/blockquote]
Yet Alicia can't get a hold on him, Ianvasah pausing. 'Alyssa?'
'Assassin. Invisible.' Alyssa tries to pass on a feeling of where he is to her.
Ianvasah turns shifts, growing as large as she can, a bronze dragon blocking the way. With a low growl she puts you behind her, stopping any chance of an assassin getting past her. As if an unspoken challenge, as you see the unseen assassin lunge in.
> roll 1d20+25
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 35 > [d20=10][/i
A clang as a dagger bounces off Ianvasah's suddenly scaly body, as you can sense the attacker isn't moving, at least for the moment.
Go.
Let's try this again.
TK CMB/Cunning Insight:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+65 : 7 + 65, total 72[/blockquote]
Got him! This time you wrap your force around him, catching him cold. He struggles against it but it's in vain, you have him securely caught.
Free act, he's not likely to get out so we'll do it like this for now.
Alyssa pulls him close and casts a quick spell on him.
Glitterdust, CL 35
> roll 1d20+17
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 36 > [d20=19]
The glitter covers the outline of the man, coating him in the stuff. He makes a sound now - a grunt of pure displeasure, as Ianvasah leans in, face up almost against his. She lets out the tiniest snort of electricity, glaring death at the semi visible warrior.
> roll 1d20+45
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 59 > [d20=14]
> roll 1d20+19
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 37 > [d20=18]
That grunt turns into a cry of sheer alarm, as he struggles in vain to get away.
Alyssa looks a bit bored, pulling out Life-Drinker and leaning against the haft of the greataxe.
"Look, you're not getting away, obviously. You can make this easier and faster on yourself by answering a few questions that will lead us to the Champion here, or we can strip you, leave you completely immobile and hidden, and you can slowly starve until your meet your goddess having utterly failed to do anything at all to stop us or delay us.
Help us on the fast track to the fight your goddess wants us in, or die having been utterly and completely useless to her. Consider which she'll look more favorably on and how forgiving she is and make a decision. Your third option is to be belligerent and I'll let my axe here eat parts of your life."
Alyssa pats the axe, "Introduce yourself to your possible meal."
Go ahead and give me a second Intimidate check. Ianvasah already did the hard work, so this is mostly followup.
Intimidate:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+33 : 8 + 33, total 41[/blockquote]
+3 for terrain mastery underground.
> roll 1d20+19
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 39 > [d20=20]
Luckily this isn't a check that auto succeeds.
"...keep going below," The man says at last. "You'll find it."
"And what is it? Please avoid generic terms. Specifics."
"A temple," Is the answer, "Just keep going down, you'll see it."
Alyssa whacks him in the head.
"I mean her champion."
"In the temple!" The trapped man winces, "In the temple!"
"What is it, though? A shadow again? A devil? A fighter? Another assassin? A construct?"
"Black....blackball," Is the answer after a long pause.
Is that something I recognize?
K:A check.
K:A:
Take 10 for 58. +3 if terrain mastery applies.
A blackball is an umbral blot. These strange spheres move about and destroy anything they touch. They are known as absolute agents of destruction. What's worse? You also know that some blackballs are known as the Eyes of Shar, and serve her as unholy altars that lesser Sharrans worship.
Alyssa passes this on to Ianvasah.
Okay, so, what are my options for weakening it? If it's an agent of Shar would daylight type stuff work?
Unfortunately, they have few weaknesses, if any. They are evil so holy powers can work, at least.
Posting this for stat block work, just giving you time to get it sorted.Long Duration:Everyone (+20 people):Create Magic Tattoo: +1 Spellcaster Level, CL 35, Duration: 24 Hours.Create Magic Tattoo: Spell Resistance 35, CL 29, Duration: 24 Hours.Spell resistance equal to 10 + 1 per three caster levels.
+1 luck bonus on attack rolls.
This spell protects against all mind-affecting spells and effects as well as information gathering by divination spells or effects. Mind blank even foils limited wish, miracle, and wish spells when they are used in such a way as to affect the subject's mind or to gain information about it. In the case of scrying that scans an area the creature is in, such as arcane eye, the spell works but the creature simply isn't detected. Scrying attempts that are targeted specifically at the subject do not work at all.
This spell is identical to mage armor, except that it grants a +20 armor bonus to armor class.
The target of this spell gains a +4 insight bonus to Dexterity.
The target of this spell gains a +4 insight bonus to Intelligence.
The target of this spell gains a +4 insight bonus to Strength.
You have the benefits of the attune form spell (page 17) with respect to the appropriate element.
You are immune to poison, sleep, paralysis, and stunning, and are not subject to extra damage from critical hits or flanking. You gain darkvision out to 60 feet.
Fire: Fire immunity, burn (those you hit in melee and those who attack you with natural weapons must make a Reflex save or catch fire, with a save DC equal to that of a fire elemental of the same size).
+15 insight bonus to all knowledge checks and may make knowledge checks untrained. Perfect recall of memory and anything heard/read. Speak all languages.
+5 ehnacnce to Natural Armor, racial bonus on saves vs. poison, racial bonus on Hide checks.
A vampiric weapon deals an extra 1d8 points of damage to any living creature it hits, and you heal damage equal to this amount.
HP: 402/402
AC: 58.
Spells Active: Create Magic Tattoo (SR/Spellcaster Level/Attack) (CL35), Elemental Body: Fire (CL35), Mind Blank (CL35), Bibliotheca Arcana (CL35), Energy Immunity: Cold/Acid/Electricy (CL35, Mass Energy Immunity: Fire/Sonic (CL35), Epic Mage Armor (CL35)
Bonuses: SR 21 (CMT), +1 Caster Level (CMT), +1 Luck Attack (CMT), +15 Insight Bonus to Knowledge checks (BA), +20 Armor Bonus (EMA), +5 ATK
Negative Conditions:
"Is there anything else with it, or would it just be the Eye?"
Perception real quick.
Perception:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 5 + 48, total 53[/blockquote]
+3 if terrain mastery applies.
You hear faint footsteps coming from ahead as the man says, "Lots," is his answer, plain and to the point.
Alyssa sends to Ianvasah, 'More coming.'
To the assassin... She slams him into the wall to knock him out.
WHAM! A few slams leave him limp enough, no longer moving or talking.
Alyssa lifts the body to the ceiling, holding it in place and moves to blend into the shadows.
Stealth check then.
Stealth:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+50 : 14 + 50, total 64[/blockquote]
> roll 1d20+41 Ianvasah
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 59 > [d20=18]
Ianvasah changes back into humanoid form, hiding next to you. The two of you are stone silent as you hear it - more and more footsteps, quiet but not quiet enough. A whisper. A murmuring.
It glides past - a shadow, going fast, searching about. Then a second and a third, all inspecting the area quickly.
Are they close enough together that I can bludgeon them all with the unconscious guy?
They get close on occasion, you could try, sure.
Time to beat some people with other people.
Alyssa sends to Ianvasah, 'Be ready. I'll go first.'
Alyssa waits for the timing to slam the unconscious assassin into the new ones.
Gimme an attack roll, I suppose.
ATK with an assassin (bludgeoning object?)/Cunning Insight:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+64 : 12 + 64, total 76[/blockquote]
Sure. d100 for miss chance since incorporeal.
[blockquote]Rolled 1d100 : 53, total 53[/blockquote]
Okay, does your TK have any rules for how objects thrown with it damage creatures, or is it DM discretion?
Depends on if you rule it as a combat maneuver use (maybe a bull rush?) or violent thrust use (throwing an object).
Combat Maneuver would be a CMB check, I believe. Violent Thrust is standard weapon damage or 1d6 per 25 lbs of the object they're hit with, and if you hurl a creature, that creature takes 1d6 per 10 ft.
We'll go with 25 pounds. This creature weighs a bit over 260 pounds, so do the math and roll damage.
[blockquote]Rolled 10d6+11 : 5, 2, 4, 6, 3, 5, 5, 1, 5, 6 + 11, total 53[/blockquote]
+11 to that if my ability bonus applies (I think it should, but not 100% since I've never tried to use a person as a weapon before).
WHAM! Shadows are crushed and the invisible man hits the ground hard, the three gone and the man not moving. It does make a loud crash, though.
Alyssa takes a moment to pin them all to the ground with her TK just to be sure and then sends to Ianvasah, 'Check them over, look for anything useful. I'll keep an ear out for anything approaching.'
The shadows are gone, the incorporeal menaces sent back to oblivion.
Ianvasah goes and does so, and in your mind, 'Dagger, he's wearing light armor, a broken potion bottle, a few vials of...poison, black lotus, probably refined and enhanced. The color's too pure not to be."
'Take it all. Let's get him hidden and keep moving.'
You can hear the footsteps getting louder and likely closer as Ianvasah quickly hides the unseen man in a corner. 'Running out of time!'
'Well, let's get moving.'
Stealth again.
Stealth:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+50 : 14 + 50, total 64[/blockquote]
> roll 1d20+41 Ianvasah
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 48 > [d20=7]
The party races ahead full tilt, barely making it farther before you have to dive into the shadows. A good half a dozen black robed and purple hooded cultists move ahead and through, no weapons in hand but moving forward confidently nonetheless. They go right past you, no sign of having noticed you right away.
Any roll was hidden DM side.
'Attack or let them pass?'
'Pass, they're just minions,' Ianvasah sends, 'So we can dispatch them in one strike from behind, once they aren't looking.'
'Do it as you want. I'll take care of anyone who runs.'
There is no warning as a bombardment of rock and stone crashes down from above.
> roll 20d8
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 97 > [d8=5,6,3,4,7,6,7,5,4,3,6,7,6,7,1,3,3,4,7,3]
> roll 1d20+18
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 34 > [d20=16]
There is a crash of rubble over the cultists and then silence, nothing but ruin and broken bodies beneath it. Where the stone came from is anyone's guess considering the ashy nature of this plane, but it crushed them all the same.
'That'll draw everyone. Keep ambushing?"
'As long as it works,' Ianvasah agrees, 'Forward again?'
'Let's go.'
Alyssa moves forward.
You ahead and quickly come to an intersection - a passage plunging downward sharply as well as a more level passage that continues ahead.
Alyssa heads down!
In that case, Perception.
Perception:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 19 + 48, total 67[/blockquote]
As you go to move through, you notice that the ceiling looks rather unstable this way. A few sags, a few crack-lines, that sort of thing.
'Roof is unstable. Keep close so I can try to teleport us out if I need to. If it's like this the whole way, we might be able to drop the ceiling on this Eye.'
'As long as we aren't buried in ash,' Ianvasah sends back.
Are you on foot here?
Yeah, since I need ground contact for tremorsense.
Perception again, -5 circumstance.
Perception:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+43 : 3 + 43, total 46[/blockquote]
As you walk down this passage, you can feel little quakes and shifts beneath your feet through your tremor sense.
'The ground is shifting and quaking... Are they digging?'
'The ground and passage are probably unstable,' Ianvasah warns, 'It could give at any time.'
'Stay close then. Let's keep moving.'
> roll 1d100
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 92 > [d100=92]
> roll 1d100 how bad?
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 91 > [d100=91]
You proceed o-
A step and ash cascades down in one great shudder, falling downward on the two of you.
Luck was not with you. Fort saves, all.
Fort/Cunning Insight:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+35 : 3 + 35, total 38[/blockquote]
You are buried. Pinned. Ash all around you, suffocating you as...
Do you need to breathe and if so, do you have something that protects you from suffocation?
Talisman of Long-Life, 17,250: Immune to all harmful vapors and gases (such as cloudkill and stinking cloud effects, as well as inhaled poisons) and allowing him to breathe, even underwater or in a vacuum, and continually provides its wearer with life-sustaining nourishment, its wearer needs only sleep 2 hours per day to gain the benefit of 8 hours of sleep.
You can breathe, even though you're trapped under ash. You don't feel like you're injured, at least.
Alyssa uses her TK to shove the ash off of her.
In which direction?
Up and away.
You do so - and more ash comes crashing down, even as you send that away, the piles above you shifting from the movement.
Can I feel any clear area with tremorsense?
Not within range.
Can I just lift the while area up above me with TK and hold it up, floating to walk to a clear area?
How big an area can you affect?
It doesn't specify. Everything is by weight or 1 object per CL (max of 15), no further than 30 feet apart.
Alright.
You lift up the ash and manage to stand, even as more crumbles from the sides. But you have a momentarily clear zone, Ianvasan next to you and getting up with wretched coughs.
Alyssa looks around, trying to figure out how much of an area is unstable.
As Ianvasah gets up, it's not hard to tell all of it is, at least within sight. Ash is starting to tumble down, after all.
'Keep close. I'll do my best to keep it off us as we go.'
'Go,' Ianvasah encourages.
How are you moving here?
Gonna fly here.
The two of you fly up - and by pushing and moving, you're soon enough back on the surface, free of that death trap.
What options for directions do we have for options.
Run that one by me again?
Sorry, was distracted. Which directions can I go? As in, down, left, right, ect.
You're back on the surface. If you want to go back, teleportation or digging would be the play.
Wasn't there another direction to go?
Yes, back underground. You'd have to go there to find that direction.
If it's all caved in then where would I teleport to, I mean.
That presumes that only the area you were in collapsed, as that was the area where you noticed it was unstable.
Okay, so back to searching for more area, then.
Alyssa tries to use her tremorsense to map out a clear area to teleport into!
You can feel the area you initially teleported down into is intact, at least.
Alyssa follows it on the surface, remembering that there were people looking around the area.
What's the range on your tremonrsense?
30 ft
You can follow it for a time, but as it dips lower, your range is insufficient to follow it further from the surface.
"This is as far as I can trace out the caverns. It goes deeper here, but I haven't detected any more creatures. We can teleport down here, if you want."
"Yes, while we still have a chance at this. If we are fortunate, they may think us dead under that ash," Ianvasah agrees.
Alyssa puts a hand on Ianvasah's shoulder and teleports them down!
You appear where you began, just as expected. No sign of immediate trouble.
Alyssa heads to explore more of the caves.
Stealth checks anew.
Stealth:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+50 : 2 + 50, total 52[/blockquote]
> roll 1d20+41
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 59 > [d20=18]
You stealthily return to the passage. As you do, you smartly peer ahead and see a pair of stone men - golems perhaps - stand guard at the remaining passage, which is intact.
Alyssa sends to Ianvasah, 'Stone Golems, I think. How do you want to take care of them?'
'Can we sneak around them?' Ianvasah sends back, 'There's little profit in slaying golems.'
Can we? Is there a viable path?
Yes, the golems block the way, though. You'd have to do some really fancy maneuvering while not being detected by them somehow.
Can I just... Teleport past them?
Assuming it's not blocked or nothing intervenes.
'I'll try to teleport past them...'
Alyssa puts a hand on Ianvasah and tries!
How far past?
Uh, I'd say.. an equal distance as we are now since they haven't reacted to us yet.
One blink and you're past them, a teleporting success.
Alyssa motions forward, inspecting the area and moving carefully.
Refresh me on your senses and also give me Perception.
Darkvision 60ft, blind sight 30ft, tremorsense30 ft.
Perception:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 9 + 48, total 57[/blockquote]
You advance on, the ashen tunnel turning to stone. Little patches of it at first, then little islands of it loosely connected, then finally solid stone. Ahead lies a passage with the unholy symbol of Shar carved into the walls, each one glows with a faint purple light. You feel greasy and ill, as if something wrong has washed over you. Your arcane and religious lore lets you know that you've entered a desecrated area, a cursed place where the power of evil is strong.
Alyssa points it out to Ianvash and keeps going, 'We have to be getting close now. Do you have a plan?'
'Do you?' Ianvasah challenges, 'We'll have to defeat this champion and escape to finish this quest.'
'Depending on situation. Time stop, an anti-magic field to disable it, summon an angel to help, deal with any lesser threats fast, then focus on it and keep away from it. And remember, this is your quest.'
'I fear it will be fearsome even with that, but we will triumph,' Ianvasah says. This passage leads on and on as you sneak ahead, until you see doors in the distance. No sign of guards for those doors, a set of double doors emblazoned with Shar's unholy symbol.
'Make entry and if it's there, I'll follow with the time stop.'
'Make an entry, you mean?' Ianvasah asks.
'Yes. You break in and I'll follow. '
Ianvasah approaches the doors - and when she comes within 80ft of them, they suddenly send two dark bolts as Ianvasah, coming from the center of the unholy symbol.
> roll 1d20+25 touch AC
> roll 1d20+25 touch AC
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 27 > [d20=2]
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 33 > [d20=8]
Two hits, but Ianvasah nulls poison.
With a leap Ianvasah stumbles back as purple mist clings to her skin and slowly sinks in. Yet nothing seems to happen to her, at least overtly.
Alyssa casts a quick Detect Magic and looks her over.
Fading magic - a poison ray spell, but it doesn't seem to affect her at all.
Ianvasah does the same once no attack comes, "Venom has no danger to me," she murmurs, "But I fear we're discovered anew now."
'Then move fast and hard, dragon.'
'Can you disintegrate the door?' Ianvasah asks right back.
'I can't actually. But I can hit it with an Orb of Force.'
Ianvasah's answer is to growl low and surge forward, a transformation as she does. Purple rays strike her to no effect as she does and...
Str check.
> roll 1d20+28 str check Ianvasah
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 46 > [d20=18]
With a crunch of sundered and broken stone, the doors are tossed open. Well, more like they explode inward, but the deed is done. She she shrinks back down after and sprints ahead, "Now," she cries.
Alyssa flies in after her, holding off on her time stop spell until she can get a quick glance of the room.
Refresh me on your perceptions real quick, and give me a Perception check.
Darkvision 60ft, blind sight 30ft, tremorsense30 ft.
Perception:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 5 + 48, total 53[/blockquote]
A stairway winding down is ahead, into the darkness. Yet your blindsight lets you see it isn't there, only empty air instead of stairs.
'Stairs are an illusion, it's a pit.'
Alyssa floats over to them and peers down.
The chasm goes down quite a ways - you can see a bottom but it's distant.
'I can see the bottom. Let's go!'
Alyssa waits for Ianvasah before heading down!
Thus you fly down. It's a fairly sharp drop - and as you make about halfway? The rest of the chasm is an illusion. You can feel solid ground now, where you see none, at the edge of your blindsight.
'Hold, ground here.'
Alyssa heads towards it!
Second Perception check.
Perception:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 8 + 48, total 56[/blockquote]
You notice a door to the side to where the ground is.
'Door here. Let's check it out.'
Lays heads towards it, planning to check it over for traps and locks.
The door is locked but not trapped.
Alyssa pulls out her Skeleton Key and taps it against the door.
Knock, CL 25
The door pops ajar, the skeleton key once again successful.
Alyssa goes in!
This opens to a narrow hallway, which looks to head further down and around a bend. The rough, stony path curves downward, and your blind sight helps you again, for you can feel tiny little shapes on the ground that your eyes don't see.
Can I tell if they're traps or something?
Your general blacksmithing knowledge knows the shape of caltrops when you see them.
'Caltrops on the ground. Amusing.'
Alyssa uses her TK to scoop them up and save them for later use.
The caltrops don't move - they seem stuck to the ground.
'Hm. They're embedded or something. Let's just fly over.'
'Let's,' Ianvasah says as you begin to fly over. As you do...!!!
Smooth squares of the floor, each with several caltrops, abruptly rise up and fly right up at the two of you.
Ref saves all, -5 circumstance penalty.
Ref/Cunning Insight:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+39 : 3 + 39, total 42[/blockquote]
> roll 1d20+29 evasion
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 49 > [d20=20]
"Ah!" Ianvasah dodges back, as do you. Both of you just manage to avoid the assault, pushed back the way you came. Dozens of gaps are in the path now, and you notice something with your sharp eyes. Little greenish black spores are on the bottom of where the stones were, starting to drift up into the air. At the same time, you can feel the invisible blocks with caltrops turn, trying to bar your way ahead.
'Spores in the air...'
Alyssa tries to slam everything back into the ground with her TK.
CMB.
TK CMB/Cunning Insight:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+65 : 8 + 65, total 73[/blockquote]
You manage to slam the stone blocks back onto the ground, a tremendous thudding sound as you do.
'Do you have any protection against the Spores, Ianvasah?'
'I might if I knew what they were, but I didn't have time to look,' Ianvasah shoots back.
'Can you get wings and blow them away or something? Or burn them away? I could do it with telekinesis, I think, but I'm holding the ground in place.'
'Those could work, but depending on the type of spore it may make them worse," Ianvasah replies.
Can I see to a clear area past the spore area?
Sure, you could go around the bend, presuming no more caltrops are there.
So I can just teleport us past the spores?
Assuming no blocker is in place.
Alyssa puts a hand on Ianvash's shoulder and tries to teleport them to the clear spot!
It works well enough, the bend past all of this ahead. You can continue on.
'Careful, that trap was much too clever,' Ianvasah sends.
'It was well hidden but that's about it. Still, keep an eye out.'
With that she follows her own advice and proceeds!
'It was more than that. Should you not notice it, you step on it. Should you notice it and fly above, it's set to punish you for that, worse than if you stumbled into it. It's designed to punish competence.' Ianvasah replies.
'Hubris, not competence. Most who fly tend to ignore ground based traps assuming they've already defeated them by virtue of flying. It was designed to take advantage of that.'
'Yes, but-' Ianvasah says as you go around the bend. A stairway going down is here, plunging sharply deeper into Ash.
'One of these again. Let's check it over before going.'
Alyssa looks for traps and tricks!
Perception.
Perception:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 17 + 48, total 65[/blockquote]
You don't see anything like that.
'Don't see any traps. Let's move.'
Down the stairs - and as you go down, you feel it again. A gap in the stairs where you see none, a feeling of emptiness.
'Another hidden area here...'
Alyssa inspects the area, looking for a trigger or trap or way to open it.
Was not great phrasing last time, so restatement.
You can feel it with your blindsight, a gap in the stairs. You don't detect any switch to manipulate the presumed illusion.
'Illusion on the stairs there. Assuming a trap.'
Alyssa attempts to teleport them past it!
This time nothing happens - something's blocking it, alright.
'Teleport is blocked. Let me try to trigger it.'
Alyssa prods it with TK!
The 'force' goes right through the illusion, as you'd suspect, nothing solid to support it.
Can I tell how deep it goes.
To the limit of your blindsight and beyond.
Oh! I thought it was just like the one step.
'It's a tunnel. Want to check it out or keep going?'
'Would it not be just another trap?' Ianvasah asks.
'Could be. Could be a hidden true path.'
'It could be,' Ianvasah, "Then do you feel fortunate?'
'50/50. This is your quest.'
'Stick with the stairs,' Ianvasah says, flying over the chasm and beyond.
Alyssa follows!
The stairs wind down and come to an end. Here at the bottom are two doors of pitch black stone, double doors sealed tightly.
Alyssa moves to inspect it for traps.
Perception again, oh trapfinding one.
Perception:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 14 + 48, total 62[/blockquote]
There is a trap - a spell of superpowered disintegration will destroy all living flesh within a large radius when the door is opened.
Can I tell how big a radius?
300ft.
'Everything in a very large area will be disintegrated when we open this. I can try to disarm it.'
'Try,' Ianvasah says quickly, 'It sounds far too dangerous to risk.'
Would I have any idea if the Skeleton Key would work? Or would it be a disable device check?
It would open the door but not undo the trap. You'd need to disable the trap with a disable device check or some other method.
Disable Device it is! With Cunning Knowledge to boot!
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+54 : 1 + 54, total 55[/blockquote]
Fort saves.
Fort/Cunning Insight:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+36 : 1 + 36, total 37[/blockquote]
> roll 1d20+33 Ianvasah
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 51 > [d20=18]
Alyssa damage:
> roll 40d6
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 153 > [d6=3,3,6,5,2,4,6,6,2,2,5,5,6,5,4,3,3,3,4,5,4,3,2,4,4,6,2,2,5,2,3,5,2,4,1,6,3,5,4,4]
Ianvasah damage:
> roll 5d6
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 17 > [d6=6,2,1,6,2]
HP after that?
249.
Pain. You're bleeding in several places, parts and hunks of you no longer there.
Alyssa uses a few of her Opportunistic Piety uses to heal them.
61 hp per. 3 for Alyssa, 1 for Ianvasah. 14 uses left.
Wounds heal to your magic as Ianvasah guards herself, "And yet, no minions," she says, "Do they wish us to bleed out on these traps?"
'More likely they're watching for amusement.'
A grunt, 'Will the trap repeat?'
Alyssa looks around and inspects the area.
Assuming not? But look around anyway.
From your previous work, you can tell the trap resets.
'It resets, so all I can do is try again.'
'Then good luck,' Ianvasah sends back.
Disable Device:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+29 : 12 + 29, total 41[/blockquote]
Alas. Gimme Fort again, don't 1 it please.
Fort/Cunning Insight:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+36 : 9 + 36, total 45[/blockquote]
> roll 1d20+33 Ianvasah
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 34 > [d20=1]
At least you're on the better side of it this time.
> roll 5d6 Iddy
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 14 > [d6=2,2,5,1,4]
> roll 40d6 Ianvasah
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 148 > [d6=2,3,1,5,5,2,2,5,6,5,3,6,5,6,3,1,6,3,1,3,5,5,1,3,3,6,6,2,6,1,4,6,2,2,4,2,5,2,4,6]
That one stings a bit but you hear Ianvasah gasp, holding her chest.
Alyssa uses Opportunistic Piety on Ianvasah!
3 on her, 1 on me. 10/18
Wounds heal again as Ianvasah says, "Perhaps we need another solution."
"Yes. Get clear and I'll blast it open with my Telekinesis. They certainly know where we are by now."
Ianvasah flies up and...
Go ahead.
Telekinetic Blast, CL 40.
2d6 per CL.
[blockquote]Rolled 20d6 : 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 1, 2, 1, 4, 4, 3, 3, 1, 3, 1, 5, 5, 3, 1, 4, total 59[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 20d6 : 6, 5, 5, 3, 1, 2, 5, 5, 4, 4, 3, 1, 6, 4, 4, 6, 4, 5, 2, 1, total 76[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 20d6 : 6, 1, 2, 2, 5, 3, 5, 6, 1, 1, 4, 3, 2, 6, 2, 3, 1, 4, 3, 6, total 66[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 20d6 : 4, 4, 5, 1, 2, 1, 6, 2, 6, 3, 3, 2, 6, 4, 2, 4, 6, 5, 2, 4, total 72[/blockquote]
273 total.
WHAM! The door is blown inward, the trap triggered what is hopefully for the last time as...
Fort.
Fort/Cunning Insight:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+36 : 14 + 36, total 50[/blockquote]
> roll 5d6
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 17 > [d6=2,4,2,5,4]
Down goes the door, the passage revealed as you withstand the magic. Ahead is a short hall, leading to another heavy double doors 50ft away.
Alyssa sighs and looks it over for traps, too.
As you approach it, you fee it. The left wall has a gap that isn't real, just an illusion to hide a passage. It's obvious to your blindsight.
'Side passage there, Ianvasah. Lot of them around here. Starting to think they may be for avoiding these traps.'
'It may be,' Iavnasah says, "Yet we still see none of them."
'Still, up to you. Side path or door?'
'Side path,' Ianvasah says after a moment, 'Better than something trapped.'
Alyssa heads that way.
'Bet we find traps. Just our luck so far.'
Are you walking or flying?
Walk so tremorsense works.
You walk down the passage. It's plainer than the hall, hooking around in a gentle U to come out to a door that should put you past the second set of double doors.
Alyssa inspects the doors for traps!
Perception.
Perception:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 14 + 48, total 62[/blockquote]
The door is not trapped.
Alyssa taps it with the Skeleton Key just in case and opens it!
The door pops ajar and is opened. Behind it is another dead end, but there is a stairway going down. Just a small, carved out chamber to house those stairs.
Alyssa heads down, looking for traps and tricks.
You notice there's a pressure plate on the first stair right away.
Alyssa points it out to Ianvasah and floats over it!
Easy enough.
'Any idea what it does?' Ianvasah asks.
Do I?
Not without activating it, it goes straight into the floor.
'No idea, but let's just keep going.'
Give me a second Perception check then.
Perception:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 10 + 48, total 58[/blockquote]
You notice every fourth step has a pressure plate as you fly down.
'Seems to be every four steps. Just avoid them.'
Easy enough. The stairway goes down and ends in a pitch dark archway, nothing visible beyond it.
Alyssa searches around for hidden switches, doors, and traps!
Perception.
Perception:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 15 + 48, total 63[/blockquote]
Nothing that you see here. The door is firmly locked, however.
Alyssa taps it with the Skeleton Key!
CL check.
CL Check:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+25 : 8 + 25, total 33[/blockquote]
The doors pop ajar after a moment.
Alyssa heads in!
Okay, time for some DM humble pie. Back a few posts you had this line:
Easy enough. The stairway goes down and ends in a pitch dark archway, nothing visible beyond it.
And then in a post or two later I started talking about a door that wasn't there before. I accidentally skipped a section here - it's simply me being RL distracted because of all I've had going on this past weekend with my dog. So you get a freebie here, I'm not going to retcon you back over my error several posts ago. Feel free to imagine the horrible and impossible trap you got skipped past.
You head into the door and through. Here is another chasm, plunging down into the ground, massive and long, the other side - a dead end wall - 70ft away or so.
Alyssa considers and looks around for a rock or debris to float over the chasm.
There's nothing too useful nearby, unfortunately.
'Do you have anything you don't mind losing? I'm guessing there's something to cancel out magic here so people who try to fly over fall.'
A silver coin is passed over without comment.
Alyssa floats it out with her TK to see if it falls!
How far out?
All the way to the wall.
The coin reaches the far wall without incident.
Alyssa floats it back to Ianvasah.
'Well, didn't set anything off for that. I can try to fly over but let me try teleporting again to see if the block is gone...'
Alyssa tries to teleport a few steps backwards.
Nothing happens.
'Well, teleport is still blocked. Any ideas?'
Alyssa inspects the walls for climbing handholds, just in case.
You see the walls are smooth, no handholds at all.
'There must be a trick, or it's meant for flight,' Ianvasah reasons.
'Well, telekinesis works, so fly over and I'll catch you if something does happen.'
Ianvasah flies over and nothing happens, beyond her reaching the far end of it.
'Find anything? Hidden room?'
> roll 1d20+51 Perception
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 62 > [d20=11]
Ianvasah focuses and searches around.
'Here,' Ianvasah taps a section of the wall. 'There's something invisible here, a stick or perhaps a lever.'
'Pull it then, I guess.'
Ianvasah does so. Immediately the ceiling plummets down, pushing Ianvasah down along with it.
I did say I was ready to snag her.
Alyssa attempts to yank Ianvasah back to safety!
Sure, gimme a Dex check, +2 bonus.
Dex:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+19 : 18 + 19, total 37[/blockquote]
With a fast move, Alyssa pulls Ianvasah back, just in time to let the ceiling plunge down without her.
"Thanks," Ianvasah says after a moment, "Just a trap, then."
'Seems so.'
Alyssa looks around for where they can go from here.
The ceiling blocks the way down - but you notice it's beginning to rise back up after several seconds.
'Let's see if anything's changed before we back track. '
The chasm below is the same as before - but now you can dimly see a bottom there, something there. A passage you think, glimpsed.
'Think something opened at the bottom. Let's go look.'
You find down. Sure enough at the bottom is a winding passage leading on, carved out of solid stone.
'Quite convoluted, but let's explore!'
Alyssa heads in, keeping an eye out for tricks and traps.
Ahead is a hallway that leads to the north. The walls here are all plain, unworked stone and the only light is a faint purple glow. It ends in a T intersection. The passage west ends in a plain stone doorway, while the passage east hooks northernly and out of sight.
Alyssa heads to the door to look it over for the usual.
Perception, you can go ahead and just include this automatically in anything like this in the future to save a post.
Perception:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 2 + 48, total 50[/blockquote]
The door's not trapped or locked.
Alyssa opens it!
Immediate Will save, +5 bonus.
Will save/Cunning Insight:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+43 : 13 + 43, total 56[/blockquote]
Alyssa feels a moment of disorientation, but little else.
'That felt a little weird...'
Alyssa tries to figure out what that was.
K:A.
K:A (+3 if Terrain Mastery applies):
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 16 + 48, total 64[/blockquote]
A spell just tried to mess with your mind in some way.
'Spell just targeted me. Did you feel anything, Ianvasah?'
'Nothing,' Ianvasah sends back, 'Nothing at all.'
Alyssa does a quick look over of Ianvasah with Detect Magic to see if a new spell is working on her.
You don't see anything new on her.
'Hm, must have been first to touch the door. Let's keep moving.'
Ahead lies a hallway east. At the middle is an intersection, a door north while the passage continues further to the west, where a door west awaits. At that intersection also sits a black sphere of stone, atop a pedestal.
'That certainly looks like a trap. How do you want to play this, Ianvasah?'
"Carefully," Ianvasah responds. "But why go to this trouble for all of this?"
'It's your quest. You've been decidedly quiet about directing it, so I've just been exploring.'
"I thought it just a den of Sharrans, but this is so much more." Ianvasah says at last, "Is this an entire maze ahead?" she gestures, "And yet not a single Sharran to kill!"
'Well, we'll find them eventually?'
'Is it possible all of this is a side trip?' Ianvasah considers, 'A great palace to hide a real palace?'
'Sure it is, but what's your other option? Which path did you want to take?'
'...nothing, unless one of the other passages is right and we guessed wrong," Ianvasah says at last.
'This is your quest. Keep going or go back and try another route?'
Ianvasah sighs slightly, 'This entire thing feels off to me,' she gestures. 'It's not a working temple, it's an orchestrated death trap. A maze of thorns and poison ivy.'
'Then what do you want to do? This is your quest.'
'Let's backtrack,' Ianvasah says after a few moments. 'I have half a mind that we may be trapped, too.'
'Lead the way!'
You return back - and unfortunately Ianvasah is proven true. The exit to this maze a room back is gone, stone slabs blocking the way out.
'We can try to blast our way through, or try a different path from ahead.'
'Blast it," Ianvasah says right away, 'If they don't want us coming back, best that we do just that.'
Alyssa nods. 'Lead on.'
'No, as in blast it," Ianvasah points at the stone slabs, 'With your magic.'
"Alright.."
Alyssa turns and lashes out with her telekinesis at the stone!
TK, CL 40
80d6.
[blockquote]Rolled 20d6 : 5, 2, 1, 6, 2, 5, 6, 1, 4, 5, 4, 3, 5, 6, 4, 2, 4, 6, 4, 2, total 77[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 20d6 : 6, 2, 4, 3, 2, 4, 3, 5, 1, 4, 5, 6, 1, 3, 1, 6, 5, 4, 2, 5, total 72[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 20d6 : 6, 3, 4, 6, 1, 1, 3, 2, 6, 3, 6, 6, 4, 3, 4, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, total 70[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 20d6 : 6, 1, 3, 3, 2, 3, 4, 6, 4, 2, 4, 5, 1, 3, 1, 3, 2, 5, 3, 4, total 65[/blockquote]
284 total.
The stone cracks and gives way, the blast enough to shatter it. The way back is revealed, Ianvasah striding ahead right away.
Alyssa follows!
You stride back to the bottom of the chasm. As you do, you see it. Nothingness. No Ash, no stone. Emptiness that creeps forward slowly, devouring everything it touches into nothing. It's about 20ft up and slowly progressing downwards. Everything it touches is gone, not even dust left in its wake.
'This again. We need to find the champion or break through this.'
'Can it be harmed? Do you know?' Ianvasah asks you back, curiously.
'The void? No idea, but the others broke through it. We never did get the details of how, though...'
Alyssa tries to send a message to the others.
Planar Telepathic Bond work here?
There is no response to that message.
'Seems they're blocking planar telepathy. So, finish the maze or try to break through?'
'Try hitting it with your telekinesis,' Ianvasah commands as it slowly creeps closer.
Alyssa does so!
[blockquote]Rolled 20d6 : 1, 2, 1, 4, 1, 2, 2, 2, 4, 1, 1, 3, 3, 6, 6, 2, 6, 5, 5, 3, total 60[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 20d6 : 2, 1, 2, 5, 6, 5, 5, 2, 2, 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 3, 2, 3, 4, 4, 4, total 59[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 20d6 : 6, 6, 2, 6, 6, 5, 6, 4, 4, 2, 3, 2, 5, 4, 2, 2, 5, 6, 3, 3, total 82[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 20d6 : 5, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 6, 1, 4, 5, 1, 1, 5, 2, 2, 3, 4, 1, 4, 4, total 65[/blockquote]
The force strikes encroaching void, but nothing happens.
'Nothing, it seems.'
It's now 18ft away and closing in, slow and steady. 'What about something holy or of life? Can you produce anything like that?'
Would Holy Word count?
You'd know it's a holy spell from your K:A lore, yes.
Alyssa begins casting!
Holy Word, CL 35.
Just to be safe, using Inspiration to bypass SR.
Gimme a CL check. It's not for SR, which you bypassed.
CL Check!
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+35 : 11 + 35, total 46[/blockquote]
To your word, the nonthinness dissolves in the center, a gap to rise up and past it revealed.
'Quickly!'
Alyssa heads for it!
The two of you fly up in a blur, and soon you are past it, escaping up the chasm once more. Safe!
Back where we started?
From this maze yeah, out of the chasm, but there's more backtracking you can do.
'Ianvasah, you lead the way this time. I've just gotten us lost twice now.'
In that case, give me Perception now.
Perception:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 2 + 48, total 50[/blockquote]
You hurry back. Yet as you begin to go, you hear a faint woosh behind you.
'Something's behind us.'
Alyssa turns to look!
You whirl behind you - just in time to see a large, bony hand come up from the chasm, as it reaches right for you. The hand itself is larger than you are, as...
Init.
Init/Cunning Insight:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+30 : 9 + 30, total 39[/blockquote]
You can't use cunning insight on initiative, Iddy. It adds its bonus to an attack roll, damage roll or saving throw. What you're thinking of is Brains over Brain, which adds your Int to it at all times.
28 then
> roll 1d20+12 Ianvasah
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 16 > [d20=4]
> roll 1d20+6 Hand
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 24 > [d20=18]
Init is Alyssa (28) > Hand (24) > Ianvasah (16)
Open.
K check to identify it and tell me WTH this is?
K:A.
K:A:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 5 + 48, total 53[/blockquote]
It's a hand spell - like forceful hand or grasping hand. It looks custom, whatever it is, and it looks deadly.
Alyssa focuses her telekinesis and releases it in a blast against it!
TK, CL 40.
[blockquote]Rolled 20d6 : 6, 5, 4, 6, 3, 4, 1, 2, 1, 1, 3, 1, 6, 4, 3, 1, 2, 6, 4, 3, total 66[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 20d6 : 4, 5, 1, 1, 3, 3, 2, 6, 1, 2, 4, 5, 3, 5, 4, 1, 5, 3, 6, 6, total 70[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 20d6 : 4, 3, 5, 3, 3, 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 6, 5, 2, 3, 2, 2, 5, 1, 5, 5, total 72[/blockquote]
[blockquote]Rolled 20d6 : 4, 5, 2, 1, 3, 4, 6, 1, 5, 5, 6, 2, 1, 5, 4, 3, 1, 2, 2, 5, total 67[/blockquote]
275 total.
Refresh me, does this require an attack roll or allow SR/a save?
-Telekinetic Blast (Ex):
At 5th level, the telekinetic master can unleash their telekinesis in an overwhelming, focused blast. This deals 2d6 force damage per caster level of telekinesis and requires a ranged touch attack roll. This ability does not end telekinesis.
Forgot the ranged touch/Cunning Insight:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+59 : 13 + 59, total 72[/blockquote]
WHAM!
Your blast of raw force sends the hand tumbling down and away, out of sight. It doesn't emerge back - is it gone?
'Keep an eye out. They're probably monitoring us in some way, or it wouldn't have been on us so quickly.'
'Hurry, we feel at their command instead of the other way around,' Ianvasah agrees.
Alyssa nods.
'Lead on.'
Give me a d100.
[blockquote]Rolled 1d100 : 36, total 36[/blockquote]
'They may be short on bodies if they're relying on traps and spells,' Ianvasah muses to you, 'Few want to stay on Ash.'
'Or... it's all observation. We're fairly unknown in this fight. This could all be set up to discover what we're capable of, since us mere mortals have managed to stymie her so far.'
'Maybe so,' Ianvasah agrees after some thought.
Alyssa continues following Ianvash, 'Where in the path do you think we went wrong?'
'Let's return to the first choice we did not take and try it,' She says. 'It may be one of those.'
Alyssa nods and follows along.
You thus return to the stairs you detoured from and continue your trip down them. They branch off and to a hall, long and narrow. Looks innocent enough on first glance.
Alyssa inspects the wall and then attempts to use her TK to shear off a piece to use as a shield in front of them.
'That looks like a perfect hallway to turn into a death trap.'
Ianvasah smiles tightly and waves her hand ahead, 'See what they think of it,' she says, as you pull of a hunk of the wall off.
Alyssa grins, holding it in front of them and begins down the hallway, keeping it about five feet in front of them and moving slowly while looking for traps.
This time, great gouts of fire erupt out, battering against your wedge of stone, but it's holding the flames at bay.
Can I tell if the fire would bypass our fire immunity?
Not from this, no, but it doesn't look like anything but normal fire. For what that's worth.
Alyssa continues down the hallway using the stone as a shield.
Reflex saves you two, +8 bonus and you both have evasion for it.
Ref/Cunning Insight:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+47 : 6 + 47, total 53[/blockquote]
> roll 1d20+37 evasion Ianvasah
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 43 > [d20=6]
You advance down the hall safely, reaching doors at the far end unburnt.
Alyssa throws the rock at the doors to bash them open.
Gimme CMB here, I suppose. +6 bonus.
CMB/Cunning Insight:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+65 : 17 + 65, total 82[/blockquote]
Wham! The doors give way, breaking beneath your stony assault.
Alyssa strides through, looking around the new room.
It leads to a stairway going down. Ianvasah takes one look at it and scowls, "No wonder...we can't miss the stairways going down," she mutters.
"Well, this or the next. They probably all lead down."
"They probably do," Ianvasah says, as she begins to head on down.
Alyssa follows, looking for traps.
Perception then, oh scary one.
Perception:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 14 + 48, total 62[/blockquote]
No traps this way, it looks clear as can be.
Alyssa keeps following Ianvasah.
'So, have you done any thinking on your ultimate goal? The nature of dragons?'
'Some,' Ianvasah says as you go down, the stairs uneventful. You reach the bottom - a stone cold dead end. Not a single path awaits you down here.
Alyssa inspect the area, looking for another trigger like before.
Perception:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 11 + 48, total 59[/blockquote]
You search about and find a hidden door on the southern wall, obscured and tucked away - but not hidden well enough.
Alyssa taps it with the skeleton key for the sake of it and opens it!
You tap the door open. When you do, a sudden burst of frigid cold engulfs the two of you.
Fortitude save. Note if immune to cold.
We're both immune to cold as part of daily spells.
Fort/Cunning Insight:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+36 : 8 + 36, total 44[/blockquote]
The burst of freezing air leaves ice over everything, but both of you are unharmed.
Alyssa keep going!
You walk ahead - and the moment you step in, the floor sinks slightly beneath your foot.
Alyssa floats using her flight ability, but stops and watches to see if it triggered another trap.
You look around. Nothing seems to have happened.
'The floor sunk here. Might have triggered something, but let's try to fly over.'
A nod as you take to the air and...
Give me Ref real quick.
Ref/Cunning Insight:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+39 : 11 + 39, total 50[/blockquote]
You dodge a sudden barrage, metal spikes fired from above. You dive to the side and down to avoid them, ending up back on the ground.
Alyssa frowns at them and tries to use her TK to rip them out of the ceiling as they go.
CMB.
CMB/Cunning Insight:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+65 : 17 + 65, total 82[/blockquote]
Hunks of ceiling and hidden spikes come down, ripped out and now a mess on the floor.
Alyssa floats one of the spikes over for inspection, to see if it could be useful.
It's a sharp looking iron spike. With a closer look, you can see hints of something greasy smeared over it.
Anythingto ID it? And just basic iron?
You can tell it's basic steel.
Gimme an K:N check as well.
K:N:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 3 + 48, total 51[/blockquote]
It's poison - you aren't clear what kind, and with your knowledge that suggests it's either obscure or something custom blended. Rare but not impossible.
'Poisoned. Not sure what it is.'
Alyssa TK floats all the spikes into her Haversack for later use or inspection.
Done and done. Now what?
Alyssa continues on!
Onward. Ahead awaits another door, closed shut.
Perception.
Perception:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 14 + 48, total 62[/blockquote]
It's locked and magically sealed.
Alyssa taps the Skeleton Key to it!
The door does not open - the magical seal does not give.
'Well, that's annoying.'
Alyssa takes a closer look at the magic with Detect Magic.
Spellcraft.
Spellcraft:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+60 : 7 + 60, total 67[/blockquote]
It's a custom spell - the only way the spell is going down is from the other side or being dispelled.
'Needs a dispel. Got a strong one?'
'I can spare another,' Ianvasah agrees.
Alyssa steps aside.
> roll 1d20+35
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 42 > [d20=7]
The seal on the door collapses, dispelled with a few words from Ianvasah.
Did it pop the lock too?
Yes.
Alyssa opens the door and heads in, keeping an eye out for traps.
Perception:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 12 + 48, total 60[/blockquote]
A long hall. You can't see more than about 50ft ahead in the strange, deep darkness. It goes on and on ahead.
Alyssa tries to rip another chunk of wall off again. Worked last time, after all.
You do so, stone torn away.
Alyssa starts dow the hallway, looking for traps and hidden doors as they go.
Perception:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 14 + 48, total 62[/blockquote]
Nothing so far. Yet as you go, you notice the darkness is not fading - by about 50ft ahead you can't see at all.
Blindsight says the corridor continues on.
'Darkness spell ahead, I think. Blindsense says it keeps going on. Got a daylight spell?'
'Sunbursts but I'm saving them,' Ianvasah says back.
'Alright. Let's keep close then.'
Alyssa keeps going, relying on her Blindsense and Tremorsense.
You walk ahead - and 15ft to the right after a bit you can sense something moving. A person?
'Movement, person possibly.'
'Right,' Ianvasah sends back, tense and ready.
Doing anything?
How far away are they?
15ft to the right of you, as said.
Alyssa reaches out for the person with her TK, trying to slam them to the wall and hold them there.
Blindsight lets you get around the concealment of darkness, so gimme a CMB.
TK CMB/Cunning Insight:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+65 : 3 + 65, total 68[/blockquote]
You slam a body back, which gets no reaction, but you feel it pressed back into the wall now.
Alyssa advances forward, looking for the end to the darkness, dragging the body along with them.
Give me Perception, will matter here.
Perception (+3 if underground terrain mastery applies):
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 3 + 48, total 51[/blockquote]
You stumble out - and it's a man. A man with no face, scarred over flesh where eyes, nose and mouth should be. The moment you see that...
Are you immune to fear?
Mindblank, CL 40.
Yet you hold firm against the terror, a look of something alien to you, something that screams wrongness to you.
Alyssa tries to inspect him, to figure out what he is or what the effect is. Once she does, she'll flip him around to face the wall.
K:A.
K:A (+3 if Underground Mastery applies):
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 20 + 48, total 68[/blockquote]
You don't recognize it as any sort of creature. Daemons sometimes do mutilations like this, as do Sharrans.
'Should we kill this one with the Chakram? Any idea what'll happen?'
'What is it?" Ianvasah sends back.
'Looks to be some poor mutilated creature. It's something Demons and Sharrans do, unfortunately.'
Is there something like Restoration that could cure/fix him? I'm not sure he'd want it, though, if he's been tortured.
Your knowledge lets you know he'd need a regenerate spell.
'I could maybe heal him with a Regenerate spell, but I don't have one ready, right now. I suppose we could knock him out and take him with us at the end if you want.'
A shift. Light. A moment of burning, bursting light from the shadows. It lasts only a moment, but illuminates ahead. Ahead they stand - six warriors clad in full armor and with tower shields, blocking the way in a larger room. They kneel on the defensive, spears at the ready. Behind them stand robed Sharrans, faces hidden by the shadows. Far behind them floats a sphere of absolute darkness, nothing but a void in reality.
Distance to them?
60ft to the warriors.
Okay, crazy time.
Alyss sends to Ianvasah, 'Take care of this one. I'm going to try something...'
Alyssa reaches out with her TK to try and grab hold of the Eye of Shar.
In that case, init.
Init:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+19 : 13 + 19, total 32[/blockquote]
> roll 1d20+12 Ianvasah
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 23 > [d20=11]
> roll 1d20+10 guardians
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 27 > [d20=17]
> roll 1d20+8 Sharans
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 15 > [d20=7]
> roll 1d20+21 Eye of Shar
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 26 > [d20=5]
Init is Alyssa (32) > Guardians (27) > Eye of Shar (26) > Ianvasah (23) > Sharrans (15)
Open.
Alyssa reaches out with her TK to try and grab hold of the Eye of Shar.
> roll 1d100 miss chance first
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 73 > [d100=73]
Got by it. CMB.
Knowledge Devotion: K:A:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+48 : 18 + 48, total 66[/blockquote]
36+ is a +5 Bonus.
TK CMB/Cunning Insight/Knowledge Devotion:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+70 : 4 + 70, total 74[/blockquote]
Success. Refresh me what you want to do with it if you grab it?
Bash it into the other Sharrans and hope it disintegrates them. Or at least causes enough havoc that Ianvasah can start picking them off.
Can you do that on this turn or do you need another turn for it?
I... Don't know? There's nothing in the TK spell write up about grabbing/grappling something and moving it, only that it requires a concentration thingy, which I do as a swift.
It's just a grapple then so no.
Init is Alyssa (32) > Guardians (27) > Eye of Shar (26) > Ianvasah (23) > Sharrans (15)
The guardians all stay on guard, blocking the way forward. They form a barrier of shields and spears, impassive and unrelenting.
Eye of Shar is up.
The Eye of Shar is still, it does not move as you hold it with your telekinesis.
Ianvasah.
With a sharp gesture Ianvasah calls, "Flames that burn away death and bring life, erupt!" A firestorm erupts around all of them, like a tempestuous inferno.
Auto quickened greater firestorm.
> roll 1d100 vs 50 for the eye first
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 13 > [d100=13]
Eye is not affected, other creatures are since they don't have a miss chance of the Eye's caliber.
> roll 1d20+22 guardians
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 41 > [d20=19]
> roll 1d20+31 Sharrans
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 37 > [d20=6]
Yet both groups entire the blasts of flames - while the flames around the eye distort, twist and move away from it. A wind begins to blow as Ianvasah holds her ground, "Sunlight!"
Sunstorm.
> roll 1d20+22 guardians
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 30 > [d20=8]
> roll 1d20+31 Sharrans
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 45 > [d20=14]
> roll 35d8
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 160 > [d8=6,1,4,8,6,4,4,4,1,1,1,5,7,4,1,8,4,3,4,4,2,8,2,8,5,6,7,7,7,7,1,8,6,5,1]
Sunlight wars with shadows and wars with winds and distortion. Everything is radiant and dark at once, a clashing melange of light and shadow. The Sharrans are scorced by it, scorched notably but not stopped, as one the dark priests turn and withdraw chakrams. They turn away from you and towards the Eye of Shar, and as one, slice their throats open. They collapse before the Eye of Shar, silent throughout, not a word uttered. Blood pools around them, spreading towards the Eye of Shar. Yet whenever any blood touches the Eye, it is gone in that instant.
The winds grow stronger by the moment, a considerable wind now blowing against all of you.
Alyssa, go.
Alyssa yanks the Eye forward, slamming it into the guardians!
We'll call that a ranged attack roll. Go ahead and make one.
TK Attack:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+65 : 17 + 65, total 82[/blockquote]
> roll 1d20+27
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 31 > [d20=4]
> roll 70d6
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 243 > [70d6=243]
You rip through the Guardians like nothing, disintegrating them to dust. But - as it's brought closer, suddenly silent winds pull at you, as if a hurricane has been unleashed. The winds suck you inward, a tremendous gale ripping through the room.
Eye of Shar is now taking its held action.
Reflex save, both of you.
Ref/Cunning Insight (10/13 Inspiration):
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+39 : 18 + 39, total 57[/blockquote]
> roll 1d20+29 Ianvasah
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 37 > [d20=8]
> roll 1d20+26 fort Ianvasah
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 29 > [d20=3]
> roll 70d6
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 232 > [70d6=232]
Somehow Alyssa holds her ground whilst Ianvasah is sucked in, slamming against the sphere. She screams and yet no sound comes out as parts of her are gone - her left arm and leg, much of her left side little more than dust. By some flare of magic and will she propels herself away a few seconds, winds tearing at her. Her blood gushes freely as it is sucked in towards the Eye of Shar, which pulses purple.
It's time to sleep, Ianvasah. Oblivion will end your pain.
Init is Alyssa (32) > Eye of Shar (26) > Ianvasah (23)
Ianvasah is up. Chance to react before I take her turn.
[spoiler]
Ianvasah
HP: 353/585 (fast healing 3)
Negative Conditions:
Aura:
Bonuses: Attack+0, Damage+0 AC+0, Saves+0, Skills+0, Checks+0
Resources: Protection Domain 1/1
Spells Used: Superb Dispellingx2, Greater Firestorm, Sunstorm,
SLAs Used:
Spells Active:
Notes: Has notes for shapeshift on her sheet.
'Let the dragonfire burn in you, Ianvasah. Show her a rage that she can't smother in her shadows. I can weaken it if you can heal yourself. And then we'll destroy it together.'
As Ianvasah's wounds partially heal, she shifts with a roar. She takes draconic form and sends out an line of electricity right at it, desperately trying to resist the winds.
Quickened Heal.
> roll 1d100 vs 50 miss chance first
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 21 > [d100=21]
Yet her breath is torn aside by the twisting winds and space, harmlessly sent away.
Go.
[spoiler]
Ianvasah
HP: 506/585 (fast healing 3)
Negative Conditions:
Aura:
Bonuses: Attack+0, Damage+0 AC+0, Saves+0, Skills+0, Checks+0
Resources: Protection Domain 1/1
Spells Used: Superb Dispellingx2, Greater Firestorm, Sunstorm,
SLAs Used:
Spells Active:
Notes: Has notes for shapeshift on her sheet.
Alyssa begins chanting out a spell!
Ectoplasmic Terrain, CL 40, 40 rounds.
Create terrain that slows to half speed if something moves through it and gives off day light. Setting brightness to just below blinding Ianvasah and Alyssa. Filling as much space as I can, leaving a direct path to it open.
Concentration check due to the winds.
Concentration/CL+Int check:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+50 : 19 + 50, total 69[/blockquote]
Thus bright, ectoplasmic terrain springs up amid the winds, radiant against the silent winds.
Anything else this turn?
Unless I can use a move action to shove it back some, no.
Thus even held, the Eye of Shar's winds howl at the both of you.
Reflex save. I'll rule the slowed momentum of the field is worth a +5 circumstance bonus to the save. The actual vortex doesn't care about how far it has to move you, so long as you're within the area of its effect, but that field's enough to warrant a save bonus.
Ref/Cunning Insight (9/13):
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+44 : 3 + 44, total 47[/blockquote]
> roll 1d20+34 Ianvasah
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 42 > [d20=8]
Fort both of you.
Fort/Cunning Insight (8/13):
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+36 : 10 + 36, total 46[/blockquote]
> roll 1d20+26 fort Ianvasah
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 46 > [d20=20]
> roll 70d6 Alyssa
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 225 > [70d6=225]
> roll 10d6 Ianvasah
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 35 > [d6=2,3,2,4,5,1,5,6,3,4]
What's that put Alyssa at?
177
Alyssa
HP: 177/402
AC: 58
Negative Conditions:
Aura:
AC: 39 +20% miss chance (Cloak of Minor Displacement)
Bonuses: Attack+1, Damage+1 AC+20, Saves+0, Skills+0 (+3 Terrain Bonus), +1d6 Sneak Attack Damage
Resources: Spell Push (10/10), 8/13 Inspiration,
Spells Active: Create Magic Tattoo: +1 CL/SR 35/+1 Luck to ATK, Mindblank, Energy Immunity Cold/Electricity/Acid/Sonic/Fire, Epic Mage Armor, Agility/Mind/Strength of the Dragon Princess, Elemental Body (Fire), Bibliotheca Arcana, Spiderskin
Notes: Immune: Fatigue/Diseases/Negative Levels/Planar Alignment Penalties/Death Spells/Death Effects/Energy Drain/Blood Loss/Gas/Vapors, Termorsense 30ft, True Seeing, Darkvision 60ft, Blindsense 30ft, Freedom of Movement
Agony. White hot agony tears at you as you hold the Eye of Shar, as you come in contact with it feet first. Like that your legs are gone ,a roar of agony as you land on your side. With a thrust of sheer telekinetic panic you get a few feet away from it, mind reeling. At the same time Ianvasah manages to dodge it this time, only a bit of bleeding along her leg.
Close your eyes now, Alyssa. It will be over soon. I'll hold you tenderly as you pass into oblivion.
Eye of Shari s done due to the grapple.
Init is Alyssa (32) > Eye of Shar (26) > Ianvasah (23)
Ianvasah is up.
Ianvasah screams something out, but you can't hear it. All you can hear is the beat of your heart, the gentle noise of blood splattering against the ground. All you can hear is the purple velvet of Shar's voice that is not a voice.
'ALYSSA!' In your mind, a silent call through your telepathic bond.
Chance to react before Ianvasah goes.
[spoiler]
Ianvasah
HP: 471/585 (fast healing 3)
Negative Conditions:
Aura:
Bonuses: Attack+0, Damage+0 AC+0, Saves+0, Skills+0, Checks+0
Resources: Protection Domain 1/1
Spells Used: Superb Dispellingx2, Greater Firestorm, Sunstorm,
SLAs Used:
Spells Active:
Notes: Has notes for shapeshift on her sheet.
Alyssa tries to focus past it, 'You've failed at temptation often enough, you should give it up!'
Also I'm sorry, forgot to include this in the post, but I need a concentration check to see if you lose concentration on TK since damage taken.
Concentration:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+50 : 10 + 50, total 60[/blockquote]
You lose concentration on your TK spell. In that case that changes the rest of the Eye's actions. Back tracking slightly.
Agony. White hot agony tears at you as you hold the Eye of Shar, as you come in contact with it feet first. Like that your legs are gone ,a roar of agony as you land on your side. With a thrust of sheer telekinetic panic you get a few feet away from it, mind reeling. At the same time Ianvasah manages to dodge it this time, only a bit of bleeding along her leg.
Close your eyes now, Alyssa. It will be over soon. I'll hold you tenderly as you pass into oblivion.
Freed of your grasp now, the Eye of Shar comes for you, like death to blot you out.
> roll 1d20+36
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 53 > [d20=17]
Touch AC?
30
Fortitude save. I highly suggest rolling well.
Fort/Cunning Insight:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+36 : 19 + 36, total 55[/blockquote]
> roll 10d6 made the save
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 26 > [d6=1,1,1,1,3,6,4,1,2,6]
Yet some half formed desire and will is enough, thrusting you away from that touch, only the barest tickle of it taking a chunk of your middle. Yet you're still intact - for now.
Ianvasah.
'Alyssa!' Ianvasah screams into your mind, 'We need a retreat! This is out of control!'
'Heal us and I'll try the Words of Creation to lock it down!'
'In that shape?'
'That's what your heal is for!'
> roll 1d20+48 concentration
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 61 > [d20=13]
Ianvasah shifts back before with a cry she calls silently, yet words flow and the party is mended.
Mass Heal, +250 HP both of you. Go.
Alyssa focuses and tries to visualize the familiar stone skewers spell while calling out with the Words of Creation, "Pierce!"
Concentration check first because of the winds.
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+50 : 3 + 50, total 53[/blockquote]
> roll 1d100 vs 50
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 55 > [d100=55]
Got through his miss chance. Damage and any save or attack roll needed?
Did you want me to have it roll the same as the spell? I was just using stone Skewersas a visualization thing to help focus. Do you want the damage to be the same? My intent was to kill this thing as much as possible.
Oh no, that's my bad, for some reason I read it as you actually casting the spell. My brain is not agile. Go ahead and give me an Intelligence check first.
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+11 : 18 + 11, total 29[/blockquote]
Cool. Give me a Charisma check then. Good luck.
Cha:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+15 : 4 + 15, total 19[/blockquote]
Thus you focus your willpower - and pain comes, your damaged body unable to do master those powers.
Anything else this turn? That was your standard action.
Did I take any damage?
Alyssa flies away to get some distance!
No, you did not - it was just a flat failure. Do you have freedom of movement or anything to help with the winds?
Freedom of movement, yeah.
Where are you moving precisely and how far can you move?
Speed is 70ft, and generally just away out of immediate danger.
You fly away to the edge of your range, outside of the howling winds, as they wreak havoc.
> roll 1d20+34 Ianvasah
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 41 > [d20=7]
> roll 1d20+26 Ianvasah Fort
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 43 > [d20=17]
> roll 70d6
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 246 > [70d6=246]
Yet Ianvasah cannot escape the winds and is pressed against it, her other leg gone now, a silent scream as she howls in agony, all as the Eye tries to run into her.
> roll 1d20+36 touch AC
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 42 > [d20=6]
> roll 1d20+26 Ianvasah Fort
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 46 > [d20=20]
> roll 10d6 Ianvasah's lucky
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 29 > [d6=3,2,2,2,5,5,4,1,4,1]
More of her is gone, more offered up to Shar as you flee, as you get room and out of the range of those horrible winds.
Go ahead and react, Ianvasah's up next in my next post.
[spoiler]
Ianvasah
HP: 313/585 (fast healing 3)
Negative Conditions:
Aura:
Bonuses: Attack+0, Damage+0 AC+0, Saves+0, Skills+0, Checks+0
Resources: Protection Domain 1/1
Spells Used: Mass Heal, Superb Dispellingx2, Greater Firestorm, Sunstorm,
SLAs Used:
Spells Active:
Notes: Has notes for shapeshift on her sheet.
I mean, there's nothing for me to really do here. We've failed pretty much every roll since the grapple.
'Ianvasah, get clear, I'm going to try again! Get safe and heal and come back!'
> roll 1d20+48 concentration
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 68 > [d20=20]
FoM.
With a burst of magic Ianvasah transforms again and moves freely - yet much of her is gone even as a dragon as she stumbles forward, trying to fly with one wing and the pushes of her foreclaws.
Call a Dex check here too.
> roll 1d20+4
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 19 > [d20=15]
She manages to half fly, half flop to just past you, lying there bleeding. It gets her out of the winds - for now.
Go.
Alyssa tries to use the Words of Creation again to strike it, this time focusing on the exact opposite of the Eye of Shar, focusing on the concepts of light and life to try and negate it!, "Create a Counter!"
Give me a Charisma check again.
Cha:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+15 : 2 + 15, total 17[/blockquote]
Yet you can't muster it - your will's exhausted. At least it feels that way, the words like cold blades within your flesh.
Anything else this round?
Do whatever.
The Eye fearlessly flies right back up to you - only 10ft away now. The winds howl at you, tugging at you more and more.
At least it doesn't provoke another suction yet due to the way the ability's written.
Ianvasah will hold a moment in case you can pull a rabbit out of your hat because she's in a bad way.
Alyssa starts casting a spell!
Time Stop, CL 40.
[blockquote]Rolled 1d4+1 : 1 + 1, total 2[/blockquote]
You speed up, giving you two rounds of precious time.
Go ahead.
Whoops, forgot to include the concentration check. Give that to me real quick.
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+50 : 10 + 50, total 60[/blockquote]
Very good, carry on.
Alyssa begins casting spells!
Round 1: Effulgent Epuration, CL 40.
40 Spheres, each of these spheres can absorb and completely negate any spell or spell-like ability, regardless of level, that directly targets the subject. rea spells and spells that do not actually have a target cannot be absorbed. Only spells and spell-like abilities of deific power can overcome the protection provided by Effulgent Epuration.
Round 2: Antimagic Field, CL 40.
Placing this so that the Eye is in it and I'm not. That'd put it right on the edge of it, but it's better than nothing.
Antimagic Field's area is a 10ft radius emanation, centered on you. You rather have to be in it.
Oh shit, for some reason I thought it was a wall.
In that case..
Round 2: Space Compression, CL 40.
In front of us, with the other opening behind the Eye at the far end of the Ectoplasmic Terrain. Intent here is to have the area in front of us channeling the winds to the back behind it so it can't get to us.
391/402 HP.
Okay, I had a long think about this. I'm not going to impose anything for now, but I reserve the right to adjust the Eye of Shar later to account for this. It's simply a case where something like Space Compression and the Eye of Shar weren't written with each other in mind, even if they hit the same areas.
That being said, bear in mind Space Compression is a single point. It's not going to stop all of the windstorm.
Okay, how big is a single point?
A 5ft square.
Can I position it so that Ianvasah and I can both step through it with a 5 ft step?
You could not. Ianvasah's not in a position to take them anyway, she's movement impaired.
Can I drop it on Ianvasah and dump her away?
You could manifest it next to her but she'd still have to go through.
Round 2: Space Compression, CL 40.
Putting the point next to Ianvasah, between her and the Eye.
Move action: Stand next to both so that I can help her through and then follow.
And refresh me where the exit point is real quick?
Far side, other side of the Ectoplasmic Terrain. Behind it.
Quick str check.
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+12 : 14 + 12, total 26[/blockquote]
You shove Ianvasah through as time resumes, as...
Ianvasah's up.
'We need to run,' Ianvasah says, 'We can't throw our lives away in a battle we can't win, Alyssa!'
'Teleportation wasn't working before, I doubt it will now. What's your plan?'
'RUN!' Ianvasah says, 'Do something besides die! I don't want to die here!'
'Then rage and burn the world! I won't stop trying! You're one of the most powerful druids in the planes! Turn into something with regeneration or throw magic around like you mean it!'
> roll 1d100 vs 50
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 3 > [d100=3]
> roll 1d4
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 3 > [d4=3]
Ianvasah rears back and spews lighting at the Eye, yet it's twisted away, crackling at the wall instead.
The winds pull at you, howling at you, pulling you in towards the Eye.
Ref.
[spoiler]
Ianvasah
HP: 313/585 (fast healing 3)
Negative Conditions:
Aura:
Bonuses: Attack+0, Damage+0 AC+0, Saves+0, Skills+0, Checks+0
Resources: Protection Domain 1/1
Spells Used: Mass Heal, Superb Dispellingx2, Greater Firestorm, Sunstorm,
SLAs Used:
Spells Active:
Notes: Has notes for shapeshift on her sheet.
Ref/Cunning Insight (8/13):
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+39 : 5 + 39, total 44[/blockquote]
Yet it's too much for Alyssa, dragged in towards the Eye of Shar once more, dragged towards the ever present call of oblivion.
Fort.
Fort/Cunning Insight (7/13):
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+36 : 12 + 36, total 48[/blockquote]
> roll 70d6
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 244 > [70d6=244]
HP?
147.
Pain. The world goes red and then dim, dimming by the moment. More of you is gone as you lie there, somehow the Eye is above you now. Superimposed over it is a beautiful maiden, eyes closed. Her long, black hair is straight and she wears empty black as a gown. Her arms are open, as if to embrace you as the Eye of Shar comes down towards your chest.
Existence ends now, Alyssa. Your pain and suffering end. Your pointless struggles end. Sleep. All of Creation will soon join you.
> roll 1d20+36
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 37 > [d20=1]
Lucky you.
Yet somehow a single word passes your lips. You barely hear your own lips utter, "Shaundakul." Yet the invocation gives the Eye of Shar the faintest pause, a split second that lets you push back and away, rolling aside from it for another frantic moment, all as the silent winds blow.
Go.
Alyssa tries to focus and call on the words of creation again, this time focusing on the concept of imprisonment, "CONTAIN IT!"
Charisma, same as before.
Cha:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+15 : 10 + 15, total 25[/blockquote]
> roll 77d4 nonlethal
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 187 > [77d4=187]
This knocks you out, but isn't immediately lethal since it's nonlethal damage. So I can track time, do you have any fast healing active?
As Moore did against an Eye of Shar, you found one of the three secret uses of the Words of Creation. Same result here, too.
Something tears inside of you as you utter the words. Yet in spite of it the Eye pauses one moment.
A saving throw of 10 + 1/2 your hit dice + your Charisma modifier would be what, Alyssa?
DC 31, no fast healing or anything, but I automatically stabilize if it comes to that.
> roll 1d20+13 at least constructs have crappy saves
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 33 > [d20=20]
Yet it isn't enough. Your grasp on the Words is not enough. You pass into the gentle embrace of exhaustion, and you feel Shar's arms catch you. Numbness spreads, all feeling lost. Yet as you do, you see Ianvasah begin to shift back to a human.
Ianvasah's up.
> roll 1d20+48 concentration
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 60 > [d20=12]
Okay, do you have any cold resistance that's innate and not from a spell that's active on you?
Nope.
Okay, you're out cold, so first of all thanks to Ianvasah casting antimagic zone as her last ditch we're all fucked spell, all magic is suppressed. That includes your stat booster. Give me your current/max hit points after they're adjusted down for the loss of Constitution?
I lose 70 hp from the stat booster. 77/332
Thanks, I'll adjudicate while you're out.
> roll 1d6
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 1 > [d6=1]
> roll 1d6
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 1 > [d6=1]
> roll 1d6
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 6 > [d6=6]
> roll 1d20+32 (-4 non proficiency/improvised using its body to bludgeon)
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 45 > [d20=13]
> roll 1d3 nonlethal
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 1 > [d3=1]
> roll 2d8+18
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 31 > [d8=7,6]
Fort save without any magical boosters, Alyssa.
1d20+17
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+17 : 10 + 17, total 27[/blockquote]
...
...
...
...
How long have you walked?
The road ahead of you is long but at last you've come to the end.
You sit down at the end of this long road and slake your thirst on a spring here. The water is cold and chases away your pain. You sit there after, thoughtless and yet aware.
"It was a good journey," His voice is familiar to you, yet you cannot place it. "You walked it well, Alyssa."
Your hands. Your hands. Both of your hands.
You look down at them.
Something terrible happened.
Numb.
Shar's touch as a moment of horror shudders through you like a knife to the stomach. Your hands are still here. Your legs are still here. Your body isn't half gone.
A hand on your shoulder, the horror gone as if a nightmare that is vanquished by the morning sun. A warm touch that revitalizes you.
"You're safe now, Alyssa. I had hoped not to see you like this for a long time yet, but death often walks with travelers." Shaundakul's voice as his hand rests on your shoulder, sunlight from above, good and bright and alive.
"Could you at least get Ianvasah out?"
"I'm sorry." Shaundakul says, "Ianvasah gave everything to give your soul a chance to fly free instead of to Shar's oblivion." His voice is gentle, kind. "She ended your life while the Eye was suppressed by her magic, and it answered her hope in doing so. She could not repeat it for herself."
"Pass that on to the others. Perhaps they can still save her."
"I have," Shaundakul says, "But Shar did not let both of her prey free."
"Pass on to the others that I fought to the last. It's all any of us can do in this fight."
"Tell them yourself," Shaundakul says, "Stand up. You're no ordinary worshiper, you aren't to become another minor spirit."
"I'd trade it for Ianvasah if I could."
Shaundakul nods as he begins to walk. "For now, walk, your friends will be with you soon."
Alyssa heads forward.
Thus you step forward and...
Condolences and rest well, Ianvasah.
Now then. As her mortal life is over, Shaundakul has chosen to incarnate Alyssa as an outsider. A favored one, so you keep your memories and powers. How this is handled mechanically depends somewhat, I'll talk to you on IRC about it. For now this topic is locked.