Gaston Blackacre |
Blackacre glares at the darkness.
Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20
Reflex: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12
Network |
Gaston Blackacre |
Blackacre briefly gapes at the sight of the cul-de-sac/nothingness. What the...?
Network |
From the darkness, a red blob careens towards your group and crashes into Blackacre, spraying him with blood, nearly bowling him over. It is the gnome driver. He is chewed up, mangled almost beyond recognition. His little head is severed almost completely from his body. His eyes stare in shock, and his limbs spasm in death throes. It is then that you notice the carriage and horses are nowhere to be found.
From the void, there is grim evil laughter.
Gaston Blackacre |
Gggnnnnhhh!
Blackacre staggers back, attempts to shake some of the gnome's blood off of him, and draws his sword.
I'm afraid we're on foot from here.
La Siréene |
The gnome has been destroyed. Pity, that.
La Siréene reaches out and rips off the head from its loose attachment to the Gnome's body, lifts it up to her face and closes the eyes, then neatly places the head atop what remains of the torso.
"The laughter. An antagonist."
She shifts her head, attempting to figure out the direction of the laughter.
Perception check: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (2) + 16 = 18
Kwanjan Quinn |
Quinn produces his bow and pulls out 2 durable arrows from his magical quiver. He moves over to Gaston to make sure he is ok. He then looks over to the doctor and says "Doctor quick....Is there anything you can do for him?" Then he realizes that he is beyond saving and watches La Sireene place the head on the body.
Perception Check: Location of the laughter 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (3) + 15 = 18
The young monk looks to make sure the Glamer is intact and then says in a low voice,"The Glamer was suppose to be a disguise. Looks like the bad guys knows who we are and what we look like now. I'm wondering if the drowess ratted us out."
La Siréene |
La Siréene considers Quinn's theory.
"Doubt it. The Glamer was an investment on her part. Waste to have us killed."
She looks over the bloody mess that was the gnome a second time.
"We should have tipped. Rude to leave a mess on her doorstep."
La Siréene giggles at Sandru’s comment.
"Good point. He's certainly prejudiced. I’ve never been particular to neither fear nor prejudice, myself. It’s usually a hindrance."
Umbral dragon |
The warping void of the cul-de-sac snaps to. The shadows part, and begin to evaporate. You see the original cul-de-sac back in place. But this time, it's filled with skeletons and corpses piled in the gloom around the edges.
In the center, lumbers an umbral dragon. This one is merely a whelpling. Yet, it is enormous. It flattens down its head and roars. The sound is deafening, like a bull elephant, a dire bear, and a lion all mixed together.
"RRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!"
The square shakes with bass, sonic reverb.
"I am Harbinger," the dragon introduces himself. His voice rumbles like thunder, deep and elemental. "I am deciding whether I'm hungry enough to eat you." He flicks his tongue along his fangs, working something in his maw like a toothpick. He spits it out at you.
Twin rapiers skid across the cobblestones and land at your feet.
"After all, I've already had seconds." He laughs again.
Kwanjan Quinn |
Quinn responds to Sandu's and La Sireene's comments,"The drow are known for their malicious intents and deeds. My mother's people know full well what they can do. .....and by the way....fear keeps us frosty and prejudice...well everyone has a bias against something.
Now....Half-orc....what do you intend to do about this threat?"
Ianez Gastnicht |
With a +10 in Knowledge (Arcana) and the ability to take 10 on all trained Knowledge checks, Ianez is familiar with the properties of dragons up to CR 15, so I assume he knows roughly what the beast is capable of.
So he didn't make it after all.... The archaeologist tightens up to keep from trembling and speaks, trying to sound calm. "There's not a lot we could do to stop you if that was your choice, Master Harbinger. Is there anything we could do to induce you to choose otherwise?"
La Siréene |
"I prefer Gastons paranoia to your fear. Everyone does have a bias, though." Except for myself, obviously. I wonder what Sandru is biased against?
La Siréene turns to the Umbral Dragon.
"I," she makes a short pause,am La Siréene Dorée. Pleased to meet you. The owner of the swords was Darius the Second, incidentally. Was he to your taste?
I want to Jedi Mind Trick this guy. Do I get a surprise round for getting him talking and interrupting him with it?
Sandru |
I scrape together some bit of courage or maybe a lot of foolishness. Striding out to stand between the others and the dragon, my hands are empty and raised. Unarmed.
WAIT!
We can be of use to you... You are hungry. What is it you want... What do you need. Maybe we can strike some deal and help you find it. How many have offered this?
Network |
Umbral dragon |
The dragon flares a nostril and raises one of its scaly brows at Ianez. "You are correct to not resist, little unit. My master would be pleased."
He smiles at the druid. "Ha, ha! Oh, yes, your friend was delicious."
Finally, he looks down at the tiny supplicant at his feet. You see lighted binary scroll across his eyes. The dragon's voice becomes tinny...robotic. "GoOd. A VoLuNtEeR. wE wIlL kIlL yOu NoW. YoUr PoOr, pOoR SaD LiTtLe wOrLd. We HaVe ThE pOwEr To MaKe YoU bEtTeR."
The air vibrates with a deep sonic thrum that hurts your eardrums.
Shafts of bright blue light pierce the dark, roiling storm clouds overhead and hit the cul-de-sac in five different places.
Roll initiative.
Ianez - 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15
La Siréene - 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14
Hareton - 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13
Gaston Blackacre |
Me too with the dragon knowledge...+2 to identify his abilities and weaknessesKnowledge(arcana): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22
Also, initiative
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20
Network |
There is something unusual about this dragon. The magical energies about it are unusually strong; it has an arcane signature you've never seen before. It's unclear whether this is inherent to its nature or because it absorbed that energy after having eaten undead from whatever place it is from. Anyway, you can tell it is the same arcane energy that's affecting you.
Umbral dragon |
As Harbinger turns and readies to fight, you all notice what looks like a large glass beaker affixed to the base of his skull. It is filled with glowing bright green liquid that sloshes about as he moves. There are tubes coming out of the beaker that curve around and attach to several ports on his head and neck.
Network |
(If there is anything wrong with the map, pls let me know, thx.)
@Sandru - The beaker with liquid is made of thick glass with a magical ward placed upon it (it has AC comparable to the dragon and lots of hit points, but is probably vulnerable to certain kinds of attacks.) The tubes look like they could be removed from the ports (there are four of them, again with AC and lots of HP, or alternatively a high CMB check). The entire apparatus gets partial cover. It's unclear exactly what the result would be if you were to disable the device.
@Ianez - There is nothing in the shafts of light, but they touch ground near the some of the dead bodies.
Kwanjan Quinn |
Quinn looks around at his current situation. He realizes that this rabble that stands next to him is made of hearty stuff. The same that he is made out of. He know that each one of his new friends has strengths in areas that he lacks in. "OK.... anyone has any info on this creature? Strengths, weaknesses? Anything that will help increase the odds in our favor."
Umbral dragon |
The dragon's head readjusts. Sharp, mechanical movements.
...45 degrees to the left...
...down at Sandru...
Its eyes focus, refocus on him.
...pinpoint targeting..."UNIT:SANDRU"...
...threat level:MEDIUM...
"Muah, ha, ha, ha, ha! I am freerrwwrrrweEE hAve ThE..." BZZZT! The head tics. This last part smooth, lyrical synth glissando "...PoWeR tO mAkE YoU BeTteR."
The green liquid in the flask on its neck gently sloshes.
Gaston Blackacre |
Careful, comrades. This beast is immune to cold, death effects, negative energy, paralysis, and sleep, and it will attack with both its body and its hideous breath.
As he advises his mates, Blackacre steps carefully around the dragon From M16 through L15,K14,K13, and K12 to L11 (Move action). He then imbues his weapon with bane (dragon)(swift action) and roars at the umbral dragon, Back to the shadows with you, filth!
attack: 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 7 + 1 + 2 = 29
damage: 1d10 + 4 + 1 + 2d6 ⇒ (5) + 4 + 1 + (3, 6) = 19
confirm crit: 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 7 + 1 + 2 = 19
additional damage: 1d10 + 4 + 1 + 2d6 ⇒ (6) + 4 + 1 + (2, 4) = 17
Network |
Blackacre's sword shines with light, which flares on both sides in the shape of a dragon. The glow undulates around the blade, then absorbs and melds into it, causing it to flash with a metallic shing!
This opening foray proves auspicious. The baned weapon swings true and finds its mark. The inquisitor hits the dragon's flank! It roars in pain.
Not confirmed, so the dragon takes 19 damage.
Caromarc's turn.
Earl J V Caromarc |
Caromarc intones some mystic words
Ear Piercing Scream
1d20 ⇒ 18
If Caromarc (with his craft alchemy, craft mechanics, multiple item creation feats and knowledge arcana) thinks the vial might be shattered by a sonic spell, he'll aim for that, otherwise he'll aim for the dragon and hope to stun it.
3d6 ⇒ (5, 1, 1) = 7 DC17
then hobbles forward to N13 then vanishes, appearing behind the Dragon at N10
Hopefuly Setting Sandru up for a flanking sneak attack
Mechanical Manservant |
The Manservant stalks forwards, attached scythe clicking as he walks in his dark robe. As he appraoches to O14 he rips a figure from the robe.
"I have some thing for you, shadow" he intones, and flicks the figure at the ground
Using Robe of Bones to put an uncontrolled Plague Ogre Zombie O12-P13
Ianez Gastnicht |
Round 1:
Seeing the tank of liquid attached to the dragon, Ianez has an odd idea. Invoking his luck (swift action) and rushing forward (to L-13), the archaeologist casts delay poison and tries to touch the monster.
Touch attack (includes luck bonus and +2 for flanking): 1d20 + 5 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 5 + 2 + 2 = 11
The effect of the spell is to render the subject temporarily immune to poison for the next six hours, although damage done by poison before the spell is cast remains.
Network |
The magician's soundwaves radiate out in a cone of concentric circles towards the dragon. The beast reels from the cacophony, rears its head back, but manages to shake off the more debilitating effects.
The dragon takes 3 damage.
However, due to the unstable arcane field surrounding Caromarc, his spell results in an unanticipated side-effect. Gigantic roots erupt from the ground and wrap around the legs of the dragon, ensnaring it.
The dragon gains the Entangled condition for one round.