Benedictus summons 1 bralani azata and tells him to attack the undead while he double moves toward the enemy.
Benedictus summons a powerful azata who hits it once with his bow, the arrow plunging deep into the baykok.
The baykok shoots back at the azata with his bow, launching a rib from the dead creature bones which forms to a deadly arrow in his hands. He flies into the air as he does so, his bony form clacking away as he climbs to 30’ without wings.
(d6 is negative energy, plus Fort DC 17 or paralyzed rounds)
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Round 1, Init 10
"This gunna be an archery contest, is it? HA! What fun! I don't think I've ever done one of them! This will be fun," Zilchus moves out of the chariot and draws his bow as he moves behind a rock. He tries to remember how to shoot a bow and hopes that Nidhi's singing overcomes his unfamiliarity with the bow.
Florence, I have you about 80' + height from the target, give or take (the measure tool is generous I've found), but still close enough (range 120' on lighting bolt). No SR necessary. What's the DC though?
...never mind. I think he made it. Still, he takes 14hp damage.
Round 1:
Nidhi is the last to act in the round. Nidhi casts Good Hope (PRD Link) on everyone in her party and pulls out her longbow.
The azata only takes partial damage from the arrow due to his natural damage reduction, then quickly retaliates.
Still standing behind his summoned ally, Benedictus directs his friends' attacks with his prescience.
Bralani, Azata
hp 76/80
Conditions none
Bralani Azata (Augment) CR 6
CG Medium Outsider (azata, chaotic, extraplanar, good, shapechanger)
Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +15
Defense
AC 20, touch 14, flat-footed 16 (+4 Dex +6 natural )
HP 80 (7d10+42)
Fort +11, Ref +9, Will +6
DR 10/cold iron or evil Immune electricity, petrification Resist cold 10, fire 10 SR 17
Offense
Speed 40 ft., fly 100 ft. (perfect)
Melee +1 Scimitar +15/+10 (1d6+11/18-20) or Slam +14 (1d6+10)
Ranged +1 Composite Longbow +12/+7 (1d8+8/x3)
Special Attacks whirlwind blast
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th)
At Will—blur, charm person (DC 13), gust of wind (DC 14), mirror image, wind wall
2/day—lightning bolt (DC 15), cure serious wounds
Statistics
Str 24, Dex 18, Con 23, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 15
Base Atk +7, CMB +14, CMD 28
Feats Blind-Fight, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Skill Focus (Perception)
Skills Bluff +12, Fly +22, Handle Animal +12, Perception +15, Ride +14, Sense Motive +12, Stealth +14
Languages Celestial, Draconic, Infernal, Truespeech
SQ wind form
Special Abilities
Whirlwind Blast (Su) When in wind form, a bralani can attack with a scouring blast of wind, dealing 3d6 points of damage in a 20-foot line (Reflex DC 19 half). The save DC is Constitution-based.
Wind Form (Su) A bralani can shift between its humanoid body and a body made of wind and mist as a standard action. In humanoid form, it cannot fly or use its whirlwind blast. In wind form, it functions as if under the effects of a wind walk spell. It can make slam attacks and use spell-like abilities in either form. A bralani remains in one form until it chooses to assume its other form. A change in form cannot be dispelled, nor does the bralani revert to any particular form when killed (both shapes are its true form). A true seeing spell reveals both forms simultaneously.
Zilchus dismounts and readies his bow. Florence launches a lighting bolt at the undead who rattles with the effort of remaining in the air. Stelle DMPC moves off the wagon and draws a short composite bow taking a single shot, stinging it. Nidhi provides hope to those who will use it as she draws her bow and prepares for ranged combat. Benedictus provides a boost while his summons does additional damage hitting once.
The Baykok winds up and lets loose a volley on the Azata - intent on bringing the creature low despite the DR he faces. Rib bones clatter as they form into arrows launched into the desert heat.
(d6 is negative energy, plus Fort DC 17 or paralyzed rounds)
(2d6 is negative energy, plus Fort DC 17 or paralyzed rounds)
(d6 is negative energy, plus Fort DC 17 or paralyzed rounds)
(d6 is negative energy, plus Fort DC 17 or paralyzed rounds)
Though he connects twice, he only does a little damage once. Frustrated he considers his options.
Though the paralyzation is carried on a negative energy attack, it is not specifically an energy drain, nor a touch attack, so if no damage gets through the DR no fort save is required for this particular creature.
- - -
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Round 2, Init 10
Zilchus stumbles to the rock, putting his hand on the rock..and only then does he realize the rock, the plants, the water...IT'S ALL A MIRAGE!!!
Looking at the bow in his hand, he realizes that it's HIS SLING! Zilchus looks at the sun, then at the sling, and then at the foe. He shakes his head, wondering what is wrong with him.
Nonetheless, he stands tall in the open, empty desert and twirls his mighty sling (which is totally bad ass, he's sure) and let's loose with a stone. A simple stone. At range (two range increments, really).
to hit; (+bard, hope, magic,-range)
damage.
Zilchus will load another stone after he fires.
[ dice]1d20+13+2+2[/dice] to hit; (+hero, +bard)
[ dice]2d4+13+2+2[/dice] adamantine slashing damage. (+bard,+hope)
[ dice]1d20+6+2+2[/dice] to hit; (+hero, +bard)
[ dice]2d4+13+2+2[/dice] adamantine slashing damage. (+bard,+hope)
HP: 82/82
AC: 26/23 (7 armor+1, 2 dex, 1 dodge, +3 buckler +2 ring)
DF:0/10
Weap: 0/10 rounds used (+2 bonus/flame/frost)
Grunting/Summoning: 0/8 used (+5)
Quick Prayer: 1/8 used
PoP1: 0/1 used
Armor: 0/10 minutes used
Crocodilic Aura: 0/6 used (5d6)
Smite: not used
Grit: not used
Panache: are you kidding me?
Ki: not used
Rage: maybe later
vs DC 17 or blinded
oooof, that took the wind out of his sales. Florence manages to blind the poor undead creature as the rest of the party lines up on him.
Round 2:
Nidhi begins to sing, inspiring her party. She aims at the creature and fires an arrow.
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Round 2, Init 5
Stelle aims and fires.
for
for
Sheylyn, I hate bows.
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Zilchus launches his arrow stone into the air and connects with the foul undead. Florence manages to blind the poor undead creature as the rest of the party lines up on him. Stelle hits again, continuing to pester the baykok. Nidhi begins to inspire and takes a pot shot which misses. Benedictus DMPC continues his foretelling, as his Azata tries to pincushion the blind baykok though he misses with both shots (DM luck).
The baykok screeches at his blindness, he screeches at his inability to harm the one doing the most damage, and he screeches at the world in general. Finished, he flies high into the air and far from the party, as he begins to make his escape, flying like the wind.*
vs DC 10 *
- - -
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Round 3, Init 10
Zilchus flicks a stone as hard and far as he can at the retreating guttersnipe.
to hit; (+bard, hope, magic,-range)
damage.
Duly submitted research has lead to this previous ruling on flying, blind in desert. (Per Roadrunner v. Coyote, 1956).
That's precedent right there.
[ dice]1d20+13+2+2[/dice] to hit; (+hero, +bard)
[ dice]2d4+13+2+2[/dice] adamantine slashing damage. (+bard,+hope)
[ dice]1d20+6+2+2[/dice] to hit; (+hero, +bard)
[ dice]2d4+13+2+2[/dice] adamantine slashing damage. (+bard,+hope)
HP: 82/82
AC: 26/23 (7 armor+1, 2 dex, 1 dodge, +3 buckler +2 ring)
DF:0/10
Weap: 0/10 rounds used (+2 bonus/flame/frost)
Grunting/Summoning: 0/8 used (+5)
Quick Prayer: 1/8 used
PoP1: 0/1 used
Armor: 0/10 minutes used
Crocodilic Aura: 0/6 used (5d6)
Smite: not used
Grit: not used
Panache: are you kidding me?
Ki: not used
Rage: maybe later
Round 3:
Nidhi doesn't think to waste another arrow on the creature. She also stops singing, but the effects of her song seem to linger for another two rounds. "Back on the chariot! We gotta save that baby bee!" For purely honest and noble reasons, Nidhi adds silently, even though it's a lie.
Ben orders his bralani to keep firing at the undead as it tries to fly away.
vs DC 15 (from last round to shake the blindness)
vs DC 10
He can 'run' this round so he's now 240' further away from his current position and still up. If you wish, feel free to make another bow shot, factoring in range increments. Might take him down yet.
Zilchus stows his sling and looks around as the mirage slowly fades from his eyes.
"Ah, that was good, wasn't it? Want to check that body before we continue on? Ben, bring the chariot up!" Zilchus says he walks to inspect the body.
Perception
Stelle shrugs. What the Hells. C'mon Luck!
Round 4:
Nidhi, who never strayed far from the chariot, positions herself at the front to drive (or backseat drive.) "So are we staying to explore or moving on?" She tilts her head and places a hand on her hip. "Is there anything to see here?" She casts a critical eye to the landscape around them.
Fearing that the undead could act as a spy, Ben orders the bralani to keep firing his bow.
The bralani just manages to bring down the undead at range. It takes some trundling across the desert to reach his body. All he has of value is a +1 composite (+3) longbow.
You search what’s left of the dead girtablilu, and find a few things of value. You find a scorpion tail whip*, a composite longbow (+2 Strength), a quiver with 20 arrows and two +1 arrows, a small pouch containing 43gp, and a decorative golden amulet engraved with a spiraling scorpion’s tail (worth 85gp).
- - -
- - -
- - -
- - -
It is rather late in the day and you were considering making camp. However, there are still two more hours of chariot magics left.
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Zilchus tromps over to claim the bow that he thought he had all this time...and the arrows too. "Just like I thought I saw...now I have..." Zilchus says holding up the bow with an idea, looking around the desert for some mirage maidens...
* * *
Know (Religion)
Survival (track,+lens)
"Well, it came from the north," Zilchus says, looking at the tracks coming from that direction.
"Well, it came from the north,"
Oh?
Stelle takes a look.
"So it did. I wonder if it came by way of Cultists? If we want to find out by following the trail, we had better hurry. The wind here is quickly destroying the tracks."
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"Uh...what are you doing?"
"What? Oh nothing, nothing," Zilchus says, squinting to the desert, looking hopefully in any direction. "You don't happen to see any mirages out there, do you? Maybe some maidens? You know, that totally don't exist like this bow?"
Zilchus refocuses closer, to the amulet in Florence.
"Personal effect? A personal effect? Like Nidhi's voice? Or Ben's boring books? I have some personal effects of my own..." Zilchus lets out a well timed fart.
Nidhi looks at the bows, then her own bow. She decides her bow is better and suggests the others make use of the new weapons.
"If we can find his family they'd probably like to have it back because passing these things from generation to generation is a pretty big deal within their culture."
Nidhi makes a face, "That will be an interesting conversation. 'Here's his precious jewelry - oh, by the way, we're the ones to killed him.'" Nidhi leans her head forward conspiratorially, "let's do it. I want to see their reaction. Maybe he was a 'bad egg' - scorpion, whatever. You think they will know about the stolen bee?"
"I hope he's not youngest generation in his family. Wouldn't that be a waste," Nidhi jokes morbidly.
Girtablilu? Generations? Here?
Stelle casts a long look in all directions at the bleak sandy landscape.
They must be adaptable, if nothing else. Except against undead.
"Girtablilu?" asks Stelle, looking at the corpse. "I do not know Girtablilu...Whether the amulet have value or not, should we run into more of his kin -- we might keep an open mind."
She turns to Zilchus.
"As for you, maybe it would best suit everyone if you kept your personal affects to yourself."
She turns back to face north, and the tracks leading there and beyond.
"Let's follow the tracks. What do you all think?"
She takes the bow dropped by the undead and holds it out to Anubis.
"Find baykok," she commands. And maybe baby bees too.
"Let's go wherever you prefer. I do not have anything to add," says Benedictus, a bit uncomfortable with Zilchus's gross humour. He refrains from commenting, urging instead his companions to gather the treasures and move on.
Nidhi waits for everyone to be ready, while also distancing herself from the stink cloud Zilchus released.
Zilchus walks away (chuckling inwardly at his great sense of humor and comedic timing), back to the chariot, ready to move north and follow the tracks as long as light allows.
He will test to see if his parasol will fit within his new quiver, hoping to have a better place to store the artifact of light-protection.
"Let's go! Let's go! We need to move! We don't have much light!" Zilchus urges, following his eyes or Annie's nose.
You travel at speed, with occasional dismounts to check for tracks, on the chariot for two more hours. Quite dark now, you're on foot and still tracking by various magical lights for aid.
Do you continue on to morning on foot? The trail continues, with some side tracks, evenly northward. From your examinations of his patterns, you'd guess the dead man was a scout of some kind, looking through the desert for something, or someone, when he was found and killed by that creature.
Zilch nods, agreeing that they should stop for the night. "No need for us to get in trouble traveling in the dark. Might run into a ravine or whatever. The tracks could be there in the morning, but, if not, that's fine too. We did the best we could."
Zilchus puts away his parasol and begins to make camp for the night.
Stelle shrugs.
"I'm fine with just continuing on northward after a rest. At least we know he didn't veer off sooner."
The party rises late the next day, in part to make up for the late night they had in the desert. Overnight, the wind has made it harder to follow the tracks, but not impossible. Survival DC 22 to follow. Fail, and you have to spend an hour searching to try again which will slow your passage, but has little other effect as the winds have died down.
Also, if you’re following the trail, you’re not searching the hex - merely passing through it. If in a valley or hidden by some other terrain, you could walk right by the Sightless Sphinx and not see it.
So do you follow the trail north? Do you search the hex and let the trail go cold? Do you flee back to civilization, and cool drinks with little umbrellas in them whilst sitting under a fan? What’s your next step?
Stelle emerges after gearing up and yawns, blinking her eyes. She looks, squinting at the barren sandy landscape already heated by the blistering hot sun.
OH! I could really go for a swim right now, even in croc-infested waters.
"Sorry, everyone -- I guess I was a little too overzealous about the hunt. Well, let's just take our time and make sure that I haven't made us miss something. We'll search the area and make sure the Sightless Sphinx isn't hiding under a giant sand towel, or something."
Actually, I re-looked up the spell, and you're moving much faster than I thought - about 10 miles an hour. The hexes are just 12 miles across, so in the last two hours, even with darkness and taking time to track, you could have easily gone a whole hex north without searching it.
Do you go that far without searching? Let me know your plans, and sorry for the confusion!
Further, when not in the mountains or other disadvantageous terrain, you're covering three hexes per day not two with searching.
After Zilchus' morning absolutions to the Great Crocodile, he will take some time to see how easily he can pick up the trail to the north. He uses his magical lens to help identify the trackings.
Survival
"I found the way forward if we wish to go that way. I'm not too worried about any danger from the Sightless Sphinx, not like it can see us coming anyway," Zilchus informs all, confident in his ability to track. He looks at Stelle, twirling his parasol as he thinks. "We can always track back to this area...I'm pretty sure I can track us back here, anyway."
"The Sphinx is our priority. Although it could interesting to see where the tracks lead us, I vote for focusing on our actual goal, which is to find the sphinx," comments Benedictus, nodding at Florence.
The party seems to be leaning toward searching hexes, which is fine. Which three hexes do you want to search? You can of course backtrack a little and start with the one you're in.
Stelle also scribbles on the map.