"Is that not why we have the lovely Delyliath? Surely she could charm some suitable noble whose life we'll spare into ruling things in our absence. We might gain considerable temporary wealth by sacking the city, but that pales in comparison to the wealth and power we would have, were we to spare it. Not to mention the fact we could have our own army at our disposal."
"Is that not why we have the lovely Delyliath? Surely she could charm some suitable noble whose life we'll spare into ruling things in our absence. We might gain considerable temporary wealth by sacking the city, but that pales in comparison to the wealth and power we would have, were we to spare it. Not to mention the fact we could have our own army at our disposal."
"Fair enough. In that case why bother sacking the place? Just have your Succubus charm those who are presently in charge. Then done. We can be on our way. "
I care not what happens to the city so long as I get my share of the wealth. Also, the dragon in the menagerie is mine. The rest of the chattel is not my concern.
"Personally, I'm for the burning and looting plan. It's more reliable. Personal wealth and magical items are personal power far more difficult for you to be deprived of rather than control of a city via a charmed puppet."
"Taking over a city is fun, but ruling one is dreadfully boring. "
"Then you just lack the creativity to make your rulership a great antidote for boredom." says the succubus chuckling.
"Is that not why we have the lovely Delyliath? Surely she could charm some suitable noble whose life we'll spare into ruling things in our absence. We might gain considerable temporary wealth by sacking the city, but that pales in comparison to the wealth and power we would have, were we to spare it. Not to mention the fact we could have our own army at our disposal."
"As a matter of fact I consider myself already halfway through the job. I have a general under my control and is the kind of general who would be able to extend my influence significantly by proxy. Whoever controlled her has certainly a significant knowledge on ho to protect herself from me, but in the end she is nothing but a Drow.
If I cut away the support of her town and armies, subduing her, stripping her of all her magical protections and make her into my slave would be a negligible task for our combined capabilities.She looks at her companions to see if anyone is willing to go to that extent to control the city.
but before receiving any feedback she turns to the Meredian.
"by the way. This succubus belongs to no one but herself."
She says defiant.
The summoner shudders. "I... think I can deal with things on my own. Just give me some time to myself." and he returns to his corner.
"The idea, dear Illia, would be to eliminate all those who would likely desire to wrest control from us. It would also behoove us to make sure we leave enough allies alive to help root out potential dissidents. Finally, while Del has shown she wields potent charm magicks, I was referring to her innate talents and charisma. It is far less likely somebody who actually wants us in power, even via proxy, would turn us, yes?"
Anaxian pads away from the summoner. If he wanted to wallow in his misery that was fine with the little dragon.
He looked at the corpse of the slug-demon and pulled two scales off his chest. The disintegrated to white powder and the demon's skin peeled off in two large sheets. Blood ran freely and dried quickly creating pictures and lines on the toughening leather. In moments Anaxian held a pair of maps.
Then he touched the corpse and it shrunk away to the size of a kitten. Anaxian's wings folded around it, and when they cleared again it was gone.
The crow corpses he dissolved down to bones and then did whatever it was that caused things to vanish around him. The gug bones, save for the skulls, he was able to squirrel away without shrinking them. The skulls he looked at for a while, considering.
Again, my size vexes me. I cannot shrink them all. I cannot carry them. I refuse to demean myself by asking another to bear my prizes. This problem will be sorted soon. For now, perhaps it would be best to work with these materials right here.
We have what we came for. I do not believe we are in any particular hurry now. I have plans that will require some preparation. Three hours is all I require.
"Uhhh....." Illia- didn't appear to be following the train of Drisquar's thought very well, but shut herself up after a moment for fear of disagreeing with something she didn't understand and looking foolish. As always, too late, but hey, at least more damage was not dealt.
"Mmmmmkay... But I wanted to go to the bar, and return Skully to his new home with Crimson Lady. Er... Well, is it a he? I'm not a skull expert." At her last comment, she looked over to Anaxian, as though assuming him to know.
'It' is far past the necessity of genders. Call it what you will. Even if it were coherent and sane enough to hear you, I doubt it would care much about the distinction.
"So what are we doing exactly?" Meredian asks while examining her nails.
"I'm gonna teleport Skully to Crimson Lady, then pop back, then we finish plans for making money and general evil to this town, then parfaits!"
"I'm gonna teleport Skully to Crimson Lady, then pop back, then we finish plans for making money and general evil to this town, then parfaits!"
"Please." Meredian says casually
"Right!" She declares, posing slightly in one of the holes in the teleport protection before vanishing in a slight whuff of air rushing to fill her position.
Six seconds later, she appeared again. "Ok, who has Skully again?"
Deliliyah, can you have your thrall guide us up the lines of power until we reach those in charge? Naturally you'll want to entice them to your way of thinking as we go. " Merdian suggests.
Anaxian actually rolled his eyes at Illia's return. His companions had become so exasperating that the had actually tapped into dormant life-like emotional responses he wasn't aware he still possessed.
The Drow used telekinesis to move the demilitch into an extra dimensional bag for transportation.
Anaxian actually rolled his eyes at Illia's return. His companions had become so exasperating that the had actually tapped into dormant life-like emotional responses he wasn't aware he still possessed.
The Drow used telekinesis to move the demilitch into an extra dimensional bag for transportation.
Meredian indicates the bag where the lich skull is by pointing.
"Thanks, Anaxian!" Illia heard his thoughts before seeing Meredian's hand. Turning, "Ah, I'll kind of need to borrow that if you intend on using my teleportation to deliver the skull."
"Thanks, Anaxian!" Illia heard his thoughts before seeing Meredian's hand. Turning, "Ah, I'll kind of need to borrow that if you intend on using my teleportation to deliver the skull."
yes.
Meredian says more curtly than she intended.
Meridian hands Ilia the bag. Presumably Illia teleports off to deliver it to the crimson stranger and returns a short time later.
"Now, I believe there was talk about conquering the city proper, yes? Lets start by using our mind controllers to work our way up the chain of command until we find out who is actually in charge. Then we can charm, intimidate, or kill whomever we need to. Then we profit. Short of that, lets burn it to the ground. "
"We already know who it is, and in fact, we've already met them. Here, browse the archives a bit on my phone. It's on the 14th and 15th pages." Illia comes crashing back through the fourth wall to summarize their meeting with the leader of the drow.
"Yeah sure... although truth to be told, taking control of the city BEFORE looting its treasury would have been the most efficient course of action"
The succubus walk around the room to find a spot that allows her to teleport away.
"I guess I will have to ask some pointers on the movers and shakers of the city to my little pet. in the meantime, behave. Taking control of a city is significantly harder when the city is burning and overrun by undead hordes"
Very well. We Undead hordes are nothing if not patient.
Meredian continues to inspect her nails as she is clearly bored.
Illia- grabs the skull-bag, flies up to the ceiling of the dungeon, and after fiddling for a bit with her magic winks out of the place.
Illia- is gone for about an hour; during that time, you hear Da tusha speak to the party again, through his surprisingly long-range telepathy.
So now you no longer wish to kill every forsaken elf in this city? A bit disappointing. I still intend to take out as many of them as I can before I return home, and someone will come looking for the missing guards within a day or two. Carry out what intrigues you want before then, and afterwards, well, there will be some chaos down in the dungeons.
While the rest of the party is planning and scheming, Delyliath also hops out of the dungeon with her magic, and pays another visit to Captain Ayiyasha, to whom she charms and cajoles and lays out her plans for the city in the nicest possible terms.
At first, the captain thinks it is a sweet but foolish idea. But when she hears about what’s happened to the shadowdancer Tian Elyia, and she brightens up.
”Anyone in this city wise enough to conssider me a threat most likely carriess a protective amulet against our magic, if they’re wealthy enough. The other two captains of the guard, most certainly. But with Tian Elyia under your sway, we could persuade a good half of the Palace Guard to… ssstand down, should any fighting happen.”
”I do not think that, even together, we could gain the trust of more than a third of the city’s army. Which meansss that we would either need a new figurehead—someone people would be willing to turn against their Lady to follow. As much as I admire her, she isss… not a popular woman, and perhaps it may be time for a regime change. But if I’m the one you think should take over, you and your friendsss will still need to fight your way through Baron Filias and his soldiers.”
Illia- hops into existence right on top of the ruined city. It doesn’t take long to find the Crimson Stranger standing at the edge of a clearing that might have once been a city square. She looks concerned that only one member of her team has returned, but her expression changes… imperceptibly, but somehow… when she realizes that the skull has been returned.
Eagerly, almost impatiently, the Crimson Stranger steps forward and takes the bag from Illia-’s hands, immediately pulling out the inlaid skull. "Stand back!" she yells, and when the Erinyes does so, the Stranger says a few mumbled words in a long-dead tongue.
A moment later, there is a blinding flash and a deafening crack of thunder.
When the smoke clears, Illia- is on the ground—and at the other end of the clearing, there are two figures talking. One is the Crimson Stranger, visibly exhausted, somehow, and leaning against a crumbling pillar for support. The other stands nearly seven feet tall, clad in an armor-shaped fortress of black iron.
As Illia- stands up, the others turn to look at her… and now the armored knight is simply a tall young man, his hair black and wild, wearing a simple squire’s surcoat with a coat of arms depicting rabbits and swords. "Halloo!" he shouts, walking over while the Stranger remains motionless.
The man holds out a gloved hand. "We’ve already met, though I’m afraid I wasn’t paying much attention. The years grow rough, sometimes." And then, after a brief pause. "I’m… oh, let’s say, Sir Jon. Her majesty’s first and most avid student, back in the days when the gods still meddled with… ah, but she tells me that’s changed."
From somewhere, he pulls out a bit of parchment and begins running over it with a finger, ink springing onto the page from the touch of a gloved fingertip. ”Listen," he adds, taking Illia- aside, "Your employer will need some time alone—I don’t think she wants to be seen or talked to right now. Take this back to your friends, and keep yourselves occupied for another week or two."
The note reads,
My apologies if things got too exciting. So you consider taking the city of Lavosha—charming! It seems the city’s defenses are not what they once were, thanks to a paranoid queen and the loss of an ancient demonic patron. Should you run into trouble, send me word—I could a use distraction while Scarlet recovers.
-The Black
The force of the spell is too great, and Illia- is knocked to the ground, blinded and deafened, until she passes out a few minutes later from mental exhaustion.
When Illia- comes to, the clearing is empty, although a spot of ground nearby has been turned into rough, blackened volcanic glass. She is clutching a note in her hand. The note reads,
My apologies if things got too exciting. So you consider taking the city of Lavosha—charming! It seems the city’s defenses are not what they once were, thanks to a paranoid queen and the loss of an ancient demonic patron. Should you run into trouble, send me word—I could a distraction while Scarlet recovers.
-The Black
Illia-, perhaps slightly out of character, notices the Lady's momentary distress, and quickly comments with a wave "Oh, we're all fine, don't worry! They just sent me ahead so you wouldn't have to wait. Want to join us for parfaits later?"
Illia- is a bit surprised by her impatient but lets the bag go and steps back respectfully, arms clasped behind her back as she looks on with curiosity. When the Lady gave her command, Illia-'s natural reaction was to dive behind a pillar and cover herself with both wings while screaming "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" As usual, her courage seemed to have an on/switch as far as combat/noncombat were concerned.
Illia- takes the hand gladly, also grabbing with her other hand over his too in an exuberant shake, "Cool, you and the awesome Lady go way back! I'm Illia- by the way!"
As she is taken aside, she follows his lead as would a skilled but uncertain dancer, not sure who it is who has just taken her hands and started dancing with her, but then, as he explains the Lady's desires, she comments, "Oh yeah! I totally get that. It's so hard to look cool as a female if you're drained. No matter what you do or say, you come off as a damsel in distress and it TOTAALLLY ruins your tough gal vibe." Illia- leans slightly and turns so she can see the Crimson Lady, and gives a quick thumbs up of support as well as an exaggerated wink and grin of ~Yeah, totally know what you're going through, I got your back.~
As she reads, she smiles near the end, "Awesome, you'd come! That's super! And, totally, I'll come and get you for parfaits even if there is no trouble!" Looking up, she'd be quite disappointed if Black had disappeared, but if he wasn't, she'd continue, putting her hands on her hips, "I mean, as a group, we are sooooo totally awesome." She beamed proudly, and then raised a finger to her lips and looked upwards as she thought and recounted the list, "Dragon-Kitty is always prepared for everything, and Drisquar is the perfect scout, Dely instantly turns anything with a mind into our slave, I'm like invulneraaaa.... Er... Um... They just got lucky.." Her train of thought got derailed as she looked down shyly at the still bleeding wounds on her chest. "And... Um.. OH YEAH! I was gonna say like..." She got into her best, manly puffed chest pose with wings spread wide. "If you ever get into trouble, feel free to call me." She winked and stuck out her tongue slightly, before breaking down and continuing, "Cause like, your armor looked sooooo awesome! All black and imposing and it was like seeing a personal fortress! I know my armor has to be less super-awesome-cool because I have to keep my agility and stuff but DAAAAYYYM..... " She seemed to be lost in thought, dreaming perhaps of her own version of such imposing armor, before after a moment, she regained her composure, "Right, thanks a lot mister! I'll tell everybody the awesome news! And I'll leave out the part about Crimson Lady not feeling well. See ya round, handsome-with-super-mega-awesome-armor-Black!" She teleported back to her team.
"Guys, I have like the best news ever! Skully is a he, and he is totally hot, and he has like the BEST ARMOR EVEEEEER! Here's hoping he's single!" Illia- crosses her fingers while smiling. "Totally gonna invite him to the Dark Star for parfaits." She seems to be lost in thought for a moment.
"Charming. " Meridian says. then to the group "Shall we enslave the city then?"
Indeed. When Delyliath returns we will have an assessment of our next steps.
After a while spent consulting with Ayiyasha and possibly other playful activities. The succubus returns to the party, slightly repositioning her chain shirt and fixing her hair, more as a juvenile taunt than as a real necessity.
"still here? Do you plan to make it your new home or do you intend to return to the farms anytime soon?"
she says in her usual mocking tone.
"I have consulted with my precious pet.. and while taking the city is absolutely feasible, it can become slightly troublesome and require a little more action.
Are you still up for that? Or do we just want to pillage from the low hanging trees and make our way elsewhere?"
After a while spent consulting with Ayiyasha and possibly other playful activities. The succubus returns to the party, slightly repositioning her chain shirt and fixing her hair, more as a juvenile taunt than as a real necessity.
"still here? Do you plan to make it your new home or do you intend to return to the farms anytime soon?"
she says in her usual mocking tone.
"I have consulted with my precious pet.. and while taking the city is absolutely feasible, it can become slightly troublesome and require a little more action.
Are you still up for that? Or do we just want to pillage from the low hanging trees and make our way elsewhere?"
"I've got nothing but time."
"Oh, yeah, and we've got two weeks or so before Crimson will have another job for us, and Skully said he might drop by if we need some help fighting the guard because he's bored."
"Oh, yeah, and we've got two weeks or so before Crimson will have another job for us, and Skully said he might drop by if we need some help fighting the guard because he's bored."
"Alright. Lets minimize who we have to fight and flay the rest. Illia why dont we leave your little succubus friend in charge. Then we can kill or sway that other guard captain. "
"Ummm... Unless you mean leave Dely in charge, I don't think I have any succubus friends.." Illia seems confused. :/
"Ummm... Unless you mean leave Dely in charge, I don't think I have any succubus friends.." Illia seems confused. :/
"Allow Dely and I to Charm a few more allies to our side, and that should easily turn things into our favor. Also, did we not have some plan involving some imprisoned wizards or something?"
"Delyliath's "Friend" rather."
Anaxian worked quietly while the others decided the course of action. The details mattered little to him at this point.
Bones were stitched and carved, Marvelous Pigments were added to create connective tissues and anchor points where none should be. In surprisingly short order Anaxian had a truly awful looking set of bones ready for animation.
A brief discussion with Mal had the area appropriately Desecrated, and a stream of onyx dust was poured carefully into the runes carved across the thing's body. It began to twitch and rise.
Gambits Chosen
Female Erinyes Warlord 2
LE Medium Outsider
Init +8; Senses Perception +22, See in Darkness, True Seeing
XP:???
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DEFENSE
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AC 36, touch 19, flat-footed 29. . (+7 Armor, +4 Shield, +6 Dex, +1 Dodge, +6 Natural, +1 Insight, +1 Deflection)
hp 124 (10d10+5)
Fort +19, Ref +15, Will +15
DR 5/good; Immune fire, poison;
Resist acid 10, cold 10; SR 19
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OFFENSE
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Spd 30 ft., fly 50 ft. (good)
Melee +1 Longsword +16/11 (1d8+6/19-20/S)
...
Ranged rope +17* touch (entangle)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th)
Constant- True Seeing
At will- Fear (single target, DC 20), Greater Teleport (self plus 50 lbs. of objects only), minor image (DC 18), unholy blight (DC 20)
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STATISTICS
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Str 20, Dex 22, Con 22, Int 12, Wis 18, Cha 23
Base Atk +10; CMB +17; CMD 33
Feats Dodge, Shield Focus, Osyluth Guile, Improved Unarmed Strike, Crane Style
Skills Acrobatics +19, Bluff +19, Fly +17, Disguise +20, Knowledge (Religion) +12, Perception +22, Stealth +19
Languages Celestial, Common, Undercommon, Infernal; telepathy 100 ft
Combat Gear +2 Mithral Kikko Armor, +2 Cloak of Resistance, +2 Rallying Mithral Light Quickdraw Shield, +1 Longsword, Ring of Protection +1, Ring of Mind Shielding
Other Gear Eyes of the Eagle, Hat of Disguise, Wayfinder, Dusty Rose Prism (With Resonance, +1 AC, +2 CMB/CMD), Masterwork Disguise Kit, 390 gold left
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SPECIAL ABILITIES
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Racial Stuff:
Bunch of defensive stuff, included above.
Bunch of SLA, included above.
Flying, included above.
Does not need to eat, ext, but does need to breath.
Entangle(Su): 50 long rope, function as animate rope spell, CL 16, DC 20, up to 30 ft no penalty.
One less outsider level than normal Erinyes
Feats:
Dodge: +1 Dodge AC
Shield Focus: +1 Shield AC
Osyluth Guile: Add Cha to dodge AC against one opponent when fighting defensively, or using total defense.
Improved Unarmed Strike: Punch people, yo.
Crane Style: -2 to penalty for fighting defensively, +1 dodge.
Fighting Defensively:
Grants +3 Dodge AC, subtract 2 from attacks.
Warlord Stuff:
Gambits: Swift Action + whatever they normally are to complete, gain charisma mod as a luck modifier, regain charisma mod maneuvers if successful. If failed, regain one maneuver, and -2 on all rolls for 1 round. All ally buffs are 60 ft range and require LoS.
Pinhole Gambit: Attack an enemy with a ranged attack when they are engaged in melee with an ally, reduce their armor class by your charisma modifier until Illia-'s next turn.
Brave Gambit: Charge an enemy, all allies gain morale bonus equal to charisma modifier for damage against that target on their next attack, or until Illia-'s next turn.
Unbreakable Gambit: (Immediate Action) Whenever successful on a will or Fortitude save against an enemy ability, regain 3x charisma mod in HP.
Tactical Presence:
Move action to adopt.
Indomitable Presence: all allies within 30-ft. of his position gain the benefits of the Die Hard feat, charisma mod morale boost to fort saves versus death effects, fatigue and exhaustion effects, or poison.
Force of Personality: Charisma mod to will saves.
Tactical Flanker: Allies flanking with Illia- gain Cha mod to hit rather than +2 (+2 minimum.)
Teamwork thingie.
Maneuvers Known: (need to pick leveled up ones)
Sweeping Tail,
Standard Action, melee attack.
Trip attempt, no provoke with +4. Successful trip deals 2d6+Cha (2d6+6) damage.
Defending the Pride Readied
Swift Action, 60 ft radius,
Allies gain +4 Morale bonus to AC for one round.
Devastating Rush, Readied
standard Action, melee attack.
+2d6 damage, no damage reduction
Seraph's Wrath, readied
Standard Action, melee attack.
+2d6 damage, Reflex save or fall prone (DC 12+Cha)
Momentum Crash, Readied
Swift Action, personal,
+10 damage on one charge attack.
Distracting Strike
Standard Action, melee attack.
+2d6 damage, and target is flat footed until start of its next turn. Creatures immune to critical hits are not left flat footed.
Intercepting Shade Readied
Standard Action, ranged counter.
Make opposed attack roll against an attack (not spell) targetted against an ally within your first range increment, if you beat the attack roll, you negate the attack.
Stances:
Stance of Piercing Rays
Swift action, stance.
+1d6 fire damage to ranged weapons, increases by another 1d6 every 8 levels.
Pride Leader's Stance
Swift action, stance.
+4 morale bonus to saves vs fear to allies within 20 ft.
Traits:
Fashionista: +1 Disguise, class skill.