DM Bigrin's Second Darkness (Inactive)

Game Master bigrin42

Fortitude: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25
North it is

Coughing and vomiting followed you as you tried to stumble northwards back the way you had come. It was difficult to keep moving, and after only a minute or two it was impossible to tell whether you were moving in the right direction. Still, you pressed on as a group, the noxious cloud shifting and moving around you, blocking out any sights, but amplifying sounds.

Muffled cursing and retching sounds came from out of the cloud, and it was apparent you weren't alone in this abomination of your own creation.

After what seemed like an hour, but was probably only half that, you noticed the fog thinning out. Stumbling, you dove for the clear spot, and lay on the ground gasping and retching. The clearer air helped greatly, and your eyes stopped streaming just long enough for you to notice a fast moving object headed straight for you. It was roughly man-shaped, and as it crashed to the ground behind you, you saw that it was in fact drow-shaped.

Ahead, three drow were fighting a deranged-looking treant and as they turned to see where their companion landed, they spotted you. At once all three ran straight for you, whether in an attempt to murder you where you lay or to set the treant on you, it didn't bode well.

If you failed your earlier Fort save, you will be nauseated for another 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4 rounds.

Bruendor hacks and coughs as he finally gets good air back into his lungs, but his attention is instantly drawn to the threats before him. "Dammit, it's the treant," he says, rising to his feet. "Lef, Calla, don't let the indys get to AB or Kel."

He moves forward, blade shining in the light that passes through the trees. "[b]هيا، إذن، يا أبناء عاهرة الأرجواني البشرة، اختيار الطريقة التي يرغب أن يموت هذا اليوم. بواسطة غضب الطبيعة، أو عن طريق الألغام!", he shouts in Elven, already prepared to dodge away from their blows.

Move to EO-94 and go full defense. That gives me an AC 22 this round.

Sigh. Let's write this post up for a THIRD time now...

Making sure her buckler is firmly attached to her arm, Calla pulls out the whip she claimed from the drow priestess earlier and shakes it loose. As soon as the nearest drow gets close, her arm whips back and then forward, the lash flying.

Move to Eo-96
Ready action to use the whip to trip the first drow in range (which is 15 ft.); I'm adding +1 to my CMB because of its enchantment, which I'm not 100 percent sure is kosher (if not, attack should be -1). Though with that roll, it may not matter!

+1 Whip trip: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25

P.S. Yay. Finally get to use her whip!

Lefrik races forward, still feeling unwell but undimmed .

moving to EN93, and striking nearest foe at EM 92

And his axe sings forth.
sickend but not nauseated I believe
To hit: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12
Dmg:1d12 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Should Calla's trip succeed and allow an AOO on said drow...
AOO to hit: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26
Dmg: 1d12 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

As Bruendor and Lefrik moved in, Calla used her whip to good effect, putting one of the drow on the ground. As he tried to get to his feet, Lefrik gave him a good slice with his axe. The other two drow kept moving, dropping globes of darkness around them as they fled.

The treant roared, lashing out at the fleeing drow, knocking one nearly to the ground. Lefrik's target, so recently back on his feet, was nearly pummeled into the soft earth of the forest by the massive tree brach that slammed down onto his head as well.

"They're running!" Anklebiter calls out, Goblin vision cutting through the magical darkness. "Just running! I think... Urp!"

Stomach heaving again, Anklebiter staggers back a ways.

Still nauseated, can do nothing but move. :-\ Shifting position to ES -99.

Ironically, those drow might have helped us, if treants don't have darkvision. One more question, boss - are the drow currently armed?

Unable to fight back the sickness, Kel continues to heave as she staggers away from the treant. move to ES-100, nauseated for 3 more rounds

Lefrik presses the attack, once more trusting to his training in fighting in the dark.

to hit: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21
Dmg: 1d12 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Blindfighting, better out of two rolls to avoid concealment
1d100 ⇒ 16
1d100 ⇒ 66

Calla slowly retreats, her whip lashing out again to trip the nearest drow.

"Don't let that one get away!" she yells, pointing at the dark elf making for the tree line.

Move to EP-99. Whip trip on drow at EM-98; don't think dim lighting should affect her thanks to her low-light vision. Still including the +1 to her CMB for the whip's enchantment.

+1 Whip trip: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

Kel, don't go too far away; don't forget we're going to need your hypnotic pattern at some point.

Unfortunately...

7. Will Anyone Think of the Elves?

So what about low-light vision anyway? Those guys can see twice as far via light sources. However, they don't change the actual radius of the magic at all. We'll examine what that means for each step separately, using elves as an example instead of always saying "creatures with low-light vision" all the time:
•In areas with light magic only, elves see twice as far. So with daylight, elves get 120 feet of bright light followed by 120 feet of one step up from normal.
•In areas with darkness magic only, elves are affected by darkness spells in the same region. Since darkness spells quench the effects of nonmagical light sources before applying their reduction, elves should almost always be experiencing the same light level as everyone else (if supposedly "ambient" light was dispersed enough in pockets that the elf's low-light vision was giving it a different light level, chances are the light wasn't ambient to begin with). In the rare cases with odd pockets of ambient light, it is possible that an elf experiences a different light level in the darkness spell due to the ambient light being different for the elf.
•In areas with both light and darkness magic, the elf being an elf does not change where the magics overlap. But where is that? The spells target an object, rather than stating an emanation. For the purpose of determining where light and darkness magics have an overlapping region, look at the spell and determine the farthest radius where it has an effect (for example, that would be 120 feet for daylight, 20 feet for darkness, and 40 feet for continual flame).

Well, poop.
Miss chance (high is good), even though I think with that 12 I rolled it's irrelevant: 1d100 ⇒ 51

Yeah, I know, there's no way the 12 hit, but since we're likely to revisit the topic somewhere down the line...

Also, assuming the drow is armed...

Bruendor enters the darkness, and aims the flat of his blade against the drow's hand, trying to force the elf to drop his weapon.

Move to EM-93 and attempt to disarm.

Disarm: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (5) + 11 = 16

That probably doesn't succeed. :(

Anklebiter and Kelendra staggered about uselessly as Calla attempted to trip the running drow. The darkness fouled her strike, and she missed. The running drow headed south at full speed through the scrub and into the fog. Coughing and retching could be heard as the indigo succumbed to the cloud's nauseating effects.

Lefrik gave a great chop at the drow, severely injuring it and opening the way for Bruendor to relieve the drow of its shortsword. The dwarf took a light slash in return, but it was worth it as the treant lumbered forward and smashed the drow's head into a bloody pulp.

The final drow ran straight for Kelendra and Anklebiter, sensing weakness. He drove his shortsword in at Kelendra, stabbing her in the side and drawing a welter of blood.

Looks like you missed my move from last round, DM.

"Get away from her, you bastard!" Calla snarls at the drow, lashing her whip at him once again.

She continues to move away from the treant.

Move to EP-102
+1 Whip trip: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

Bah! I think that'll be it for trip attempts.

Bruendor winces as the crazed treant crushes the drow's head in front of him. "Well, damn," he mutters. "I guess they can see in the dark."

"Steady now, big guy," Bruendor says to the massive tree. "We're on the same side here. We want the drow out of this forest just as much as you." He lowers his weapon, though he remains ready to leap out of the way.

Going total defense again. That gives me an AC 22 this round.

Kel stumbles away from the drow and continues puking.

shift to ET-99, nauseated for 2 more rounds

Anklebiter staggers along with Kelendra in an attempt to maybe distract the Drow from attacking her again...

Anklebiter moves to ET -98 and wishes he weren't still nauseated for two more rounds...!

Calla - sorry, trying to do it via remote login on my ipad, and it was not working well. I'm home now and will fix for the next update.

Lefrik hears the sound of his friend in danger, notices the only foe here is a treant, "I wish I could help you, forest king, but right now I need to see what I can do outside of this shadow."

Lefrik moves towards the light, seeing that he can't get to the dark elf and attack, he decides he can at least cut off one path of escape.

Full move to EP-101

Bruendor set himself, trying to distract the treant and keep himself out of trouble while Lefrik ran to help the casters. The tree man swung a heavy limb at Lefrik as he ran, catching him soundly on the left shoulder, and possibly shattering the collarbone. The barbarnian's arm went numb, and moving it was painful as he ran to help the others. Calla lashed out with her whip, but the remaining drow nimbly skipped aside. Seeing the charging barbarian headed his way, the drow licked his lips, then ran south into the cloud.

The treant roared again, and from his close proximity, Bruendor could see the acid burns all down one side of the treant's face and body. He got agood close look as the treant slammed down with two trunk-like arms. He also saw stars as the giant connected with both blows, nearly knocking the dwarf to the ground.

"I think we'd better run until Kelendra and I are back to - Urp! - normal!" Anklebiter yells. "Hide in the trees, it might not be able to squeeze through!"

"Get away from it, Bruendor!" Calla shouts, hanging her whip back from her belt and taking up a defensive position as the drow complete their escape. "Anklebiter, Kelendra, get behind Blondie and me!"

Move action: stow whip; standard action: total defense: +4 dodge bonus to AC

Anklebiter does not bother to argue the point, but scampers over to hide behind the more able-bodied party-members, leading Kelendra if she will allow herself to be led. He tries to hide in the foliage as he goes...

Anklebiter moves to EP -104 and Stealths: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (17) + 12 = 29

Ouch.

Bruendor leaps, but the treant's wooden fists are simply too massive to avoid. The first knocks him off balance. The second causes something to snap in his chest where the mighty oaken limb strikes him. "Right," he says, clicking his heels together. "Time for plan B." He dives away from the furious beaet before him, trying to put as much distance between him and the wooden giant as possible.

Using another charge on my boots, and moving to EN-99.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (3) + 16 = 19

Uh-oh.

Kel stumbles along with Anklebiter as she continues to retch.

nauseated for 1 more round

Lefrik's shoulder and neck hurt like hell, but he nods at Calla's tactics. And he helps Anklebiter and Kelendra to move past him as he provides cover Acting as living cover if need be to shield those two. Not sure if I give much of an AC bonus to them.

Brue, it looks like if you use the withdraw action (i.e. just move without doing anything else, you should be fine and not need an Acrobatics check at all to avoid AoO.

Everyone retreated to a more defensible formation, with Bruendor trying to get back with the others while avoiding any chance of the treant striking him as he moved. The enraged creature followed, lumbering through the darkened areas, and seeming to handle the darkness very poorly. Still, despite the trouble the creature was having seeing, its attacks were spot on as it crashed another heavy blow into Bruendor. The dwarf felt the ribs on his left side snap as the branch-like limb broke through his guard.

"Kelendra, see if you can calm him down!" Calla orders, moving toward Bruendor and reaching out to touch the dwarf with a spell she's not yet used before.

"Calistria, show your mercy to this friend," she prays.

Move to EN-100 (unless the dwarf moves farther away, which would be fine with Calla
Cure moderate wounds: 2d8 + 6 ⇒ (1, 1) + 6 = 8

Bah! Calistria's not much on healing dwarves, I guess.

Kel hears Calla and wants to help desperately, but she continues retching up bile as she staggers to stay near the group.

last round of nauseated

Lefrik tries to glean through the dimness and see if he can find signs of rot, or some other cause of the madness.
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11
Knowledge Nature: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

"I have... healing potions," Anklebiter wheezes, his strength gradually returning to him. "Calla, can you get this to friend Bruendor?" The Goblin holds out a bottle.

Single move action: retrieving a potion of CLW.

Sorry, I stopped receiving updates on this one for some reason. My bad!

Bruendor limps back towards the rest of the group, battered and bruised by the crazed treant's relentless assault, but once again, his dwarven stubbornness is about the only thing keeping him standing. He stands a bit straighter once Calla heals him, but barely - the oaken guardian has clearly taken a toll on him. "Thank you, Calla," he says quietly. "Kalla, please, snap out of it, this thing's unstoppable!"

Withdraw to EO-103, which means Calla doesn't have to move.

Calla jinxed us with her comment about how fast we were going. I've been without internet for 2 days

As Bruendor raced out of the cloud of darkness, Lefrik was peering in. He thought he saw a twisted mass of acid-burned tree-flesh just before one of the massive arms caught him a clout about he shoulders. It felt like one of his older brothers had smacked him with a club...after falling 30 feet off a cliff.

Kel gasps, filling her lungs enough for a quick prayer before the sickness strikes again. Calling on Desna, she waves a blend of colorful lights around the treant, hoping to distract the creature.

Hypnotic Pattern: 2d4 + 6 ⇒ (2, 4) + 6 = 12 HD affected in 10 foot radius at EN-97, DC 16 Will save to negate or Fascinated

Lefrik groans "Some sort of wound..acid I think I don't know if it's the problem, but I'm getting tired of us letting this thing beat us up. If we can't cure it or calm it, we may have to kill it."

"Lefrik's right," Bruendor says, rummaging around in his pack. "If Kel's spell doesn't work, then we need to put this thing down, fast." He pulls out a flask of viscous liquid, judging its weight and preparing to throw it.

Anklebiter draws a deep breath as the last traces of toxin leave his system, and draws deeply on his arcane power. If Kelendra's spell does not take, the little Goblin chants quick words of power: "Simil clamo, simil moris!" -- and sets up a frightful din inside the treant's mind!

Ready action to cast Ear-piercing scream at the treant for 3d6 ⇒ (6, 6, 3) = 15 sonic damage. Fortitude save DC 14 to halve the damage. Failed Fort. save means the treant is dazed for one round. That'd be the treant's last chance...

If the treant is fascinated:
Calla pulls the healing wand from her belt and carefully approaches the treant, making no sudden moves to break the spell, and reaches out to pour healing power into the injured plant creature.

"We mean to help you, not harm. Our enemies are the same," she says quietly, in as soft a tone of voice as she's capable.

I haven't attacked, so I'm hoping he won't see me as a threat and get a second save. Using my BAB to touch it, if needed.
To hit, if needed?: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21
Wand of CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Miss chance (high is good): 1d100 ⇒ 78

Oy, don't forget my chance to daze it for a round! ^^;

Anklebiter sent a scream thundering into the treant's mind. While the treant seemed to shake off most of the damage, some bark rattled to the ground. Kelendra stepped forward to cast her spell, trying desperately to stop the creature in its tracks before it could do any more harm. The maddened treant didn't seem to be affected by her spell at all, and its trunk-like arms waved fearsomely.

Anyone waiting for the treant's reaction (Lefrik) needs to post now

"Damn it, we tried, but it's time to put this thing out of its and our misery!" she curses.

"So be it, death maybe the only mercy we can grant this thing," Lefrik's frame seems to swell as he allows the rage of his people to fill him.

And he hurls a javelin at the treent

Raging, Free action. Renewed vigor to heal up a very little, standard action, and throw a javelin because that always works ;) but I don't think he can renew and move to it this action so at least I might ding it

Renewed vigor heals: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12
Throw Jav: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
Dmg: 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

We are so going to die here. )-;

Remember, we don't have to outrun the treant, just Anklebiter. :)

We are so going to die here. )-;

I find it amusing that players think they can/should fight every battle they come across

We *were* trying to help! I'm all for running away, though.

We tried running, it smote our dwarf. He can only take so many smotings... err smitings

Lefrik and Bruendor lined up to throw. Javelin and alchemist fire both flew wide, though a bit of the jellied fire touched the treant. The fire seemed to drive it even more insane, and the creature rushed the group. Root-like legs as thick as small tree trunks slammed into everyone, bowling you over like tenpins. In desperation, everyone tried to get out of the way of the maniacal tree creature.