Huge Celestial Earth Elemental CR 8 l HP 95/95 l AC 19 l T 7 l FF 19 l Fort +11 l Ref +2 l Will +7 l CMB +21 l CMD 30 l Immune to Bleed, Bull Rush, Crits, Flanking, Overrun, Paralysis, Poison, Precision damage, Sleep, Stunning l Resist: Acid (10), Cold (10), Elec (10) l DR 5/- l DR 5/evil l Prec +13 (darkvision & tremorsense 60 ft) l Init -1 | Conditions:
Earl rumbles something and hurls himself and 42 up into the air. As he reaches the towers top he lobs 42 inside before actively looking for the ground again.
Aura of Good (Overwhelming) l Aura of Courage (10 ft) l Aura of Resolve (10 ft) | Aura of Faith (10 ft)
LG Male Dwarf Paladin (Stonelord) 16 | HP 182/182 | AC 43 | T 14 | FF 42 | CMB +16 | CMD 34 | Fort: +20 (+2 poison/drugs, +4 alcohol), Ref: +11, Will: +19 (+1 all saves FF/surprise rd) | 8/adamantine | SR 21 | Fortification 75% | Immune to Blood Drain, Charm, Fear, & Petrification | Perception: +25 (+2 unusual stonework)(darkvision 60 ft) | Init: +1 | Move 20' | LoH 11/11 | DS 38/38 |
Rhon meanwhile clanks his way across the ground trying to stay out of the way of the large numbers of troops and tanks. He also keeps an ear out for any calls for help so that he can move to intervene or lend aid as needed.
Rhon: Exiel is at the South of the camp. You lot moving along the North fence. Security is quite light where you are at the moment. Also a reminder that Earl and Mike are down 17 and 43hp each. They might need a top up after this fight.
Exiel hits the dullahan but not well enough to be a significant hit. Not confirmed and the extra holy damage is not multiplied on a crit anyway. The dullahan swings at Exiel as he retreats, and then charges after him as he retreats. However instead of stopping after his swing the dullahan keeps moving past Exiel, nimbly avoiding any giving Exiel any opening. But he is not able to get past Exiel's defensive stance.
From below, the two tanks and the troops of soldiers continue to shoot at Exiel.
Mike, Earl and 42 fly to the top of the next tower, and Mike opens with a blast of negative energy that leaves one of the soldiers badly injured. They quickly turn just in time to see Earl flying up and putting 42 down in the tower.
42, Earl and Mike are now in the NE tower. You get to go first.
Exiel is at 190ft. The dullahan is at 220ft and is 30ft laterally away from Exiel. The dullahan has drawn a lance and has his scimitar in his other hand so he threatens all adjacent and reach squares.
Pathfinders are up. Exiel make 8 reflex saves this round. You will roll a 1 sometime.
Huge Celestial Earth Elemental CR 8 l HP 95/95 l AC 19 l T 7 l FF 19 l Fort +11 l Ref +2 l Will +7 l CMB +21 l CMD 30 l Immune to Bleed, Bull Rush, Crits, Flanking, Overrun, Paralysis, Poison, Precision damage, Sleep, Stunning l Resist: Acid (10), Cold (10), Elec (10) l DR 5/- l DR 5/evil l Prec +13 (darkvision & tremorsense 60 ft) l Init -1 | Conditions:
Earl looks at the soldiers in the tower and bellows his rage at them. He then raises his fists up high and brings them down with speed and power.
"Ride-by attacks, huh? Interesting idea, but that's still not gonna help you hit me," Exiel growls as he continues to zip around trying to avoid the bullets..
Exiel hovers in place and readies an action to 5ft step and stab at the rider on his next pass (can't fail fly check).
"Boy, did you guys pick the wrong side of history to be on!" says Mike as he unloads more energy into one of the uninjured soldiers on top after gathering the shadows around himself.
Exiel, your sword and the nightmare's hoofs are all giving off light, and the dullahan is making ride-by attacks, so the soldiers know when to shoot to avoid friendly fire.
The dullahan charges Exiel again, and misses but is struck by Exiel's counter attack. Exiel dodges more bullets and tank ordinance. Dullahan at 160ft, 30ft from Exiel. Exiel 190ft.
Rhon finishes off the soldier that Mike had blasted, finishing him off. 42 cuts into the next soldier and discharges a blast of lightning into him. The lightning flashes across the sky. There is already alot of lightning in the sky, but unlike 42's lightning bolt it is purple. It is impossible to tell right now whether anyone has noticed. The soldiers unsling their rifles and take shots at Mike, who they see as the biggest threat. One hits. 10 damage
Exiel, 8 reflex saving throws again. 42 you notice that lightning at night attracts attention. Mike takes 10 damage from a bullet. Earl gets to take an attack of opportunity on a soldier. Pathfinders are up.
Huge Celestial Earth Elemental CR 8 l HP 95/95 l AC 19 l T 7 l FF 19 l Fort +11 l Ref +2 l Will +7 l CMB +21 l CMD 30 l Immune to Bleed, Bull Rush, Crits, Flanking, Overrun, Paralysis, Poison, Precision damage, Sleep, Stunning l Resist: Acid (10), Cold (10), Elec (10) l DR 5/- l DR 5/evil l Prec +13 (darkvision & tremorsense 60 ft) l Init -1 | Conditions:
Earl raises his fists again and swings at the soldier.
Huge Celestial Earth Elemental CR 8 l HP 95/95 l AC 19 l T 7 l FF 19 l Fort +11 l Ref +2 l Will +7 l CMB +21 l CMD 30 l Immune to Bleed, Bull Rush, Crits, Flanking, Overrun, Paralysis, Poison, Precision damage, Sleep, Stunning l Resist: Acid (10), Cold (10), Elec (10) l DR 5/- l DR 5/evil l Prec +13 (darkvision & tremorsense 60 ft) l Init -1 | Conditions:
Earl will attack Green first and then switch to Red if Green falls.
Earl' stone fists crash against the soldiers again and again. Stone scars flesh and bones give way.
Earl finishes off Red, Mike's blast destroys Green's body leaving nothing behind. Lauriel and Viktor climb up to the tower and Viktor begins calibrates this tower as well. Through conversing with Viktor and observing his actions Lauriel has obtained a working knowledge of how to calibrate the world anchors herself.
The dullahan makes another pass at Exiel. It rides past Exiel, allowing
Exiel to score another light hit on the dullahan. No crit. However, to his surprise, instead of attempting to strike Exiel as he passes, the dullahan waits till Exiel has committed to his strike, then rides his mount past Exiel and turns it around. Exiel suddenly finds himself caught in the midst of thick smoke blasted from the nostrils of the dullahan's nightmare, and from out of the smoke beyond Exiel's field of vision, a lance is thrust at him. No osyluth guile against this attack since you can't see him.
GM:
1d20 ⇒ 3
Unfortunately all his clever maneuvering also unbalances the dullahan and Exiel's defensive style training helps him narrowly avoid being skewered.
Mike, 42 and Rhon/Earl you have recalibrated the 2 North anchors. You can easily reach the dullahans' tents but from there you will need to get over or through a fence to reach the South-East tower. There are soldiers who will have line of sight to you once you reach the tents, though they are currently looking at the sky. The map is updated to show where you are and where the soldiers are generally. There are about 2 troops in that area and another 2 troops about 80ft away. Mike can fly over but will need a stealth check. 42 can use his ring to walk through but he will also need a stealth check. Earl can just glide under the earth but will need a stealth check if he wants to get up the tower.
Exiel you are surrounded by smoke and cannot see further than 5ft. The soldiers are still firing into the smoke but the tanks have stopped firing for now. Make 8 reflex saves and then give me your actions for this round. Dullahan at 200ft, laterally 5ft from Exiel. Exiel 190ft.
Reflex save roll 1:1d20 + 19 ⇒ (17) + 19 = 36 Reflex save roll 2:1d20 + 19 ⇒ (20) + 19 = 39 Reflex save roll 3:1d20 + 19 ⇒ (4) + 19 = 23 Reflex save roll 4:1d20 + 19 ⇒ (11) + 19 = 30 Reflex save roll 5:1d20 + 19 ⇒ (13) + 19 = 32 Reflex save roll 6:1d20 + 19 ⇒ (14) + 19 = 33 Reflex save roll 7:1d20 + 19 ⇒ (15) + 19 = 34 Reflex save roll 9:1d20 + 19 ⇒ (14) + 19 = 33
Exiel scowls.
"Hmm...he's starting to work out my abilities it seems, and it seems he has some skill with weapons as well. But I don't think he did all that fancy darting about for nothing. And in any event, if he's using his reach against me, then I just need to deal with the reach weapon "
Exiel does a 5ft hover up towards the dullahan and, fighting defensively, attempts to disarm the dullahan of his lance.
Huge Celestial Earth Elemental CR 8 l HP 95/95 l AC 19 l T 7 l FF 19 l Fort +11 l Ref +2 l Will +7 l CMB +21 l CMD 30 l Immune to Bleed, Bull Rush, Crits, Flanking, Overrun, Paralysis, Poison, Precision damage, Sleep, Stunning l Resist: Acid (10), Cold (10), Elec (10) l DR 5/- l DR 5/evil l Prec +13 (darkvision & tremorsense 60 ft) l Init -1 | Conditions:
Earl launches himself back into the safety of the underground and proceeds towards the next objective.
Mike and Earl reach the base of the South-Eastern tower without being detected. 42 and Rhon lie low with Viktor and Lauriel, waiting for Mike to capture the tower.
Exiel hovers nearer to his opponent and reaches out to grab the dullahan's lance, but this leaves him open and the dullahan finally successfully strikes Exiel on the arm and drawing blood with his icy-cold scimitar. Exiel however is also just as lucky and manages to successfully use the dullahan's shift in balance to twist the lance from the dullahan's hand.
The dullahan and his steed each take another strike at Exiel before pulling away from him. Both miss, but extend the distance between themselves and Exiel to 90feet.
The tanks on the ground continue to shoot at Exiel and so do the soldiers. 2 more tanks get into position and point their main cannons at him, ready to fire.
Earl and Mike can still fly, but you are now alot closer to where Exiel is fighting the dullahan and distracting the soldiers. Flying up to the tower will require a stealth check.
Pathfinders are up. Exiel take 13 damage. The dullahan is at 200ft, you are at 195ft. The dullahan is 90ft from you. You can take an attack of opportunity at him. 42 and Rhon are waiting in the tents with Viktor and Lauriel Mike and Earl are at the SouthEast tower and need stealth checks if they want to fly up unseen.
Seeing as the dullahan has pulled away beyond charge range, Exiel takes a 5ft hover up so he's level with the dullahan, sheaths his rapier and prepares to test the dullahan's lance against him on his next pass.
Saving throws since I assume the soldiers are still shooting:
crane style defensive attack roll:1d20 + 13 - 2 ⇒ (20) + 13 - 2 = 31+ any other bonus from the lance damage roll:1d8 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12+ any other bonus from the lance Confirmation roll:1d20 + 13 - 2 ⇒ (19) + 13 - 2 = 30+ any other bonus from the lance crit damage roll:2d8 + 12 ⇒ (5, 5) + 12 = 22+ any other bonus from the lance
Huge Celestial Earth Elemental CR 8 l HP 95/95 l AC 19 l T 7 l FF 19 l Fort +11 l Ref +2 l Will +7 l CMB +21 l CMD 30 l Immune to Bleed, Bull Rush, Crits, Flanking, Overrun, Paralysis, Poison, Precision damage, Sleep, Stunning l Resist: Acid (10), Cold (10), Elec (10) l DR 5/- l DR 5/evil l Prec +13 (darkvision & tremorsense 60 ft) l Init -1 | Conditions:
Earl, knowing the rocks really shouldn't fly and are not stealthy in the least, decides that the best course of action is wait below ground at the base of the tower until Mike signals that it is safe for him to proceed up. He will keep his eyes above ground to watch for Mike' signal.
With stealth being important to this mission, Mike finds himself forced to take on the final tower alone. Fortunately for Mike, the soldiers are too busy watching Exiel and the dullahan fighting in the sky to notice him. He flies up to the top of the tower and is able to get the drop on them. Mike gets a surprise round and then a full round of actions.
Up in the sky, Exiel misses his attack of opportunity and furthermore finally takes a hail of bullets from the machine-gun wielding soldiers down below. As he drips blood down on the snow, the dullahan charges him again, trying to draw more blood, but again misses. The tanks also try to shoot him, but they also miss.
Exiel has taken another 17 damage, total 30 damage now. Mike is down by 43 hp, unless Rhon wants to give him a lay-on-hands retroactively.
Exiel needs to make 10 reflex saves now and then take actions. The dullahan and you are at 200ft. The dullahan is 90ft from you again. Mike gets a surprise round and a full round against the soldiers in the 3rd tower. The other Pathfinders are effectively in delay for now. Earl is waiting at the base of the tower, underground. Rhon, 42, Lauriel and Viktor are waiting in the tents on the other side of the fence.
Switching tactics, Mike will drain the color around him again and then unload a powerful attack on the most dangerous looking one, or the one who appears to be in charge.
Attack Roll vs. Regular AC for Maximized Void Blast:1d20 + 26 ⇒ (12) + 26 = 38 Damage is 133 if it hits.
Mike destroys two of the soldiers before they even get to act. The two remaining soldiers look at each other and start to unsling their rifles. None of them looked like they were in charge. They all look about the same.
Exiel thinks about the lance he took from the dullahan. It does not appear to have any special abilities he can activate and he can't tell if it is magical. It feels like a masterwork lance.
Exiel 10 saves is correct. You are attracting most of the guards to your location now. They are cheering now that they see you getting more and more wounded.
"I guess even for me taking on an entire camp's defences on my own was gonna be a strain," he mutters to himself as he continues to bob and weave in the air.
"Better gain some elevation," he mutters to himself as he flies further up into the air.
fly check:1d20 + 17 ⇒ (11) + 17 = 28Flying another 20ft vertically up into the air.
"Alright Mr Dullahan, let's see how high you're willing to go... and how far those damn guns reach..."
crane style defensive readied attack:1d20 + 13 ⇒ (18) + 13 = 31 damage:1d8 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13 The above assumes the lance is a normal masterwork weapon, please adjust if other modifiers apply. I also just re-checked my attack bonus and realised that I've been under-calculating by 1.
Exiel dodges bullets and once more avoids being hit by the dullahan, who does charge past him despite his higher elevation. Exiel 220ft, Dullahan 240ft, 50ft laterally from Exiel.
The 4 tanks on the ground also shoot at Exiel but miss. The soldiers continue to spray the sky with bullets. 10 saves again
At the South-East tower, one of the soldiers moves to sound the alarm, then realises that the alarm is already sounded around whole camp and that it can hardly be heard over the sound of gunfire from the soldiers and tanks shooting at Exiel. They unsling their rifles and fire at Mike. One of them hits. 12 damage
Pathfinders are up again. Mike took 12 damage. Is down 55hp in total. Exiel needs 10 reflex saves. Is down 30hp.
Sensing Lauriel moving into action, Exiel decides it is time to start trying to bring the show to a close. He flies 20ft laterally and 20ft upwards towards the dullahan, and then casts battering blast at the dullahan's mount.
Mike crushes another soldier and Exiel unexpectedly blasts the dullahan's mount through the chest, killing it. The nightmare rears up before it vanishes in a puff of black smoke, and the dullahan plummets to the ground below. It hits the ground hard as more soldiers fire on Exiel, reaching him even at his altitude. Far below, Exiel sees the dullahan rise to his feet and summon another nightmare.
In the tower the last soldier gives a cry but it is lost among the bursts of gunfire. The last soldier rushes to a panel, the same type of panel that Viktor had used to deactivate the other towers. He presses a couple of buttons and releases a burst of electricity that arcs towards Mike.
Pathfinders are up again. Mike is targeted by chain lightning. 27 damage, DC19 reflex for half. There is only 1 more soldier in the tower. Exiel still needs another 10 reflex saves. Elevation 240ft. 30ft laterally from dullahan.
Exiel is momentarily stunned to see that even after taking a fall of that magnitude the dullahan is still able to stand. Hoping that his opponent is at least close to being re-dead, he stops flying, drops down towards the ground and casts feather fall at the last moment to stop his fall. Once down, he flies up 20ft vertically into the air and casts boneshatter on the dullahan hoping that this will be enough to finally finish it off.
Lauriel flies over to the tower control panel and shift into her small humanoid form, and begins to work the panel base on her perfect memory of what she saw Viktor do and his explanations, as well as her own engineering skills.
Huge Celestial Earth Elemental CR 8 l HP 95/95 l AC 19 l T 7 l FF 19 l Fort +11 l Ref +2 l Will +7 l CMB +21 l CMD 30 l Immune to Bleed, Bull Rush, Crits, Flanking, Overrun, Paralysis, Poison, Precision damage, Sleep, Stunning l Resist: Acid (10), Cold (10), Elec (10) l DR 5/- l DR 5/evil l Prec +13 (darkvision & tremorsense 60 ft) l Init -1 | Conditions:
Having heard Mike say something and point in the direction of the force harassing Exiel he burrows off in that direction to help the follower of Torag.
Mike crushes the last guard with a powerful blast and Lauriel swoops in. She messes around with the controls, her perfect memory allowing her to operate the controls as if Viktor were standing there with her guiding her. The world anchor's energy field shifts, and begins to hum softly - Lauriel appears to have succeeded.
About 100ft away, Exiel drops the the ground, then rises up again as he summons a wave of black necrotic energy that he wraps around the dullahan... and squeezes. Although immune to the energy-sapping side-effect of the spell, the dullahan's bones are splintered and crushed by the spell, disrupting the magic that animates him. His mount vanishes, and his body falls onto the snow twisted, broken and inanimate.
A hush falls among the soldiers - it appears they were not expecting such an outcome to the fight. Only half of them fire at Exiel this turn as the others hesitate. The tanks however fire their main cannons at Exiel and at at this closer proximity and elevation, Exiel is a much easier target!
Exiel, I am going to assume you want to use your emergency force sphere since at the current range the tanks will be targeting your touch AC.
If Exiel uses emergency force sphere:
Exiel is forced to throw up his force sphere and it shakes and rattles as it is pounded by the cannons and the soldiers' bullets. He also receives a telepathic signal from Lauriel that the first three towers have been captured and recalibrated, and there is now only the fourth tower to calibrate.
Exiel tell me if you don't want to use your emergency sphere, and whether you have an alternate idea. If not, you are about 250ft away from the tower, and you have used an immediate action and you have a force sphere protecting you for now. Pathfinders are up.
Having dealt with the tower and leaving Lauriel to fiddle with the device, Mike will drop down and hide for this round to help him deal with the swarm of soldiers.
Moving down and towards cover to position myself for next round.
Oh, yeah, I'm not eating tank-shots if they're about to hit me...
Exiel throws up his emergency force sphere. Knowing he's there to buy time, he decides to vary the plan a little. He hovers within the force sphere and readies an action to cast dimension door as soon as his emergency force sphere collapses. The fourth tower should be in range of my dimension door.
swift action lay on hands:1d6 ⇒ 6
Lauriel sees Mike moving out again and calls out to him.
"Mike, Exiel's running behind schedule and is a little pinned-down as well, but he's gonna try to keep the guards distracted a little longer. Are you able to sneak to the fourth tower and clear it for me? I'll go tell 42 and Rhon to start heading towards the monastery, and then meet you at the fourth tower. Exiel will rendezvous with us there and transport us to the cathedral once the tower is deactivated."
This round I moved back to ground level to survey what is going on and re-move once I have the lay of the land. Next round I will move to the fourth tower and deal with it.
Huge Celestial Earth Elemental CR 8 l HP 95/95 l AC 19 l T 7 l FF 19 l Fort +11 l Ref +2 l Will +7 l CMB +21 l CMD 30 l Immune to Bleed, Bull Rush, Crits, Flanking, Overrun, Paralysis, Poison, Precision damage, Sleep, Stunning l Resist: Acid (10), Cold (10), Elec (10) l DR 5/- l DR 5/evil l Prec +13 (darkvision & tremorsense 60 ft) l Init -1 | Conditions:
Earl was moving directly towards the mass of troops per Mike’s earlier direction.
