GM Enchanter's Night March of Kalkamedes (Inactive)

Game Master Enchanter Tim

Knowledge Planes: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20
Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25
Knowledge Local: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

Thank God dice don't hate me today

"Free again to taste the fresh air you say? I daresay, after about a year of captivity, wouldn't a gnome start to exhibit signs of bleaching? No new experiences tend to do that to a gnome. Not to mention..., Koth'Vaul..., that isn't a fey name. First I thought one way, but I remember reading some tomes about the conjugation of such names back in absalom. That sort of name is Abyssal in nature. And if you cannot cross an inverted circle, which by the way would not inhibit a fey creature because they are native to our plane, then that would squarely make you a demon of some description. So why don't you end this little farce, and reveal your true nature?"

/Sherlock Holmes rant

Koth'Vaul's eyes go wide as Marius pokes holes in his story. Finally, they seem to smolder with anger. "Very well, half-breed! I was hoping to make this easy on all of us." His form ripples and fades away, revealing a monstrous demon. He has two large pincer arms with smaller arms attached to his chest. Giant horns top his head. He growls in anger.

"I am Koth'Vaul! I can grant you your greatest desires if you only free me. Smart, half-breed, You seek arcane power, yes? I can grant you power beyond your imagination. Or you, halfling. I can grant your deepest wishes. All you must do is free me and my magic is yours!"

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Kalkamedes stumble farther to the southwest.

Marius looks back and forth between Kalkamedes and the circle. "Ok guys..., we have problem. Sleeping Beauty over there is leaving us behind, and that summoning circle isn't going to hold much longer. It looks like the runes and such are starting to fade after a long time of being in place. Someone want to go make sure he doesn't run off and get hurt?"

"I believe that I can handle that."

Draylan tries to trip Kalkamedes. Then will try and grapple him to keep him in place.

trip: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

grapple: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

Draylan is unsuccessful in bringing the ex-Paladin down and he continues to move to the southwest. Meanwhile, Koth'Vaul watches the interaction with interest. "Ah, your friend is suffering from some affliction. I can cure him of this, if that is your desire."

Vardel feels mighty brave sitting atop Furrious his ever faithful companion. He looks up the this evil creature as one more challenge he must steel himself to best. "You lying filth. Why should we believe anything you have to say. You who are desperate for freedom would say anything. And what of it, you would wreak havoc and only bring unhappiness and misery were we to set you free. Nay twould be better to banish thee back to thy miserable home."

"You disgust me! Very well, puny one. You shall die then. Illvaster, kill them!" Suddenly a young black dragon burst out of the pool of water nearby and charges Renli. Its jaws snap at the Halfling, but Renli's armor deflects the bite.

Charge: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 7 + 2 = 12
Damage: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Behind the dragon two hands crawl out of the pool, coming towards the party.

Initiative
Draylan: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23
Renli: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
Ragnar: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
Marius: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16
Vardel: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6
Illvaster: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13
Hands: 1d20 ⇒ 4

Draylan, Renli, Marius
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Dragon
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Ragnar, Vardel
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Hands

That was a surprise round. Draylan, Renli, Marius are up.

Draylan positions himself inbetween the dragon and the hands, hoping if the hands move closer, he will get an AoO. Then swings his guisarme at the legs of the dragon, hoping to trip it to the ground.

trip: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22

Vardel rides around the boulder and up to the dragon calling out a challenge, "Face me lizard!" both he and Furrious last out at the dragon determined to protect their new friend.

Shadowmist(bite): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11v. AC for Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Longsword: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 6 + 1 = 16v. AC for Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Marius moves up next to Draylan, and claps his hands together. He quickly uses a small knife to slice open a cut on his hand, to loose a little of his blood as he prepares to cast.

Martyred bloodline, 1 point of damage, to get +1 on damage roll, as well as increase caster level by 1

Holding his hands closed for a moment, he then turns them towards the pair of hands that are crawling towards everyone, using some of his reserve arcane power to boost the spell even more.

1 point of reservoir to increase caster level 1, casting burning hands, aiming due west, so that it catches both hands.

Burning Hands, DC 15 reflex: 3d4 + 1 ⇒ (4, 2, 1) + 1 = 8

Hand1: 1d20 ⇒ 11
Hand2: 1d20 ⇒ 3

The hands are badly burned by Marius' fire and writhe in pain. Draylan has no luck tripping the stout four legs of the dragon.

Draylan, Renli, Marius
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Dragon
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Ragnar, Vardel
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Hands

will: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (1) - 1 = 0

Talk about epic... FAIL!

Dodging out of the way of the dragon's blow, Renli draws his longsword and, trusting in his luck, slashes at the young wyrm.

longsword attack: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 4 + 2 = 22
damage: 1d6 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 2 = 4

Renli's sword cuts into the dragon's hide and it roars. The dragon tries to bite at Vardel, but the Halfling is too quick for the beast. In exchange, Vardel hacks at the dragon, cutting deep into its side.

Bite vs Vardel: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Damage: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

Farther down, Kalkamedes continues his sleepwalking. You can now see he's heading toward a second identical circle, except this one has an unconscious female form in it.

Draylan, Renli, Marius
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Dragon
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Ragnar, Vardel
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Hands

Vardel, are you using your challenge on the dragon? I couldn't explicitly tell.

Will: 1d20 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 1 + 2 = 11

haza! made it... just

Yes I'm using my challenge on the dragon. I should have put some OOC text to clarify.

Will Save: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (5) - 1 = 4

Ragnar takes out his longsword and tries to hit the dragon.
Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18 Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Ragnar, the dragon is by Renli and Vardel. It's only medium sized. The beast in the circle is Koth'Vaul. I'll move you near the dragon, unless you want to help free the demon.

Ragnar's strike hits the dragon as well. For all the slashes it's taken, it still seems relatively healthy.

The crawling hands hop forward to try and crawl and grab Marius and Draylan respectively.

That will prompt AOOs from Draylan.
Hand1 vs Marius: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20 Hit
Damage: 1d1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Hand2 vs Draylan: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9
Damage: 1d1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

If those Draylan's AOOs, don't hit and kill them...
Hand1 Grab vs Marius: 1d20 ⇒ 11

Draylan, Renli, Marius
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Dragon
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Ragnar, Vardel
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Hands

Draylan, give me your AOO and then your normal turn. No grapple on Marius, so it's just the damage which will be affected. The hands are diminutive, so they are in your spaces. I've left the icons overlapping.

Oh, sorry. I missed that. I saw a dragon on the map and thought this is the dragon. No, I'm not stupid, just tired ;)

AoO Hand 1: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

damage 1: 2d4 + 6 ⇒ (2, 1) + 6 = 9

AoO Hand 2: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

damage 2: 2d4 + 6 ⇒ (4, 4) + 6 = 14

If 1 of the hands is still "alive" after AoO's, Draylan will 5' step south 1 square, drop his guisarme, draw and attack the hand with his heavy flail.

flail: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

damage: 1d10 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

Worried about the demon at his back and his charge wandering away, Renli winds up and swings again at the young dragon.

longsword attack: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 4 + 2 = 20
damage: 1d6 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 2 = 5

Draylan slices the hand at it hops up to attack Marius and then slams the other with his flail. Renli is able to cut at the dragon again and it roars in defiance.

Koth'Vaul sees Kalkamedes slip past the dragon and he yells. "Illvaster! Kill that mortal before he frees her!"

Draylan, Renli, Marius
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Dragon
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Ragnar, Vardel

Hands are dead. Marius is up!

Marius points at the dragon and fires a ray of frost at it.

Ranged Touch: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14
Damage: 1d3 ⇒ 1

Spurred by the demon, the dragon steps away from the party completely unconcerned with any openings it may give them. Illvaster races toward Kalkamedes. As the dragon moves, you see an odd, tumbling gait and it appears many of the dragon's bones are broken, but he keeps moving toward the sleeping paladin.

Draylan, Renli, Marius
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Dragon
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Ragnar, Vardel

Huge opening for our heroes. Everyone but Marius gets an AOO. Then Ragnar and Vardel are up with their normal turns.

AoO: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

damage: 2d4 + 6 ⇒ (1, 3) + 6 = 10

Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19

Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22 Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

"Something is not right with this dragon. Might it be that there is an illusion on it?"

So having already passed my Will save on the dragon, is there anything I can do to try and see through it?

Seeing the dragon turn away, Renli takes the opportunity to lash out at it again.

Longsword Attack: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 4 + 2 = 25
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 2 = 4

critical threat, rolling to confirm

Longsword Attack: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 2 = 10
Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 2 = 4

hmm, doubting a 10 confirms on the possibly illusionary dragon, so only 4 damage - damn 1's for damage rolls

Draylan, Ragnar, and Renli cut deep gashes in the dragon, tearing the flesh and lopping pieces off. As you attack the illusion becomes more obvious that this is not a real living dragon, but some undead zombie made from a dragon corpse. Of course, with the damage it's taking, it might not be even undead for very long.

Kalakamedes reaches the second ring with the woman in it. He kneels down and picks up a rock, then begins tying to destroy the ring.

Draylan, Renli, Marius
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Dragon
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Ragnar, Vardel

Still need AOO from Vardel, but everyone can take their normal turns.

His luck running on high, Renli charges the zombie-dragon, swinging his sword mightily at the beast.

Longsword Attack: 1d20 + 4 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 4 + 2 + 2 = 28
Longsword Confirm: 1d20 + 4 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 4 + 2 + 2 = 20
Crit Damage: 2d6 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (2, 5) + 2 + 4 = 13

Draylan moves passed the zombie, (provoking an AoO) putting him in an advantageous flanking position with Renli. Then attempt to trip the zombie.

heavy flail trip: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 8 + 2 = 29

"You WILL stay away from our disturbed friend!"

Draylan brings the undead dragon crashing to the ground and Renli takes a running leap to bring his sword down squarely on the creature's neck, severing its head.

Koth'Vaul howls at hearing his minion fall. "You will all suffer for this!"

Well done everyone. Closing post later this weekend.

Taking a bit of narrative control...

As Koth'Vaul curses you more, the group approaches the second circle where Kalkamedes is knelt. What you thought was an elven woman, Marius is able to identify as a Ghaele, a good outsider, instead. Renli is able to cast a healing spell on her and her eyes flutter open.

"Oh my." She sits up, still inside the circle. "It worked? Is Koth'Vaul still trapped? You must not trust him!" She then hears the tirade of curses coming from around the corner and notices the undead dragon zombie corpse. She also sees Kalkamedes continuing to try to destroy the circle while still asleep.

"Is that him? The man I was able to reach? When I was ambushed by the dragon zombie, Koth'Vaul nearly killed me. I underestimated the strength of the wards around him after all these years. My only hope was to dive into this circle before the zombie could finish me off. Unfortunately that meant I was trapped and I must have passed out. In my sleep though, I sought out someone to help me. With the wards limiting my touch on this world, all I could muster was a plea for help to his unconsciousness. Please, free me from this circle and we can end Koth'Vaul's influence in this world. And I can heal your friend and thank him for leading you to me."

The circle is destroyed in a matter of minutes and Sulianna, the Ghaele, is freed. She is still too weak to battle Koth'Vaul directly, but she grants Marius the power to perform a Banishment. Cast by a native of this plane, the spell easily binds to Koth'Vaul's circle and the Glabrezu fades into nothing. His howls of torment and defeat are all that remain. Smiling, Sulianna heals Kalkamedes and the ex-Paladin wakes from his sleep.

As the story is retold to him, he asks about his broken sword, Gamin. "Do you have him?" He takes the sword from Ragnar. "I hope he didn't cause you any trouble. He's a helpful blade, but he can be a tad exasperating at times."

Sulianna smiles weakly at the group. "I should go. My quest is done now. I owe you all a great debt not only for saving me, but also in helping to banish Koth'Vaul after all these thousands of years. When you are in need, you may call on me." With that, she too fades from this plane, returning back to Elysium.

************************************

Kalkamedes returns with the group to his cottage. Sheila Heidmarch thanks you for helping Kalkamedes and unraveling the mystery of his affliction. As the group begins to depart, Kalkamedes stops you. "Gamin and I have been discussing your work. I am getting older and soon, I'll need to retire for good. Gamin will live forever, but he needs a new friend to take him on adventures and not waste his potential. If you agree, I will give you Gamin as a final thank you for saving me." He presents you with his companion blade, Gamin the Misforged.

In your minds you hear a voice, "Well, now. You'd better treat me right. But I can't wait to see what kind of trouble you'll get into!"

That's it! Chronicles will be done in a day or two.