GM Rednal's Mark of the Chosen (Inactive)

Game Master Rednal

She sighs inwardly, as this priest was likely only deluded. Still, they seem to be a bit distracted. She says nothing, just hurls energy at them, hoping to catch all of them before they notice her.

swift to start luck. Chain, empowered blast

touch attack, possibly flatfoot: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22
bludgeoning damage: 5d6 + 1 ⇒ (1, 2, 3, 6, 4) + 1 = 17

touch attack, possibly flatfoot: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
bludgeoning damage: 5d6 + 1 ⇒ (4, 5, 6, 1, 3) + 1 = 20

touch attack, possibly flatfoot: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12
bludgeoning damage: 5d6 + 1 ⇒ (2, 1, 3, 4, 2) + 1 = 13

If a stealth is needed to get them flatfooted, stealth: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26

Your second hit would miss by one. Did you want to go ahead and Surge that to hit all three of them, or save that power and be content with hitting the first?

Being outnumbered is bad. I'll surge.
surge: 1d6 ⇒ 2

Your bolt hit the first of the men, then ricocheted off and towards one of his companions. As it moved, you could see that the angle was just a little bit wrong - but the issue was shallow enough that an exertion of power and will could correct it. Your adjusted aim was enough to outright drop that man, and the blast shot off again to hit his companion. With a yelp, the two still standing whirled around.

"Who the F@#$ are you!?" the apparent leader asked, holding up his weapon defensively.

"I'm the person who isn't a marauding thief burning children in their homes." she says, wiping soot off of her cloak. "Surrender and I won't harm you any further."

intimidate: 1d20 + 8 + 1d6 ⇒ (6) + 8 + (3) = 17

The bandit hesitated for just a moment, glancing at his collapsed friend... then took off running around the corner, followed by his shorter companion. Neither of them gave another glance to the fallen one, and the priest clasped his hands together, speaking quickly.

"Thank you, oh great one, for this deliverance of your faithful servant." he murmured piously.

"He had noting to do with it, but theological discussions can wait. We need to save civilians and gather those who can help defend us. How defended is the church? What healing magic do you have available? What resources are nearby?"

diplomacy: 1d20 + 11 + 1d6 ⇒ (7) + 11 + (2) = 20

At your first words, the priest looked askance at you - but the flames and smoke were still a very present threat. "I can channel the powers of life fairly regularly. I don't think this area's in too much danger, though - most of them headed towards the town square, and stone doesn't burn so easily."

She nods and moves on towards the square. If possible, she'll warp to the roof of one of the buildings in order to look down on what's happening.

Warping up to a rooftop, you see a man cowering in the alleyway below - one more terrified figure out of all the masses here. The smoke is still thick here, but you can get at least a somewhat better view. Dimly, in the distance, you can see a number of figures moving around in what looks like a more open area - and that's where the flashes of light are coming from. Now that you're close, you can see that there also seems to be a spread of odd darkness mixed in - although it's not yet clear who's doing it, what's happening, or why. The whole of the city being essentially covered in smoke is... well, not very good for detailed viewing of things at a distance.

Does it seem to be magical darkness?

Given the way it's moving unnaturally, unlike any phenomenon you can remember... that would be a reasonable conclusion. Note that the light and darkness don't seem to be in opposition to each other.

She takes a moment to focus on her other senses and reach beyond to make herself aware despite the smoke or the light or the darkness.

Mythic point for Blindfolded Oracle

She will then warp down behind cover and examine the area from down below.

stealth: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21

Passing by, you see a man cowering in the alleyway, away from the flames - while up ahead, you see a larger group of bandits crowding the town square and pursuing a figure who was jumping from roof to roof atop the many stalls (currently deserted) that dotted the area. Every now and then, a bolt of light or clump of darkness erupted out of her hands, striking a bandit and knocking them down. Judging by the number - and location - of fallen forms, she'd been at this for quite awhile... but just as obviously, they were slowly driving her towards a corner where there'd be nowhere left to run from the multitude of weapons they carried.

She will nod at the cowering man and whisper, "Keep to cover and stay safe." before she moves through the shadows. The enemy of my enemy deserves a little help. she thinks to herself as she watches the bandits converge on the other figure. As the gather close, she releases a blast of crystal to cut them and lock them down.

She will use Wild Arcana to create an augmented Living Crystal Blast with either Explosive Orb (15' radius), Energy Wall (120' wall) or Sculpt Blast (40' cone/160' line), depending on which will get the most bandits.

damage: 6d6 ⇒ (6, 2, 4, 1, 1, 6) = 20
DC 16 reflex save for half damage. DC 16 reflex save vs. being entangled in crystal. 18 points damage to break out of the crystal

if needed to get into position stealth: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25

The bandits were spread out across the area, but the Explosive Orb managed to take out a few of them, and several more turned to face you as the fighting continued slowly moving away. The ones facing you spread out a little more, and briefly, you saw a series of lines link their bodies. A moment later, bows were drawn and arrows sailed through the air towards you.

Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11
Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24 for Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 6
Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30 for Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 8
Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23 for Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 6
Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25 for Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 8
Crit Confirm: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27 for Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 6

...Welp, that was more successful than it had any right to be. o_O What IS it with this dice roller and long streams of numbers weighted one way?

A moment after the arrows rained down, a globe of darkness enveloped you - dark enough to sharply reduce the accuracy of things that needed to be aimed well, but not going to do much to explosives like the orb you'd shot earlier.

You (and your foes) now have Concealment from each other.

Slipping into cover, she begins to heal herself.
stealth: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31
cure: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Taking cover definitely helped, although you could hear the bandits on the other side maneuvering around, looking for a place where they could expose you again and continue firing. That said, given the generally shrouded nature of your area - and the darkness didn't seem to be moving with you, which meant nobody could track you with it - you might be able to keep stealthing around and out-maneuvering them if you wanted to continue healing instead of going back into combat.

(Of course, the faster they fell, the fewer there were to pose a risk to you... so both courses of action definitely had their merits.)

She'll take another moment to recover before continuing the fight.
Mythic point for Restore health

2d8 + 6 ⇒ (8, 8) + 6 = 22

Obviously the dice agree with my actions

That they do. o wo

Healing energy surged through your body, repairing much of the damage that had been done to you - right before two of the archers managed to round the corner, draw their bows, and fire another pair of arrows through the air.

Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20 vs Concealment, 81-100 is Good For You: 1d100 ⇒ 71 for Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 3
Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (18) + 10 = 28 vs Concealment, 81-100 is Good For You: 1d100 ⇒ 33 for Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 2

Despite the shade, both arrows managed to strike you, although neither had the power of the bolts that had hit before (and one of them had come fairly close to missing... alas, 'close' wasn't enough).

She snaps off a quick bolt and moves off behind cover to draw them in closer.

Activating luck, swift
touch attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
damage: 3d6 ⇒ (1, 1, 4) = 6

stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24

The one you shot at ducked around a corner, smoothly avoiding the bolt - and the two of them arced wide, aiming to expose you. Alas, in the center of the town square, most of the cover wasn't too large... the place saw a lot of traffic, after all, and anything too large would have been a problem for the people who were normally here.

Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23 Miss Chance: 1d100 ⇒ 79 for Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 5
Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27 Miss Chance: 1d100 ⇒ 76 for Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 5

One of these days, I'm going to start using map packs for this stuff... also, the archers are currently 30 feet away.

There may not be cover, but I should have a chance of using stealth because there is concealment. Or do they have blindsight as well?

That would be interesting, but no, they don't have blindsight. XD There just isn't much space to actually hide in this area, so stealth is of limited use. You could, however, try to make a stealth-worthy area (creation magic, moving stalls and such into a larger tangle that'd be easy to hide in, and so on).

Magical concealment does not allow people to make stealth checks in your world? How is it different from normal concealment? I'm trying to go with the information I have to work with.

Yeah, hence my note on using maps... I'm thinking they might make this kind of thing easier. *Jots down a note* Confusion during combat is NOT what I'm trying to go for.

Functionally, you're in a large sphere of something similar to dim light, but that only provides concealment and the miss chance. Stealth is actually kind of a tough skill, since it usually requires something besides yourself in order to be used properly. If two guards are watching a door from the inside, for example, then you can't stealth to open it and slip into the room without them noticing, no matter how high your roll is. Some things just aren't realistic. On the other hand, casting an illusion over the area so it looks like it's still shut might allow you to stealthily open it and get inside. Similarly, just ducking around a corner and having no other cover won't necessarily allow you to hide if someone else looks around the corner, especially if they saw you do it and knew to look there. Getting past that requires something like the Rogue's Hide In Plain Sight talent, where you're specifically good at hiding in a given terrain even when observed, or with some other creative method you can come up with.

I often offer suggestions about things you can do, but those are not your only options. Creativity is acceptable and, indeed, encouraged. o wo/ And, of course, you are ALWAYS welcome to ask for clarification on whether or not something would work. Also, since I think you were caught off-guard by Stealth not being very practical here... I'm willing to give you an extra move action for your next post since it was 'lost' earlier. ^^

You can hide in concealment even when you have no cover. Concealment and Stealth Checks: You can use concealment to make a Stealth check. Without concealment, you usually need cover to make a Stealth check.

But I'll accept that this is cut-rate concealment and take the move action. If you'll let me trade two move actions for a non-attack standard, I'll go with this.

As the two archers converge she closes her eyes and focuses her enhanced senses on the one on the right. Blasting out she focuses to take him down.

touch attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25

bludgeoning damage: 3d6 + 1 ⇒ (6, 6, 6) + 1 = 19

As the blast clears, she pulls her cloak around herself as she warp to the top of a stall, hoping to misdirect the other.

Standard for warp

stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24

In this case, the issue would be that by moving, they effectively negated your concealment - they knew you'd gone around the corner, and wouldn't be trying to spot you until after they'd brought that area into sight. You'd be well-hidden from their original spots, but not from where they actually were. o wo/ ...And sure, two move actions for a standard. XD

Your blast rocked one of the archers, but didn't quite down him - although your sudden disappearance did throw them into a bit of a frenzy as they looked around. Like most archers, they had fairly keen sight-

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15
Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22

-but in this case, it wasn't quite keen enough. Ducking around a corner hadn't been enough to hide, but the confusion of your warp, and a convenient stand nearby, were. You could hear more voices nearby - their friends, apparently, searching other areas.

She blasts at the injured one to take him down, and crouches at the far side of the stand to get a little cover from the roof.

Swift to bring luck back up

touch attack, flatfooted: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25
damage: 3d6 + 1 ⇒ (5, 2, 6) + 1 = 14

The good: Your attack was accurate (and the darkness didn't seem to be inhibiting you any - an effect of whatever had conjured it, maybe?), striking the archer you'd injured earlier.

The bad: The remaining one now had a good idea of where you were, and you hadn't stealthed again after your shot. Whirling around, he launched another arrow-

Ranged Attack vs You In Cover: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (2) + 10 = 12

-and it simply bounced off of the cover you'd managed to find. Another arrow came arcing your way a moment later, from about ninety degrees to the side this time as another of the archers noticed his friend's attack and joined in.

Ranged Attack vs You In Cover: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20

He was actually rather closer than his friend - but not quite close enough.

She will slip down on the far side of the stall and warp behind the next stall while they can't see her. . Hopefully they will come in close looking for her.

And that they did - there was a moment of silence as they evidently looked around, followed by the sound of pounding footsteps as they hurried forward to see if they could catch up to you again.

As they come in close she reaches out her hand and sends energy from one to the other.

Chain and augmented on the blast

touch attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
damage: 5d6 + 1 ⇒ (3, 4, 6, 3, 6) + 1 = 23
touch attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17
damage: 5d6 + 1 ⇒ (1, 3, 5, 4, 3) + 1 = 17

Just after this she rounds the stall and leaps in through the window. they'd have to stay close to pursue her.

acrobatics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

The two pursuers yelped as your blast ricochet'd between the two of them - then they charged forward, following you in through the window. One landed right next to you, a longsword in their hand - the other was behind them, already raising their bow.

Melee Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13
Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16

Alas for them, neither blow was accurate enough to hit.

Are they still close enough to chain?

Well, given that the other is 5 feet behind his friend... most definitely. XD

Holding her machete ready she instead keeps up with the magic. she expects that he might be able to get one blow in, but hopes that she can take both down.

concentration: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22
touch attack#1: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19
damage: 5d6 + 1 ⇒ (1, 3, 2, 2, 2) + 1 = 11
touch attack#2: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26
damage: 5d6 + 1 ⇒ (3, 5, 3, 5, 4) + 1 = 21
touch confirm#2: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
damage: 5d6 + 1 ⇒ (6, 4, 2, 4, 1) + 1 = 18

The first hit was a nice, solid one - the second better still. Of course, chaining blasts did take its toll on your energy - it wasn't the kind of thing you could do all day - but just as clearly, it was working. That was three down from the five that had come to attack you... and while they didn't know where you were, you didn't have their current locations, either.

A moment will let her catch her breath and start more healing. She'll use the stall to hide herself.

1 SP for revitalize. I also checked back and missed the last damage, so I corrected that. Take 10 for stealth for 19.

She will spend a few moments listening and healing. If nobody finds her by then, she will toss a stone at the sign at the next stall over to draw their attention. Hopefully they come one at a time.

I'll wait for 5 rounds before draing them in. Or unless I the situation changes. (Healing not yet applied)

perception: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (17) + 14 = 31

About half a minute passed as you slowly recovered your vitality. More notably, however, you couldn't hear any sign of people approaching after you threw the rock. (Not unless they were being absurdly stealthy, anyway, but that was a long-shot given how acute your senses were.)

She will exit the stall and begin moving to the right around the plaza. She'll use what cover there is, warping if need be.

perception: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (5) + 14 = 19
stealth: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13
Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22

There was no response - yet, at least. It looked like the remaining archers were using tactics similar to yours, hiding somewhere in the darkened sphere while trying to locate you before you located them. For the moment, at least, it looked like they were successful at the hiding and... well, less so at the noticing.

Ah, submarine warfare!

She continues her search, getting a little bolder.

perception: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (14) + 14 = 28
stealth: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

Stealth: 2d20 ⇒ (8, 3) = 11

This time, your keen-eyed gaze was a little better, and you were able to pinpoint the hunters. One was ahead of you by about forty feet, the other was behind you by thirty feet. Both had total cover, though, making direct attacks difficult at best.

Looking for things is only a move action, though, so I believe you still have a Standard Action left this round. ^^ Note that Spellcasting, should you choose to use it, breaks Stealth by virtue of its general ability to be observed. (Otherwise we'd have waaaaaaaay too many people, including NPCs, stealthily using mind-control magic... o wo; Best to keep that can of worms shut.)

She will look for places where she can get a better shot on either one. Either places that she can sneak to or places she can Warp to.

Well, there were the tops of the local stalls, which would be a somewhat better angle. More likely, though, you'd have to reach their side somewhere unless you could get high enough into the air to totally clear your line of fire - which definitely wasn't going to happen just from the low ceilings of the stalls. They seemed to be guarded mainly in your current direction - attacks from the sides or the rear wouldn't let them take advantage of their positioning.

She will warp about forty feet beyond the one ahead of her. That should negate the cover.

Just to be clear, you wanted to spend the Spell Point and give yourself long range, heading 80 feet in total?

Yes. They are a dwindling commodity, but so is time.

Fair enough. XD

With a burst of magic, you shot across the distance, arriving on the other side of the archer. Without the benefit of cover, they were exposed to you... although you, similarly, were exposed to them. Whirling around, your target sent one arrow your way-

Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30 Miss Chance, 81-100 is Good: 1d100 ⇒ 46 for Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 2
Crit Confirm: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27 for Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 5

...For a snap shot on a turnaround, it was actually rather impressive - and they darted off to the side a moment later, taking cover (although not total cover) behind another stand twenty feet away from you. Another arrow came sailing in from the distance-

Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 10 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 10 - 2 = 14

-but was nowhere near as accurate.