[Jehova's Arena, Test] Practice Battle 1: Karrik vs Shigeharu (Inactive)

Game Master Choon

Far beneath the publicly accessible arena are dank, smelly holes where many gladiators drill and practice before slaughtering one another on the brightly lit sands above. Really, there is no difference between these areas and the official Arenas above, except that the all-powerful Arbiters seem to not care about them. As a result, they are rarely cleaned and many have been littered with all manner of refuse, enabling many varied terrains and environments to be constructed from the general waste of the clean entertainment areas that are open to the paying public.
Your current arena is one of the cleaner ones. There are no significant piles of trash that could impede movement, but the old blood of countless practices still stains the sand, giving the entire area a deathly, reddish glow.
Also, unlike the Arena, there is no audience here. No pomp or excitement. Any other fighters who pass near the arena seem to be only marginally aware of a fight starting up. They've all seen it before.
Only two Gladiators really care what happens here.
Karrik begins at A10, Shigeharu at L10. Initiatives and descriptions including all visible gear and weapons, please.

The well-muscled, dark-haired human wears a ceremonial silk robe with a katana slung across one shoulder and a backpack on the other. He has a few vials, pouches, and javelins on his belt, but nothing else in the way of armor, though he does hold a rolled up parchment in one hand. The swordsman's facial expression is hard to read from a distance as his face is painted in the visage of a demon. He bows slightly, ready for danger.

Hehe, Karrik, huh? Should be a good fight, I hope. I've already thought of how I want to change this guy and he hasn't even had one fight yet. ;-)

A half-orc stands on his side of the arena. His appearance is a sharp contrast to his squalid, dark, disgusting environment. His clothes are of expensive cut and cloth. The silk bowler hat on his head doesn't shot a speck of wear. His dark long-coat is equally well-maintained and created, a chevron-patterned scarlet silk vest peeking out from underneath a well-maintained and oiled lamellar leather armor.

The half-orc's face and frame, however, are unmistakably orcish. His ashen gray skin is covered with tattoos that cover his shaved scalp. His teeth jut obtrusively from his lower lip. His wide, thick-limbed body looks to be able to lift a small horse.

In his hand he wields a wicked-looking but well-made scimitar, and a handful of other weapons decorate his person... as well as a scroll case and spell component pouch. (He's got a mwk scimitar, a mwk scorpion whip, a few daggers, and what look like 10 chakram within easy reach)

He gives his blade a few idle test swings by way of a warm up before looking across at his opponent. Despite the tusks, his words are well-formed and immaculately formed, "Well, then. No reason to dawdle. Let's get this little soiree started."

Initiative 20
mbauers, you need a link to the arena? It should be at the top of Jehova's thread somewhere.

Nah, I can find it. After you

Sorry, my Init was an 8. I put it in the spoiler

Yep.. Karrik. Da da DAAAAAA… that fill you with fear? :D

:: Surprise Round ::

Karrik begins moving slowly forward, dragging the back of his blade across his chest as he spits out a few arcane syllables.

5' step to B.10. Cast a spell.

You're up.

Spellcraft 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

Shigeharu nods, then reads his scroll and steps to the side, drawing his blade. He says a few arcane words as well and his sword glows with energy.

5 ft step to K11. Draw weapon. Do stuff (is this how I post, and then put the actual actions in spoilers?)

Looks good so far. Round 1.

The first "round" in each fight is a surprise round. So you should only have one standard or move action, with free or swift actions available as well. So you can't cast your spell and draw your sword. Though, logically you could have just as easily begun the arena fight with the sword in-hand (as well as the scroll in the other hand), so let's not sweat it. :)

All that said, Spellcraft (to ID spell) 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

:: round 1 ::

"Interesting," the half-orc says as he jogs towards you, switching his scimitar to his left hand and drawing and uncoiling a whip from his hip as he moves. As he gets within fifteen feet, he roars and flicks the whip in a side-arm motion. It uncoils through the air, the tip wrapping around the base of your own sword's blade before he gives it a mighty yank.

Switch scimitar to left hand. Move to H.11. attempt to disarm you of your sword.
Attack 18 vs. your CMD.
Thoguh I don't actually know what happens to your blade if he's successful. Is it on the ground adjacent to your guy or Karrik?

You're up.

I actually have an ability that let's me draw my weapon as a free action ;-)

Hmm, I'm not sure. I believe I drop it adjacent to me, but we might need to check on that.

Stated in the text of Greater Disarm, a standard disarm drops the item held at the feet of the victim.

That works for me. I certainly can't find anything more definitive. So if an 18 hit/beat your CMD, the blade's adjacent to you. You're up. :)

I don't know why I talked myself out of using a weapon cord :-)

Beneath the painted-on mask, Shigeharu's eyes widen at the skilled half-orc.

He picks up his sword and hesitates, then his warpaint animates as he reaches into his pouch and throws a colorful burst of sand into Karrik's face before slowly advancing. After spells, advance 5 ft step to J11

Will Save DC: 11, please

Then, Will Save DC: 14

Not sure if you get a Spellcraft for the first, but if so both are DC 16

Holy crap-buckets! okay… we'll go Spellcraft first.

Spellcraft 18, Will save #1 (DC 11) 21, Will Save #2 (DC14) 24
BOOYAH! >:D (Now watch me botch my own offensive rolls…)

:: round 2 ::

Karrik physically reels at the series of mental assaults, but ultimately he shrugs them off, shaking his head to clear the last few cobwebs before he mutters his own arcane riposte, his whip flashing a second time… this time wrapping around your feet and tugging powerfully.

He takes another step forward, closing the step forward with the imminence of an avalanche.

Cast spell, trip you, then 5' step to I.11 while dropping the whip and switching the scimitar back to his main hand.
Trip: 33 vs. your CMD

You're up (but hopefully down).

Im not sure what i was thinking... can't cast spells w both hands full, so no Spell Combat and no True Strike. Reduce the trip total by 18.

Yes, I was about to say that. Everything else so far is legit though. I've been checking.

That actually JUST hits--my CMD is 32 ;-)

What do you think of the Warpaint/Spell Combo? I think it might be a bit broken for this system. It's a swift action, and even if the person succeeds they're shaken for a round. Figure I had about a 50/50 shot to take you down with that Color Spray. I imagine that's how a lot of these fights go, huh?

The swordsman falls and as he does he sweeps his own blade around at the ankles of the half-orc, attempting to trip him before regaining his feet.

Attempt to trip YOU, no AoO possible (improved trip), even from prone I get a 16 which I have a sneaking suspicion is not enough. I will then stand up. If you're still standing, that'll provoke from you. Crazy fight so far, hehe.

Im not sure what i was thinking... can't cast spells w both hands full, so no Spell Combat and no True Strike. Reduce the trip total by 18.

True strike is verbal only, I believe. Lemme check.

Oh yeah, spell combat requires a free hand. Do you want to drop the scimitar and then do the spell combat, or do you want to trip sans spell?

Note--my turn may change

Procedural question, and since it's just practice I'll just type it here for both of y'all. Suppose Karrik's trip misses instead of hitting. If your trip had missed, I would have tripped you, then used spell combat to cast a spell. Instead I had to go for the tougher shot from prone, and got a 16. In the event of something like this with a retcon, can I keep my roll (which puts my total at 18 instead of 16), particularly since I'm taking the same action but with a better bonus? I see arguments for both sides, as prior knowledge of the roll can create sticky situations.

Nope, it was my oversight, keep the roll, but do whatever actions are appropriate for you not bring tripped.

18 trip--Does that hit your CMD? And do people put conditional rolls in their turns, like: Spell Combat, Trip, hits an 18. If he's tripped I'll cast spell, etc. If he's not tripped I'll cast the same spell defensively. Etc? Is that acceptable format? Again, sorry for all the questions.

18 hits Karrik's CMD. And you could either put your conditional actions in the spoiler, or simply post half your actions with a "will complete actions once trip is resolved" finishing statement. Though I'd suggest that isn't necessary if the difference is casting or casting defensively... you could probably simply put it in the conditional statement. Either way works, though.

Ok, sounds good. Oh, and I don't think I ever posted it overtly, but that other spell was color spray. Pretty obvious, that one.

Round 2

Shigeharu steps over the whip, then swings his own blade around, catching the orc behind his calves. While his opponent is dazed from the fall, he chants a spell, ice forming around his outstreched palm. He tries to touch Karrik's chest, then switches his katana to his icy hand. Frosty air slowly winds its way around the blade.

Trip, then touch attack. Attack is an 8 vs your prone touch AC. If that hits, you take 7 nonlethal and are fatigued.

For Conditional actions: I have done both ways with my gladiator, Bruno. If it drastically changes the turn then I'll just put a "to be resolved" statement on there. If it just changes a few bonuses, I tend to leave it in a spoiler for the Arbiter. He can then state my actions if he feels it's necessary and everyone who needs to know is clear on my intent from the beginning.
Karrik up.

Hmm, I probably should have prerolled my AoO in the event that he stands up, right?

You can, yes. He does have the option of staying prone, but, honestly, who does that? Besides rogues with that crawl talent. :)

Hehe, right. Here goes

Actually, add one more to the damage roll. I said whetstone bonus, but I forgot to include it in the dice roll

Eesh. 8 points of non-lethal, prone, and fatigued. How long does the fatigue last?

:: Round 3 ::

Karrik grunts against the cold, then tries to hold his weapon defensively between himself and the threat as he rolls to his feet.

Defensively stand up (provoking an AoO).

You're up

No my attack roll was an 8 touch Vs your prone AC for 7 nonlethal and fatigue. Did that hit? Then my AoO was an 18 vs prone AC. As for how long--study up on your spellcraft ;-).

Ah, gotcha. THe touch attack hit. But I didn't realize you had pre-rolled that (i try not to read spoilers). And an 18 doesn't hit on the AoO.
.
As for studying up on my spellcraft, I'm fine with Karrik not knowing how long the spell's effect would last, but he would definitely know when he no longer feltl fatigued. So either you can tell me how many rounds he'll be fatigued, or you can also track my fatigue, and let me know when it ends. :)

You're up, and Karrik's back on his feet... defensive.

I realized in hindsight my comment seemed snarky, I just didn't want to say because i didnt know if it was an effect of the spell or fatigue in general. Anyway, it's until your nonlethal damage is healed

Don't sweat it. I didn't read it as being antagonistic. And that's a decent debuff.

Shigeharu again tries to trip Karrik with his ice-covered katana.

5 more nonlethal damage and prone if 18 hits your Trip CMD, but I assume misses. (total defense adds to CMD too, right?)

That's a miss.

:: Round 4 ::

Karrik throws his blade up in a brutal block, then spits out a few arcane words before slamming his scimitar into you with a savage precision.

Casts spell, Scimitar strike.
Attack 42; Damage 10 (possible crit)
Crit confirm 30; Total crit damage 16

You're up

Nice hit! This has been an exciting match so far.

Did you drop the whip, then for spell combat? If so that's cool, I just don't want to get smacked in the face with a whip if you're holding it and I need to retreat.

Shigeharu recoils from the devastating blow. He eyes the orc with respect and sweeps the blade toward him again, trying to tangle his legs before casting a spell.

Trip hits a 20, if that hits my second charge of the touch spell goes off, hitting you for 4 more nonlethal and making you prone. Then please make a DC 13 WS.

Yep, sorry, I thought I had made him drop it already. He'd have dropped the whip at the beginning of last round.

That trip hits, 4 more damage and Karrik is prone, but he still threatens. Are you casting defensively? or do I have an AoO coming?

Nope on the ID... again. For a smart guy, he's kind of dumb. :)

Sorry, I had put the AoO in the spoiler (in case you stand) but I had to go back and roll for casting defensively. I didn't realize you could threaten from the ground, so thanks for the heads up. Casting defensively succeeded (22--wish that was the attack roll, hehe).

So, my turn? And was there an AoO for your spell? Or did you cast defensively?

Will Save 15

It doesn't matter, but did you remember your fatigue-ness?

Yep, your turn, btw.

It doesn't matter, but did you remember your fatigue-ness?

I did. I have karrik loaded up in HeroLabs with all my many debuffs toggled on. :D

:: Round 5 ::

Once again the half-orc rallies to his feet, holding his blade defensively in front of him.

Defensively stand up.

You're up.

Gah! I figured, just thought it would have been cool if he JUST saved. I think my AoO misses, since it's an 18 vs your prone AC again, so here goes.

Sticking with what works, the swordsman tries to trip the bigger orc and tries his spell again.

19 vs your trip, casting defensively succeeds with a 17, DC 13 WS again (same spellcraft DC, if you get it check my last spoiler ;-) )

:: Round 6 ::

Karrik blocks the strike as he stands, only to have his legs swept out from under him once again. He doesn't get a second of respite before his mind is assaulted, but once again he shakes it off before climbing to his feet once again... again, defensively.

Defensively get to his feet.

You're up.

You sure 19 trip hits your CMD when you have used total defense? I could have sworn I missed, but I suppose I could have JUST hit you. In any event, here's my AoO when you stand up.

AoO is a crit threat of a 24 vs your prone AC, but the confirm roll is only a 15. Damage is 9 if the 24 hits. I'll wait to see how that resolves before I take my turn.

And I have to go now anyway, so I won't be able to post for awhile. Later!