Motteditor's Fire Over Blackcrag (Inactive)

Game Master motteditor

FOR BIG AL
Big Al Reflex DC19: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23; 0 damage w/ Resist Energy
Nightsong Reflex DC19: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14
Immediate action ride check: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (12) + 14 = 26; 0 damage w/ Resist Energy

Big Al perches atop Nightsong as the great wolf trots back towards the group, shield at the ready.

Standard for full defense
Move closer to the group, but angling off to the north so we're not all in one big acid-breath-able area.

Tickdown will continue his performance.

I think we're still in the round where you started that performance. i think that's everyone, right?

Wow. Sorry, didn't realize it had been a week since the last game action post. Will try to make sure that doesn't happen again. I know going slow destroys a PBP's momentum and I'm having fun with this one.

As Tickdown continues his performance and Dorian waits for his allies to dispatch the last opponents.

Lacsar's quick to oblige, his arrows splattering the nearest gargoyle while Nic heals his wounds.

The last gargoyle attacker, still apparently unhurt, glides out of the storm, perching on a spire overlooking the party. He's clearly about ready to attack.

Based on the map, the 40-foot radius Sleet Storm centered on the top-right corner of N.13 looks to still be giving visual cover if the relative positions on the map are correct. Is that right? Or can we see the gargoyle?

Map is kind of off, as you all moved away from it. You can see the gargoyle (and vice versa). It's 50 feet up, about 30 feet away.

Using the old A^2+B^2=C^2... we are 60' from target.

Having a target, the archer opens up. Five arrows fly. Only four manage to strike the dodging gargoyle and none pierces the creature's vitals.

*click click* Out of Ki...

SWIFT: Ki - Additional Arrow
FULL: FOB

Total DAM, after DR: 25 DAM

Okay, thanks for the clarification. i was confused.

Nic explodes from the ground once more, streamers of inky blackness trailing his outstretched wings as he closes in on the remaining gargoyle. His void-maggots swim soundlessly in his wake until he points a single finger at the gargoyle with a dark command. Once again they obey immediately, oily bodies forming a dangerous layer of black ice before slamming into the gargoyle's chest and face ... where they burrow into the creature's body without leaving any obvious evidence of their invasion.

Fly to a spot 30 feet from the gargoyle and 30 feet off the ground.
Then defensively cast Frigid Touch, using Faith's Reach to make it a ranged touch attack.
Ranged Touch Attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22
---> Cold Damage: 4d6 ⇒ (4, 3, 1, 3) = 11; and gargoyle is Staggered for 1 round.

Big Al looks up at the gargoyle -- just out of reach at the moment -- and pats Nightsong's flank. The massive wolf coils, ready to pounce as soon as the gargoyle descends.

___________

Ready action to do an Aerial Assault on the Gargoyle, with the trigger being it flying into range (40' off ground).

Lance: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (7) + 18 = 25 (+7 BAB +5 STR +1 size +1 enhancement -2 power attack +2 morale +4 charge)
Damage: 6d6 + 42 - 10 ⇒ (3, 6, 5, 4, 3, 4) + 42 - 10 = 57 (+7 STR +6 power attack +1 enhancement +2 morale -10 DR)

Nightsong's Bite: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (1) + 11 = 12 (+4 BAB +6 STR -1 size +2 morale)
Damage: 1d8 + 11 - 10 ⇒ (4) + 11 - 10 = 5

Dorian didn't bother to throw a spell at the last remaining Gargoyle. He was confident that his allies could kill it without further arcane assistance.

Tickdown continues his performance as Dorian waits for his colleagues.

They snap into action, Nic's spell and Lacsar's arrows slamming into the last gargoyle, who reels back as he suffers his first wounds.

The slowed creature flies toward Nic, his movements painfull slow and Alemarra leaps up to attack, her lance slamming into him.

Map's not updated; he's in melee with Nic. I assume you'll kill him this next round, but just want to give you a chance to use some more resources. : ) After all, more fights loom. Still, if you guys want to speed things along, feel free to post your first actions/comments for when the fight ends.

Mott - What's the rough distance between the goyle and Lacsar given Nic's last move? Nevermind - if the goyle is within 30', it takes another 4 DAM.

Lacsar takes careful aim and places four more arrows in the monster's 'center ring'.

FREE: 5' Move
FULL: FOB

Total DAM, after DR: 25 DAM

You can close to him if you want, but otherwise he's closer to 60 feet. (I guess? I've lost track a bit, just due to too small a map.)

When the gargoyle closes, Nic reverses direction… soaring back over the group in an attempt to keep the creature in Big Al's flank.

Withdraw to just above Lacsar. No AoO for the gargoyle.

Big Al once again waits at alert for her first chance to leap and strike the gargoyle
____________

Ready Full action to do an Aerial Assault [1 MP] on the Gargoyle, with the trigger being it flying into range (40' off ground).
Lance AoO: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (19) + 14 = 33 (+7 BAB +5 STR +1 size +1 enhancement -2 power attack +2 morale +4 charge)
Damage: 6d6 + 42 - 10 ⇒ (1, 2, 5, 4, 5, 6) + 42 - 10 = 55 (+7 STR +6 power attack +1 enhancement x3 -10 DR)

Nightsong's Bite: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15 (+4 BAB +6 STR -1 size)
Damage: 1d8 + 9 - 10 ⇒ (5) + 9 - 10 = 4

A last onslaught from Lacsar and Big Al finishes off the final gargoyle and your left seemingly alone in the forest of stone spires, the earth chalice safely in your possession.

Nic hits the ground a few seconds after the gargoyle… which he's seemingly forgotten as he approaches Tickdown.

"You alright?" he asks genuinely, his faces painted with concern. "My powers can be… unnerving."

AS he waits for an answer, he gives Lacsar a quick look, wordlessly checking if the archer is fine.

Lacsar looks exhausted. "I need to rest... maybe an hour or so. I think we're safe enough here for the time being."

Use Mythic Recuperation to gain 28 HP and all Ki back.

"Yeah...I'm...right as...somethin'. Thanks fer whatever that was. Thought I was a goner."

Tickdown nervously shies away from the man.

"I think I could do with nice little sit-down too."

He rummages through his backpack, pulls out a block of cheese and some bread...and starts to munch on it.

"Could we make that two hours? I'd like a chance to regain my spells. Either way, we should probably depart from this place before making camp. Those guardians might have friends."

Dorian still seemed tense, even after the sounds of battle died away. He constantly scanned the area for signs of another ambush. As someone who prided himself on being one step ahead, getting caught off guard by the gargoyles had been a heavy blow to him.

The archer gives him a thumbs up, and gets up heavily, looking for a place of better cover and defensibility. "Two hours sounds fine. Although, I think we should try to avoid whatever the next step of this gauntlet is until tomorrow."

How are we all doing on Mythic Points? I am tapped out. And I don't relish another mythic encounter with no MPs to even the playing field.

The light is actually fading rapidly, only the very top of the sun still visible over the horizon, so you could try to find a place to rest for the evening if you want.

The base of the 3,000-foot-tall extinct volcano lies about 4 miles southwest of the Demon’s Teeth.

1d100 ⇒ 93

Tickdown squints up at the fading sun. "We probably should be looking for some campin' sites. Don't wanna be caught with our trousers round our 'parts'!"

good idea. Let's back track 20-30 min to a safe area and rest for the night. Big Al has a few mp left and one use of her challenge, but won't refuse a rest. she's happy to take 1st watch though.

Dorian has five MP remaining. I designed him to have a lot of stamina in that regard. Also, there's no need for us to take turns on guard. Dorian still has a 'Keep Watch' and 'Rope Trick' in reserve.

So our choice is to use an MP to take a quick break (1 hr?) to recoup class abilities or to take a full night's rest in 2 hours thanks to dorian's spells? I'm low on MP's, so I'd take the full rest if we could get it. If not, refilling my spells and having 2 MP's left will do just fine.

"I remember a place not more than half an hour back the way we came, where we can spend the night unobtrusively -- all the more so thanks to Dorian's magic. Let's rest ourselves before venturing further, we need the break."

Big Al, pats Nightsong on the flank and she starts to lead the way back.

Nic, Dorian only needs 2 hrs sleep for a full recovery thanks to his ring of sustenance. The rest of us would need 8 to get our MP back. Still seems worth it. And if we get interrupted after 1 hour, we'll at least have all but our MP back (assuming we spent 1MP when we lay down, which seems like a good idea).

Then I could contribute Nap Stack to cut that time down to 2. By spending 1 of Nic's MP, we'd all get 8 hours-equivalent of sleep in 2 hours… hiding in our hidey-hole thanks to Dorian.
.
Sound like a plan?

yep! Thanks.

If you only sleep for two hours, you'll need some source of light to travel since many of you can't see in the dark, I believe. Just need to know what that is... Alternatively, you can

The time in Dorian's impromptu sanctum sanctorum passes quickly as you recover with preternatural speed and you're soon ready to travel again.

Your journey to the base of the mountain is uneventful -- though midway through the journey, a ground-shaking roar sets your nerves on edge -- though the hike up the slope is arduous. Still, after a day's worth of walking, you find yourselves at the top, staring down into a caldera filled with a small pool.

Depending whether you traveled through the night or not, it's now early morning or late afternoon.

1d100 ⇒ 44
1d100 ⇒ 51

Let's just say we wait for morning, for simplicity, heading out just before dawn.

Big Al takes a moment to look down from the mountaintop at the surrounding jungle. This island may be harsh, but stunningly gorgeous. I could spend more time here, if our business were not so urgent. Then she readies herself for the next practical steps.

"Comrades, I guess our next task is to find the tears in the heart of the mountain. Let's take a look and see what we can see!"

Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (12) + 12 = 24

Mott, is there a clear way down? Does it seem safe? Any water visible or other indications as to where the "tears" might be?

There is a lake about 500 feet down, which you believe is made up of the tears. The way down seems as safe as anything else on the island.

Cool. Anyone have any prep they want to do first? Or shall we take a hike?

The way down seems as safe as anything else on the island.

Well, that's a loaded statement.

Nic looks down the slope and at the water, cocking his head first one way then the other like a stork eyeing a meal… or maybe like a stork eyeing some kind of stork trap.

"Welp… only one way to find out," he mutters, before his eyes momentarily blacken, triggering a black cascade down his whole body, leaving his skin covered in black scales. "Let's rattle some more cages."

Activating Cloak of Darkness (duration 1 hr)

Lacsar knocks an arrow but holds both the bow and leaf-headed shaft loosely in one hand. "Let's go see what's hiding down there. I have no idea what we might lay in wait... so I have no idea if we should walk together or space ourselves out."

"Let's stay together. It will make it easier for Nic and I to cast beneficial spells on the whole group."

Dorian looked a lot more nervous than usual. He kept turning in place and trying to watch everything at once. He was determined not to repeat the mistakes of yesterday.

After making your preparations, you stay in close formation as you enter the caldera.

Other than another loud roar from behind you startling you just as you begin your descent, nothing happens and you reach the lake after a few minutes of picking your way through the rocky terrain.

You can retcon in any preparations you want in your next post; figured I'd advance the action while I have time.

Nic stands at the edge of the water, then kneels down to touch the surface as he whispers a few arcane words. Casts Detect Magic on the water.

"So," he says to the water, "what do you think will jump out at us this time?"

The archer eyes the trail back up. "I'm wondering what's waiting outside the volcano. That roar was ominous."

Tickdown looks askance at Nic. He opens his mouth to say something but shuts it quickly and says nothing.

The water radiates overwhelming transmutation magic.

"Perhaps the water itself is our enemy this time. According to the Strix, even touching it can ruin your life. We should take every precaution to make sure that it doesn't spill. Otherwise, even a bump in the road could spell doom for us all."

Having grown up in a magical college, Dorian was no stranger to curses. Between accidents, student pranks, and being used as a guinea pig by the faculty, he'd suffered enough magical maladies to last a lifetime.

"Powerful transmutation." He looks over at Lacsar frowning, "Cutting the side off a waterskin and tying it over the top of the chalice may allow us to carry the water in someone's backpack without spilling."

He shrugs, "If no one has twine, we can use the string from my crossbow."

Nodding, Big Al agrees, "Tying it closed with the waterskin and your crossbow string seems a good precaution...but given the strix elder's warnings I think we should still carry the waters by hand, rather than risk them inside a backpack. Remember she warned against even touching them."

"Dorian, Nic, is there any magic you want to cast first? If not, I say we -- carefully -- gather up some of these tears in the chalice and seal it as Nic suggested. Tickdown, you're the most nimble amongst us. Would you accept the responsibility of carefully gathering some of these waters? And carrying them until we reach the ship?"

Nic shrugs his narrow shoulders, "I think I could figure out how to remove curses or enchantments, but I don't have anything that would ward them from us proactively..." He hands his crossbow to Lacsar to de-string as he talks, pulling out and cutting a side from the waterskin. "... at least nothing that's easy to keep up and active while we travel with the tears."

Dorian thought for a while, then shrugged as well.

"I can think of a few arcane spells that might help; But their durations are all too short. I suppose we could use Stone Shape to create a stronger lid for the chalice..."

"OK then, Tic, what do you say?"

After a few seconds of waiting, Nic shrugs before bending low with the chalice and—careful to avoid touching the water—scoops it up.

He stands slowly, slightly hunched and obviously expecting something to bum-rush him as he slips the waterskin cover over the top.