"What is that noise?" Douena calls across to the group among the skeletons. "Shut the doors! We can't deal with whatever else may be out there until we're done with Ieana!" She darts out of her alcove and is momentarily annoyed to see that Mahjik is between her and the double-snake-woman; then she dashes up behind him and touches him with Desna's luck. "Just like the cannibal witch," she tells him. "Take her down!"
Douena scurries out of the alcove and around the dry fountain to instil some luck in Mahjik. As she reaches that point, Yarzoth's chanting crescendos and shape begins to material behind Mahjik. In an instant, a massive snake is there and it snaps at Mahjik.
It sinks its teeth into the back of Mahjik's shoulder, but it does not get enough venom into the wound to affect him too adversely.
However, while Mahjik is distracted by the snake, Yarzoth herself whips her head forward and bites his arm. Her teeth sink in more deeply, and he can feel the venom course through his arm and spread throughout the rest of his body, weakening him. She then backs up a bit .
Next Up: Makoa, Skeletons, Urza, Pezock, Gibbering Mouther, Mahjik, Douena, Yarzoth and Snake.
"Urza, please close those doors!" Lorenz cries as he picks up his flail again and attacks the remaining skeleton standing beside him.
"What is that noise?" Douena calls across to the group among the skeletons. "Shut the doors! We can't deal with whatever else may be out there until we're done with Ieana!" She darts out of her alcove and is momentarily annoyed to see that Mahjik is between her and the double-snake-woman; then she dashes up behind him and touches him with Desna's luck. "Just like the cannibal witch," she tells him. "Take her down!"
I had planned to shut them. I just have to wait for my turn. Oh! And I am a convert of Bit of Luck. It is awesome.
Makoa steps forward, seemingly oblivious to the new snake , as swings his axe in a fury, leaning into the blow for extra strength.
As Lorenz bends over to grab his flail, the remaining skeleton attacks him, but it swings too high and the blade passes well above his bent back. Lorenz swings as he rises, and his flail smashes through the skeleton's ribcage, sending splinters of bone flying. Although it has no ribs left, the skeleton manages to stay standing.
Makoa moves up closer to Yarzoth and her image and swings at them. Both of them duck, but one is still in the axe's path. The axe passes straight through it, and the image vanishes.
The skeleton swings again at Lorenz, but misses once more.
Next Up: Pezock, Gibbering Mouther, Mahjik, Douena, Yarzoth, Lorenz, Makoa, Skeleton.
I would like to use my action to shut both doors. If I can't, I'll shut the door closest to the gibbering mouther.
I would like to use my action to shut both doors. If I can't, I'll shut the door closest to the gibbering mouther.
Urza moves into the antechamber and hurriedly closes the south doors, blocking off the strange mouthy creature from entering.
Pezock looks around, making little babbling noises, and spinning in place.
Urza hears something slap up against the other side of the doors just as Pezock seems to regain his senses. Suddenly, that massive screeching/babbling/singing noise starts up again.
Next Up: Douena, Yarzoth, Lorenz, Makoa, Skeletons, Urza, Pezock, Gibbering Mouther.
[ooc]EDIT: Okay, Mahjik just posted, so that question's avoided. Just the question of how rational one can be while confused. I know "do damage to self" doesn't allow any thought, but I don't know whether "attack nearest creature" allows her to realize she'll avoid AoO and have a chance to actually hit by changing weapons.
Mahjik shakes himself free of the snake's bite, smarting as the two sets of puncture wounds drizzle a steady bit of blood. He follows after Yazoth, intent on stopping her right now. His right palm thrusts at her chest in an attempt to wind her and thereby temporarily stun her. He follows up with a similar thrust with the left, but there's not nearly enough impact on the thrust to connect properly.
Mahjik moves up and valiantly attempts to take out Yarzoth. There are no illusory images left to fool him. Alas, she is quick--too quick for him. She dodges both attacks.
1)Assuming Mahjik doesn't move, is it a roll-off between her attacking the snake or him, or does the snake count as closer since it's not on a diagonal?
2)The only thing in Douena's hands right now is an unloaded sling. Does she try to hit the closest creature with it as an improvised weapon (as I presume she'd do to herself had she rolled 51-75), would she load it and then attack with it as a ranged weapon, or would she drop the sling and draw her staff to attack in melee?
Next Up: Yarzoth, Lorenz, Makoa, Skeleton, Urza, Pezock, Gibbering Mouther, Mahjik.
Douena cringes under the cacophony coming from behind the doors; it seems much louder than last time to her, and the babble of voices and sounds confuses her. She squeezes her eyes shut for a moment and when she opens them is surprised to see a snake in front of her. She didn't remember seeing that before. "SNAKE!" she shouts in alarm, dropping her sling and grabbing her staff. "Kill it!"
Douena whacks the side of the snake but only does enough damage to anger it. The snake immediately bites back at Douena.
Douena easily ducks out of the way.
Yarztoh hisses at Makoa, then turns away from him, exposing herself to attack. With a sudden bound , she leaps over the running blood and up onto the dais. There, she spins around and casts a spell. You can't be sure what effect it has.
Next Up: [/bigger], Lorenz, Makoa, Skeleton, Urza, Pezock, Gibbering Mouther, Mahjik, Douena, Yarzoth.
Determined to finish off the last skeleton, Lorenz swings his flail again.
Mahjik manages to jab Yarzoth in the back as she leaps away.
Makoa snarls as he takes a swipe at Yarzoth's exposed side, but he's too hasty and missise completely.
For a split second, Makoa is back in the forest again, chasing down an elk with his pack. A blood curdling growl escapes him as he runs after Yarzoth.
Forgetting his axe he aims for Yarzoth's throat with his fangs!
Lorenz swings at the last skeleton, but unfortunately is unable to connect with it.
Makoa tries to leap over the blood and follow Yarzoth. Unfortunately, he doesn't quite reach the edge of the dais and lands in the blood. It's warm, has if it has just flowed from a living creature. It's not very deep, however, so Makoa remains standing as it splashes around him. The depth does not reach his knees. Apart from its unpleasantness, it does not seem to have any immediate effect on him, and does not prevent him from attacking Yarzoth. Her raised position over him means that he cannot reach her throat, but he does bite into her leg, tearing out a chunk from just above the ankle. She screams in rage.
The skeleton swings its scimitar at Lorenz, then tries to scratch him with a sharp claw, but misses in both attempts.
Next Up: Pezock, Gibbering Mouther, Mahjik, Douena, Yarzoth, Lorenz, Makoa, Skeleton.
Urza moves back into the room (F23) and shuts the door behind him.
As Urza moves into the room and shuts the door, Pezock suddenly cries out in start. "Aaa! Another one of them! Die, monstrosity!" He swings his sabre at Urza.
The sword cuts across Urza's waist. Then the tengu leans in and bites Urza's arm.
Pezock laughs. "Ha! Take that, you..." His voice trails off. "You're not a skeleton," he says to Urza.
The cloud over Douena's mind clears away as well.
Next Up: Douena, Yarzoth and snake, Lorenz, Makoa, Skeleton, Urza, Pezock.
Mahjik follows after the retreating serpent woman. He goes far around using his superior speed shuffling sideways like a crab to avoid her reach. He cuts-off her retreat and delivers a high-impact kick to the low of her spine, with a bit of luck it will be enough to prevent her from moving for a bit.
"Yeah! I am not a skeleton!"
Acrobatics:
Okay, he's good.
Mahjik goes wide to the south side of the dais, leaping easily over the flowing blood. He comes up behind Yarzoth and hits her, but she seems to be only mildly perturbed by the hit.
Next Up: Yarzoth, Lorenz, Makoa, Skeleton, Urza, Pezock, Mahjik.
Douena finds herself alone on the far side of the river of blood with the summoned snake. The creatures Desna sends her only stick around for a little while; she hopes this one will be of similar duration. "Pezock!" she shouts. "Go fight Ieana; that's what we came here for. Lorenz and I can handle that skeleton." She quickly sidesteps to get away from the snake , then runs and leaps over the river of blood. "How about it, snake?" she shouts back across the stream. "Can you swim?"
It seems the snake can indeed swim. As Douena takes off across the room, the snake slithers after her and into the blood. However, at a call from Yarzoth, it turns and swims through the blood to the dais and towards Mahjik .
Yarzoth meanwhile shifts back from the edge of the dais, clearly not wanting Mahjik and Makoa to flank her .
With blinding speed, her head whips forward and she bites Mahjik on the shoulder. Her teeth sink in deep and he can feel venom entering his bloodstream.
Next Up: Makoa, Skeleton, Urza, Pezock, Mahjik, Douena, Yarzoth and snake.
Lorenz attempts one more attack on the skeleton. "Damn you, go back to death!"
"Damn it!"
Urza steps over to the skeleton and tries to rip its head off.
Claw:
to hit damage
Claw:
to hit damage
"Go help them. I got this." He tells Lorenz.
"Show her how to really bite someone, Makoa!" Douena calls encouragingly.
The blood was... oh how Makoa relished the feeling the scent of this much blood brought back, the sensation of bringing down prey. Even prey covered in rainbow flame. He leaps out of the blood like his lupine kin and tries for Yarzoth's throat again!
Unfortunately, Makoa isn't as used to his feral fighting as he once was, and his blood-slick boots slip and cause his fangs to close with a menacing *schink* on air.
Lorenz swings again at the skeleton, but it steps aside. Meanwhile, Makoa pulls himself out of the blood and goes for Yarzoth, but she dodges away from him.
The skeleton swings its sword at Lorenz, but it is too much too the side and doesn't come close. It is then unable to close the gap to hit him with its claw.
Urza steps up to the skeleton. His first attack misses, but with the second, his claw scrapes across the skeleton's head and over its empty eye sockets. Unfortunately, it barely scratches it.
Pezock shakes his head and snarls. He moves across the room towards the dais, pulling out his dagger along the way. He stops just short of the blood and throws the dagger at the snake.
The dagger lodges in the side of the snake, which hisses in irritation.
Next Up: Douena, Yarzoth and snake, Lorenz, Makoa, Skeleton, Urza, Pezock.
The numbing poison throws off Mahjik's first attack as he takes Yarzoth in a flanking vice; but his follow-up attack carries all the power and conviction of his usual fighting style. "We need to get his over with quickly," he manages through gritted teeth.
Mahjik manages to deliver one strong blow to Yarzoth, who reels back from the impact, a snarl of pain on her face.
Next Up: Yarzoth and snake, Lorenz, Makoa, Skeleton, Urza, Pezock, Mahjik.
Douena looks over her shoulder; Mahjik looks hurt, but Ieana and her snake are too close. She runs over behind Urza where she has a good look at the stubborn skeleton, presents her holy symbol, and asks, "A little help, Desna?" Barely hearing the faint sound of the song of Desna, she grumbles, "I didn't mean that little."
The Song of Desna reverberates around the chamber. It's muted and only provides the barest of healing power, but cracks appear on the skeleton. It begins to shake and then collapses in a pile of bones.
The snake slithers up behind Mahjik flanking him with Yarzoth. It then lashes out, as does Yarzoth.
Yarzoth sinks her teeth into his shoulder again, injecting more poison into the wound.
Next Up: Makoa, Urza, Pezock, Mahjik, Douena, Yarzoth and snake.
Lorenz breathes a sigh of relief as the skeleton collapses. "Finally!"
He then steps away from the battle, tossing aside his weapon and shield and draws the bow, pulling an arrow back and letting it loose at the serpent woman.
Makoa snaps at Yarzoth again, fully intent on ripping out that neck she keeps showing when she bites at Mahjik.
It's too bad that he is too eager to actually get a hold on the scales.
Lorenz's arrow flies across the room, over the altar and straight towards Yarzoth. Alas, she lowers her head at just the right moment and the arrow shoots over top. Makoa snaps at her, but she quickly dodges him as well.
Next Up: Pezock, Mahjik, Douena, Yarzoth and snake, Lorenz, Makoa.
"The river of blood is safe right?" Urza goes to D17 and casts Acid Splash against the summoned snake.
Acid Splash: RTouch, fire into melee
to hit damage
Mahjik keeps his rhythm going - punching left then using the momentum to follow-up with a spinning elbow that leaves a painful bloody trickle on Yarzoth's jaw.
Pezock shrugs in response to Urza's question and grimaces a bit when Urza moves into the blood. Urza fires off a glob of acid, but the shot doesn't go high enough and impacts with the altar.
Pezock steels himself and leaps past Urza, landing just beside the snake.
The tengu swings his sword and cuts deep into the snake. It hisses in annoyance.
Mahjik tries again to get Yarzoth, but she ducks away from both attacks.
Next Up: Yarzoth and snake, Lorenz, Makoa, Urza, Pezock, Mahjik.
The skeleton threat dealt with, Douena looks up at the suddenly-crowded platform around the altar. "I can't do anything with everyone in the way up there," she complains loudly. She glances back at the double doors, considering opening them and finding out what that thing was out there making all the noise. "Might as well get my light first," she decides. "Get a clearer look." She hops over the river of blood and goes to pick up her glowing bone chip.
As Douena darts across the room into the northeastern alcove, the snake suddenly vanishes. Mahjik continues to feel weakened as the poison spreads through his body. Yarzoth's eyes narrow and she incants a few words and motions with her hand. Suddenly a massive booming sound erupts from the southeast corner of the altar.
The sound is so loud it physically hurts, and for Mahjik and Pezock, who are right by the source, it's disorientating. Pezock's sword drops to the ground and Mahjik loses hold of his lantern. Yarzoth steps back into the corner .
Next Up: Makoa, Urza, Pezock (stunned), Mahjik (stunned), Douena, Yarzoth.
Lorenz's face pale with disgust, he steps to the side into the blood and carefully pulls one of the new arrows he'd found, nocks it and fires at Yarzoth.
Cornered prey is the most dangerous, but Makoa knows his pack is close and the ringing in his ears infuriates him even more.
Lorenz wades across the river of blood and emerges on the other side. Fresh blood drips from the bottom of his legs. He fires off one of the magical arrows, but unfortunately, even its magic is not enough to help the arrow hit . It lodges in the back wall above Yarzoth's head.
Next Up: Urzas, Pezock (stunned), Mahjik (stunned), Douena, Yarzoth, Lorenz.
Makoa steps forward and sinks his teeth in the neck he's been trying to reach for some time now. Yarzoth screams in agony as he rips away a chunk of flesh. Yarzoth is starting to look quite badly injured.
Next Up: Pezock (stunned), Mahjik (stunned), Douena, Yarzoth, Lorenz, Makoa.