Slumbering Tsar: Forward - The Camp (Inactive)

Game Master Lord Manticore

As the blast wave washes over, Calendir grits his teeth and instead of jumping away from it, jumps into it, barreling Azaraunt and Lavinia down protectively, using his body as cover for his two companions that huddle together.

With a calm look at the two of them he whispers - You will prevail.

Ruul was already trying to do that.

I wish people would read my posts...

Lavinia would huddle towards Ruul as he attempt to cover he from the dragons blast.

Calendir Elberen wrote:

As the blast wave washes over, Calendir grits his teeth and instead of jumping away from it, jumps into it, barreling Azaraunt and Lavinia down protectively, using his body as cover for his two companions that huddle together.

With a calm look at the two of them he whispers - You will prevail.

Ruul was already trying to do that.

I wish people would read my posts...

Ruul, I DID read your post, but I also read the one where you said you would walk away - in discussion. In any case, it is irrelevant if Ruul is trying to do that or not, Calendir would also try to do it - but don't worry, you can protect Lavinia on your own, I will do so for Azaraunt - his loyalties are to all that stood in there with him ;)

Thanks, and there might not be any way for you to know but Azraunt and Lavinia, and maybe Ruul, are safe for a few rounds in a dome of force.

Ruul breathes a sigh of relief as the wizard's bubble of force comes up around the three of them. He bows his head and tucks in his legs to fit his massive bulk within it.

I still need to see saves from Ruul, Azaraunt, and apparently Calendir for the breath weapon.

We're inside the Emergency Force Sphere.

Does the breath weapon penetrate force effects or something?

LM - No save is required if my Immediate Interrupt spell went off. It interrupts the breath weapon. We should be safely tucked into a dome of force energy.

@Ruul and Azaraunt: It doesn't interrupt the weapon, per se, but beyond that, here is what I am thinking: Ruul is able to get into the dome, barely. He is considered squeezed until the Enlarge Person spell wears off. Further, the entire dome is covered in this black bile-like substance. It blots out all viewing from either side. You also have about two minutes of air between you two and Lavinia.

Calendir, you need to make a Dex check, DC18, to get into the EFS. Otherwise you'll need to make that Reflex save, DC24 on the breath weapon.

My idea was to forfeit the roll to provide cover, but if everyone is safe inside the bubble, I want in too :D

Dexterity roll: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

The sphere only lasts 7 rounds so the air should not be a problem. Were we hit with a breath, or was this a sluff off of tar? Azaraunt is still trying to understand this creature.

The breath weapon is tar and it's covering the sphere.

As much as Lavinia felt Ruul's solid presence help her overthrow the beast's attempt to make her cower in fear, Lavinia now feels his actually physical being shielding her from the dragons breath weapon. She was bracing herself for the impact of it against them both as Azaraunt's force shield manifested over top of them all. Peering out from underneath Ruul's thick arm, Lavinia notices the tar-like substance clinging to the surface of the shield. Oh crap. That stuff is still going to fall on us all as soon as the shield comes down...

The sphere only lasts 7 rounds so the air should not be a problem. Were we hit with a breath, or was this a sluff off of tar? Azaraunt is still trying to understand this creature.

It is literally his vomit, which is this tarry, acidic bile. It covers everything it hits and can engulf whatever it hits. It engulf/entangle up to a Gargantuan creature, and can do it once every eight rounds. It can do the same to a Medium creature every other round, or four at once every eight rounds. It spit out enough to cover you, Lavinia, and Ruul, with some to spare, which doesn't affect the Reflex save, but it does affect the Strength checks needed to fully pull free from the gunk.

** spoiler omitted **

The wizard looks at his friends in the nearly dark globe. The smell of the tar seems up from the ground as the seal the sphere makes with it is not quite water tight. Perhaps it will harden or will have lost its potency by the time the sphere fails. I can dimension door Calendir and Lavinia out, but Ruul, you are too large for me to move unless I leave all others behind. I can carry 2 medium OR 1 large creature with me. If Calendir is not in the sphere And Lavinia can (make herself small maybe in a haversack I could, in theory carry both her and Ruul out. If we do dimension door out, where shall we go?

Edit: LM has provided more detail - Calendir is with us and the effect of being here when the sphere ends is not something Azaraunt wants to experience. He can come and go with Dimensional step, but the dragon may not specifically be happy to allow him to do this. I do have a plan though.

Listen carefully. I can get everyone out, but it will drain my powers considerably. I will take Ruul out first, but only move him 15 feet behind this sphere, where we may have some cover from the dragon. I can then pop back in using my dimensional step ability and using my arcane bond dimension door Calendir and Lavinia and myself to some place of safety. Thoughts? As he says this the wizard casts invisibility on himself.

Lavinia swaps out an orison for create water and and then casts it atop the force shield in an attempt to wash off the tar. "Azaraunt, stupid question, but can you use a prestidigitation spell to clean off your shield before it drops.?"

That's problematic...

Ruul glares at the orc before addressing the wizard.

"That was good thinking but I'm afraid all you've done is buy us time. Do you have a spell that can get us out of here?"

"Lavinia, are you unharmed?"

Dimension Door?

We are posting over each other, which is actually a good problem to have. :)

Answering the cleric Azaraunt explains Lavinia, you cannot create water outside the sphere. The force effect blocks line of effect. Nor can I use a spell like prestidigitation through the sphere.

Turning to Ruul he explains his plan above and asks Shall I take you out first my friend? If I do, I am afraid I will be exposed and somewhat helpless after the dimension door spell is complete, but you will be able to act as you normally would.

If the tar hits us, its a ST DC 35 to be able to breathe again..? :O

By the way... Where is Digory? I'm just asking..

Ruul's look does not go unnoticed to Calendir, and he stares back at him, but apparently addressing Azaraunt as he speaks - Get Ruul and Lavinia out of here - I got us into this, I will fend for myself.

We are posting over each other, which is actually a good problem to have. :)

Very much so. A busy PBP is always better than a 1/day one.

***

Ruul takes a deep breath.

"I said before there was going to be no unnecessary sacrifices and I meant it", the bull says. "Just follow our directions and get a handle on your bow."

"Azaraunt, can you cast Dimension Door enough times to leave, return, and leave again?"

Yes, except I must use Dimensional Step to return, so my first Dimension Door must be a short distance (about 20 feet) or I risk being able to return. The second one can be much farther.

Perhaps we should pause and allow the others to act. :) Besides, its about my bed time.

Bah, let's not lose good momentum.

"Then do it. Take the others out first. With any luck, those on the outside will have distracted the beast."

Ruul looks to Lavinia as he speaks the next part.

"Head towards the trenches where the fighting is the thickest. The dragon seems more interested in making a point that actually killing us and we may be able to get lost among the crowd."

He looks at Calendir next.

"Do. Not. Fire. Another. Shot at that creature. Remember the oath you swore? Explore. Cooperate. Report. No part of that includes picking a fight with dragons on principle. We'll slay that thing when we need to but we are not prepared for it now."

Lavinia nods at Ruul, not actually answering since she knows she isn't going to go very far without him.

A hell of a weekend to be out!

After learning of the Dragon's tarry coating, he sheathed Sandstorm and drew his bow. In the moments after the dragon buried the others in a black bubble, he moved 30' forward and yelled up.

Sarenrae does not suffer your kind to live

He then unleashes his best effort.

Battle dance, smite evil, flagbearer, haste

Longbow: 1d20 + 10 + 6 + 2 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 10 + 6 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 30
1d8 + 6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 6 + 2 + 1 = 16

Longbow: 1d20 + 10 + 6 + 2 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 10 + 6 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 34
1d8 + 6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 6 + 2 + 1 = 16

Longbow: 1d20 + 5 + 6 + 2 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 5 + 6 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 32
1d8 + 6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 6 + 2 + 1 = 17

Extra damage on first successful attack: 6 = 6

During this, Elen is racking her brain trying to think of a way to get them out. What is the dragon doing? She may run over and start picking at the tar with a dagger if the dragon doesn't seem to be actively threatening anymore.

She can't hear any of the conversation inside the sphere. She is looking for a way to distract the dragon or something.

Ally will cause the illusionary creature to appear to fly around to the north of the dragon, basically baiting him to attack it. It will not attack but will ready its bow and appear to shoot arrows that miss the dragon entirely. Ally will shout to the creature, in common, "No, don't attack him further! It will only enrage him!"

Ally is hoping that giving the dragon a different target will draw it away and they can get away in the confusion.

Unless I miss my guess, those will all miss, Numair.

In case it's not clear, the dragon wasn't going to attack us and hasn't show any interest in attacking anyone that isn't attacking it first. Those outside would have seen that and should get themselves to safety rather than antagonize the dragon further.

My intention is to get its attention, to draw its ire away from Calendir. We are certainly not strong enough to seriously threaten this foe, but he could potentially suffocate lots of people if he chose to. I'm all for assessing the threat and planning to defeat it another day, but I'm worried about his actions once you guys escape unharmed. I figured he'd want to see some suffering for the slight we gave, and wouldn't be satisfied to see you all escape unscathed. Not planning to martyr myself, or not yet, anyway. Things aren't that desperate yet.

Reflex Check + Haste: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 8 + 1 = 17

Digory sees a wave of goo fly over the shield that Azaraunt put up and tries to dodge out of the way. He trips on a rock, however...

Dex Check + Haste: 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 4 + 1 = 24

...but is able to remain standing as the wave engulfs him. Digory is almost frozen in position, unable to get any leverage on getting the stuff off of him. He breathes in before thinking about it, and begins choking on the vile stuff.

Strength check: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11

A hell of a weekend to be out!

After learning of the Dragon's tarry coating, he sheathed Sandstorm and drew his bow. In the moments after the dragon buried the others in a black bubble, he moved 30' forward and yelled up.

Sarenrae does not suffer your kind to live

He then unleashes his best effort.

Battle dance, smite evil, flagbearer, haste

[Dice=Longbow]1d20+10+6+2+1+1
1d8+6+2+1

[Dice=Longbow]1d20+10+6+2+1+1
1d8+6+2+1

[Dice=Longbow]1d20+5+6+2+1+1
1d8+6+2+1

[Dice=Extra damage on first successful attack]6

All attacks missed.

Don't look now, paladin, but the buttons on your pants are open. Whether you look down or not, roll a Reflex save, DC24

Three rounds have passed since the EFS was put up; that means the EFS has 4 rounds left.

Azaraunt wrote:

The sphere only lasts 7 rounds so the air should not be a problem. Were we hit with a breath, or was this a sluff off of tar? Azaraunt is still trying to understand this creature.

It is literally his vomit, which is this tarry, acidic bile. It covers everything it hits and can engulf whatever it hits. It engulf/entangle up to a Gargantuan creature, and can do it once every eight rounds. It can do the same to a Medium creature every other round, or four at once every eight rounds. It spit out enough to cover you, Lavinia, and Ruul, with some to spare, which doesn't affect the Reflex save, but it does affect the Strength checks needed to fully pull free from the gunk.

In effect, in 7 rounds, all four of you (since Calendir made his Dex roll)will be covered in this stuff, drowning, and having to make a STR check, DC35 (33 for Ruul) in order to breathe again. You'll then need to make another STR check, DC18, to fully free yourself from the mess. All of you will be considered entangled until you make both STR checks.

EDIT:One addendum to this is that, once the first STR check is made, you'll be able to breathe again.

Macavity's actions:

Macavity realizes quickly that subtlety has gone out the window and most of the party are going to go down unless something is done. Watching Calendir taunt the dragon was the last straw for him. There is nothing he could do to stop, or even hinder the dragon. That was when he saw the dragon breathe...whatever that was. Macavity saw Azaraunt get his shield up just in time, and Calendir diving to protect his comapnions. Then they all disappeared under the goo, the weight of it keeping even the magic weighed down. Who knew how long the wizard's magic would hold. With steam rising from the bubble, it did not seem long.

Macavity knew that assistance would be needed. He ran as fast as he could towards the castle, hoping that the dragon would ignore him. As soon as he got within earshot, he screamed the situation to the guards. As Numair was taking his shots at the dragon, the tower line, over thirty men, pulled back on their strings to fire. As Numair went down under the breath weapon, thirty arrows flew across the field. Malerix, satisfied and disappointed in his easy victory, turned to fly away, confident that the troublesome party, "destined" was the word that others had used, would be no more bother.

Seconds later 3 more rounds since my last post, Macavity is running back towards the party, with more than a dozen people in tow.

Retcon slightly as time passed. Round 1 in the sphere Azaranut casts Invisibility on himself and explains how he can get the group out. Round two he is still explaining this, as its somewhat complicated and people are not getting it. Round 3, he touches Ruul and Dimension Doors out, 20 feet directly behind the sphere. depositing Ruul's large form behind him. Ruul should get to take a rull round action, but he might be starting prone. Not sure.

Round 4 of the Sphere's 7 rounds

Help Digory if you can! Azaraunt says after taking in the scene quickly.

Aaraunt 5' steps towards the sphere and then Dimensionally Shifts (Teleportation Subschool power) 15' feet back into the sphere (swift action). As a standard action he then casts Dimension Door from his bonded item, taking Lavinia, Calendir, and himself to some place of total cover from the dragon. He can travel up to 680 feet, but its not his goal to be at max range. In fact he would rather be close enough to assist the party so he will move to the nearest place that provides this cover; likely behind some wall of, or even into a tower of the castle.

Yay, our brilliant plan succeeded. The dragon will ignore us from now on out as being no threat and we can explore at will until we are ready to kill him. :)

Since in FACT, we are no threat whatsoever :(

Hey, I didn't even get a chance to bust out any holy smites or positive energy channels on him. :)

My pants dont have buttons? They are silken pantaloons. I have a drawstring...

Numair looks up just in time to see the black bile engulf him.

Reflex, haste (DC 24): 1d20 + 15 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 15 + 1 = 21

He then tries to free himself from the engulfing mess.

I cannot possibly make a DC 35 Str check to breathe, so I will have to wait for assistance. I can hold my breath for 28 rounds. Urp!

Kallistiel's eyes go wide as Calendir provokes the fearsome creature. She was lucky to be far enough away from the others not to get hit by the cone of bile. Second time lucky, when a second blast from it's mouth to cover Numair. She takes a couple more steps back away from the creature, before realizing Digory's fate. She shakes her head to clear it, cursing under her breath and rushes over to try and scrape the subtsance off of him.

Ruul will not be the first out but it appears to not be an issue since the dragon has left.

When he gets out (eventually), Ruul studies the scene. After tearing at the goop for a bit he quickly realizes that this substance is beyond even his mighty strength.

"I... don't know what to do."

As far as I know it's just Numair and Digory stuck right now. I'm at a loss for what to do. Ruul would need 36 strength to even have a chance to remove this stuff.

There has to be some way to counter this gooish tar - I have a background in biochemistry and would argue this needs another hidrocarbon to remove it, or hidrocarbon based substance like gasoline, or even alcohol, but... Alas, Calendir's biochemistry is not his strongest suit :D

I knew I'd purchased those universal solvents for a reason!

Seeing Numair and Digory covered with the tar, Elen reaches into her haversack, retrieving two Universal Solvent vials. (Can one use half a vial on one person and the other half on another, or is it all or nothing?) She has a moment of indecision, glancing between her longtime friend, and their recently reformed foe, then thinks, Numair would want me to take care of the other person first. She rushes to Digory's side, along with Kallistiel, and applies the Universal Solvent to Digory. This should completely dissolve the tarry adhesive, allowing him to brush or scrape it off himself easily. According to the description of the substance, it works on all adhesives, period, even magical ones. If I can use half on him and have it be effective, I'll do that, and save the other half for Numair. As soon as she sees that it has had the desired effect, she runs for Numair and applies either the remaining half or the other vial, depending on what LM decides and helps Numair brush it away from his face.

Hmmm, craft alchemy check to know how to remove tar? 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10

We need to stock up on Salves of Slipperyness and Smoked Goggles before we fight him again. (If LM will allow the salve to help against the sticky tar)

EDIT: Ninja'd by Elen. I'd forgotten about universal solvents. Those are great too.

Retcon slightly as time passed. Round 1 in the sphere Azaranut casts Invisibility on himself and explains how he can get the group out. Round two he is still explaining this, as its somewhat complicated and people are not getting it. Round 3, he touches Ruul and Dimension Doors out, 20 feet directly behind the sphere. depositing Ruul's large form behind him. Ruul should get to take a rull round action, but he might be starting prone. Not sure.

Round 4 of the Sphere's 7 rounds

Help Digory if you can! Azaraunt says after taking in the scene quickly.

Aaraunt 5' steps towards the sphere and then Dimensionally Shifts (Teleportation Subschool power) 15' feet back into the sphere (swift action). As a standard action he then casts Dimension Door from his bonded item, taking Lavinia, Calendir, and himself to some place of total cover from the dragon. He can travel up to 680 feet, but its not his goal to be at max range. In fact he would rather be close enough to assist the party so he will move to the nearest place that provides this cover; likely behind some wall of, or even into a tower of the castle.

Noted on all counts. Ruul was not prone, really, but he was squeezed in there pretty tight. I'll allow him to take a full round action, if he wants. As you pop out with Ruul, you see the dragon throwing up on Numair. When you come back out 2 rounds later, the dragon is already out of effective range. Make a perception to see see across the field towards the castle after the final teleport.

Ruul will not be the first out but it appears to not be an issue since the dragon has left.

When he gets out (eventually), Ruul studies the scene. After tearing at the goop for a bit he quickly realizes that this substance is beyond even his mighty strength.

"I... don't know what to do."

As far as I know it's just Numair and Digory stuck right now. I'm at a loss for what to do. Ruul would need 36 strength to even have a chance to remove this stuff.

Make a perception check to see if help is on the way.

There has to be some way to counter this gooish tar - I have a background in biochemistry and would argue this needs another hidrocarbon to remove it, or hidrocarbon based substance like gasoline, or even alcohol, but... Alas, Calendir's biochemistry is not his strongest suit :D

Too bad there is no Simple Green or CLR in this game. That, in my opinion, works even better than Universal Solvent. :p

I knew I'd purchased those universal solvents for a reason!

Seeing Numair and Digory covered with the tar, Elen reaches into her haversack, retrieving two Universal Solvent vials. (Can one use half a vial on one person and the other half on another, or is it all or nothing?) She has a moment of indecision, glancing between her longtime friend, and their recently reformed foe, then thinks, Numair would want me to take care of the other person first. She rushes to Digory's side, along with Kallistiel, and applies the Universal Solvent to Digory. This should completely dissolve the tarry adhesive, allowing him to brush or scrape it off himself easily. According to the description of the substance, it works on all adhesives, period, even magical ones. If I can use half on him and have it be effective, I'll do that, and save the other half for Numair. As soon as she sees that it has had the desired effect, she runs for Numair and applies either the remaining half or the other vial, depending on what LM decides and helps Numair brush it away from his face.

I am ruling that one-half of a vial will effectively give Digory or Numair their first strength check for free. From there, they can ether pull themselves out (STR check, DC18), or you can use the other half of each solvent to free them completely. If you see this in time, go ahead and edit your last post.