Sensing trouble coming, Nimue takes a look at those around her, incanting magic to support them.
"Oh...", is all Nimue states when the doors fly open.
When she sees the creatures barging in, for a moment, she feels an urge to try and bring the whole ceiling down on them...but there were too many others, too many people screaming and trying to get away. Looking over at where Mordred was struggling with his Weapon, Nimue instead targets the creature that just ate an Orb with a set of magic missiles, which unfortunately fizzle out of existance as they are about to impact on the creatures hide:"The big ones are resistant to magic!", she shouts as she runs off towards the princess and the cohorts, sliding beneath a table nimbly when it blocks her way, vanishing into the crows.
Haste for Chalm, Aciano, Nimue, Lyda, Coalhouse, as well as Axhammer and Azrael. (I think it's possible...between me and Velar it should not be a problem...substitute Swordlords if I miscounted.)
Mordred cursed under his breath when trouble came knocking...when the doors flew open, he was already fiddling with the bond securing his weapon. In his haste, he failed to get it open quickly, taking him over 10 seconds before he managed to remove his blade from the sheath. Looking over at the king, and the battle-ready crowd around him, he noted that Nimue was missing, then looked over at the princess, alone and vulnerable. Trying to gauge the best path over there, Mordred prepared to head to her side, knowing Nimue would do the same.
Darivan:
Pre-round: full-round action freeing his sword, swift action to enchant it, 5-foot step to move forward (if possible)
First round: Move action to retrieve spell component pouch, standard to cast fly, keeps component pouch.
Sylvia: spends two rounds freeing her pouch. Nothing cast yet.
Gwaihir: Either does nothing or spends two rounds attempting to free himself from the cord.
"
Round zero -
Full Round to free musket
5' step back.
Round one -
Standard Send senses place the sensor in the door behind the demons, what does Selene see outside?
Move toward the doors away from the crowd and the demons.
The words are barely out of her mouth before Selene realizes her gift is active. She quickly strips the bonds from her musket, stepping along the table as she does. A moment later the doors burst open and with a gesture her sensor appears. Selene' voice is calm, even as her eyes fill with shadows and light. She relays what she sees behind the demons, and moves away from the crowd toward her liege and the door behind them.
Round zero, full round to retrieve bow.
Round 1 move to p12 cast obscuring mist and talk to the princess, slide under the table.
5/6 l1 oracle spells remain.
Stone Call - 9 points of damage to all within the AoE, which includes a lot of friendlies. All of the soulbiters will be severely injured, with only 4 hp left.
I expect all the soulbiters to be blinded ...
... wow. Only the ones on Hareth and those at D2 failed.
Sb-as and Sb-ds are caught by the web. Now for actions.
Dispel Magic vs Sleet Storm - automatic success.
Standard action to combat maneuver / escape artist out. It's the same for the soulbiters, so:
Sb-as are still caught; the Sb-ds will then attempt to move away, requiring a single roll to escape ... ... but fail and get caught in the next area.
Hm. 2 of the 3 Sb-c's are blinded from the glitterdust. Those soulbiters which are free will move out of the entanglement area as indicated (basically jumping new prey). The engaged (but blinded) Soulbiter-cs will continue to chew on Hareth; the other ones will move ... ... into the webbing, needing to make a roll ... ... and get caught.
The devourers have a +18 to their CMB, which will autosucceed against the Web's further entangle; they will emerge in good form, floating 5' above the wrack on the floor.
The devourers all get mean with Crushing Despair (DC 19), 30' cones, in all directions; these directly affect no PCs or cohorts, but will cause mayhem.
General Folk Saves vs. Crushing Despair:
And because I have info for them:
Yay, some people save!!
Little critters bite and pin. I am assuming that if one of the group hits, they all hit; damage is varied by pairs.
The screams beyond the inner door set many a swordlord to scrambling for their weapons; the king looks about, then bellows - from both his position, and his battlefield experience, he can be heard clear across the room - "Everyone, defend yourselves!!" His own hand drops to his dagger, which he unsheathes, lifts to his lips, then raises to point above his head; as he does, the dagger lengthens and broadens until he is pointing a bastard sword at the ceiling, his famous "Blue Flame". He wears blue-steeled mountain-pattern armor that matches the sword, and when Acaciano approaches, he turns and presses his signet to the magethorn manacles, which open with a click, and can be brushed off easily.
As spells start going off left, right, and center, virtually clogging the fifteen-foot-tall arch of the doorway with webbing, sleet, glittering dust, and falling rocks - the last being the most deadly, as the things vary in size from quarter-inch pebbles to two-inch stones - there are only a few other spells managing to get produced. For a flicker of time,
Vikontesse Comăneci makes a few quick gestures, her words lost in the rising hubbub, but she arches above most of the rest at the high table, to land next to the Lord Mayor; with another incantation and series of gestures, she grants him the same ability, and the two go rocketing up into the back corner of the balcony, alighting there with the clear intention of making it through one of the few doors up there. A few of the priests in the crowd pray to their respective gods and goddesses, granting deific aid to those around them during the trial to come; an old man in the area closest to the door scrambles to reach two others, one of them recovering his weapon, then all three vanish under the battering of the shower of stones.
For the most part, though, the swordlords present spend most of their time undoing the peace bindings on their weapons, drawing them and readying themselves for whatever attack comes; the half-orc Porter scrambles away from the king, bounding up off the low platform upon which the tableau had been set to catch the stone column of the descending staircase a good ten feet above the floor; the speed and ease of the movement, even despite the bulk of gear on his back, must certainly have been aided by the haste cast upon him. Once there, however, he turns to face the crowd, and begins ... um, well, going insane, it looks like, because he's waving his arms all over the place, and turning himself to face this way and that.
It has an effect, though, for the guards up above start moving - the ones on the 'near wall', above the opening, start moving to exits, or around to better firing positions; the thrum and snap of their bowstrings form a martial counterpoint to the 'shiing!' of steel sliding out of sheathes, arrows lancing into the sleet and webs filling the entry way.
Another voice bellows out, though one more familiar to close-quarters work. "Pendrake, take command over from Porter!!" orders Captain of the Guard Kawaler Alexeyevich as he glances quickly around. "Azrael, Nighthammer, Rocknose, you're the blade in front! Rabinoff, you and I are flank! Edasseril, Magrar, Medvyed, in behind the paladins!! Pull in our people as we go!" Alexeyevich rakes his gaze across the rest of you. "You lot, keep the king safe!! Porter, get him back to quarters, use the escape route if you need it!!"
Almost immediately, Pendrake roars, "LAWSRICK!! VALTRAVA!! DUŠEK!! THE NINE HELLS DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!? GET YOUR SORRY BEHINDS BACK HERE!! Deepwood, don't think I don't see you creeping off over there, the king needs you more!! ARCHERS, STEADY FIRE INTO THAT TUNNEL!!"
Over by the princess, Alysandra Janus, having watched her half-brother for a long moment, sounds off with her oratory-trained voice. It isn't going to reach more than fifty or sixty feet in this chaos, but she still rings out, "Lieutenants of Krádira, to me!! Ward the princess and prince!!" She vanishes into the obscuring fog, but her voice continues to sound off. "Sarra, Jared!! To the back corner, away from the doors!! Follow!! Follow!!" It's an open question if the latter calls are to the newly-made royals or to the other cohorts.
Then things start to go bad.
First off, the sleet storm vanishes, snuffed like a candle going out. As well, renewed screams of pain mix with the hisses and snarls of the nasty little anklebiters that manage to claw their way out of the webbing, armed swordsmen being pulled down to the ground by multiple demons, even as their fellows start to jab at them, trying to pry them off or just kill them without damaging someone they'd've willingly dueled to the death only minutes ago.
All that spirit of cooperation hesitates as the soul-caging horrors emerge from the webbing - floating, not clawing, and no longer two, but four of them. Moving in eerie, perfect synchronization, the quartet adjust themselves with almost prim delicacy before their mouths open once again. The faint, mewling screams of their imprisoned souls emerge with malevolent amplification, clearly unnerving a score of the swordlords and members of your own groups ... and turning the rest of them into a panicked, screaming mob with only one desire, to get away.
Not that there seems to be an exit; two more of the devourers (with a couple clusters of their little soulgem-producing cohorts) emerge from the passage leading from the front siege-storage sections of the citadel.
The only significant lingering spell effect that will impinge upon PCs or cohorts at the moment will be to Darvan, Porablum, Alysandra, and the Princess, from Tarna's prayer - a +1 luck bonus on attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saves, and skill checks. Make a note of it on your sheet!!
While the line of yellow points around the main dining tables is considered difficult ground (a crowd), the dashed area is now a panicked crowd. While tables haven't been overturned (they will), this area can be considered difficult ground until it gets cleaned up. The zone will likely expand as the panicking members of this section of the crowd (roughly 70 people) do their best to put as much distance between themselves and the devourers as possible.
The web is still up, and while only one or two groups of soulbiters that were originally in view are still caught in it, those who can see into it are able to see plenty of others of the things caught up in the webbing. Cohorts with a line through the doors can make PER checks, DC 12 (10 + 2 due to webbing) to see what's going on inside the passage between the inner and outer gates.
Round 2, heroes are up!!
"Oh, golly gosh, this is bad!" Porablum exclaims as people start panicking from the devourers' scream attack. She also immediately realizes that, given her size relative to most here, she was a prime trampling candidate. Fortunately, Alysandra had given her a very good way to get clear. Porablum quickly scampered towards the obscuring mist where the Prince and Princess had been, darting and weaving through the legs of those who were larger than she.
Double move towards the prince and princess.
TWO, can I have Porablum make an Acrobatics check to move at full speed through the crowd, since she's Small sized? For now I've moved her as though it were difficult terrain, but it will take me two rounds to get to where the Prince and Princess are, since she has a speed of 20 feet per move action, halved because the crowd is difficult terrain.
Aramil steps up next to the king and says, "Well, your majesty, I believe we just received orders to protect you and get you out of here. Our best bet might be to get you upstairs and out one of the doors there. Unless you have another escape route planned?"
Delaying until the King tells me where we're going to get him out of here.
Hearing the roared command with his name attached to it--and thankfully, for the sake of his embarassment, not the only name called out--Theodric checks his steady advance with an awkward jitter, then swiftly makes his way back to the crowd surrounding the king. As he does so, he notes that his movements are a bit quicker than he's accustomed to, and it doesn't take but a moment to recognize the effect. It seems as if some helpful soul did a bit of spellcasting his way as he was moving out.
With unseen forms making themselves known to his sharpened senses when he draws near enough, Theodric shifts smoothly to one side, then another, his steps never pausing. For anyone who witnessed his halting movements earlier in the evening, the difference between then and now is quite startling. Soon enough, he's standing where he thinks the command originated from, his posture clearly displaying his embarassment at having been called to heel like an errant dog. However, he offers no protest over the issue, recognizing that his instinctive reaction of advancing to engage was not the correct response in this case. Instead, he merely dips his head and asks, loudly enough to be heard over the tumult. "Apologies, sir. Your orders?" Waiting with his weapons held close to keep them out of the way, Theodric tries very hard to tune out the screams of the wounded and the dying at his back.
Move action to move 8 squares (via j-1, i-1, h-2, h-3, h-4, h-5, and g-6) to g-7.
Effects:
Haste (2/7): +1 to attack, +1 dodge bonus to AC, +1 dodge bonus to Reflex saves, +30 feet movement, 1 extra attack (at full BAB) during full attack.
Darvan is prepared to advance when his motion is brought to halt before it properly begins by a barrage of spell effects targeted at the area around the open doors. He winces in sympathy as a number of luckless people find themselves receiving the same treatment as their attackers, with fatal results in a few instances. Still, it's better than what those foul creatures would have done to them. And, feeling the bolstering touch of divine power from another deity, followed soon after by a rather inspiring bit of music that fills his body with energy, the delay at least allows some folk to respond with positive results. Once again, Darvan prepares to attack, and once again, the motion is abruptly stopped.
The reason this time, however, causes a chill to race through his body and an unconcious oath in his mother tongue to escape his now-pale lips. "Dhikāra hai." It seems as though their undead and daemonic foes have reinforcements who've decided to join the assault. Well, this is another matter entirely. Two devourers and a horde a minor rabble? He's willing to take the chance that his skills will compensate for his lack of equipment, particularly with allies at his back. But four--no, no, a quick check reveals two further arrivals--six devourers is another proposition altogether. There is a distinct line between confidence in one's abilities under less than ideal circumstances and suicidal idiocy, and it's not a line he's much interested in crossing.
Deciding that discretion is the wisest course, the bald holy warrior falls back as quickly as he is able through the panicking crowd, moving to the cloud of mist from where the ringing command to fall back and follow is coming. Not that he would have disobeyed the order in any case, he notes to himself as he struggles through the crowd, but it does help to narrow his range of options in light of his prudent retreat. As he leaves, Darvan casts a look back at the doorway, wondering what else is waiting to cause trouble. Between the spells obscuring his vision and the need to mind his step, however, he can make nothing out.
Double move action to move 6 squares (via G-9, G-10, H-11, I-11, and J-11) to K-11.
Effects:
Inspire Courage (?/?): +2 morale bonus to saves against charm and fear effects, +2 competence bonus to attack and damage.
Personal Trial: +2 insight bonus to attack, damage, AC, and saves against the target's spells and special abilities.
Prayer (1/5): +1 luck bonus to attack, damage, saves, and skill checks while inside the affected area (40-foot burst centered on Tarna Magrar at J-6).
Lyda barely flinches as her spell collapses before the powerful, shrieking demons. Though she knew very little of them, she at least as much that the more powerful ones could cast spells. That or the spell would just fail to effect them. In this case though, it seemed they wanted to remove her's in particular. None of the others were effected. Her eyes widen as even more appear. Was someone, or something, summoning them?
Lyda takes a spare bow string from a pouch and bends her bow on the table to get it on. She then whistles loud, as only a master trainer could, and shouts over the panicked masses at the casters, "BREAK LINE OF SIGHT!" She then hopes off the table and heads for the king to cover his retreat as ordered.
Use standard to string bow and then move to G10. Calling for casters to break line of sight with fog, darkness, whatever. They specifically dispelled the sleet storm and think that is important.
Effects:
Haste (2/7): +1 to attack, +1 dodge bonus to AC, +1 dodge bonus to Reflex saves, +30 feet movement, 1 extra attack (at full BAB) during full attack.
"Hah," Deneb cries in triumph as he finally gets the stupid leather strap off. He turns to the enemies, ready to rain down magical lightning and fire. Only he can't see a damn thing. He cursed his small stature. But over the sounds of combat he hears Alysandra call for aid protecting the King's children. He remembered them being to his right. Deneb focuses on an animal, one of his favorites, and pushes his divine magic into the form. He throws his hands into the air and they instantly turn into great, tawny wings. With a great down sweep, he launches into the air, transforming the rest of the way mid-flight. He gains some altitude to see the rest of the battle and heads for the cloud of fog, assuming the children were hidden within.
Tomas can hear Pendrake shouting at him and some others who've taken advance.
"Clustering all together with the king in the middle? Yeah, good idea if they have area effects..." he thinks, but is wise enough to follow a direct oreder in the middle of combat, as much as it hurts his ego. "I don't want to star in the first court-martial of Krádira's history."
Move: Get his sorry behind back, though a bit more advanced than he was before, in case the King decides to advance.
William nearly bowls over quite a number of people in an attempt to stop his advance, he does however manage to get turned around and heads back to the king. Secretly a bit glad that he wasn't expected to die holding them off... yet. "Fine! Lets go then, we cant afford to delay much longer. Those beasts are ripping through the crowd!"
Gods please let Winnie be ok... let this not be city wide, please...
Laszlo quickly thinks of something to do, but most of the effects he can provide are already there. He thinks , though, of something that might help someone like Darvan.
Laszlo
5-foot-step: to be adjacent to Darvan.
Standard: cast Eagle's Splendor on Darvan.
Celestial Leopard
Appearing this round at N14 and acting.
Move: Move 30 ft towards the fray, getting ready for a next round pounce (fecking Obscuring Myst doesn't let him see his targets)
Darivan hovers above the ground for a few seconds, torn between joining the fight and protecting the king.
Hmmm… Either could be taken as fulfillment of my oath…
However, he notices Sylvia trying to get his attention, and upon learning what's attacking, the shock shows on his face, and starts drifting to the king, "Your majesty! It's time to go. Your children will be fine, our lieutenants are evacuating them, but we need to go now. Err… What are your orders? Sorry, it's been a while since I did this…"
As he hovers in front of his lord, his sword snakes back, and with a deft movement, Darivan severs the cord holding his haversack closed.
Darivan drifts toward Chalm using his 5-foot step. He'll do wherever Chalm orders him to next round.
His move action will be cutting his Haversack open. I described it as a no-look flick just to be awesome, Darivan is a bit of a show off, after all. No difference mechanically. Just a move/standard action spent cutting open the restraints.
3/10 rounds enchanted weapon
3/7 rounds haste
2/70 rounds fly
Standard action delayed until further notice.
This is just to ensure that yes, Sylvia can see what's coming. I'll relay her exact message in her post.
Then the view is whited out by sleet and snow ...
... but only for a few moments, your mind's eye is drawn to yet another of the devourers, recently emerged from the ground itself (your angle is not good, but it looks like there might be a gap or gate of some sort there, now surrounded by perhaps a dozen chanting people), but then rising further, floating a foot above the back of a ... thing. There are no words for it; a spherical, cagelike body the size of a noble's carriage but composed of bloody-looking pulsating muscles and black ichorous bones, several multi-jointed legs jutting from it to plant chitinous claws into the flagstones through the bodies of several of the chanters. The legs of the ambulatory cage are themselves difficult to focus on - now six of them, now eleven, now eight, and even those anchored by the people and the ground (and thus apparently 'more stable' - or at least not prone to disappearing) seem to flicker and warp, changing where it meets the thing's main mass. Half a dozen plate-sized disks glisten within its flesh, first from one place and then another, perhaps serving it as eyes.
The devourer that floats above the thing is different than any of the others yet seen, for it bears bits of what it was before its undeath came upon it: rippled tatters of a hooded cloak, a circlet of some sort, coppery-looking vambraces, an iron longsword. It looks about the courtyard, then gestures with the sword towards the Citadel - not towards 'you', the point of your sensor, but to 'your' left ...
Ishana, with her whip in her hand, smiles in delight, before turning to wards the melee, stepping forward, she abruptly curses as her foot gives way - it was that damn fancy footwear Amavin had insisted on them wearing, and while it was stylish, it was utterly impractical in combat. Kicking them off both feet, Ishana moves toward towards scrum of enemies, making a beeline for Aimai.
"Help the nobles accross, then push the tables over, barricade then back" Ishana cries out, not entirely sure if anyone will hear her, but its directed mostly at the immediate vicinity, and especially at the pacifist monks, who Ishana believes might as well make themselves useful in helping rather than watching. Ishana isn't opposed to defending the royals, but she believes that setting up barricades will buy time and assist in protecting the royalty regardless, so doesn't believe her request will cause conflict.
As she runs, she idly wonders why the enemy is walking through a choke point. She isn't a battlefield tactician, by any means, but she seems to think a frontal assault is exceptionally stupid, if she was setting something up herself, she would be pulling some sort of flank, using an attack as a diversion. She doesn't mention this out loud though, in case someone more advanced or intelligent in battlefield tactics calls her out for missing some obvious detail that makes a frontal assault the best option.
Amavin meanwhile, is attempting to think tactically against a vast amount of small enemies. Swooping forward, she attempts to get closer in order to unleash a blast of wind at the cluster.
While awaiting further orders, Theodric hears a female voice behind him call for someone to break line of sight. It take a moment to puzzle out the meaning of the request, but once he does, he is quick to speak up. "I have a number of things that can help obscure our position or otherwise interfere with a clear look at us. Do we need short term coverage at a distance or lasting coverage right here?" As he speaks, the swordsman reaches up to carefully tap one of the pouches slung across his torso with the knuckles of his sword-wielding right hand. "I've got smoke pellets here, easy to throw but they don't last once they go off." He then shifts his hand to the second pouch in line and continues. "But there are smokesticks in here, those'll put out a nice thick cloud that lingers. Don't know how far they'll go if you had to throw one, though." Lowering his occupied hand, he shrugs at no one in particular. "In light of the circumstances and our shared service, I'll invite any of you to dip in and help yourselves to what you need, trusting that you won't clean me out or muck about with anything else in those pouches."
Theodric is currently standing at g-8, but has a move action still unspent, so he can go to someone if they can't spare an action--or aren't close enough for the old 5-foot step--to approach him.
He has 20 smoke pellets and 10 smokesticks available, and is willing to contribute up to half of each if needed to anyone willing to spend a move action to retrieve one or the other and a standard to use it. (He has pepper smoke pellets too, but the daemons he knows about and the devourers that he doesn't, yet, wouldn't even notice those.)
"Your majesty, gentles, this keep is lost. They have breached the grounds and established a gate. We must flee, and quickly, or we will all be meat before that same gate. Word must be sent. There is a summoning being worked here I have not seen before, and even the quick glimpse gives me pause. Messages must travel. My lords, this is larger than Kradira, and yet our duty is clear. This is a new wound, beginning. We must make an escape, and do so in a way to let these people flee. We cannot fight a pitched battle for long."
Selene's words start calmly enough, then pick up urgency as what she sees begins to register. She grabs her gear and makes for the top of the stairs intending to provide covering fire from the railing.
As the scene plays out in the courtyard she cries out "'ware the wall, they know we're in here!"
Action move further up the stairs, ready a shot against the first demon to come near the king's side of the room.
Keep an eye on what's going on through the sensor, it has 69 rnds remaining.
Active Effects:
Clairvoyance - 69 rounds remaining, Sensor @(D, -9)
Samantha makes haste through the fog cloud to the door, keeping a close eye on the princess as best she can.
"This way, we'll want to make haste."
Move to S18.
Still have a standard to use - depends what there is to see in the hall.
This is not going well...
Lance in hand now, Kliment looks about. Seeing the situation at hand, flying monsters and the like, he realizes that the most important thing now is to secure the heirs of Kradira as mere barricade most likely won'y help, especially against those creatures outside the crowd.
Kliment shouts whilst moving through the crowd towards them
Double move from D18 to J19.
Best to save what I have for later
Hearing the call to protect the King, Bartek moves over to him, pulling a scroll of a scroll case in his bandolier out as he goes.
"Sir", Bartek addresses the King, "If we cluster together here I can cast Invisibility Sphere to aid our escape".
Move action to from f3 to e8.
Standard Action to get a scroll out of a scroll case.
Invisibility Sphere For your interest and thinking that the King would probably know how it works.
Winnie hurriedly mixes a vial of clear liquid with a vial of viscous black liquid, breathing into the bottle she corks it and shakes the contents. Lobbing the mixture into the throng of enemies flowing through the door. As she tosses the bomb she is already headed for the cloud as to make herself a less obvious target.
"That should stick a few more of them, but it wont hold forever. We do need to get moving."
9 damage to all within 5 feet
of F2 and they all need to save again VS entangle at DC16
Cursing softly Skie realized that even more horrible creatures had joined the party. And I certainly think they *weren't* invited. How rude! To make things worse the new ones also had a somewhat clear line to the princess, whom she had swore to protect just a while ago. Hopefully the mist would deter them. But if not ... She quickly shuffled her way across the table until the very end and realigned her crossbow with the larger pair of monsters. The weapon felt woefully inadequate for the situation - but she could only hope it would make a difference.
Rolls:
Velar flinched as the orders where yelled. For once he wasn't used to obeying them. And more importantly - they called him away while this battle looked to need every blade they had. Even then ... Bleak odds. He stepped down from the table and glanced back at the king. He hadn't started moving yet - maybe he would still overrule the command? Not that likely. But there was still a (small) chance so Velar lingered. In the meanwhile he took the time to free his spear from the unbalancing sheath by briefly transmuting his hand again. And then a little quick telekinetic trick to grant him a bit more reach.
Kaellin bristles at the orders. He did not need anyone telling him the obvious, thank you very much. But this is nothing new, he always had a problem with other people telling what to do. He'll do his damn duty and make sure no harm comes to the king and his family. In nothing else, Kaellin always fought for the safety of others.
He did worry about Sylvara. It seems that she did not hear him over the cacophony in the hall. He knows she can take care of herself, but the ranger has never seen these monsters before, and he learned from past experience that first monster encounters means a lot of hurt before the win.
Remaining on the platform, he takes a few steps closer to the king, all while loosing a flurry of arrows one after another with each step at the foremost monster.
5-foot step: from F14 up to F13.
Full attack: Firing 4 arrows at the foremost soulbiter (1st attack, 2nd iterative attack, Rapid Shot, extra Haste attack)
(+7 BAB, +3 Dex, +1 masterwork, +1 haste, -2 Rapid Shot)
(+2 BAB, +3 Dex, +1 masterwork, +1 haste, -2 Rapid Shot)
(+7 BAB, +3 Dex, +1 masterwork, +1 haste, -2 Rapid Shot)
(+7 BAB, +3 Dex, +1 masterwork, +1 haste, -2 Rapid Shot)
(+7 BAB, +3 Dex, +1 masterwork, +1 haste, -2 Rapid Shot)
Damage (if applicable):
(x3 if crit confirmed)
245/250 arrows remaining.
Sylvara continues to encourage her allies with her battle-song, hoping it'll help end this quickly. She knows the undead they face are extremely dangerous, but she knows Kaellin can handle himself in a fight. She just hopes he does not pull any of his "off-the-wall" tactics. Meanwhile, she needs to get this damn peacebond loose, this time taking her time to do it properly.
Sylvara spends this round working on the peacebond, and probably the next one as well.
Gathering his courage, Dargaryen draws his weapon and moves to engage the unearthly creatures. He hops over a table and then pushes through the panicked crowd. He attempts to direct the civilians to safety as he moves forward.
Darg will double move to n11.
Finally yanking her component pouch free, Sylvia suddenly vanishes, reappearing almost instantaneously on top of the table. Seeing what's in the other room, she panics for a moment, then closes her eyes for a moment in concentration, then starts running down the table towards the princess. Before she enters the fog cloud, she turns back, makes eye contact with Darivan, and quickly communicates, her panic showing through the motions.
Not good… Lots of enemies, lots of dying. Dozens of devourers, too. Protect the king, we'll get the prince and princess to safety! It's lost here, just get away!
There's some group that's performing a summoning, apparently. Someone here cast a divination to peek over. Stay safe.
She sees Darivan nod, and turns back to the princess' mist.
Swift action to Dimensional Shift (8 uses left) to the top of the table, standard action held off for now.
Finally, move action to run along the table towards the obscuring mist.
Out of curiosity, is there anyone in the room that might be considered a "non-combatant?" My story feat gives me a +1 to hit and skill checks if there are.
Also, I'm assuming Sylvia can see at the very least there's a ton of enemies out there.
Out of curiosity, what would happen if a cohort went with the leaders? This is apparently when we get mythic, so would the cohort also gain that power?
Whew. Barely!
Double move from my original location (I12) to just behind Alysandra (I14).
Porablum adjusts her cuffs, turning the dress into a more practical outfit for moving quickly, then darts and weaves through the crowd and under tables into the mist. Once there, she moves forward until she almost runs into Alysandra. "Oh, hello. I'm here to help protect the prince and princess. Which way are we going?"
With his sword freed, Tai turns around to get his first real glance of the opponent, and manages to (barely) keep from vomiting. Shaking off the momentary nausea, he throws a glance to the King's dais, trying to see Acaciano. Normally, across a room like this, in as hectic a melee as he'd ever seen or heard of, there'd be no chance of picking a single man out of such a crowd this far away, but knowing Acaciano he wouldn't be a man for long.
Gritting his teeth, Tai abandons his friend, for now, and does the only thing that makes sense in the situation: he follows along to help protect the Royal Heirs however he can, stopping at the edge of the conjured mist.
As the King unleashes his manacle, a flurry of ideas run through Acaciano's mind, each a different form he might take. He opts for the strongest and strangest, given the gravity of situation. Hopefully the other party-goers and Krádira loyalists wouldn't be bothered by it. For good measure, he offers a loud scream of "For Krádira, for the King!" just before his mouth melts away, his body quickly becoming some large, fungal mass, complete with wings and wicked claws.
Taking to the sky just above the dais, wings buzzing, Acaciano takes in the scene, and waits for further instructions, or actions by the King.
Effects:
Wildshaped (Mi-Go): 7 hours
Greater Longstrider: 7 hours
Haste: 2/7 rds
Mordred managed to free his blade just in time when Kliment shouts for them to come to the prince and princesses aid.
What do you think I was going to do, soldier boy?
Not speaking up, knowing he was simply agitated from the situation, from these unnatural creatures, enemies of all life, invading the hall, Mordred made his way through the other people blocking his path, pushing towards the princess.
Hearing Pendrake specifically call her back, Nimue pauses in her advance, torn between her responsibility and doing what she thinks is right.
You just swore an oath...
With some reluctance, she turns back, moving towards the king, up on a table to get a better view of the hall.
Seeing another breach on the far end of the hall, she gathers magical energy and raises a wall of stone from the ground connected to the far wall, flipping over one of the tables in the process and blocking the progress of the new arrivals.
Sylvia, seeing the stone wall rise out of the ground, narrows her eyes. She notices a few stones out of place, and the 'reality' of the illusion kicked into place. Seeing the devourers behind the illusionary wall, she quickly makes a flicking motion with her wrist as she calls out, "Sidus!" and a cloud of glittering golden dust motes engulfs the oncoming horrors.
Casting Glitterdust (DC 18) as indicated on the map.
Second note: Kliment will have his sword (and, in his case, shield, as he's a known cavalier, so they would have requested his shield w/ its coat of arms), not his mwk lance; it was noted that extremely large/long weapons (I think lances were specifically mentioned) wouldn't be accepted as a 'personal weapon'; Q.E.D. and FYI. :P :)
Third note: Kaellin's arrows have been redirected. As the soulbiters are little terrier-sized rat b@stards (size Tiny), and from Kaellin's position thus pretty much all of them have total concealment if not total cover, I have made his target be Devourer C.
Fourth Note: Sylvia's story feat bonus does not activate; while there are 'non-combatants' here, the wording of her feat is 'in a conflict that is being observed by others not involved in the conflict'; everyone here is involved in the conflict. Other responses will be below, except for ...
Out of curiosity, what would happen if a cohort went with the leaders? This is apparently when we get mythic, so would the cohort also gain that power?
Think I answer this, but what the hell. The cohort would likely get dead. If they survived the upcoming combat, they'd count themselves lucky if they were then sent back home ...
Necessary rolls:
By The King:
Three of four of Kaellin's arrows strike the closest of the gaunt undead, the creature tilting its head slightly to let the fourth go past and get trapped in the webbing behind it, but it's clear that the thing's remaining skin, hide, whatever you want to call it, is simply too tough or too dessicated for it to really even care. Only the last, almost-perfect shot seems to cause it any discomfort at all, the arrowhead lodging in its shoulder joint for a few moments before its movement snaps off the shaft just behind the head. These things are tough, and Kaellin is going to have to decide if it'd be better to make more careful shots, or just to fill the air with arrows in hopes that he gets lucky more often than he gets good.
From Amavin's point of view, pretty much the entire area over there -- well, where the nasty little big-jawed soulbiters are -- is sort of primed for a good gust of wind; critters that small are liable to be blown straight back into the webbing, tangling them up any of them that are currently free. The devourers might be more of an issue, but they are flying, so it might be worth a shot.
Both Amavin and Acaciano will be able to see the four devourers at the main door, having thrown the mass of people into a panic, scan the chaos for a moment before turning inwards, towards those they've already slain -- or trapped. While one (the one that's just snapped off an arrow-shaft by moving its arm) goes down to one knee on the ground to touch a black-flaming hand to the still-struggling form of Hareth, Azrael's second-in-command -- who arches, shudders, and collapses, a ghostly image of his form starting to rise from his body before getting inhaled by the otherworldly undead who just slew him.
The other three shift somewhat, spreading their arms and their fingers wide, gesturing as their mouths move; you can't see what they're saying, but by the writhing of the spirits inside their chests, one looking to be in extreme agony, they aren't doing anything good; indeed, both of the flying spellcasters will recognize that the undead are using desecration on a good chunk of the area before them, perhaps in preparation of animating as undead the corpses they clearly anticipate will soon decorate the hall.
A couple people nearby take Theodric up on his offer, retrieving a smokestick each; these they start to work on lighting, in preparation of throwing them down the hall to further obscure the creatures' line of sight.
Chalm clearly is not pleased to be the protectee in this situation, and yet at least seems to grimly accept that if anything is to be salvaged from this mess, he needs to be removed from the situation; with that grim fury banked as coals behind his eyes, and with a wary eye up at the incredibly alien-looking thing that Acaciano has transformed into, he uses his off-hand to gesture towards the stairs. "Upstairs, after Coalhouse -- let's move like we have a purpose, people!!" And with Darivan, William, and Bartek running interference, he starts towards the base of the stairs. To Bartek's offer of the invisibility, he shakes his head. "Don't bother for now," he says, half-lecturing his former subordinate as he moves. "Use invisibility after you've broken line of sight, just before you're about to risk being seen again -- or if the situation changes radically."
By the Princess and Prince:
Unfortunately, Sylvia can only see that there are several more devourers slowly picking their way through the webbing, as often getting caught and tearing their way through the sticky strands as avoiding them. Selene Lebeda's scrying sensor is entirely beyond her ability to notice, and the mass of webbing filling the hall blocks everything in the bailey beyond.
However, even if the Web was gone, she would not have the angle to see either the gate out of the bailey, the 'dozens of devourers' or the group performing the summoning ritual; castles never have a direct line from front gate to inside gate.
The focus and concentration of the cohorts, however, means the mass of them are funnelling down to that single door in the back corner, through which the servants have been coming and going all night; this, many of you may recall, was the section where the alcohol was being served, and in which the poetry 'contest' was being held. Now, Alysandra and a handful of Krádiran guardsmen are pushing through, weapons at the ready and looking a little wild about the eyes as they scan for enemies; Sarra and Jared follow close behind.
To their left, far down the corridor, a single devourer floats, ten feet tall and hollow-eyed, while howls echo from behind it and good dozen or more servants scream and writhe beneath the chomping jaws and overbearing bodies of a handful of soulbiters each.
This might be of some concern, as the devourer gives a weird kind of hiss and lifts a hand to point towards the newly-appearing people. The soulbiters look up, then yap happily, shaking themselves and starting down the hall towards them.
"Gonna need a little help in here!!" calls Alysandra with justifiable nervousness.
"Erastil, bless my arrows with the weight of my conviction." Lyda continues to call to her god for aid in this perilous situation. The demonic looking creatures could easily dispel the spells she placed on them so she instead applied one to herself. She knocks an arrow as she moves forward to cover and feels it hum with power. Before taking a shot though, she focuses on an image in her mind, that of a tiger, graceful and swift, and pushes divine power towards it. Her eyes turn cat-like as the power envelops her, bringing the combat into sharper focus.
Move forward 10ft to duck behind table. Cast Gravity Bow. As swift, activate Animal Focus Tiger.
Effects:
Haste (2/7): +1 to attack, +1 dodge bonus to AC, +1 dodge bonus to Reflex saves, +30 feet movement, 1 extra attack (at full BAB) during full attack.
Gravity Bow: Bow damage 2d6
Animal Focus Tiger: +2 Dex
I believe current AC is 16 because she is without armor and magic items. 20 if table is full cover.
Flying over heads and tables, Deneb moves towards Alysandra and the children. He mentally went over what spells he had available, their possible effectiveness versus these monsters, and felt somewhat inadequate. The big ones shrugged off most attacks, magical or otherwise, and the small ones seemed at least resistant. And also there was a horde of them. A literal horde. He took one last look behind him at his friend and said a silent prayer. He hoped they'd both make it through this.
Amavin kept a wary eye on the devourers and she spotted them devouring a soul. She didn't yet have any idea's on how to defeat them, which made them dangerous enemies at present.
Thinking quickly, the sorceress moves a little closer, noting that the king was moving away with an escort. Amavin was happy to follow, but right now she wanted to buy some more time to give the king a little more breathing room.
Concentrating, and drawing on her arcane strength, Amavin sends a blast of wind at the enemy horde, aiming to send them spinning away from the fight.
Casting Gust of Wind, DC 20 to hurl the soulbiters away, or at least send them into the webbing.
Watching the melee with a grim expression, Ishana spots that the younger royals are in need of assistance, and had somehow drawn the attention of one of the devourers.
Swiftly heading over, her whip unwound, Ishana moves closer to the group, not letting her eyes leave the new threat.
"We need to move as one group, and quickly, but hopefully that big one needs to see is an an easy target so that it doesn't come after us itself. We can handle the small ones, but we need to move quickly now to make it to the kitchen" the warpriest mutters to Alysandra, lightly touching herself with divine magic, sending a shimmering barrier floating around her outline.
Moving over to the group, and casting Shield of Faith.
Ishana now has AC 20 (I think) for the next 5 minutes.
As he feels unseen hands moving about his person in process of retrieving his offered supplies, Theodric shudders slightly but otherwise doesn't show any reaction to the unnerving sensation of strangers that close to him. After a few moments more of stillness while he waits to see if anyone else accepts his offer, the masked duelist turns slightly to his right--where his liege's voice came from--and answers his command with amusement clear in his voice. "I'll gladly do as you order, Sire, just as soon as someone kindly turns me to face the appropriate direction and either pushes, pulls, or otherwise directs me to the correct location." The amusement now gone from his words, Theodric nods his masked head toward the general area of the hall where the sounds indicate that the fighting is in full swing. "Whatever is occuring there makes it abundantly clear that my usual means of getting around on my own in unfamiliar places isn't possible right now."
The moment he finishes speaking, Theodric feels a firm grip on his robes haul him bodily around to his left, while an unknown voice tells him how many paces lie between where he presently stands and the base of the stairs, after which a firm push to the back gets him under way. He wastes little time in following the directions given him, deviating only slightly when he senses someone else in his path. Reaching the stairs, Theodric takes them surprisingly quickly for one with his impairment, leaning slightly on the bannister as a guide until he reaches the top, where he pauses a moment to reorient himself. The spell still powering his sinews leaves Theodric nearly bouncing on the balls of his feet, and he finds it little effort to continue further still down the length of the balcony until he reaches the guards at the far end, where he finally comes to a stop.
Hasted move action to go 12 squares (5 feet to n-11, 25 feet to n-6, 25 feet to i-6, and 5 feet to h-7). Then a hasted double move action to move 6 squares (to h-13).
Effects:
Haste (3/7): +1 to attack, +1 dodge bonus to AC, +1 dodge bonus to Reflex saves, +30 feet movement, 1 extra attack (at full BAB) during full attack.
Darvan is still moving to follow the last order given him, and runs unflinchingly into the cloud of magically-generated mist with only his memory of the hall's arrangement to guide his steps through and beyond. Fortunately, he is able to avoid running into anyone, or anything, and makes his way clear to join those gathering around the royal children. Looking around, the holy warrior shakes his head in dismay. "I fear that this hall will be the site of much death and suffering for any who are unable reach an exit in time," Darvan remarks aloud as he eyes take in the spreading chaos and violence--though he is cheered somewhat by the sight of his friend's form, decked out in that familiar robe, scampering with unusual swiftness up the staircase at the hall's opposite end. With that bit of worry removed from his mind, the warrior turns back to the door and prepares to move through as soon as he is able.
Double move action to move 11 squares (via Q-16, R-16, S-17, S-18, S-19, S-20, S-21, S-22, T-23, U-24, and V-24).
Effects
Inspire Courage (?/?): +2 morale bonus to saves against charm and fear effects, +2 competence bonus to attack and damage.
Personal Trial: +2 insight bonus to attack, damage, AC, and saves against the target's spells and special abilities.
William moves between two of the tables in the hall, blocking the easiest route too the king and readying himself to move up the stair when the rest make way. "We need too get to a good defensive position, bottleneck the swarm!"
Darivan moves to the front line of interference, sword held at the ready,
Well, you did want to see a bit of action. Is this really what you wanted, though? he thinks to his blade, who only pulses in satisfaction. He gently lands on the ground, ready to intercept any of the soulbiters that get too close, but also ready to take to the air again once the king is out of harm's way.
Moved 25 feet from M17 to O13, and holding on second action- if the king moves out of the way this round, Darivan will make a cautious follow, while still holding the line.
Seeing the prince and princess funneling out of the great hall, Sylvia follows, climbing over a table as she whistles for Gwaihir to join her, taking up position next to Winnie, facing the Devourers as they pour into the room.
Winnie moves back towards the doors with the rest of group, just barely out of range of the creatures she has no way to retaliate against them just yet. Instead she produces a bottle and offers it up. "It's a drought of bears endurance, makes you hardier! Take it if you need it!"
Moving from T23 to X24
Velar muttered a curse under his breath and quickly tried to consider his options. He had his *orders*. Now that was still an unfamiliar thought, one that sent a shiver down his spine. But the King was moving so painfully slow - perhaps he too was torn between duty and heart?
For now, he decided, the archer next to him seemed to have the correct idea. "Do you mind?" The pale elf gestured with an silver gauntleted hand towards the archers quiver of arrows, waiting only a moment for a reply. Then he reached out and plucked seven of the arrows - carefully as not to touch it. Her. The fell-spawn had taken the oath with him - and now really wasn't the time for such reservations - so he corrected himself.
Then with a small invocation he let the arrows go, leaving them hanging in thin air just a foot or so from his grasp. He sent the first one soaring into the hostile lump of hellspawn as quickly as possible, while trying to make way towards the stairs.
Swift Action: Activate Arcane Armour Mastery
Standard Action: Cast Telekinetic Volley
Target 7 of Lyda's arrows
Free action: Launch one arrow at whatever target presents itself. Using Deadly Aim.
Move action: O14 -> J6 (60', due to Haste)