Dargargyen hops one table and then another as he moves to engage the undead abominations.
Marlovaur will also move into melee range.
From ontop of her vantage point at one of the tables Skie tried to survey the pandemonium. The javelin in her hand felt woefully inadequate. And, by the looks of things, the dance was not going to happen. *Sigh* She had looked forward to that... She was also starting to regret wishing for an exciting dinner; life or death really was a step too far.
It seemed as if she needed a bit more luck. The elf sang out a praise to the Eldest. Which one? She really wasn't sure. But the javelin she weighted felt lighter; if she closed her eyes she could almost see it jump towards the deamons on its own. But that didn't seem like a good idea right now either. Instead she hopped down from the table and headed towards the screaming guardsmen (ehh some of them at least).
Move Action: R19 to T24
Of course its too early for the invisibility! Get your head together...
"Of course sire." Bartek responds to Chalm while backing towards the stairs with him. I am glad to be back under his command at least...
Getting part way up the stairs, Bartek looks the situation over. Best to save my energy for now, I'm as likely to get in the way as help here. I can slow them more once we are all up the stairs... Unable to help to best effect, Bartek continues up the stairs to make way for the others.
Double move up the stairs
If only I could move faster than this! Kliment thinks as he moves as fast as he can towards Jared and Sarra.
"I will be there to help in a moment" Kliment responds to Alysandra's call.
With one last look over his shoulder, Kliment can see Bartek surveying the scene from the stairs. Keep our king safe Brother, while I do my best with his heirs...
Double move
With one last look towards the King, Tai catches a glimpse of the twisted, alien monster that Acaciano turned into, and feels slightly comforted. Given what's happening, it's a weird feeling, but he shrugs it off-- they'd been in rough scraps before. Now he needed to focus on the royals.
Which would have been easy, except for this damned fog! Tai fumbles his was through the gaps slowly, trying not to trip over himself or anyone else. Hopefully it's as hard for them to see through as it is for us...
Coming out the other side of the cloud, Tai moves to catch up with the others, keeping an eye out behind their growing-in-size group.
Comfortable with his place at the King's side, and not intending to leave it, Acaciano begins to weave a spell. Confident it won't in and of itself save them, he hopes if nothing else that it buys them the smallest amount of extra time. He begins speaking the words of the spell, and instead of his own voice, an alien string of clicks and buzzing sounds comes forth. Just as well.
Wild Shape/Gr Longstrider: 7 hours remains
Haste Rd 3/7
Beginning to cast 'Summon Nature's Ally II'. I'm assuming the King will start moving, so next turn when/if the spell completes I'll catch up with him and the others.
Kaellin continues fire arrows at the devourer as he takes a few more steps towards the king. Being the furthest away from the stairs, he opts to cover the rest of the group as they move by inflicting as much damage as he can in the enemy. This time, he took a few extra moments to make sure his arrows sink into his undead target.
5-foot step: from l18 up to l17.
Full attack: Firing 3 arrows at the same devourer as before (1st attack, 2nd iterative attack, extra Haste attack)
(+7 BAB, +3 Dex, +1 masterwork, +1 haste, -2 Deadly aim)
(+2 BAB, +3 Dex, +1 masterwork, +1 haste, -2 Deadly aim)
(+7 BAB, +3 Dex, +1 masterwork, +1 haste, -2 Deadly aim)
(+7 BAB, +3 Dex, +1 masterwork, +1 haste, -2 Deadly aim)
Damage (if applicable):
(x3 if crit confirmed)
242/250 arrows remaining
Free action: Sylvara continues to maintain inspire courage +2 on her allies. (7/11 rounds remaining)
5-foot step: K19 to L19
Full action: Finish undoing the peacebond on her rapier and draws it.
Continuing to sing her Rostlandic battle song, Sylvara finally frees her rapier and takes a few steps closer to the group protecting the royal family.
Both Dargaryen and Marlovaur make it to the first tables, but then struggle to push the tables aside.
Both Darg and Marlovar will opt for the strength checks.
Checks to move through the crowd:
While the arrows fired by the guards on the second level are increasing in volume, the comparative lack of skill of the guards and the durability of these ... undead demons guarantees that the only time damage is done to them is by sheer happenstance; Velar's spell-flung arrow glances off the skull of one of his floating targets, only one of the increasing ruck of arrows thumping into, then falling futilely, off the things. Even Kaellin's shots -- though his last shot does lodge deep inside that shoulder-joint of his continuing target -- seem to be finding a vulnerability in the desiccated targets only on a really calm, deliberate shot.
And for a few moments, it doesn't matter, Amavin's gust of wind disrupting all the arrows in her range; of course, she also sends a whole cascade of things -- a dozen still-free soulbiters, in particular, but plenty of flatware, food, and a chair or two -- tumbling into the webbing.
Chalm, sword in hand and with Nimue's hasting active, moves with the majority of his Elector-Counts to and up the stairs; Coalhouse has already moved to the door leading into the second-floor hallway to make sure the coast is clear, turning to gesture the 'command group' upwards. At the speed they're moving, those below who intend to rejoin them had best do so as soon as possible, because the mass of people, panicked and otherwise, is about to crash into the few Kradiran guards at the base of the stairs and overwhelm them.
Granted, though there are clusters of order here and there -- the flying-wedge of the paladins and battlers that's about to hammer into the first of the devourers, a cluster of Aldori swordlords, masters and students both, forming around the sour-faced Kanimir Khavortorov, like salt accreting around a seed-crystal in a high-density solution; the mass of monks of the Silver River, letting unarmed people pass by them, but calming armed swordlords to help them form a barrier, the cohorts assembling to defend the Princess and Prince. But the clusters of order are few, with a great deal of chaos between them.
For an instant, it is almost as if there is a pause in the onslaught -- the battle-challenges of Azrael and Rockhammer, the screams of the panicked and injured still ring off the vaulting of the ceiling -- but just for that instant from the spirits mewling inside the devourers, the snarling soulbiters tearing at their victims or at the webbing in which they're entangled, there is a total and uncanny silence. Then, as if working with one mind, the devourers turn towards the king, nearly at the top of the steps, howl, and begin to float through the crowd and towards him, casually scattering mayhem about themselves as they go, the ballooning of fireballs in the midst of the seeds of order, the clutch of a cold hand that stops the heart, showing no concern about those with bared steel who stand in their way.
The soulbiters aren't nearly so coordinated; the ones in view of the newly-royal children start yapping, springing off their various victims, and bound with almost unnerving rapidity down the hall towards you; though the entrance to the kitchens is closer to you than to they, it will be a very near thing. The ones at liberty outside the view of the children begin yipping, yapping, giving little doglike baying howls of challenge, and scramble in as direct a route as their befuddled little minds can figure; several try to jump onto and climb up the illusory wall cast in their way, only to tumble through it -- and then, realizing that they're closer, shrug off the weirdness and scramble at high speed along the floor, between legs, over nobility, and underneath tables in their scrambling pursuit of Chalm's offspring.
Then the cork comes out of the bottle; a roiling detonation scours the passage to the outside free of webbing, outright slaying half of the soulbiters trapped inside the sticky strands and giving a good roast to the rest, but it leaves the passage entirely clear -- of life, of doors, of everything, and the half-dozen devourers that were present inside the passage emerge, turning immediately towards the king and his accomplices. The yipping, yapping howl of a horde of soulbiters echoes in the tunnel.
"They're coming back -- they're all coming back!!" shouts Selene Lebeda, just before she pulls the trigger on her musket, sending out a cloud of brimstone and a round chunk of cold iron moving far faster than any sling could cast it, just missing a devourer but then bouncing like an angry hornet into the entry tunnel before finding a home in one of the onrushing soubiter horde.
"Get him out of here!!" roars Pendrake, singed and staggered by a blast of fire, but still directing the archer's aim.
For those Leaders currently with Chalm:
You will be in the upper hall in a moment; the next two rounds will be moving at best speeds through the passage, into the royal quarters, and through its escape route; feel free to pose keeping close guard on him. There will be a one-move-action pause as Coalhouse opens up the escape route; this is, in part, to give those who can the chance to catch up to y'all, but feel free to make two rounds' worth of posing here.
For those Leaders not currently with Chalm:
If you are on the ground and unable to get to the stairs in your first move action (hasted or otherwise), you will be fighting your way up the stairs through the crowd surging up it. If you have to fight your way through the crowd for two or more actions, including moving up the stairs, you will miss the boat (this time, anyhow). If you are in the air and do not make the stairs / top of the stairs in this next turn, you will miss the boat as well.
I will be putting together a map for y'all this week; I expect to be moving you to the new map, and a new thread, on the weekend.
If you miss the boat -- well, your chance will come again, just later on down the road, at about the same time that any cohorts who are due to gain Mythic power do so -- those, that is, who their leaders spend the Mythic feats to arrange for their enhancement, because it isn't automatic.
For the Cohorts Guarding the Princess/Prince:
Two rounds will put you in the kitchen; those who dare can go shoulder-to-shoulder to cork the bottle for the necessary second round (and make attack rolls against nasty bitey soulbiters) to let everyone behind you get through; up to 4 people can do this, as any more will likely cause the ones in front to get pulled down and pinned, and the ones in back will be attacking the leakers -- of which there will be sufficient. ;)
I'll also be working on a map for y'all, but once you're in the kitchen, there will be tables to overturn as barriers to slow the soulbiters down -- they can climb like you wouldn't believe, but having to do so will slow them down. You will not, however, get a new thread.
For those in the midst of the Mob:
If you are in a line between the doors and the balcony, you will get a chance to hack and chop at devourers as they pass, and at frustrated soulbiters. After the fourth round, you will not need to roll for tables; for all intents and purposes, there will be no lines of them, and a few steps one way or the other will take you around them. You will, however, need to make 'mob movement' checks every round, to progress and/or to keep your feet, no matter which way you move (or not at all), because of all the pushing and shoving; depending on which way you move, this may continue through to the end of combat, or until you get clear of the majority of the crowd, which will be to the left side and the bottom of the map.
You are, of course, subject to attack by both soulbiters ganging up on you and spiteful devourers who might think you'd be an excellent center for a fireball -- or a destruction, if any of them have the juice to spare and care to close with you. (Or use spectral hand and inflict serious wounds if they think you're a particular pest.) In general, you'll be personally targeted by a devourer on only a 1:6 chance; if you make a particular pest of yourself, well ...
Recognizing a hopeless cause when she sees one, Amavin falls back, speeding her way through the air to get to the king.
On this and future rounds, Amavin double moves to keep up with the rest of the group, following the king close behind.
Ishana heads into the kitchen, herding the royal children ahead of her as she pushes ahead, trying to give them some form of cover, or alternatives an easily defended location.
If double moves are required to get to the Kitchen, Ishana of course does this. Otherwise, if its two single moves over 2 rounds, she might trigger her blessings to indirectly buff herself in preperation of a fight with the Soulbiters. Will need clarification but its probably Trickery Blessing, followed by Luck Blessing if she has time.
Keeping true to his plan, William moves back at a similar pace to the Chalm and his company. Not quite managing to make it to the stares before the crowd does, he begins fighting his way past the large group of people. Pushing the unarmored masses aside as he follows his new lord up the stares.
Though I believe he instantly makes the check to fight through the crowd if we're using the trample thing.
Both Dargaryen and Marlovaur move to engage the nearest devourer.
Darivan returns to the skies, easily keeping pace with the king, flying alongside him, sword held at the read and prepared to deflect any attacks that might come at him.
Moving (hasted, so a 90 foot speed) from O13 to K5 (50 feet) to keep up with the king. He should be able to keep up with everyone using only a single move action each round, so he'll also take the Total Defense action to improve his AC by +4 (to a total of 17), which also applies to touch AC. Nobody ever died from being too careful, right?
Sylvia follows by the prince and princess as they retreat into the kitchen, keeping Gwaihir close at hand as they make their hasty retreat.
In the mad, high-speed rush to escape the dining hall's carnage, Theodric manages to keep pace quite well for all that he can't see where he's actually going; the narrower spaces offered by the hallways and smaller rooms through which they travel, not to mention the marked lack of overwhelming noise, allows his remaining senses to adjust much more smoothly, even at speed. With the situation not quite as overwhelming to his senses now, the masked warrior is also able to devote a measure of his attention to listening for hints of danger both in the group's line of advance as well as on their backtrail.
Theodric will hustle right along at his best (hasted) movement speed each round, double moving as required to stay in a proper guard position. He'll also make a Perception check each round--hearing-based, naturally--to listen for trouble lurking ahead or coming up behind the group.
Effects:
Haste (5/7): +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.
Stepping right along as the massed group of guardians continues their own escape, Darvan says little to those around him, for words aren't particularly necessary at the moment. His body still glowing from the touch of his divine patron, all around him are lit by a wash of blue light that competes with the light already present.
Reaching the kitchens, Darvan doesn't hesitate to offer himself as one of those to engage the oncoming demons while the rest move onward to safety. Though he's not currently at his best for a fight, he's still a bit better suited than some others by virtue of not actually needing either weapon or armor. And Irori's grace should serve well in keeping his new fellows hale and healthy through their own parts in the trial to come. Smiling broadly at those who choose to stand alongside him, Darvan remarks in a confident tone of voice. "I am glad to see others willing to stand and face this trial even when they are ill-prepared for it. Anyone may stand firm when given a chance to ready themselves properly with their best tools and advantages. But doing so under these circumstances? Truly, this is a most fitting way to prove one's mettle."
Turning his attention to the soulbiters rushing forward in a mob, the holy warrior casually lashes out with a savage kick aimed at the head of the one that seems most interested in him personally, then drops his foot back down to stomp the vile creature as well. The entire time, he doesn't stop smiling or speaking, seemingly unbothered by what the group is facing. "And do not fret for the safety of your flesh against these foes, for the Master of Masters will act through me to aid those who face this trial with their utmost effort."
Darvan will double move in round 4, at the best possible speed allowed by the environment and the group, to keep pace with the other guards in the move to the kitchens.
In round 5, Darvan will take up position as part of the "cork," in one of the two center spots so as to cover the other three under the 10-foot radius of his Aura of Excellence. As a swift action, Darvan spends 1 point from his ki pool to give himself a +4 Dodge bonus to AC for that round, bringing his total AC up to 18/18/10. He activates Defensive Stance as well for an additional +2 Dodge bonus (AC 20/20/10).
Depending on TWO's response to my Discussion thread question, Darvan's attack action in round 5 may vary. I'm posting under the assumption that a full attack will be possible, which Darvan will make with Two-Weapon Fighting; if not, however, increase the attack bonus of his first strike by +2 and ignore the second attack.
Effects:
Inspire Courage (?/?): +2 morale bonus to saves against charm and fear effects, +2 competence bonus to attack and damage. (Is this still in effect even?)
Divine Body: +1 attack/+1 damage to unarmed strikes for 5 minutes; body shines as a torch for duration (blue light).
Ki: Unarmed strikes count as magic weapons for overcoming DR; +4 Dodge bonus to AC for one round.
Defensive Stance: -2 attack/+2 Dodge bonus to AC.
Tiger Style: +2 CMD against bullrush, overrun, and trip; unarmed strikes deal slashing damage.
I don't think this will come up, but you are covered by Darvan's Aura of Excellence.
It probably wasn't a good idea to ignore the orders of the man she just pledged to but Lyda couldn't, in good conscience, let these monsters go without doing something. She had to try and reduce their number somehow. Rising from her table just enough to sight targets, Lyda let loose a stream of arrows, severally depleting her supply.
Staying put behind cover and taking two full attack actions. The first one will be against a Devourer. If that appears to be ineffectual, the next will be against trapped, or entangled Biters. Someone said cold iron so that will be the ammunition against them.
Effects:
Haste (4/7): +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
Effects:
Haste (5/7): +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
Above the heads of the fighters, civilians, and even the royal children, Deneb fly as fast as he could to keep up. He had to keep his speed down lest he take a corner too fast and crash into a wall or person.
Double move both rounds. Once in the kitchen I would like for him to land on something tall so he can have line of sight to the approaching biters.
Velar continues to race along with the King pausing only to take one last look at the banquette hall just as they are about to leave. The pale elf has a sour(er then usual) expression on his face. This really wasn't a good start for their expedition - and he wasn't sure how to even start salvage it all.
But first they had to survive. Biting down hard Velar turned his back on the scene and hurried along, keeping his eyes ahead and his spear ready.
Threatening 15' so we'll rely on that for now.
He didn't like to run from a fight, but Kaellin signed up to a duty, so he'll see to it. He follows King Chalm and his retinue, staying at the rear of the group to cover them as they move. His bow is drawn, ready to pick off any enemy that gets to close. As he gets up the stairs, he pauses only for a moment to glance at the other side of the hall. Sylvara, keep yourself safe...
Kaellin holds his fire and moves with the group, staying at the back as that's where he already is. He is ready to fire at any enemies closing in on the group.
Sylvara is preoccupied with getting the royal family safe, staying with the group as they move into the kitchen. She continues to sing, hoping to bolster her allies strength, and to keep the royal family calm. She wishes that she had her bow. While she was confident in her fencing skills, her years of adventuring with the Reckless has shown her that she is more useful supporting the frontline fighters rather than being one of them.
Sylvara keeps up her inspire courage +2 (5/11 rounds remaining), and moves into the kitchen, behind the first line of defenders.
He had better not let the heirs die... Bartek thinks as he sees Kliment dash to protect them.
Bartek will hurry along, staying as close to the King as possible.
Looks like Darvan and I shall hold the rear...
Kliment runs into position beside Darvan, sword and shield at the ready.
I wish I had my armor...
"While this may be a fit way to prove our mettle, I would still have preferred to wear my armor." Kliment replies to Darvan with with a grin. While out both a horse and his armor, Kliment is still obviously eager to protect the others.
Kliment stands beside Darvan, providing the first rank for the cork. He will attack the first enemy when it comes in reach.
Without armor, Kliment's AC is 14/12/12... so not great.
Skie rushed towards the kitchen, it seemed to be where the flow was going. The teeming wall of vaguely organized bodies were unusual and somewhat unnerving, but at least it wasn't deamons. By the look of things there was a risk that would change soon enough.
The javelin-wielding elf forms up behind the pair of warriors already guarding the entrance. If fate was kind, she'll be able to rain down her spears from behind them. Not that there seemed to be any reason fate was on their side today...
"If I could have a wish; I'd ask for less planar invaders instead..." Skie affords herself a small smile at Kilment and then Darvan. Had to find the little beams of light - might be the last.
Then the time for small talk seemed distant and she focused the oncoming monsters instead. The first of her javelins sailed towards the blighters hitting one dead on! A start at least.
Base + (Divine Favour + Inspire Courage) - Deadly Aim
Base + (Divine Favour + Inspire Courage) + Deadly Aim
The Kitchen
Racing through the hallway to the young royals' fall-back point, many of the various lieutenants need to practically sprint in order to bounce off the side of the ten-foot-wide arched passage and pop through into the kitchen. Even there, though, the soulbiters have arrived -- currently forgetting their targets and terrorizing (meaning 'murdering') what was right in front of them, the twoscore servants and cooks here, but it gives the group precious moments to toss the Princess and Prince up onto a prep table in the corner, gives small spellcasters and such a time to perch, allows those others ready to smash heavy tables to overturn for defensive purposes, that sort of thing.
The hallway through which everyone is sprinting is ten feet wide; a quartet of lieutenants slide to a stop just past this one of the kitchen's several entrances: Darvan and Kliment in front, Skie and Mordred in the second row. And the necessity of that second row comes into play even as Skie throws one of her three javelins between Darvan and Kliment as the first surge of the hellish monsters reaches their feet, plunging it entirely through the creature and leaving the back tip just within Darvan's reach. Even as the carpet of soulbiters snarl into the front lines' ankles like insane bulldogs or pugs, of particular concern to the lieutenants (several of whom still need to get through and into the kitchen) some of them start trying to climb over the others' backs and tumble through to scrabble at the second rank, while others actually start climbing along the wall.
All four lieutenants (okay, 3 PC lieutenants -- Mordred is now an NPC, so I can fiat him) can take up to their maximum AoOs, whether from 4 soulbiters entering their respective spaces to attack, or up to ... well, a lot of soulbiters moving through threatened spaces all around you, including the walls.
All three of you PCs can take full attack actions if you like; an attack action, followed by a move to withdraw, would ... not be foolish.
Anyone already in the kitchen (meaning Deneb, Ishana, Sylvara, Sylvia, Tai, and Winnie) may, if they are not already equipped with cold iron, may take an action to scramble and acquire cast iron skillets, ladles, and other such improvised weapons, which will reduce the soulbiters' DR by 3 (to a DR of 2) when used to attack. May be worth it, may not. If you choose this, PLEASE include the fact that it's a cast iron item in each post you use them. Otherwise, make sure you have your open action stated -- overturning tables, that sort of thing. If you want to attack, there are plenty of soulbiters visible, though none are in melee range -- YET.
If you choose to attack a specific soulbiter, you must strike their full AC 16 -- see the info on my character page. If, however, you are simply shooting into the horde, all you have to hit is an AC of 12, i.e. they only get their natural AC bonus, because there's so damn many of them. For most of you, that's a roll of what, 3 or 5?
If you attack the horde and you have a spell/ability that targets their flat-footed AC, it's still 12; if you get to strike their Touch AC, it's a 10.
Lessah
To back over the cat again: Skie has neither her buckler nor her cold iron dagger. Cohorts turned in their representative weapon (your three javelins) and were allowed defensive (and 'clothing mod') magic items -- that's it. Also as I think I said, your javelins should be of different types; no 'coincidentally' sending three javelins that just happen to be what will work in this situation.
The Great Hall
A dozen of the horrifying undead soul-consuming monstrosities emerge from the tunnel, along with a veritable spring flood of their yammering hell-pups; while most of the latter surge left and plunge through the doorways leading into the utility sections of the keep, each devourer seems to have a small entourage of up to a dozen (never less than four) soulbiters, which will stop at anyone that dies near to them, to trap their soul before bounding after the devourer to regurgitate the pearl into the nihilistic undead's hand.
While the horrors that first arrived in the Hall are moving forward through the air at a relatively sedate pace, those that emerge after the webbing is clear advance at a quicker rate. A number of them seem to be practically racing on their spindly, arachnidic legs; those who move with less urgency flick death and despair about themselves, but mostly to clear the way of those racing after the king.
These are ... unnaturally coordinated, for a type of undead who despise their fellows almost as bad as they despise the living. There is something else at work ...
Though the majority of the arrow and crossbow fire from the balconies rains upon the advancing devourers, it still seems to be nothing but blind luck that allows the occasional arrow to strike deep enough to do any damage; Lyda's first arrow plunges between a pair of devourer ribs, and hangs there uselessly. And while the distance to the horde of 'biters is greater, there are so many of them that whatever misses one is likely to plunge into another -- and except for the first ranging shot, the rest of her arrows do, the first hitting (but not slaying) a soulbiter, the next three cold-iron arrows striking down two of the demons in a row before laming a third.
Devourer Targeting: Lyda is at #3-2 (third 'slice' of the room, distant target); Dargaryen and Marlovaur are at #5-1 (fifth slice, close target). At any one time, up to four devourers may target your section of the room.
Well, that makes sense. Dargaryen 1-2, Marlovaur 3.
Dargaryen it is. Darg and Marlovaur get an AoO against the devourer adjacent to him. Presuming the above roll still beats the damage they inflict, make a DC 21 Will save to take 11 damage; otherwise, take 22.
This devourer will turn its attention to Darg and Marl.
Lyda and her surroundings get casually fireballed. Reflex DC 22 save to take half of ...
Utilizing the flexibility of the Whip, Ishana uses the end to curl itself around a cast iron ladle, before whipping it into the general horde, hoping to discourage further attacks.
With two further kicks delivered just as accurately and punishingly as the first, one soulbiter among the horde pressing forward dies, it's head reduced to a thick mess of pulp held together only by battered skin. Taking stock of the way in which the little horrors surge along the floor and even the walls to advance, Darvan quickly realizes that this position is not one that can be held, and moves to fall back into the kitchen proper. "I do believe that our presence in this particular area is no longer tenable, and quite firmly suggest joining the others before we find ourselves swarmed and brought down," the holy warrior says as he adroitly slips past allies and foes alike in the course of his retreat.
Darvan will make an Attack of Opportunity against the soulbiter that he kicked during his action this round.
This round, Darvan will make one final attack against the specific soulbiter he's been engaged with, which should be enough to pop the little demonic vermin like a zit, even with its DR and fast healing. So that's a whopping one down, and a horde still to go!
After that attack, Darvan will take his move action to withdraw with all speed, as well as spending his swift action and a ki point to increase his armor class for a round; his current AC is still 20/20/10.
If needed, Darvan will make an Acrobatics check to avoid taking AoOs from the soulbiters for moving through threatened squares during his move action. The DC for this check is 14, with a further increase of +10 for moving at full speed.
Effects:
Inspire Courage (?/?): +2 morale bonus to saves against charm and fear effects, +2 competence bonus to attack and damage. (Is this still in effect even?)
Divine Body: +1 attack/+1 damage to unarmed strikes for 5 minutes; body shines as a torch for duration (blue light).
Ki: Unarmed strikes count as magic weapons for overcoming DR; +4 Dodge bonus to AC for one round.
Defensive Stance: -2 attack/+2 Dodge bonus to AC.
Tiger Style: +2 CMD against bullrush, overrun, and trip; unarmed strikes deal slashing damage.
Acaciano, thankfully untouched as of yet by any of the intruders, completes his summoning, bringing into existence three glowing fire-beetles a dozen paces out. Flitting on their awkward wings, they make for the closest Devourer.
'They won't stop them, but maybe they'll slow them down!' he thinks.
His spell completed, Acaciano turns in the air and makes straight for the door, intent on following the King and his new countrymen, and using his greatly enhanced speed to do so, taking the lead and scouting ahead as much as he's able once the path is opened.
Wild Shape/Gr Longstrider: ~7 hours remains
Haste Rd 4/7
Current Fly Speed is 80 feet so catching up shuoldn't be an issue
Completed casting 'Summon Nature's Ally II'.
Tai continues his egress even as the others around him hold their position and reinforce the line. He considers joining them, but decides against it at this point-- he knew from experience that too many hands could muddy things up even more than they already were.
'Best to stay with the Royals for now he thought to himself. 'At this point, who know's what we'll find in the kitchen; can't leave all the fighters at the rear...'
Skie shouts triumphantly as her javelin skewers one of the daemons. Now there were just ... uh ... tons to go. And ... her good javelin were all the way over there. Damn. Now this wouldn't have been a problem if she had her quiver filled with the darn things but noooo the helpful guard at the door had insisted otherwise. I bet he is feeling really foolish about right now! Well - either that or eat. Bleh.
She just had to try and fix her mistake as soon as possible. Using her ordinary javelin as a bat she (very) briefly cleared the way and surged forth to grab her precious cold iron throwing spear. After that she did her best to follow the advice of her new glowing friend and back up and away from the gnawing horde.
[roll=AoO]1d20+8-4+2[/dice]
R6 Move action to snag Cold Iron Javelin. Move action to fall back.
[roll=AoO]1d20+8-4+2[/dice]
Note: Same attack breakdown as last post, only using Power Attack instead of Deadly Aim.
Edit: Due to formatting screw-up here are the attack rolls of the AoOs:
Darg calms his mind, enters the crane combat style, and focuses on dodging oncoming attacks from the devourer and striking back when the undead over commits.
On his turn, Darg will enter the Crane Style as a swift action and will then fight defensively full round (+2 AC). He will use the following feats to increase his AC to 33 (21 touch): crane style (+1), crane wing (+4) and steel net (+2). He will use the following feats to adjust his attack penalties: fight defensively (-4), crane style (+2), steel net (+2), power attack (-2), furious focus (+2, 1st attack).
The Upper Passages, King's Quarters, and Escape Route
Moving with the preternatural swiftness of the hasted, the majority of the command group achieves the balcony, then surges into the hallway beyond; Coalhouse, still moving with incredible agility despite the inordinate amount of gear he's carrying, preceeds the group by a good twenty feet, checking the corners before gesturing the rest of you forward.
Not everyone is hasted, however; Selene, Nimue, Tomáš, Bartek, William and Duchovný are all on foot and unaccelerated. The gnome monk Azaneth Nymaah is part of this 'tail-end second' group, along with an apparently self-appointed guardian who has managed to slide through the crowd and gotten up the steps after them. Amavin, flying at top speed, zooms past the eight of them, blazing through the door and turning left to rocket down the hall after the retreating royal party: Coalhouse scouting, Velar, Darivan, Kaellin, Theodric and Chalm, Acaciano and Aramil, and Amavin quickly coming up from behind --
Selene goes through the door, turning left; Bartek follows, neither of them even looking the other way in their rush to keep up with the speed-enhanced king. William, Tomáš, Nimue and Duchovný being the very last of the Elector-Counts following, the members of the Krádiran Royal Guard retreat up the stairs, pursued hotly first by a handful of the crowd, and more lethally by fireball-conjuring, wound-creating, soul-consuming devourers. But even as William and Tomáš are rounding through the wide stone archway, a long-fingered parchment-dry bone-thin hand reaches out to grab him by the skull and, with a sound that makes every channel in their ears throb in revulsion, curses him with a word. Dušek collapses into shock, still alive but not likely to move soon, still in the devourer's grasp; a second devourer moves past the first, and without missing a step Zámoždom Duchovný shoves the gnome Nimue into its path and sprints after William, Bartek, and Selene.
It's the latter that wheels, already dropping one cartridge down the barrel of her musket and shouting, "Go!! I'll hold it off!!" Thunder hammers through the hallway, almost a sonic concussion in and of itself, the simple lead streaking across the space and shattering the forearm of the hand holding Dušek; he drops to the floor, sprawling bonelessly. With a shriek, Nimue stumbles and falls onto her back; her own swift words suddenly batter the undead monstrosities with swift-falling stone and gravel. "We'll hold them off!!" Lebeda corrects herself, then tosses aside her musket and draws her blade. "Come on, you pig-ugly brutes!!"
Duchovný flees without a moment's hesitation. "To the king!! He's the one they must be after!!" In this way he reminds the two ahead of him, intentionally or inadvertently, of their oath.
At the doors to the king's suite, Coalhouse performs a swift two-handed pattern of knocks executed on the door, which spring open; even as he moves, he looks about for threats, of which there are, fortunately, none; it's into the private garderobe he goes, though, and calls back, "It's through here. Unfortunate for the scent, but at least it's midwinter. And it's a classic location ... now if I can just ..." It takes him a few moments to remember what this pattern is, time that allows those with less speed to catch up, but once he's remembered, the stone blocks swing outwards, and he slides through.
The start of the escape route is steep and narrow, as most such things are; if it were wet (or heaven forbid icy), anyone not flying might fear for the safety of their spines. But as you go along, the way gets easier, warmer ...
... less steep ...
... more natural, hewn out of rock instead of built from stone blocks ...
... worn smooth, the narrow passage widening ...
... stairs finally flattening even as the tunnel widens into a warm, moist, earthen-floored cave, dozens, scores, hundreds of mushrooms growing in every nook and cranny. Beyond the thirty-foot-wide forty-foot-long cave, at the far end of the oval, is the cave's mouth, a golden-green light reminiscent of an absolutely beautiful spring day pouring in through its entrance to give the rest of the cave its light, and yet accentuate the difference between the cavern's darkness and the beauty awaiting you beyond the entrance.
"This," says Chalm to Coalhouse with a dry sarcasm, "was not on the castle plans."
With a shake of his head, Coalhouse agrees. "No sh!t."
Behind you, echoing down the passage, comes a shriek of rage, contempt, and anger -- and clicking footfalls approach.
So: William, Bartek, Velar, Darivan, Kaellin, Theodric, Acaciano, and Amavin for the PCs; the king, Coalhouse, Aramil, Duchovný, and the two Silver River monks for NPCs. I believe that's everyone. Good!!
All of the above PCs can make DC 15 Perception checks, as well as DC 18 KS: Nature and DC 23 KS: Planes checks, if you have those skills.
DC 15 Perception
DC 18 KS: Nature
DC 23 Planes
The First World, Land of the Fey.
You can post reactions, wariness, and combat preparations; I will post the world outside of the cave in a new thread tomorrow night, so if/when you leave the cave ... you'll be there. ;)
Amavin hesitates, clearly she was no longer in Brevoy, and part of her wanted to turn back and see if Ishana was ok, along with her followers. Worried, but wanting to safeguard the king and conscious of the footsteps behind her, she ushers everyone foward. "Quickly, we should head forward out of this Cave. I don't know for sure what is following us, but I'd rather evade it. Who knows, maybe we can block the tunnel and prevent it following."
So saying, and leading by example, she speeds towards the entrance/exit of the cave, making use of her flight speed to avoid and landlocked hazards as she takes a look.
Acaciano, still in Mi-Go form, glances around the cave, shocked at the development but unable to communicate anything verbally with the others in this form, and unwilling to return to his own body just yet; the threat was unlikely to be over, and while a Mi-Go body wasn't good for talking, it was good for fighting.
As Amavin darts forward through the air, Acaciano follows on her heels, using the last of his hasted speed to keep pace as they move towards the cave entrance. For his part, Acaciano actively stays vigilant, preparing for the worst.
Effects:
Gr Longstrider: ~7 hrs
Wildshape: ~7 hrs
Haste: 7/7
"I don't think we are anywhere near the castle anymore." Velar noted sourly. He couldn't sense his familiar through the empathic link and he was fairly sure there were no place in Brevoy like this. Or Golarion for that matter. Perhaps there is no grand plot, just the multiverse falling appart? A today that started so well...
"Were else though, I'm not sure." But he could almost tell. Like a faded song without words lurking just beneath the conscious, some part of him *knew*. It just didn't feel like sharing just yet. Gah! With an annoyed shrug the elf tried to clear his head.
"But that's not our biggest issue - we got here by foot and I see nothing that indicates that our pursuers won't. Amavin is right. We should move." Wasting no more time Velar readied his spear once more and stepped out towards the caverns entrance. As he did he glanced up towards the flying sorceress. "How does it look up there? Could it be possible to bring the roof down; trap the daemons underneath the rock?"
Darivan flies along at lightning speed, holding his rear-guard position. When they enter the tunnels, he lowers his height until he's only just skimming the ground. When they enter the cavern, he looks around in confusion.
What on Golarion... he thinks
I'm not sure we are. Ardafax chimes in
What?
Look around. Vivid life, crazy smells, this is-
"The First World? How did we get here? And why is there an interplanar passage in the castle?" Darivan wonders aloud, keeping his sword at the ready while the others deliberate.
Lyda recognized the little bead of light headed her way and ducked behind the table she was using for cover. She curled into as small a ball as possible to expose as little skin to the fire she knew was coming. A great conflagration burns her back and sets fire to many of the tables around her. She popped up to fire but paused. Besides the almost casual fireball, none of the creatures seemed too concerned with her...or any of the other leaders for that matter. And the way they moved? Lyda could attribute some confusion to lack of knowledge but these didn't seem like the kind of creatures to work so...well together. So coordinated.
Something is controlling them, she realizes. And one of the leaders mentioned something going on outside. Lyda looks at the door and knows that is not a way out. Webbing, rocks and bitty demons block the way. She turns and looks for a way out along the wall. A window maybe? "Erastil, bless me with a spider's agility." Now she could climb walls without difficulty. With all the haste left in her she planned to find the one guiding these monsters and put an end to them.
31/2=15-5=10 fire damage.
Cast Spiderclimb and move (60 land, 50 climb) to the south wall looking for a window or other way out.
Effects:
Haste (5/7): +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, 7 min
Animal Focus Tiger: +2 Dex, 1 min
Spiderclimb: 20ft climb speed (50 with haste)
Deneb landed on top of one of the shelves with a good line of sight to the hall and monsters bearing down on them. He slowly changed back to his normal self and grumbled, "Ugh. Wish that didn't take so long." The first line of fighters were being overrun already and he could do nothing in that form. Not yet anyway. Fire and lightning danced on his finger tips as he sought out a target.
Edit: Draw a Liquid Ice while I'm there for gits and shiggles.
The shift from the man-made structure of the castle to the rougher environs of the tunnel doesn't do much to stop or slow Theodric's pace. Even the press of those crowded before and after serves as an aid of sorts, as it permits him to navigate the steeper initial portion of the escape route at speed while--carefully, in account of his exposed blades--keeping a hand on an unseen back or shoulder for occasional guidance and support. Only upon reaching what his senses tell him is a larger, more open space does the blind swordsman separate from the others somewhat, ears tuned for trouble as he listens to what his companions have to say.
Briefly sheathing the lesser of the two swords he has kept drawn, Theodric cautiously lifts his mask a bit and inhales carefully, then hums in thought before dropping the mask back down and speaking, turning to face Darivan's approximate location. "Well, whatever this 'First World' is, it doesn't smell too badly for being at the end of the privy. The warmth is nice as well, I must say. Now, for those of us not versed in the details of that intra-whatever you mentioned, what is this 'First World'? More importantly, what manner of threats might we find here?"
There are so many... Kliment thinks to himself as he tries to hold off the soul biters. As they pour into the hall and around him he steadily swings while backing down the hall with the others.
AC is currently 14/12/12 due to no armor.
Here are the attack rolls.
Hopefully that gets a kill or two.
This place feels... good...
"I do not think we should be too hasty in leaving the cave, we know it is safe here for the moment. Though I do want to move on from here." Bartek says.
Bartek will move to the cave entrance and take a look outside. "I do like how it feels here though."
Marlovaur swings his cold iron long sword at the undead abomination and attempts to slash through the bars of its rib cage.
The smell is the first thing that hit Kaellin, and that tips him off that something was definitely not normal. Able to take a second to examine his surroundings, his eerie feeling is confirmed at the definitely-not-normal variety of mushrooms growing in this place. Judging from the reaction of the King and his man, this place was definitely not part of the plan.
On the other hand, stumbling into strange places was part of the fun of being an adventurer. Despite the situation they were in, the ranger can't help the corner of his mouth twitch upward. Sylvie's going to pissed she missed this...
I absolutely refuse to die in a kitchen. Kael would never let me hear the end of it.
Positioning herself behind the frontline defenders, but in front of the royal family, Sylvara ceased her singing for a moment to aid in setting up defenses. Despite stopping, her song, and its magic, continues to linger in the air, bolstering her allies. She helps with overturning tables to form blockades.
She turns to the two royal children. "Your highnesses, if need be, I can render you both invisible for five minutes as long as you make no attacks. Do I have your consent to do so?"
As mentioned above, Sylvara uses her action to overturn tables to provide obstacles in front of the enemy. Her inspire courage +2 continues to be in effect thanks to Lingering Performance for 2 rounds.
Round 7
The Great Hall
As the armored Dargaryen and the unarmored Marlovaur approach the devourer, it almost ignores the two of them; the obscene arcane sigil it traces and pronounces towards Dargaryen seems almost to be an afterthought -- that Darg survives might be something of some surprise, interest, or amusement to the thing -- but then Dargaryen lines up what is almost the perfect cut, and takes it.
That gets its attention.
Smacking aside Marlovaur's slash, both of the creature's hands begin to twist and contort; the two men can see the life-essence of the creature inside it getting pulled out into the undead daemon's hands, twisted into something unnaturally obscene, a sign to freeze the blood and chill the marrow in your very bones ... and then with a scream that almost as clearly comes from the agony the soul within it is undergoing, it reaches out and slams the corrupt sigil into Dargaryen.
Which leads me to what the thing's doing. You did hit with that Nat 20, which came so close to confirming, but what you definitely did is focus its attention on Dargaryen. So it's going to act.
Harm will deal 75 points of damage on a save, but cannot drop Dargaryen below 1 HP no matter what, so presuming this doesn't roll a 1, 1 HP is where Dargaryen will be. Both Dargaryen and Marlovaur get AoOs on the spellcasting, of course -- BEFORE it goes off.
Darg, roll me a DC 15 Fortitude or Will save (your choice) or be Stunned for 1 round. (This is a modification of the Massive Damage rule -- you don't die, you just go bwah!!)
-----------
Outside the Great Hall
Lyda, with her speedy spiderclimbing self, races up the wall, over the balcony, and through a door, there to witness through a pair of wide-open doors the utterly torn-off back of the castle. For a moment, you can see a thing seeming to be tearing away four-foot-tall, six-foot-wide, four-foot deep stone blocks as if they were pound cake.
The thing ... there are no other words for it but that; 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 doing the tearing. 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 having been driven into the stone (and thus apparently 'more stable' - or at least not prone to disappearing) seem to flicker and warp, changing where they meet the thing's main mass. Half a dozen plate-sized disks glisten within its warping flesh, first from one place and then another, perhaps serving it as eyes.
And yet that doesn't -- quite -- seem to be the worst of it.
Floating a foot about the thing there is a devourer, but it is different than any of the others you've yet seen, for it seems to bear 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 at what the spider-thing is doing, then makes a sink-fingers-in-and-twist sort of gesture, and suddenly the carriage-spider-cage-thing is lurching forward and down, and the devourer perforce sinks with it -- apparently never noticing you.
Make me a DC 20 Stealth check. Follow that up with a DC 15 Reflex save to take half damage of ...
If you succeeded on the Stealth check and succeeded by more than 5 on the Reflex save, you have two choices: be on exposed steps leading down what used to be a secret escape route in the torn-off back of Castle Restov, or be in the other scene, managing to claw your way through and tumbling out into that madhouse-to-be.
Your choice; I recommend the latter, but it's up to you.
-----------
The Kitchen
Darvan lays about with fine style, smacking soulbiters off the wall and kicking the nasty little critters back into the ruck of them; those who are there with him can hear bones break with almost every strike he makes. Skie, daring a leap forward, recovers her javelin and withdraws, Kliment covering for her with a few slashes of his sword -- it may not be cold iron, but it seems to be doing the trick, for the most part.
Pulling back into the kitchen as the others finish their movement, everyone can withdraw into the nearby quasi-fortress of the tables overturned by Sylvia, Tai, Winnie, and (under the direction of) Sylvara; the swarm of devourers in the far reaches of the kitchen seems to be finished up with the kitchen staff and is about to cascade in your direction.
Errr, revise that -- IS cascading towards you and your ... protectees.
Kitchen Battle and Icon Page. Find your icon, copy it across put it in place. The small version needs a little adjustment, but it's not too bad to fit the map. Sarra and Tobias are already on the map in the lower left-hand corner; while the lower right-hand corner was the initial retreat point, Alysandra saw the mayhem that was already happening, and judged the chances for getting over there to be worse than standard, so she went with the one they're all in.
Grey squares are stone walls; light mottled is the kitchen floor, dark mottled are the fireplaces/ovens. The ones along the bottom wall, one of which Alysandra is in front, are ovens for bread, etc.
All right -- I've finally figured out how to run this particular battle relatively simply. First, Daedalus -- if you're still willing to help, you get to run this. ;)
Second, We're going to use somewhat modded rules for swarms to help out on this. So. For all intents and purposes, most of the kitchen is (or will be) swarmed over with hundreds of these little buggers. The passage at D9 does have a door, which opens into the kitchen, and thus can be closed and held against them with relative ease, so all you have to do is, well, keep back / smite the ones in the kitchen.
These will be handled as a sort of 5' square swarm -- a pack. Each pack is AC 12, with 19 HP and Fast Healing 2; if you don't 'clear the square' in front of you, it regenerates 2 HP and attacks.
AC: 12
HP: 19, Fast Healing 2
DR 5/good or cold iron, Immune electricity, poison; Resist acid 10, cold 10, fire 10
Melee bite +6 [1d4+2]
Grabbing: If a square is not cleared in 2 rounds, the soulbiter pack will Grab the target of its second consecutively successful attack (in the square right in front of it) as they climb over the barricade and latch on. This only happens with the same pack, not with sequential packs. The pack will then be sharing their target's square; finish off that pack, and the square will be clean, but another pack will have moved into the area they had been in, so ...
Moving Along Walls: The soulbiters can climb; this means that column d and row 13 are routes for them; those must be kept clear as well.
Leaping: Man, can these things jump -- Jump at will, in fact. However, they aren't coordinated. As a consequence, on Round 8 and every 1d3+1 rounds afterwards a pack will leap 'from the kitchen' (meaning at least 10' away) to attack someone random in the second row of defenders, sharing a square with that target until they are disposed of.
Cast Iron: The cohorts will very quickly notice that the soulbiters will avoid the cast iron in the kitchen; they will avoid any square that is effectively filled with the stuff. Filling a square with cast iron requires 3 rounds worth of action; this can be accomplished by multiple people. You have immediately to hand sufficient cast iron to fill 2 squares. You can, should you manage it, move one square's worth of cast iron forward, but doing so will still require 3 rounds' worth of action, and make both squares 'unfilled' for as long as it takes to move the cast iron. You cannot 'fill' the wall squares (column d and row 13), nor can you yourselves occupy a square filled with cast iron sufficiently enough to form a barrier to the soulbiters' progress.
Because I know someone is going to ask: the bread ovens close but do not lock, and do 2d6 heat (fire) damage per round that someone is in them, because they are still all primed up. Tossing in sufficient numbers of the soulbiters would require you to first grapple them (not advised, but ...) and then successfully ungrapple them 'into' the oven. I don't advise it; between their fire resistance and their fast healing, they can basically ignore it.
Questions? Ask. The last 2 people in I will allow to pose slamming shut and bracing the door; otherwise, the packs are on you!!
In any other moment, Lyda would have been disappointed with herself for hesitating. When she ran through the open doors she had to skid to a stop before tumbling over edge of a cliff that should not have been there. Her hasted reflexes thankfully, beat her hasted speed. Then she saw the thing and her mind stopped for a moment. Thing was really the best description because nothing in this world was remotely close enough for her to define what she was seeing. While her mind tried to process it, or at least shut down the process to continue thinking, her instincts through her against what was left of a wall to hide. Adrenaline and fear increased her ability to analyze the situation 100 fold. But even then, the only conclusion she came to was that this was the thing controlling all the others. Or more specifically, the thing on top that looked like a Devourer. Wait...
Lyda took a closer look. It had a sword. And vambraces. And the remnant of clothing. That thing was a person at one point. Lyda didn't hesitate to follow. She probably couldn't kill it, or even slow it down, but maybe she could...well she wasn't sure. And she would never find out either. The falling and flinging rocks from it's excavation were easy to avoid but she could not follow without causing a small avalanche with almost every step. She'd be spotted and join the souls in that horrifying cage in it's chest. She shuddered at the thought and turned back. She had to find the leaders.
14 damage.
Failed the stealth but I am not sure what that means. I wasn't given options for failure. Not sure what NB and controlling source are either. Do I eventually join the Leaders or cohorts again?
This is to see if she can spy something about the clothing or weapon that might be a clue as to who they are...were. Don't have the knowledges most likely but if I can give a solid description to the right person, they might be able to figure it out.
Effects:
Haste (6/7): +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, 7 min
Animal Focus Tiger: +2 Dex, 1 min
Spiderclimb: 20ft climb speed (50 with haste)
Deneb finished his transformation and was ready to release the firepower. That is until he went through his mental list of spells ready. Almost all of the damaging ones would be ineffective. Lightning and fire were his go to and they were extremely resistant. So what could he do? He looked around the battle field. And then at the people they were here to protect. Right. He could do that.
Deneb leapt from his perch and approached the royal offspring. He holds his hands up to indicate non-aggression. He looks at their eleven protector, Alysandra first. "My offense is going to be lacking, may I apply defensive spells to the children?" With an affirmative, he puts on his best smile to lighten the mood and rubs his hands together. "Right. Who wants their own personal tornado?" He looks for confirmation from one of them and touched their chest, saying a small prayer. "Erastil, bless this child and let them walk the eye of the storm unhindered." He backs away quickly as gale force winds surround the child.