The Ironfang Invasion: Fangs of War

Game Master vayelan

Basidirond Slam vs Prone Gaius: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25
Damage: 1d8 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10

The basidirond hammers its tendril down upon the prone Gaius while the arcanist still struggles against the imagined quicksand. As his hallucinations shift, he suddenly believes himself tiny and hopes to escape the dangerous plant's notice.

Gaius takes 10 damage and needs to make a DC 16 Fort Save to resist the disease spores from the basidirond's slam attack.
This is on top of the save against the hallucination spores.

Ibzairiak flies at full speed, closing the 300 feet or so between him and the fort's gates. He alights upon the battlements of the southwestern tower, its 45-foot height keeping him elevated out of the cloud of spores. The dragon leers down upon Gaius, rivulets of acidic drool dripping from his crooked jaw and pattering upon the grass below with angry, burning hisses.

The dragon prepares to unleash his breath upon Gaius.

Ibzairiak takes a double move to fly back to the fort and land on the tower.
Lily can unleash her readied attack upon the dragon; this is in addition to her next turn's actions, of course.
The party can also post its next actions.

Undari, now shallow enough to find some root systems, follows one up to the surface to get a look at the battle while having some cover from whatever tree the roots belong to. He is treated to a stunning sight, the swirling black cloud around the evil black dragon perched above and inhaling with its gaze on someone below—it had to be one of his companions!

”Erastil guide my spell,” Undari whispers as he summons a ball of holy light to envelop the dragon!

Burst of Radiance Spell Penetration Check: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29

Yessssss!

Holy Damage if you are evil, no save: 5d4 ⇒ (3, 3, 3, 2, 2) = 13
Rounds Blinded if fail DC 16 Reflex Save/Rounds Dazzled it Save is made: 1d4 ⇒ 4

Fort vs Spores: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 9 + 2 = 18

Realizing he couldn't reach Gaius in time to prevent the dragon from getting to him, Thorek begins a battle chant and invokes Angradd's protection, stepping out of the cloud of spores to get a better look at the dragon.

"Ibzairiak, notice anything missing from that pile of trash you called a hoard?" The dwarf taunts, holding the dorn-dergar chain in his off-hand and drawing a throwing axe with the other. "I took it, you overgrown lizard! But don't worry, I'll replace it--you can have THIS!"

Spend a Fervor Point to cast Resist Energy [Acid] Divine Favor on myself, 5ft step back, Move to draw the axe and Standard to throw it! And a free action to trash talk, naturally.
Axe Throw: 1d20 + 7 + 2 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (19) + 7 + 2 + 2 - 4 = 26 Damage: 1d6 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 2 + 3 = 7

Thorek, you and everyone else already has communal resist acid (20 points per attack) and communal protection from acid (84 points total), so I think your spell is redundant if you wanted to use something else. You also have the +5 AC Ironskin paste (which I think you have already used).

attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31
High is good
miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 4
Argggggggggggggggg..........................

Lily shoots an arrow at the dragon thinking she hit but watches angrily as she hits a shadow. " You stupid dragon. Have to rely on cheap tricks to win don't you ," she yells slightly off tilt.

Post next move later. I'm tilted.

attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (1) + 11 = 12
High good.
miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 47
I hate this dragon

Lily still very tilted missing basically fires the arrow straight up.

Esperanza strides out from her hiding place, glaive held out and high. "The dwarf is more generous than I am, dragon. If you want your belt back, you'll have to come and take it."

Readied action to strike when he comes in range.

Gaius' fungus induced trip ends as he hits what is possibly the rockiest bottom. The hell am I doing here? That spell was all wrong and there aren't even any spider corp- WHOA WHOA WHOA that's the Dragon AND the Basidirond! WHAT HAVE I DONE?!

A meek whimper escapes his lips as he tries to make his escape.
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Fort (Disease), DC 16: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19
Fort (Hallucination), DC 16: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
It's about damn time... XD Not out of the woods yet though! If he can dimensional slide while prone he'll do that. Otherwise, he'll stand up, then dimensional slide. Up to you GM, but I think the latter makes more sense. I've placed a second Gaius token on the map where he wants to slide to.

@Gaius: I will rule that you can use dimensional slide while prone. I can easily envision Gaius' senses coming back to him just in time to see the dragon looming above him, opening the rift, and rolling sideways through the rift to escape.

The basidirond delivers one last swipe with its tendril, practically knocking Gaius into the dimensional rift he opens to escape his peril.

Thorek's thrown axe spirals past the dragon, as the shadows wreathing him vex the dwarf's aim.

Ibzairiak raises his wings to shield his eyes as Undari's spell strikes the tower in an explosion of light. However, even through the leathery membrane of his wings, the dragon's eyes are dazzled while his scales burn with the radiant light.

The dragon shimmies over to the edge of the tower overlooking the courtyard. Though his eyes are plagued by dazzling spots of light and color, Ibzairiak is drawn by the sound of Thorek and Esperanza's taunts. Thus, the dragon unleashes a gout of acid that streaks towards them.

Gaius takes another 14 damage from the basidirond before he dimensionally slides away.
Ibzairiak is Dazzled for 4 rounds.
The dragon's breath weapon deals 38 acid damage. Thorek and Esperanza need to make a DC 20 Reflex Save to cut that in half.
The party can act again.

(Recall your protective spells from Undari against acid)

Hoping that his spell was enough to distract the dark dragon, Undari continues to pepper it with lightning bolts while his spell remains active, then moves another 20 feet closer, gliding through the ground at shin level (should take him to about 320' from the front of the fort). Having seen how fast this dragon is, Undari attempts to keep a tree between him and the dragon as he finishes his move, wary of letting it get a free charge at him.

Spell Penetration: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22
Lightning Damage, DC 17 Reflex for Half: 3d6 ⇒ (3, 2, 2) = 7

(Lightning bolt 4 of 7)

Reflex: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 5 + 2 = 24

Twisting away from the spray of acid, Undari's magic holds and the dwarfs finds himself unscathed by the caustic spray. "Ha! As feeble as you are stupid, you wretch!" Plunging back into the cloud of spores, Thorek darts into the gatehouse tower and starts pounding up the stairs. As the thrill of battle stirs the warpriest's heart, he begins to sing the unreasonable catchy anthem of his people.

Ugh, it's enough to make you want the Dimensional Agility feat chain!

Reflex: 1d20 + 12 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 12 + 2 = 25

Esperanza easily reads the dragon's intentions, and slices through the breath weapon with her glaive, laughing as Undari's magic sweeps away what little gets through. "Is that the best you can do?" she taunts.

Going to wait a bit to see what the rest of the party is doing, I don't want to wind up out of position.

Ibzairiak Reflex vs Call Lightning: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13

The dragon is so focused on the new foes before him that he fails to account for the old foe steadily approaching from behind. Thus, the next bolt strikes true, even if it lacks some potency.

Gaius groans as he's whipped through his own portal and flops face first onto the ground. Raising an arm, he weakly spins it clockwise. The longer he spins, the faster it gets and soon his allies have a heightened sense of alacrity.

He then pulls him self up on the wall and hobbles closer to the stables. At least... at least the Dragon didn't join in... yet...
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Haste! I don't think I can get Thorek :( but Lily, Esperanza, and himself for sure. If, somehow, omitting himself gets Thorek though, by all means resolve it that way! DIGGY DIGGY HOLE! :D THIS is the version I'm acquainted with. GM, I'm assuming those are/were the stables, but maybe it is a shed? Idk.

@Gaius: Since your range on Haste would be 40 ft (25 ft base, plus 5 ft for every two levels), Thorek would be out of range.

Before he casts his spell, Gaius struggles to his feet and stands near the wooden stables that lean against the southern wall of the courtyard. Its large doors are open and askew, hanging drunkenly from damaged hinges. The rank smell of moldering hay emanates from within the building. A number of iron horseshoes hang from nails upon the posts within the stable, and Gaius can see a pair of terrified oxen huddling in one corner of the stable.

attack bane 1: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (10) + 12 = 22
miss high good: 1d100 ⇒ 51
attack bane 2: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 20
miss high good: 1d100 ⇒ 51

Lily continues to just miss at the dragon ever so slightly off to hitting her target.

The basidirond shambles through the gates and approaches Lily, but she narrowly evades the swing of its tendrils before she takes a step to give herself room enough to fire off her arrows, even if they only glance the dragon's scales.

Running at full speed, Thorek makes it halfway up the tower.

One more round spent running will bring Thorek to the top of the tower.
Esperanza, did you want to take your actions for this round now or wait for the dragon to act?

Now is good!

The shambling plant monster coming through the gates manages to pull Esperanza's attention from the dragon, and she steps forward to strike it down before it can interfere any further.

Glaive attack #1: 1d20 + 15 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 15 + 2 + 1 = 31
Glaive damage: 1d10 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19

Glaive attack #2: 1d20 + 10 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 10 + 2 + 1 = 17
Glaive damage: 1d10 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11

Haste attack: 1d20 + 15 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 15 + 2 + 1 = 26
Glaive damage: 1d10 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

Esperanza connects with her first and third swings, with the second only pruning some leaves from the plant. Nevertheless, her two blows hew large chunks from the basidirond, leaving it bleeding a syrupy mess.

Ibzairiak leaps from the tower and glides down upon his wings, landing amidst Esperanza and Gaius.
The dragon snakes its neck and snaps at the swashbuckler with his crooked jaws.

Ibzairiak Bite vs Esperanza: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (2) + 17 = 19
That would not hit, but I believe Esperanza's first Parry roll would fail to trigger a Riposte.

The party can post its next actions.

Yup, the size penalty takes it to a 17, but even without that I wouldn't have been able to parry it, since I need to beat the attack roll, not just match it.

"Step back, Gaius!" the tiefling yells, sending the blade of her glaive dancing back and forth between the dragon and the basidirond. Thorek better have a good story to tell when he gets back, she thinks, gritting her teeth.

Glaive attack #1 vs Ibzairiak: 1d20 + 15 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 15 + 2 + 1 = 27
Glaive damage: 1d10 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12

Glaive attack #2 vs Basidirond: 1d20 + 10 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 10 + 2 + 1 = 25
Glaive damage: 1d10 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

Haste vs Ibzairiak: 1d20 + 15 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 15 + 2 + 1 = 36
Glaive damage: 1d10 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19

I have an unreasonable amount of AoOs now, so rather than pre-rolling all 6 of them for every round, I'll just do the extras as you call them out (unless you'd rather do it immediately, which I'm cool with).

Would Thorek be entitled to a Perception check to hear that the dragon has changed positions?

Would Thorek be entitled to a Perception check to hear that the dragon has changed positions?

You can make the Perception check, but the DC would be pretty high because of the thickness of the stone walls and the distraction of the Run action.

Thorek Ironspark wrote:

Would Thorek be entitled to a Perception check to hear that the dragon has changed positions?

You can make the Perception check, but the DC would be pretty high because of the thickness of the stone walls and the distraction of the Run action.

DEATH FROM ABOVE! CANNONBALL!!!

I'm sensing a theme here...I need to find an excuse for Ordyt to leap off a building.

Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (11) + 12 = 23

Unsure of his aim at this distance with the Dragon on the ground with his friends, Undari accelerates and earth glides closer at a run, just under the surface of the ground.

From 320' away to 240' away after a run action

Gaius panics as the Dragon lands in the courtyard, awfully close to him. "THOREK! THOREK! THOOORREEEEEK!" he screams as he joins the oxen in the stable, holding the most egregious of his wounds. Hands shaking, he snaps his fingers and disappears from view.
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Free action for undignified screaming, standard to cast Vanish, move action to pull out his extend rod.

attack 1: 1d20 + 9 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 9 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 24
attack 2: 1d20 + 9 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 9 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 16
Swift: stare
miss high good: 1d100 ⇒ 78
miss high good: 1d100 ⇒ 2

Lily continues her barrage of arrows attempting to hit the dragon.

"Thorek please come back.... The dragon decided to come down...," she yells.

Thorek can hear the rumbling of the dragon but cannot deduce its movements. However, he does hear his comrades calling out to him.

Esperanza is a flurry of movement.
First, two of the three swings of her glaive slice through the dragon's scales, drawing yet more of the large foe's blood.
Then, when the basidirond lumbers closer to Esperanza and strikes with its tendrils, she parries and cuts them off in response.
Finally, the dragon again tries to catch her in his jaws, but she evades the snapping bite.

After his attack, Ibzairiak leaps back into the air and alights atop the tower again the escape further reprisal from Esperanza's glaive.

"I hear you, friends! I'm coming!" Thorek calls back, not certain his companions can hear him as he continues pounding up the stairs. As he emerges into the open air, the dwarf lays eyes on the scarred dragon and grins fiercely, noting the slashes in its neck and forelimbs.

"Hello there, ugly. Had a dance with the tiefling did you? Mind if I cut in?"

Double Move I think

Thorek hauls himself up the trap door to the battlements and finds...nothing. When he reaches the top of the tower, Ibzairiak is on the ground, midway between his two failed chomps upon Esperanza. Panting for breath, the heavily armored dwarf steels himself for another run downstairs, but this proves unnecessary.

The dragon, favoring hit-and-run tactics, lands back atop the tower - its scaly bulk suddenly settling in front of Thorek. Turning around, Ibzairiak finds the warpriest standing there behind him, much to his own surprise.

"Your iron hide will not save you," he growls at Thorek. "I will leave your dwarf metal fused to your flesh in jagged scars."

Ibzairiak takes his own free action to trash talk, but he's already taken his standard action to bite Esperanza and move action to fly back atop the tower.
The party can post its next actions.

Him flying away should provoke from me, right?

Him flying away should provoke from me, right?

Correct!

In that case...

AoO vs Ibzairiak: 1d20 + 15 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 15 + 2 + 1 = 20
Glaive damage: 1d10 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11

Esperanza throws a hasty strike at the dragon as it escapes, but he's just a bit too fast for even her reflexes.

Frustrated, she turns her attentions back to the plant monster. She steps away to give herself a bit more room to work with, and then artlessly hacks at it with her glaive.

Glaive attack #1: 1d20 + 15 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 15 + 2 + 1 = 26
Glaive damage: 1d10 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12

Glaive attack #2: 1d20 + 10 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 10 + 2 + 1 = 17
Glaive damage: 1d10 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12

Haste: 1d20 + 15 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 15 + 2 + 1 = 19
Glaive damage: 1d10 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10

woo, check out these rolls

Esperanza's rhythm is apparently thrown off by the buffeting wind of the dragon's sudden flight, and she only lands one from among her latest flurry of cuts. Of course, that one proves to be all she needs. Her glaive slices through the basidirond's stalk, bisecting it where its bell meets its leg-like appendages. The plant creature topples, rendered harmless.

The basidirond is dead. By a fitting coincidence, its cloud of spores also subsides this round.

oops, my timing was a little off!

Thorek begins to spin up his dorn-dergar as he and the dragon trade barbs before sending the steel ball whistling towards it's badly-healed jaw.

Power Attack: 1d20 + 10 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 10 + 2 + 2 = 33 Damage: 1d10 + 15 ⇒ (4) + 15 = 19

Undari continues to move forward and rises up to the surface again. Seeing the dragon alight on the tower once more, he hurls another lightning bolt down at it.

(Move from 240 away to 220 away, lightning bolt 5 of 7)

Spell Penetration: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24
Electricity Damage, DC 17 Reflex for Half: 3d6 ⇒ (6, 4, 4) = 14

Ibzairiak Reflex Save: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22

Thorek's doughty swing threatens to dislocate the dragon's jaw again, and the impact sends droplets of acidic saliva sizzling upon the tower stones. Ibzairiak scarcely has a moment to howl in pain before he's forced to shield himself from the brunt of another lightning bolt called down upon him.

Thorek and Undari deliver more damage. The dragon is badly wounded.
Gaius and Lily can still act before the dragon's turn.

As the Dragon relocates again, Gaius exhales with relief and nods to the oxen. "Safer than we were before!" he whispers to them.

Stepping back out of the stables, an invisible hand trails against the wall as he moves closer to his allies.
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Move to current location, readied action to cast an extended Displacement on Esperanza if the Dragon comes back down here. 4/5 rounds of Vanish left.

attack 1: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (5) + 12 = 17
attack 2: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (4) + 12 = 16

" I'm running out of arrows. For something as big as a barn I'm having trouble hitting him. "

The dragon carefully falls back from Thorek, not ready to face the warrior priest until his draconian eyes have fully cleared from Undari's burst of radiance. Ibzairiak wings his way back atop the keep to prepare his next move.

Ibzairiak uses a full-round action to withdraw, using his fly speed to move back to the keep's battlements.
The party is up again.

Undari continues to glide forward, his feed sliding through the ground like a knife through butter. The black dragon still in lightning bolt range, so he drops another one. He can tell some of them aren't penetrating the creature's magical defenses, but at least some seem to be getting through.

(Bolt 6 of 7)

Spell Penetration: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18
Electricity, DC 17 Reflex for Half: 3d6 ⇒ (5, 2, 4) = 11

Moved from 220' away to 200' away from the front of the keep.

Oh man, oh man, it's my turn now, isn't it? Oh geez, oh boy, ok, ok, I can do this! With the Dragon landing far out of reach of Esperanza and Thorek, Gaius raises his invisible hands. Let's hope I have better luck than Lily!

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" he shouts as he fires a barrage of arcane magic at Ibzairiak, breaking his invisibility. He runs back into the shed before they've even manage to collide with its thick hide.
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Magic Missile vs SR (Spell Penetration, Arcane Reservoir): 1d20 + 7 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 7 + 2 + 1 = 16 Highly doubt that cuts it!
A smart Dragon? What is this?! :P I think it is refreshing, quite often I've been excited to fight something and then the GM treats it like it is just a mindless beatstick. The other fights were plenty tactical, don't get me wrong, I've appreciated the epicness of those too :)

As soon as the dragon touches down again, Esperanza rushes forward in a blur of motion, all but flying up the steps to the battlements.

Double move up after Ibzairak. Not sure how close 120 feet of movement gets me to him, so my token's position is just for reference.

last bane arrow attack: 1d20 + 9 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 9 + 2 + 1 = 32
confirm: 1d20 + 9 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 9 + 2 + 1 = 32
miss high good: 1d100 ⇒ 82
crit damage: 3d8 + 9 + 2d6 ⇒ (8, 8, 8) + 9 + (4, 5) = 42

Lily just completely frustrated fires the last arrow off flippantly awe struck that she hits so true.

Oh HELL YEAH Lily!

Having landed atop the keep, the dragon cranes his neck to scan the courtyard. With a new store of acidic breath built up in his gullet, he looks to size up his next line of targets. He never gets this chance.

He exposes his chest at a critical moment, and Lily's hypnotic eyes do not fail to seize upon this target. She lets her arrow fly, and fly it does - straight and true. The enchanted steel head, etched with tiny runes, slides between the scales on the dragon's chest. The arrow's magic carries it through, guiding it to the beast's heart. With a choked-off roar, the dragon topples from its perch and lands heavily upon the gravel and stones of the courtyard.

Ibzairiak the Scar-Maker is slain.

Undari watches in awe as the dragon falls, felled by the *perfect* shot. "That was one in a million," he says to himself (Chance of double 20's and triple 8's is actually 1 in 20x20x8x8x8 = 1 in 204,800.) He did see several of his comrades take hits, though, so Undari continues to move at maximum speed (run) to rejoin them in case anyone is mortally wounded.

Lily just blushes profusely and says," Thanks. I guess once I became less self conscious I managed to hit him. "

Looking around the keep she yells out," Hello. Any survivors? The dragons dead. We're here to help you.

In a flash, Esperanza reappears next to Lily with a broad smile. She nearly tries to pick the tiny human up, but holds herself back and settles for a much more restrained "Well done, Lily!"