Arc, stuck in motionless limbo, contemplates his poor life choices that led him here.
Arc, stuck in motionless limbo, contemplates his poor life choices that led him here.
Seeing Arc go stiff Quinlan draws the wand given to him by the pope and points it at the ghast attacking his paralyzed companion. Three distinct whooshing sounds can be heard and almost simultaneously the ghast appears to be barraged by several blunt impacts.
Seeing Arc go stiff Quinlan draws the wand given to him by the pope and points it at the ghast attacking his paralyzed companion. Three distinct whooshing sounds can be heard and almost simultaneously the ghast appears to be barraged by several blunt impacts. [dice=magic missile]3d4+3
AAAARRRRGGG!! shrieks the ghast as Quinlan’s hornet-shaped force missiles fly in and unerringly “sting” it!
BATTLE OF RED CRYSTAL GHASTS!! ROUND 2!! FIGHT!!
QUINLAN! fired wand of magic missiles...
GHASTS!
ARC! cast disrupt undead...
BOGA!
ZAGATHOTH!
JOHANN!
CARDINAL LUCIUS!
OGON FOX!
EEEEEEK!!
Quinlan laughs as the missiles come out as hornets instead of his usual nondescript blobs of force. "Huh, that's neat. Mine don't do that."
Boga reaches for a scroll of "Remove Sickness" while carefully studying the Ghasts to ensure that none take advantage of his movement. As if reading his mind, the desired scroll is proffered by the pack and seems to leap into his hand. "What a gift the Lord has provided. He protects me in His battles," thinks a newly humbled and grateful Boga. He unfurls the scroll and begins to read aloud. The writing glows, then disappears from the vellum. As Boga drops the blank sheet, Johann feels the sickness lift and suffers from it no more (for the next 10 minutes, that is).
EDIT:
Round 2
The Fox does his best to cast a spell under pressure, maintaining enough awareness to not open himself to additional attacks from the ghasts around him...
And by the grace of God his casting of burning hands takes effect!
The four remaining ghasts continue their assault!
The ghasts savagely retaliate for their two casualties, nearly dropping Ogon Fox, and dealing a potentially dangerous wound to Zagathoth!
Retroactive:
Before the Fox can begin to cast his spell, he suffers 3 terrible hits from the ghast next to him and feels the encroaching cold of ghastly disease and paralysis...
BATTLE OF RED CRYSTAL GHASTS!! ROUND 2!! FIGHT!!
QUINLAN! fired wand of magic missiles...
GHASTS! retaliated...
ARC! paralyzed and dragged 20 ft back by ghast #1...
BOGA! retrieve scroll and casts remove sickness...
ZAGATHOTH!
JOHANN!
CARDINAL LUCIUS!
OGON FOX! tries to cast burning hands but gets a brutal beat down instead...
EEEEEEK!!
So ZAGATHOTH! Then JOHANN! Then CARDINAL LUCIUS! Then round 3!! OOH OOH AH!!
FOX!!!" Johann feels a bit of uncertainty; one of his companions was sorely wounded, but it WAS the Fox... but the Fox really isn't THAT bad....
"GRRRARRRRRR!"
+2 to hit on all these if I am flanking
[dice=Bite Attack & damage]d20+5; d6+5
[dice=Claw Attack 1 & damage]d20+5; d4+5
[dice= Claw Attack 2 & damage]d20+5; d4+5
Suddenly feeling as if he were protecting his little brother Gingerbread against the evil fox that ate him, Johann savages the ghast attacking Ogon Fox, rending limb from limb in an ursine beserker rage!
Snarling in anger, Zagathoth raises his falchion again and once again brings it crashing down in concert with his stomach's next convulsion...
,
,
[dice=Fort (disease)]1d20+5
[dice=Fort (paralysis)]1d20+5Snarling in anger, Zagathoth raises his falchion again and once again brings it crashing down in concert with his stomach's next convulsion...
[dice=power attack (sick, FE)]1d20+7-2+2, [dice=for]2d4+10-2+2
[dice=confirm?]1d20+7, [dice=for another]2d4+10
Zagathoth chops the ghast assaulting him into halves! The two parts twitch in the black blood pool that expands under the ferocious orc!
The remaining two ghasts see the quick wrath vented on two-thirds of their number in a matter of seconds by the formidable adventurers, and rue their initial enthusiasm to engage... They try their best to withdraw without provoking rebuke from the heroes, but Johann and Zagathoth show no mercy and give no quarter, ripping and hacking them to shreds of stinking corruption!
The rigor mortis of the ghasts wears off of Ogon Fox, who is bleeding from deep bite and claw wounds, and Arc, who is a little worse for wear himself...
Hey, guys! Look! The fellas are back! And they are in rare form! Did you see the Bear!? He was tearing those stinky guys apart like they was nothin’!
Ya! How about Zagathoth chopping them up like brisket! Hahahaha! I think that meat’s gone bad, I wouldn’t eat it... well, I probably will anyways, just saying...
Where’d you get them magic bees, Quinlan? Pretty nifty! They stung the hell outta old stinkybones! Heheheh!
As the Ogon Fox feels his paralysis releasing, he remains still and hides a smile as he hears Johann in emotional distress over his state.
The Fox raises his right arm weakly, reaching in the Bear's direction. He gives a sickly cough and in a soft, wavering voice he calls out, "Johann..."
His arm drops as he coughs again. His voice utters again, this time too quietly to be understood.
"AHA!" the Fox cries in triumph as he leaps up from the floor. He winces hard for a moment at the way the pain receptors in his all-too-fresh wounds react to that suddent movement, but then he continues jubilantly, anyway. "I knew you liked me, you big softie!" He laughs as he gives Johann a light punch (no electricity) in the shoulder. "You should've seen what I had coming for those grisly bastards! If I'd had one more second I would've had 'em all running. And on fire, too!" he says with playful bravado. He then retches again and says more modestly to Boga, "Could definitely use some of that healing of yours, though, I suppose..."
Boga hurries to Ogon's side, holds his hand, and says, "You're going to be fine. Our Lord is not done with you, yet. We all have much work to do. Stay with us a bit longer."
Boga's halo glows intensely, and he channels God's energy to Ogon, Arc, and Zagathoth. "That was a little too close for comfort. We really need to rethink our exploration strategy." Boga stands, "You are all heroes. Our Savior wants us to succeed and will do His part, but he has given us free will. We must choose to carry out His commands without the hubris of expecting the Lord to intercede on our behalf. Perhaps if we scouted ahead prior to battle? We can use the power He has imbued in His holy scrolls to hide a scout from many of the horrors in these catacombs. We can then better prepare ourselves for whatever circumstance."
"WHA-- FOX! YOU'RE ALIVE.... YOU BASTARD! THAT WAS A ROTTEN TRICK! SHOULD HAVE EXPECTED NO LESS FROM A FOX!"
Johann returns the punch, only his does 1 non-lethal damage.
The Fox is promptly knocked out cold. That is, until the first wave of Boga's healing washes over him.
"I guess he only likes me a little bit..." he mutters.
Quinlan tucks the wand in with his spellbook before helping Arc to his feet. "That was a bit close for comfort eh?"
Boga brushes off his trousers and gives Johann a look. "Careful! He's not even fully healed. We must all be at our best when serving the Lord." He looks Ogon over. "You are still in need of help. If we are to continue today, we must pray for more of God's healing. Do we wish to press on?"
Boga steps away, and as the others debate, his brow furrows in thought while he traces his fingertips on the rough surface of the catacomb walls. "Who would have guessed that such danger is so close to us. Literally just beneath our feet. We go about our lives ignorant of the battles the Lord and his servants fight for us." He takes a few steps, looking at the ceiling. "It is yet early. We should not retire now, but these catacombs are so dangerous. If spirits are high, Ogon can be healed some more, and we can continue."
"Not to worry, Boga, I have one bottle of the potable kind from the armory yesterday," he says before quaffing the potion of cure light wounds.
Indeed, there is a red crystal hung from silver chain above a brazier in the north wing of this chamber...
Zagathoth nods to Boga in appreciation as most of his wounds close up, then he cleans his new falchion on a ghoul’s graveclothes and resheathes it. He absentmindedly scratches at the infected wound on his forearm as he looks up at the red crystal and asks, ”How many after this?”
The red crystal blazes ruby red when the Fox has lit the brazier...
Zagathoth nods to Boga in appreciation as most of his wounds close up, then he cleans his new falchion on a ghoul’s graveclothes and resheathes it. He absentmindedly scratches at the infected wound on his forearm as he looks up at the red crystal and asks, ”How many after this?”
"Only three are now left, but fear not, O Zagathoth, I am sure there are plenty of foes to be slain! You and Doomcrescent seem to be getting along just fine." Boga takes a look at the wound he is scratching. "Hmm. We are going to have to take care of that. When we are done down here for the day, I can give you and the others some treatment to help in recovery. It can be quite serious, so we must be sure to do it." Boga turns and addresses the group, "Anyone injured by the Ghasts may contract Ghoul Fever, so when we return to the surface, I need to treat you to keep it from getting worse."
"You mentioned those scrolls, Boga...how long will such a spell last? I can move quite quickly and nimbly in my small form, and with little to fear if the undead denizens cannot see me."
|
"I too can offer some healing." Lucius offers, "but our friend here is wise - this strategy of marching straight into the face of danger has served us so far, but only by the grace of God. We must be more careful and I, for one, would like a chance to casts some preparatory blessings before we next encounter foes."
The Fox thinks again about scouting by himself under the effects of Hide from Undead. "Ah! but I will not be able to see if the area is in total darkness, or else I will give away my presence because of the light source I carry."
"Indeed it was," Arc says with a groan. His paralysis finally wears off, and he drags himself to his feet with Quinlan's help.
The flickering red light of the lit brazier gleams in Arc's eyes, and his attention stays fixed on the glorious crimson hue of the room for a good while.
"Indeed it was," Arc says with a groan. His paralysis finally wears off, and he drags himself to his feet with Quinlan's help.
The flickering red light of the lit brazier gleams in Arc's eyes, and his attention stays fixed on the glorious crimson hue of the room for a good while.
The ruby light shining from the lit crystal instills a relentless resolve in Arc Perdu le Rouge...
"I don't need light," Zagathoth offers, "I can go find the things to kill if you want?
"Quieter than you can..."
"BUT CAN YOU FIND TRAPS AND MOVE QUIETLY, ZAG? WE DON'T WANT TO BRING THE WHOLE PLACE ON US AT ONCE. I THINK WE STICK TOGETHER, SINCE THE FOX CAN'T SEE IN DARK. IT HAS WORKED FOR US SO FAR. NO ONE IS DEAD."