Nephre cracks her knuckles and smiles. "Good! Otherwise this would be too easy," she says, crouching low and getting ready to spring.
Lehkazeran breaks into a toothy grin upon seeing his next meal. Now he wouldn't need to eat one of the goblins he was working with. Convenient.
"Oh how nice," he says, slowly and with substantial menace in his tone. "I hope your like it here; this will be your tomb, too."
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Seeing a bunch of lower level enemies in a tight group, Koro will renact his previous strategy, this time also attempting to get his enemies to focus on him.
Free Action: Berserking (-2 AC, +13 Temp HP)
Move Action: Mass Challenge (+Swift Guardian).This targets up to 7 of the goblins. They take a -4 to attack rolls and DCs of almost any attack that doesn't include Koro as a target.
Standard Action: Ready an action to use Stellar Stompers when in range.
Swift Action: Ghost Step over to the center of the goblins (above them, if need be).
This should trigger the readied action:
DC: 19 Reflex half.
Psicrystal recovers psionic focus for using Ghost Step.
Berserking = 13/13
Guardian Temp HP = 20/20
Force Field = 20/20
Delayed Damage = 0/30
Hit Points = 140/140
Nonlethal Damage = 0/140
Dymer scurries along the upper corners of the walls in the hallway, staying out of sight until he find a good overwatch position against the goblins. He readies a single immolation bomb and lazily tosses it towards the most central goblin.
Three of the goblins dodge, duck, and tumble out of the way, fully avoiding the attack of Koro. Two are hurt, but not badly.
However, one of them that evaded Koro's attack is hit by Dymer's bomb. As the fire burns and singes it's skin, it cackles maniacally.
None of the other goblins are able to avoid the splash damage, and much like their leader, they all being to laugh madly. Almost as if the flames are fueling their psychosis.
All five of the goblins start to sing in unison, in high pitched, manic voices. "Gimme fuel!!, gimme fire!!, gimme that which I desire!!! Adrenaline crash and crack my head!!
The leader, who Dymer targeted with his immolation bomb, raises his clockwork crossbow and launches a metallic net at his foe. It then flips a switch on the weapon zapping Dymer with electricity.
With Koro moving into the middle of them, several of the goblins move into flanking positions around the old warrior and attack him with their short swords.
The other two goblins hold their actions.
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42 - 7 - 5 = 30.
20 - 7 - 5 = 8
36 - 7 - 5 = 24
Total Damage = 62
Momentum Pool = 7/12
Berserking = 0/13
Guardian Temp HP = 0/20
Force Field = 0/20
Delayed Damage = 9/30
Hit Points = 140/140
Nonlethal Damage = 0/140
Koro takes the hits, but they majority of their damage is blunted by the thick layers of paper armor that surround him constantly.
Nephre springs forward like a striking serpent, covering the ground to the nearest target in an instant. She throws a savage punch to the goblin's stomach, then follows it up with a swift kick at his knee trying to knock him off his feet.
Lehkazeran flaps forward to the edge of the fog, such that the goblins are within his aura, even if he can't see them, and laughs. "You will die soon, come forward and it shall be quicker."
Continuing to laugh, he casts Blood Supply on himself.
Dymer, as is his standard, is content to let his bomb's lingering effects do most of the work and instead takes the time to disentangle himself from the net wrapped around him, eventually letting it fall to the floor below him. Though an electric net and crossbow would be interesting to have, Dymer thinks to himself. I'll have to pick it up before we move on.
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Koro, now once again surrounded by enemies, will bring his gigantic paper-forged sword to bear against all of his enemies. Where to begin, where to begin...might as well cut them off at the head.
Koro full attacks the Goblin Captain!
NOTE: This doesn't include the +2 from flanking with Nephre.
If the first attack hits, Attack 2 gains +2 to hit and to damage.
If any attack hits, he recovers 26 hp, healing any of the delayed damage still in his delayed damage pool.
In order to regenerate the protective temp hp from his Guardian Narrative, he will 5 ft. step directly upwards, then use Ghost Step as a swift action to teleport back to the same place, expending his psionic focus and allowing his psicrystal to recover said psionic focus.
His Force Field will also begin to regenerate a bit of hp.
He will continue to utilize Berserking.
Momentum Pool = 7/12
Berserking = 13/13
Guardian Temp HP = 20/20
Force Field = 3/20
Delayed Damage = 0/30
Hit Points = 140/140
Nonlethal Damage = 0/140
The 'lead' goblin falls before the onslaught of blows, and the remaining ones bizarrely seemed almost empowered by it's death. Each one lashes out at Koro with a series of deadly strikes.
Attack 1, Gobo 1.
Attack 2
Attack 3.
Attack 1, Gobo 2.
Attack 2.
Attack 3.
Attack 1, Gobo 3. Possible crit.
Normal attack for
Attack 2.
Attack 3.
"Next time skip these stupid tentacle things!" Nephre shouts angrily at Ozzie. They were getting in the way of her beating up more goblins. She struggles through and aims a kick at one anyway.
Lehkazeran let's loose a low growl as he said to radiate dark energy. He smiles as the tentacles tug at him, ignoring them completely as he folds his wings back to prevent their damage.
At 4th level and every 4 level thereafter, a dread vanguard gains one additional use of his touch of corruption ability per day. As a standard action, he can spend a use of his touch of corruption ability to manifest the darkness in his soul as an area of flickering shadows with a 30-foot radius centered on him. These shadows don’t affect visibility. The antipaladin and all allies in the area gain a +1 morale bonus to AC and on attack rolls, damage rolls, and saving throws against fear, and also ignore the first 5 points of hardness when attacking unattended inanimate objects. This lasts for 1 minute, as long as the dread vanguard is conscious.
At 8th level, the aura grants fast healing 3 to the dread vanguard as well as to his allies while they remain within it. Additionally, while this aura is active, the antipaladin can use his touch of corruption ability against any targets within its radius by making a ranged touch attack.
Dymer continues to ignore the fight continuing on in the next room over but he does climb a wall to skirt past the fighting, eventually dropping down behind the goblins.
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Goblin 1: 12 - 5 (DR/-) = 7
Goblin 2: 19 - 5 (DR/-) = 14
Tentacles: 5 - 5 (DR/-) = 0
Total Damage = 21
This takes 13 from Bersking, and 8 from Guardian narrative
Entangled by the black tentacles, Koro will close his eyes and take a deep breath. As he lets out this breath, his sword discorporates into multiple paper cranes that circle over head.
Swift Action: Transform from Guardian Role to Archmage Role.
The cranes will then separate to attack the trapped goblins. Before it can reach him, however, he will teleport away to the opposite side, safely outside of the grasp of the black tentacles.
Standard Action: Readied Action: Barrage (Trigger = after teleportation)
Move Action: Ghost Step (which ends turn)
His psicrystal will recover focus, refreshing Guardian Narrative. Force Field recovers an additional 3 temp HP. He will continue to use Berserking (regaining an extra 13 temp hp at the cost of -2 AC).
Momentum Pool = 7/12
Berserking = 13/13
Guardian Temp HP = 20/20
Force Field = 6/20
Delayed Damage = 0/30
Hit Points = 140/140
Nonlethal Damage = 0/140
Three of the remaining goblins fall to the furious assault of Koro's paper cranes and the continuous flames of Dymer's bombs.
The fourth goblin, overwhelmed by the sheer violence unleashed against his companions, promptly faints.
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The goblins were doing well enough. He'd wait a few more seconds to make sure there were no surprises
The orgy of tentacles continued to try to snake over every limb, but instead became entangled within themselves.
Stealth is still 46
Entangled, DC 24 Ref vs being stuck to the ground,
DC 24 Ref vs being entangled in splash
Nauseated expires
Entangled remaining duration: 2
Black Tentacles remaining duration: 8
Nephre frowns in disappointment at the dead goblins. "That's it? Here I was hoping they'd last at least long enough to get warmed up."
As soon as the tentacles release him, Lehkazeran absconds with the nearest goblin and makes a messy show of draining her of blood.
"... Delightful, he says. "Anyone care for a taste? Plenty to go around, and it'll spoil soon enough."
Dymer grimaces in disgust at Lehk's offer, "I am many things. A cannibal is not one of them." But he does touch the net that had previously entangled him to determine wheter it was still electrified. If it is, he moves over to pick up the crossbow and search the goblins for anything that might allow him to safely handle the electrified net that goes with it. If the net is not electrified, he carries it with him and fiddles with the crossbow to find out how it works.
Lehkazeran shrugs and some pieces of the goblin go flying from his mouth.
"If you say so. Never met one like me, like I was, and if I did, I'd show no such restraint. When you turn, you become something else. The distinctions between the races of the living are no longer my concern. It is us, and you. Perhaps I'll put in a good word with my family for you Dymer, if your tastes change. You are a most interesting specimen, I will admit."
Dymer eyes Lehk speculatively for a moment before continuing to ruffle through what's left of the goblins' possessions, "I'm not sure if I'd take you up on it, but what sort of changes would I expect?
Nephre makes a face. "The only blood that's good is blood shed in combat, and there's not enough here to be worth licking up," she says as she examines her knuckles.
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Snapping his fingers, the barbed tentacles evaporated. Looking over the various apparatus, he contemplated what the goblins were doing with it, or here at all.
"Well, seems like we didn't get here first. Any of you decent at tracking? If there's a second entrance, we might have another round of extermination. I'm going to head back. If anyone pays us a visit, I'll make sure they meet a loud surprise."
After sparing a glance over the equipment, Ozzie scampered back to place a trip mine by entrance.
Ozzie discovers another hidden compartment, this time under a tile in the floor. Within is a small bag containing two dozen gems .
The next room:
This display room presents one of the few machines that gained Mutalib financial success: a device that shreds rags or cloths and sews them into a wig. Although cloth made from animal hair produces a realistic-looking wig,rival theaters in Cheliax and Taldor soon learned that
putting colorful cloth of varying textures into the machine produces wigs of outre colors and designs.
Three tapestries along the room’s western wall show the automated wigmaker at work. The mechanism that’s depicted resembles a mechanical crab with claws hovering over a featureless metal bust. A chute protrudes from the crab’s back to accept cloth. A dial on the rear of the machine activates it the cloth in the chute is shredded in the crab’s body, spun by its legs, and woven into a wig around the bust. On the northern tapestry, the automated wigmaker produces a stylish brunette wig from bolts of woolen cloth. On the center tapestry, the
wigmaker produces a gentleman’s wig from white yarn. On the southern tapestry, the wigmaker produces a huge multicolored wig from a pile of colorful rag scraps.
A replica of the machine stands on a pillar in this room, its claws dangling over empty air—the replica has no metal bust.
Gathered around the base of the machine are twenty five high quality strands of different colored silk.
As the others investigate the room and its trappings, Lehkazeran samples the blood fromThe various goblins, drinking his fill. Coming across the unconscious one, he alerts the others to his find.
Nephre seems instantly bored with the room. "Somebody get the valuables and let's keep moving," she says with a dismissive wave of her hand, already starting to walk towards the next room.
She is also entirely uninterested in the fact that one of the goblins is still alive.
Dymer shrugs at Lehk's find. "I've got no use for them, dead or alive."
Moving onto the next room, Dymer starts taking in the details of its contents, though he has next to no knowledge of the value of said contents.
Lehkazeran shrugs, and begins stripping the living goblin of equipment and gear, intending to carry the small humanoid around by the ankle until it wakes.
"More fun for me, then."