Season 4: Blue Moose Edition (Inactive)

Game Master Blue Moose

With the Dragon going for Lebraerio instead of him, Ilathor risks fleeing around the boulder to Aconite and Nylthe. "Aconite, I'm going to offer you some additional protection," he explains before invisibly touching the hound.

"The hands will strangle you, cut them down before they do! That Dragon is off, not sure how yet, but it moves in an unusual fashion and hasn't demonstrated several traits typical of a draconic heritage!" he says.
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Protection from Evil via wand on Aconite! GM, Special Defenses on the hands? Otherwise no questions. Fighting a Dragon and mooks isn't enough for you Wilen? :P

Nylthe chants another spell to empower Aconite and advances in his shadow as the hound pounces!

Aconite smashes into the dragon with furious strength, clawing and tearing with enough ferocity to rend through even a dragon's scales!

Bless, PA, Bull's Strength
Bite: 1d20 + 5 + 1 - 1 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 5 + 1 - 1 + 2 = 24
B/P/S: 1d6 + 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 + 2 + 2 = 9
Claw: 1d20 + 6 + 1 - 1 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 6 + 1 - 1 + 2 = 26
B/S: 1d4 + 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 + 2 + 2 = 9
Claw: 1d20 + 6 + 1 - 1 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 6 + 1 - 1 + 2 = 20
B/S: 1d4 + 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 + 2 + 2 = 7
Gore: 1d20 + 5 + 1 - 1 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 5 + 1 - 1 + 2 = 25
P: 1d6 + 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 + 2 + 2 = 11

Aconite tears into the dragon, fang, horn and claw alike. Koth'Vaul is singularly unimpressed with Wilen's fire bomb, as he brushes away most of the damage. And Kalkamedes continues to forward into the other circle, stopping next to the other figure. However, upon entering the circle, the claw that was assualting him completely loses track of him, and crawls back to the larger fight, reaching Nylthe. The other claw tears more into Lebraerio, but fails to cling to onto him.

Round 3
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Party Buffs - Bless
Crawling Claws
Juis
Lebraerio (-22)
Illvaster (-36)
Nylthe
Aconite (Prot. from Evil)
Ilathor(-15)
Wilen
Kalkamedes(-5)

Blessed attack: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 5 + 1 = 24
dmg: 1d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 + 1 = 6

Lebraerio manages to stab the disgusting not-dead-enough-yet hand, and steps out of range of the dragon's attack, wisely

Could someone try to stop Kalkamedes?

Juis gives a quick prayer and lands his hand on Lebraerio's shoulder, healing him some.

Cure Moderate Wounds: 2d8 + 4 ⇒ (1, 3) + 4 = 8

While Lebraerio damages the claw trying to tear into him and back into Juis's healing skill, The dragon Illvaster, steps forward to press the attack. He tries to bite Aconite and sweep Juis of his flank with his tail, but the only attack that connects is by shoudler-checking Lebraerio, knocking the wind out of him.

Round 3
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Party Buffs - Bless
Crawling Claws (Red -6)
Juis
Lebraerio (-18)
Illvaster (-36)
Nylthe
Aconite (Prot. from Evil)
Ilathor(-15)
Wilen
Kalkamedes(-5)

Ilathor takes a deep breath to calm is frazzled nerves. Not every day you survive a Dragon's bite!

Clutching his staff, he aims it at the beast and let's loose, snapping back into view as he does so.
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Magic Missile (Staff, CL 8) vs Illvaster: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (2, 2, 4, 1) + 4 = 13
Nylthe, if you need help with that hand, say the word and he'll send some hurt it's way!

I get the feeling that if we defeat the gnome, the dragon won't last!

[standard] bomb attack

Bomb attack Illvaster, F damage, splash F damage: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 112d6 + 5 ⇒ (1, 4) + 5 = 106 = 6

Nylthe's lips compress into a grim line as the hand comes for her. Ducking her shoulders into a practiced stance, she swats for the claw, trying to keep it at bay.

AoO when her space is entered
Cestus: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13
Cold Iron B/P: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Defensive Cestus: 1d20 + 5 - 4 ⇒ (13) + 5 - 4 = 14 and +2 AC
Cold Iron B/P: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

While, Ilathor and Aconite do further damage to the dragon, the beast is still flailing about. Wilen's second bomb is about as effective as the first, however. It's like the fire doesn't effect him that much. Likewise, Nylthe's swings at the claw come up empty. Meanwhile, the claws continue to harass the party. While, the one on Juis misses entirely, the one on Nylthe gets purchase on her, and begins holding onto the summoner, tearing some into her.

Round 4
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Party Buffs - Bless
Crawling Claws (Red -6)
Juis
Lebraerio (-22)
Illvaster (-57)
Nylthe (-5, Grappled)
Aconite (Prot. from Evil)
Ilathor(-15)
Wilen
Kalkamedes(-5)

Short sword: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
dmg: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Lebraerio can't hit the claw again, unfortunatly

Juis swipes at the animated claw with his mace.

Cold Iron Heavy Mace vs Red: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19
Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

Thanks GM!

Juis finishes off the claw that was harassing Lebraerio. However, the dragon shoulder checks Juis, before chomping down hard on Aconite. It's tail barely misses Wilen as well, as he roars again.

Round 4
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Party Buffs - Bless
Crawling Claws
Juis (-8)
Lebraerio (-22)
Illvaster (-57)
Nylthe (-5, Grappled)
Aconite (-17, Prot. from Evil)
Ilathor(-15)
Wilen
Kalkamedes(-5)

Grapple Break: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 5 + 1 = 14 Hopefully the diminutive bugger doesn't have good CMD!
Oh, also, it rarely comes up, but for future attacks, she has a +2 Shield bonus to her AC for being next to Aconite. Unlike the fighting defensively dodge bonus she just dropped though, it wouldn't have helped vs. a grapple.

Nylthe tries to fling the hand from her throat, stepping back a pace to make sure she can get in her licks if the hand comes for her again!

Miss Chance vs. Aconite: 1d100 ⇒ 13 Hey!

The dragon's jaws punched through the many layers of Aconite's protection, but when they snapped shut, found only air and darkness. Even eyes that casually pierced the darkness could not always find what Shadows wished hidden...

Snarling with fury, Aconite tore into his prey, ripping and tearing as he fought to establish his supremacy!

PA, Bull's, Bless, Flank
Bite: 1d20 + 5 - 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 5 - 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 = 16
B/P/S: 1d6 + 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 + 2 + 2 = 10
Claw: 1d20 + 6 - 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 6 - 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 = 13
B/S: 1d4 + 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 + 2 + 2 = 10
Claw: 1d20 + 6 - 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 6 - 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 = 25
B/S: 1d4 + 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 + 2 + 2 = 9
Gore: 1d20 + 5 - 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 5 - 1 + 2 + 1 + 2 = 18
P: 1d6 + 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 + 2 + 2 = 7

Okay, enough with the gnome, seeing as how fire doesn't work on him.

Wilen flinches as the dragon swipes at him! Stepping behind Juis, he lobs a bomb at the crawling hand.

[5' step] NE
[standard] attack GREEN
Using precise bombs to exclude squares of splash damage: N, E, SW, S

Bomb attack GREEN, F damage, splash F damage: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 142d6 + 5 ⇒ (2, 3) + 5 = 106 = 6

IF it misses, it lands...: 1d8 ⇒ 4 => E of GREEN, Only GREEN takes splash damage.

Ilathor moves swiftly away from the hand and towards the other side of the battle against the Dragon. "What compels you to fight us, mighty creature? Perhaps we can release you from this pit!" he offers in Draconic. Self-preservation still in mind, he launches another series of blasts at it.
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Magic Missile (Staff, CL 8) vs Illvaster: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (1, 3, 1, 4) + 4 = 13
One more of those left in the staff. Afterwards he'll have to use spells, which he still has a decent number of, but the CL is lower.

Ilathor's comments come at just a moment too late, as the shadow hound's fang and claw finally cause it to stop moving. With Ilathor's magic missiles dealing with the last claw, the cavern falls quiet, save for the fuming from Koth'Vaul.

End of combat

Juis goes around healing those hurt.

Cure Moderate Wounds on Lebraerio: 2d8 + 4 ⇒ (5, 1) + 4 = 10
Cure Light Wounds on Aconite: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
Cure Light Wounds on Ilathor: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

Cure Light Wounds on Lebraerio: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
Cure Light Wounds on Aconite: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

Thanks mate :)

Ilathor takes a seat on the rocky floor and exhales with relief. "That was a close one, valiant effort!" he says, raising his staff in the air. "Now, where is it our ward wishes to go? I can't imagine it is much further, but I do hope this is the last of our trials..."

Don't we need to deal with Koth'Vaul before we move on? It seems he could break free at any moment. But, if we think Kalkamedes is nearly at the end, maybe we can just go... the halfling remarks, clearly unsure about whether it's safe to just move on.

"Kalkamedes seems to be drawn to the woman laying over there."

Moves over to investigate the woman.

"I don't know of any way to reinforce those bindings with what we have with us, but I'm certain that the Society will have greater resources."

And Dralneen will certainly have some ideas.

Bringing your attention to Kalkamedes and the woman that he stopped above, you find that she's in another set of the warding that he has just walked into. She appears to be a very beautiful elven woman with somewhat heavy wounds. She's also unconscious and lying collapsed within the circle.

Looking at the unconscious woman, "This is a Ghaele Azata, a 'good' outsider. The wards on her are stronger then the demon over there."

Pulls wand out, "Lets see if we can get her conscious."

Wand of Cure Light Wounds on Ghaele Azata: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

Wilen approaches as well with his extracts. If she looks like she has a way to go after Juis' application, he'll use a cure moderate wounds extract.

Cure Moderate Wounds: 2d8 + 4 ⇒ (4, 6) + 4 = 14

Thanks for the healing, much appreciated.

Ever curious, Lebraerio studies the warding circle around the ghaele, while trying to recall what he might know about azatas

spellcraft: 1d20 + 7 + 1d6 ⇒ (11) + 7 + (3) = 21

Know planes: 1d20 + 9 + 1d6 ⇒ (19) + 9 + (6) = 34

Ilathor can't help but to prepare for the worst as healing is administered to what they believe is an Azata. Too many tricks in this damned cave. A Gnome-Demon, hands that don't need bodies, and now what? A Banshee-Azata?

To ease his mind, he inspects the Dragon for any choice pieces of skin for hide boots.

[spoiler=Lebraerio]Azatas are the free spirits of the good outsiders. They tend to travel regularly and fully espouse the virtues of free will and joy. Most of the time, they tend to stay out of the affairs of mortals, tending to advise mortals. They also tend not to involve themselves in long services, preferring to get a job done swiftly and move on. Ghaele Atazas in particular tend to be the more 'knightly' of the azatas. They tend to hunt fiends, dragons and undead with equal vigor.

Bewteen the wand and the extract, the ghaele azata slowly flickers into consciousness. As she slowly pulls herself into a sitting position, she groans faintly before looking up at Kalkamedes, still in his nocturnal fugue. "So, My call for help was finally answered? Elysium be praised."

Going over the dragon isn't as soothing as Ilathor expects it. The hide feels desiccated and almost smooth to the touch. The reason for that, however is easily discovered, as when the iron band around a horn is pulled away, the illusion cloaking the the now-obviously long dead corpse is broken. The bones seem gnarled and misshapen, and they stick though what was left of the flesh in several places. The remains are more zombie then dragon.

So... you've been trying to call our friend here to you each night? But he sleeps, what would he do if he'd made it here alone?

Wilen asks, glad they could help but wondering if there's more to her plan.

Ilathor sighs and puts the iron band back on the horn. He settles for scanning the pool and corpse for magic.
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Spellcraft (Elf): 1d20 + 15 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 15 + 2 = 37

"Can you be freed without also releasing the fiend?"

The Iron band is magical actually. You'd assume it's a variation of a hat of disguise. Likewise, after spending some time focusing on the stagnant water, You'd find 3 points of interest in the 5 foot deep pool. Assuming that you'd willing to wade in, You find a greataxe that's stood the eroding power of time and water, and 2 wax-sealed pots( along with quite a few bones, and a heap of coins tarnished beyond use)

"That's how my plea ended up?" She responses, sounding a little upset at the implications. "The glabrezu must have blocked my attempt enough that it only clung to his sleeping mind. He was much more potent then I thought, with the dragon zombie he had in thrall. I was barely able to escape to these wards, after trying to vanquish him for several days." After a moment's thought to Nylthe's question, she replies, "The circles aren't connected, so you should be able to break the one I'm trapped in without affecting his at all."

Wilen nods, glad to hear the barriers are independent. He gets to thinking about how to break this one.

knowledge (arcana): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19

Know arcana; Free Inspi: 1d20 + 9 + 1d6 ⇒ (1) + 9 + (5) = 15

Usually, Lebraerio's brain is full of ideas, plans, schemes and informations.

Usually.

Just not right now.

Ilathor sets to pulling and identifying the choice bits from the water. He even cleans his clothes while the others handle the Azata. The Elf continues to brood. I hate this cave and everything about it. Stupid Gnome-GLABREZU, Dragon-ZOMBIE, ring-HAT! UGH! We'll free the Azata and it'll be a Balor, because why not? Is Kalkamedes even really himself?
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I'm having Ilathor stew only because I assume things are progressing with the Azata by the time I get to posting! If that isn't the case, I'll have him start trying to be useful again!

Juis looks thoroughly over the seal on the Azata and tries to figure out how to remove it.

Knowledge (Arcana): 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (9) + 12 = 21

Cracking open the sealed pots, Ilathor finds a scabbard, an vial with a reddish liquid, several finely cut pieces of amber, and a silver headband with a phylactery attached to the chains.

Considering your bonus on identifying magic items, The items are a +1 vicious greataxe, a scabbard of vigor, a potion of cure serious wounds, and a phylactery of faithfulness.

While well-made, this circle is somewhat old. Like most permanent wardings of this style, just cracking the physical circle should do the trick. It is silver etching on stone, so it'll take some effort, but that should work.

Ah! We just need Aconite to break part of the stonework that holds that silver etching. That's not so hard... Wilen exclaims, stepping aside and looking to see if Nylthe puts her eidolon to the task.

"Let your inner destructive child break the circle holding the Azata." Steps back to give room.

Aconite begins tearing at the circle unbidden while Nylthe searches around for a suitable tool to join in herself.

After about a couple minutes of scraping at the stone and metal of the floor with claw, horn, and (after a brief search) other implements of destruction, the power of the circle finally shatters. The Azata breathes a sigh of relief before she slowly stands. "Thank you all. My name is Sulianna and I owe you a debt of gratitude," she says, still a little wobbly. "I came here to finish off a great evil, but I'm still exhausted from this ordeal." She offers her hand toward the group. "However, I can offer you the use of some of my power for a moment, for a spell at least banish Koth'Vaul."

[ooc]It's literally a casting of banishment she's offering.[/b]

"I'm more accustomed to piercing the walls between planes in a rather different direction, but the principles should apply. I thank you for the assistance, Sulianna."

Thank you. It's too bad you didn't get to use it yourself before he got to you, but we shall build from your efforts and snuff out the evil!

"If there is no catch, you'd do so of your own free will without expecting anything in return, I see no reason to reject your request..." Ilathor says, wary of the Azata. Bed. That is where I wish to be. In bed. If she can send an Evil back to it's plane and we can all go home, I will be happy.

"Lets get rid of the demon next door and get out of here. Also can you get rid of whatever charm you used for Kalkamedes so it will be easier to get him back safely."

Demon first. They are quite a dangerous, even vicious, lot, and pose too much a threat.

With a handshake, Sulianna gifts the power to Nylthe. Considering the nature of the circle holding him, this spell easily sends the sulking Koth'Vaul back, though with threatening "I will be back for vengance..." before he's returned to the Abyss.

At this point, Sulianna turns her attention onto Kalkamedes. After a couple minutes, he startles awake. "That should take care of the garbled mess that my call for help became," she says, "Shall we get out of this abattoir and back to the outside world?"

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The hike back to Kalkamedes' cabin is blissfully uneventful. Sulianna accompanies the party back to the cabin for departing for Elysium, but not before thanking you all yet again, and offering a favor for your assistance. Kalkamedes, now that he's actually awake, is a very genial man, especially once his gear is returned to him. Of interesting note, his sword, which was quiet throughout the trip, is apparently sentient, as he introduces himself as Gamin once he's back in Kalkamedes's hands. Upon returning, Both Kalkamedes and Venture-Captain Heidmarch are thankful for your work, and after some discussion with his blade, the former paladin is willing to offer his blade to anyone interested in the weapon.

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