Now that I'm cleared to work again after having COVID, I'm having to play catchup on missed work so I apologize if I miss something.
Seeing his friend in danger, Oswald points a sharp finger at HellQueen. The shadows of the nightmare realm wash over him.
" What have you done to Alex!"
HellQueen is only slightly distracted by Oz, continuing her ritual. "Fear not, she only sleeps. Her patron asked me to return her to his care. Now I will take from her that which does not belong to her, and in so doing return her to her better form."
She reaches out a gloved hand toward Alex. The necklace Alex wears that holds the Bloodstone leaps from her neck, stretching the chain taut before it snaps and flies toward the succubus empowered enchantress. One point of the fiery pentagram glows white as the stolen Bloodstone drops into the roiling lava.
Energy bursts from the immolated stone and flows around HellQueen.
At the same time, Alex's eyes open in shock and pain. Her mouth stretches in a scream that you can hear even over the cries of the demons. Her mouth stretches and stretches before her lips crumble into sand, falling away, leaving a gaping hole that spreads, engulfing her face.
Trigger Eldritch's Complication that HellQueen hates him. 5 +1 = 6 HP
Eldritch's heart breaks for Alex as her form painfully reverts to sand, but he needs to focus on the bigger picture. The mage studies the magic in the air and the preparation looking for all options, good and bad, to stop the HellQueen's plan.
The fiery pentagram is clearly the focus of a ritual. Based on what you just saw, she is power of the volcano to break the Bloodstones, then drawing the power within them into herself. The volcano, the ritual, and HellQueen all seem like possible points of attack.
Also, there is a gap/moment between the power being released from the stone and HellQueen absorbing it. It flows upward from the volcano to the pentagram.
With 42 points you can stunt to something like this. Nullify: Cylinder Area Nullify 10 (Counters: Hellfire Magic, DC 20; Cylinder Area 2: 60 feet cylinder, DC 20, Increased Range: perception)
As for spending Hero Points for other people, pretty sure there is an Advantage for that. I was wrong, the only way I see to do that is the Luck power.
You can only spend one Hero Point per round, so you won't be able to spend one to eliminate the fatigue from the Extra Effort to power stunt. Wrong again. You spend the Hero Point to avoid fatigue in the next round, not the round when you use Extra Effort.
Holy Light rushes out from the Priest, washing over HellQueen's infernal constructs. The pentagram of Hellfire shatters and the pieces fade like so much origami flash paper. For a moment, even the flames of her hair gutter.
Her attention drawn to the heroes and away from her ritual, the floating Hellqueen reaches skyward, drawing down the wrath of her demons. The abominations swirling in the sky above descend to attack.
This is going to take some time for me to figure out how to do most elegantly.
Oz, go ahead and take your turn if you get a chance before I can post again.
Alex's wails of pain send Oz into a rage. His blurred form grows slightly as nightmares bulge from under his flesh. He uses Cesarina's temporary distraction to meld into the volcano floor. Without a second thought, he leaps out from under the HellQueen like an inky shark. "YOU DONT! HURT! MY! FRIENDS!
Using All-Out Attack to lower Dodge & Parry by 5 (Dodge 2, Parry 1) and raise attack to +13. Power Attack +2 to lower attack down to +11, but raise the rank by 3. Additionally, using Extra Effort: Untapped Potential to add an additional +3 to rank. Feel free to reign me in and modify whatever you need to. He's really going all out with this.
So all in all, that should be 8+5-2 for attack and then Strike DC 24+3+3
Demons pour out of the sky, claws, wings, fangs, scorpion tails, attempting to shred your flesh.
Feel free to embroider your Toughness save posts as fending off more than four attacks. These demons are scary looking, but you far outclass them. Take this as a chance to have a moment.
HellQueen Toughness DC 30:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (13) + 12 = 25-1 to saves vs damage.
Oz tears at air beneath Hellqueen as a shield of what looks like blood hardens between his claws and her boots.
She ignores the creature of nightmare, focusing her wrath on her task. She reaches into her bodice and her gloved hand pulls out the three remaining Bloodstones. "I guess I'll have to do this the hard way." She casts the stones into the volcano.
Eldritch
Eoten
Gracie
Cesarina
Demons
Oz
HellQueen
Eoten is surrounded by an infernal blizzard of claws, scales and wings . The creatures fail to pierce his tough hide, but their brimstone stench assails the brute's keen nose.
He bellows his anger and attempts to backhand one of the foul creatures;
Demons descend and attempt to tear at the mage, but a glowing golden shield is revealed. The Shield of the Seraphim deflects all of their claws, fangs, and scorpion tails coalescing to solidify the shield when the threat gets too close.
Eldritch had studied the HellQueen’s preparations. Cesarina destroyed her pentagram. He was too slow to save the Bloodstones, so he needs to disrupt her actions.
He reaches back into his encyclopedic memories of magic to target the HellQueen.
I’ve no idea what game mechanic would be best to use the hero point. Don’t know if I could target the volcano, to drop a chuck of rock on her. Or power stunt 22 points of something. Throw myself on the creative mercy of the GM
Hmmm. Of course, with the magic power you can power stunt into almost anything. Unfortunately for me the ritual she is using to harness the power of the stones isn't statted out in the adventure. It seems to me like this is the time to lean into the themes of the characters. HellQueen is selfish. She wants the power of the Bloodstones for herself. Max wants to be the Master Mage. How can he best show he is the master of magic, or at least equal to HellQueen.
Whatever she is doing, here is a spell (didn't name it) that lets you do whatever she was doing to channel the power of the stones from the volcano.
Mimic: Variable 10 (Activation: move action, Check Required 6: DC 15 - Expertise: Magic, Concentration, Limited 2: Only Copy Spells You Have seen them use, Noticeable: Big glowy spell, Tiring)
Had to add a lot of limitations, which just makes it more heroic, right? So you use a move action to ponder how to create the spell, then a standard to actually cast it. Requires a check (which you can't fail), You need to get a 25 to use ten ranks, which I think you also can't fail. In order to maintain the spell, you have to concentrate, and the casting will make you fatigued.
HellQueen was using the stones to add directly to her power, straight up raising her Power Level by 1 for each stone. Maybe to set himself apart from her, Max gives that power to his Teammates. Power stunt takes extra effort, and this spell leaves you fatigued, so you will be exhausted unless you spend a Hero Point next round to avoid one of those, but you have plenty.
That is what I would do, but I'm not trying to tell you what to do with your character.
Thanks GM. I'm not that proficient in game mechanics and will do as suggested.
Spend Hero Point (6 -1 = 5 HP) to power stunt to Mimic: Variable 10 (Activation: move action, Check Required 6: DC 15 - Expertise: Magic, Concentration, Limited 2: Only Copy Spells You Have seen them use, Noticeable: Big glowy spell, Tiring)
Max absorbs the details of the preparations of the HellQueen's ritual and instead decides to duplicate her own spell to draw the power of the three Bloodstones into himself. Glowing symbols appear around his gesticulating hands as he calls out, "By the power of Xerox!"
The mage pulls the glowing crimson power from the surface of the volcano where the Bloodstones impacted and released their potential power. Then, he redirects the power into his teammates with crimson jets connecting him to Gracie, Cesarie, and Eoten.
Use the roll above of 13 to get a Expertise (Magic) of 33.
Raw primal magic, a blood red ragged energy, is pulled up into Eldritch's spell, pouring out as a straight white beam toward Eoten, Eldritch, and Cesarina.
Max and I are having to make things up a bit here because the rules in the module aren't very explicit. This magic can be used, if you choose, to boost yourself by 1 Power Level, basically adding 1 to all of your attacks, defenses, and power ranks. You don't have to accept that, you can just let the power wash over you and scatter. Of course, each of you has a complication that this could activate, but the power isn't inherently Evil. At this point it is re-made. Still, it might not be palatable to your character.
Eldritch said he is also targeting me, but GMST's post does not target me (which may be because I have a bloodstone). Just confirming this is intentional? In the meantime...
The demon legions shriek, claws and teeth clanging uselessly against her armor. Nonetheless they are also in the way and able to hurt her friends. With the magical teammates equipped with and seemingly succeeding against HellQueen, Gracie swings her blade at the demons, hoping to dispatch them with haste.
Attack:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13
I said, "hoping to dispatch them with haste." Hero point.
Attack:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25
Takedown Attack 1:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27
Takedown Attack 2:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22
Toughness DC 25
The gleaming ancient blade whirls through the air as it carves through the denizens of hell.
vs Demon Toughness DC19:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21 vs Demon Toughness DC19:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14
Oz dodges a lashing from a scorpion tail, ducks out of the way of an ax swing gets grazed by claw, and takes a headbutt straight to the back.
Not succumbing to their brand of pain, he opens up a portal with a taste of his own.
Pain: Burst Area Damage 10 (DC 25; Burst Area: 30 feet radius sphere, DC 20, Increased Range: ranged, Multiattack, Penetrating 10; Noticeable: An Eye with grotesque appendages lashing out )
Wounds: 0|Hero Points: 3|Dodge +5 (+15), Toughness +0 (+5), Fort +0 (+5), Will +10 (+15)|Initiative +0|Magic/Undead/Demon Sense
Cesarina feels the strange power washing over her, crawling over her skin and begging to be let in. It disturbs her, and she shuts it out. Her own power, granted to her by a greater force, is more than enough for this challenge.
The demons claw and bite at her as she fights off the power of the Bloodstone as well
3d20 ⇒ (16, 10, 11) = 37
Gonna try to reroll those, because I'll be knocked out otherwise.
2d20 ⇒ (4, 19) = 23
Should be a 19 there, and a 24, along with the 21 from earlier (that negates a 19). So one attack at 2 degrees? Then a penalty of -1, that makes me fail the second one, and so I'm at 3 total degrees of failure/wounds.
One attack gets through, ripping a gash in Cesarina's shoulder, but she grits her teeth through the pain. She can feel herself bleeding out, but there's no time to heal; these demons swarming are dangerous, and need to be cleared from the field.
Faint flashes of light spark off of her as each demon tries to attack and fails to connect, and then these flashes rise to a crescendo as Cesarina unleashes a burst of light from herself!
Holy Smite (42p): Damage 10 (1/rank), Area (+1/rank), Alternate Resistance: Will (+1/rank), Selective (+1/rank), Affects Insubstantial 2
Eldritch said he is also targeting me, but GMST's post does not target me (which may be because I have a bloodstone). Just confirming this is intentional? In the meantime...
I typed "Eoten, Eldritch, Cesarina." Should have been "Eoten, Gracie, Cesarina."
Cesarina Toughness vs damage: You have a 21, 15, 16 vs DC 19. So ignore the first. You can only re-roll one of those with a Hero Point unless I am missing something in your build. Re-roll gets you a 4, which the Hero Point makes a 14, for 19, so you are good there. The 16 is only one degree of failure, so -1 to future saves vs damage. Unless I misinterpreted something.
Demon Toughness vs DC 25:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21 Demon Toughness vs DC 25:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8 Demon Toughness vs DC 25:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23
The light that shines through Cesarina obliterates three more demons.
HellQueen howls in fury as Max draws the power away from her. [b]"Noooo! That is mine. You are not worthy! She drops toward the surface of the lava."Stopping about 15 feet from the surface.
She reaches out with one both hands toward her Factor Four allies. Lava explodes in their direction, a wave of it washing over Fathom, Sylph, and Sandstone.
When the wave flows from the top of the outcropping, no sign of the three elementals remains.
Eoten too tries to resist the lure of the jagged light of magic... It momentarily stirs a hunger within him... one to consume the light and sate that hunger...
The giant heavy brow furrows and he lashes out at the remaining demons, seeking distraction through combat;
Last thing we need is The Devourer showing up methinks... of course might not have a say in it :S ST - want Eoten to resist the lure of the energy with a mechanical roll play or is role play enough?
Does Max know if she killed the elementals or used the lava and magic to teleport them away? If he doesn't know, would it take an action to know? If he knows teleport, can he spend an action to determine where?
SuperT, apologies if I am being dense, but could we have a full update/description of the scene? The tactical map does not seem fully up to date (e.g., the elemental folk are still on it, but floating over the lava; also somehow Gracie is in a different position than where I put her last)), and I'm not sure where the other party members are. I also don't know if there are any demons left. I am not necessarily asking for the map to be updated per se but I'd appreciate a description of what we are seeing, e.g., Gracie is standing at the edge of the volcano, HellQueen is 15 feet above the lava's surface to the left of that, Eldritch is floating above HellQueen, etc. And if there are any enemies remaining besides HellQueen.
Somehow the map is/was very screwed up. The background moved quite a bit and last night I couldn't get the elementals to move. As far as I know, Cesarina and Eoten are still at the rim of the crater, and so at the edge of the map. Max I think flew toward HellQueen, so I moved him closer, but I could be wrong. Oz is permeating the lava, which has some implications of its own. Gracie is on that column of rock.
There is still a cloud of demons circling above, but they aren't currently antagonizing anyone. HellQueen is where she is on the map, 15 feet above the lava. The elementals are gone, washed into the lava.
Does Max know if she killed the elementals or used the lava and magic to teleport them away? If he doesn't know, would it take an action to know? If he knows teleport, can he spend an action to determine where?
The elementals went into the lava. The Factor Four were transformed into their current forms by magic stones called the Prime Elements. The power of those stones is being unspooled by the Maw, much as it did to the Bloodstones.
Does Max know if she killed the elementals or used the lava and magic to teleport them away? If he doesn't know, would it take an action to know? If he knows teleport, can he spend an action to determine where?
The elementals went into the lava. The Factor Four were transformed into their current forms by magic stones called the Prime Elements. The power of those stones is being unspooled by the Maw, much as it did to the Bloodstones.
Are they dead? Or can Max Hero Point AE to recover them?
Max suffers fatigue from the Extra Effort: Power Stunt and fagtigue from the actual build of the spell on his next (this) turn, so you might want to spend a hero point to make that just fatigue, but ultimately the penalties are that huge either way if you want to just take them so you can spend a Hero Point on something else.
Fatigued
Fatigued characters are hindered. Characters recover from a fatigued condition after an hour of rest.
Hindered
A hindered character moves at half normal speed (–1 speed rank). Immobile supersedes hindered.
Exhausted Characters are Hindered and Impaired.
Hindered
A hindered character moves at half normal speed (–1 speed rank). Immobile supersedes hindered.
Impaired
An impaired character is at a –2 circumstance penalty on checks.
Does Max know if she killed the elementals or used the lava and magic to teleport them away? If he doesn't know, would it take an action to know? If he knows teleport, can he spend an action to determine where?
The elementals went into the lava. The Factor Four were transformed into their current forms by magic stones called the Prime Elements. The power of those stones is being unspooled by the Maw, much as it did to the Bloodstones.
Are they dead? Or can Max Hero Point AE to recover them?
You don't think they are dead, though what that means in this context is a little vague. Their souls currently are still tied to their bodies, if that is what you mean. As for affecting them, that's tricky. You can't actually see Fathom, Sylph, Sandstone with vision, but you can perceive the magical effects that infuse them. So you could do something that would affect the magic. Most things can be done within the rules, so if there is something you want to try we can probably figure out the rules to at least attempt it.
