Protectors of Golarion (Wrath of the Righteous AP)

Game Master Sensen

"I'm fine." Verene's whisper sounds as distantly calm as ever in Merixia's ear. The pain too is blessedly distant, though she is sure from the rapid reddening and blisters on her hands that it will not always be. "I had worse from that cultist mage. Keep going. I'll get out of sight below the side of the tower. But first..."

Before she does so, however, she looks critically at the one Elliot just slashed twice. I think that Yellow might be a bit above zero, or at exactly equal HP and nonlethal damage, which would leave it staggered rather than unconscious. If so: In a gesture that has become second nature, Verene flicks her wrist to draw Aravashnial's wand of magic missile, points it at the brimorak and speaks the command word. Three blue-white streaks of force arc from its tip, weaving around Elliot and Merixia to strike their target dead-on.

Magic missile v. yellow brimorak, CL 5, damage 3d4+3 force, 37/50 charges remaining: 3d4 + 3 ⇒ (3, 2, 4) + 3 = 12

If Yellow is already unconscious or dead, then as above, but for Black.

Then Verene flies over the side of the tower and down a bit to be out of sight, before circling around the edge of the wall towards Thesius and Merixia.
Swift draw from spring loaded wrist sheath, standard activate wand, fly 60'.

Thesius steps up to the blinded brimorak, his lungs feeling free of he infecting smoke. Quickly he lashes out with his heavy mace while praying to Lady Luck.

(Free Action 5-foot step, Swift Action Archaeologist's Luck, Standard Action attack)

Masterwork Copper Heavy Mace Attack: 1d20 + 6 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 6 + 3 = 20 (6 Base, +3 Archaeologist's Luck)
Masterwork Copper Heavy Mace Damage: 1d8 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 2 + 3 = 12 (2 Base, +3 Archaeologist's Luck)

Round 5 Midpoint

Elliot becomes a blur of vicious motion, Righteous Eclipse bursting with the power of his magic as he tears through the brimorak, sending burning blood flying around him. The chill of his spell takes its toll on the pathetic demon as it collapses in a bleeding, frostbitten and burning heap.
Just unconscious again - didn't quite take it down to dying.

Thesius swings at the blinded white-lined brimorak, who is unable to defend against his Desna-blessed offense. The weapon crashes into its shoulder, sending it to one knee with a groan.

Verene ejects her wand into her hand and draws upon its magic to blast the seriously injured demon lined in black and a series of heavy bolts of force impact on its hide, sending it tumbling one way and then the other, though it manages to keep its feet.

The demon in question hops away from Azira and then flickers - disappearing out of the area as it teleports away.

Its blinded counterpart lined in white pushes itself up and swings vigorously at Thesius in a frenzy of furious movement. Though its blindness keeps it from hitting home with most of its attacks, one manages to get lucky and cut into the half-elf's flank, leaving a painful gash behind. Fortunately, his magical protections prevent the fire from burning the flesh away.
Longsword 1 vs. Thesius, prayer: 1d20 + 13 - 1 ⇒ (17) + 13 - 1 = 29
Miss Chance 50%, low misses: 1d100 ⇒ 3
Longsword 2 vs. Thesius, prayer: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (17) + 8 - 1 = 24
Miss Chance 50%, low misses: 1d100 ⇒ 96
Damage, prayer: 1d6 + 5 - 1 ⇒ (2) + 5 - 1 = 6 Thesius is at 33 hp.
Hoof vs. Thesius: 1d20 + 7 - 1 ⇒ (16) + 7 - 1 = 22
Miss Chance 50%, low misses: 1d100 ⇒ 46

The last upright demon lined in turquoise retreats from Elliot's savage assault on its comrade and unleashes a blast of fire at the other two on the tower - one that extends just far enough to strike Verene. The blaze erupts around them, but both Thesius and Azira are quick enough to avoid the worst of the damage, their magical protections absorbing the rest. Verene is not quite so lucky, but she manages to throw herself out of the way as a flash of forewarning comes to her. Still, without her magical defenses against heat, she is scorched badly by the blaze.
Fire Damage: 6d6 ⇒ (4, 1, 5, 3, 1, 5) = 19
Thesius Reflex, archeologist's luck: 1d20 + 10 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 10 + 3 = 17
Azira Reflex, prayer, protection from evil: 1d20 + 13 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 13 + 2 + 1 = 17
Verene Reflex, prayer: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 6 + 1 = 9 So that actually goes up to 17, because of Prescience! It does take her down to 20 hp, though.

Azira and Merixia are up.

Recognizing a need to hasten the end of the skirmish, Azira summons some of the power the Inheritor has invested in her. In a blur, she steps past Thesius, Radiance dancing by his head and striking at the blinded demon (white), before she continues on to the demon which created the magical flames (turquise) and slashes at it as well. Spending 1 mythic point to use fleet charge (move as a swift action and get a free attack at any point during it), then using a move action to cover the rest of the distance and my standard action to attack.

Radiance vs white (prayer/fc): 1d20 + 15 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 15 + 1 + 1 = 34
for (ignoring all DR): 1d8 + 14 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 14 + 1 = 23

Radiance vs turquoise (prayer): 1d20 + 15 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 15 + 1 = 17
for (ci): 1d8 + 14 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 14 + 1 = 19

Merixia grits her teeth, reining in her anger with force of will. She has a moment to breathe and these demons are considerably tougher than she anticipated. Much as she hates to take the time, she needs a little more magical help. The cleric raises her holy symbol and chants a quick prayer to Ragathiel for his favor in battle.

Okay. Time to distract the fire-slinging demon from her friends. Merixia steps around the fallen demon and moves toward the one on the far side of the tower.

Cast divine favor for +2 attack and damage, and move.

Round 5 Wrap-Up

Azira slashes through the blind brimorak's guard - prompting a scream of agony - as she flows past it towards the currently uninjured demon. However, this one is prepared to meet her, and deflects the holy sword with its own burning blade, dodging away from the lesser strikes.

Merixia invokes the power of the angelic lord of vengeance and rushes towards the remaining demon.

Round 6

Elliot, Thesius, and Verene are up.

Seeing another demon fall, Elliot glances to the left and sees Azira and Merixia well underway to sandwich the remaining foe. All that was really left to was was to help them, thus he flies around, floating behind the Brimorak and striking from the air!

attack, previous buffs and flank: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (9) + 19 = 28
damage: 1d4 + 2d6 + 14 ⇒ (4) + (2, 5) + 14 = 25

Just to note, White won't be blinded forever, guys. It's blinded for one more round of its attacks, then the blindness goes away, on Verene's next turn. Good to target the non-blinded one first though.

Prescience, 1/8 remaining: 1d20 ⇒ 10
The flash of heat again. Verene sees the brimorak she targeted with missiles is still alive and walking unsteadily away into the air, dripping blood from multiple wounds to the ground far below. If it gets away, we will very directly be dealing with even more. She points the wand at the retreating demon and speaks the command word once more. The wand leaps eagerly in her hand, warming to her touch. Its missiles are so brightly blue-white they leave a sparkling afterimage in the air behind them.

Magic missile v. black brimorak, CL 5, damage 3d4+3 force: 3d4 + 3 ⇒ (1, 1, 4) + 3 = 9 36/50 charges remaining.
Caster level check to overcome spell resistance, CL 5: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25

Thesius trying to keep situational awareness, takes a moment to assess the situation.

(Effectively holding to see what Verene does and then taking action right after.)

Round 6 Midpoint

Elliot swoops around to flank the brimorak, slashing with Righteous Eclipse and sends burning blood flying about him. It strikes the tower's floor and turrets, crackling and scorching the stone, but the brimorak twists and hisses at him.

Verene fires another burst of magic missiles at the fleeing brimorak, which knocks it from the sky and sends it flying to the hard, hard, ground below.

Continuing to draw on Desna's favor, Thesius smacks the brimorak about with his mace, but the thing's armored hide prevents him from doing much damage. Yeesh.

Now aware of where he is again, the white-lined brimorak swings a flurry of attacks at him, thrashing and kicking. Despite its blindness throwing its attacks off, it manages to clip him with its burning blade, ripping a bloody cut in his chest.
Longsword 1 vs. Thesius, prayer: 1d20 + 13 - 1 ⇒ (11) + 13 - 1 = 23
Miss Chance 50%, low misses: 1d100 ⇒ 52
Damage, prayer: 1d6 + 5 - 1 ⇒ (3) + 5 - 1 = 7 Thesius is at 26 hp.
Longsword 2 vs. Thesius, prayer: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (6) + 8 - 1 = 13
Miss Chance 50%, low misses: 1d100 ⇒ 9
Hoof vs. Thesius, prayer: 1d20 + 7 - 1 ⇒ (14) + 7 - 1 = 20
Miss Chance 50%, low misses: 1d100 ⇒ 34

The other active demon lined in turquoise rolls away from Elliot and Azira, darting around the latter. Unfortunately for it, she manages to bring Radiance down on its head, chopping a chunk of its scalp off along with much of its horn.
Acrobatics vs. Elliot CMD, prayer: 1d20 + 15 - 1 ⇒ (13) + 15 - 1 = 27
Acrobatics vs. Azira CMD+2, prayer: 1d20 + 15 - 1 ⇒ (10) + 15 - 1 = 24
Azira AoO: 1d20 + 15 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 15 + 1 + 1 = 32
Damage: 1d8 + 14 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 14 + 1 = 16

With a roar, it lashes out in vengeance at Azira, but the paladin is more than prepared to defend herself, and knocks aside its blazing blade with ease.
Longsword vs. Azira, prayer: 1d20 + 13 - 1 ⇒ (11) + 13 - 1 = 23

Azira and Merixia are up.

Azira and Radiance turn with the demon as it moves, drawing the fiend into their dance. After turning aside its vile blade they attempt to riposte with two quick slashes of their own.

Radiance 1 (prayer): 1d20 + 15 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 15 + 1 = 34
for (ci): 1d8 + 14 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 14 + 1 = 21

Radiance 2 (prayer): 1d20 + 10 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 10 + 1 = 19
for (ci): 1d8 + 14 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 14 + 1 = 22

Ooh, nice. The demon moved into a better position for Merixia to attack. She charges at the enemy, sword raised to attack.

Charge the turquoise brimorak with Mythic Power Attack and Destructive Smite.

Attack, Mythic Power Attack + prayer + divine favor + charge: 1d20 + 10 + 1 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 10 + 1 + 2 + 2 = 18

Damage, Mythic Power Attack + Destructive Smite + prayer + divine favor: 1d10 + 5 + 6 + 3 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 5 + 6 + 3 + 1 + 2 = 25

Does the luck bonus from prayer and divine favor stack?

Round 6 Wrap-Up

Azira's graceful strikes penetrate the demon's guard, cutting its flesh and sending yet more burning blood onto the ground. However, its hide and own skilled maneuvers allow it to avoid the worst of the second series of attacks. As Merixia swoops in, divine rage burning in her, it ducks and dodges out of the way, allowing her rage to hinder her rather than help her.

Round 7

Elliot, Verene, and Thesius are up.

"I'm afraid there's no running. Make your peace," Elliot calls out to the fleeing brimorak, easily keeping up and flying into a flanking position, from where he aims a lethal cut straight to the creature's neck.

"Poor Meri... it's really not her day. Maybe I can do something nice for her later." He thinks, realizing these Brimoraks were giving her a pretty hard time - and not just her. Maybe he himself was just getting lucky.

Attack, flank, no prayer: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (17) + 18 = 35
damage: 1d4 + 2d6 + 13 ⇒ (2) + (1, 6) + 13 = 22

Attack, crit confirm, flank, no prayer: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (5) + 18 = 23
damage: 1d4 + 2d6 + 13 ⇒ (3) + (4, 6) + 13 = 26

Verene is heartened by the growing pool of foul, steaming black blood around one of the late-arriving demons as it unsuccessfully tries to escape the combined attention of Azira, Merixia and Elliot. Only one left now. "Good work. If you can, Thesius, back away toward the others after attacking and make that one chase you," she advises in a whisper.

Pretty sure that crit drops Turquoise. Thesius won't provoke from White if he attacks and then moves, because he goes before Verene, while it's still blinded (she delayed her turn to be just after his to execute the burst of radiance), and you can't take attacks of opportunity against opponents with total concealment from you even if you know what square they're in. But White's blindness is about to go away and Thesius probably does not want to allow it a full attack against him unblinded. If I'm wrong and Turquoise is barely still up, please apply the missiles against it instead, GM.

She points the wand at the remaining brimorak just as she sees its eyes clear and speaks the activating word a third time, then steps backward over the side of the tower and sinks down and over to a height that would be safe even if a retaliatory fireball were to be targeted where she was just standing as a last defiance from the demon. The burst of flame is not stopped just because she is shielded by the side of the tower and out of sight, as she painfully learned earlier. Once again, the wand leaps eagerly to her command and the missiles burst from its tip with deadly force, almost as if it knows it is fighting the demons its creator so hates.
Magic missile v. White, CL 5, damage 3d4+3 force, 35/50 charges remaining: 3d4 + 3 ⇒ (1, 3, 4) + 3 = 11
Caster level check to overcome spell resistance v. White, CL 5: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

Thesius grits his teeth as he feels the beast's blade bite through his flesh.

Quickly he lashes out once more before falling back as Verene's words bade him to.

Masterwork Copper Heavy Mace Attack: 1d20 + 6 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 6 + 3 = 16 (6 Base, +3 Archaeologist's Luck)
Masterwork Copper Heavy Mace Damage: 1d8 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 2 + 3 = 11 (2 Base, +3 Archaeologist's Luck)

Despite not having ever had a pet of his own, he takes a note from some of those he saw lucky enough to have such a fine pet. Dancing around the steps, he starts to whistle at the brimorak.

Round 7 Midpoint

Elliot flows through the air and slashes through the brimorak's guard, knocking its body to the ground in a gout of flaming blood. The creature chokes as it collapses, bleeding its searing life into the stones below.

Verene unleashes another volley of bolts of force, blasting the sole remaining brimorak lined in white. Its magical protections fail it again, as it is tossed back and forth by the powerful strikes. Even as it tries to regain its footing, Thesius smashes it with his mace - this time he manages to connect, smashing ribs and breaking bones. Once again, the blessing of Verene's magic keeps him from burning from the demon's blood. With that, Thesius retreats.

However, rather than pursue, the demon takes a glance around and lifts off of the ground, turning tail and fleeing away from the combat.

Azira and Merixia are up.

Azira briefly contemplates drawing her bow, but knowing how ineffective it would be she instead keeps Radiance at the ready while calling out, "Whatever we're going to do to destroy the catapult, we should do it quickly before reinforcements arrive."

I can't fly and my bow does 1d8 damage with no bonuses and nothing to penetrate any DR, so I'll just ready an action to attack any enemies that come within reach.

"Get back here, coward! Face your death like a warrior!" Merixia leaps into the air, Verene's magic lifting her like a leaf on the wind. She's slower in the air than everyone else thanks to her armor, but the brimorak hasn't got far enough to escape her quite yet. Teeth bared, she raises her heavy sword for a brutal attack.

Attack, Mythic Power Attack + divine favor (no prayer because even though Paizo should have made one of those a sacred bonus, they didn't): 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 10 + 2 = 14

Damage, Mythic Power Attack + Destructive Smite + divine favor: 1d10 + 5 + 6 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 5 + 6 + 3 + 2 = 18

Sorry for the long delay folks. Feeling much better now. On to the combat's conclusion!

Round 7 Wrap-Up

Azira lifts her weapon, ready for any returning combatants, but decides against trying to fire her bow down at the demon.

Merixia suffers no such weakness, as she dives after the brimorak, Verene's spells bearing her out to the floating demon. However, the small target it offers proves difficult for her to land a hit on it.

Round 8

Elliot, Verene, and Thesius are up.

"Don't worry, I've got it. I've got it! I've-" Elliot calls out, then flies straight at the fleeing brimorak, hoping to cut it down just as finished dodging the strike!

attack, charge: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (19) + 18 = 37
damage: 1d4 + 2d6 + 13 ⇒ (1) + (2, 6) + 13 = 22

crit confirm.charge: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (17) + 16 = 33
damage: 1d4 + 2d6 + 13 ⇒ (3) + (4, 3) + 13 = 23

"Gods that's nasty. Well... I had it. Half of it, at least."

Seeing the others focusing on the fleeing brimorak, Thesius turns his attention the the unconscious ones next to him. With a sickening crunch he brings down his heavy mace in an attempt to finish one of them.

(Ut was noted before the Thesius handed off the adamantine weapon to Merixia. He is working on coup de grace’ing the unconscious brimoraks with his cold iron heavy mace.)

Coup de grace with masterwork cold iron heavy mace: 2d8 + 4 + 6 ⇒ (5, 8) + 4 + 6 = 23 (+4 Crit Base, +6 Crit Archaeologist’s Luck)

Round 8 Wrap-Up

Elliot blurs through the air, slashing the brimorak in two as he sweeps Righteous Eclipse through the demon. Thesius finishes another off, and soon they are left alone atop the tower - though the sounds of battle from Paradise Hill are clearly audible from where they stand.

Combat Over

"These demons were really tough... I hope the commander and the others are having a better time down there." Elliot says when he lands back atop the tower, letting his flight magic fade with the time. He glanced around, noticing that apart from Azira, and to a lesser extent Merixia, everyone looked worse for wear. "We have to play our part, though. Let's figure out how to destroy this thing or make it unusable." He follows and approaches the siege equipment.

Is it feasable for us to make it in time/distance to join the battle still and help out the crusaders? If not Elliot would suggest searching the tower and the bodies of the brimoraks. Otherwise he is open to trying to rejoin the battle even if it takes part off-screen.

Verene swoops up again from below the side of the tower and lands near the catapult itself with a wince, while Thesius is making sure of the two brimoraks Elliot's magic left unconscious on the stone of the tower's top. She and her clothes are badly scorched in several places, and with the battle over, the throbbing pain of her burns is starting to make itself known. Nevertheless, she wastes no time in examining the antique catapult, trusting Merixia to handle healing for the whole group.

"True, that was not an encouraging start, but you all handled it well. And our scouting and spell-wards served us well." She feels Thamyris's little glow of pride in her own chest. Without his information that there were brimoraks here so they could prepare properly, and facing six of the things practically instantaneously, they might well have been forced to retreat or worse. But her own thoughts are troubled. Revealing their presence and striking the citadel's defenses on the same day that they faced the vescavor queen seems reckless in retrospect, especially with some demons' dangerous ability to tear away their magical protections. If they had been at full strength and she had been able to quicken the others, this battle likely would have been easier. But what's done is done. She warns, "I can only hope the rest of the demons' forces here are not so well-organized as these sentries were, with their warning system to call their fellows, because I have only a few spells in reserve. And we need to think about how we will get down from here with Thesius's fly spell gone — perhaps I could carry you in the bag of holding and Azira could go piggyback with Merixia." She glances at Thesius in question before returning her attention to the catapult.

"But before that can happen, this is the reason we came. Is there any way to destroy it faster than smashing it apart?"

She holds out her hand and Thamyris pops into being there. He hops forward into the guts of the siege machinery to examine it from other angles.

Perception or Knowledge (Engineering) maybe? GM, how many catapults are there total? I think we know there are four intact watchtowers. What's going on in the citadel below and at Paradise Hill where the Knights of Kenabres are (about to?) attack? Any other alarms raised? Do we have time to smash any other catapults before leaving?
Perception, Verene: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11
Perception, Thamyris: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (16) + 14 = 30
Knowledge (Engineering): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17

Not a single hit. Merixia tried and tried and tried, and she couldn't land a single hit, while Elliot and Azira effortlessly carried her dead weight. She ducks her head and raises her arm to hide her face behind her buckler, taking a deep, shaky breath. Forgive me, Ragathiel. I've failed you, I've failed my friends, and I don't know how to do any better. You should have chosen someone stronger. More skilled, more agile, more educated in spellcraft, more everything.

This isn't the time or place for a breakdown. Well, Merixia's early childhood taught her how to deal with this situation. She ruthlessly stomps down the wave of emotion, locking it away to deal with later. (Slaves who cry get beaten even harder.)

There is no expression on her normally animated face as she descends to the rooftop again. "Gather round and I'll heal your wounds."

Thesius takes another moment to finish off the other unconscious brimorak. They were not in a position currently to take prisoners and these beasts would prove far harder to contain safely.

Finally he moves to the rest of the group while listening to Verene's words.

"Remind me, did we use all of the uses of the levitation scale already?"

Turning his gaze to the war machine in front of them, he joins Verene in looking for the best way to take it out of the equation.

Knowledge (engineering): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (17) + 11 = 28

Lots of questions. Let's see if I can answer them.

Insofar as the group knows, there's probably three other catapults around Citadel Drezen - one for each of the intact towers. That being said, none of them are likely going to be able to fire at Paradise Hill. It seems likely that there's at least some awareness of the attack on the tower - the fireball wasn't exactly subtle, but there's no indication of any activity outside of the battle that's ongoing over in Paradise Hill.

As for joining the battle with the schirs - maybe. It's not being fought close by - the crusaders are still in the southeast of Paradise Hill, though they're advancing pretty swiftly through the streets. It's possible you'd get there in time for the mop-up.

Azira walks to the edge of the tower closest to Merixia and peers over the edge, trying to judge the distance to the ground.

as long as I'm still conscious I could heal myself pretty quickly after I land...

While the others examine the catapult she calls back, "I'm no siege engineer, but I believe those rely on a rope or chain to be cranked into the loaded position, don't they? It would be a temporary solution but if we don't have time to really destroy the thing we could probably just cut that rope or chain to take it out of commission for this battle, couldn't we?"

How high up are we? I think, probably, someone has some rope I could climb at least part way down with, but (either way) I can't fail the acrobatics check to take no damage for the first 10' of a fall, and max damage from 10d6 would leave me with 1 hp (and conscious), so I can actually jump down from 110' if needed. Also, do we have a rough idea how long it would take to actually destroy the catapult and/or how long it would take for them to repair a severed rope/chain?

Turning to Verene, Thesius consults her with his findings.

"As much as I would like to see this thing put down for good, I suggest we start with a few of the more crucial parts and their surroundings." As he continues to speak, he points out the parts he is thinking of. " I might suggest the arm, the connection point between the arm and base, and the counterweight container. Any one of those could easily cripple the machine by itself, but the combination should keep it down for an extended period of time. And for good measure, perhaps we use my alchemist's fire you have in the handy haversack afterwards. What are your thoughts?"

He nods at Azira's words. "That's a good suggestion, but I would suggest taking the time to go further. If we wish to keep the area, we'll want to make sure this stays down for as long as possible."

Verene nods gratefully to Merixia when she mentions healing, and moves toward her enough to be included in the radius of her red-gold wash of light. "That sounds wonderful. Thank you, Merixia." Then she immediately returns to studying the catapult beside Thesius. After a moment, Thamyris pops out and returns to her shoulder, whispering something in her ear.

"Remind me, did we use all of the uses of the levitation scale already?"

Verene nods grimly. "To enter the vescavor caverns." She should have insisted on using the ropes and pitons she brought for the purpose, rather than levitating the forty feet down, to preserve the uses of the cloudwalking scale for Drezen. In the end she had decided they were unlikely to be trying to climb the walls of the citadel before tomorrow and kept her counsel. One more way in which it would have been easier, once they got here, to wait another day and attempt this fresh.

"As much as I would like to see this thing put down for good, I suggest we start with a few of the more crucial parts and their surroundings." As he continues to speak, he points out the parts he is thinking of. "I might suggest the arm, the connection point between the arm and base, and the counterweight container. Any one of those could easily cripple the machine by itself, but the combination should keep it down for an extended period of time. And for good measure, perhaps we use my alchemist's fire you have in the handy haversack afterwards. What are your thoughts?"

He nods at Azira's words. "That's a good suggestion, but I would suggest taking the time to go further. If we wish to keep the area, we'll want to make sure this stays down for as long as possible."

"Oh, I do not want to destroy it for good," Verene says absently from beside Thesius. She half-turns toward him. "These date back to the original First Crusade construction, and I think Aron has said they were designed by dwarven engineers. If— when we succeed—" she raises an arch brow at Azira— "we will want to be able to reconstruct those defenses quickly, I think. The whole arm might be too heavy to take, and ropes can be easily replaced, though not in the span of one battle, it's true. We should still cut the ropes, certainly, since that is easy. But the place where the arm connects to the base is a good thought. Look, just here, there are some metal gears, which allow the operators to winch the ropes into tight twists and create the tension that flips the arm forward with such force. Those look like the smallest thing that would be vital but hard to replace. If we took them off, that would render the catapult ineffective — at least for the short term. To replace them would require someone who knows exactly what the mechanism should look like and has the dimensions of the original parts. Without that, even a good smith would have to use trial and error, and it would take a long time. But we will need to take all of them, or the demons can simply cannibalize the other catapults for the replacement parts, then bombard the army with this one. The other watchtowers seem quiet, so if we work quickly, I think we can disable all four catapults."

She immediately starts suiting action to words and trying to pull the important parts off the catapult along with Thesius. She brought a hammer, which is in the bag of holding carried by Merixia, and she knows he has tools for picking locks and disabling traps.

When you said "critical components that [we] could take off," I started thinking of something that looks a bit like this, hope that's okay GM.

...okay then. Merixia's friends are bleeding from various wounds and/or charred, but they're still going right to the mission. At least I can be of some use keeping them alive. She's just about to channel energy when a thought strikes her. Are all of these demons actually dead?

While everyone else is going over the catapult, Merixia gives each fallen demon a cursory examination for signs of life. (The ones that aren't dismembered and don't obviously have their brains smashed in, that is.) Any demons still breathing get a bastard sword through the neck.

Grisly task completed, the cleric walks back over to the rest of the group, positioning herself to catch everyone in her healing. It's slightly harder to channel without her mnemonic, but Merixia doesn't want to do any unnecessary talking at the moment. Fiery golden light flares from her raised holy symbol.

Channel Energy: 3d6 ⇒ (4, 6, 5) = 15

Hmm, Verene and Elliot are looking okay now, albeit a little singed. Merixia's own burns are completely gone. Azira managed to dodge each and every blow. But Thesius looks like he can still use some help. Merixia cleans her sword on a nearby corpse's clothing while she retrieves her healing wand with her tail. "Hold still a moment, Thesius."

Healstick 1: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Healstick 2: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Healstick 3: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

I think that gets everyone to 5 HP down or less. I'd appreciate it if someone checked my math though. If you want Merixia to heal you to full, just let me know.

sense motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16

Standing by near the catapult, Elliot was relieved Verene and Thesius both were so knowledgeable on its engineering - if left to him he would have just destroyed whatever his scimitar could reasonable sabotage and take random loose bits, hoping on Desna's grace that they were the correct ones. He was very curious how and where the two of them learned such feats, but there were more important matters to attend to.

Like Meri's decidedly dead look right then which hit him like a Brimorak's hoof straight to the stomach - and his face could very much attest to just how hard that was. He wasn't sure whether it was worse to see her enraged or like this following a similar fight like in the temple, but even he could tell it had to be addressed somehow. Still, he does as instructed, accepting the healing up to where most of his wounds were seen to. Then he lingers behind a bit when the process of tending to the others is over. "Thanks. But... are you okay?" He asks the cleric, concern evident. "If you feel like talking, I'll listen. Maybe offer some advice. Can't promise it'll be all that good but that's never stopped me before." He grins slightly at the last part. Maybe a bit of humor would help? At times likes these he wished he was more eloquent like most of his other friends here...

Thesius takes Verene’s words in after thanking Merixia. He would need to see how long it takes him to disable the war machine before he could feel more comfortable about the idea of taking out each of them considering their dwindling resources.

Quickly he gets to work.

Thesius can disable complex and intricate devices in half the time thanks to clever explorer. He’s at +15 for disable device with his masterwork thieves’ tools. He’ll take 10 for 25 if his tools can be used.

The tower is 40' tall, but the battlement is 5' up, so it's a 45' drop. You're probably going to be mostly okay if you jump down.

Between them, Verene and Thesius are able to temporarily disable the catapult on their current tower within half a minute, as the battle cries and clash of metal echoes from across Paradise Hill.

I know this is kinda mundane for a bunch of epic superheroes, but don't we have a rope? Also isn't that a door on the map? XD

Noting how quickly they were able to get the parts, Thesius turns his attention back to the group. "If we are to take Verene's course of action, we'll need to move quickly between the towers. Currently I am without flight and would need assistance if that is the route we choose."

(We have rope. The door may work for moving between the towers, but likely would lead us to the wrong side of the wall should we wish to descend to the ground.)

"If we still have charges of the alter self scale available, we could use that to lighten the load of carrying me. However, we need to keep in mind that we can only fly for so long as well. We'll need about 30 seconds per catapult plus time to get there and potentially time to clear any obstacles."

Maybe I’m misremembering but I thought the plan was to just disable this catapult to protect the army from bombarding while they attacking the hill—since the other catapults seem to be facing other directions—and then we were going to assault the (other, different) tower on top of the hill, either alone from the top down or with the army from the bottom?

”I can jump down from here without much trouble,” Azira offers, “if Thesius needs to ride in the bag of holding. Of course, that doesn’t solve the problem of getting to the top of the other Tower, if working from the top down is still the plan… I guess you could drop Thesius off on its top and Meri could meet me at the base and carry me up while everyone waits? I don’t know how many guards will still be waiting there now that the army is attacking, but I’m sure I could keep myself alive against a couple attackers long enough to drop him off and fly down.”

"The scale's power is tapped for today. As is mine to grant any kind of flight. But if worst comes to worst, we do have a rope to use for the descent, so you need not break your ankles jumping. I was thinking about how we can move back to the army as quickly as possible once we leave here." She and Thesius had each needed the alter self scale to see without a telltale light as they moved invisibly through the dark vescavor caverns, and Elliot has now used the final charge for today to take his grippli battle form.

We were told each catapult has a 360* rotation capability, such that any of them could target any location inside or outside the walls. But we do have a rope! Verene would have returned the extra ropes and holy waters to the army when getting back from the vescavor queen mission, but there is one rope from Kenabres that is just ours. It's in the bag of holding. Maybe I'm overthinking this and the tower tops aren't much higher than the walls. Can we move between the towers along the exterior wall using rope, walking and one person perhaps flying up to secure the rope, GM?

He was very curious how and where the two of them learned such feats, but there were more important matters to attend to.

Like Meri's decidedly dead look right then which hit him like a Brimorak's hoof straight to the stomach - and his face could very much attest to just how hard that was. He wasn't sure whether it was worse to see her enraged or like this following a similar fight like in the temple, but even he could tell it had to be addressed somehow. Still, he does as instructed, accepting the healing up to where most of his wounds were seen to. Then he lingers behind a bit when the process of tending to the others is over. "Thanks. But... are you okay?" He asks the cleric, concern evident. "If you feel like talking, I'll listen. Maybe offer some advice. Can't promise it'll be all that good but that's never stopped me before." He grins slightly at the last part. Maybe a bit of humor would help? At times likes these he wished he was more eloquent like most of his other friends here...

Oh gods. No no no. Merixia can feel her emotional armor cracking under the force of Elliot's kindness. She can shrug anything else off when she's like this, but not genuine concern. "Please, not right now." Closing her eyes, she tries to center herself again. To shove the feelings trying to make themselves heard back in their box and nail it shut this time. "I'm not okay. But this really isn't the time or place to talk about it." Merixia takes a deep breath and opens her eyes again. "I'll be fine to complete the mission. Don't worry about that."

Eager to escape the conversation, she looks around for a distraction. Verene still has a few painful-looking burns. Clearly she needs more healing! Right this instant! "Excuse me, Verene needs my help." Wand in tail, Merixia walks over to the catapult and touches it to the kobold-shaped wizard.

Healstick redux, on Verene this time: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

Yes, there is a door into the tower - if you want to descend, you can use that. Sorry, I thought that was self-evident, but I guess I forgot to describe it. Also, while it's possible for the other catapults to aim in the direction of the Hill, it's also quite likely that they don't have the range for any sort of accurate fire.

For the sake of ease, I'll just assume you use the stairs down.

Going through the door atop the tower, the party discovers that the tower itself is essentially hollow - only a spiral staircase bridging the gap between the bottom floor and the top. It is a somewhat dizzying descent, but soon they are at the foot of the tower and out the door. A well-worn path leads north, east, and south. To the north it heads off into the chill wilderness, while the eastern path leads to a fallen bridge. To the south, the path circles around the outer walls of the Citadel Drezen.

"Well, that was easier than expected," Azira observes as they exit the tower. "So, now we make for that broken bridge, figure out how to cross the riverbed, and fight our way through 'Paradise Hill' until we meet up with the army?"

Thanks Merixia! Verene is in her regular human form right now though. She and Thesius each used the alter self scale several hours ago, at the vescavor caverns, and it has worn off. Only Elliot is currently transformed.

So we aren't trying to disable the other catapults? I just don't want to redo this section later.

I think the point currently it to prioritize the largest pain point which is the battle between our forces and the demons on Paradise Hill since the other catapults are likely out of range.

"That sounds like a good plan. Once we have claimed the area and get the chance to rest, we can aim to disable the other catapults with our magic refreshed."

(I second making for the broken bridge to cross over and join the fight. Are limited abilities are running low.)

Well, okay. That's Rule of Two. And we've apparently discovered a postern, which is a pretty big security vulnerability we may be able to exploit later. So that's something.

Slightly earlier

"Excuse me, Verene needs my help." Wand in tail, Merixia walks over to the catapult and touches it to the wizard.

The painful, too-tight feeling of not-quite-healed burns eases and the shiny pink areas of new skin shrink and fade into their normal pale color as Merixia taps her with the wand again. Verene sighs in relief and glances at her with a smile. "Thank you, that's—" She pauses. Merixia looks grim and stonefaced, despite the fact that they were victorious and fortunate enough to take no casualties. Her divine magic had been effective too, at protecting them and hindering their foes; Verene is sure it sped her reactions enough to make the difference at least once, and those chains had even pulled a demon to the ground where Elliot sliced it apart. But casting her mind back to her glimpses of what the others had been doing between her focus on her own spells during the battle, Verene must own that Merixia's furious swings with her own sword had been less than effective. Her god cannot be that displeased with her if she can still channel his energy into healing, but perhaps she is wondering about it anyway. Perhaps the repaired phylactery never helped her to communicate with him or feel more confident of her connection with him at all.

Nothing to be done about it now. Time is of the essence. "...More than good enough." Verene's steady, kind gaze holds Merixia's. We'll talk about this later.

She makes sure to cut almost all the way through one of the ropes in the catapult before they go, for good measure.

Now:
"So that tower had a postern. We shall have to remember it for our next visit." Verene keeps up with the others as they rush toward the sounds of battle on Paradise Hill, hoping to come to the aid of the Knights of Kenabres against the schirs. Two or three of us are still flying, so crossing the broken bridge and dry riverbed to the east shouldn't be too difficult, I think.

Plus, the riverbed's not insurmountable - it's just that it's hard to maneuver an army across it without opening it up to some seriously unpleasant ambushes and such.

The heroes make their way along the road to the broken bridge. With some effort, they cross the dry riverbed and pass into Paradise Hill. At first, they encounter only a handful of demons - focused as they are on repelling the crusaders in the southeast. However, soon enough they encounter more severe resistance, giving them the chance to aid the Knights of Kenabres more directly.

Give me a post of what you're doing in this fight. Since it's likely the last encounter of the day, and I don't want to roll it out, feel free to just go wild.

Moving quickly with the group, Thesius switches between his masterwork cold iron heavy mace and cold iron long spear when necessary to leave the front line open for their more in your face comrades. This also allows him to keep within easy distance of Verene so he can assist where possible.

As they close the distance to the rest of the crusaders, he reminds the others of the prisoners and how they might best serve by making sure the demons do not take the opportunity to eliminate them.

If they choose to go to the prisoners, he'll balance his efforts between fighting and freely the captives.

As the heroes draw near to the rest of the army, and the fighting grows more intense, Azira calls upon her divine bond with Radiance to make its golden blade incredibly keen. Together they dance into the fray seeking out unit leaders and the commanders directing them.

I'm not sure how specific (or lengthy) you were inviting us to be. Having good reason to believe we'll be resting after this combat, and with most of my daily resources still available, I'll fight my way to whoever seem like leaders and tear into them. With keen active, I'd be a bit more liberal with using parry/riposte, and if there's someone who seems like the main leader in this area they get my remaining smite.

"I'm not okay. But this really isn't the time or place to talk about it. Excuse me, Verene needs my help."

Elliot watches her make a quick exit, the urge of needing to do something only growing stronger. But if she needed space, he should abide by her wish - right? Or was he, as her partner, expected to be more decisive and proactive? He sighed - relationships were complicated.

"Say, Righteous Eclipse? You wouldn't happen to have any advice on courting from your previous wielders, would you? Or just your own? Though I'm aware there probably isn't much of that going on in the world of animated swords... is there?" He thinks to the sword.

When they reach the next battlefield, his shapechanging magic has faded and he's back to his usual self, flaming hair gently taking in the wind. Wasting no time and seeing no reason to hold back in such a mass conflict, he reached deep within himself and forced out his arguably most powerful protective magics of blur and shield, then took to the sky. With his speed and maneuverability, the crimson blur - and by gods he hoped that particular name wouldn't stick! - flipped around the battlefield with lethal precision, more than once actually causing a demon to pass out or even run away rather than being struck down. Perhaps the thought of someone taking them alive was just that much more terrifying than being struck down by crusaders on the retreat, and with how demons tended to treat their prisoners, he supposed he couldn't blame them.

Still, throughout it all, he tries to stay near his friends or any crusaders who look like they really need assistance. With Merixia feeling out of it and how some of these demons here were much worse than the ones in Kenabres, he doesn't overly push his luck.

When they draw near the more intense fighting rather than the handful of schirs they have faced in their mad dash toward Paradise Hill, Verene casts a spell to sharpen her allies' battlefield awareness (perfect placement), one to speed her own steps (expeditious retreat), and finally uses another charge of the shield wand. She sticks close to Thesius and Merixia, and uses the magic missile wand judiciously to finish off very hurt foes (though it seems to work only about half the time), with the cure light wounds wand at the ready to help badly injured prisoners or crusaders. Meanwhile, she keeps a weather eye out and waits for an opportune moment to pull out her last powerful spell of the day.

As they reach the knot of swarming schirs and their commander that marks the thickest part of the melee, Verene chants a long phrase, lifts a tiny ball of molasses, and with the now-familiar pulling-taffy motion, slows a number of demons at once into near-somnolence. She readies her magically sped feet to dart out of range of reprisal, with the spell that turns her insubstantial for a moment as a final defense.