DM Voomer's Age of Ashes

Game Master Voomer

Caiten follows Catalina into the clearing with Sulee clinging precariously to one shoulder. He listens curiously to the ramblings of the dragon creature, but decides that replying is unnecessary.

Instead, he begins quickly casting one of his staple spells on Yasami while Sulee jumps from his shoulder and floats sedately down to the ground.

Stride, Stride, Stoke the Heart on Yasami: +3 status to damage

"All right," Sulee says, grinning. "Show time." Sulee feels the familiar magical signature of her Patron from the casting of a Hex spell and siphons off a bit of extra power from that brief connection. She shapes that power into a minor spell of her own and sends it to Oren.

Restored Spirit: Oren +6 Temp HP for 1 round

Yasami may take a third action if she wants.

Sure. Prepping the rope dart (manipulate draw weapn)

"I love how you are trying to dodge the question and failing. Miserably." Yasami smirks, reaching for the coiled weapon on her belt.

Lisitsei examines the situation from afar and doesn't mince words. He spends his time weaving an intricate pattern in the air.

"Here's to failing more," he says quietly.

Casting Ice Storm

Cold Damage: 2d8 ⇒ (3, 7) = 10
Bludgeoning Damage: 2d8 ⇒ (6, 1) = 7

Terrain attunement is now set to Cold for Lisi.

Lisi strains but succeeds at creating the storm right at the edge of his range. The bida rears back in anger and surprise as it is pummeled by the snow and sleet.

Round 2 Initiative:

pillar
Lisi
Oren
bida
Caiten
Yasami
Catalina

A blast of fire again shoots out at Catalina from the pillar, striking her for 22 points of damage (with a DC 24 basic Reflex save).

Lisi and Oren are up!

Reminder: at the moment, the bida is in the air, out of melee range

Reflex save DC 24: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (4) + 16 = 20

Catalina stumbles over the hem of her long jacket as she attempts to dodge out of the way, crying out in pain.

How much dmg with a failed save?

Lisi frowns and focuses on the storm whirling about the bida. Sustain. 1 action

Oh, if it didn't move, it also takes 2 more Cold damage.

Bludgeoning: 2d8 ⇒ (1, 2) = 3
Cold: 2d8 ⇒ (7, 3) = 10

Basic Reflex save against DC26

Also, Fort Save DC26 or reduce speed by 5', bida!

He then points a crooked finger at the bida and flicks it while uttering something in Druidic.

Ray of Frost. 2 actions
Spell Attack: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (13) + 16 = 29
for: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (1, 3, 3, 3) + 4 = 14

And another Fort Save DC26 or reduce speed by 5'

"Oren! Catalina! Be careful!" he shouts, his eyes still on the coiling bida.

The bida appears to maneuver its body to decrease the impact of the storm, but then Lisi hits it solidly with an icy ray. The bida moves to exit the area of the storm, its movement apparently unimpeded by both spells. (I rolled all the saves offline because it's faster. I'll do that for some rolls.)

Still 15 feet in the air, the bida strikes at Yasami with its tail, hissing "You sure talk big. Let's see how much you talk when I'm squeezing the life out of you."

The tail strikes Yasami with terrible bludgeoning force for 42 points of damage (a critical hit). The tail wraps around and grabs Yasami, inflicting 7 points constricting damage with a DC 28 fort save. The bida was so effective in grabbing Yasami that she is actually "restrained" rather than just "grabbed" (which basically means she can only try to escape).

The rest of the party are up! Note that the area of the ladder is currently difficult terrain/slippery/being pelted in ice.

Fort: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (13) + 15 = 28
Escape, Acrobatics: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (4) + 19 = 23
Demoralisr, Intimidation: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26
Fascinate, Perform: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (6) + 13 = 19

◆ Escape, ◆ Demoralise, ◆ Fascinate

The creature swipes at Yasami and coils the tail around her as she is lifted in the air. She grunts, and you swear you could have heard something crack as the tail smacked her to lift her up. She looks at the creature while trying to weasel her way out of the grip. "What's your name, snake? I want to know what to call the purse I'll have made out of what's left of you after we're done here.", Yasami makes an attempt to catch the dragon's attention and shatter it's resolve at the same time.

Should have clarified that is a basic save, so Yasami still takes 3 points of damage

Yasami heroically pushes back against the constricting force of the creature's mighty tail, mitigating the impact of the crushing force. She's less successful in trying to escape, intimidate, and fascinate the creature.

"Your flailings amuse me, worm."

"I strongly recommend that you stop attacking Yasami," Caiten states calmly and boldly while casting Needle of Vengeance.

He follows up that declaration with another spell, blasting a bolt of pure necromantic energy straight through the flying dragon.

◆ Needle of Vengeance, ◆◆ Enervation

Needle of Vengeance: 8 mental damage for each hostile action against Yasami with a DC 26 Basic Will save each time.

Enervation: 30 ft line, DC 26 Fortitude Save:
Crit: No effect
Success: 2d8 persistent Void damage
Fail: 4d8 persistent Void damage and Drained 1
Fumble: 4d8 persistent Void damage, Drained 2, Doomed 1

Sulee dashes a bit away from the fray, hoping to go unnoticed and not get caught in any area blasts. When Caiten casts another Hex, she forms some of the energy into some protection and sends it to Yasami. "Hang in there, Yasami."

◆ Independent Stride
Restored Spirit: Yasami +6 Temp HP for 1 round

Catalina stands in place, sucking in air through her teeth while she attempts to bury the pain inflicted. Realizing she never conveyed this information, Cat says loudly: "This beast is not hurt much by acid or poison. It's called a 'bida.'"

The thaumaturge then takes her esoterica, mind racing: she knew no major weaknesses, but the creature seemed full of itself, overconfident, and, when it came down to it...a mere peon in this cult. She pulls out a chunk of amethyst, a gem she knew could be use to humble someone (roleplaying the idea of a personal antithesis for flavor). She aims her pistol at the bida, careful not to hit anywhere near Yasami, and fires a shot.

Striking Dueling Pistol: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (20) + 16 = 36 (fatal d10 crit rolls! - her shots are also magic if they weren't before due to Exploit vuln)

Pistol, fatal d10, piercing/bludgeoning, weakness 5 (EV): 3d10 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (10, 4, 9) + 2 + 4 = 29 (also needs to succeed at a fortitude save against my class dc or be stunned 1)

Catalina then reloads her weapon and fires off another shot at the bida, concentrating hard on staying calm and centered in the face of this.

Striking Dueling Pistol: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13

...but her concentration wavers with worry for Yasami, and she curses as her shot misses.

Haven't done combat in so long I had to double-check every rule and my abilities and stuff, lolol.

HP 74/96 | Actions: Strike; Reload; Strike

As the battle starts, Oren flies into a rage. Seeing that this creature is in the air and out of his reach, he takes a step to the south and then shoots out a blast of fire at the bida!

Dragon's Breath: 8d6 ⇒ (1, 2, 5, 3, 2, 1, 6, 1) = 21 DC24 Reflex Save for half

Actions: Free Action Rage as part of rolling initiative, Step, Dragon's Breath

The enervating ray catches the bida by surprise and it flinches noticeably (14 persistent void damage and drained 1). The bida then receives a further shock from Catalina's pistol, which blows a hole through the creature's "shoulder", near where one of its wings attach (55 points of damage, according to discussion thread). The bida noticeably wobbles in the air from the impact, but then steadies itself. Finally, the bida is surprised by an unexpected cone of fire emerging from Oren's mouth, although it does manage to tilt its body to avoid some of the impact (10 points of damage).

65 points of damage total, plus 14 persistent void (which I believe it doesn't take until its round). The bida is noticeably significantly weakened from the trio of blows. Black blood oozes out of the hole in its shoulder, the underside of its' tail is scorched, other spots higher up on its body show frost scorching, and it flails its head back and forth trying to shake off the unfamiliar weakness that has settled into its body.

Round 3 Initiative:

pillar
Lisi
bida
Caiten
Yasami
Catalina
Oren

Flame again gushes forth from the pillar towards Catalina, again striking her, this time for 23 points of fire damage (DC 24 basic Reflex save).

Lisi is up!

Reflex Save dc 24: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (3) + 16 = 19

Oof. 51/96 HP

Lisi drops the ice storm and strides forward to get a clear shot.

He gestures and speaks, and another chilling ray of frost emanates from his hand.

RoF: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (15) + 16 = 31
for: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (3, 1, 2, 3) + 4 = 13

DC26 Fort save or lose movement speed as per Geomancer Dedication

"Bida. You're the one who's more worm-like here--not that there's anything wrong with worms; I rather appreciate them--and we're going to end you. Is it worth it, your slavish devotion to your masters? They won't miss you," says the druid, after freezing the bida further.

The bida reels from yet another of the druid's icy blasts, and the druid thinks the creature's wings appear encrusted in ice.

The enormous beast is clearly substantially wounded and it lashes out in fury.

It first bites Yasami, barely connecting but still inflicting 19 points of piercing damage. It shakes its head back and forth in confusion, as Caiten's spell takes hold (4 pts void damage to bida)

Unsure how to proceed in its weakened state, it tries to bite Yasami again, hoping to destroy one of the intruders. It fails to connect in its reduced state, although it shakes off the effect of Caiten's spell on the second attack (critical success on save).

The bida then looks at the assembled group and flies up and back towards the pillar and out of sight, releasing a relieved Yasami.

By its behavior, Caiten suspects that the creature continues to suffer the effects of the enervation ray, but he can't tell for sure.

"Sulee," Caiten says calmly. "Would you fly up there and see where that dragon is going."

Caiten then casts another spell and sends some more permanent healing magic to Yasami.

Heal rank 3: 3d8 + 24 ⇒ (8, 7, 8) + 24 = 47

◆ Command familiar, ◆◆ Heal

"On it," Sulee responds. She spreads her winged cloak and takes to the air, flying up to the top of the wall near the ladder. She shouts back anything noteworthy that she sees from that position.

◆ Fly (25 ft), ◆ Fly

"Damn pansy..." Yasami chuckles through gritted teeth, sprawled on the floor. Then she's hit by Caiten's spell and some of her ribs pop back into place. She takes a deep breath. "Thanks."

She stands up. "Well, no time to waste, I guess. Time to topple a pillar." She rushes to the totem to take it out of commission before the dragon gets back.

◇ Kip Up, ◆ Stride 3x? I don't know if there are actions left to attack the thing, depending on how close it is.

HP 95/112 / AC 26

Sulee flies up and does not immediately see the bida, but does not have the time to look around for it.

Invigorated by Caiten's healing, Yasami leaps up, quickly covers the first 10 feet of the ladder, but moves more slowly up the remainder, still a little slippery from Lisi's recent ice storm. She then crosses the open ground to the pillar to stand before the pillar. I rolled athletics checks for the climbing, but regardless Yasami couldn't get there in time to attack the pillar.

Yasami does not immediately see the bida either, but does not take the time to look. It isn't just sitting up there in front of the pillar.

"Ah, sorry about the ice," calls out Lisi.

He shakes his head. "No fireball spell today!"

Catalina takes a few steps northwest into the ruins, picking her way carefully over the difficult terrain, and then takes a risk to quickly reload and take a shot.

Risky Reload To Hit: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (7) + 16 = 23

If that hits... Pistol damage, piercing/bludgeoning: 2d6 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (2, 4) + 2 + 4 = 12 And then she will spend an action to reload. Pistol damage is concussive, so it can be either piercing or bludgeoning

If that doesn't, she will have to spend an action to clear the misfire.

HP: 51/96, AC 26, ◆Stride, ◆Risky Reload, ◆Reload or ◆Interact to clear misfire

Oren stashes his maul, moves over to the ladder, and starts to climb it, moving 5 feet up.

ROUND FOUR

pillar
Lisi
bida
Caiten
Yasami
Catalina
Oren

Yasami is struck by a blast of fire from the pillar for 27 points of damage (DC 24 basic Reflex save).

Lisi is up!

Lisi moves up and casts a rather unusual spell on Yasami, after mumbling something and waggling his fingers.

A small rain cloud appears above Yasami, wetting her hair and equipment!

Personal Rain Cloud.. Fire Resistance at 4 due to auto heightening.

"Yasami, you ok up there? This might cool you down!" he calls, cheerily.

Reflex: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (3) + 18 = 21

Paying attention to the sky in case her future handbag snake returns, Yasami misses the totem spewing fire at her. She takes the full brunt of the attack. She hisses as she pats out the fire. And then the rain starts and she hears Lisi from below.

"I had better days, but I'm doing okay. Thank you."

HP 68/112 / AC 26

Everyone else is up!

"Sulee, what do you see up there?" Caiten asks.

He also walks closer to the ladder himself and casts Guidance on Oren who is half way up.

◆ Command familiar, ◆ Stride, ◆ Guidance
Guidance: +1 status bonus to one attack roll, Perception check, saving throw, or skill check before next round.

Sulee flies to the ground and sniffs and peers around looking for the dragon thing.

Perception Seek (+low-light vision, +scent) +12
Seeking the area under the stairs around the pillar.

◆ Fly (lands), ◆ Seek

"Alright..." Yasami sighs as she pats the embers off herself. "Let's take down a totem, then?"

◆ Quick Draw, ◆ Strike, ◆ Strike

She reaches for her rope dart and starts slashing the statue.

Rope Dart: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (11) + 17 = 28
Damage: 2d4 + 4 + 3 ⇒ (1, 2) + 4 + 3 = 10 Piercing, 3 of that is precision

Rope Dart: 1d20 + 17 - 5 ⇒ (11) + 17 - 5 = 23
Damage: 2d4 + 4 + 3 ⇒ (1, 2) + 4 + 3 = 10 Piercing, 3 of that is precision

Rope Dart: 1d20 + 17 - 10 ⇒ (9) + 17 - 10 = 16
Damage: 2d4 + 4 + 3 ⇒ (1, 4) + 4 + 3 = 12 Piercing, 3 of that is precision

Caiten moves closer, offers an assist to Oren, and directs Sulee. Sulee cannot see the bida anywhere but thinks she may smell it about 20-30 feet due North from her position. There seems to be a cavity of some sort back there, behind a wall. Sulee can take a free action to verbally report her findings, or she can wait until next round to act on the information.

Yasami smashes her rope dart into the pillar but only once manages a clean hit and even with that hit seems to manage little more than to cut a gouge into it.

Catalina and Oren are up!

"Sulee, what do you see up there?" Caiten asks.

"Besides the pillar and Yasami, not much. I can't see the dragon, but I can smell it."

After a moment of struggling to clear out the misfire, Catalina tries that quick and dirty reload once again, aiming and firing off a shot at the pillar once more.

Risky Reload; Striking Dueling Pistol: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (14) + 16 = 30
Pistol damage, piercing/bludgeoning: 2d6 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (3, 5) + 2 + 4 = 14

If that's a crit, I need to roll different damage, but I have a feeling it isn't a crit LOL.

Satisfied that her shot actually landed this time, Catalina decides to take it slower with the next shot and reloads before firing again.

Striking Dueling Pistol: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21
Pistol damage, piercing/bludgeoning: 2d6 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (4, 6) + 2 + 4 = 16

HP 51/96; AC 26; ◆Risky Reload; ◆Reload; ◆Strike

Catalina manages to strike the pillar with one shot, but, like Yasami's attack, seems to only make an inconsequential dent.

Oren finishes his climb, moves over to the pillar, and pulls out his maul, giving Yasami a wink.

ROUND FIVE

pillar
Lisi
bida
Caiten
Yasami
Catalina
Oren

The pillar continues its fiery assault on Yasami for 20 points of damage (DC 24 basic Reflex save).

Lisi is up!

Reflex, Evasion: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (12) + 18 = 30

This time, the fire dancer anticipates the gush of flames in her direction. She dodges expertly, without the flames touching her.

"That's how you do it." she looks at the hulking man with a maul. "Oren... Smash!" she winks back.

Following Yasamina's direction, Oren grabs onto his maul and takes a huge swing at the pillar, before taking a smaller one.

Vicious Swing: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (16) + 17 = 33
Damage: 3d12 + 18 ⇒ (5, 11, 7) + 18 = 41

Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19
Damage: 2d12 + 18 ⇒ (12, 4) + 18 = 34

Lisi peers around, looking for the bida.

1 action Seek, GM rolls Perception +16

He shrugs and drops many rocks on the pillar.

Scatter Scree: 4d4 + 4 ⇒ (4, 2, 3, 2) + 4 = 15

2 action Scatter Scree. Lisi has DR4/adamantium due to Attunement Shift for 1 round.

"I didn't understand that reference," says Lisi.

Lisi is unable to spot the bida, but he knows it is probably impossible from his present location in any event. He pummels the pillar with rocks but suspects the effect was minimal. Technically, you can't see the pillar from your present location, so in future rounds you need to get up to its level to attack

The bida comes lurching on the platform from some hidden crevice to the Northeast, but it looks terrible, ashen with a wild desperate look in its eyes. It approaches Yasami and twice snaps at her with its jaws.

It barely misses with its first bite, snapping at her clothes. It connects with its second attack, apparently having better focused its eyes on her.

It does 24 points of damage and then hits the ground with a thud, apparently dead. Caiten suspects it may have succumbed to the continuing effects of his enervation spell.

Oren smashes the pillar with a satisfying crunch, causing a promising large crack in the hardened wood.

The rest of the party is up! Catalina can just barely see the pillar. Caiten would need to back up just a bit or get to the pillar's level to target it.

"You never did get that name you asked for," Sulee comments to Yasami. "But you probably don't want to make boots out of what is left anyway," she remarks while watching the necrotic energy continue to ravage the corpse even after the Bida is dead.

"And Caiten," Sulee calls out, "if you want a piece of this pillar before Oren obliterates it, you'd better hurry up here."

Caiten starts up the ladder. "Is there a need for me to do something if Oren is capable of handling the pillar?"

Not sure how many move actions it will take me to climb the ladder. Or if there are rolls involved. Bot rolls as needed. Athletics +13.

Yasami lets out a modest [i]"Oh..."[/b] as the creature rears its head to snap at her. She dodges one strike but involuntarily takes the other, and suddenly... the creature just keels over for some reason. Yasami checks her wounds, grunting. "Hey, guys!" She seems concerned for a short moment. "Do I have a poisonous personality or something? Did that kill it?" her nature bubbles up and she chuckles at her own joke. "Yeah Sulee, I suppose we will have the privilege of naming this bastard. I nominate going with "Chomps". And I am actually hoping we will have enough material for a nice pair of boots at least. Chompie-Stompies. Hehe."

"Wait until we deal with the pillar, please." she shouts towards the ladder, then looks at Oren. "Man, I would love to help you, but the weapons I use don't seem to do much to it. I do like... artery cuts and whatnot. Nothing like that here."

"If it were your personality, Yasami, we'd all be dead a long time ago," says Lisi. "What, Guba? I was just speaking matter-of-factly."

"Ehh, I believe in you, Oren!" Catalina shouts, trudging forward to the ladder and beginning to climb.

Stride x1 - climb however much she can? +10 athletics

The entire group but for Lisi makes it to the top. The pillar emits one more blast of fire, once again at Yasami, scorching her for 24 points (with DC 24 basic reflex save).

Oren then lets loose at the pillar. He manages one more hit, which disables the pillar, and he is able to break it into rubble with a few more determined swings. At some point, Yasami puts her hand on Oren's arm to stop, because she notices that the pillar's eyes are black jewels that look potentially valuable.

Once Oren is done smashing, silence falls over the scene. Not even the sounds of the jungle penetrate the eerie ruins.

We are out of combat, so folks can post freely in exploration mode.

Reflex (Evasion): 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (20) + 18 = 38

Chuckling at Lisi's counter, Yasami barely notices the blazing fire heading in her direction. "I really should have anticipated that." she comments as she pats herself down to ensure she is not burning again.

As she glances at the pillar, she notices Oren has almost finished turning the thing into a piece of rubble. And the black gemstones embedded in the face. "Whoah whoah whoah! Hold up!"

She walks closer and pats Oren on the shoulder. "Good job, my man. But what are THOSE?!" and she points next to Oren's feet. Not touching the jewels, she leans over towards the ladder. "Seems safe now!" she half-shouts, and starts pulling out her dagger.

Once everyone is on te platform, she has her dagger in hand, and eyes the corpse of the creature. "You, uh, take a look at those gems if you're interested. I'm gonna go try cut a piece of this thing."

She turns to Caiten and Lisi. "You guys have experience with this, right? Suppose I want to make two boots roughly..." she put out her left leg. "this sized. Rouhgly knee-high. How much material are we talking? And should I cut more?"

She flashes a wink at Catalina. "What do you think? New boots? New coat? Some padding?"

Lisi blushes at the Yasami's extended leg and the word 'padding'. "Um...ask Catalina..."

"Caiten, you may want to check those jewels for curses, glyphs, runes, and so forth," he says, walking up to the pillar.