GM Jhaeman's Dawn of Flame, Chapter Five: "Solar Strike"

Game Master Jhaeman

Xylian and Amhesha take control of the computers in the supervisor's station and, following its connection to the mainframe room, soon sense and isolate a fragment of malign code that shouldn't be there. A hastily written anti-virus program begins to nibble away at the code, until suddenly, in an uncanny sight, a figure seems to step out of the mainframe! The red-hued horned humanoid is covered with circuitry in Infernal patterns and grins as he says "So you found me. More the pity for you."

A picture has been added to the side of Slide # 2. Please note that the devil emerges in the mainframe room (C5), which is separated from your location by a window made of transparent aluminum.

We will proceed to a Surprise Round, in which only Xylian and Amhesha are able to act because they were in the network and able to anticipate the devil's emergence.

Initiative (Surprise Round)

Hacker Devil
Xylian
Amhesha

During a Surprise Round, you may only take a single move or a single standard action (no full actions).

It's not often a total of 9 wins Initiative!

With a wave of his hand, the devil opens a pinpick-sized portal to Hell, and two tiny winged creatures emerge, cackling in joy at their temporary freedom!

As a spell-like standard action, the devil tries to summon two imps adjacent to the doorway, and succeeds.

One imp opens the door and flies through. The second imp flies up to the doorway to where you are, and opens the door.

Initiative (Surprise Round)

Hacker Devil
Xylian
Amhesha

During a Surprise Round, you may only take a single move or a single standard action (no full actions).

Amhesha hisses at the devil.

"I can't wait 'til the day your pitiful plane gets eaten by either the Maelstrom or the Drift."

Amheshe doesn't attack, regardless of how much her blood boils. She calls upon her exocortex to activate an electromagnetic shield, protecting herself from damage and any potential shocks.

Then, she clicks a button on her rifle, activating a buggy, barely tested, and chaotic custom-installed overcharge. Not as much power as Xylian's, however.

Energy Shield w/ EM Deflectio. Electricity Resist 4, 14 temp HP for 8 minutes. Miracle worker on her weapon for +2 to attack and damage.

Since he doesn't have his cannon on him, Xylian attempts to overload the hacker devil VIA his exocortex.

Ack. Surprise round. Make that only the shield!

As Amhesha activates a powerful personal shield, Xylian tries to hack the hacker devil! But the infernal creature's innate firewalls are too strong. Still, the attempt certainly gets its attention . . .

The hacker devil made the Will save vs Overload.

Initiative (Round 1)

Theodore
Zharis
Hacker Devil+Imps
Xylian
Amhesha
Tulgram

Bold should go!

Surprised by the strange events because she wasn't following Xylian and Amhesha's attempts to hack into the system, Zharis is startled to see a devil emerge on the other side of the transparent aluminum, but she recovers quickly, sends the camera to a better position for the new situation, and when an Imp appears near her she steps up so she can dig her claws in.

Claw Attack: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25
Slashing Damage: 1d3 + 15 ⇒ (3) + 15 = 18

Dang it 1 Soldier level I can't override creatures :/

Zharis' feline claws nearly tear off one of the imp's wings before Theodore steps up and swats it out of the air like an irritating bug!

Out of what could be tactical acumen but is more likely sheer self-preservation, the other imp suddenly disappears from view!

Meanwhile, in the mainframe room, the hacker devil moves to a more advantageous position. "You really have no idea what you're dealing with, do you?"

Zharis' attack hits Yellow and does good damage, but it has just enough DR to stay up.

Botting Tulgram as doing a guarded step and an attack on Yellow. Yellow gets a cover bonus from the doorway. Result: Hit. Yellow is destroyed.

Blue casts a spell (not provoking an AoO from Zharis because it has cover) and disappears. If anyone has the ability to detect invisible creatures, let me know and I'll tell you where it is.

The hacker devil has done a move action and then readied an action.

Initiative (Round 1)

Theodore
Zharis
Hacker Devil (readied) +Imp (invisible)
Xylian
Amhesha
Tulgram

Bold should go!

I've added tokens for the three terrified anassanois just so I didn't forget about them, but they're noncombatants (just don't go throwing around fireballs!)

> Botting Tulgram as doing a guarded step and an attack on Yellow.[ooc]I broke out in a cold sweat... and then I realized that you were talking about Theodore .)

Yer just another blasted darn with horns, ye all look alike here! Tulgram activates acceleration on his armor again and rushes after the devil. No matter what counterblow or spell met him, the duergar is sure that this guy will now stop talking... forever.

Capture Pole: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (18) + 15 = 332d8 + 17 ⇒ (3, 7) + 17 = 27 (piercing vs KAC)

Inhibitor: Reduce the target’s DR by 10 (9 rounds)

Oh right we have a biohacker. Amhesha isn't flopping like a fish. Sadly Tulgram can't clone himself to nuke their resistances to the ground.

Amhesha moves into place to lock onto the hacker devil, and activates her combat tracking.

"I can deal with the Vesk-idolizing nut softening you up, but I'm not letting a lawful outsider like you out of my sight. You think I haven't dealt with your kind? With axiomites? With archons? You're all the same, deep down."

She then levels her chilled rifle at the creature after she lies through her teeth.

As Tulgram charges towards the devil, the infernal creature grins and with a twist of his wrist starts to rewrite the biohacker's own DNA into the cold and rigid circuitry of a robot!

But Amhesha isn't deterred, and stares down the devil, rifle poised to fire!

@Tulgram: You're the first to enter Area C3, so you've triggered the hacker devil's readied action, which is casting rewire flesh. You need to make a DC 22 Will save. If you fail, your movement speeds are halved starting from the first square on the stairs, so you'll need to recalculate whether you can still reach the devil and attack. In addition, you'll take 16 damage (DC 22 Fortitude to halve). Last, you'll suffer some other effects as stated in the spoiler below. I'll wait to see what happens with the spell and whether you can still reach the devil before resolving your attack above.

Xylian's turn and Tulgram's saving throw are up.

There's not much Xylian can do to aid in the battle without his cannon. He draws his nearly forgotten dueling sword and makes ready to defend the general area around him.

Move Action to draw longsword or whatever sword it is Xylian has. He has a sword, just haven't used it in a while. Ready attack to attack anything if it comes in melee range of Xylian.

Sword vs KAC: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24
S Damage: 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

Will: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 8 + 2 = 18 Arrrgh!

I changed Tulgram's position. Not sure if I can attack from there? My weapon with reach.

Although Tulgram's body is being literally reshaped from the cellular level, the duergar is hardy enough to inject his devlish foe with a chemical inhibitor!

Meanwhile, Xylian guards the building's entrance against occupation reinforcements.

@Tulgram: You can still attempt a DC 22 Fortitude save to halve the damage you take from rewrite flesh.

@Tulgram: Yes, you can attack from there, but the devil gets cover for being around the doorway. The good news is your attack still hits and the inhibitor takes effect. (My understanding is that inhibitors are not poison effects unless specifically stated as such--is that right?)

Initiative (Round 2)

Theodore
Zharis
Hacker Devil (inhibited) +Imp (invisible)
Xylian
Amhesha
Tulgram (rewrite flesh, flat-footed)

Bold should go!

Zharis walks into the room, calling her disintegrator into her hand (Called fusion... it teleports into her hand), and scans for tell-tale signs of the invisible imp.

Perception (darkvision, low-light vision): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21

If she sees any trace of it, she will attack. If not, she takes up a defensive position in front of the Anassanois and will pull the trigger as soon as she does see it (readied action to shoot it if she sees it before the end of the round).

As Zharis moves to defend the anassanois against an invisible menace, Theodore barrels towards the hacker devil and lashes out with his claws! But the devil only smirks as the uplifted bear's paw gets caught up in a mass of computer cords.

Botting Theodore as moving and attack. As Theodore is squeezing, the entangled condition applies. Result: Miss.

Ran out of time, but I'll post the devil's turn soon.

With another casual twitch of its hands, the devil sends an electrical surge through Theodore's and Tulgram's nervous system!

Meanwhile, just outside the data center, the missing imp suddenly reappears next to Xylian, its barbed tail lancing for the damai's exposed neck! But instinct provides him with just enough warning, and instead he brings his blade in a sweeping motion to wound the imp!

The hacker devil does a guarded step back to get cover from the mainframe and then casts synaptic pulse. All creatures within 20' radius (Theodore and Tulgram) need to make a DC 21 Will saving throw vs an enchantment mind-affecting compulsion effect or become stunned for 1 round.

The imp reappears in Xylian's square and attacks from invisibility. Result: Miss.

Xylian's readied action triggers and hits the imp. There's some DR, but most of it goes through.

Initiative (Round 2)

Theodore save vs stun
Zharis
Hacker Devil (inhibited) +Imp
Xylian
Amhesha
Tulgram+save vs stun (rewrite flesh*, flat-footed)

Bold should go!

*@Tulgram: In addition to the save vs synaptic pulse, you take 10 damage (DC 22 Fortitude to halve) from rewrite flesh

Right about now I wish Sharpshoot and Farshot could be combined. Imagine the terror of someone giving the middle finger to cover from ridiculously far away.

Solras aims around the mainframe to the best of her ability, figuring that against a devil... she's glad Tulgram is a biohacker, or otherwise she'd be entirely useless, or even worse, would need to be at close range,

Attack v. KAC: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (18) + 14 = 32
Damage (P+C): 3d4 + 9 ⇒ (3, 2, 3) + 9 = 17

As unlikely as dancing between drops of rain without getting wet, Amhesha somehow pulls off a miraculous shot!

Amhesha's shot hits. The half of the damage that is piercing does full damage (since Tulgram lowered its DR), but the half of the damage that is cold has no effect--there's some resistance at work here).

Ha, it's good that cover bonuses aren't cumulative, because that devil has *four* distinct sources of cover (Tulgram, Theodore, the doorframe, and the mainframe) yet the shot still connects!

Theodore's save, Xylian's turn, and Tulgram's turn+save are up.

Xylian swings his dueling sword at the smol devil but it's too evasive. Fighting tiny demons isn't his job, anyways.

Sword: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16
S Damage: 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
H*ckin' rude as h*ck.

"Stop stabbin' me, ya big buffoon!" squeals the imp as Xylian cuts it again.

Xylian's attack hits, but DR reduces damage enough to keep it up.

I'll bot Theodore's save vs synpatic pulse. Result: Success!

Tulgram (w/ multiple saves) is up.

F: 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 10 + 2 = 30 W: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 9 + 2 = 24

Ha! The duergar moves closer to the devil and strikes again.

Capture Pole: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (11) + 15 = 262d8 + 17 ⇒ (2, 8) + 17 = 27 (piercing vs KAC)

Squeezing past his much bulkier ally, Tulgram gets close enough to the hacker devil to nearly crush the outsider's ankle with his capture pole!

Tulgram made the save vs synaptic pulse and his attack hits.

Initiative (Round 3)

Theodore
Zharis
Hacker Devil (inhibited) +Imp
Xylian
Amhesha
Tulgram (rewrite flesh*, flat-footed)

Bold should go!

Zharis hears the imp squeal, and trusts... er, hopes, that Xylian has it under control.

She tells the Anassanois I think the imp left, but yell if you need anything.

Seeing that Theo is blocking the door to the mainframe, she decides they might need another entrance, so she uses her jump jets to jump back to the window made of transparent Aluminum, then uses her advanced glass cutter (MK2, can cut transparent aluminum as stated in the description) to cut a one-foot hole in the surface. She isn't sure that she can squeeze through that, but if she does two or three overlapping circles, maybe she can... and Amhesha was really scrawny... maybe she could get in.

(All I see about squeezing is that you can squeeze through something half as wide as your normal space. In the game in a normal hallway I take that to mean 2.5 feet rather than 5, but there is a lot of variation between medium creatures (and cats are flexible), so wondering if 5 foot Amhesha might be able to squeeze through a smaller opening than 7 foot Zharis. Either way, probably going to take at least two, maybe three rounds to make a hole big enough, but explaining what I am trying to do so that the GM can make a call about how big the hole has to be.) Also, how high is the ceiling in the mainframe room, and how high are the tops of the mainframes? That might make a difference for someone with cat-like reflexes (and also jump jets and falcon boots).

As Zharis puts a classic burglary tool to more honourable use, Theodore swipes a giant arm around one of the mainframes, hoping to wipe that smug expression off the hacker devil's face!

@Zharis: Fun idea! As you activated the item to cut a 1' hole this round (a standard action), you can spend two move actions next round ("manipulate an item") to cut 2' more out of the glass, enough for Amhesha (or any medium-sized creature) to squeeze through. Regarding room dimensions, the ceiling is 15' high and the rows of mainframe computers are 10' high

Botting Theodore as doing a full attack. Result: Both attacks miss.

"Hey ya big dumb galoot!" says the imp, razzing Xylian. "Why aintcha go take a hike and uh . . . scout for baddies or sumpin'!" A quick flash of arcane energy accompanies the imp's words.

The tell-tale sign of magic is also visible in the mainframe room, as the hacker devil reaches out to touch Tulgram, a tiny coruscating cloud dancing around his fingers . . .

The imp is casting suggestion on Xylian. Xylian, this provokes an attack of opportunity from you. If your AoO hits, the imp's spell is disrupted and has no effect. If your AoO misses, you need to make a DC 17 Will save vs an enchantment (compulsion, mind-affecting, language-dependent) effect. If you fail the save, the imp's advice to go out scouting sounds eminently reasonable.

The hacker devil is casting inject nanobots on Tulgram. This spell doesn't provoke an AoO, but does require a melee attack vs Tulgram's EAC. Result: Hit. Tulgram, please attempt a DC 20 Fortitude saving throw. If you make the save, you take 10 damage. If you fail the save, you take 21 damage and are confused for 10 rounds.

Initiative (Round 3)

Theodore
Zharis
Hacker Devil (inhibited) +Imp
Xylian + (AoO & potentially Will save vs suggestion)
Amhesha
Tulgram (rewire flesh*, flat-footed, save vs inject nanobots & confusion**)

Bold should go!

*@Tulgram: You take 10 damage from rewire flesh (DC 22 Fortitude save halves).

**@Tulgram: As described above, you need to make a DC 20 Fortitude save to halve the damage and avoid being confused from inject nanobots. If you fail, you have the confused condition, but you then get a DC 20 Will save at the beginning of each of your turns (including this one) to permanently end the confusion.

F, rewire flesh: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 9 + 2 = 24
F, inject nanobots: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 9 + 2 = 29

I think ye were trying ta tell me who ye be. I dinna care, man. Tha'ss'a tha thing. With these words, Tulgram, with the monotonous though rather fierce tenacity familiar to most of you, strikes again.

Capture Pole: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (10) + 15 = 252d8 + 17 ⇒ (5, 4) + 17 = 26 (piercing vs KAC)

aoo vs kac: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22
s damage: 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

Attack, Deadly Aim v. KAC: 1d20 + 14 - 2 ⇒ (16) + 14 - 2 = 28
Damage (P+C): 3d4 + 9 + 4 ⇒ (2, 4, 4) + 9 + 4 = 23

Juriya fires one risky shot, and then makes a run for it, grunting and grumbling in a quick Protean.

*Amhesha... a few millenia off there, me.

The smirk on the hacker devil's face starts to turn to frustration as Tulgram breaks a bone in the devil's hand with his capture pole, and Amhesha blasts him again with another slug!

Meanwhile, Xylian's blade lashes out so quickly the imp's attempt to magically influence his will is disrupted.

Tulgram's attack hits and does full damage.

Amhesha's attack hits despite cover (with the cold damage mostly nullified as discussed previously). Still, this hacker devil is now looking rather the worse for wear.

Xylian's AoO hits the imp, disrupting its spell. (DR sucks up enough of the damage that it's still alive, however.

Xylian, you still have your regular turn.

It seems Xylian has been forgotten about. Luckily the doctor is handy with a blade! And obviously the imp's weak argument is unable to trick him.

sword vs kac: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21
s damage: 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

"Ya snooty jerk, I'll see you in--" the imp's final high-pitched threat is cut off as Xylian's blade cuts it in half, sending it back to whence it came.

Xylian's attack hits the summoned imp and does enough damage over DR to destroy it.

Initiative (Round 4)

Theodore
Zharis
Hacker Devil (inhibited)
Xylian
Amhesha
Tulgram (rewire flesh, FF)

Bold should go!

@Tulgram: Please don't forget to update your tagline to reflect the damage you've taken each round from rewire flesh.

Zharis etches two more large circles out of the transparent aluminum, making the the total hole wide enough for her to fit through.

Theodore says he's back in Discussion, so we'll wait a little longer for him to get caught up and take his turn.

Squeezing through the narrow doorway and trying to swipe around the mainframe, Theodore's awkward swipes are easily avoided by the hacker devil!

Botting Theodore as doing a full attack. Results: Both miss.

The hacker devil tries to inject Tulgram with another coruscating cloud of nano-particles before retreating further into the room!

The hacker devil is (again) casting inject nanobots on Tulgram. This spell doesn't provoke an AoO, but does require a melee attack vs Tulgram's EAC. Result: Hit. Tulgram, please attempt a DC 20 Fortitude saving throw. If you make the save, you take 10 damage. If you fail the save, you take 21 damage and are confused for 10 rounds.

The devil then takes a guarded step back. This gives him total cover from Theodore and Amhesha. (the mainframes are 10' high).

Initiative (Round 4)

Theodore
Zharis
Hacker Devil (inhibited)
Xylian
Amhesha
Tulgram (rewire flesh*, FF, Inject Nanobots**)

Bold should go!

*@Tulgram: This round rewire flesh does 14 damage (DC 22 Fort halves). I notice you haven't adjusted your tagline for damage incurred this encounter, so you'll need to review the past damage each round from this spell and other attacks.

**@Tulgram: Save for half damage and to avoid confusion as per post above.

Tulgram, you good to take a guarded step up?

Fort; rewire flesh: 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 10 + 2 = 17
Fort; inject nanobots: 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 10 + 2 = 15
Houston, we have a problem
Confusion: 1d100 ⇒ 9

Not bad... Tulgram shakes his head, feeling a strange noise in it. The mushroom biocomputer in his brain reports on the penetration of hostile foreign bodies that disrupt the effective functioning of the central nervous system. There is critically little time left. Tulgram turns his capture pole 180 degrees and makes a sharp injection with a syringe on pole's collar into his leg. Then the duergar crunches his neck like a wrestler before entering the mat, and looks very badly at the devil from under his brows. He turns the weapon back towards the foe and takes a firm step forward.

Neurochemistry Booster [6 rounds]: You bolster the chemistry of a creature’s brain (or other cognitive system), allowing it to ignore the effects of the confused and staggered conditions for the booster’s duration. While the creature is ignoring these effects, the duration of the condition elapses as normal.

Will saves for this 6 rounds:

W 1: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 9 + 2 = 31 ...and it will end on the very next round! By the way, I was wondering whether to beat the devil or stab myself. Hitting with nat 20 could be nice too!

SUM: Standard action to boost myself and then guarded step. The devil's spell will end at the beginning of my next round.
UPD: Tagline - done! There were mostly scratches before this turn.