Asht'el's page

Sorry to take a while to post on this matter. Asht'el would most like to return to Corvakis, the drow boy he brought to the surface, and Keno, his displacer beast pet. Though he's loathe to accept responsibility for much in his life, Asht'el does feel an obligation to keep the kid out of trouble, and to attempt to keep the beast from eating anyone, so he'll probably give life a try as a single parent of a truly mixed family (with possible help from some peculiar aunties and uncles).

Asht'el reaches up to brush the hair from his eyes, confused by what he's just seen, only to realize he's seen it clearly all along - Prickles has just slain Allevrah! He looks down at his right hand, which has cast so many spells at the fell, fallen priestess, and says with great eloquence, "Wha...?"

I am so happy that Prickles stole that kill! Truly fantastic.

I think all the drow mooks in the black tentacles area are dead, but they're still on the map, so I'll roll for it in case it's needed. Do we need a map cleanup? I'm not sure if the one between Firiel and Randall is still up either.

Tentacular grapple, bonus to maintain: 1d20 + 20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 20 + 5 = 26
Grapple damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

The black acid spreads to cover Allevrah's whole body, eating away at her flesh! In an effort to make her really dead, and make himself and his friends not Vrock-meal, Asht'el sends a volley of force-bolts at Allevrah, then touches Xiddik and Prickles and magically transports them to where their friends are, behind the whirling wall of blades!

Cast magic missile defensively at Allevrah, then use Quicken rod to cast dimension door, touching Prickles and Xiddik to get us back with the party. Hope that's okay with you two, if not you can just dodge Asht'el helpful hand.

Acid damage on Allevrah from corrosive consumption: 14d6 ⇒ (2, 3, 4, 6, 3, 3, 6, 6, 5, 5, 3, 5, 3, 6) = 60

Concentration check, DC 17 for Magic Missile: 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (8) + 22 = 30
SR: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (17) + 18 = 35
Magic Missile Damage: 5d4 + 5 ⇒ (3, 1, 2, 2, 2) + 5 = 15

Concentration check, DC 23 for D-Door: 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (3) + 22 = 25

If the Corrosive Consumption already took Allevrah out, I'll cast the spells in opposite order, using D-Door first, then shooting the Missiles at one of the drow by Randall and Firiel.

Status: 78/92 hp, Spells left: 7/6/3/4/6/2/3

Is it the bad monsters' turn? Don't they need to die now?

CMD for the tentacles is 28. Which reminds me, I didn't make the check to maintain the grapple or do damage last round. I'll roll it now for this round:

Tentacular grapple, bonus to maintain: 1d20 + 20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 20 + 5 = 34
Grapple damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

As flames merrily flicker on Asht'el's copper-red skin, the patch of black acid on Allevrah's skin grows, corroding and burning her!

Fire damage on Asht'el: 4d6 ⇒ (2, 5, 1, 5) = 13 = 0 with Energy Resistance 20
Acid damage on Allevrah from corrosive consumption: 14d4 ⇒ (2, 3, 2, 1, 2, 1, 3, 2, 1, 1, 4, 3, 4, 3) = 32

With his enchanted bolts ready, Asht'el pauses, waiting for the moment when the drow woman begins to cast a spell. As she begins to chant and gesture, the ifrit flicks his fingers rapidly at Allevrah, sending a barrage of crossbow bolts winging towards her!

Ready to cast telekinesis, shooting lots of bolts at Allevrah when she casts a spell.

Tele-bolt, magicked: 1d20 + 14 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 14 + 3 = 24, Tele-bolt damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
Tele-bolt, magicked: 1d20 + 14 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 14 + 3 = 21, Tele-bolt damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Tele-bolt, magicked: 1d20 + 14 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 14 + 3 = 26, Tele-bolt damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
Tele-bolt, magicked: 1d20 + 14 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 14 + 3 = 36, Tele-bolt damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
Tele-bolt, magicked: 1d20 + 14 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 14 + 3 = 30, Tele-bolt damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Tele-bolt, magicked: 1d20 + 14 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 14 + 3 = 23, Tele-bolt damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Tele-bolt, magicked: 1d20 + 14 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 14 + 3 = 35, Tele-bolt damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Tele-bolt, magicked: 1d20 + 14 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 14 + 3 = 36, Tele-bolt damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
Tele-bolt, magicked: 1d20 + 14 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 14 + 3 = 23, Tele-bolt damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Tele-bolt, magicked: 1d20 + 14 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 14 + 3 = 24, Tele-bolt damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
Tele-bolt, magicked: 1d20 + 14 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 14 + 3 = 25, Tele-bolt damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Tele-bolt, magicked: 1d20 + 14 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 14 + 3 = 19, Tele-bolt damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
Tele-bolt, magicked: 1d20 + 14 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 14 + 3 = 21, Tele-bolt damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Tele-bolt, magicked: 1d20 + 14 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 14 + 3 = 22, Tele-bolt damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Crit confirm: 1d20 + 14 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 14 + 3 = 24, Crit damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

Well, that should be at least 22 damage, possibly more, which is a difficult concentration check.

Spells left: 8/6/3/5/6/2/3

Okay, got it.

Reflex + Haste, DC 26: 1d20 + 10 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 10 + 1 = 20

Asht'el is enveloped in the firestorm, and unable to dodge its searing flames! Fortunately, his ifrit heritage protects him from much of the damage.

Resist Fire 20 takes some of the damage off, though he's still on fire. I think I'll just leave him on fire, since 4d6 won't usually get through his fire resistance, and it'll be awesome to be obviously on fire for the rest of the battle and not appear to care about it.

Status: 53/92 hp

Feral - I'm a little confused as to where I am on the map, since my token is currently off to the side rather than on the map. My plan had been to hang back a bit from the others, though I'd try to avoid being totally off on my own, since I'm squishy.

This is important now to know if I'm affected by the ball of fire, but also seems like a good thing to know in general.

Asht'el concentrates fiercely as he makes a tight fist with his right hand, then throws a blob of black acid at the ungrabbable drow woman! Raising his speedy rod again, he slaps the quiver of crossbow bolts at his hip to enchant its contents!

Use Reach Spell to cast corrosive consumption at the caster woman in the back, then use Quicken rod to cast greater magic weapon.

Ranged touch: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23

SR: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (15) + 18 = 33

If that hits her touch AC and beats her SR, it does 14 points of acid damage this round.

Spells left: 8/6/3/5/7/2/3

I'll be on a long work trip Oct 9-28. I'll still have internet access, but will have limited time to post and will be in a very different time zone. Bot me as needed.

Oh mighty DM Feral - I'm not sure what the effect of the black tentacles was on the drow. Are they all helplessly grappled, or free to swarm and kill us?

With his companions - his real companions, not the unattractive, illusory impostors - still close by, Asht'el gets them ready for the fight! He casts a spell to empower the mighty Njord even further! He then pulls a metamagic rod from his belt and uses it to cast again, granting his friends magical speed!

Cast greater heroism on Njord, Then use Quicken metamagic rod to cast haste on the gang.

Spells left: 8/6/6/5/7/2/4

"Thank you, Randall, very gracious of you," Asht'el says as the door is opened. Leaning into the opening just enough to see what's inside, the handsome ifrit pauses as he sees an even more handsome ifrit already inside. "What the...oh, that's me!" he says, before turning his attention to the matter at hand. Wriggling his fingers wildly, he snaps and points at the group of drow, and a mass of writhing tentacles erupts around them!

He then turns to Xiddik and says, "I thought you were going to exaggerate things with your illusion, but you captured my hair perfectly."

Cast black tentacles in area marked in yellow on map.

Tentacular grapple: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (11) + 20 = 31
Damage to grappled targets: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

That was a glorious post, Xiddik. I questioned whether we could be more badass, and you proved we most certainly could. Such awesome images you conjured up, of you conjuring up images!

I was just gonna make it us—maybe a significantly more badass version of ourselves.

Even more badass? Impossible!

Is Persistent Spell exciting? Because that seems like a good choice, given how often I use the metamagic rod that does the same thing.

On the one hand, that’d be awesome. On the other, I’ll be paralyzed with options again! But I can make good use of a metmagic feat, I’m sure.

Yeah, that was my concern too. We may just need to pop the door open and start the fight. They may not know exactly where we are, but they pretty definitely know we're out here, since we just had a big, noisy battle, heard them shouting orders, and now they're all lined up for their big dance number.

Wow, that's a lot of enemies on that map! I say we try Xiddik's idea of major image, trying to get them to waste resources and get out of position. Asht'el might try some shadow conjuration along the way, but his starting move will probably be black tentacles on the pack of drow or something similar to let us control how many enemies we have to fight at once.

Does anyone else hear the enchanting duet provided by Elemental Commixture, that beautiful feat Jametor and Asht'el took so they could work together? Jametor? Hello?

I like Xiddik’s plan! We’d probably need to crack the door a bit to have line of effect, unless the illusion doesn’t need it.

Asht'el attempts to make sense of the carvings and runes in the hallway. He scratches his head a bit, looks at them sideways, then nudges Xiddik and asks, "Any idea what these things mean? I can't figure it out."

Knowledge (planes): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17

Once Randall describes what he sees through the door, Asht'el says, "Well, it sounds pretty straightforward to me, though maybe not easy. I had pretty good luck blinding those vulture demons, I can try that again. I can also conjure some creatures of shadow to join in the fight, maybe spring whatever traps the drow may have laid for us."

I'd welcome any suggestions folks have for use of greater shadow conjuration here, since I don't make use of that spell much and I have 4 castings a day. Aside from summoning some cannon fodder, I could do something like aqueous orb on the leader. Or I could just drop a real black tentacles on the leader and her army.

Asht'el moves partway up the hallway, giving Randall some room to work, and pondering the friezes carved into the walls.

Any sort of Knowledge check to recognize the carvings? And does the shouting sound like someone ordering guards to attack, or more like screaming in fear, if we can tell the difference in this place?

It probably won't matter, as the Paizo site is rarely up these days, but I'll be at a local con this weekend and won't be posting much.

Asht’el gives himself a little more distance from the blinded bird-demon, then sends a jet of hot, black acid at the creature!

Move away, then cast acidic spray at yellow, DC 24 Reflex save for half damage (being blinded technically doesn’t seem to affect its Reflex save, though I don’t know how it can dodge something it can’t see...)

Acid : 15d6 ⇒ (2, 3, 1, 4, 5, 3, 3, 2, 3, 4, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1) = 46 If it fails the save, it will also take 7d6 damage next round.

Spells left: 8/6/7/6/7/3/4

I think taking pieces off the board is the priority, so double-teaming the vrock is worth doing. If the big demon makes his save, he can always be blinded again!

Given the success of his first attempt at it, and the alarming proximity of the yellow-winged vrock, Asht'el casts another dense cloud of golden dust at the vrock, hoping to blind it!

Cast Persistent glitterdust defensively at yellow (need two DC 21 Will saves), then 5-foot step.

Concentration check, DC 19: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (6) + 21 = 27

I'll be camping again this weekend, Friday to Sunday, and unlikely to post.

Randall - I can target my spell so it doesn't affect your side of the bridge. All it would have taken is a whisper from Randall as he left, saying 'I'll stay to the left.' Seems reasonable in a PbP context, where we have intermittent communication, to assume we coordinate a bit after 14 levels of adventuring together. We'll see what Feral says.

Asht'el's chaotic nature renders the blast of wild colors harmless. He responds with a colorful attack of his own, causing a swirl of golden dust to settle on the lead demons!

Cast Persistent glitterdust on two vrocks in front and four-armed demon. Need to make two DC 21 Will saves or be blinded.

Not sure I still need a Will save, but I'll make it just in case:

Will, DC 19: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (13) + 12 = 25

Spells left: 8/7/7/6/7/4/4

I will be camping next week, Monday to Thursday. I might have signal some of the time, but am not likely to post much. Please bot me as needed.

Randall - Ash'tel could have easily cast invisibility on you while doing his other buffs, so let's assume you've already got that if it's okay with Feral.

Asht'el makes a familiar gesture, spinning his hands around each other faster and faster until they're a blur, then flicking his fingers outward to grant his friends magical speed!

Move action to get Firiel in range, standard to cast haste on everyone, including Prickles!

Spells left: 8/7/7/6/7/5/4

Asht'el studies the scene before them, then begins to speak quietly and make arcane gestures, giving a couple of his companions a tap with his finger in the process. When this is complete, he says, "Anything else we need to do, or do we just go knock them on the head and open that big door?" As he waits for the others to sort themselves out, Asht'el checks to make sure his quiver of demon-slaying crossbow bolts is close at hand.

Assuming we're not about to spend a bunch of time doing something else, cast greater heroism on Njord, stoneskin on Njord and Randall. Anyone else want some buffs?

Spells left: 8/8/8/6/7/5/4

"Let's head to the next sigil," Asht'el responds after an uncharacteristically long pause for thought. "Get you - and all of us - back home that much sooner."

I will be heading out on an extended vacation where I will have no internet access, and will be gone May 5-23. Then, May 25-28, I'll be at PaizoCon and will likely have very little time to post. Please bot me as necessary during this time.

Asht'el snaps his fingers and the writhing black tentacles vanish. With a smile at Randall, he says, "Not long." He stands back and waits for the others to investigate the glowing sigil.

I assume my spell still affected the gug, since it doesn't have SR? I didn't see a Reflex save for it, so I'm not sure.

Asht'el continues to try to hold the creatures in his spell's wriggling tentacles, while targeting the babau with a series of arcane blasts!

Magic missile at the babau.

Tentacular grapple: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (3) + 20 = 23 Might they finally break loose?
Grapple damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

SR check: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (5) + 18 = 23
MM Damage: 5d4 + 5 ⇒ (4, 3, 1, 3, 4) + 5 = 20

Spells left: 6/8/5/6/5/0/4

Tentacular grapple: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (19) + 20 = 39
Grapple damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Asht'el repeats his previous exercise, sending burning arcs of fire at the two creatures still trapped in the writhing tentacles!

Cast chain lightning using elemental bloodline to change it to fire damage.

SR: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (1) + 18 = 19
Fire Damage: 14d6 ⇒ (2, 1, 3, 4, 6, 3, 3, 1, 5, 2, 2, 6, 2, 6) = 46 (DC 24 Reflex for half, DC 22 for babau as secondary target - don't forget the Dex penalty for being grappled!)

Spells left: 7/8/5/6/5/0/4

Asht’el pouts a little at not getting the chance to see the calcifying effects of his spell, then shrugs, muttering, ”I guess I’m partly to blame for the thing being dead...“

Tentacular grapple: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (17) + 20 = 37
Grapple damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Dex damage: 1d4 ⇒ 2 Total of 3 Dex damage so far.

Asht'el raises his hands before him, holding them a foot or so apart. Sparks of electricity begin to crackle between them but, as he flings them forward at the entangled foes, they become fat sparks of flame that coalesce into a writhing bolt of fire that strikes the gug, then leaps to each of the demons in turn!

Cast chain lightning using elemental bloodline to change it to fire damage.

SR: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (16) + 18 = 34
Fire Damage: 14d6 ⇒ (5, 4, 3, 2, 5, 4, 6, 2, 4, 6, 6, 5, 1, 5) = 58 (DC 24 Reflex for half, DC 22 for babaus as secondary targets - don't forget the Dex penalty for being grappled! And the Dex damage!)

Spells left: 7/8/5/6/5/1/4

I will be out of the country March 10-25. I expect to still have some time to post, but my connectivity and free time may be limited. Please bot as necessary.

Asht'el raises a finger and moves it very, very slowly to point at one of the babau demons, sending a faint, grey beam at it.

Use Reach Spell to cast calcific touch on the green babau.

Ranged touch: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13
SR: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (13) + 18 = 31

Dex damage: 1d4 ⇒ 1

DC 22 Fort save or slowed for 1 round.

Spells left: 7/8/5/6/5/2/4

Edit: forgot to role the black tentacles grapple check:
Tentacular grapple: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (10) + 20 = 30
Grapple damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

I completely agree with Randall, it has never occurred to me to think that this game would be ripping along again if only Xiddik posted faster - it's all of us. I feel like we've slowed down a lot, but are still making progress and can see this thing through to the end.

Xiddik adds value as a character, but you add great enjoyment to the game with your writing and humor. From a strictly mechanical point of view, Xiddik's knowledge skills and buffs for the party are very useful and will continue to be. From a 'having fun because that's why we play a game' point of view, Xiddik is awesome and I'd hate to see you take her out of the game.

Just felt like trying something different, other than the haste formula. If it drags out the combat - because the tentacles can't get through the babau DR, for example - I'll make it go away. But if the gug breaks loose and we fight it, and then we fight the demons, it seems like a good use of battlefield control.

Asht'e'l conjures up a wriggling field of rubbery black tentacles, which grab hold of the demons and the gug! He remarks to his companions, "Thought this might let us fight them one at a time, as they break free. If it's not working, let me know and I'll get rid of it." Eyeing the towering gug, he adds, "That thing looks like it's got pretty long reach, so you might want to keep your distance from the tentacled area."

Cast black tentacles centered on the wall behind them, affecting area in black outline.

Tentacular grapple: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (11) + 20 = 31 CMD 30 to break grapple.
Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Spells left: 7/8/5/6/6/2/4

Knowledge (planes) to identify both? I'll auto-aid Xiddik.

"Uh, Xiddik?" Asht'el asks as the creatures come into view. "Any idea what those things are, and the best way to hurt them?"

Delay until Xiddik answers, particularly hoping to find out any resistances and vulnerabilities.

Asht'el grins, having greatly enjoyed the fiery lightning he sent blasting through the charda, and really, really enjoyed Prickles' dance. "I agree, Randall, we should keep moving," Asht'el offers, "Since they went through the double doors, I say we go through this other one."

Check out the single door heading south?

I believe Asht'el is above the AoE of the cold vomit, since he's flying, but I'll roll a save in case it somehow reaches more than 5' up.

Reflex, DC 18: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13 So that's 30 damage if he's in the area of effect or 0 damage if he's above it.

Asht'el holds his hands together as if packing a large snowball - something the ifrit, with his distaste for cold, has surely never done. The ball in his hands takes form, a glowing, crackling mass of fire, which he hurls at the chardas, causing it to bounce from target to target!

Cast chain lightning to do fire damage, targeting orange first.

Fire damage: 14d6 ⇒ (6, 3, 2, 1, 4, 3, 1, 1, 2, 2, 5, 2, 6, 2) = 40 Reflex save for half damage, DC is 24 for orange guy and 22 for the others.

How high is the ceiling here? I'd like to move up to just below it, or up to 25' high, if the ceiling is higher than that.

Spells left: 7/8/5/7/6/2/4

If good hope is still up, then Asht'el still has fly from our dear, departed Jametor's casting of it. But let's say for now I was hanging out with the lesser, non-flying beings on the ground.

Reflex, DC 18: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17

Asht'el shivers at the biting cold, and shudders at the disgusting feeling of blood being vomited on him! He then casts a spell to give his companions great speed for the fight ahead.

Cast haste defensively.

Concentration, DC 21: 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (5) + 22 = 27

Spells left: 7/8/5/7/6/3/4

Status: 71/92 hp

Question: can I 5-foot step with my flight? If I can, I'd do so by going up and over Firiel.

Hi all - just a little notice on my availability: I am leaving Thursday for a week-long work trip to Colombia, and then the day after I get back, I turn around and head to Puerto Rico to help with hurricane cleanup until mid-November. I will have internet some of the time, but will be very busy so posting time will be limited.

"The genie also said they're fierce and cruel enough to rival any demon," Asht'el weighs in, "and we haven't held off on getting any advantage we could against all the demons we've fought. I'm okay with starting to kill them while they're asleep, since we'll end up killing them anyway. But if you don't feel the same, we can either send Prickles in to do it, or just prepare well for the fight and then storm in. I expect one way or another, we'll fight them."

I didn't find any Knowledge checks made to identify the nature of charda, and particularly any energy resistance they might have. Did we make such a check? If not, what sort of check should we make?

Asht'el zooms back to the party and reports what he's seen. "Maybe whatever is living in the building to the southwest can tell us where to find what we're after," he suggests. "Seems better than crawling through a bunch of muddy buildings. Shall we go see if they're around and want to talk?"