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He did move. They have a 15' reach, but if he didn't move, he'd have to attack through the other dino. For E. -- There's a 5' space between them. Does that matter? Thoroar -- You're a bit more than 60' away. I don't think that you can move that far and attack (unless you're using something I'm not aware of.)
Waiting on Elysia and then Pinna and then I'll recap and go...
And that brings us to... E.
for me...:
And Pinna's up... After Pinna goes... if Pinna makes herself a target...:
They move in to attack Pinna. (Oddly coordinated for animals.) Bite --> if hits Bite --> if hits
if Pinna doesn't make herself a target...: They move in to attack a reveler... Bite --> if hits Bite --> if hits
While you are all talking...
There is suddenly a sound like a large group of large creatures are running through the woods. You then quickly hear a loud ... roaring. A good sized herd of creatures comes into the clearing and runs past the party. They are quickly followed by a couple of large nasty looking creatures. They see the "party" happening (the dancers seem to think that this is part of the show or something) and one of them manages to eat one of the partygoers in one bite. And we need initiative rolls... Lanwin –
Dinos -- *: I found that as a DM, I would ask for perception checks when the character would have to be dead not to notice. I also found that I wasn't the only one. I was playing in a game where the DM had us make DC 15 listen checks to wake up in the wilderness while a battle was going on around us. Then one of the people said -- "So, according to you, the average person would wake up to a blasting alarm clock 25% of the time."
I still feel that it's kind of a way to announce "something's about to happen", but I will only now force rolls if it's regarding something that you would miss otherwise.
Pinna kneels by one of the yuguloth corpses. "How did these come to die? The others said the building killed them - your Golden Pavilion? How is that possible?" "It is rumored that the Golden Pavilion was so beautiful that lesser fiends cannot stand the sight of it. More than that, I just think it's 'magic'."
The individual you've been talking to is named Thoroar and hopefully will come on soon and describe himself and such. In the meantime... "Have you seen anything that might serve as some type of key?" Lanwin asks. "I'm guessing that you did not simply lose the key to your luggage. In which case, I'm fairly certain I do not know anything about what you are seeking." "However, you seem to have a better handle on what may be happening than most people around here. Perhaps you can enlighten me."
Hmmmm. Spoiler:
When a creature dies, does its corpse become an "object" as opposed to a "creature"?
Ok, either...
In any case, for some reason casting dismissal on the corpses here is having no effect...
"... And where is this?" "Not sure as to your other two questions, but you are currently in Arborea -- land of pleasures and experiences. At least until recently. And this...", pointing to the rubble around, "... used to be the magnificent Guilded Hall." "How is it that you are here but don't know where you are?"
Lanwin approaches someone who looks knowledgeable. "Do you know what precipitated the attack?" You approach someone who appears to be a little less ... crazed at the moment. Perception --> "I'm not sure what happened. Those fiends appeared from the river and started attacking. What's more confusing to me is that they've stopped. They came looking like they were invading us -- but now they're not. Strange times... strange times..." Lanwin: While there are a few people (like this being) who are actually working on removing the rubble, and fixing the building, it looks like the building is also repairing itself.
Pinna peers back to where they first appeared, trying to see what the demonic creatures are doing. Perception --> There are fewer there -- it looks like they are starting to move out in smaller groups. She also tries to watch what's going on with the fighting reptiles... The fighting appears to have stopped. It looks like the lighter-colored blue-green dragon lost. Not sure where the other one is now...
It looks like everyone saved... As the group approaches you are swarmed by various beings. Many of them put drinks in your hands. It's a little confusing, from the noise of the singing and dancing and everyone talking at once, but you hear bits of ... "Welcome noble beings."
She tries to determine what sort of creatures are celebrating. The vast majority seem to be human or at least roughly so. There are some elves, some fey, satyrs, very few dwarves, with a smatering of creatures that you most likely don't recognize.
1d20+8 Once each of you roll your save, consult below... if you got 15 or more:
The music and festivities are really enticing and are free to join in or not as you desire. if you got less than 15: You find that you can't help but join in the festivities. You make your way as quick as you can to join the fun. Somehow you find yourself with a drinking vessel and singing and dancing. Nothing else seems to matter other than being in this wonderful place.
The party starts to head towards the burning building. It actually takes a bit longer to get there than you would have guessed. On the way, you come across a number of bodies -- mostly yugoloths. The closer you get to the wreckage, the more the bodies seem to have been ... absorbed ... by the terrain. It's as if the ground is attempting to heal itself. The closer you get to the building, you start to see that there are actually a number of creatures milling about the place. You also start to hear music coming from the area. (I'm going to need Will Saves from everyone.) Amid the destruction, it seems as though the denizens are having a party...
"I suppose we ought to look into this building. I wouldn't expect that sort of thing on this plane. Something is amiss." It sounds like this may be where people are wanting to head. I may give people another day to be sure, but in the meantime, at least from here, you can see that there's little that seems to be left of it. There are columns and stone walls that are broken and fallen. There is still smoke coming from much of the wreckage. It's a little hard to tell from this distance, but you think that you can make out a number of bodies around the site. You don't see anything moving.
"We have sent some of the barges back to try and make sense of this river. They have not yet returned."
E.: There is no portal to be made. Looking through the device, you see a number of paths, but you find that you can see these paths without the device here. Hard to explain, but they just make sense to you.
Trying to focus on the Gray Waste brings up nothing at this point. The closest that you think you are getting is a dark path that leads in the direction of a giant tree. (Giant being an understatement -- many cities aren't big enough to fit around its base.) You're still a bit of a ways from the tree -- like at least a day's travel -- yet you can still tell that it's massive like nothing you've ever seen before. There's a taint there that's evil. Not the Gray Waste though. And no portals nearby.
When last we left our intrepid band...
Having completed the battle in the giant orrery against the flying snakey creatures, E looked through his device and started to fade. People started grabbing him thinking to pull him back but ended up going with him. The group found that they were viewing all the planes, then one of the planes -- a nice green one with rolling hills and a nice large river going through it. Then they noticed an epic battle between two river dragons and nearby there were a group of demonic looking creatures. As E's curiosity got the better of him, he tried to find out what the demonic creatures were doing when suddenly the group found themselves standing in their midst. Pinna has started talking to one of them who seemed to be in charge and has found out that these creatures do not want to be here. They were on their way to "The Spine" by way of the River Styx and their ferries dropped them off here. As they were busy trying to figure out what was happening some of their number dropped dead from a building and so they attacked the building and its inhabitants. Right now they are trying to determine what your purpose here is and whether or not they should just kill you and be done with you.
"I believe that, based on the softness of the place, we are in Arborea. We learned that Khin-Oin was under attack and dispatched a number of us to the Gray Waste via the River Styx. The boatmen have never steered us wrong before but somehow we ended up here. And this is definitely not the Gray Waste." "We landed on shore here and started to look around for some clue as to what force brought us here. When a number of our forces dropped dead just from looking at that building over there. Not very hospitable if you asked me. So we are destroying the building and anyone that gets in our way ends up in the dead book."
He speaks in common... "We are not here to answer riddles. Right now, I think that all I need to know is whether or not you are here to aid us or to hinder us. We have suffered enough from the beings of this world. We do not need to suffer more from beings not from this world."
Infernal: Looking at you warily...
"Before we even entertain the idea of answering your questions, tell us why you are here." In the crowds around you hear things like...
"Away then, to adventure!"
Everyone grabbing E finds that they are seeing what he sees. What you experience is more like scrying than actually being there. You can make out all the different planes at once -- kind of an overwhelming sensation. E focuses on a few different ones -- generally ones that seem to have a lot of movement (or battles) -- but eventually on a plane that is made up of three parts. One part appears to be all one color -- kind of an off-white. It looks like a desert and you think you might be able to make out some ruins there. Another layer seems to be entirely made up of water. The waves seem to be rather high but it's hard to make out much else there. The one that E seems to be focused on is largely, very green. Lots of forests and wild pastures cover this layer. A few things stand out right away. One is a great mountain that seems to be covered in clouds. On the other side is a ... tree. But it's bigger than any tree you've ever seen. As you get closer, you can see towns and small cities are bustling with activity in its branches. You also see a large river that flows through part of the realm. The river bends close to a very large building that seems to be situated in the center of the layer -- and that building is on fire. In the river are two incredibly large serpents who seem to be locked in an epic battle. One has blue-green scales and the other has rust-brown scales. You can see signs that their struggle has taken them on land -- there are quite a number of flattened trees and such nearby. They've also gathered quite the audience watching the battle with interest. E keeps zooming in on the action. You can make out at least two different groups of beings. There seems to be a rather large army of demonic looking beings that now seem to have their attention split -- most are attacking the building (and you assume its inhabitants) and some seem to be rather interested in the draconic battle. You see one being get too close just to be crushed under the weight of the dragons as they roll past. The other group looks to be mostly elven in nature and seem to be more interested in helping what you assume to their draconic ally than helping the fight to defend the building. E seems to be more interested in checking out what the demonic beings are doing than the elven creatures as he zooms in some more. You start to make out some of the spoken words as a group of them seem to be huddled around a larger being giving out orders...
if you speak infernal:
You hear...
"...I don't know why we were brought here. The ferrymen have never taken us this far off course before."
Suddenly the talking stops and you suddenly realize that all eyes are on you.
"Don't leave without us, E." Pinna's claw snags the sleeve of E's other arm. I'm going to spoiler this in case there are others that will be doing things... if you grab E.: You suddenly start seeing things through eyes that are not yours. You think that you are seeing what E sees. (Or at least you hope you are. You kind of take a cursory glance at all the planes at once. A few minor things catch your eye, but eventually you start to focus on an epic battle between a couple of very large sea dragons.
In many ways, I imagine that viewing this is like zooming in on your house from a satelite image of earth. You keep zooming and zooming in until...
E. takes out the compass and starts looking at/through it trying to determine if the gear fits in the compass somehow when he stops moving. Very quickly he looks like he is starting to fade away -- starting. He's looking a little fuzzy around the edges and some of his extremities are looking a little transparent. "5" tells the rest of you -- "It looks like your friend has decided to leave this place. You will probably want to go with him. There's no telling where he may end up." "We cannot thank you enough for what you have done here. Here is some last-minute healing before you go to help you out..." Everyone get hp back. He then turns to Pinna and hands her a small gear. "If you ever find your way back here, this will help you get whatever you need." E.: You had to pick the one place I know the least about...
;-) At some point when you look through the compass -- didn't even have to activate it this time -- you see the orrery for what it is. You see all the planes at once. You see how they all move and interact with each other. You feel like you know how things should all fit together -- but when you try to focus on it, the thought escapes you. Your curiosity gets the better of you and something catches your eye. There's a battle going on in an incredibly gray world. You just start "zooming in" when you see what can only be described as an epic battle between two sea dragons on a different plane. This looks much more interesting to you and you try to get a closer look...
Good save... For E. Only...: Knowing what you know about the planes, where would E. like to go? You're about to leave here. Had you not saved, I would have decided where you went. Since you saved, you can direct it ... some. ;-)
Make a Will save...
"Well, if the damage was done by an agent of chaos, who better to figure out how they think than someone else chaotic?" she asked cheerfully. "Plus E is really smart." ^.^ "5" seems a bit confused by your speech.
"E. tried to remove that strange, tightly jammed gear that Ras'ug wrenched free... there," Pinna points to it, then ducks through the orrery to Lanwin. "Can you heal us, friend Lanwin?" "What gear?" He tries looking where E appears to be holding ... something ... but seems to have great difficulty seeing anything. Eventually he is able to see it, but not without great concentration.
"Are you well? Is this how your machine should be functioning?" He seems to be still trying to find his feet. But he does reply -- "I'm not sure about 'well', but at least I function. It appears to be functioning correctly now. Not sure what you did to make it work though." She clacks her beak thoughtfully. "Odd that agents of chaos cause stasis, which is as unchaotic as possible." She glances at E. "And that agents of chaos figure out how to fix it." "The gears do much more than most being realize. Beings are used to having laws in their lives. The law of gravity comes to mind. The gears here help maintain all Law throughout the multiverse. If the gears here stop, then much of the Law throughout the multiverse stops as well." "How did 'agents of chaos' figure out how to fix the orrery?" He seems rather puzzled at this.
Lanwin healed people up in the middle of combat -- did you get that?
Pinna -- is down 30 hp. E -- is down 29 hp.Elysia -- is down 27 hp. Ra's-ug -- is down 11 hp. (At least by my record.)
And he pulls it free. At which point, the BBG essentially ... disolves into a purple and green mess on the floor and quickly evaporates. The device comes back together -- almost violently -- and begins moving. And you hear a sound kind of like a locomotive starting from a dead stop as the entire plane begins to move again. "5" slowly comes to as well and moves towards the group looking a bit surprised at your success. Ra's-ug hands the gear to E -- "I believe you wanted this?" Elysia -- -- Elysia, with a crazed look in her eyes -- well, at least more crazed than normal -- attacks Ra's-ug with her fists...
...unsuccessfully and then returns to normal.
You're still stuck...
Ra's-ug, after hearing Lanwin's and Elysia's exclamations moves to try and move the gear (provoking an attack of opportunity). AoO -- bite -- , if hits . Strength Check by Ra's-ug --
1d20+7 That failed.
I need Will Saves from Elysia and Pinna. And, up next... E.
BBG vs. Pinna ...
vs. Elysia ...
vs. E ...
Two very solid hits from Sebastian and it still doesn't go down.
Well that was sad... And, up next... Elysia
And, up next... Pinna
(I've got Sebastian's action up above.)
Two solid hits. The creature laughs... Lanwin:
The creature should be dead. That last attack should have done it in. But it is still fighting without any apparent problems or disabilities. And... Vassago is torn between trying to help "5" and assisting the ... um ... halfling. At least with the halfling he might be able to do something to help the halfling escape... SR Check -- Ray of Enfeeblement -- -- if successful Str penalty. Failed to get past spell resistance.
;-) Ra's-Ug will attempt to get the creature to release E by bashing the creature in the head... He moves five feet and... (PA and FF) -- if hits, plus electricity.
** Bump ** While often initiative order matters, at this point in the combat, it pretty well goes "Me" then "You". So if you have an action before the BBG, and you don't think it will affect initiative order much, go ahead and take it. If you think that your action might be initiative dependent, spoiler it.
While often initiative order matters, at this point in the combat, it pretty well goes "Me" then "You". So if you have an action before the BBG, and you don't think it will affect initiative order much, go ahead and take it. If you think that your action might be initiative dependent, spoiler it.
Ok, Updated Map. There really isn't a mechanic for it, but I moved E closer to the BBEG since they are grappled. And, up next... Ra's-ug
You can attempt an acrobatics check. If you fail the check, you're not frozen -- you can still move.
Elysia is down about half. E is down about a third. Pinna took a little damage. But that's it.
You make your Will Save. You are still stuck.
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