Ice elemental attacking blue frog
The frozen outsider took the grazing bolt in the face. A chunk of it cracking off. It did not relent however, as it continued it's assault against the strange new threat.
Numbing Cold: When an ice elemental deals cold damage to a creature, that creature must succeed on a Fortitude save or be staggered for 1 round.
Snow vision: An ice elemental can see perfectly well in snowy conditions and does not take any penalties on Perception checks while in snow.
Zirren stared at the strange frog like creature with a discerning eye.
Knowledge arcana:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19
Can't be too careless with my magic now.
Even as he did, he pulled out his crossbow and loaded it.
"Then let's give them something else to think about." Zirren said, extending his hand and summoning forth a elemental. He'd imagined one of the earth that he'd seen more experienced students call forth but instead a chill took hold at the last moment and instead a more serpentine elemental of frost was conjured instead.
Elemental power attack slam vs. Yellow:1d20 + 4 - 1 ⇒ (3) + 4 - 1 = 6
Damage+Cold:1d4 + 3 + 1d3 ⇒ (3) + 3 + (3) = 9 Numbing cold Dc. 12 fort save if hit.
Just checking in again now that the holiday rush is settling down. GM any word on when we might get this train rolling again?
In other news, Vancouvar, is pretty cool, very big, and a lot colder than I'm used to. The magic tournament has been okay but so far we've been defeated at the gates of the higher echelons. Thanks for the luck!
Merry Christmas everyone! Hope the winter season has been going well for you all. I'll be out the country, traveling to Canada until the new year. I'll check back in when I return, possibly while up there but no promises.
Zirren willed one of his orbs over to the area to provide more light as the fight began to play about in earnest.
Free action, move an orb above Art.
He then ran into the room past Bella to one corner to where he could see several of the Kobolds near the far backs of the room next to different rocky outcroppings. One to the north, the other to the east. He held out a hand toward each.
"arcaniss nil'gnos!"
Draconic:
Magic Missile
A moment after 2 globes of force shot out from each hand, striking into their respective Kobold.
I'm not entirely sure what I managed to do there, but somehow while moving Zirren's character token to see if I had enough room to get him close enough to cast a short range spell, he got covered up by layers of the map and is no longer able to be seen.
I didn't mean to have that happen and I didn't want to disturb the map any further so I left him out for now.
For what it's worth, he could just make it to the space where the yellow arrow ended and fire a magic missile off at both the Green and the yellow bordered Kobold near the back of the room.
The part of Zirren that was trained as a negotiator was momentarily irritated by the blunt way that Caine had tried to do things.
The Choker we had no way to communicate with, but these are Kobolds... maybe we can use that.
"Would you stop fighting and surrender if something you didn't understand commanded you to do so?"
Draconic:
"We are part of a revolutionary force lead by your Shaman Kerrdremark to overthrow your Cursed King and ruiner of the Bright Scales tribe! If you wish yo see your tribe returned to its former glory and break the curse hanging over you all, you will go to him!"
Zirren's eyes opened more widely as Bella's recounting of her knowledge sparked his own memories of the things he'd studied.
"Bella's description is an apt one. Choker's are not what one could call intelligent creatures, but neither are they strictly animals. By all accounts I've ever read they are innately cruel and are driven by a need to choke other things. Such actions gives them their name.
There are some reports that they can understand the native language of the Underdark, or rather Undercommon as it's more commonly known but speaking intelligibly is generally beyond them. That isn't a language I ever learned to speak however.
There are exceptions to every rule but I don't think this is one. We should remove this Choker as a potential threat."
Zirren snapped his fingers and cast his own spell of dancing lights, but his were the 3 colorful spheres which he moved independently of each other. 2 into the western room drifting slightly apart in opposite doorway sides. The other to the northern tunnel.
Well alright then. I think that instead of Ruhk taking point to examine room 21, we have Art volunteering.
Go to Art. We'll back you up while Zilka throws her dancing light spell in the far hallway. Also it turns out that I forgot Zirren had a dancing lights cantrip prepared as well. He'll cast it but in the 3 spheres of light.
2 will go to the room 21 and the other will go to keep light in the north tunnel.
Zirren nodded in agreement, his body feeling sluggish but his mind was still clear. "After all the noise we made it isn't likely to be sleeping enemies."
"Yeah, just a minute." Zirren said, with a nod as he leaned up against a wall.
He closed his eyes and let his mind calm itself. Now that he had time to think, he muttered an incantation quietly.
"hewa litrix."
Draconic:
Mage armor.
A force of icy blue armor came into being around him before settling into place around him.
About 3 more of that, I think.
He pushed himself off the wall, still unsteady but a little more confident."I don't think I'll be getting better anytime immediately. But I can still continue."
"I... I think so?" Zirren said, unsteadily as he grabbed at his wounds and the poison seemed to burn through his system.
He felt like someone who had just laid down in bed for over an entire day and then suddenly decided to get up and start walking around. His wounds were painful, if only moderate, and they were enough to cause him to rethink about going in first in unknown situations again.
That's not a bad way to go about doing things. I rather like knowing if my mediocre rolls will actually harm an enemy without having to check previous posts, if any, to figure it out.
Well, after extrapolating some character information from the base players guide and assuming no variation on character weight ratios and assuming all relevant gear is on them, we have the following information:
Zirren raised his hand. Knowing they didn't have any time at all to talk to their sudden aggressors, he threw out his hand to the northern tunnel and with a rush of power, he called forth something that should invoke halt some of them.
Hi guys, I'll be gone throughout the weekend. Driving down, getting ready for and attending my best friend's wedding. I might be back late Saturday or mid day Sunday in order to check back in then.
Zirren nodded at Cain's unspoken instructions. The man had a great deal more experience and had been trying to get the group of them to learn what he used to keep them alive.
He was suddenly very aware that it was just the two of them and that it had not been a silent descent. He wanted to cast forth a spell and create light but knew that Kobolds could naturally see in the dark.
Calm down Zirren, your eyesight and hearing are both better than Caine's. If he's willing to be in the dimmest of lights, then you should be too. Besides, anyone down here might know the lift came down but that doesn't necessarily mean they know we're here.
He moved forward as quietly as he could manage to the northern hall and as he got there he kneeled down and listened.
Of all the knowledge skills, I chose to not have any ranks in engineering. I guess it sort of makes sense as I come from a simpler background in the vale. Still, definitely going to have to pick some ranks of that up later.
Zirren just shook his head at Ruhk's antics. "Fine, dividing our strength up is a decent thought process. We probably shouldn't send more than two at a time if we're worried about weight distribution. I'll go with Caine now. If it holds the two of us without an issue then there shouldn't be any problem for the rest of you." he said, moving over to stand on the lift with Caine.
"Caine. Art. Before we continue, we'll need you both ready to fight again. Here, we found these hidden in the forge room." he hands each of them a potion.
Cure moderate wounds.
"There were still a few places we haven't explored but, that well looked like it might be the best place to get to the next level."
"It sounds like the magnitude of our foes that we'll be facing is going to be getting exponentially more difficult to deal with when we run into King One Eye's blooded warriors, they mostly sound like fanatics devoted to their king, so full on diplomacy is out. Having Kerrdremark along may make any weaker willed ones at least hesitate about joining in any fights, that's about all we could probably expect from him though.
They've had far more time to ready things in their favor with potential traps so blundering through is something we should avoid. We also don't really have much in the way of making us move with any degree of stealth. Any noise we make from fighting is bound to echo and attract attention so... we move steadily as a group. I don't recommend even sending Bella for scouting."
Zirren shook his head at Jurin's confirmation. "All evidence we've gathered points to the fact that Hollin is still held by King One-eye in his territory on the next lower level."
"Once we're ready to move, I'll fetch Kerrdremark and his entourage before we descend." His immediate business concluded with the group, he clasped his hands together in eagerness and returned to the now talking hammer.
"Now you... what are you exactly?" he asked, eagerly muttering an incantation to see the weaves of magic.
SPELLCRAFT:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15Well, I tried.
Oh absolutely, I've always really liked intelligent items but it's rarely a concept that gets played with. Zirren's going to have several theories on how that might work.
Also was considering how the release of so many souls might interact with the Lemure devil he had summoned before it got dismissed. Generally it's not their job to collect souls but maybe this one did. Or it got infused.
Zirren was very interested in the hammer but he figured there would be time for it later. Instead he came over to Kimi and Jurin but he let the kids share their moment.
I'm thinking of them as Kids, huh? I'm honestly not too much older than them and if we were to go by racial standards, I'd actually be about their age. I'd say I grew up too fast, but after what they've experienced here the last few days, they'll have matured far more.
"Jurin, hi there, my name's Zirren. I can't even imagine what this has all been like for you, but know that you're very brave for having done so and come through it." Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a small pouch containing the goodberries he'd received from Xanostar and handed the boy one.
"Here, eat one of these. It'll be much easier on your system and be a lot more helpful than you might think... You should also know that your father is very worried about you." he gave a confident grin.
"Though we're not doing it for him, he's giving us quite a bit of incentive with plenty of carrot and even more stick. Like Bella said, we're going to get you and all of your friends out of here. We've already found most of you, but we need to go get the last one. So hang in there, and let the real heroes do their work. We'll get you all home safe and sound."
"It won't hurt you Art, it's a devil given shape under my magic." Zirren said to the Halfling as he squared off to fight against the conjured fiend.
As Caine smashed the chain, admonishing him, Zirren sighed. "Well technically Art is right. That's a devil, it comes from the first layer of the nine hells, Avernus. Which follows an entirely different set of rules from the demons of the Abyss..." he paused realizing that he was going to get nowhere at this time.
"Lyijy, las!"
Infernal:
"Leave, now!"
Dismissing the spell.
"Though I suppose at that level they are not really more distinguishable from each other other than aesthetics."
Zirren stopped and smiled as the Forge Spurned fell.
"Hidz!" Zirren commanded the Lemure which obediently stopped.
Infernal:
Halt!
He moved over toward the anvil as the others grabbed Jurin, and he examined the fallen body of the Forge Spurned and the blackened hammer near it.
"This creature was indeed worried about it's chain being destroyed when Caine was attacking it, like Zilka said. That, paired with it's conviction of not being done despite its apparent defeat leaves us but one course of action."
Picking up the heavy hammer, he brought it over to Caine.
"Here Caine. It's fitting you should use this to break the remainder of the chain."
"Gaagh!"
Zirren recoiled as his eyesight was clouded from him within the embers. He rubbed quickly at his badly singed, watering eyes to no avail. The young Half-Elf had always found his eyesight to be sharper than most, it had allowed him to see things others could not. But now he could not see his foe at all.
He had been reaching for the coldness that had been building inside of him. A quiet, dispassionate sort of magic that he could control, but one that required the same cool mindset to command. Instead, he found only a rising tide of anger and something else. Something that he logically understood should not be within his grasp, yet it was there all the same. He reached for it.
From within his mind came an infernal howl, new Knowledge of creatures filled his thought and his clouded eyes colored over with a blue light. Even if he couldn't see it, they still could.
Raising a hand, he called forth a vaguely humanoid being of putrid, roiling flesh.
"Prazytz zmy kah! Sdih zmy aly tajyryv suzm cmiulw!"
Infernal:
"Protect the boy! Slay the one covered with chains!"
Forge Spawn are actually Undead, so it'll be a Knowledge Religion check, not that I think that changes what you'll learn.
"Then I guess we'll have to lay our souls on the line here." Zirren declared while raising his hand toward the forge spurned. Reaching within himself he found the coldness of the curse that had been imprinted upon himself by the crazed Fey.
