BTW, what happened to the Druidess´ ¨Come here farm boy¨ comment (to Artimus)?
Thanks, I was reading it as Mikka casting Barkskin on Artimus...
"Indeed, this beast is foul and a blight on the land on its own. We may not be allies or agree in our ideals, but we can easily see eye to eye in this need. We will bring down this creature, Reclaimer."
Veren: true, usually Aid Another to attack requires the aider to be able to engage the target. In this case, the Aid Another is exceptional. It's general and morale support for the shooter.
Veren, you note that most of the arrows bounce off the creature's leather-tough hide. One one of Alia's shafts strikes and sticks, and too far away to tell whether it does as much damage as you think it ought. In any case, the Reclaimer seems distracted by the advancing horror.
Durnast, I apologize for not conveying the speed with which this thing is moving. When it began, it was on Mikka's great oak tree, over a mile away. It's covering the distance to you in great leaps, boosted by its wings, taking less than a minute. In Round 3, it's still about 900 feet away, and beyond the range of even Alia's arrows.
You know that something, probably something very powerful, is generating these unnatural monsters from terrestrial models, and imbuing them with power from the dark planes in addition to their normal attributes. Also, given the attack on the Camp, and now here, their creator appears be launching them at specific targets.
All right. Here's the prep.
Round Prep-One
Alia: adjust position
Artimus: moves over to the Reclaimer
Mikka: resist energy (acid)
Nadeq: casts consecreate
Rasina: casts protection from evil on herself
Swiftpaws: adjust position
Veren: adjusts position
Round Prep-Two
Artimus: receives a barkskin enchantment, and returns to the party.
Mikka: barkskin
Nadeq: casts protection from evil on Veren
Rasina: casts magic weapon on the crossbow
Round Prep-Three
Artimus: casts bull's strength on himself
Mikka: potion of cat's grace
Nadeq: gathers up one of the beads of force
Rasina: casts magic weapon on the rapier
Round Prep-Four
Alia: Aim
Durnast: cast haste
Mikka: Aim
Rasina: adjusts position
Round Prep-Five
Alia: Fires a volley of arrows (hasted, and a +6 to hit)
Artimus: Aids Alia's aim
Mikka: Fires a volley of arrows (hasted, and at +4 to hit)
Montegue:
Nadeq: Aids Mikka's aim
Switpaws: Aids Alia's aim
The monster lands hard, 40' in front of you. It's 12'-tall, and radiates an intense cold, and a severe stench as well.
Durnast, the cold suggests that the original terrestrial creature that modelled the "gorilla" body might have been a Yeti, which does cold-based damage with its claws, but which is vulnerable to fire.
At this close range, there seems to be something glittering and red about its eyes. Anyone who wants to take a look, roll a Perception check, DC 15.
The monster has exerted its full action in its move here. You're all free to close and attack if you like.
Veren crouches low again into his typical duelist stance. Eyeing the shape of the creature to get used to its combat rhythm, but careful to avoid eye contact - following the advice of the reclaimer. Veren delays his action until he's seen more of the beast in action. He'll aim to maintain a 15 to 20ft distance to the horror and make judicious use of spring attack and lunge to close the gap and retreat again. Whenever possible he'll try to stay clear of the path between the horror and the reclaimer.
¨Who´s ready to go all out toe to toe?¨ Durnast asks,
following up his question with a casting of Dimension Door via his bond with Cam,
who then touches 2 allies who all promptly vanish and re-appear adjacent to the monster.
(I´m thinking Artimus & Montague, both offensively (Smite/Stunning Fist) and defensively vs. the nasty stuff close-in)
Durnast also whispers to Mikka <I´m not sure, but the creature being ridden by this Demon or whatever may itself be vulnerable to Fire like your Fireball... But it may be a good idea to keep that in reserve if the Demon splits like the Peryton in Camp. Whatever the case... we´re all in this together.>
Durnast directs his horse back from the demon (up to standard move toward the forest) hopefully to where it provides some cover/defensive space blockage for alia or another ally, and then dismounts and 5´ steps to 10´ behind his horse, taking cover from the beast.
¨Who´s ready to go all out toe to toe?¨ Durnast asks,
following up his question with a casting of Dimension Door via his bond with Cam,
who then touches 2 allies who all promptly vanish and re-appear adjacent to the monster.
Durnast also whispers to Mikka <I´m not sure, but the creature being ridden by this Demon or whatever may itself be vulnerable to Fire like your Fireball... But it may be a good idea to keep that in reserve if the Demon splits like the Peryton in Camp. Whatever the case... we´re all in this together.>
Montague is all about going toe-to-toe. He'd love to come along for the ride.
Nadeq close his eyes and starts shrieking in goblin like a mad man. A scythe appears from out of nowhere. It's barbed at the edge and glows a deep purple.
It moves towards the demon and starts hacking.
attack
Damage
Cast spiritual weapon. Two things; 1) I don't know if a scythe is Hel's favored weapon, but it seems fitting. 2) Spiritual weapon states that it uses the caster's Wisdom as attack and damage modifier. Since Oracles use Charisma I assume that is also what the spell uses.
Nadeq, would you make roll a d20 and add your caster level?
Durnast, it looks like Artimus wants to charge the creature rather than take the dimension door taxi. Veren, the other obvious toe-to-toe fighter, is going to be moving on his own, as well. So it looks like Chamomile will be transporting only Montegue.
Durnast, backing up that far would involve crossing into the reclaimers' preserve. Is that what you want to do?
Montegue, you're up.
Alia, now that the monster has closed, you can fire again if you like.
Mikka, you've got an action here, and you were able to hear Durnast's suspicions that it might be unusually vulnerable to fire.
Rasina, the monster is looking at you with its massive, piggy eyes, and its supernaturally disturbing. I hate to ask, but you need to make a Will saving throw.
Artimus, charge when ready.
Veren, once you see how the other attacks go, take yours.
Hoping that the beasts defenses may not be at the top of their game after having rushed so quickly towards them, Artimus raises his sword and gives a battle roar before dashing straight forward at the beast and striking at it with all his might.
Attack Roll
Damage(if he counts as an evil outsider, undead or dragon that is 7 higher for just the first hit I land, as per paladin errata
Crit back
Crit Damage
Caster level check
Yeah, I was looking at the declared actions looking for a Bless Weapon...
I think it´s reasonable that you could have coordinated it with Alia or whoever, but ask Chris.
I´m not sure since there´s no map, but I´m thinking if the monster is 10x10´, zapping both Montague and Rasina to one ¨face¨ would allow 5´ stepping diagonally to opposite sides, setting up a flank for Rasina´s Sneak Attack... Since it looks like Rasina probably made her Save (I HOPE that passes), is she feeling like a ride straight to Hell?
It seems kind of a waste if there are no other passengers, but if Monty still wants to Flurry, he can go via DD. Monty probably has a pretty good Tumble check to avoid any AoOs (and Artimus is taking the first one), but getting in a flurry of Stunning hits could be very worthwhile. *IF* Monty decides not to go via Dimension Door, Durnast will instead try to hamper the demon with a blinding Glitterdust: Will DC 17, Caster Check
I didn´t know how close we were to the Oasis...
Durnast will only back up to about 10´ from for now, leaving his mount 10´ahead between him and the demon (so, the mount being approx. 30´ from forest)
Since it looks like Rasina probably mader her Save (I HOPE that passes), is she feeling like a ride straight to Hell?
Artimus charges. The creature doesn't so much look at him, but senses his presnece and attempts to swat him away with an Attack of Opportunity. ; that hits, and comes perilously close to a critical! Artimus takes points of damage from the physical blow, and an additional points of cold damage as its merest touch drains the heat from the paladin.
Artimus hits with his own critical blow, plunging his weapon straight into the creatures left inner thigh. Odds are, he could have done even greater injury, but he still does 44 points.
The Evil outsider is still up.
She feels her soul pushed towards an enormous red abyss of eternal terror, but mentally stands her ground and resists being plunged in.
The monster is huge, 15 x 15. If Rasina rides the dimension door with Montegue, she could get in a sneak attack working with the paladin, but not the monk.
Nadeq's spell side-steps the monster's unnatural resistance to magic, but the spiritual scythe simply bounces off its fur.
Montegue's attack:
Rasina's attack:
Alia's attack:
Swiftpaws' attack:
Veren's attack:
Mikka's action:
Rasina's Attacks,
#1 Rapier, +1 enchanted, silvered , damage , plus sneak attack
#2 +1 Dagger, , damage , plus sneak attack
#3 (hasted) Rapier, +1 enchanted, silvered , damage , plus sneak attack
Moving to just within 15 ft of the demon, Mikka's fingers fan out releasing a gout of flame.
Caster level check
She steps back allowingthe others to continue engaging the beast.
Veren waits until Durnast casts his spell - seeing the momentary distraction of the beast as it notices enemies appear behind it, Veren leaps forward. The magical haste spurs on his legs and he covers the distance to the monster in the blink of an eye, his rapier flashes for an instant in the sunlight, then it is plunged into the side of the horror. Without a moment of thought Veren pulls it out and leaps three steps backward
Edit: Forgot to add haste bonus to attack
I think it was more in the context of fighting the Oasis inhabitants when we were approaching, but Durnast mentioned using Stunning Fist to Montague earlier, and I don´t think there´s a problem mixing an Unarmed Strike attack into a Flurry with Kamas - SF can just be used 1/round so the rest of the attacks may as well be Kamas...
Would Monty blow a Ki Point on an extra attack or extra AC? I´d guess more offense at this point...?
Swiftpaws stays put out of reach of the creature and keeps watch both on it and on the Druids.
As her companions close in on the beast, Alia holds her ground and fires again.
Bookkeeping:
Montegue, I count your normal flurry-of-blows as being two attacks, not three. (In this case, you're under the effects of haste, so you'd get a third attack. Am I counting wrong?
Thank you, Artimus and Nadeq, for making sure I'm covering that. Artimus, my narrative about your blow "could have done more" was a reflection of your very low rolls on the damage dice.
Durnast, I think you're right; Stunning Fist can be used during a flurry of blows, because it doesn't take an action or change the type of action for the unarmed attack. (It doesn't become an attack action, for example.)
Even under the effects of a haste spell, Mikka, you can't move, cast a spell, and then take another 5'-step back. I'm sure there's some Feat that would allow that, kind of like Spring Attack for spellcasters.
Chamomile uses Durnast's dimension door spell and shifts to the space behind the monster. The pseudo-dragon cannot do anything else this round, at all, but both passengers are free to act with their full moves.
Montegue takes a step counter-clockwise and uses his hasted flurry of blows routine, delivering three attacks with his kama:
; very close; if it weren't for the creepy goblin's bless spell, you would not have hit. Damage: ; doesn't seem to be getting through his rhino-tough hide.
; miss.
; miss.
Rasina takes a step clockwise, setting herself up opposite Artimus, and plunges her rapier and dagger into the beast, again and again, but only catches fur.
Alia sends five arrows streaking towards the target. The first twin arrows hit, striking deep in the monster's chest.
Mikka casts burning hands against the beast, but its otherwordly origins keep it seperate from the spell's effects.
Veren springs forward, just opposite Montegue, and then to the side. Faster than the eye can see, he must have injured the monster, because his rapier is now covered in a sheen of its blood.
--+--
And that's just barely enough damage to fell the creature. Wounded beyond its capacity, it drops to its knees, and then falls to the side.
And its swinish head snorts loudly, and detaches itself from the rest of the body. It's the front end of an enormous centipede, the same color and texture of a newborn piglet, covered in some sort of tacky slime.
It smells incredibly foul. Artimus is immune to diseases, but not poisons. He, Rasina, and Montegue need to make Fortitude saving throws, DC 17.
It attempts to bite () a party member not directly engaged with it, namely () Alia. Dozens of legs propel the demonic head towards the ranger, and its mouth opens in a scream, revealing sharper teeth than a pig should have..
Artimus, Rasina, and Montegue, if you're not retching from the poison, you can make an Attempt of Opportunity against the pig-centipede. (AC 20)
AoO Rapier , damage , plus sneak attack
Neither Rasina nor Montegue can react fast enough to get a solid hit off against the caterpillar-pig. Artimus, your Smite still counts against it.
If Artimus doesn't dispatch the thing in one blow, Alia, you'll want to make a Fortitude save.
¨That´s right! Good job all! . . . . . . . ....UGH....¨
Fort save
Attack Roll
Damage
Neither Rasina nor Montegue can react fast enough to get a solid hit off against the caterpillar-pig. Artimus, your Smite still counts against it.
.
Durnast, nothing seems to click as to an overriding theme or pattern, but the themes of the peryton and its shadow, and a yeti being driven by its appetites, are common themes. So, whatever their origins, these seem to be "trope creatures." (And they're not demons.)
Artimus reacts like lightning, slaying the foul pig-headed thing with a single blow.
The Reclaimer nods. "I'm impressed, farm-boy. We can make use of this travesty, if we act promptly." With that, the male human who was standing behind her in the trees steps forward, and does the orcish fellow you met earlier this morning, and the great beetle that follows him around. They move to lift the monster's corpse.
"You have won your elf a two-day reprieve." She looks at Veren, ready for his protest.
"You have won your elf a two-day reprieve." She looks at Veren, ready for his protest.
Alia waits for the three Reclaimers to walk out up to the corpses and she just pivots on her feet, the bow pointed now on then.
"I think you did not understand us the first time. So I'll tell it again. You want to sacrifice demons or beasts like that, that's fine for me. We can even help you to do that. Whenever we capture one of them, we can bring it back to you. But the elf comes out now with us or none of you comes back. Don't think we cannot. We killed a 8 headed hydra yesterday without being hurt."
All right. It takes the Reclaimers about a minute to get assembled and to arrive in position before Alia makes her ultimatuum. Bar that in mind for spell durations.
For this, we'll need a map. The boundary between the preserve and the desolation is pretty neatly delineated. The grass is to the south east, and desert to the north west. The squares R4, N5, K6, I7, G9, and F11 are on the boundary.
The Reclaimers and the giant beetle begin in the area around the dead monsters, H1 through L4, as described individually below. The Kamadan and Dire Tigers are not yet on the map.
You can begin anywhere in the area A6 - E11. Veren, if you like, you can be off to the east, in M1 through O3. Rasina, Montegue, and Artimus, you can begin in H1 through L4 as well as the Reclaimers. Or, if you choose, you could have chosen to move back to the rest of the party when the Reclaimers came to gather the monsters' corpses.
Please accounce your starting location when you post your first move.
Initiative:
Male Human Reclaimer and falcon companion, in J1: ; 20
Female Human Reclaimer, in K4: ; 20
Male Orc Reclaimer, in L2 and giant beetle companion, in K2: ; 1
Dire tigers, in ?? and ??: ; 16
The Kamadan, in ??: ; 13
Alia: ; 15
Swiftpaws: ; 15
Artimus: ; 7
Chamomile: ; 10
Durnast: ; 18
Mikka: ; 19
Montegue: ; 13
Nadeq: ; 7
Rasina: ; 27
Veren: ; 22
Rasina, then Veren, then two of the Reclaimers.
Alia will be in B6
By the current map (with the row north of Artimus cut off)
Durnast can start mounted in C7-D8 (with Cam in same space)
Durnast will re-generate his Haste spell slot via Pearl of Power,
and if possible, will get Cam to fly into his Haversack, where he casts Invisibility on him.
While Cam is in the Haversack, he grabs a Potion of CSW and a Smokestick.
Are Rasina and Veren holding their actions?
Rasina will take her Wand of Dispel Magic, and ready action for a targeted dispel on the female Reclaimer druid to start summoning or spellcasting.
Veren slips between the reclaimers and strikes out at all of them at once.
I think you should be able to attack the falcon as well, in the same space as the (human) male druid.
...It is exciting to start a new fight :-)