[Jehova's Arena, Test] Fight the Twenty-Fifth, Syken vs. Shova

[The Arbiter]

The newcomers are just swarming in today, and Syken comes face-to-face with what he imagines to be the most imposing of them. They take their places under the watchful eyes of 11 peasants, most of them just sorta staring at Shova.

Syken A10, Shova L10, initiatives etc.

[Champions of the Dark Wolf]

The half-orc stretches as he enters the arena. His poor luck with previous matches has him looking rather surly, though it's difficult to tell since he always looks that way in the first place. As usual, he's got no immediately apparent weapons on him, just a decent set of light armor.

Not really positive what Shova looks like, so Syken hasn't got much to say just yet.

Arbiter:

Initiative: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13

Initiative is 13.

[The Arbiter]

Alrighty then, we'll just leave this here until we see Shova.

[Champions of the Dark Wolf]

I'm fine with holding off on this for now, if you want to start the next round of matches and just leave Syken here for awhile, that's no problem.
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Considering the last few days has mostly been weekend, I could understand some delay (of course, that could also work in reverse). But either way, I'm not in any particular rush.

[Shova Bonehammer]

Sorry for the delay.

An imposing muscular human, a Shoanti tribesman well over six feet tall, stands before you, his expression passive. His shaved head bears the tattoos of the Shoanti Hawk Clan. He wears a breastplate that is cared for but shows signs of heavy use. He carries a massive hammer. His left forearm is covered by a klar, a spiked shield made from the skull of a large lizard. At his waist hangs a leather bolas. He raises his hammer in salute to his foe.

Arbiter:

1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17

Init 17

[Champions of the Dark Wolf]

Looks like Shova is up first then :P

[Shova Bonehammer]

Shova strides forward (H10), roaring out a challenge to the half-orc. "Come and get it." He reaches for his bolas and begins to swing it.

Assuming I have time to stow my hammer at my belt before the action begins.

Only a move or standard action in the surprise round, right?

[The Arbiter]

Yes, only a move or standard action. We haven't made particularly strict rules on what weapon you need to begin with. Taking out the bolas is fine this time, but normally we should probably stick to exactly what you had in your hands as you entered, to prevent free preparation actions (getting out the most suitable weapon without any action investment).

[Champions of the Dark Wolf]

Syken makes no response to the challenge, just looking at Shova as he moves forward. After a moment, his gaze turns to the side, and he simply walks away, stopping behind the pillar and leaning up against it to obscure most of his form from Shova.

Moves to B8, giving him cover from you there at least, and hopefully anywhere you move to next turn :P
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Shova's turn.

[Shova Bonehammer]

"Fight, coward!" Shova drops the bolas and moves to C9, confident that he can take what the half-orc dishes out.

(edit) Drawing the hammer.

Ready to AoO if he does anything tricky.

[Champions of the Dark Wolf]

If you were to take an AoO from there, I believe I would still have cover. Would you want to move to B9 or someplace that provides a more clear shot at me, should I provoke?

[Shova Bonehammer]

OK, B9 (thanks).

[Champions of the Dark Wolf]

:: Round 1 :: (I think?)

Syken smirks at the challenge, chuckling. "Patience," he says simply, before leaving Shova where he is.

Withdraws to I3, and that'll be all. Slaughtered in melee once was enough for him in his last fight :P

[Shova Bonehammer]

The towering Shoanti frowns in puzzlement at the antics of his challenger. What kind of warrior runs from a fight, he wonders?

Do I get an AoO here?

[Champions of the Dark Wolf]

On a withdrawal, I don't think so, unless you have reach with your hammer.

[The Arbiter]

That be the point of withdrawals, no AoOs.

[Shova Bonehammer]

Ah, OK, forgot about that one.

Shova moves to H5, swinging his hammer about in a threatening display.

[Champions of the Dark Wolf]

:: Round 2 ::

As Shova moves after him, Syken pulls a vial from his belt and drinks it. As the man gets closer, Syken chuckles again. "Care for a game of tag?" he taunts, before moving off leisurely but far more quickly than before.

Spellcraft DC 16... if you can make spellcraft checks on extracts. I don't even know:

He drank an Expeditious Retreat.

Moves to K14 afterwards, and it'll be Shova's turn. If you can't follow a 60 foot land speed, this might become somewhat repetitive until he gets his buffing done XP

[Shova Bonehammer]

Shova's eyes widen at the display of speed. He moves to H9 and picks up the bolas he dropped earlier (in H10).

[Champions of the Dark Wolf]

:: Round 3 ::
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And Syken is going to just hoof it to F19, then drink some more.

Spellcraft DC 16 if you're checking:

Shield

You're up.

[Shova Bonehammer]

"Are we going to play hnefetafl or fight?"

Shova doesn't have any spellcraft knowledge anyway.

H15 and check

[Champions of the Dark Wolf]

Check?
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And heh, sorry about racing all around the arena, but he can start fighting for real in just a round or 2, I promise :P
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So, Syken's turn again? If so, ::Round 4::

"Soon enough," the half-orc grunts, and moves off once more. Stopping behind the same pillar he started this quick circuit from, he drinks another concoction, somewhat different from the others. There's little outward appearance change, but his muscles seem to contract a bit.

Arbiter:

Drinking cognatogen for +4 Int, -2 Strength, +2 Nat armor.

Syken's in B8 (again) and you're up once more!

[Shova Bonehammer]

I meant check as in chess :-)

"Do you need some cookies to go with that juice?" Shova taunts.

He moves to D9, bolas in hand and hammer at belt.

GM: I assume the klar is like a regular shield in that it takes that hand to hold it. I'm not quite sure though.

[Champions of the Dark Wolf]

Ah, okay then.
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:: Round 5 ::

Syken grins. "No, I don't think so. Perhaps you'll enjoy this though," he replies.

Pulling a vial from his belt, he does some quick mixing and tosses the newly combined bomb towards Shova, before it explodes into a spray of frost.

Arbiter:

Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17
Damage: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

Whoops, almost forgot, but Point-Blank Shot adds 1 to both of those.

Tossing from the top right corner of B8, so as to not have cover penalties. 18 against your Touch AC, for 13 points of frost damage. If it hits, DC 18 Fort Save to avoid being staggered please.
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Afterwards, Syken will hop over to J1, and you're up.
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Check ;)

[Shova Bonehammer]

Arbiter:

HP 11/24

fort save 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11
...well I'm sure that's a miss.

Shova holds up the shield to block the burst of frost but still receives the brunt of the impact. He shakes off the effects of the cold and circles around to B9, swinging mightily with his earthbreaker hammer.

got 11 to hit

[Champions of the Dark Wolf]

Well, that wouldn't hit anyway, but Syken's not at B8 anymore.

Me wrote:

Afterwards, Syken will hop over to J1, and you're up.

So, you might need some revision there.

[Shova Bonehammer]

Ah, OK.

Unable to keep up with the speedy half-orc, Shova moves to F16 and takes refuge behind the pillar.

[Champions of the Dark Wolf]

Syken smirks. "Not so keen on fighting anymore?" he taunts.

He moves to the side, combines another bombs and tosses it as well.

Moves to D2 and tosses a bomb at the intersection of E16-F17.

Arbiter:

Attack: 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (5) - 3 = 2 Targeting AC 5, with -6, I think, in range penalty.

The long distance makes the shot go wide however.

I need to look up what happens actually if you miss when targeting the ground...
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Huh, actually, I think I did that incorrectly on my match with Aurum. If you miss either when targeting a creature or when targeting an intersection, it apparently moves its range increment, in a random direction (1 aiming towards the thrower, and then clockwise to 8), then blows up.
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So:
Random Direction: 1d8 ⇒ 7
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Making it blow up at I16-J17?
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Well, that was enlightening. Your turn.

[Shova Bonehammer]

Shorga remains hidden.

Arbiter:

Stay at F16.

[Champions of the Dark Wolf]

Syken's turn again then?
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Also, :: Round 7 :: I think.

Syken heads behind the pillars once more.

Audience:

The half-orc pulls out a vial of some kind and drinks, before rapidly shrinking in size.

Arbiter:

If it wasn't obvious, he drank a Reduce Person extract.

He's not really being stealthy, so he's in F4, just doin' some stuff. Shova's up again (unless you weren't done your turn anyway, in which case just ignore this and, ya know, finish that) :P

[Shova Bonehammer]

Round 8

Arbiter:

Shova just stands still, peeking out occasionally to see if his opponent is doing anything.

Your turn

[Champions of the Dark Wolf]

Are you stealthing? Syken will move over in your general direction, so I'm not sure if, depending on how much movement he has, he can locate you and then move to a good position.
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Anyway though, :: Round 8 ::

Syken moves more towards Shova, stopping behind one of the pillars.

Arbiter:

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

Also, will ready an action to attack (with bombs) if he locates Shova, although see below, if he knows where Shova is now, he'll just attack regularly.

Moves to B12. Can he see Shova from there or does he need a perception? If he needs a perception, it'll be 20 (man, why couldn't that have been an attack roll :P ). If he knows where Shova is by this point, he'll attack. If not, then Shova's up.

[Shova Bonehammer]

Shova is still at F16 so I guess you can see me from there.

GM, I need a ruling on what I am holding. Friday's post I had my bolas in hand. Sunday I drew the hammer and attacked but that action was rescinded when I figured out he wasn't in that spot any more.

[Champions of the Dark Wolf]

Well, I'm not a GM, but what were your actions exactly? If you had readied the hammer when you were moving up to Syken to make the attack, then I'd think it would again be unreadied.
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That said, it's only a move action to draw or sheathe a weapon I think, and that can generally be combined with regular movement. I'd imagine while moving around you probably could have sheathed/drawn the one you wanted?
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Anyway... :: Round 8 Continued ::

Looking a few sizes smaller than usual, Syken peers around the pillar and spots Shova. He makes another quick mixture of vials and tosses it around the corner.

Aiming at the ground again, intersection of E16-F17. I'm not sure if you get a bonus on your reflex save from partial cover, since the burst is on your side of the wall? I think that's how spells tend to work, but this isn't technically a spell, so I'm not sure.
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Also, Syken's small now.

Arbiter:

Attack vs AC 5: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18 (-2 in range penalty, +2 in smallness.)

Success, bomb blows up next to you for 9 damage (frost again), DC 18 Reflex save for half, no Fort save vs Staggered this time. You're up.
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Also, if you had a readied action to attack once you saw me or something, then I imagine that would go off before my attack.

[Shova Bonehammer]

Round 9...

I'll just have everything but the klar at my belt then.

ouch

Shova shudders at the cold. Recovering quickly, he moves to B15 and throws his bolas to trip the diminished half-orc.

got a 16 on the combat maneuver after -2 range penalty

arbiter:

HP 2/24
Reflex save 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16
trip attack 1d20 + 7 - 2 ⇒ (11) + 7 - 2 = 16 the -2 is for range, 10' increment

Edit: Am I staggered? If so forget the attack and I'll just take refuge at H15.

[The Arbiter]

SRD wrote:

Cover and Reflex Saves

Cover grants you a +2 bonus on Reflex saves against attacks that originate or burst out from a point on the other side of the cover from you. Note that spread effects can extend around corners and thus negate this cover bonus.

The blast originates from the side of the cover that he is on. Were he shot with an arrow from B12, he would have cover, but here he doesn't.

[Champions of the Dark Wolf]

Nope, not staggered (sorry, should have been more clear on that, I suppose), so you're good to throw and I'm pretty positive that hits my CMD (with all the effects on him, there's a lot to keep track of, but that should pretty certainly hit).
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If that's it for Shova's turn though, can he simply stand back up, I suppose? Not threatened at the moment, right?
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Also @ Arbiter: Yeah, I was thinking of that, but wasn't sure if that only applied to burst type spells, while Bombs are a thrown splash weapon.
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:: Round 9 ::

Syken grunts as the bolas slams into his legs, sending him face-first to the ground, but he gets back to his feet quickly. He activates another bomb and tosses it.

Arbiter:

Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9
Damage: 1d6 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

Oof, really? 9 to hit, which I'll guess probably doesn't. And to think, I was considering throwing at the ground too, just to be on the safe side! Assuming it doesn't hit:

Random Direction: 1d8 ⇒ 8

That's... interesting, I think it blows up at E12, the opposite side of the pillar from him. He must have made a nice throw to do that one.
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Well, he'll 5-foot step back to B11 (he likely would have 5-foot stepped diagonally here before I learned that doesn't work around corners >_>;; ). Anywho though, your turn. Things are looking less awesome for Syken.

[Shova Bonehammer]

I would think that hits the pillar? Doesn't matter I guess unless it splashes...Hooray, I get to attack!

Shova smiles at the chance to face his opponent. He rushes forward, drawing his hammer and bringing all his strength to bear.

To B12. After all that I got a 10.

arbiter:

attack 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

[Champions of the Dark Wolf]

It does splash and so I was kind of wondering about that. I'm not sure of any rules for what happens there. I could picture it changing direction starting from your square via like knocking against your foot or something and bouncing away in a new direction. I could also see it just go from the exact spot it was thrown (which makes more sense when it's already a far distance and doesn't have the possibility of ending up behind you).
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So yeah, not positive. I'll roll a reflex save if/when it is decreed I might need one, so as to avoid messing up my dice rolls :P I'll keep it in mind to see when it might make a difference though.
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:: Round 10 :: Man, this is getting long (probably from Syken running all over the place).

As the blow goes past him, Syken moves back a short distance and tosses another bomb.

Arbiter:

I just remembered Point Blank shot. Not sure if that was applicable on some earlier attacks that I might have forgotten it.

Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
Damage: 1d6 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15

That's better! 21 to hit your Touch AC, 15 frost damage. DC 18 Fort Save to avoid being staggered. No reflex for half this time since you're getting hit directly.
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Your turn. Oh, and Syken's at B10, I suppose.

[Shova Bonehammer]

Another bomb is too much for Shova to bear and he falls unconscious.

arbiter:

-13 HP if it matters

Thanks for the game. Syken is a slippery opponent.

[Champions of the Dark Wolf]

Heh, tell that to Aurum, who throatpunched him then kept on his heels for the rest of the combat, and Kirk who put him to sleep and shot him in the face :P
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But yeah, fun match. Sorry for the whole running around the arena like a rabbit on coffee, but I figured it might be worth trying to actually get up all my buffs before facing the opponent.
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And I just realized I have like no weapons to coup de grace with. I suppose I can curbstomp people for like 1d4-2 nonlethal XD Or just toss the rest of his bombs at a downed enemy. Silly either way though, I should probably pick up something that can actually be used to finish an enemy. I guess we'll just assume he does something to make sure Shova's out for good.
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Anywho, again, nice match. I look forward to future ones :P

[Shova Bonehammer]

Thanks. Shova is going to go shopping for some more ranged weapons and maybe some potions.