watchtower––volume two

[Stycotl]

Relevant Threads/Pages:

Watchtower–Aftermath (Volume I) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85229)

Watchtower Recruiting (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166798&highlight=watchtower)

Starring:

Finvarra (Talansidhe Warlock Paladin) (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=181768), played by Mhvaughan

Hans (Doppleganger Chaos Mage) (http://www.thetangledweb.net/forums/profiler/view_char.php?cid=15074), played by Tacitus

Justice (Warforged Constructor Factotum), (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=237671) played by Gnorman

Kyrill Medvedyev (Half Orc Werebear Barbarian) (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=116922)#2 (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=121468), played by Mhvaughan

Levi Dale (Sniper/Society Mind) (http://www.thetangledweb.net/forums/profiler/view_char.php?cid=16755), played by Tacitus

Oldqua O'rodir (Ghost Pious Templar Paladin), (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=238200) played by Jack_Simth

Starry-Eyes (Halfling Ranger Green Star Adept), (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=239140) played by The Vorpal Tribble

Xavier (Githzerai Shadow Sun Monk), (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=116289) played by josh13905

Retired Characters:

Calypso (half-nymph druid-shaper), played by Monty; player MIA

Celestica (Elven Paladin Monk), (http://www.thetangledweb.net/forums/profiler/view_char.php?cid=40860) played by MikelaC1 (Fluff) (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...0&postcount=35); player retired, but Celestica is still alive, training ranger units for Luna Citadel

Dalbar (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=116327), played by Obscurejones; player retired, but Dalbar is still alive and well, serving Luna Citadel in a recon unit

Elric Krossos (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=127198), played by Mhvaughan; died in glorious combat against a corrupted nature spirit (heavily modified chichimec)

Erfel Fencallad (Gnomish Sorcerous Bardic War Weaver) (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=142313), played by Douglas (and earlier by Lordsmoothe); players retired

Erfel Fencallad (Gnome Bard-Binder; earlier version), played by Lordsmoothe (and since recreated by Douglas); player retired

Kelurn Sanora (Human Warblade-Swordsage) (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=116134), played by Douglas; player retired

Kettenbar Sunson (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=141946), played by Obscurejones; died in glorious combat against a corrupted nature spirit (heavily modified chichimec)

Renatus (Dragon-kin Sublime Psychic Warrior), played by Duke of URL; player retired

Sefu Kek (Sorcerous Marrulurk Assassin) (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=115128), played by Sinenomine; player MIA

Shek (Fire Elf Initiator), played by Archerpowr; player retired

Ugrot (Goliath Frenzied Berserker), played by Realms of Chaos; player retired

Watchtower Organization

Leadership
Lemion Shwalenst––Shieldmarshal; Artillerist

Team 1
Levi Dale––First Sword; Artillerist; First Team Leader; Communication
Finvarra––Second Sword; Artillerist; Scout
Oldqua––Second Sword; Skirmisher; Medic, Scout
Starry-Eyes––Second Sword; Skirmisher; Scout
Xavier––Second Sword; Infiltration; Scout

Team 2
Kyrill Medvedyev––First Sword; Front Liner; Second Team Leader; Tracker
Justice––Second Sword; Artillerist;
Hans––Second Sword; Artillerist; Infiltration
Kurukshetra––Second Sword; Frontliner;

watchmen that still need assigned secondary responsibilities: justice; kurukshetra

still need: traps; another medic

Rank Structure
Enlisted:
E-1; ****; Private
E-2; Second Sword; Lance Corporal
E-3; First Sword; Corporal
E-4; Bronze Lance; Sergeant
E-5; Silver ; Staff Sergeant
E-6; Golden; Master Sergeant
Commisioned:
O-1; ****; Second Lieutenant
O-2; ****; First Lieutenant
O-3; ****; Captain
O-4; Shield Marshal; Colonel
O-5; ****; General
O-6; ****; Arch Council


My houserules

if you have questions, comments, complaints, or ideas, let me know. if you communicate with me, i'll have a better idea of what you need, or what i can do for you. be respectful, and i'll be respectful in turn, even if you are disagreeing with me. these houserules change all of the time. if i find another one i like, or you point me toward one, or we agree that i need to change one of them, i will. i will post it in-game (oocly), when i change a rule, so you all know to look here.

aaron's rule of participation––
1––roleplay. if you are here for the battles only, you're in the wrong thread. i have a basic storyline planned, but it is open, and i can't push the story ahead if you aren't willing to take some initiative. that said, there will be a lot of battles, but there can be as much exploration and rp as you guys want too. so long as you'll do it.
2––post regularly. by that, i mean at least a few times a week. i am not (yet) going to come up with a hard and fast limit, but if you haven't posted for more than two weeks without giving me some kind of notice, you are auto out, and your character will be sent directly to carceri. i'd love to make exceptions in some cases, but i've been making too many. so, two weeks is the cut off.
3––be adult enough to give me a heads up before slinking off for whatever reason (boredom, school, etc). it's not going to hurt my feelings if you want out, but have the stones to let me know so that the rest of us aren't left wondering.
4––be adult enough to tell me when you are bored, frustrated, unsatisfied. i had a girlfriend once, and we never argued or had any other problems. ever. i even bragged about it because it was so nice to be in such a pleasant relationship. then one day (9 months after we separated amiably) she broke down and admitted that she always felt unappreciated, and that she always resented it. a little bit of communication could have fixed that to begin with. if you have an issue with the game, TELL ME! i'd much rather know and be able to fix it, then have you disappear and hope we don't run into each other on the forums.
5––give a considerable commitment to the game. i've been running this since 2008 when l'smoothe left, and it has had its slow moments, but it has been fun too. the more you commit (participate), the easier it will be for me to make sure that it is fun for you.

Ability Score and Feat Acquisition-- this will be similar to the pathfinder game, in that you gain feats based off of hit dice at 1st level, and then every odd level afterward (1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, etc); ability score improvements will condense to once every 3 levels (same level that feat acquisition used to hold). so you guys get another ability score increase (had one at 4th and 8th levels; now have one at 3rd, 6th, and 9th levels).

Aid Another-- characters with similar casting types can help each other out on caster level checks just as if they were skill checks (with a DC 10 caster level check from the helper). thus, two warlocks could aid another warlock in making an invoker check, but could not also help the party wizard unless they also had arcane caster levels.

Badasses-- http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=118689

yeah, so i really liked hadrian_emrys' badass substitution level idea and am implementing it here. there are a few changes to the rules though.

my BADASS houserules
Substitution Level Gain: If you think that someone did something truly awesome, nominate him or her for a badass level. note that epically extreme acts of daring are not the only kinds of badassedness; ingenious ambushes set up by a badass rogue, uberly resourceful spell applications, and other feats of player cunning or creativity, if properly badassed, are all candidates. the dm reserves the right to veto a character from getting a badassed level if he deems it necessary. note also that unlike the various rp awards, even npc's can be nominated for this reward.

These levels are earned retroactively, never along with the level that you are about to earn unless you already have as many badass levels as you do class levels, and always from the lowest level available. Thus, an 8th level fighter that earns a badass level would apply it to his 1st hit dice, or 1st fighter level. If he later gained another badass level, it would apply to his 2nd hit dice, or 2nd fighter level.
weapon and armor proficiency: gain one additional weapon group proficiency and armor group proficiency that you do not have. If you have all of the basic groups (simple and martial weapons; light, medium, and heavy armor; small, heavy, buckler, and tower shields), then you can gain one exotic weapon and exotic armor proficiency feat per badass level.
A Crowning Moment of Awesome: CMA pool points can only be spent as a free act once per turn in order to treat one dice roll (regardless of kind) as naturally maximized (natural 20 on a d20, natural 8 on a d8, etc). Unspent points disappear after 24 hours (this allows points to be spent in social situations even if dice rolls have not yet come into play).
Badass Feat Changes
Back to Back Badasses: prerequisite: 15 hit dice, 2 badass levels, badass speech; you can spend a CMA point so that all adjacent allies gain one maximized dice roll of their choice this turn as if they had spent a CMA point with the Crowning Moment of Awesome ability.
Badass Roast: prerequisites: 5 hit dice; spend one CMA point in order to treat the next d20 roll made by a foe within 30 feet of you as a natural 1. if this foe does not make a d20 roll within one turn, your spent point is wasted and nothing happens.
Total Badass: prerequisites: 15 hit dice, 2 badass levels, badass roast; spend a CMA point to make all adjacent enemies treat their next d20 roll as a natural 1. Those that doe not make a d20 roll within 1 round are not effected by this use.
Shneekey's Feats in post #13
Extreme Badass: subsumed into badass recovery.
Bring it on: prerequisites: 15 hit dice, 2 badass levels, eloquent description
Eleoquent Description: prerequisites: 5 hit dice.

feel free to homebrew other badass feats with my approval.


Class Fixes-- same as feat fixes. let me know if you have others that need fixing, or different ideas than what is already here.


Monk: full bab (or you can try my homebrewed celox; check sig)

Sorcerer: see Sorcerer's Lament below; it is complicated enough that it deserved its own houserule heading.


Damage Thresholds--
the more a creature is injured, the harder it is for it to fight or act. injured creatures take penalties to attack and damage rolls, saving throws, ability checks, skill checks, and movement.

creatures that are immune to critical hits, immune to pain, or are under the effect of a barbarian rage or equivalent are immune to injury penalties.

uninjured–full hit points: no penalties

hurt–75% hit points: -1/-5 feet

wounded–50% hit points: -2/-10 feet

mauled–25% hit points: -4/-15 feet

these penalties disappear as soon as the damage is healed.

Diplomacy--i use a variant of the rich burlew rules, but i do throw in fairly substantial circumstance bonuses/penalties at times.

Favored Classes-- this is an idea swiped from the intrepid rathgar (a fellow playgrounder); the favored class feature of the different races is severely underplayed. from now on, in addition to the rules already in place, for each level taken in a race's favored class, a character gains an additional 2 hit points and 2 skill points. if it is the character's first level, they instead gain an additional 3 hit points and 3 skill points. for classes with a favored class listed as "any", the character's first class counts as their favored class (gestalt characters characters can pick one of their two first classes if they fall into this category).

Feat Fixes-- this will take a while to compile (cool, i... nevermind...), but i will attempt to post all of my houserule fixes here. if you have one that you want to bring up, it'll probably get put on the wall a lot sooner, so don't hesitate. here they are:

dodge: so, dodge, epitome of a useless feat. now, you get +1/3 levels. max +6 at 18th (then you can take epic dodge). or, you can scrap that as a swift act in order to get half the dodge bonus to all foes (rounded down). can use swift act to change it back and forth. now it is a little better.

item creation feats: i am thinking of making one feat for psionic creation, one for divine magic creation, one for arcane magic, etc. haven't done it yet, but... if and when i get rid of all of those feats, characters that had them will be able to pick new feats as if they were retraining.

metamagic/psionics/etc feats: this is in the works, but i am probably going to scuttle the whole feat system. i am thinking of making it a function of spellcraft and its cousins. tell me if you have better ideas. if, and when--yeah, same as above.

sacred vow: gives +1 perfection bonus to will saves as well. waste of a feat otherwise; always made me feel icky when i had to take it to get vop, and a holy vow should make no one feel icky.

snatch/improved grab: both the feat and the ability have the exact same effect, and anything that snatch can do, that is not explicitly stated in improved grab, still works.

weapon finesse (and intuitive attack, etc): at +11 bab, these feats allow you to add the appropriate ability mod to damage instead of strength in melee combat


Gestalt Progression--i don't care if you have levels in the same class on both sides of the progression, so long as you don't have two of the same abilities at the same level...
example:
1--LA 1//wizard 1
2--LA 2//wizard 2
3--rogue 1//wizard 3
4--rogue 2//wizard 4
5--rogue 3//wizard 5
6--wizard 6//sandshaper 1 (with spell progression dead level)
7--rogue 4//sandshaper 2
etc...
...and as long as you don't end up with more levels worth of ability progression than you normally would in one of the classes by that level.
example:
you take two classes that would progress sneak attack, one that ends up with 9d6 at its final level, and the other that ends up with 5d6 at its final level, because there are some sneak attack dead levels. You can stack them so that the higher sneak attack class fills in the one with the dead levels, but you could not do it so that you have 9d6 sneak attack by 10th level, or 15d6 sneak attack by 20th.
clear enough?

Initiative-- Initiative––Aggressive Action
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=119745

Figure out the initiative order normally.

If you have a higher initiative order than another individual, you receive a +1 aggressive bonus to AC, attacks, caster level checks, opposed ability or skill checks, saving throws, and saving throw DCs against that individual.

If your initiative score is 10 point higher than the individual, your aggressive bonus to these rolls becomes +2, and for every further 10 points by which you beat the individual's initiative score, your aggressive bonus vs that foe is increased by another +1.

Swift Bonuses: A swift bonus does not stack with itself. An individual loses any swift bonuses that it might have during any round in which it is flat-footed, stunned, or helpless.

Once initiative order is figured, one party or the other takes its turn until all of its members capable of taking a turn have, and another party goes. The dm is the one that decides which party goes first in an encounter, though generally the party with the lowest initiative score goes last.

Within a party though, whoever posts first acts first; initiative will not actually determine who goes first within a party.

Effects that would normally terminate during or after your turn in a round terminate instead at the end of that specific round. Note that this may increase the duration of some effects by as much as almost an entire round.

Delayed Actions: Individuals can delay actions indefinitely while it is still their party's turn without taking a subsequent initiative penalty. However, once the party's turn is over and the dm declares that it is another party's turn, delaying individuals have lost their turn for the round (though immediate actions, AoOs, etc still apply normally).

Reading the thread and deciding that your character can't yet do anything and that you are going to wait for a few posts before making up your mind is the same as delaying an action; once you've read the thread, it is your turn. An individual that intends to delay needs to post this intention as soon as they decide on this course of action so as to make it clear to the others that they are not just absent from the computer (we don't want to have one individual delaying until the rest of the party acts while the others are delaying until he acts, and none of them are communicating their plans with each other).

Readied actions: Readied actions can allow an individual to take an action during another party's turn without actually changing his or her initiative score if the predetermined events of the readied action take place. But if nothing happens, that individual has lost a turn for the round (again, barring immediate actions, etc).

Specific Mechanic Fixes

There will be certain feats, spells, etc that will need to be tweaked in order to work with this system. They will be added as they are brought up.

––white raven tactics: this maneuver still moves another creature's initiative count to your own -1. If the individual has already acted in the round, it can act again as if it hasn't acted. Immediately after the round in which this maneuver is used ends, that individual returns to its normal initiative count. If the individual hasn't acted yet during the round, that individual now acts permanently on your own initiative count -1, until it is again affected by an ability that changes its place in the initiative count.
This makes WRT inherently more powerful, but it solves some of the problems that would otherwise come up trying to stick closer to the original intent.

Knowledge Uses-- consider yourselves empowered (remember that you can use them in situations other than combat, like diplomacy, tracking, etc):
http://www.giantitp.com/articles/paBcfg1YaEccDMQACfu.html

Level Adjustment Awards-- occasionally, as an xp award, you will lose one level of LA adjustment. what this means (as far as i have figured out) is that you generally just bump your level progression on that side down one and add another level at the top (highest hit dice).

example:

1-LA 1/wizard 1
2-LA 2/wizard 2
3-fighter 1/wizard 3

would become:

1-LA 1/wizard 1
2-fighter 1/wizard 2
3-fighter 2/wizard 3


Linguistics-- similar to the knowledge uses ability above, this one is mostly on you guys to initiate. when speaking with others or reading someone else's writing, you can declare that you are making a special linguistics sense motive check or a speak language check in order to get any special information about the motives or origins behind the message. both of these rolls will receive a +1 competence bonus for each language that you know from that species' category (if you are reading the ancient writings of an illithid, and are fluent in three aberrant languages, you get a +3). these linguistics rolls can even be used when addressing a tongue with which you are not fluent, such as the ancient script on the dungeon walls, but you must know at least one language from that sub category. these rolls are part of the normal acts of listening, reading, or speaking, and in and of themselves do not constitute an action of any kind.

Lore-- any kind of knowledge check or lore check or anything else will be heavily ad hoc-ed as far as modifiers go, or just plain auto-succeed or auto-fail, if i think that there would be no reason for your character to have any info on the subject in question, or if i think that your character should not have gotten as far as he/she did without having known about the subject in question. tough stuff. i don't like the current, randomness of lore checks.

Magic Transparency--magic, psionics, and every other kind of 'magic' that is not specified as a (Su), (Sp), or (Ex) ability is going to be treated as spells for the purposes of dispelling, etc. i might have to post revisions to this in the future, but i'll warn ya.

Massive Damage--
this replaces the current massive damage rules.

whenever a creature suffers more than 50% of its current hit points in one strike, they have suffered massive damage. they must make a successful fort save or be nauseated by the pain until at least 8 hit points are healed back. if the save succeeds, the creature is instead sickened for 1 round. the DC of the fort save equals the damage that was done to the creature. creatures that are immune to critical hits, immune to pain, or are under the effects of a barbarian rage or equivalent are immune to the effects of massive damage.

Natural Attacks-- a creature with natural attacks designates its primary weapon and if any others, its secondary weapons. primary weapons now gain iterive attacks as if they were wielded weapons. secondary weapons still get one extra, secondary attack each (except with various feats, etc), at a -5 penalty. note that under normal rules, creatures can already do this with a wielded weapon, but not with natural weapons for some reason...

reference thread:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107949

Polymorph Subschool-- using rich burlew's rules on giantitp.
http://www.giantitp.com/articles/dC21fDHZ4tK8n5OjUm9.html
http://www.giantitp.com/articles/PbpHATjPkec7E82kEmo.html

Pure Devotion-- gain a +4 (only +3 in gestalt games) unnamed bonus to all saves. this is a free feat! there is a catch though. in order to qualify for this feat, you have to take 20 levels of a base class by 20th level. so, no LA adjusts, no prc's, no cherrypicking base classes like you're stealing cash from your passed-out-drunk roommate's wallet. pure 20/20 goodness. i used to not allow gestalt characters to qualify for this either, but what the hell. you only live once. however, in gestalt, you can only qualify for it once, even if you have two progressions that reach 20 levels by level 20.

RP Award--(idea stolen from count alucard) after every campaign, or whenever i decide to dole out xp, i will give a bonus award to the best roleplayers among the group. There will be two such awards, the players' choice and the dm's choice awards.

players' choice will be decided by popular vote (among you guys; i will not vote), though it cannot be the same character more than one time in a row.

dm's award will obviously be chosen by me, though the same character cannot be chosen more than one time in a row, and the same character will not be chosen for both players' and dm's awards.

the same player can have different characters simultaneously awarded though.

awarded players can choose between the following (this list will be updated):


+30% xp toward next level gain (remember that if you have +30% and then gain an arbitrary level gain as a result of chapter awards or something, you keep that +30% until it adds up to +100% and you gain another level)

a bonus feat for which they qualify

8 extra skill points and a +2 master bonus to any one skill (master bonuses does not stack with each other, but they count as skill ranks for the purpose of qualifying for feats, prcs, etc).

Reflex Saves-- whenever you are forced to roll a reflex save, for whatever reason, if you wish, and are successful with the save, you can also attempt a Balance check against half of the initial save's DC. If successful, as a free action, you can move 5 feet in any direction. if unsuccessful, you fall prone in the square that you are currently in.

Rule of Relative Mathematics--i fudge rolls all of the time in order to further the story. ok, 'all the time' might be an exaggeration. but i do it, so don't be surprised if you catch it. normally i try to do it in a discreet, non-railroading way that you guys will never notice. but i'm a fallible human too, and occasionally slip. don't worry, if you will remember, i do it in order to FURTHER the story, which includes the goals and desires of the players and their pc's.

Shards of Narsil––who ever heard of a magic item that couldn't be fixed once broken? not only is that the stuff of legendary campaigns, it just makes sense. so, don't feel so bad when you sunder the BBEG's vorpal sword, because you might just end up with it still...

Skill Ranks-- so, once you have training in a class, the class skills of that class are always considered class skills, no matter what other class/prc/racial advancement/etc you are advancing. once trained: always trained.

Sorcerer's Lament-- the sorc has always been the red-headed stepbrother of the wizard. i hate that he gets nerfed at just about every opportunity. granted, there have been some good supplemental stuff for him, but one of his biggest (in my opinion) crutches is the fact that he has to wait for an extra level to begin a new level of spells. sorcerers in my game will gain new spell levels one level earlier. the mechanic for this is kinda sloppy, so bear with me, and if anyone has any suggestions for a better method, let me know.

mechanical info below:

0 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th
1st +0 +0 +0 +2 Summon
familiar 5 3 — — — — — — — —
2nd +1 +0 +0 +3 6 4 — — — — — — — —
3rd +1 +1 +1 +3 6 5 — — — — — — — —
4th +2 +1 +1 +4 6 6 3 — — — — — — —
5th +2 +1 +1 +4 6 6 4 — — — — — — —
6th +3 +2 +2 +5 6 6 5 3 — — — — — —
7th +3 +2 +2 +5 6 6 6 4 — — — — — —
8th +4 +2 +2 +6 6 6 6 5 3 — — — — —
9th +4 +3 +3 +6 6 6 6 6 4 — — — — —
10th +5 +3 +3 +7 6 6 6 6 5 3 — — — —
11th +5 +3 +3 +7 6 6 6 6 6 4 — — — —
12th +6/+1 +4 +4 +8 6 6 6 6 6 5 3 — — —
13th +6/+1 +4 +4 +8 6 6 6 6 6 6 4 — — —
14th +7/+2 +4 +4 +9 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 3 — —
15th +7/+2 +5 +5 +9 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 4 — —
16th +8/+3 +5 +5 +10 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 3 —
17th +8/+3 +5 +5 +10 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 4 —
18th +9/+4 +6 +6 +11 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 3
19th +9/+4 +6 +6 +11 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 4
20th +10/+5 +6 +6 +12 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6

^normal progression

the way i am working it is this, at every level where a wizard would gain access to a new level of spells (one level before the sorc), the sorc gains one spell per day of that level. so 3rd level would read (6/5/1), and 4th level would then still read (6/6/3).

spells known is a bit trickier. so far, my best idea has been to do it like the ranger for spells per day. at every level that he now gains 1 spell/day of the new spell level (the level before the sorc normally gets it), he also gains spells known based on his bonus spells only, to a maximum of one spell known of that level. therefore, if the 3rd level sorcerer does not have a 14 charisma, and therefore does not gain 2nd level charisma-based bonus spells, he cannot yet cast 2nd level spells. however, if any of you are trying to create a caster that does not have a 14 or better in your caster stat, then i'm probably going to be using you for target practice anyway, so i'm not too worried that this will be a problem.

notice that even if your ability grants 3 bonus spells at a certain level, you can only gain one for now. why? because i said so. no... well yes, but because next level, you would be getting that one spell anyway. the point is to get it earlier, not to get more of them.

whew. this one has always been harder. thanks for bearing with me.


further, a sorcerer can cast metamagic'ed spells without any casting time increase.

Specific Class Abilities Fixes and Add-ons-- yeah, pretty much the same as the feat fixes. let me know if you have others that need fixing, or different ideas than what is already here.

Dragonscale Husk: can be enchanted with armor magical abilities, if first enchanted with a virtual +4 bonus (that does not actually apply to AC, but factors in the current armor abilities). Enchanting it with that +4 virtual bonus makes it masterwork armor, giving it the -1 to armor check penalties.

alternative to the medium armor (6+1/3 HD armor bonus), a character can trade its armor proficiency in for a light armor dragonscale husk that gives a bonus of 2+1/3 HD armor bonus (max +8 at 18th level), an armor check penalty of -1, a maximum dex modifier of +6, and no chance of spell failure. all other features remain the same as the medium dragonscale husk armor.


spells/powers/etc fixes here––
astral construct: ignore the nerf that complete psionics gave the power; you can have more than one construct at a time.

Spell Ranges–Personal Spells––from now on, any spell, psionic power, mystery, invocation, etc, that has a range of personal is now considered to have a range of touch. if such an effect is used by the caster on him or herself, it is only then considered to have a range of personal.

many "personal" spells are listed at "no SR/no saves." all of them will now be subject to SR, and have saves permitted (save type will be determined on case by case basis).

i reserve the right to negate this ruling on specific spells or related effects if they would become game-breaking or annoying otherwise.

Spinning Yarns-- i realize that it is very hard to actually convey things like battlefield positions, tactics, etc, on a forum. therefore, we are all going to have to be a bit flexible and imaginative. it is going to be hard to be true to normal squares of movement, combat maneuvering, etc. i am very flexible in this regard when it comes to pbp. generally, i will try to give as descriptive an idea as i can as to where your characters are, and who is close to what, etc. i probably am not going to start drawing battle maps and stuff though. so roll with it. i probably am not going to post portraits of each pc and stuff, so roll with it. if you need to know ranges, circumfrences, and volumes, let me know, and i'll let you know. you can improv with me quite a bit. if i say you are talking to a wealthy banker, but don't mention anything else, go ahead and tell him that you love his blue hat and brown shoes--whether or not i mentioned it. i will probably just roll with it. if it goes contrary to something i had planned, i'll let you know.

Trip-Combat Maneuver-- after the touch attack, it is not a contested strength check, but a contested BAB+Str check. Further, tripping an airborne foe causes that foe to fall 10 feet per 5 points by which you beat their roll, before they are able to recover, unless they hit the ground before this point.

XP in general--don't expect standard xp awards. sometimes it will be less, sometimes more; sometimes at the end of a chapter, sometimes in the middle; sometimes i will just say, "everyone gains one level" or something similar. basically, i kind of fudge xp gains as i feel is beneficial to the goals of the chronicle. sometimes i kill level adjustment in the same manner, generally in place of an xp award, or alongside a smaller one.

Withdraw Action-- there is no withdraw action, only normal movement.

more to come as i remember them/dream them up/find them, etc...


Watchtower Character Creation:

32-point buy getalt 10th level

full hit points at every level

fractional bab and saves

2 flaws and 2 traits possible

wealth by level: 49,000gp

look at the ability score and feat acquisition houserules in order to calculate these.

class skills: once a class skill, always a class skill; further, Intelligence increases are retroactive with regards to increasing skill points (like hit points).

pretty much anything official (printed in one of the wiz books) is legal, though i will dissect the crap out of some things. anything else, even third party publications, is considered homebrew–which is very much encouraged–and will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

players, what am i forgetting?


The Contracts:


Luna Citadel Armed Forces Contract

I, __________________, have voluntarily enlisted in the Luna Citadel Armed Forces for a period of two Celestial years, beginning on the date, ______, and ending on the date, ______.

I understand that I can resign before the above termination date, but that I will forfeit any and all future benefits.

I understand that I am enlisting as a Combat Specialist, and will be required to place myself in harm's way on a consistent basis, in order to serve the greater needs of Celestia, as defined by my superior officers of Luna Citadel.

I understand that I am to receive a monthly salary while serving for Luna Citadel, beginning in the amount of 100 auras every month, subject to an increase or decrease as determined by my superior officers of Luna Citadel.

I understand that Luna Citadel will undertake all medical responsibilities for my well being, up to, but not including, death.

I understand that I am subject to obey lawful orders from my superior officers.

I understand that Luna Citadel law and regulatory policies may change without notice, and that I will still be subject to those changes.

I understand that upon successful and acceptable completion of my enlistment, I will be entitled to certain benefits for the rest of my existence.
1) I will always have an open position within Luna Citadel, regardless of current service positions available; this position may or may not be within my original training and service; pay for this permanent position will be subject to both need and the decision of the superior officers of Luna Citadel; this permanent position may be revoked at any time with unsatisfactory behavior or circumstances, as defined by the superior officers of Luna Citadel.
2) I will always have the right to speak before the Citadel-Celestial Bureaucracy liaisons, in order to affect future Luna Citadel regulations, or to affect the legislation of the Celestial Bureaucracy as regarding Luna Citadel; this right may be revoked at any time with unsatisfactory behavior or circumstances, as defined by the superior officers of Luna Citadel.
3) I will always have the right to attend the social and ceremonial functions of Luna Citadel, up to and including those available to me according to my rank at end of service, as if I were still an active service member of Luna Citadel; this right may be revoked at any time with unsatisfactory behavior or circumstances, as defined by the superior officers of Luna Citadel.
4) Other rights may be given as determined by the superior officers of Luna Citadel.

****WARNING: Confidential Section to follow:

Watchtower Contract

I, __________________, have voluntarily enlisted in the Watchtower for a period of two Celestial years, beginning on the date, ______, and ending on the date, ______.

I have voluntarily chosen this wartime obligation, and have not been coerced, by any mundane or supernatural force, to this decision.

I understand that the Watchtower is a nonexistent entity within Luna Citadel, and that I am never to refer to it to those that do not have access to this information; these individuals will be introduced to me presently.

I understand that if I reveal information in a willful or negligent manner, I may be held accountable and prosecutable by the superior officers of Luna Citadel.

I understand that my service in the Watchtower entitles me to a further 100 auras every month in base pay, subject to an increase or decrease as determined by my superior officers of Luna Citadel.

I understand that once I give my final signature, and am accepted by this document, and by the superior officers of Luna Citadel, this section of the contract that pertains to service in the Watchtower will disappear, and will not be made visible except with the consent of the superior officers of Luna Citadel. I further understand that if and when I have reason to review the terms of my enlistment and service to the Watchtower, that I have the right to review the entire contract, including this section pertaining to the Watchtower, with the supervision of a superior officer of Luna Citadel.

I understand the fourfold mission of the Watchtower to be as follows, and I will do my best to further these missions:

One--The Watchtower will identify and monitor high-risk areas, which are generally defined as areas with substantially higher than normal percentages of powerful villains as compared to powerful protectors. These designated areas will be consistently monitored for future problems, in which case the Watchtower will respond as reasonable. In such cases as it is not expedient or reasonable to annihilate the threat, the mission will be to check and control that evil until it can be eradicated.

Two--The Watchtower will identify those villains that skirt planar and area boundaries sufficient to confuse the responsible and authorized application of justice and righteousness. These villains will be eradicated when reasonable, and monitored, checked, and controlled when not.

Three--The Watchtower will respond to requests for aid from sincerely needful individuals or groups. These areas will then be reviewed to determine whether they meet the qualifications for mission number one.

Four--The Watchtower will preserve the lives of innocents whenever possible, and will take appropriate steps to minimize collateral damage within the areas of its operation. Further, the Watchtower will apply the proper emergency relief to those innocents affected by the operation or the targets of the operation. This duty includes medical and guardianship roles where applicable, but does not under normal circumstances include rebuilding, political reform, or other matters of infrastructure. These matters will be handled by Luna Citadel as determined appropriate by the superior officers of the organization.

NOTE: The divine nature of this contract will not allow for dishonest or untrue answers to any of the statements, whether knowingly or unknowingly. If the contract does not accept your final signature, you have been rejected for said service, and will have your memory regarding this incident erased. By attempting to sign this contract, you are giving your permission for said actions by the superior officers of Luna Citadel.

Final Signature: ____________________________ Date: ____________

Witness: ___________________ Witness: _____________________

Luna Citadel Recorder: ______________________ Date: ____________

along with your goals, post a link to your character sheet. that way i can patch it into this directory.

thanks, aaron out.

[Stycotl]

i will catch up to the action on this thread probably later tonight or early tomorrow. school projects are still lingering (one left!). stand by...

[Barbarian MD]

At some point, I'll have to make time to read all the threads that came before. How many parties have been in this campaign over the years?

[Tacitus]

Game where Lordsmoothe ran it as ECL 14 gestalt, restart with Levi's group and friends, and then this group and this group+

So 4000gp huh? Hmm....

[Barbarian MD]

This entire situation has continued to bother the gentle monk, and his mind races for an explanation.

Who is this woman, and why should she go to the trouble of attacking them?
Have they trespassed? Did she feel threatened by them and attack in an effort to defend herself? Even villains have a reason, but this just seems senseless to the monk.

If it weren't for the fact that she had attacked them first, Elric would have happily gone his way. Being undead is not reason enough for Elric to fight her, for Elric is from Eberron, where half the planet seems to be undead.

Doubt after doubt assails Elric, and he voices some of them to Kuru:

"Good dragon, Who is this woman, and why is she doing this? I do not understand why she has attacked us."

[Obscurejones]

Ketten cares not for her motivations! This woman has trespassed against his god! How dare she resist Pelor's light! His rage suffuses the link connecting his thoughts to those of his allies. Zipping forward with a roar, he remembers his training and attacks her from above with a concentrated dose of Pelor's radiance.
Spontaneously cast Heal on the Wraith. So we'll sack Heroes' Feast for 110 from the spell +12 for the augment healing x1.5 from empowered healing... 183 positive energy damage. And touch attack, +5 from improvisation and +1 from height differential:smallwink:, so...[roll0] against touch ac with a Dc 23 will save for half, and it can't reduce her below 1 hp.

[Stycotl]

hans is shaken.

all of kelurn's attacks hit.


P.S. Yay for 4000 gp! Elric gets to donate it to others! Too bad Kyrill can't make the case that he's hard up for money right now...

i am trying to think of something that would be a comparable reward for kuru and elric, but haven't had any great ideas yet. if any of you have any ideas, lemme know. i thought of just doing a +15% xp award, but that is intrinsically waaaaay different than a gp award in a lot of ways, and so i don't think that i'll go with that.

i have another option that i can't reveal yet, so if i decide to go with that, the two monks won't get anything for another two to three levels or so. good thing mhvaughan is patient!


That's what Iron Heart Surge is for,

which reminds me: i know that i covered the fact that iron heart surge works differently in my rules, but that was with the last group. now i have to go see if i actually added it to the houserules, or add it now.


Hans is startled by the supernatural power in the wraith woman's voice, and despite his best efforts, he cannot shake the tremor of fear that she inspires in him.

The woman screams as Kurukshetra's breath weapon washes over her. Her robes singe and smoke, her flesh suddenly smells burnt, and her eyes are squeezed tight against the onslaught of light. Elric fares better, not as averse to the Celestial power that he is so connected to as well.

Kelurn is moving again even as Kuru senses his intent and rolls out of his way, the human's blades slicing across her exposed neck, arms, and burying themselves in her abdomen through the rent hole in her armor.

The dragon does not have an answer to Elric's question. But even as he is thinking of her motive, Kettenbar pounces on her with the might of a thunderbolt loosed from Olympus, and the holy power transferred to the undead woman is too much.

With a shriek, she dissolves into a thick, black smoke that roils across Elric's prone form for a moment and is then lost to the cold wind atop the mountain.

elric takes another 5 acid and 5 fire damage.

Elric looks to the woman's weapon that he still holds in his hand, and though there is no hissing flame or bubbling acid, he can feel the lethal damage that the tonfa is inflicting upon him with every passing second.

Kurukshetra frowns as he reads the monk's thoughts through the net, That weapon could be cursed. You might want to let go of it; some types of acid are deadly poisonous to the body.

Then the dragon turns to Kettenbar, Nice work. All of you were impressive. That thing was very strong, stronger even than the lunar dragon, I think.

[Barbarian MD]

Elric Krossos - Pathfinder Human Half-Celestial Monk
HP: 120/161 + Temp, AC: 35 (39), T: 33, FF: 30. DR: 5/magic. Resistance Acid/Cold/Electricity: 10. SR: 20 (24 Evil). Fortitude: 14. Reflex: 15. Will: 16. Initiative: +5. Speed 60' (120' fly).
Darkvision 60'. Evasion. Improved Evasion. Still Mind (+2 saves against enchantment). Slow fall 50'. *Immune disease, poison. Mindshielding. Endure Elements. Sustenance.
Dodge (+3). Combat Reflexes/Expertise. Improved Trip, Defensive Throw. Improved Grapple, Choke Hold. Improved Disarm, Grappling Block. Prone Attack. Deflect Arrows.

Stunning Fist: DC 23 (25 against evil, staggered after stun). 0/11.
Unarmed Strike (Magic/Holy/Lawful) Atk: +22/+22/+22/+17/+12. Dmg: 1d10+10 (+2d6 against evil).
Trip: +16.
Grapple: +22 Touch. Check: +27.
Disarm: +26.

+7 fear
+4 battlesense
inspire greatness +3 attack
Freedom of Movement,
Haste: +1 attack,+1 AC, reflex
Displacement. Inspire Courage is currently +6 morale to hit, +7 morale to damage and saves vs fear and charm.
+2 attack flanking
large size + 4 grapple
+1 wisdom
+5 grapple
+3 AC dodge
+2 competence on fort saves
temporary d10 hit dice (include con bonus 3 times).
Fly

Spell Like Abilities and Ki Pool
Ki Pool: 1/13
2 Points = Heal 11
1 Point = 1 extra attack
1 Point = Speed +20'
1 Point = +4 Dodge bonus

Daylight (at will)
Protection from Evil 0/3
Smite Evil 0/1
Bless 0/1
Aid 0/1
Detect Evil 0/1
Cure Serious Wounds 0/1
Neutralize Poison 0/1
Holy Smite 0/1
Remove Disease 0/1
Dispel Evil 0/1
Holy Word 0/1
The monk clenches his eyes shut during the blast, and then quivers in pain--more from the evil essence than the acid--that flows over his body into the snow. As he rises, there are burn holes throughout his coarse robes.

When Kuru speaks, Elric furiously throws the tonfa into the snow, having been unaware that he was even holding it in his hand during the struggle (OOC: all disarms, unless specified, are dropped and not held).

With a sigh, he sits down in the snow, breathing heavily from his contest with the lady.


Kyrill Medvedyev - Pathfinder Half-Orc Were-Bear
HP: 200/254, AC: 33 (35 against ranged attacks), T: 14, FF:33. DR: 10/silver + 2/-. Fortitude: 24. Reflex: 13. Will: 16. Initiative: -3. Scent: aware of creatures within 30' (60' downwind, 15' upwind), low-light vision, darkvision 60', improved uncanny dodge (cannot be flanked), trap sense +3, orc ferocity, endurance, Size: Large, Reach: 10', Speed: 30'

+1 Magebane Adamantine Fullblade Atk: +24/+19/+14. Dmg: 3d8+20.
(Against arcane casters, becomes +3 Fullblade dealing 3d8+2d6+19 dmg)
Bite Atk: +18. Dmg: 1d8+6; Claws Atk: +18. Dmg 1d8+13

Greater Raging. +6 Str and Con. +3 will. -2 AC.
Also: huge size. +2 Str. -2 Dex. -1 AC and attack.

+7 fear
+4 battlesense
inspire greatness +3 attack
Freedom of Movement
Haste: +1 attack,+1 AC, reflex
Displacement. Inspire Courage is currently +6 morale to hit, +7 morale to damage and saves vs fear and charm.
+2 attack flanking
+2 competence on fort saves
temporary d10 hit dice (include con bonus 3 times).
Fly


For his part, the were-bear is uneasy, splitting his attention between the steaming outline of the fiend in the snow and the horizons around him.

With a sniff of the air, he turns to the others: "Should not we rather be going, then?"

Also, just for good measure, does "Scent" pick up anything in the vicinity? I doubt there will be anything, but I imagine for RP sake she smells pretty evil.

So...any desire to tell us: random encounter chart? Or plot?

[Obscurejones]

Dalbar walks over to the weapon and takes a closer look at it. Hmmmmm... Does any one have any spare chain or cloth? I like the look of this thing.

[Tacitus]

Stycotl, there are things like Blessings and Locations that have GP values but are not technically material possessions. I can find one around 4000gp if you like.

Levi and Hans

The two rummage around their gear and almost at the same time they produce rope. Hans's rope is rather normal, but with enough it could be used to create a makeshift carrying case if one were good with knots. Levi's rope is absolutely foul. It is bloated and the color of dead flesh but it seems to grow before the eyes.

Levi has Troll Gut Rope, and if it works on this plane he can create 300ft of rope that lasts 12 hours. Mmmmm, intestines.

Hans's rope is just rope. He's also got a few random things that are like 15gp worth of basic starting gear (standard adventurer's pack from PH2) which includes a backpack he never actually uses.

If no one has anything, Hans can use Materialization to create something with hours per 2 levels duration but its Chaos Magic that is creating something. Levi also has his turban, but he'd much rather keep it.

[Obscurejones]

Dalbar looks over the rope and over the tonfa. For first time in ever I find my self in need of a seamstress. He looks thoughtful for a moment. Or a weaver.
If only someone in the party had say... ranks in craft(weaving)...:smallbiggrin:

[Stycotl]

(OOC: all disarms, unless specified, are dropped and not held).

unarmed attacks end with the weapon in your hand. i figured you would want to hold on to it so that she couldn't get her mitts on it again anyway.


Also, just for good measure, does "Scent" pick up anything in the vicinity? I doubt there will be anything, but I imagine for RP sake she smells pretty evil.

she has no smell normally (though when she burned toward the end, there was a strange charred flesh smell, but almost as if it were preserved flesh that was burning.


So...any desire to tell us: random encounter chart? Or plot?

well, i'd say "you'll see," but then you guys would figure it out...


Stycotl, there are things like Blessings and Locations that have GP values but are not technically material possessions. I can find one around 4000gp if you like.

that is a darn good idea. i had forgotten all about places of power and stuff. some of those would fit the two monks' characters pretty well too. +5% xp to either levi or hans.


Levi has Troll Gut Rope, and if it works on this plane he can create 300ft of rope that lasts 12 hours. Mmmmm, intestines.

it works, but it'll have to make a caster level check.


If only someone in the party had say... ranks in craft(weaving)...

+5% to dalbar or ketten too; i laughed at that remark for over a minute. the irony...

Kurukshetra shakes himself out of his thoughts, What in the darkness of the Abyss was that?

He glances at Dalbar as the gnome inspects the martial art weapon. I say we just throw it into one of those deep ice chasms–then no one will find its unholy power for a good long time.

Even as he says it though, he realizes that this thought is not very rational, and that it is extremely biased because of his forswearing of personal belongings.

Finally he shrugs, Just make it quick. We need to keep moving if we are going to make it in time. So far the wind has been strong, but when I was fling over the other side of the ridge, it seemed as if it was much stronger on the other side, and there are miles and miles of ravines and gorges that we have to cross.

[Tacitus]

(As I'm applying it to Levi) Is that the only XP award I have gotten? I can't seem to recall, because I don't have any gains displayed on the sheet.

OH! Back in Lordsmoothe's version of the Watchtower you (Stycotl) asked about Companion Spirits. Can this group take part in that? It would give us a use of some of that there gold which may or may not be more beneficial than giving the ascetics blessing-type-things.

And on that note, if we attract a Companion can I name him Veil Edal and have him form from the errant thoughts in my network? XD

[Stycotl]

(As I'm applying it to Levi) Is that the only XP award I have gotten? I can't seem to recall, because I don't have any gains displayed on the sheet.

i think so, but i wasn't smart enough to start writing down when i promised you guys xp awards until just a two weeks ago or so (remember when i told douglas to remind me about his?).


OH! Back in Lordsmoothe's version of the Watchtower you (Stycotl) asked about Companion Spirits. Can this group take part in that? It would give us a use of some of that there gold which may or may not be more beneficial than giving the ascetics blessing-type-things.

And on that note, if we attract a Companion can I name him Veil Edal and have him form from the errant thoughts in my network? XD

companion spirits are going to feature in the group, but the system will be different enough that i think it would be fair to allow a by-the-book system that will cost xp and gold as well, so if you guys can make levi's companion spirit work out, i am all for it. you will probably want to homebrew your own, though you could just change the flavor of some of the canon spirits. most of them kinda suck though, so do what you want.


Kurukshetra is gazing toward the pass just above them, How much time left is there on your flight magic? If we still have some time, we might be able to get down to land somewhere safe on the other side of the mountain. The wind will be a problem, but it might be our only chance to cut some time off of our trip.

[Obscurejones]

Dalbar loops a quick knot of Han's silk rope over and around the handle of the tonfa, pulling it snug while taking care to not touch the weapon itself. With a gesture of triumph he hangs it off his shoulder.

[Stycotl]

barring an extradimensional space or something, it'll be almost impossible not to touch it occasionally, especially while hiking and flying. i'm not gonna specify an amount of damage, except that dalbar gets zapped by it a couple of times.

Kuru watches as the gnome secures the weapon. All right. Let's get out of here.

With that, he takes to the air, leading the way over the pass and down the far side. From this altitude, the group sees over the lower clouds that screened Kuru and Kettenbar's vision earlier, and they can now see a wall of mountains on the horizon, vast and imposingly tall. Almost all of the peaks are of roughly the same height, except for one large tower of stone that sticks out like a fortified position.

Between them and the tower were miles and miles of craggy, rocky terrain complete with fissures, cliffs, glacial valleys, and deep chasms. As the dragon had stated, the wind was much stronger once on this far side of the twin peaks, and the group nearly has to fly at an oblique angle toward the south in order to keep moving straight west against the powerful, northward gusts.

[Barbarian MD]

As Elric flies, worries over the lady's agression continue to trouble him, as does Dalbar's insistence on bringing her dark weapon. The monk glances across at Dalbar's bundle every few minutes, concern etched across his brow. They should have destroyed the thing and left it in that unholy place.

...

Kyrill enjoys the flight, his massive bulk catching the wind, but helping to steady him nonetheless.

Are we worried about healing in case we run into another bad guy?

[Obscurejones]

As he flies Ketten sends his thought through the net. Do any of you require healing? I have Pelor's light to spare.

[Stycotl]

Kurukshetra is flying above the group, fighting some very intense wind gusts, I think that it would be smart to heal anyone that needs it; we will probably need all of our strength once we lose the option to fly. And who knows if we will meet anymore unfriendlies along the route. He then rises again to his observation altitude.

A few moments later the dragon drops back into communication range, still wrestling with the winds, shouts, There is a large storm front moving in from the north. We had best make for a gorge or valley that runs in our direction before it is upon us.

Sure enough, within less than a minute, a mass of darkness spreads over the distant peaks of the northern horizon, and at its rate, it will be upon them within five minutes. Even from this distance, it is easy to see the blanketing wall of snow and ice driven below the towering thunderhead that signals a blizzard of tremendous proportions.

[Barbarian MD]

Both Kyrill and Elric speak up, affirming their need of healing.

[Obscurejones]

Ketten flies between to each of them in turn and dispenses Pelor's blessings.
OOC: How much do they each need?

[Barbarian MD]

E: 41. K: 54.

Much obliged, sir.

[Obscurejones]

All right we'll start with a cure critical to each.
Kyrill[roll0]x1.5= 61
Elric[roll1]x1.5= 52
Alrighty than. Anyone else?

[Stycotl]

Kurukshetra drops back into range, I could use a little bit of help too. I have used up all of my healing, but am still quite sore.

32 points left unhealed.

There is a valley just to the west of us that runs almost parallel to our direction of travel. It looks very deep, and might afford us the protection that we need from the storm. In fact, if it is deep enough, it might shield us from the worst of the wind, and we still might be able to fly.

Levi and Kelurn, what is our plan?

[Douglas]

Kurukshetra is gazing toward the pass just above them, How much time left is there on your flight magic? If we still have some time, we might be able to get down to land somewhere safe on the other side of the mountain. The wind will be a problem, but it might be our only chance to cut some time off of our trip.
Ten minutes from the moment we got out of that witch's maze, Erfel replies. I can renew it several more times if required, but each times risks this world's wrath against magic.

Kelurn also requests healing (he's down 71 from full).

Going for the valley sounds good to me. Levi?

Huh, the speed bonus from Snowshoes is actually not specified to any particular movement mode, so we'd be flying at speed 70 by RAW.

[Tacitus]

Sorry, been a bit busy. >.< So bloody tired. x.x

And ya know, Levi is immune to acid AND has an extradimensional space...

*rambles on...*

Levi

The psychic reviews the surroundings, his mind running through visual cues pulled from Kuru's mind and various calculations. As he is thinking his hands slide over his crossbow in motions he has repeated time and again. A case with a single remaining bolt is exchanged for a fresh one dangling from his belt, the many cases still in his pack left forgotten. He doesn't plan to risk attempting to open it on this strange plane unless he absolutely must. He glances to the others and though he does not nod the mental image slides over the true image as he speaks telepathically, "To the valley then, with haste."

[Stycotl]

will have a post up in a few minutes. i should have time to post for a few hours tonight, if people are going to be around.

[Stycotl]

Now healed, the team moves on quickly, aiming for the opening of the long, narrow valley that Kuru spotted ahead. Even as they fly, the storm boils over the mountains to the north and rushes toward them. Winds pick up as it approaches, and Kurukshetra drops back down into the net as the valley becomes visible to the others.

We need to take to the ground now!

Just then, as if to accentuate his point, a powerful gust picks him up and spins him in the air as if he were a feather caught in its grasp instead of a dragon. He regains control 150 feet farther away from them than he had started and then continues his descent, wings working furiously to keep him from being dashed against the ice-covered stones below.

Kurukshetra hits the ground at a run, wings folding up behind him, I can take two riders if they are smaller than Kyrill...

Not only can he take riders, but Kuru is by far the fastest runner in the group, with the stamina of a dragon to back up the speed.

He nods toward a small gap in between two icy hills ahead, The valley is just beyond those foothills. It will take us within four miles of the wall of mountains, just below the tower. Those four miles will be rough though, especially with a blizzard over us.

With that, he begins a quick jog toward the entrance to their valley, accepting whatever riders want to get on.

light load is 519 lbs, and he doesn't carry a thing since he has the vow of poverty going. base land speed is 120 feet, so he's not going to have any difficulty setting a quick pace.

yeah, that is what kuru does well; he moves fast. oh, and he has a lot of skill ranks in listen and intimidate... *small yay*

so, who wants a ride? for fluff reasons, small riders like the gnomes would be better, but he is technically a large dragon now, and with his encumbrance, he can take a medium rider if someone wants on. but it would look like someone riding a miniature pony that has golden scales and moves real quick!

[Stycotl]

well then, i'll just assume that the two gnomes wanted rides.

The Watchmen drop to the ground just as the gales reach them, and now struggle to keep their feet as immense winds threaten to blow them away. The smaller Watchmen are particularly affected by the winds, and Kyrill is hardly affected at all, except for the airborne debris getting in his eyes.

Kurukshetra takes off, bounding like a hunting cat across the deep snows, Erfel and Dalbar clinging to his back as if they were riding an angry bronco. He decides to put his great speed to use by scouting ahead, sweeping back and forth from left to right in order to allow the others to keep up. Even when he is running, he uses his wings to steady him and aid in maneuvering. He stops every few minutes in order to catch his breath and conserve energy in case of emergency, but other than that, he blasts through snow drifts and over ice-covered rock outcroppings, sniffing the air and scanning the shadows with his sharp dragon eyes.

After a few moments, the group drops down into the valley. Sure enough, the wind is lesser here, though it has been channeled and runs east to west instead of north to south, with many eddies and cross currents. Now, the companions are able to again take to the air, so long as they stay low to the ground, and with the wind behind them, they make excellent, though somewhat breakneck, speed, and the valley fairly rushes past underneath them as they swoop past.

Only half an hour passes, and they reach the end of the valley. Above them the storm rages, and Kuru creeps up to the very edges of the valley's upward slope in order to see about how they should continue.

After a few minutes, the dragon returns, I think that Kyrill is the only one that would be able to keep his feet against that wind. All of us would be blown about like small birds. Further, there is a strong hail that scours the snowdrifts. This valley is deep enough that it has not penetrated down here yet, but the stones are as large as olives up there.

I cannot yet see an end to the storm, though even my vision is admittedly limited within the tempest above. If any of you have any magic that may aid us, now might be one of the times to test our luck against the strict nature of this plane. The only other option that I have thought of would be to tether us all together and utilize the werebear as an anchor. Kyrill, so you think that you could anchor an entire group of living kites?

A problem with that strategy though, would be the cliffs and ravines that we face until we reach the mountain wall ahead. There will be much climbing, and having us all tethered together will certainly make some of the climbs easier, but it will make it much more dangerous in some aspects too.

Team leaders, thoughts?

[Barbarian MD]

Kyrill's voice booms out across the snow and wind:

"Let us climb. Tie yourselves to me, but let us move quickly! If we are to make the tower before our time is out, we need to keep moving.

Three cheers for +17 climb and buffs.

[Stycotl]

for the purposes if the vow poverty feat, i am ruling that tethering kuru and elric to the rest of the party by way of someone else's rope is within the realm of "[riding] on your companion's ebony fly or something similar, and that it doesn't break the vow. if you disagree with this ruling, feel free to let me know, either in a spoiler or by dm if you want.



Kurukshetra speaks to the rest of the group as they start hastily harnessing themselves together, I should go at the rear of the party; I am the next heaviest after the werebear, and might possibly be the next strongest (22 strength). This way, we might keep the majority of the party from flying free and banging around the rocks even if one of us is loose.

[Stycotl]

The group ties themselves together by way of the rest of Hans' silk rope, and Levi's trollgut rope, Kyrill and Kelurn anchoring them to the ground, and then start trudging up the slope and out of the valley. The storm's fury becomes more and more pronounced as they gain higher altitude, and hailstones begin to pelt them with bruising force.

The driving snow restricts visibility to only a few yards at most, and the group begins to become worried that they will lose their way. But through the collective awareness of the entire group, and particularly with the mental image of the long tether keeping them straight, they keep from veering too far away from due west.

After an hour and a half, more time than they had hoped, they come to the steep foothills of the mountain wall. From here it is impossible to tell if they are below the tower or not, but they will not know for sure until the storm passes or they can climb above it.

At this point, Kyrill begins to climb, trying to maintain as straight a course up as he can. But inevitably, the werebear is forced to head right or left when impassable obstacles bar his path. Many times, someone in the group slips and is left dangling in midair, in danger of dragging the rest of the team into the screaming wind, but each time, the group is able to collectively rescue the individual and bring them back in contact with the mountain.

Despite Levi's warming effects, the cold becomes irritating and numbing, and bones ache with weariness and extreme temperatures. Soon, everyone is fairly miserable and tired of the blizzard's onslaught, and there are still thousands of feet to be scaled.

Sometime in the early morning while the sky is still presumed to be dark (hard to tell through the storm), the blizzard becomes so intense that even Kyrill starts to slip, and on one occasion, if not for the combined strength of Kelurn and Kettenbar, the werebear would have fallen from his tenuous hold on the mountainside and dragged everyone else with him. It is at this point that the group realizes that they must wait out the worst of the storm. Kyrill manages to find a small ledge, 1,400 feet or so above the glacial valley floor below them, tucked away so that the wind does not hit them directly but instead eddies around and drops soft blankets of snow on top of them.

Here the companions sit in frustration, waiting for a calm in the storm (EDIT) or a realistic plan that they could use to get through the storm anyway, feeling the minutes tick by one by one.

Kuru restlessly flicks his tail back and forth, horned crest covered in fresh powdered snow. I wonder what kind of negative consequences we will see if we are late...

[Barbarian MD]

Kyrill turns to Levi: Permission to speak, sir?

We should arrive when we were told to do so.

Kyrill lays out this plan:
Risk casting any climbing buffs.
Not sure if it works, but skill point bonuses through the network.
Shove everyone in Levi's extradimensional space.
Kyrill and Kuru climb.

If kyrill should fall, he's got two uses of his boots left, since we used a fly spell earlier. It should be enough for him to grab the wall. Kuru's got wings (and won't fit in the space).

Ultimately, Kyrill thinks we should carry out our orders, regardless of personal risk.

[Stycotl]

i want input from the others, but at the very least from the team leaders, before we move on.

[Obscurejones]

Dalabr chimes in.
Punctuality is a virtue.
Healing! We'll sack...Flame strike to cast mass cure light wounds and shift the healing around through the network. Eight of us plus Keru So [roll0]x1.5=232 hp. So... 32 to Keru, 71 to Kelrun, leaving 129 hp change. Huh...:smallconfused: That seems a mite overpowered:smallbiggrin:

[Stycotl]

i understand that real life gets in the way, believe me–i am fairly busy myself.

but if you can't even find the five minutes that it takes to put in a roleplay post then things are going to move too slow, if at all, to be successful and satisfying as a game experience.

now, when you guys signed up, you all seemed on board with the idea of roleplaying, but now i get a lot of interaction during the combat scenes, and next to nothing during the roleplays.

i can understand some of that; when i leave a post open-ended and there isn't anything specific that your characters can or would do in the situation to justify a post about it.

but this, as far as i am seeing it, is not one of those occasions.

if you like the combat so much, then help the roleplay go by faster so that we can get to the next mission, instead of dragging your feet during the slower parts.

i am not expecting anything fluffy or flowery or long here; just a 40-character indication of what your characters are doing/desiring to do when i tell you that the ball is in your court.

[Douglas]

Would we actually fit in whatever extradimensional space Levi has? And is this world's reaction to magic the only danger from such a plan?

Levi's sheet only shows a Handy Haversack, which is nowhere near enough for everyone to fit and would suffocate us pretty quickly.

We may just have to wait this storm out. We seem able to cover distance quite a bit faster than necessary when not held in place like this, and unless it lasts all night we may be able to make up the time lost without too much trouble. Storms this ferocious rarely last long.

[Tacitus]

Dammit. >.< I forgot to add this to my subscriptions and was watching the other thread not move at all on my subscription list. >.< I feel like such a spaz, cause I don't even know how its possible for me to confuse 2 pages with 50. >.<```

I am now absolutely sure it is there though. XD

Levi

The First Sword nods to Kyrill, but as the werebear explains his plan Levi lets out a sigh and shakes his head, "My bag is not nearly large enough to hold even the smallest of us here. I do not often carry much, needing only my crossbow and a sufficient number of bolts, and therefore my bag is kept as light as possible. I have no means by which to help us push through this storm, other than merely waiting it out."

Hans

Cradling a broken and battered Crystal Billy Hans sits with his legs folded underneath him. The strange crystalline 'creature' is not dead but the events of the day have taken their toll on him/her/it. The morphic being shifts subtly, a tremor of chaos through the core of his being, and he looks to the others, "The madness parts the clouds and a ray of light shines upon path. We can walk right up the side of the mountain. A shield in the hand of the first will bash away the ice, but it could be deadly indeed. In accordance to the prophesy." Flickers of his plan slice through the network. Violent splashes of color that form a tapestry of madness of nine spiders walking up the side of a mountain with the largest and furriest of them all wearing a cape that is sending olives in all directions.

It will be very difficult but Hans has a few options.

1: Create a Chaos Construct that can walk up the side of the mountain and carry us with it. Spider Climb type effect and whatnot. 23 strength or so, plus any bonuses Hans gives it. DC 25 or 30 base, 15 for a 5 Hours duration, 8 for Spider Walk, -10 for taking longer to cast it. 38/43 casting DC. Not possible without trigger conditions, which would need to be set up with the DM cause I doubt Hans Gets Hit By Hail even counts as a -5 in this situation.

2: Chaos Movement to generate Spider Climb for everyone. Materialization to make a giant shield of sorts for Kyrill (and possibly somebody else) to carry and block the hail with. Only problem would be the wind catching it and dragging us off, which would suck. 15 DC base, 15 Hours, -10 long casting time. DC 20 to get the Spider Climb on one Touched target. Creating a shield of sorts would require more math. Hans can create items that weigh 10ounces, 10 pounds, 20pounds, or 50pounds (Base DC 5/10/15/20) but it could be hooked up with a Transformation effect to make it larger/whatever.

3. Chaos Movement.... Teleport. Not a terribly good idea as he doesn't know where he's going and it screams blatant magic for days and ages, but it is possible. Moderate (15) moves 200ft, Major (20) would be 1,000ft, Extreme (25) would be 11 miles. +5 to catch all subjects within a 50ft burst to drag with him and the -10 for a long casting time. So not nearly as hard as the others but MUCH more dangerous. Ya'll take damage just by traveling with him. If Stycotl decided adding a duration (so like a Wind Walk) would make it less Blatant a duration could be added.

[Obscurejones]

I would like to state my reluctance to being pelted with olives. I am almost certain Pelor is against it.

[Tacitus]

Hans

"Ah, but olives are but one of many f....v... plant things that grow under the watchful eye of The Shining One. Perhaps it is in accordance with the prophecy."

[Obscurejones]

Possible but strikingly unlikely.
Ketten nods.

[Tacitus]

Hans

The Oracle That Said So folds his arms and glares at Kettenbar, "If it were not in accordance to the prophecy then there would be no prophecy, hence why The Prophet That Saw Who Was Actually Quite Blind was Blinded when he Saw the Prophecy of The Mountain of Stone Olives And Unattractive Spiders. This is all in accordance with the prophecy. You can't make this stuff up, you know."

[Barbarian MD]

Kyrill looks uncertain for a few minutes, and then his expression hardens.

"Sir, I request that we teleport. When world tries to kill us, transfer damage to me."

Is the buff with three extra hit die in effect? If not, can we cast it again? And kyrill can rage for 33 more temp hp.

He comes from a background of, follow orders, or die trying...

[Stycotl]

thanks for stepping it up. i am generally satisfied if i have two to three responses to a post, though sometimes that is not reasonable, and sometimes, as in this case, i need an actual discussion.

i will just give simple reminders when i feel that we are dragging. though i try to be diplomatic about it, i am sure that i come off as bluntly rude, but no offense is meant, just a reminder.

Kuru watches the chaos mage as images flash through his mind. He is getting better at translating the man's thoughts, mostly when there seems to be direct correlation to current events; if nothing else, Hans has forced the young dragon to open his mind to nonlinear thinking.

In this case, Hans' last images linger in the mind of the dragon. Teleportation? You can teleport us? It seemed that there was more of an element of risk with that one, but it might be the best. Otherwise we would probably have to do as Kelurn mentions and just wait out the storm.

As the chaos mage's thoughts shift to the pondering of a longer duration teleportation effect, Kurukshetra is reminded of the magics of some of his earlier allies.

What about something that takes us through the Shadow World? There was a spell once that was used to take us into that world, and we moved with incredible speed, and bypassed some obstacles–even moved through a mountain once. And it took a long time, as you mention...

Somewhat unsatisfied with his less than scholarly description, the dragon sighs and rests his head on his front paws, wings held up to keep the snow from settling on his back.

[Barbarian MD]

To answer Kelurn's question...

Survival check: [roll0] to know how long this will continue.

By the way, how many hours do we have left till our deadline?

[Stycotl]

the storm is too thick to be able to tell anything about its size or energy at this point. if kuru could fly without being blasted half way across the world, then he could go up and ascertain its dimensions, but other than that...

same with the time too. you guys are guessing that it is about 2-3am or so, but you are in a world whose stars you are unfamiliar with, and with the storm, it is impossible to tell for sure.

[Tacitus]

Hans

The chaos mage twists his face up in thought for a moment at Kuru's inquiry, "It would behoove us not to pass beyond the planar boundary, as foretold in the Prophecy of... Magnetohydrodynamics." Having no idea what assemblage of letters just tumbled past his lips he explains mentally. A very large furry spider appears standing atop a cross section of what one can only assume to be the ground. The top layer looks completely normal while the second layer somehow displays the sound of madness with an image. The bottommost layer is dark and shadowy and looks quite gloomy and gothic.

The spider walks along the top layer for a few moments happy as a clam. When he pops down into the second layer he appears to turn into a clam for a few moments before being spat back out quite some distance along the path on the top layer as a big furry spider missing some fir and covered in goo. The scene resets and this time the spider passes through the second layer, as a clam, and into the third. This particular passage does not seem all that harmful, looking cleaner than the original, if not for the utter lack of hair on the spider. However, when the spider returns through the second layer it turns into a clam once again but stays that way once he reaches the first layer.

Breaching planar boundaries is an Universal movement effect, DC 30. Adding specific distances would be half of the DC I gave earlier plus a duration element, which means it quickly becomes very very difficult.

Not to mention entering a Lawfully Aligned Plane gives me a -5 to the cast check if ye rule that returning to this plane would work in that manner if it is based on a duration.

The DC 30 to jump to another plane, even with a duration, would likely just spit us right back to this spot on this plane, unless you feel I am mistaken on how it should work and should stop digging myself a hole. XD

[Barbarian MD]

And if you keep digging, you might find us a clam...

What time were we supposed to arrive? Any guesses how long we have?

I feel like teleportation is our best bet, especially if there's some way to transfer the damage to Kyrill. He'll *probably* survive.

[Stycotl]

I feel like teleportation is our best bet, especially if there's some way to transfer the damage to Kyrill. He'll *probably* survive.

only problem is that sometimes the backlash is not damage. but if you can transfer spells and supernatural effects, it might work.


Kurukshetra listens to the chaos mage's thoughts and then looks to the others. Well, I am probably the least experienced with magic among this group, so I am willing to defer to the opinion of the rest, and the command of the team leaders.

Levi? Kelurn?

[Barbarian MD]

I've got it! We trick the world into thinking that Kyrill's the one casting. I need a robe, a staff, a pointy hat, and a quick lesson in Latin! Tacitus, I hope you have ranks in Ventriloquism. :smallbiggrin:

[Tacitus]

Levi&Hans

The sniper says nothing, but to Kelurn, and only Kelurn, his face is overlaid with the mental image expecting something from his on the subject before he offers his own insight. Hans, meanwhile, throws caution to the wind! One moment he is sitting calmly and then he begins ranting about spiders and prophecies with wild hand gestures... hand gestures that look much too much like casting a sp- BAMF!

Hans attempts to move a very short distance. One Foot to the Right! Or.... whatever. He's testing the waters.

Even with the +3 to the DC for casting "Silently" he should only fail on a 1. I could add it up, but I doubt it is really necessary.

[roll0]

Caster Check to overcome Blatancy! [roll1]

Possible reroll (will be struck out if not needed) [roll2]

Ah... hah. I might actually hav e to add it up on a 3.

Hmm.......
DC 15 for the maximum 200ft travel, of which he uses like 1% at best.
+5 for Silent
Everything else is +0 cause he's only targeting himself.

DC 20, result 20, OKAY! I'm good. >.>

[Stycotl]

Hans suddenly disappears and reappears right beside his former location, so quickly that Kurukshetra has to do a double-take to understand what happened even though he is connected to the chaos mage through the net.

There is the momentary fizzle of scrambled boiling hiss in the air, a portent that hangs as if undecided what fate should befall the wielder of chaos, and then it fizzles away and is spent like a static buildup in a fog.

Kuru smiles. "We will still have to have an idea of where to go, and right now the farthest away that we have sensed was the tower at the top of the mountain wall. How dangerous would it be to attempt a teleport past that without knowing the exact destination? Say, a mile or two past?"

[Douglas]

I'll post later tonight after taking a nap.

[Douglas]

Sign #273 that you haven't had enough sleep recently: "taking a nap" involuntarily turns into "sleeping through the night, skipping dinner in the process"

Oh well, here comes the promised post, just a bit later than promised.
Kelurn frowns. That's one success, but that does not guarantee success every time and I'd rather not risk a repeat of what happened to Kettenbar, but this time with the whole group, if we don't have to. We still have time to spare. We can try teleporting when that time runs out, but only as a last resort. Until then, unless one of you has a less risky idea, I say we wait for the storm to die down.

Erfel pipes up, I, uh, might have a little something that could help with the risk part of teleporting. Just a little help, no guarantee, but let me know and wait for my go-ahead before trying it.

[Stycotl]

Kuru looks to Erfel, What do you have? Anything that could help would probably be appreciated by Hans at this point.

Still though, it ends up hanging on Levi's decision.

The dragon looks expectantly at the sniper.

[Stycotl]

bump. let's get this thing moving.

[Tacitus]

Levi

The sniper considers his options for a moment and lets out a long sigh, "I would agree that we should wait out the storm. Continuing as we are will only expose us to further risks beyond what will be our last resorts."

[Stycotl]

Kurukshetra nods in approval of his squad leader's decision. There is a little bit of disappointment though, for a part of him liked the idea of testing out Hans' crazy teleportation in the storm. But the dragon is wise enough to understand the dangers involved, and shakes his wings off and then settles in for a rest.

Anyone have any good stories?

feel free to post a story or something if you feel the desire; just label it so that we know that it happened while waiting out the storm.

Two hours pass slowly with the howling storm shuddering past them at breakneck speed outside of their little alcove. Finally, it is Kyrill, sitting farthest from the wall of the shelter, that sees a patch of starlit sky a way off in the distance. With the speed of the winds, the storm is dragged past them within moments of this observation, and even as the companions are getting to their feet, visibility is increasing and the snow flurries are dissipating.

Kuru stands, shakes himself free of the snow, stretches like a cat with his wings fanned out, and then crouches. We should probably fly up to the tower above us before we make any other decisions about mode of travel. I can take two riders, or we can enlist a flight spell again.

Shieldmarshal Lemion made it seem like the crescent lake would be somewhere visible from the top of the tower, so maybe we are close enough that we don't need to risk a teleportation.

[Stycotl]

Kurukshetra then leads the way up the mountainside after another flight spell is cast.

caster level check for whoever it is: [roll0]

As they rise above the thick cloud layer, the Watchmen find themselves still half-way up the immense mountain wall. Above them, and a few thousand yards to the north, the stone tower stands, higher still than all of the other summits in the range.

Kuru swiftly disappears over the top of the wall, fading in and out of range of Levi's net. A moment later the rest of the group joins him, hitting the gusting winds that were earlier shielded from them by the colossal bulk of stone before them.

They find the dragon circling by the foot of the tower, dismay evident in his thoughts.

Which one is it?

As the group joins him, they see an enormous glacial valley before them, a slope miles wide and scores of miles long that rolls down into the horizon with the browns and greens of subalpine forest and meadow.

Hundreds of small lakes dot the valley, and the largest concentration of them is just below the mountain wall. Almost all of these show evidence of past rock slides that have partially buried their waters, leaving almost all of them in shapes that one could call "crescent-like." Even more confusing, some of these lakes are large and have multiple islands in them.

I have already counted twenty lakes that fit the definition if I am being picky about terms...

[Barbarian MD]

Throughout their delay, Kyrill could not sit still, standing with his back to the group, pacing and watching the weather unceasingly, unhappiness creasing his brow.

Elric took it all in stride, idly playing a game of riddles with Kuru (To come when I'm not on my phone).

[Stycotl]

there is a trick to this that none of you are going to get without some conversation. so i'm just going to wait on you...

[Barbarian MD]

He monk calmy sets himself to studying the situation, attempting to recall everything he had heard about their destination.

[Stycotl]

Kurukshetra flies in circles, looking below. As Kyrill starts pondering their predicament, the dragon joins him in thought.

If I remember correctly, Lemion said that past the tower we would find a crescent lake with a forested island. That would be our goal. I didn't remember him saying how far past the tower or how large it would be, so I assumed–probably ignorantly so–that it would be clearly visible once we arrived at the tower.

I would imagine that it is within view here, that we are right above it somewhere. But which one?

[Obscurejones]

Kettenbar glances back the way they came.

[Barbarian MD]

For reference:

"On the other side of that peak the mountains drop thousands and thousands of feet toward the distant sea. Near the base of that tower so many thousands of feat down, you will find a crescent-shaped lake. Your instructor will be waiting for you on the lake's small, forested island.

"Get there before the sun comes back up on that world. You will have approximately 11 hours of darkness from the time that I let you loose until the time that the sun will first peek over the mountains and touch that lake.

[Stycotl]

Kuru listens to the werebear's thoughts as he recollect's the shieldmarshal's words. Then he follows Kettenbar's gaze backward.

You thinking anything in particular, Ketten?

I am thinking that it has to be pretty close, according to his description. So I think I am going to fly farther out and see if I can spot any lakes that look supernaturally crescent-like.

He looks toward the stars, frustrated that he does not yet know what time it is. It has to be toward middle morning. I would imagine that we still have at least two or three hours or so.

[Obscurejones]

Ketten glances out over the lakes.
Do we know from which direction the sun rises here?

[Barbarian MD]

Kyrill stamps his feet a few times, looking down at the lake-filled valley in frustration. His mind is moving in fits and starts, trying to make sense of their instructions.

Elric offers to go with Kuru, hoping that by splitting up, they may have more luck.


Almost certainly to be of no use, since this seems to be something we have to puzzle through, but here go some checks:

Kyrill (spot): [roll0]
Kyrill (knowledge, nature): [roll1]
Kyrill (survival): [roll2]

Elric (spot): [roll3]

If I had a rogue, I would totally "appraise" the situation... :smalltongue:

[Stycotl]

Kuru answers the healer, I think that Lemion said that the sun rises in the east. It set in the west, so unless this world has some strange cosmology, the east is our best bet.

You should come with Elric and I so that we can scout out the lakes below.

Then, with Ketten and Elric's help, the dragon flies out over the glacial slope, analyzing the visible lakes below.

They quickly note that none of the crescent-shaped lakes exist at lower altitudes, owing to the fact that the rockslides had apparently never traveled far enough down the slope. Thus, all of the crescent-shaped lakes are high elevation–generally above the timber line.

After 30 minutes or so, they return to the tower and the rest of the group. It is even called the Court of the Hidden Flower, so I would assume that Lemion was not lying to us when he said that the island was forested.

But all of the forested lakes are relatively low elevation, when Lemion specifically mentioned that it was high altitude, and none of the forested lakes are in the shape of a crescent, unlike all of these barren lakes up here.

So we are looking for a forested, high elevation, crescent-shaped lake. In order for any of the high elevation lakes to be forested, it would have to be shielded from the cold at this altitude, and it would have to have some method of obtaining breathable air.

What do we need to look for to find those conditions? The dragon looks first to Levi and Kelurn, the team leaders, and then Dalbar, Erfel, and Hans, the resident benders of chemistry and physics.

[Barbarian MD]

Kyrill speaks up: "So it is forest, and is above timber line?

"...Protective and illusory magic?

"Can anyone here detect the life force of creatures nearby?" Kyrill sniffs the wind, a poor alternative, but the best he can offer at this moment.

Inspiration strikes Kyrill, and he calls to the flyers: Can you see any steam vents--geothermal or volcanic activity?"

[Stycotl]

What would one look for to find geo... those things? Volcanoes, I see none.

[Tacitus]

Levi and Hans

The shapechanger has only one thing to offer, "They tell of forests made of something other than the might redwoods and sequoia. It is often in accordance with a prophecy." The sniper nods, flashes of memory dancing through the link depicting massive mushrooms, "Aye, I can vaguely recall seeing patched of fungi that could easily be called a forest. Are there any concentrations of strange objects below? Not specifically mushrooms of course, but perhaps even ice formations or the like."

[Obscurejones]

After thinking for a moment the wizard pipes in.
The chasm was caused by geothermal activity. You should look for a glacier affected by vents. The forest could provide the air, the vents the heat, and the glacier the moisture. If properly placed it would also be near impossible to spot if you didn't know what you were looking for.

[Douglas]

Kelurn tries to come up with something that might be relevant. Is the glacial valley itself in the shape of a crescent? Maybe we're not thinking on the right scale?

Meanwhile, Erfel wracks his brain for any random tidbit of information that might help. Bardic knowledge: [roll0]

[Stycotl]

Kuru's brow horns raise in interest as he listens to the chaos mage and the sniper, "Subterranean forests? I had not considered that. I know of no way to inspect the ground for inner tunnels and labyrinths. Do any of you?"

The dragon then looks to Dalbar, I smelled smoke up on the mountain wall, some ways away from the tower. Maybe there is a lake hidden up there in the clouds.

[Douglas]

Erfel pipes up, Come to think of it, that bank of clouds to the north along the mountain wall seems a bit unnatural. They may be obscuring something.

[Stycotl]

Kurukshetra follows the bard's gaze to the north and sets his eyes upon a large pile of cumulus clouds saddled directly upon the ridge of the mountain wall.

Erfel's observation was true enough; that cloud system seemed to stay where it was, even though it churned and roiled with the heavy winds. Everywhere else around it, wispy cirrus clouds streaked the night, drawn out into long streamers at high altitudes by strong winds.

Something is generating those clouds over that section of mountain. Kuru exclaimed, looking admiringly at the two gnomes. I would dare bet that as we get closer, I will smell that smoke again...

[Barbarian MD]

*Capers a little bit in glee* We figured out the puzzle!

Kyrill interjects gruffly. "Less talking. More moving." And with that, he begins to move in the proper direction.

[Stycotl]

The Watchmen make their way toward the large clouds, using up the last few minutes of their magical flight. As the spell ends, the companions set down on a ridge only 400 meters outside of the large cloud. Even here the vapors are thick, with an icy mist penetrating their heavy armor and clothes and clinging wetly to the skin.

Those with natural wings still circle above, keeping an eye out for obstacles or living (or perhaps unliving) beings. After a moment, the dragon swoops down toward the group, I want to take Ketten into the cloud while you guys approach. I want to get a good look at this place soon–err, without having to wait on you guys.

We'll go slower this time, so that if there is a threat, you are not as far away. We'll also start high and circle our way down, so that hopefully, we are aware of any threats before they are aware of us.

This way, you guys can have a good idea of what to expect before we all get there. Maybe we can have a plan in motion before we even arrive.

[Barbarian MD]

Elric moves to the right and gains altitude, ready to flank anyone that would oppose the Watchmen.

Kyrill plods forward, fingering the hilt of his sword.

[Obscurejones]

Ketten follows Keru's lead.

[Stycotl]

Kuru and Kettenbar wing off into the clouds, gaining altitude quickly in an attempt to approach from above, a strategically advantageous place to be in during an unplanned encounter.

As they fly, the winds becomes stronger and stronger. Entering the roiling cumulus cloud, both Watchmen are struck by the fact that this cloud is moving. It is not just hovering over the mountain as it looks. This cloud is being generated from the mountaintop like smoke from a fire. As the leading edges of the cloud drift off into space and dissipate though, the mountain is still generating more humidity below, and the cloud seems to perpetually sit at the top of the ridge.

The others are aware of this, as the healer and the dragon are still within Levi's net. Moments later they disappear from the sniper's mental reach though, and are on their own.

The rest of the group moves on, now on foot. Though they think that they are close, there is still a nagging doubt in the back of their mind, as if something was left undone, a riddle left unsolved. Ice crunches and shale slides underfoot, and the lonely wind howls as they disappear into the gray blanket of fog that seems to glow with moonlight in the night sky.

A growing sense of dread and foreboding presses in around them as they continue, and the fog seems to physically wrap itself around them, enclosing them in and cutting out all outside noises and influences except for the moaning, freezing wind.

Even with his fur coat and Levi's psionics, Kyrill feels a shiver creep up his spine, and Dalbar and Erfel, the two small ones, clutch tightly to the werebear's fur in anticipation of being blown off of the mile-high mountain wall by a sudden gust of devilish wind.

Far above the others, Kettenbar and Kurukshetra penetrate toward the heart of this massive cloud, thousands of feet above its foot on the mountain. Even at this elevation, the preternatural uneasiness hits them too.

everyone, i need a fear-based will saving throw. DC 16 for everyone except for kuru and ketten; for them it is DC 18.

[Obscurejones]

Ketten[roll0]
Dalbar[roll1]

[Barbarian MD]

What have we missed...

K: [roll0]
E: [roll1]

+16 for both. K doesn't fail on a one.

Spellcraft for elric: [roll2] +__
knowledge (nature) for kyrill to figure out what might be going on: [roll3] + __

[Douglas]

Kelurn and Erfel only fail on a 1.
Kelurn: [roll0]
Erfel: [roll1]


K doesn't fail on a one.
Steadfast determination only negates the fail-on-one clause for fort saves. Reflex and will saves still have it.

I'm about to be busy playing a tabletop game for several hours. I'll post later tonight.

[Barbarian MD]

Ah. My apologies. I thought it was the other way around.

[Tacitus]

Levi: Immune (well, I'm assuming immune. Fear is generally mind affecting. Correct me if I'm wrong.)
Hanse: [roll0] Fails only on a 1

Does Hans get any pings off of Detect Thoughts?

Does the cloud actually obscure vision from a mechanical standpoint?

Considered normal terrain? Rough?

[Stycotl]

I'm about to be busy playing a tabletop game for several hours. I'll post later tonight.

wow. some people still play tabletop? i haven't seen that creature now for eons, it seems. good luck.


Levi: Immune (well, I'm assuming immune. Fear is generally mind affecting. Correct me if I'm wrong.)
Hanse: (1d20)[19] Fails only on a 1

Does Hans get any pings off of Detect Thoughts?

Does the cloud actually obscure vision from a mechanical standpoint?

Considered normal terrain? Rough?

yeah, levi is immune. clouds are normal concealment. terrain is normal, though there are patches of difficult as you cross slick icefields or shale slopes.


Perhaps it is his vast exposure to phantasmal terrors and fear-based magic, but Dalbar feels as if some horrible entity is stalking him upon the mountain top. The gnome even looks over his shoulder every now and then, expecting so see something moving in the fog. This fear takes a hold of his heart and freezes it in an icy grasp that seems to help the outside chill creep through his cold-smothering psionic buffer, and Dalbar begins to shiver uncontrollably.

dalbar is shaken.

Unfortunately, since he is telepathically connected to the others, they all feel his unease, and it begins to leach over to them. Even Kyrill and Kelurn catch themselves checking over their shoulders once or twice, though Dalbar is the only one that has succumbed to the magic so far.

Still, it is Dalbar that understands best the effects of this magic. Even as he cannot pull himself out of its grasp, he knows that they are approaching a warded area of some kind.

Kyrill freezes in place after a moment of walking, feeling the hackles of his fur rise. He smells something, something that does not make sense way up here on the top of a mountain.

He smells urine. He can't tell what kind of urine yet, and it is faint and old, but thinks that it is humanoid, or perhaps canine.

Hans probes the clouds for strange minds, searching for sentient thoughts. He does not find anything, though he swears too that they are being watched and followed, and that every now and then, her hears whispers in the fog around them.

[Barbarian MD]

Kyrill asks through the net: "Must we speak password or perform some sign?"

Cautious, the hulking barbarian sinks into a fighting stance and draws his sword, and then begins to deeply sniff the air.

Kyrill takes an action to determine direction and distance to the scent--is it localized, or all around them equally?

[Barbarian MD]

Elric stares into the fog, reaching out with his mind.

I'm going to risk a "detect evil", studying for three rounds or until we're attacked, whichever comes first.

Caster level check: [roll0]+___

[Tacitus]

Levi

Levi is calm. Though fear may be gripping Dalbar and flooding through the net Levi's influence over the inherent connects of the network refuse to allow such taint to pass between the watchmen. Subtle images pass through the subconscious of valor even as Levi's voice passes through the net, "There is nothing to fear. We have stood in the presence of a goddess and slain an aberrant dragon from beyond the realm of mortal comprehension. We will not succumb to paranoia."

Levi attempts a Rally check! A Commander can inspire those he commands to shake off the effects of fear. The check is a d20+Cha+Commander Rating. Situational Modifiers Apply To go from Shakened to Normal requires a DC 20, a DC 25 increases allies to Heartened (+1 Morale vs Fear).

If the effect is magical this inspiration only lasts one round.

Charisma: +0 T__T
Levi commands 6-12 people so his commander rating is 2.
No Enemies in Sight: +5

Would my Social Insight aid in this? +2 on Social rolls.

Would my Network Insight boost this? +3 vs people in my network on the types of rolls favored enemy gives a bonus to.

Rally!: [roll0]

Edit: fffffffff... nevermind.

[Stycotl]

Kyrill finds that the scent comes from the direction in which they are headed. Continuing deeper into the fog, he finally comes upon a slab of diorite rock from which he is sure the urine scent originates from. Crouching to investigate, he draws a chuckle from the others at the sight of the werebear sniffing urine like a territorial dog.

He comes away with a new surprise though: the urine is both canine and humanoid. It is possible that the rock was marked by both creatures, and in fact, that would seem likely if territory was being marked, but one cannot help shake the curiosity that this might be from one and the same creature...

Elric, flying above the group, finds nothing to sense with his magic, though he continues to be alert to any future signs.

Above and nearly a kilometer ahead, Ketten and Kuru wheel through the clouds like silent birds of prey, circling ever downward into what they think is the middle of the cumulus cloud. As they move, they feel a growing sense of dread.

another will save for ketten and kuru: DC 20 this time.

The radiant dragon shivers and looks apprehensively to his companion. But then he dips his wings and dives deeper into the fog, resolutely determined to figure out the mystery here.

[Barbarian MD]

Can Kelurn, as second, attempt the same?

[Stycotl]

Levi commands 6-12 people so his commander rating is 2.

though your rank is correct in this situation, i don't follow specifically by just the number of troops you command. for example, as you guys continue in the game, you will gain rank, even the non team leaders.

further, i see command auras and privileges as tied to more than just the gold star on your collar, so particularly charismatic or heroic characters will probably be given higher command ratings than normal. also, you guys will be undergoing some command training here in just a few pages, and will be given the chance to learn command auras.


Would my Social Insight aid in this? +2 on Social rolls.

i'll allow this one. it makes sense to me.

you might have the option to try again in a bit.


Can Kelurn, as second, attempt the same?

yes, he can.


Levi harnesses his considerable willpower to suffocate the foreboding presence in the team's thoughts, and though he is able to control what emotions are transmitted through the net, he is as of yet powerless to decrease the fear already felt by the individuals.

[Tacitus]

It was worth a try. XD I remembered it out of the blue and was all like Aha!

I was just throwing up supposed numbers to get some math on the board, I assumed ye'd correct me if it was wrong.

I should start designing powers, specifically Network Powers. I'm not terribly fond of most of the ones that are in there already.

Also, it amuses me greatly that the two characters with 8 in charisma are the leaders.

[Stycotl]

Also, it amuses me greatly that the two characters with 8 in charisma are the leaders.

that is pretty damn funny.

feel free to start designing powers. that would be neat stuff; i encourage you guys to homebrew, especially when you have a concept that is not supported (or supported well) by current mechanics.

[Stycotl]

Kurukshetra growls as his wings spasm in fear. Something is very definitely wrong in these clouds. He looks to his flank, only to find that he must have strayed from Kettenbar's side while focusing so closely on the mist. He is quiet for a moment, hoping to hear or see the healer still, but after a second, her realizes that he must have drifted far away from him.

The dragon's mind races, as well as his heart. What if he or Ketten get completely lost? What if he just led Ketten into certain death? What if something...

The radiant dragon pushes his anxiety from the surface of his thoughts and begins to ascend again, searching. He doesn't dare call out, for fear of alerting possible enemies. But at the same time, he doesn't dare lose Ketten. He knows that every second apart widens the distance between them and the chances of finding each other again.

After another moment of bubbling panic, the dragon gives a loud cough, and then another, hoping that the healer would hear and respond. Seconds pass, and Ketten is nowhere to be seen. Kuru shivers powerfully, and his frustration supersedes his caution for a moment. The dragon lets out a strangled roar of irritation and fear. The roar seems quiet and stunted in the muting properties of this fog. His presence possibly already noted, he roars again, this time calling the healer by name.

"Kettenbar!"

He then waits, expecting either the soaring form of the healer, or the wings of a dreaded monster to approach him in the blinding fog. Almost a minute passes, and Kurukshetra gives in to his fears. He can wait no longer. He begins to descend, hoping to find the ground underneath this blanket of roiling, wet cloud.

Instead of the icy crags of the mountaintop, Kurukshetra descends into a dense warmth, until his wings brush the green canopies of a tall forest. Incredulous, the dragon forgets his fear for a moment and wings over the dense foliage.

The temperature down here must be less than freezing, he realizes in wonder. In fact, it was probably the equivalent of a cold spring morning, barely cold at all. Still, the ice in his veins persisted, and he had no doubt that his own fears caused it.

"Kettenbar, where are you?"

After another moment, the healer wings into view, wearing an expression of concern, wondering where the dragon had disappeared to. The radiant dragon looks as if he has seen a ghost, and even from a few meters away, through dense fog, Ketten can see the haunted, drained look on the dragon's scaled face.

"I wasn't expecting to find a forest here. Let's find this lake and then head back. I think I still know which direction to take back..." He obviously doubts his senses though, lost in the fog as he was. At the very worst, Kuru is quick enough that he could exit the fog at whatever point it let him, and circle back around in short order to find the rest of the team.

[Douglas]

Kelurn draws his tiny blades and urges the party to advance cautiously. This could be just precautionary wards around the place we are seeking, but we don't know that for certain yet. It could instead be the territory of another spirit like the one we fought before the storm, and we should not be caught off guard if that is the case. He takes the lead beside Kyrill, and continues trekking on in the direction Kuru and Kettenbar went scouting.

Not accustomed to exhorting underlings, or even having underlings to exhort in the first place, he does not try to pick up Levi's effort.

Erfel, meanwhile, starts improvising a dramatic story about heroes fearlessly investigating the unknown.
Everyone who's in the net, have +5 on any further saves vs fear.

[Stycotl]

Kettenbar and Kuru find that the trees slope downward into a deep valley, so the obvious thing to do is follow the descending carpet of forest. They do so, and within another mile, find themselves in an area of cloud forest with 200-foot tall deciduous trees, clinging vines, and the sounds of a rainforest at night. Not only has the air warmed considerably–though it is still on the cool side–but the fauna seems to produce breathable air, because the effects of high altitude are lessened here to a bearable level.

In a deep ravine at the bottom of the valley, a green-watered lake sits silently, shaped like a great crescent. Two islands mar its emerald surface, one small and rocky, and the other very large–approximately three miles long and shaped like an egg–and covered with the thickest vegetation yet.

The two seemingly decide as one that they do not need a closer look yet, and turn back, gaining elevation quickly in their quick departure from the fog.

Minutes later, they are feeling a lessening effect of the fear-inducing fog, even as the rest of the group is getting deep enough in that its effects seem overpowering at times. It is then that the two scouts fly back into range of Levi's net and then quickly locate the invisible group in the mist below.

The lake is there, as is the island that we seek. This is old forest here, very old. I felt like I was being watched the whole time.

everyone but kuru and ketten now needs to will save DC 20, vs the fear effect. remember erfel's new bonus. dalbar can resave against the shaken condition (DC 18) if he beats the DC 20 roll.

[Douglas]

Good. Do we need to risk a flight spell again to get there, or is it approachable on foot?

Again, only fail on 1:
Kelurn: [roll0]
Erfel: [roll1]

[Tacitus]

Levi and Hans

After his earlier failure at trying to improve his companion's morale in the thick fog the sniper himself is somewhat disheartened. Even he wasn't terribly convinced by his own words as he 'spoke' them. Hans, meanwhile, is quite giddy, "And thus, in accordance to the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of a one Anges Nutter, Witch, there was a lake exactly where it was predicted to be in the book she will not write for another several hundred years."

Levi: Immune
Hans: Fails on a 1: [roll0]

Ten points for the reference if you don't have to google it.

[Douglas]

Ten points for the reference if you don't have to google it.
Good Omens by Terry Pratchet.

[Barbarian MD]

Only fail on ones:
K: [roll0]
E: [roll1]

Elric relaxes his stance and begins to head confidently in their direction, ready to end this portion of their adventure. He can't help but chuckle quietly to himself as the prophet speaks, quite assured by this time that he is quite mad.

Kyrill ignores the conversation and strides forward in his usual lumbering manner, sheathing his sword but maintaining a grip on it all the same, still paying attention to what his senses tell him.

[Tacitus]

WRONG. Its Good Omens by Terry Pratchet AND Neil Gaiman.

[Barbarian MD]

The gentle monk turns to the crazy prophet:

"Do your prophecies say anything about me, dear sir?"

[Tacitus]

Hans

The mad prophet glances to Elric and his eyes actually get larger as he studies him for a moment, "...I honestly thought you were someone's monkey."

[Stycotl]

WRONG. Its Good Omens by Terry Pratchet AND Neil Gaiman.

that was a darn funny book while i was able to read it; my old copy fell apart in the middle of the second or third chapter while i was in iraq, and i haven't gotten around to replacing it yet.

Kuru answers the human warrior, We honestly don't know what the route is like from here to there. I would presume that we can go on foot the whole way, and I would in fact suggest such a strategy. Those mists are disorienting, and Ketten and myself were split up as easily as if we were lost in a maze. We are only four or five miles from the lake, only three from the edge of the valley, so I say we stick very close and hoof it at a trot.

If we run into obstacles en route, we could deal with them there, but I would prefer to stick to the ground rather than those confusing clouds.

The dragon eyes the swirling fogs suspiciously, certain that they harbor some malignant presence. He takes a far left flanking position to the group, five meters or so ahead of the next guy so as to remain somewhat visible in the fog. His nerves are calming now that he has returned to the group, but he is still skittish and paranoid of assault at any instance.

Hearing Hans conversing with Elric, the dragon shakes his head in bemusement, wondering if he will ever understand the chaos mage.

[Tacitus]

Levi

The sniper adds his two cents, "Even if the forest is disorienting I can accurately pinpoint the location of everyone within a few inches anywhere within the range of my network. Losing one another should not be troublesome. Furthermore, might we risk some sort of wind? Or at least something to force out the fog to some degree so we won't feel as stuffy?"

Hans's sphere is down, but if he puts it back up it does provide clear air at positive pressure, so it should be able to at least thin the fog in a 50ft radius.

[Barbarian MD]

....

Bwahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!

[Stycotl]

who has the slowest movement rate here? anyone below 30?

at a 30-foot move, with difficult, mountainous terrain (and later difficult, forested terrain), in reduced visibility, we would be moving at 5' per round with normal movement. if we hustle, we can cover 10'/round for one hour without enalty, but that is still not fast enough.

running, we can cover more, but every minute after the first will take a con check similar to forced march (+2 DC/extra minute running).

if we can put slow people atop kyrill, then give him expeditious retreat, haste, or something similar, then he could run for a while without slowing down.

or we could risk getting lost if we try to fly. at least with levi's net, we'd all get lost together, rather than being separated (or at least, that is the presumption).

or we could risk teleportation or any of the plethora of other things that i haven't though of.

so, team leaders, make a decision. kuru has already told you his mind; anyone else that has an opinion for tacitus or douglas, make it known IC now.

[Barbarian MD]

If we can run, let's run. If we won't make it, let's go ahead and teleport now so we have time to deal with the consequences.

[Stycotl]

bump. i want the team leaders to give the orders here.

i put another houserule up; this one is along the lines of an rp award. look under the second houserules heading, "badasses."

what this means for now is that you guys need to check back on the highpoint chapter and nominate any characters that you feel truly acted like badasses back there. if you all come to a consensus about one character, he or she (i suppose that the druid would still count then) will gain a substitution level at level one.

[Tacitus]

Levi and Hans

The shapeshifter, whose head is somehow turned itself into the head of a chimp, looks to the others, "It has been foretold that a weave of chaos and free magic can grant a minor boon to all to expedite movement and it would pile onto traditional magics like syrup upon flat cakes made in pans." Levi nods, "Aye, we run. If our... prophet can see a solution then we may as well take it for now. I can also offer a limited boost to our speed for a short period of time by coordinating our motions through the fog."

Hans can offer +10ft of movement per round for a long time.
Minor Movement: DC 15
Burst: +5
5 Hours: +15
+2 to your saves against it! -3 (this likely doesn't apply, but its funny)
5 round casting time: -10

Casting DC: 25 (or 22 XD)

Casting Check: [roll0] ffffffffffffffff rerolling that. Screw it.

Caster Level Check: [roll1]

Reroll if needed: [roll2] Use this value +17. Casting succeeds.

Levi's Battlesense can offer +5 Circumstance movement speed for up to 11 rounds. So for 11 PP that is +20ft speed to 11 creatures.

Levi has enough PP to do it a couple of times, plenty to get through the maximum amount of time we'd be able to run.

[Stycotl]

Kurukshetra looks to the others, I thought of another option. We could risk flying low enough to the ground–and later, the canopy–that we keep it in sight at all times. This would make it harder for us to get lost, would dramatically increase our speed, but would require fast reflexes in order to steer clear of rocky outcroppings and trees and other things.

I don't know why I didn't think of it before... Even if we do get a little lost because of the fog, the time we would save just in movement alone might make up for whatever time is required to reorient ourselves every mile or so.

in other news, i'll give you guys till the end of this week to decide if anyone deserves any badass nominations. after that, i want to put the last chapter completely to rest ooc-ly.

as an example, in levi's original group, i probably would have nominated ugrot for dropping the whole cavern complex on their heads, just for utter "wow" factor.

[Barbarian MD]

Elric turns to the dragon: "Capital idea, sir." And with that, he spreads his wings and rises a few feet into the air.

Kyrill, frustrated beyond measure by the delays, mutters "Krila" and springs into the air, scooping up the two gnomes before they can even realize what has happened.


Caster check: [roll0]

Assuming this roll checks out, I'm ready to move.

[Douglas]

I was actually going to suggest that myself, Kelurn replies. Erfel?

Erfel casts fly on the party. Caster level check for blatant magic: [roll0]+10

[Stycotl]

With Erfel's magic apparently working proper, Kettenbar and Kuru guide the group deeper into the fog. With the healer and the dragon zigzagging back and forth between ridges, hills, and ravines, watching for problem areas and searching for appropriate routes, the Watchmen make good time over the mist-enshrouded land.

After only a few minutes, the clouds become warmer, wetter, and full of breathable air. The wind begins to lessen as they drop down into a deep ravine, and then, they start to see shrubs, weeds, and wildflowers.

The incline steepens, and the minor greenery gives way to a snarled cloud forest canopy of trees and undergrowth, rising almost one hundred feet in the air.

After almost twenty minutes, they reach the top of a small rise, deep down in the ravine valley. The mist is thinner down here surprisingly, trapping a blanket of comfortably cool air over a deep green forest and an emerald-watered lake. The lake is very large, large enough that they cannot see the far side of it due to the mist, and shaped like a crescent.

Two islands breach the waters of the lake, and one of them is very large and boasts an ancient forest, thicker and taller than any yet seen in the area.

Night birds sing, insects drone, a hunting cat calls; the cool wind brushes past the companions, carrying the sweet scents of fresh water, recent rain, blooming flowers, and rich soil–this place is a hidden paradise.

"I think we found it." Kuru remarks out loud as he sits on his haunches at the head of the hill.

[Barbarian MD]

"Now where is welcome party?" asks Kyrill as he drops to the ground.

Elric prefers to wing his way through the air, slowly circling the group and keeping a passive watch.

[Stycotl]

Though still lingering in the backs of their minds, the aura of dread that has clung to them since entering the clouds has not grown in intensity since before the two scouts returned to the squad.

Kurukshetra turns his flexible neck back to the group and remarks, The smoke comes from higher up on the opposite side of the valley from where we came in; I would guess that there is some volcanic activity over there. I would bet that the lake is also volcanically warm.

Are we going to conduct any reconnaissance first, or should we just go on in?

[Barbarian MD]

Kyrill looks to the lightening sky. "Where are we to meet them?

"If we have further to go, I would advise haste. Those who can move fastest can scout on the run."

[Stycotl]

the island is about 3/4 mile from where they now stand, though there is about 1/2 mile worth of lake between them and the island. their flight spells still have plenty of time left.

[Barbarian MD]

How long till our dawn deadline?

(Surely Kyrill's been able to ascertain it from all the time spent traveling through this wilderness, even if he can't see the sky through the fog at this moment?)

EDIT: Does Kyrill still smell urine?

[Douglas]

This is supposed to be friendly territory as I understand it, but it's also boot camp and I wouldn't be surprised if our new instructor decides to welcome us in by testing us with an ambush. Head for the island, but stay alert. Kuru and Ketten, scout ahead but try not to get out of sight of us.

[Stycotl]

How long till our dawn deadline?

(Surely Kyrill's been able to ascertain it from all the time spent traveling through this wilderness, even if he can't see the sky through the fog at this moment?)

define "surely" for me so that i can understand what you mean. what you can tell as far as i am concerned: more than five hours have passed, maybe more; it is still dark outside; the clouds here likely hide the valley and lake in perpetual gloom, just enough light to feed a cloud forest environment (wiki 'cloud forest' if any of you don't yet know what they are. they are cool beans). anything else will depend on your powers of persuasion.


EDIT: Does Kyrill still smell urine?

he smelled it once or twice while approaching, but hasn't come across the source yet.

Kurukshetra nods at the order and leaps off of the hill, his wings unfolding and catching a draft. The dragon flies as slow as he is able until everyone else is airborne, Kettenbar directly beside him, and then he takes off.

The vast forests of the valley rush by beneath the Watchtower, giving way every here and there to meadows of highland grasses and wildflowers. A bog is evident at the north corner of the lake.

Almost a quarter kilometer ahead, Kuru and Ketten reach the shores of the lake and fly swiftly over choppy, emerald waters. Half way across the water, Kuru suddenly stalls, clumsily falling over himself in some kind of spasmodic episode, wings folding tightly against his body. The little dragon begins to plummet.

obscurejones, kettenbar needs to roll a will save, DC 28

[Obscurejones]

*Wanders by sipping a cup of joe.*
Huh... I missed a lot. So... [roll0] That's just the base save. Is that +5 still in effect?

[Douglas]

Is that +5 still in effect?
As long as Erfel continues Inspiring, which I'd say he would as long as we were still feeling the fear effect. However, that's only vs fear and charm effects, and I don't think this is either.

Not that it matters with that roll.

[Stycotl]

Kettenbar sees the dragon falter out of the corner of his eye and turns in time to see him spiral into a fall. Since they were less than 100 feet above the surface of the lake to begin with, the dragon hits the water before he can regain control of himself.

Through the net, the others feel at first only a strange dullness, like the delirium caused by a severe head wound. Thrashing his way to the surface, the dragon again takes to the air and heads back toward their entry point into the clouds, sputtering out lungfuls of water.

It takes a few moments, but he finally notices the rest of the group, Oh, hey. Where are you guys going? His thoughts now reflect that he has forgotten entirely about the mission and the Court of the Hidden Flower. Kuru does not even know where he is or why he is here.

[Barbarian MD]

Kyrill flies off the handle, a three-quarter ton temper tantrum in action. He roars into the empty sky and then begins cursing furiously, occasionally directing his insults across the water at their trainers. This proceeds for several minutes.

Elric watches the dragon with some concern, but doesn't dare go to him. Instead, his mind races with thoughts. Could they perhaps teleport beyond this barrier? Was Kuru the target of a spell that they could detect?

Knowledge arcana [roll0] + 9. His mind may be working furiosly, but my mind is still half-asleep...

"Mighty Kurukshetra, you are a warrior, a member of the Watchtower, and we are here to find the Court of the Hidden Flower, which is on that island, in order to receive training. You just encountered a magical barrier that has modified your memory I tell you this because any of us may be subject to the same effect soon. If you do not remember that, do not argue. Be alert; we may be attacked soon."

[Obscurejones]

Dalbar senses Elric's questions through the net.
An excellent line of inquiry.
Knowledge Arcana[roll0]
If it is a spell effect Spellcraft[roll1]
Ketten wheels over to Keru.
We are on our way to a monastery of sorts, to train. You hit your head. Follow our lead and you should be fine.

[Barbarian MD]

"Kurukshetra, may we attempt to teleport you beyond the barrier? If it wipes your memory again, you won't lose more than the last thirty seconds, and if it doesn't, we'll be able to get to the monastery and get you treatment."

[Obscurejones]

Forgot Dalbar's Trivial Knowledge[roll0]

[Barbarian MD]

Knowledge (Trivia)?

Is that like the "How many variants of whalesong exist and what are their meanings?" kind of trivia?

Remind me not to play any board games like Cranium or Trivial Pursuit with Dalbar.

[Douglas]

I imagine it's like Bardic Knowledge. Speaking of which: [roll0].

Also, Spellcraft: [roll1] and Knowledge (Arcana): [roll2].

All of these are for Erfel. If he can't figure out full details of the effect, there are three in particular I want to know if my rolls are high enough: 1) Is the source of the magic some sort of automatic ward, and could that ward be dispelled? 2) Is the memory erasure an instantaneous modification, requiring special magic to reverse, or is it a lasting effect that could be removed by Dispel Magic? 3) Could it be reversed by Modify Memory (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/modifyMemory.htm) which, funnily enough, has been on Erfel's spells known list ever since I rebuilt him.

[Stycotl]

are any of you detecting magic?

does ketten continue forward, or does he hang back?

does anyone else continue forward?

Kurukshetra shakes his head in confusion as images and notions begin to come back to him, spurred on by the narration of his fellow Watchmen. Bewildered, the dragon starts to circle, wondering what they were going to do now.

I... I feel like I've been dreaming. I thought I was back in the cellar, asleep. This is a real mission?

Right... boot camp, he called it. I think I remember something now. Snow...

The dragon is clearly humiliated and rather shaken up. He does not like being weak or an impediment to the group.

If any of you have any bolstering magic to aid me, or anyone else crossing the water, it would probably be needed right about now.

[Douglas]

are any of you detecting magic?
Er, um, yes. Erfel is. Pay no mind to the fact that it was not mentioned at all before this post.:smalltongue:

If he can figure anything out without it, great, if not, then yeah he'd cast it.

[Barbarian MD]

Kyrill's tirade is beginning to taper off, but only because he's starting to repeat himself. He's tired of delays. He's tired of standing around and discussing things. He's angry at the world with all its traps and annoyances and things that try to kill him.

He turns to the others, coldly. "If I stop, tell me to keep going. Cheer me on. This does not seem to be permanent, whatever it is."

And with that, he plunges forward impetuously, screaming in his native tongue and making demands of their welcoming party to turn the damn field off, or else he'll break their arms when he finally gets in.

Will Save: [roll0] only buff included is +3 for greater rage.
add +5 for improvisation = 29 (thanks!)

This should be fun. ; ) feel free to buff me before he hits the field.

Edit: dang. I had a better than 50:50 chance.

[Douglas]

On seeing Kyrill's impatient and rash decision, Erfel casts a quick spell before the massive werebear charges.


This should be fun. ; ) feel free to buff me before he hits the field.
Have an Improvisation. I was planning to do that anyway if we decided as a group to advance without having dispelled the ward (if that's what it is).

[Barbarian MD]

If Kyrill is still the master of his mind and memories, he yells back, "Now throw me the end of some rope. I will make sure everyone keeps coming through!"

[Stycotl]

Through the team's sensory magics, the Watchmen understand that there is some kind of warding magic present within this valley. The effect is huge, incorporating nearly the entire hidden area beneath the cloud, miles wide. Its purpose is apparently to deter travelers, first with fear, and second with a delirium of forgetfulness.

Though the whole team except for Levi has felt the effects of the ward now, Kuru and Dalbar have both been hit exceptionally hard.

Kyrill starts flying forward again, angry and bellowing challenges into the peaceful night air.

this changes things... *evil dm laugh*

After a few moments, the bear reaches the shore and begins flying over the lake. A little while later takes him past the point where Kuru fell. Though he is still affected by the fear, Kyrill is not knocked senseless, and continues on toward the island.

what form is kyrill in?

[Barbarian MD]

Hybrid

"I am a ******* member of the Watchtower seeking the ******* Court of the Hidden Flower. ******* reporting before dawn, as ordered!"

...respectfully. ; )


Rage issues? Perhaps. He grew up in a very cold, very snowy environment, and he thinks you're all pansies. Elric still likes you though. :smalltongue:

[Obscurejones]

For future reference, Dalbar has a feat that makes it so that he detects magic at will. So he's pretty much constantly detecting magic.

[Douglas]

Kelurn watches and waits to see what happens for now.

I get the idea that trying to dispel the entire ward would probably be futile. I don't think you've answered whether trying to dispel its effect on a particular person might work, though, or whether Modify Memory could reverse it as a backup option. Can Erfel figure these things out with Detect Magic and his already posted rolls?

[Barbarian MD]

So you don't want to drain the lake?

Should Kyrill continue as far as he can, to communicate with the island, or should he rope everyone to himself and have the group move as a unit (perhaps two units) to get everyone across?

[Stycotl]

i'm going to be out of town till tomorrow night. wanted to get a post up before that, but it will have to wait. thanks. see ya.

[Stycotl]

i'm going to be out of town till tomorrow night. wanted to get a post up before that, but it will have to wait. thanks. see ya.

cool.


I get the idea that trying to dispel the entire ward would probably be futile. I don't think you've answered whether trying to dispel its effect on a particular person might work, though, or whether Modify Memory could reverse it as a backup option. Can Erfel figure these things out with Detect Magic and his already posted rolls?

modify memory might be overboard. kuru was brought back to his senses with just some friendly encouragement from his allies. magic could certainly do it quicker, but at a higher cost.

you can't dispel an area effect on a single person with any spell that i am aware of. erfel knows that this is some kind of exceptionally powerful ward that blankets a huge area, that it is out of his league in terms of caster level and spell level, and that the best that he could try to do is snuff its influence for 1d4 rounds if he rolled miraculously lucky. dalbar and hans get the same sense.

however, though its effect has a high DC, it should be noted again that the effect isn't all that overpowering. slap some sense back into those that fail their save and try to get them through the ward again. persistence pays off.


Should Kyrill continue as far as he can, to communicate with the island, or should he rope everyone to himself and have the group move as a unit (perhaps two units) to get everyone across?

that would be up to the team...

As Kyrill moves forward above the lake, he notices a fairly large splash in the marshy area at the island's shore directly ahead of him, and a collection of surfacing bubbles that make the water there appear to boil for a moment.

Kuru shakes his head in trepidation and then slowly starts flying forward again, trying to defeat this barrier.

[Barbarian MD]

Kyrill continues to move forward, drawing his blade and attempting to gain altitude at the same time. The screamed expletives get swallowed up by a throaty growl that rises in intensity while falling in pitch. As far as he is concerned, anything that gets in the barbaroan's way is not going to enjoy doing so.

Elric turns to his commanding officers, "Shall we follow him then?"

[Stycotl]

what is kyrill's elevation? how far behind kyrill is the rest of the party? kuru is only about 30 yards behind him, over the lake still.

As Kyrill's eyes reflexively glance to where the lake water was disturbed a stone's throw to his right, he sees a massive, serrated tail slip into the murky shadows below. A wake trail marks the movement of the creature as it moves on an intercept course with him.

[Barbarian MD]

I suppose about thirty feet before seeing the creature. Maybe he'll climb another 10 or so, avoiding a fight, but not working too hard at it.

[Stycotl]

i just noticed that i quoted the wrong post back in 145. whatever. i had fun this weekend; i went hiking down in zion national park. we went to an area that is devoid of the ridiculous crowds that the main canyon gets; we saw only one group the entire time we were out on saturday.

friday we ran into a few groups in the slot canyon we hiked, but they were mostly pretty cool. we ended up hiking the canyon with one of the groups, shooting video of them for our websites (redrockadventure.com and utah.com). one of the groups that came through was the entire suu girls basketball team. nothing like hiking a slot canyon with forty college girls...

Even nearly fifty feet above the water, Kyrill is suddenly sprayed by a geyser of water as a huge body erupts from the lake below him. Reptilian jaws snap tight on his left ankle with bone-crunching force, and the werebear is pulled toward the emerald water by the weight of the falling creature.

69 piercing/bludgeoning damage from a bite; dr not accounted for. grapple check, kyrill: DC 52

The rest of the Watchtower sees only an enormous crocodilian shape rise from the water, partially concealed by the explosion of water about it. Reaching over forty feet into the air to grab the werebear, the crocodile is still not even fully out of the lake. Then, amid a cascade of lake water, the crocodile disappears below the surface, and for a moment, no one knows if Kyrill is successfully dragged below with it.

[Barbarian MD]

Kyrill Medvedyev - Pathfinder Half-Orc Were-Bear
HP: 195/254 + 33 Rage, AC: 33 (35 against ranged attacks), T: 14, FF:33. DR: 10/silver + 2/-. Fortitude: 24. Reflex: 13. Will: 16. Initiative: -3. Scent: aware of creatures within 30' (60' downwind, 15' upwind), low-light vision, darkvision 60', improved uncanny dodge (cannot be flanked), trap sense +3, orc ferocity, endurance, Size: Large, Reach: 10', Speed: 30'

+1 Magebane Adamantine Fullblade Atk: +24/+19/+14. Dmg: 3d8+20.
(Against arcane casters, becomes +3 Fullblade dealing 3d8+2d6+19 dmg)
Bite Atk: +18. Dmg: 1d8+6; Claws Atk: +18. Dmg 1d8+13

Not included in stat block above:
Greater Raging. +6 Str and Con. +3 will. -2 AC.
Fly


Good grief. I knew this was going to be bad... :smalltongue:

59 damage after DR.

Does this thing have improved grapple, or does Kyrill get an AoO?

Base Attack + Strength + Size + Improv Bonus
11+16+4+5 = +36 (this is going to be a little close)
[roll0]

[Barbarian MD]

Kyrill is too angry to even bother attempting to wrench free--the more easily to strike the beast. As the kraken/sea monster/Nessie pulls him down, he prepares to strike with his blade. With one final roar, he exhales completely and draws in a deep breath.

AoO? Initiative? Or is it Kyrill's turn? [roll0]

[Barbarian MD]

Elric begins to drive forward with his wings, beating as hard as he can to reach the battle before it's too late.

Will Save +21
Fly speed 120'

And...Elric just lost his memory.

[Stycotl]

does have improved grapple. that was a darn close roll.

go ahead, mhvaughan. everyone roll initiative. the rest of the group except for ketten and kuru would have to take a run action while flying to reach the battle. kuru and ketten can both get there with normal move acts. the battleground is now underwater.

does kyrill have any method beside his high constitution to hold his breath for long periods of time, or to breathe underwater?

When the water splashes back down to the lake, the werebear is nowhere to be seen, and his thoughts are a jumble of pain and confusion for the first moment.

Then the team is aware of Kyrill's effort to hold his breath while fighting the monstrosity that so far seems content merely to drag him farther and farther under the surface of the lake.

hit it, kyrill (seriously!).

current depth is 50 feet.

[Douglas]

Initiative: Erfel [roll0]
Kelurn: [roll1]

[Barbarian MD]

Kyrill Medvedyev - Pathfinder Half-Orc Were-Bear
HP: 195/254 + 33 Rage, AC: 33 (35 against ranged attacks), T: 14, FF:33. DR: 10/silver + 2/-. Fortitude: 24. Reflex: 13. Will: 16. Initiative: -3. Scent: aware of creatures within 30' (60' downwind, 15' upwind), low-light vision, darkvision 60', improved uncanny dodge (cannot be flanked), trap sense +3, orc ferocity, endurance, Size: Large, Reach: 10', Speed: 30'

+1 Magebane Adamantine Fullblade Atk: +24/+19/+14. Dmg: 3d8+20.
(Against arcane casters, becomes +3 Fullblade dealing 3d8+2d6+19 dmg)
Bite Atk: +18. Dmg: 1d8+6; Claws Atk: +18. Dmg 1d8+13

Not included in stat block above:
Greater Raging. +6 Str and Con. +3 will. -2 AC.
Fly


Nope, no magical underwater anything. Just a high constitution (34/+12) and a +30 to swim. We'll be doing this the hard way. Kyrill is either about to win a badass award, or die trying. I believe with a Constitution of +12, he'll last 6 rounds below water while fighting before he has to start beating DC checks of 10+1/additional round.

As the two monstrosities grapple together beneath the churning water, the one with the armor begins to beat upon the one without, raining down a furious series of blows with his claws and teeth.

These are adjusted for the -2 to hit for being underwater.
[roll0]+24 Sword:[roll1] Claw:[roll2]
[roll3]+19 Sword:[roll4] Claw:[roll5]
[roll6]+14 Sword:[roll7] Claw:[roll8]

Bite attack: [roll9]+1 Damage: [roll10]

So all-told, including the claw attack below, that's:
A:29 D:9
A:25 D:9
A:32 D:8
A:30 D:4
A:23 D:(1d8+16)/2

[Stycotl]

Elric speeds forward and slams head-on into the magical barrier that had so thrown Kurukshetra. The monk slips into a free fall for a few moments, though regains control of his body 10 feet above the water, 30 feet before the spreading circle of disturbed water where Kyrill had gone down.

Unaware that there was even a battle going on, Elric turns and starts flying back toward the top of the valley in the direction from which the group had come. His mind is cloudy and he hardly even registers the others in the group, much less the werebear's life and death struggle in the emerald waters of the lake.

[Stycotl]

the croc dragged kyrill underwater with his grapple check, so this is aquatic combat now.

also, you can hold your breath for 2 rounds/constitution point (not constitution mod), before having to roll con checks. so kyrill can take a nap underwater if he wants. course, there are methods to knock that air out of you...

[Stycotl]

underwater combat: yes, -2 melee/half damage.

further, grappling: can't attack with large weapons without special circumstances/abilities.

you can hold on to the sword, but then you don't get to use that claw for attack. but you have your feet to kick with and one free hand, so that works.

you just want me to run it as a couple of claw attacks (should be three for bab, plus two secondaries, if i remember right)?

[Barbarian MD]

Three claw attacks, one bite attack. Oh, yeah, I suppose a foot claw attack (the other one is in the thing's mouth. Here's a d20 adjusted for being underwater foot-claw attack [roll0]+19. Damage is 1d8+16/2

For your convenience, here's the summary:
A:29 D:9
A:25 D:9
A:32 D:8
A:30 D:4
A:23 D:(1d8+16)/2

Definitely spending my gold on a transmuting enhancement for the sword (resizing FTW) and called armor when we get a chance...

[Stycotl]

my bad. i thought i sent this before i left school. sorry all.

all of kyrill's attacks hit.

Kyrill begins thrashing around, kicking and clawing at the the monster, and after a moment is able to reach around and bite the crocodile on the snout. Still, the beast does not let go, and within moments, the pair are at almost 100 feet in depth, skirting 20 feet above the sandy lake bed.

Once down there, the crocodile gives a vicious shake of its massive head, readjusting its grip on the werebear. Titanic jaws clamp down on Kyrill's legs, threatening to crush his hips.

he takes another 103 damage before dr from two attacks. roll another grapple check, DC 43; this one is against a pin attempt.

Kurukshetra grits his fangs and dives into the water, trying to swim down toward the embattled werebear. Even as he nears them though, the dragon is again overwhelmed by the island's powerful ward, and he slumps into a stupor, drifting through the currents 20 feet below the surface. His air gurgles out from between his razor fangs and the dragon stares aimlessly off into the murky green, as if he can't figure out why is is suspended in the lake in the first place.

[Tacitus]

First time I've actually be online since thursday-fridayish, and I'm only on for a short stint at the moment.

So... Initiative?

Levi: [roll0]
Hans: [roll1]

Essentially my plan is to Dimension Swap (does not require Line of Sight or Line of Effect) Kyrill and Hans after Hans throws up a spell that will deal damage at a range of touch to anyone who bites him and then he'll teleport himself out of the water under the same trigger condition.

[roll2]

DC 10 for Raw Damage
Personal Immunity: +2
+5 or 8 for Minor or Moderate movement (essentially Short vs Medium range)
+10 for Force damage, I suppose

Ending DC is either 27 or 30, minus 10 for the uncommon trigger
So DC 17 or 20, which means its damned hard to fail.

Caster Check for Blatancy: [roll3]


Side note, I'd appreciate it if at least one of ye gave my friend a hand with this: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123989

Edit: So.... 1 or 2 Nonlethal damage to Hans for the cast

I forgot to roll blatancy for Levi.... do I need to?

Edit2: Gah, forgot to roll damage, its 10d8 Force damage

[Barbarian MD]

grapple (glad I saved my improvs) [roll0]

...I was going to try to pin the croc, but I guess Kyrill's been swapped...

[Stycotl]

blatancy roll for levi: [roll0]

still need initiative rolls from elric and both of obscurejones' characters.

force damage: [roll1]

Suddenly the werebear disappears and it is the chaos mage that is in the crocodile's mouth. The beast lunges in pain at Hans' stinging touch, and a bellow gurgles up toward the surface in a cloud of bubbles. Then Hans is gone too, appearing close to the rest of the group, sopping wet and bleeding from multiple puncture and crushing wounds.

Kyrill is also wounded, though his size and stamina kept him from noticing the effects as much.

i'm ad hoc ruling that hans takes normal bite damage since he voluntarily switched places with kyrill who was being crushed by a crocodile the size of a large sailing vessel (normal crocs bite with 2,000 psi).

another bad grapple roll on the croc's part; if you can make a grapple roll at DC 37, you don't take the damage.

bite damage: 43 before any DR effects.

Now the whole party except for Kurukshetra is topside, and though Kuru is a fast swimmer, there is no way that he can compete with the capabilities of the croc, which is no somewhere directly below him, hidden among the seaweed and murky green of the lake's bottom.

[Barbarian MD]

Elric's initiative. [roll0]+5

P.S. I can't say I'm unhappy about Kyrill getting rescued

The were-bear is a little disoriented to find himself out of the water, but he's quick enough to do some shouting through the link: "Elric! Kuru! We're fighting a giant croc! Get busy before Kuru gets eaten (Kuru, you need to swim upwards, and quickly...)!"

[Stycotl]

P.S. I can't say I'm unhappy about Kyrill getting rescued

that dimension swap thing only works on willing participants. i had just assumed that you were going along with it...

[Tacitus]

Network descriptor spells give no saving throw and if they have the mind affecting descriptor they lose it. >.>

Not that I'm forcing the swap, but I missed the part where Kyrill was not the only one underwater.

[Barbarian MD]

"NOT UNhappy." Kyrill was about to be pounded pretty hard.

[Stycotl]

Network descriptor spells give no saving throw and if they have the mind affecting descriptor they lose it. >.>

i'm gonna have to go back and reread some of this apparently; that makes for an autokill situation on someone that you can lure into the net. i'm thinking i'll have to rule that it only works on willing individuals on a case-by-case basis, but again, i'll have to read it again first.

Kurukshetra is still limp in the water when the croc starts to move. Above, the teammates can see a swirl of water rise to the surface, marking the aggressive acceleration of the enormous beast. But because of Kuru's daze, no one knows precisely where the crocodile is.

After a second, the dragon starts to swim toward the surface, slow and steady, still confused as to what is going on.

[Barbarian MD]

Totally off-topic: I thought you guys might like a book recommendation. A friend has been loaning me the Jason Wander series by Robert Buettner. Sort of a re-telling of Starship Troopers, written for a post-Sept 11 world. Instead of politics, it focuses on infantrymen An excellent series so far.

"Damnit, Kuru! Move your ass! There's a crocodile swimming for your tail. Get out of the water, NOW!" shouts Kyrill through the link.

[Tacitus]

I think the only offensive Network descriptor power is Unearthly Terror, which is ten tons of fear in a five ounce bag, but not enough to kill. So yes, I can force people to take whatever I give them in the net, but its limited to Empathic Transfer, Dimension Swap, Psychic Interference, something like Chain of Eyes in there somewhere, and the powers that give everyone the same base bonus (BAB, skill ranks, base saves, etc) on a particular type of roll that can alternately force to use the lowest among a group.

I will note, however, that the no-save only lasts for one round, meaning its most only for instantaneous stuff.

[Stycotl]

As the werebear addresses him, Kuru rouses himself and floats in bewilderment for a moment, wondering where he was and why he was there. After less time than the last episode, he snaps to, making sense of Kyrill's warning. He looks around in time to see a vast gray-green shape hurtling up toward him from the bottom. Enormous jaws, large enough to swallow a wagon whole, open on powerful muscles.

The dragon makes a mad pull toward the surface, using his wings to help him swim. Though he is quick, the crocodile is much quicker, and Kuru is intercepted in short order.

Even as the beast approaches the little dragon, its eyes widen, and it hesitates. Then, with its jaws closing around the dragon, the crocodile swerves to the side, slamming its tremendous jaws on nothing but water, and then dives to the bottom again.

Kuru finally breaches the surface of the lake, startled and confused, and then takes to the sky. I thought I was a goner.

I think that you are going to have to pull me in, Kyrill. This place is affecting me more than the others for some reason...

[Barbarian MD]

Kyrill angles down, grasping the dragon and helping him out of the water.

"Do you want to rope in, or just fireman carry, Kuru?"

He looks back the way the came. "Elric! Snap out of it. We have to move if we are to go to the Court of the Hidden Flower!"

[Douglas]

Kelurn and Erfel hurry forward, trusting in their own strength of mind (and Erfel's spell) to protect them and wanting to both be in range to help and cross the barrier before Erfel's spell expires.

Kelurn will save: [roll0]
Erfel will save [roll1]

[Stycotl]

Kuru accepts Kyrill's help, Just carry me across. I don't think that it is making me run for it in fear anymore, just lose track of what I'm doing.

Meanwhile, Erfel and Kelurn break for the far shore of the lake and arrive mostly without incident. Crossing the waters, Erfel swears that he sees the crocodile hovering in the waters just out of clear sight, observing them. But the image is gone in a flash, and then he is over the thick forests of the island.

Now that they are close, Kelurn can smell campfire smoke, though he cannot see where it comes from.

[Obscurejones]

Ketten looks surprised through the crocodile attack, and Dalbar laughs.

[Barbarian MD]

Elric shakes his head, trying to clear the cobwebs. Realizing that the others are already half-way across the lake, he tries to cross the barrier once more.

[roll0]

As Elric wings past him, Kyrill sheathes his sword and throws the dragon onto his back, grunting with the effort as the dragon's scales scrape across his untended wounds. Once he's got his balance, he begins moving them both forward, after Ketten and Dalbar.

[Stycotl]

As Kurukshetra is ferried across the lake on the werebear's back, he sighs miserably and watches the waves below him. A few dozen yards later, he suddenly goes limp on Kyrill's back, almost as if asleep, though his eyes are open and he stares off into space.

Kyrill flies all the way toward shore, and Kuru is still as slack as a corpse.

[Barbarian MD]

When he feels the mighty dragon go limp in his arms, Kyrill begins to sing softly to his charge, so quietly that none of the others even notice.

[Stycotl]

well, i had a large text document in the works, written in textedit, that plotted some of the future encounters and missions of the watchtower. it was probably 8-9 pages or so.

today i updated my itunes, and somehow it changed the document type of that one document and now i can't open it with any of my text editors, or with microsoft word.

so now i get to try to rewrite it, or to find another program that will open it.

i hate itunes.

i think i'm gonna try it with textwrangler...

EDIT: woohoo! hurray for textwrangler. i suppose that since it is a plaintext editor, it was able to read whatever corrupted file contents were in the original. it got rid of all of the formatting and introduced a bunch of weird characters, but it worked! then i just had to clean it back up.

whew...

After a couple of minutes, Kurukshetra finally seems to regain his faculties by himself. He seems groggy and humiliated, but he does not appear to be affected by the ward anymore.

Thanking Kyrill somewhat clumsily, the dragon tentatively spreads his wings and flies under his own power. He keeps expecting to fall again at any moment, but the others note that his mind does seem to be in command of itself now.

The squad regroups above the island's shoreline, deciding that they need to figure out how to find the encampment. Flight might not be the best option, since the canopy is so thick. But at the same time, this island is huge. It might be a good idea for them to do a few passes over the island to see if there are any obvious spots to search before taking to the cloud forest below.

[Obscurejones]

Kettenbar praise Pelor softly, under his breath.
Even as we rejoice in flight that we may bask closer to your rays my lord, we welcome the blessing of solid and substantial ground. With his customary supplication finished he begins to check their surroundings for signs of occupation.
Survival[roll0]
-------------
Dalbar shakes his head with a grim smile.
A crocodile of all things. Heh. That must have hurt, even for a warrior bear. His sarcastic condolence completed he begins scanning their surroundings for traces of magic separate from the general ward that surrounds the lake.
Detect Magic from Vatic Gaze. Spellcraft[roll1]

[Stycotl]

Kettenbar studies the shore for a while, looking for debris from sentient lifeforms, tracks, or anything else that might lead them to a trail.

Meanwhile, Kurukshetra finally smiles a bit after Dalbar's joke. He was still wound pretty tight after succumbing so readily to the magic, angry at himself and embarrassed in front of the others. But with the illusionist's easy sarcasm, the dragon lets out a deep breath and puts it behind him.

That was the largest crocodile that I have ever seen. Not that I have seen many, but still, that was larger than any that I read about when studying with the scholars in the Platinum Dragon's palace.

Just then, Ketten finds a narrow game trail that cuts through the dense foliage, heading deep into the dark woods from the edge of the water a few dozen yards away from the group. Kyrill, close by, can smell human along the trail, as well as the animals that use it, mostly deer, wolves, and a hunting cat of some kind. Strangely enough, he also smells crocodile along the same narrow trail, though there is no way that the encountered croc could make its way along that trail.

Maybe there are other crocodiles here too. Kuru suggests with a shrug. Levi, do you want us all below the canopy, or do you want someone on overwatch in the sky?

We've already seen that it is dangerous to split up here, but overwatch is almost always a tactical advantage. If I fly low enough over the canopy, I can remain within your telepathic net, and you can keep me close to the group. Elric or Ketten could accompany me up there.

But I wouldn't argue if you wanted everyone down on the ground... He looks around warily, as if expecting other spells or traps at any moment.

[Obscurejones]

Ketten has scent. Just realized I never mentioned it. :smallbiggrin:

[Stycotl]

i'm gonna assume that levi and kelurn are ok with kuru flying. i'm gonna guess that both team leaders think it would be wise for him to have a companion up there.

Kurukshetra nods and takes to the air. I'll stay right above the tree tops. If anyone runs into trouble, I can reach them pretty quick from up here.

Elric, you coming with me?

I should say that we ought to tighten up our normal dispersion a bit, since we'll be in thick woods. But we shouldn't cluster–never know what we're going to face next. I'm starting to get the idea that our new mentors aren't the only ones in this valley, and that they aren't going to be too quick to intervene if we end up in any more scraps.

The dragon watches as the others filter into the trees. Though the canopy is too thick for him to see through, he knows almost exactly where they are below him, thanks to Levi's relayed information.

The woods are very thick and dark, especially in the early morning. Kyrill, Ketten, and Kelurn understand that this place likely sees very little sunlight even in the daytime, owing to the thick canopy above, and the ever present clouds above that.

Kurukshetra and Elric above make wide sweeps of the canopy, staying just at the fringes of Levi's net, fading in and out occasionally as thet stray a little too far and then swerve back in. The dragon rises to about 50 feet above the trees, his sharp senses alert to local variances in the sounds and smells in particular.

[Douglas]

Kettenbar, we could use some healing before we continue.

Kelurn opens his ears and focuses on even the tiniest of sounds to a degree few will ever learn to master, then leads the group on the ground in search of our elusive new instructor.

Now using Hearing the Air stance, giving Kelurn 30' blindsense.

[Obscurejones]

Ketten mumbles a quick supplication and a warm glow suffuses the group knitting together rent flesh and strengthening brittle bones.
Sacking True sight for Cure light mass cheese. Anyone interested in the math can see the last time Ketten healed.[roll0]x1.5=234. Divvy it up kids.

[Barbarian MD]

Only two people got chomped right? I imagine that's enough for everyone to be at full health now.

Winging through the air, Elric offers a riddle as his eyes scan the forest below and the horizon beyond:
Honorable Kurukshetra,

"If a man carried my burden,
He would break his back.
I am not rich,
But leave silver in my track.

What am I?"

...

Below, Kyrill pauses between bounds through the forest. His ears twitch, as he listens to the sounds of the trees.


Listen check: [roll0]
Spot check: [roll1]

[Stycotl]

Kurukshetra moves into a circular holding pattern as the healer takes care of the rest of the team. Then they are off again, with Kelurn leading the way. The radiant dragon stays overhead as the human keeps his senses open to movement around him. He senses much animal life about him, but nothing large, and nothing moving in the same direction as the squad.

Kyrill has no trouble negotiating the game trail; it was obviously not expected that it would be hidden from visitors. That means one of numerous possibilities: it does not go to anywhere particularly secret (and is probably not heading toward the source of the magical wards); or it is assumed that the wards are sufficient defense such that the trail does not need to be guarded; or that there are even nastier traps up ahead. There are other possibilities, but these are the ones that filter through the minds of the teammates when Kyrill thinks to them the blatant and unhidden trail.

Kuru looks back at Elric and shrugs, The moon? I am not much of a riddler or a poet...

[Tacitus]

The last few days I've torn everything out of a heavily cluttered room, cleaned it all up, and painted it. I've still more to do so I'll likely not have another post for a bit. Dead ****ing tired. I'm going to go crash again.

[Douglas]

Those of you with magical expertise, can you tell where the center of that ward is at all?

[Obscurejones]

I've been attempting to. So far no success.

[Stycotl]

As they move deeper into the forested island, the only thing that Dalbar and the others can tell about the ward is that they seem to be heading somewhat toward its source; it gets stronger as they close with it, though it has not had any further effects. There is nothing else that they can tell beside that though.

A few minutes pass before Kyrill catches a very distinct camp fire odor, and Kuru mentions that he sees wispy smoke coming through the trees about 400 meters ahead. As the group approaches within 100 meters, Kelurn's ears pick up a resonant noise that reverberates softly through the ground. About that time, Elric and Kuru begin to make out the sounds of a chant; the voices are muffled and distant, but there is no doubting the source. Strangely, one of the voices seems to bark or shout the chant.

Kyrill is the first one to part the bushes and reveal a wide clearing around a large, smoldering firepit and a small, stone temple of some sort. The trees still close in overhead like a vaulted cathedral ceiling, but the undergrowth is thinned out and the ground hard-packed.

The temple stands only about 12 feet off of the ground, and is more of a shrine than anything, room enough for one human-sized creature to enter and participate in the worship of some unknown power.

Three figures stand beside the fire, chanting in unison. One of them is an old, black human male, hunched and near blind. He is dressed in simple, homespun clothes, with beaded necklaces and trinkets, and holds a wand made of animal bones and feathers in his hand. Another figure stands beside him. She is also human, with black hair and somewhat dark skin, dressed in ceremonial leather armor of some sort, with a polearm at her side. The last is a small red fox with two tails, and it is the source of the yipping and barking. The fox is the first to notice Kyrill and the others as they come into view, its large ears swiveling to catch the sounds of the Watchmen as they aproach.

When the others are alerted to the squad's presence by the sudden defensive nature of the fox, they all turn and look. The old man squints; the woman lowers her polearm, and the fox simply watches with black eyes, both tails flicking back and forth in what could be amusement if it were a humanoid.

[Obscurejones]

Ketten and Dalbar have the same thought at the same time.
Twin tailed fox... Where have I heard of that before?
Twin tailed fox... Where have I heard of that before?
Their mental paths from that point differ.
A shinto spirit? Or a simply a blessed form of one of the forests creatures?
Aberration, Demon, Experiment?

Dalbar
Knowledge(Arcana)[roll0]
Knowledge(Planes)[roll1]
Knowledge(History)[roll2]
Kettenbar
Knowledge(Religion)[roll3]
Knowledge(Nature)[roll4]

[Douglas]

Impressive knowledge rolls. Don't think I can beat them with regular knowledge, so I'll just throw in a bardic knowledge roll: [roll0]

[Stycotl]

Dalbar and Erfel hold a split-second mental conference in which a whole slew of lore is discussed within the span of a heartbeat, and they both decide that the fox fits the description of a young huli jing, or kitsune.

The polearm-baring woman demands something in an unknown tongue that not even the team's language magics understand, stepping before the other two defensively.

The man only stares through clouded eyes, looking to each of the visible team members individually even though it appears that he can't see that far.

Suddenly Kurukshetra and Elric crash through the canopy and land on the ground before Kyrill and the others.

The old man continues the chant, the only one still singing, and begins again to wave the wand. In between stanzas, the man says something to the others in a tongue that Erfel's magics understand, "Hold here..."

[Tacitus]

I don't comprehend languages so much as passively decipher thoughts to understand language. I can basically understand any spoken language so long as I am psionically focused, but I cann ot speak, read, or write. It may not even be important, but I got home checked it, and thought I'd add those two cents before I ambled off to bed so I can wake up in less than a full nights sleep to lay gorram tile tomorrow.

[Stycotl]

I don't comprehend languages so much as passively decipher thoughts to understand language. I can basically understand any spoken language so long as I am psionically focused, but I cann ot speak, read, or write. It may not even be important, but I got home checked it, and thought I'd add those two cents before I ambled off to bed so I can wake up in less than a full nights sleep to lay gorram tile tomorrow.

hmm. for some reason i am thinking that i should have remembered this already. sorry. no, it didn't really affect the situation here much, but i will try to remember it from now on.

Though language magic wasn't able to decipher the words spoken by the woman, Levi's ability to read the intentions of others does, and as he steps forward and makes his thoughts known to the rest of the team, they too understand what is being communicated.

The chant is poetic, and refers to a cleansing of the earth and all of the spirits within it.

The woman is demanding who they are and why they are here.

[Tacitus]

Levi

The sniper will cycle through his few languages (Common, Sylvan, and Highpoint Common) first, only moving on if there is no comprehension, "We are initiates of an extraplanar organization, I am First Sword Levi Dale. We were directed to find a Court of the Hidden Flower upon a forested island situated in a crescent shaped lake." If there is no comprehension after he exhausts his few languages he grumbles and then makes scratching, or rather crawling motions at the base of his skull and then touch his forehead to Hans's and mouth words. He will then attempt to initiate the psionic connection with the woman demanding to know who they are and tap on his own temple and then point to her head.

If she declines or looks confused he's simply out of ideas and would glance to the others for suggestions.

[Stycotl]

The others stand there in suspicion and confusion for a moment before Levi attempts the Sylvan tongue. Then the old man's brows lift, and he steps forward feebly. Responding in the same language, he answers the sniper.

"Why do you search for the Court? How do you know of us? What is your purpose here?" Then his old, wrinkled visage creases further into a frown, "There are others searching for the Court in order to destroy us..."

[Douglas]

Erfel bows and responds in the same language, trying to reassure the man. "You need have no fear of us, elder. We were sent here by an old gnome named Lemion to learn, and told that the Court of the Hidden Flower would teach us. I am Erfel Fencalled and my companions are a group of aspiring heroes."

Diplomacy: [roll0]

[Stycotl]

The old man takes a moment to translate what is being said to the other two, though his eyes never leave the intruders. Then, just as he is about to respond, the Watchmen hear movement behind them, and another figure approaches.

"These are the intruders that I followed, Master. I do not trust them, but I do not think that they serve the Centipede."

This one is a short man of tanned skin, narrow eyes, and a scruffy, sparse beard. He is dressed in rags, and has a spiraling tattoo of a dragon visible on both forearms; judging by the fact that it is a dragon tail on his left arm and the dragon's head on his right, it probably extends up under his tattered shirt and across his back and chest.

The old, black man reaches a wavering arm out to the armored woman beside him and rests his frame against her. "Who is this that sent you, and for what purpose?" he asks in the sylvan tongue.

[Douglas]

Erfel tries again, still in Sylvan, "Shieldmarshal Lemion, sometimes called Scree, of the Watchtower sent us. If you do not already recognize any of that, I regret that we are sworn to secrecy and cannot tell you more. We were sent here for training, and told that the Court of the Hidden Flower would instruct us."

[Stycotl]

The old man looks bewildered, and seems to want to answer, but is taken by a fit of coughing. While he focuses on the strangers, his armored companion keeps the chant going. The fox simply stares at them, tails twitching. And the newcomer stands behind them, stance wide, eyes alert.

Finally the old man recovers and looks back to them, "We are the Court of the Hidden Flower. But none of us know anything of this shield-marshal that you speak of. I am afraid that you might be confused...

"What sort of training were you supposed to receive, anyway?"

Kurukshetra waits until the man's message is translated in Levi and Erfel's heads for the rest of them to understand, and then turns, looking hesitantly to the rest of the team.

The old gnome is playing some kind of game with us. Or maybe these guys are...

[Douglas]

Sense motive checks.
Erfel: [roll0]
Kelurn: [roll1]

[Stycotl]

it is obvious to erfel and kelurn that these guys have no clue who the wt is, who lemion is, or anything else, and that you have interrupted some kind of a ritual, and that they are agitated because of it. it is also obvious that they are very defensive, and the words of the guy behind the group make it seem as if they are expecting an attack of some sort.

[Barbarian MD]

Elric, up until now silent, steps forward.

"Honorable Ones, if you are the Court of the Hidden Flower, we wish to learn from you, if you will teach us. In your wisdom, I am sure we may learn much from you...

"Watchmen, I suggest that we stand down and surrender our weapons. I do not believe these will seek to harm us."

[Stycotl]

The old man waits until Levi translates Elric's message, and then in turn translates it to his companions with a look that says he does not believe what he is hearing.

The younger man standing behind the group snorts and crosses his arm across his chest, and then speaks to the old man. Levi's translation catches the cynicism in the younger man's comment.

"Maybe they are with the Centipede; maybe they are just here to distract us..."

The old man looks again to the Watchmen, still debating with himself. Finally he shakes his head, "I am not sure who sent you, or what they thought that we could train you in, but this is not going to work–"

He is interrupted as three more individuals suddenly materialize beside Kyrill, facing the old man. All three of them are human males. Two of them are young men, but the third looks almost as old as the black man. One of these young men is fair-skinned and wears significantly different clothes than the others, as well as two bastard swords on his back. The other two men are unarmed, but look like they have come straight from Elric's or Kurukshetra's ascetic monastery.

for simplicity's sake, everyone here looks asian both in features and in dress except for the first old man (black, dressed in african traditional robes), the fox (dressed like a fox...), and both of the new young men that just appeared (the one with the swords looks germanic or celt, and is dressed in roman-looking clothes with a scottish-looking tartan over his shoulder; the other looks incan or aztec or something, and is dressed in a simple pair of breeches).

if there are questions about this, feel free to ask. i need to get portraits of them or something to distinguish them apart...

The oldest of the newcomers nods his head respectfully to the old, black man, and addresses him in a language that the whole group seems to understand, "Venerable Tandu Ankembo, I greet you. It has been many months since I last saw you. But I have come to aid the Court in its time of need, and to offer you the aid of my pupils." He gestures to the two young men standing at his side, and they both bow their heads to the old man. "I also offer to you the aid of the Watchtower."

At this, he gestures to the squad. "They have traveled far, and under somewhat incomplete pretenses. They are not aware that your court is soon to be assaulted by the forces of the Centipede and that they have been sent to bolster your defenses. They think only that they are here to be instructed in the ways of combat, magic, and spirituality." The man looks to the teams then, inspecting them and sizing them up, "Very good. I am Hisheng Maoxung, called Dragon Monsoon by some, Thousand Fists by others. I am a friend of your Shieldmarshal, and helped him orchestrate this adventure. You all have arrived just in time to defend this island against the hordes that are already on their way here to destroy it. Thank you for coming so swiftly..."

[Barbarian MD]

Well, that explains things. Somewhat.

Hearing these words, Kyrill immediately growls and falls into a fighting stance, twisting to face the woods from which they came and scanning their surroundings.

"I suspect that I have smelt another lycanthrope, perhaps a were-wolf. Does that describe any of you, or am I going to be killing one soon?"

Also, what the hell are these centipedes, and is one way of killing them better than another?

...

Conversely, on hearing then news, Elric seems to relax even more, the muscles in his body loosening and his stance widening. The monk closes his eyes for a few moments.

[Stycotl]

Hisheng seems to be able to understand Kyrill's words even without a translation from Levi. He laughs at the werebear's words. "Werewolf indeed describes a number of your new allies and enemies." he points to the armored, polearm-wielding woman, "Kwan there is a wolfchanger."

Then he looks about, and turns to the older man, "Tandu, where are the twins, and where is Raja?"

Tandu Ankembo is still frowning at the squad, trying to take all of this in, "They are off on patrol on the rim. I hope that it was the twins that this stranger scented, and not one of the bakemono..."

Hisheng turns to Kyrill and the others again, "There are two more werewolves among your new allies, as well as a weretiger, and this werefox here." he nods to the two-tailed creature. Then he gestures to the old man, "Tandu here is a bird of prey, though he looks like a man. But there are werewolves among our enemies as well, and they are dark and twisted, and dangerous beyond comprehension. Beware their green fire–it will flay your spirits from your bodies as quickly as it does your flesh, and it will warp and mutate your very being."

[Barbarian MD]

The news is so extraordinary that it brings Kyrill up short. In all his life, he had never met another like himself, and now he was standing in the presence of a half-dozen lycanthropes. He turns, gaping, and them forces himself to return his watch to the trees. Perhaps there will come a time for conversation later.

[Douglas]

Kelurn starts in surprise when three newcomers appear. Confusion changes to acceptance on his face as he listens to their explanation. "That explains a few things, though I'd like to know why Lemion didn't tell us about this from the start."

Erfel interrupts, clearing his throat. He speaks in sylvan still, as he is primarily addressing the outsiders. "Pardon me, but this business of translating is getting cumbersome. I have a minor magic that will allow us," he gestures at the Watchtower group, "to all speak and understand other tongues for a time. If you don't mind?" Assuming they don't object, Erfel casts Tongues (110 minutes duration) on everyone in his Tapestry.

Following the spellcasting, Kelurn continues in sylvan. "Very well, if we are here for defense instead of training then let us prepare. How long do we have before the attack is here? What can you tell us about this Centipede and its forces? Is there any particular location of importance we need to defend, or is this only a matter of preserving lives, easily transported objects, and the general area?"

[Barbarian MD]

Elric tries to respectfully interrupt Erfel. "Pardon, but would it not be better to invite them into the net?"

[Stycotl]

my last post is edited, because i forgot to include tandu.

Hisheng puts a calming hand on Kyrill's shoulder, "You can stand down for a moment at least, brother bear. By the time they begin their assault, we will have known for at least a few minutes before they arrive.

"As for why the Shieldmarshal did not tell you of the impending battle, I cannot with any certainty say. He is a mischievous one, I know that. If I had to presume to understand him, I would think that he was simply preparing you for the flexibility and resourcefulness that you will need as warriors."

erfel's caster check: [roll1d20[/roll]

Then he nods in respect to Erfel, "That is a very useful Art that you manipulate there. The wolves here refer to us as Namebreakers; they don't have an innate trust of our Art.

"Make no mistake, regal warrior," he then speaks to Kelurn, "You are here for training. This is one of the reasons that you come to the defense of the Court, in hopes that they would be persuaded to share with you some of their knowledge.

"Master Tandu, the master of these warriors, known as the Watchtower, sends them in your time of need whether or not you agree to his request, so do not feel pressured into anything. But we are all hoping that your court might take them under your wing, might teach them the history of this world and the subtle magics that give it life.

"Their master promises you that your secrets will remain your own, that he doesn't expect you to share with these outsiders anything that you do not wish to, and that they will abide by the rules of the court so long as they remain here.

"He wishes them to learn specifically of the spirit world; he wishes the hengeyokai to teach them of spiritual combat, of harnessing their inner strength, and of navigating the Mirrorlands.

"Myself and my pupils here are to teach them of magic, and of the consequences of its misuse. We will share our lessons with them away from your protectorate if it calms your soul, so that we do not tamper with the wards and the guardian spirits.

"Then there is another," His eyes flash with something caught between anger and fondness, "that will teach them pain, endurance, stealth, and victory at all costs. Kali, I am told, will break them, and we are to resurrect them when they fall.

"What say you, old friend? Will you accept them as brothers, and take them under your wing?"

Tandu merely stands there, leaning on Kwan, "Give me time, Dragon. I must discuss this with the others. I am grateful for the aid–we all are–and if they wish to stay and fight by our side, we are in their debt. But I would not wish them to stay unless they realize already that this will be a hard battle.

"Perhaps on day I could meet this Shieldmarshal that you speak of."

[Douglas]

"Hard battles are our job. We have faced and beaten foes greater than most people ever know. We fought and defeated a powerful undead wraith of some sort in the mountain peaks on our way here. I don't think she is permanently gone, but we destroyed her body, and the next time she attacks an intruder she will have to do it without one of her weapons. Do not worry about our commitment, we knew what we were getting into when we joined the Watchtower."

I thought Erfel wouldn't need a caster level check for this one. How is Joe Random Commoner going to tell that the target didn't learn those languages the hard way long ago?

[Stycotl]

I thought Erfel wouldn't need a caster level check for this one. How is Joe Random Commoner going to tell that the target didn't learn those languages the hard way long ago?

most likely, joe random wouldn't notice anything; in fact, joe random wouldn't notice a lot of the stuff that you guys do, and would think that a lot of (Ex) stuff is (Su), and vice versa. but you still need a caster level check for anything here in this world. i mentioned earlier that sometimes even mundane magics are punished on dharti.

don't worry. one of the things that the wolves are supposed to teach you is how to access different magical fonts on this world in order to not get smacked by the blatant magics hand of the gods.

Tandu and Kwan both frown at Kelurn's mention of a wraith, "it was in this area?" the old man asks while the woman continues the chant.

Hisheng looks puzzled, "Without its weapon? Did you destroy it or take it? Do you have it with you?"

The bearded man still standing behind the group growls, "Is that the foul taint that I have been smelling? I think that it resides with the gnome here." He strides forward and glowers down at Dalbar, visually looking for the offending object. "There! Look, the weapon burns through the rope that holds it! It drips with Yomi venom, and they bring it here to defile our home!"

Hisheng moves to get a closer look, hoping that Dalbar will present it so that he can get a closer look at it. "If there is indeed an artifact of the Yomi here, then we must cleanse it or destroy it, or it must be taken away from this place. The spiritual energies of the Court cannot be endangered by dark energies, especially this close to a battle."

Meanwhile, Kuru gets restless. I think that I will take to the treetops and see if I can spot anything out of the ordinary... though this whole valley seems somewhat extraordinary. I will stay within the net, if I am needed.

The dragon, as noticeable as he normally is, has gone more or less unobserved in this encounter up until this point. When his thoughts register across the net, Hisheng looks to him, as do some of the others. The old monk bows his head to the radiant dragon and greets him, "It is an honor to be within the presence of one of the middle dragons. The light of the Celestial Bureaucracy radiates from your crown, my lord." Then he looks to the bearded man standing before Dalbar, "Duy, these are friends, and they travel with one of your ancestors. Show them the hospitality of the court; there will be blood to shed and bakemono to incinerate soon enough..."

Kuru merely blinks in surprise, wondering why on earth he would be called a lord.

[Stycotl]

forgot to fix the caster check... [roll0]

obscurejones, you here?

[Obscurejones]

Kettenbar seems nervous.
Will I have time to pray before our enemies arrive?
Dalbar removes his glasses and rubs the bridge of his nose.
We are here to defend. Of course. He swears under his breathe in Orc.
Feel free to dispose of the weapon if it offends your sensibilities. I'm not particularly attached to it.

[Stycotl]

Hisheng looks closer at the weapon that Dalbar holds, "It is indeed burning through the rope that holds it. It might be wise to find another way to transport it."

Then he laughs, "So it looks as if you have already met Kali, the one that is going to destroy you. You say that you defeated her?" He looks doubtful, but shrugs, "I suppose that it is possible. You all radiate much more power than I am used to dealing with, but your worlds seem to operate by different principles than my own.

"If you truly defeated Kali, then we should have nothing to fear of these Yomi abominations that are on their way as we speak."

[Barbarian MD]

Elric

"Honorable Ones, I would like to weave an aura of protection around us, but I find that this world causes my mind to find chaos. Would you be able to assist me?"

Before our enemies arrive, Elric will cast...

Holy Aura: 11 people. +4 deflection bonus. +4 resistance bonus. SR 25 (evil). Possession and mental influence blocked (as per protection from evil). Evil creatures makes successful melee attack blinded, fortitude negates. Ah, copied the wrong one. Be right back.

Ack. I was thinking "protection from evil. I won't have holy aura for another few levels. Protection from evil on three targets, one of them not myself (saving a dispel evil for myself). +2 deflection, +2 resistance bonus. Same mental protection, can't be touched by summoned creatures. I'll roll two more caster checks in another post.

Caster Check: [roll0]+11
Well, looks like asking them for help before casting might have been a good play after all.

Also, is anybody here non-good? I'm thinking of attempting a "Holy Word".

[Barbarian MD]

Caster check 2: [roll0]
Caster check 3: [roll1]

[Tacitus]

Both Hans and Levi are neutral on the good/evil axis (being C and L respectively) and as such would be affected by a Holy Word. However, They have the same HD as Elric and good will saving throws, meaning that even if they do manage to fail they would merely be deafened for a short while.

Deafness for both characters is not problematic. Levi doesn't need sound usually and Hans can drop the verbal component on his chaos magic in exchange for making the casting harder (+5 to the casting DC).

[Stycotl]

mhvaughan, i'm not really sure what kind of help elric is asking for, and who he is asking.

also, you guys are getting the idea that there won't be time for 8 hours of rest and spell preparation. you can still attempt it, but prepare for the worst.

[Obscurejones]

Dalbar mentally rifles through his prepared spells for the day.
Remind me to have words with the shield marshal about proper description of these gods forsaken missions. Also remind me to simply assume my resources will be turned to outright war.
Keten attempts to calm himself by running through his hierarchy of life.
Pelor provides for the plants, which provide for the beast, which provides for man. Abominations circumvent this order and are provided for by nothing and are devoid of Pelor's love...

[Barbarian MD]

It was a long shot. I thought they might be able to guide him in casting magic on this anti-magic world if he screwed up--sort of catch him if he falls. If not, he'll still attempt it.

[Stycotl]

as far as i have seen, the rules don't specifically allow for the aid another action on spellcasting, but i don't see why not, so long as it comes from someone with the appropriate casting type. so yeah, if ever one of you is worried about beating a spellcasting check, others that have the same casting skill can give you a +2 bonus with the same DC 10 check used for aiding another on skill checks. i'll put that in the houserules.

Kuru mentally listens to Dalbar's thoughts and smirks, He enjoys keeping us on our toes too much to worry whether we are inconvenienced by it or not. Especially in training. A few months ago, he was asked about his tricks and mentioned that we need to be able to react to bad intel and chaotic situations without blinking an eye. Or something like that.

I wouldn't worry too much. He always gave us as good intel as he could for real missions. Though I would suppose that this "training" mission counts now as a real mission, unless these guys are part of a theater company intent on giving us a realistic battle situation for training purposes only...

The dragon becomes silent, mulling over the disturbing idea that this battle could be just another training session.

Tandu sighs, obviously exhausted from his chanting and channeling of magical power. He looks to the team, somehow intuitively understanding that Levi is in charge.

"Raja's pack will be back shortly. Duy here is in charge of physical defense of the court. He will tell you where you can best help us." He looks to the armored woman and the fox, "Keep the ritual active; I must attune them to the court so that they can come and go as they please."

With that, the old wrinkled man hobbles toward the Watchmen and bellows in a voice that is stronger than any of the team would have figured, considering his frail and tired frame, "Dragon, come back for a moment!"

He begins a faster, livelier chant, pointing to each team member in turn, including Kurukshetra when he drops back under the canopy. Levi understands the words of the chant to intone the spirit of the island as if in prayer. Tandu praises the island for its beauty, strength, and purity, and then asks its spirit to accept the outsiders as allies, telling the spirit that they are dedicated to the defense of the island.

Finally, the old man closes his eyes, takes in a deep breath, and offers thanks to the island. "You are all accepted by the spirit of Anresej, this sacred island. Be aware that this acceptance still depends upon your actions; Anresej is very much an alive entity, and knows the thoughts and desires of your hearts.

"Go now and offer your services to Duy. That one might be gruff and cantankerous, but his heart serves the Emerald Mother and Anresej."

Still standing behind them, obviously unimpressed with their presence, the man known as Duy stands, arms akimbo, head high, staring down at them as if at young, belligerent children–waiting.

[Barbarian MD]

Now that's interesting...

3 +2 deflection bonuses up for grabs, NPCs included.

Elric speaks, "I can enhance the ability of three warriors to deflect the attacks of our enemies. Who would like me to do this for them?"

When thee protectees indicate that their attackers are about to arrive, he steps up to each and lays his hands upon them, one in a forehead and another on a shoulder, and closes his eyes.

[Stycotl]

Now that's interesting...

what is?

Duy stands there, awaiting the newcomers, obviously refusing to go to them first.

[Barbarian MD]

With a glance to Levi for confirmation, Kyrill steps toward Duy, presenting himself at port arms.

[Stycotl]

The scruffily bearded man wrinkles his nose at the barbarian as he steps up, "I suppose that I will have to put up with you and your clumsy, smelly friends. What is your name? What kind of position do you help do you think that you are going to be against Yomi spirits? Have you ever fought a bakemono? Have you ever stared into the eye of the Centipede? Your years of bullying peasants in tiny villages will not help you here. If you were smart, all of you danh tú would escape while you still can."

[Douglas]

Incensed by Duy's insults, Kelurn steps forward to answer them. "My name is Kelurn Samora, and I have personally defeated foes so far beyond mere rural peasants that there simply is no comparison. I have slain demons the common folk of my home think are only legends, along with the wizard who summoned them. I have stood my ground alone against dozens of lesser soldiers following a treasonous master and left alive where they did not. Together we," he nods at the other party members, "fought and killed a dragon whose breath might give the sun competition for heat, along with his horde of minions and some machines of war big enough to shake the ground when they walk. This very night we reduced Kali to dust that blew away in the wind. I do not claim to be the best in existence, but I would thank you to not assume we are weak. If we have not yet fought a bakemono or stared into the Centipede's eye, it is only because we have not yet had the opportunity to do so."

[Stycotl]

Duy's eyes turn to Kelurn and he is quiet a moment as he listens to the warrior. Finally he crosses his arms over his thick chest and nods, "Very well. Kelurn, killer of foes greater than any peasant, if you and your companions here can hold your own, you will have proven yourself more capable than I expect; if you are truly as skilled as you say and can destroy our foes outright, then you will earn my respect. But if you fall and break before the tide that is to come, I will die with laughter upon my lips. And if you mess things up and defeat all chance of our survival, my ghost will personally hunt you down from the Mirrorlands.

"If you truly wish to help us, then you will take your friends and split up into two teams. I need a team patrolling the south end of the island between the two creeks, and another on the east side of the island, from the steam up to the large clearing on the north shore. This will give my few warriors the ability to function on the west side. No matter how we do this, one team needs to be close to the court at all times; they cannot be left without protection.

"Your friend, the bear," he frowns in Kyrill's direction, "will be one of your signals to us–I would hope that if he were a real bear-changer, that his voice will carry far enough–when his team is close to the court, he will call out to us, loud and clear. When my team is close, you will hear the roar of a dragon, and when Raja is close, you will hear a tiger. I do not know how your second team will signal the rest of us, so you will need to come up with a way now."

[Douglas]

And the real reason for that 2 squads planning thing is finally revealed.:smalltongue:

How big is this island? Are the south and east areas close enough for Levi's network to stretch at this level? Probably not, as it's only 840' range right now, but it can't hurt to ask.

Now to go back and look up the split we decided on...

[Barbarian MD]

Rather than answer the many questions flung at him, Kyrill responds with an answer as infuriating as he can think of:

"Medvedyev, Kyrill. Colonel, Sibersk Army, Allied Forces. Soldier on detachment to the Watchtower," he growls out, then crisply salutes, as military perfect as a recruiting poster.

[Obscurejones]

Ketten salutes as well.
Kettenbar Sunson. I once saw a centipede, but I'm not sure if it had eyes, sir!
Dalabr laughs.
Dalbar. I don't stare at bugs. I'd hate for them to think I'm rude.

[Stycotl]

And the real reason for that 2 squads planning thing is finally revealed.

well, this kind of situation anyway. i have just been making the details of this encounter up as i go. i knew the goals that i had before we started it, the basics of our allies and enemies, etc. but the dialogue and specifics are left up to you guys. this case just seemed to fit with splitting you guys up into two teams.

Duy's brows raise in curiosity as both the werebear and the little man salute. He shifts on his feet uncomfortably, not really used to military customs, and then looks again to Kelurn, "I need to know who is going to be signaling from the other team, and what kind of signal they will give."

[Barbarian MD]

Uh... Elric can yodel? Yeah, I got nothing.

[Stycotl]

Uh... Elric can yodel? Yeah, I got nothing.

that will end up being kelurn's call, since he's 2nd team leader. but, it might be necessary to end up switching kuru to team two for this mission, since he can roar–if you guys can't think of any alternatives.

none of you have a warhorn on ya? i s'pose that hans can create a warhorn...

[Douglas]

none of you have a warhorn on ya? i s'pose that hans can create a warhorn...

I was thinking about that, and regretting that I didn't give Erfel any real instruments because he'd be using telepathy most of the time and could fall back on his voice.:smallredface:

He's got Summon Instrument, but I looked it up and it only lasts 11 minutes and even for those 11 minutes won't let him lend it to anyone. I don't suppose you'd let me retcon that Erfel has a few instruments, including a horn?

Otherwise, unless one of the NPCs has a suitable signalling device to lend us or Hans creates one, we may just have to settle on Kuru changing teams this time. I don't think any of Kelurn, Elric, Kettenbar, and Hans have any easy means of producing very loud noises on demand, except maybe if Hans casts some suitably noisy blasting spells, and that carries certain risks with it on this world.

[Barbarian MD]

A horn is something I always outfit my fighters with. But Kyrill was flat broke after buying his armor and sword this time. Otherwise he'd lend it.

Swap Elric and Kuru then, Douglas and Tacitus?

That reminds me, in case anyone was wondering, the answer to Elric's riddle was a snail. He's not going to bring it up IC because he'd rather conveniently drop the matter than even allow the appearance of Kuru losing face for getting it wrong.

[Stycotl]

sorry, no instruments. you guys will have to make due with something else.

[Douglas]

I'm going to be rather busy the next few days moving to my new town house. I will not be posting much, if at all, until the move is done and I'm settled in.

As for the signalling problem, all I can think of is either Hans creating a horn or something similar, or Kuru changing teams, either with or without Elric also changing teams to keep the skirmisher role filled on Levi's team. You bunch figure out what you prefer, I'm going to be busy for a while.

[Stycotl]

Kurukshetra sees that the others are having a hard time coming up with a plan. "I'll switch places with Elric on team two. I am pretty loud when I want to be. Duy, you will hear a dragon's roar when we are signaling you or the others."

The other man finally nods and jerks his head toward the woods, "Well, no time to delay; get out there and start your patrols. Detain any visitors; report any contact with anybody or anything. I can travel quickly across this island, so if you need me, just call." With that, he walks toward the firepit, where Tandu is once again immersed in the ritual with his two compatriots.

The radiant dragon merely sighs and takes again to the air, "Well, I'll circle above the rest of you, if you want, Kelurn."

i'm gonna narrate a large chunk of this now, but i'm gonna wait till tomorrow to do so.

[Tacitus]

Sorry I've been out so much. Ran into some problems with the Tile that caused it to take an ass-ton longer and today was my face to face game day.

Also, under Major Materialization

A major Materialisation effect is sufficient to create objects with a maximum combined weight of five pounds per caster level. The items can also be imbued with sounds equivalent to a lion’s roar, or colours and light equivalent to the noon-day sun.

and

At this level, the chaos mage can create any sound or image he can conceive, and it will appear exactly as the actual object or creature, with no traces of unnatural chaos energy.

[Stycotl]

cool, tacitus. it is up to you and douglas to decide. so what is the plan?

[Stycotl]

The two teams head out, Kuru flying above one of them (?). They find the distinct areas that they are patrolling clearly marked by the streams and the clearing and have no trouble figuring out effective routes to patrol the entire area quickly. Each area is approximately one quarter of a square mile, with thick forests and crystal clear streams.

The sun finally begins to lighten the sky in the east, though it hasn't yet penetrated through the thick clouds and canopies of the hidden valley. The teams patrol for hours, finding it strangely relaxing despite the promise of the soon-to-arrive crazed demons from the pits of the Hells. Every time their route takes them close to the central clearing and Tandu's spells, someone gives a loud signal, rising in pitch if they are closing in on the firepit, and descending in pitch if they are leaving. In this manner, they are able to coordinate it so that there is almost a permanent presence near the clearing.

If that were not enough, Hisheng and his two students have not left the firepit at all, and seem to be standing guard over the old man, armored woman, and the two-tailed fox, while they enact the ritual.

[Barbarian MD]

Elric wings through the air, doing his best to be on the lookout for trouble, but uneasy regarding his grasp of squad tactics and battles.

...

Kyrill spends as much time concentrating on what his nose is telling him as his eyes and ears, straining to pick out the smell of lycanthropes or death from the air.



EDIT: The next time Elric's squad nears the Court, he quickly wings over to check on them and then wings back to the group.

[Stycotl]

Hours pass, and finally the late morning sun begins to shine through the thick clouds above. At one point in the patrol, both Watchtower squads find themselves circling around close to a small waterfall on the stream that divides their areas. Kyrill and Hans are the first to see the others, and both teams reflexively slow in greeting.

Kurukshetra descends through the thick canopy, having to fold his wings and climb down the tree branches because the foliage is too thick to fly through. He drops to the ground before his team and looks to the others.

How goes the patrol? Have you seen anything? We haven't even caught a scent or a footprint. I don't think anything sentient has been out in this direction in months besides the tiger and the two wolves that Duy was talking about. I smell them every now and then when we pass the game trails, but nothing else...

Do you guys think that this is going to be as bad as they're saying?

[Barbarian MD]

Kyrill, ever the optimist, responds: "I think it's going to be worse.

"...we shouldn't be this close to each other; there's too much unwatched territory right now."

[Stycotl]

ok, i'm ruling then that kuru stayed with team1, and that hans was ok with the idea of blatant magic in case of the need to signal.

The teams quickly split up again and go about their patrols. After a few more hours, Levi and the rest of team one come upon the tiger and twin wolves at the northernmost border of their area.

The two wolves are not immediately visible, though the they can be heard as they bark and yip one to another. Raja on the other hand, strides up to the team in feline form, a lithe, beautiful tiger with regal bearing and glittering eyes. He bows his head respectfully as he greets the strangers, still a few dozen yards away from them.

With a throaty purr, the tiger enunciates words that they can all understand, "Welcome, Watchmen." His voice is a perfectly resonant baritone even in this form, "I for one am glad to have some aid in our struggle. Don't mind Duy; he is perpetually sulky, but he loves us all the same. You all bear the marks of true warriors, from the biggest to the tallest, and I have no doubt that you can hold your own against these enemies. Be careful though, that you do not underestimate them. They do not fight to win; they fight knowing that they will die. They throw themselves at us as fanatics throw themselves on the knives of their foes, screaming, tearing, and eagerly awaiting what awaits them."

He looks to Kyrill, "It has been ages since we hsien have seen bears in these mountains. Your presence, great okuma, is an auspicious sign of things to come. My mountain sentai is the only defense left to these courts that fights with tooth and claw. Duy leads us in wartime, and if necessary, Regent Tandu, Lady Kwan, and Radiant Ghost, the fox, will form a wave sentai, but we are still only seven to stand against the legions that the Centipede spawns daily..."

The tiger falls silent for a moment, then smirks, turning to continue his trek again, "I had never planned to stick with a single court; I had always thought of myself a nomad. Much less would I have expected to stay with one to the bitter end. No matter, your presence here is gratefully received by most of us. Fare well."

As he disappears into the deep forest, two wolves, one jet black and the other a deep, ashen gray, slip into view after him. Both of them move silently, yellow eyes gleaming. There is something dark and feral about the two of them, something that sends shivers up even Kyrill's spine, though part of it might be simply the excitement of being surrounded by so many of his kin. Both wolves eye the newcomers for a moment as they pad softly through the shadows of the forest.

One of them pauses, the gray one, to watch them, and though the hackles are up in her fur, she dips her head in silent tribute to their new allies, and is then gone.
pm me when you think you know where we are. if you get it right on the first guess, you will get a custom magic item either during this mission, or during the next two. note that i didn't say only the first person to guess right gets it...

[Stycotl]

Meanwhile, as team two is trekking through the woods close to the southern shore, one of Hisheng's students comes into view through the trees, walking barefoot through shin-deep marsh waters, though he doesn't seem to mind.

His chest is bare, and he wears a simple pair of woolen breeches of black and red. Intricate tribal tattoos cover his arms, and a stylized dragon carved in jade sticks through his lower lip. Exotic feathers of turquoise and emerald are braided into his long hair.

The man waves a single hand in greeting as he approaches the others. "Hello," He says in a harsh accent that almost sounds like the tongue of the lizardfolk. "I am Zequixan, a student of Dragon Monsoon. I was sent here to deliver a message from Regent Tandu: your team is to finish one more circuit of your area, and then head back to the central clearing. There is going to be a conference of some sort that I have not really been briefed on."

He smiles, understanding their desire for more information than he has to give them, and shrugs. "I wasn't a part of the conversation between Master Hisheng and the Regent, but it seems like the situation might have changed or something."

[Stycotl]

ok, i want a little bit of roleplay here before we move on. interact a bit with the locals or something. sure, i already narrated them moving away from the groups, but i expect a lot of this to be inserted late in pbp, so ask questions, tell stories, introduce yourselves to the strangers, etc.

a lot of your in-game clues are supposed to come through the roleplay before and after encounters, and sometimes during. this is the way normal games work, and mine is no different. if you want hints on what to do in future predicaments, you're never going to get them if you never roleplay it out. if that happens too often, i'm liable to get bored and start killing characters so that i can freshen the gene pool. that goes for everyone.

also, anyone have any guesses on the above trivia question?