GWA mk III Fight 19

[Moonlitdreams]

Etherscale vs. Sote'


A towering figure in a dark robe enters the room where you have been milling around sizing up the competition. His face is completely obscured by his hood. He raises both hands to get your attention and speaks in a deep voice.
Etherscale, Sote'. You have been chosen to fight. Prepare yourselves! With that he brings his hands down and the two of you find yourself transported to the arena (http://excessivefreetime.org/arena/arena4.html)

OOC:
You've got time for one swift action and one standard action before you get transported in case you need to adopt a stance or activate an item.

On the map, green is open terrain, yellow is difficult terrain, red/brown is the cliffs (10ft, Climb DC20, blocks LoS). Arena has a 60 foot ceiling.

Opening post should have an initiative roll, anything you said after he called your name and what, if anything you did with the 'surprise round' before being transported. After that, start fighting in initiative order.

Starting Positions:
EtherscaleHorizontal axis [roll0]
Vertical axis [roll1]
Sote'Horizontal axis [roll2]
Vertical axis [roll3]

[Moonlitdreams]

OOC: Starting positions edited in because the above messed up...

EtherscaleHorizontal axis [roll0]
Vertical axis [roll1]
Sote'Horizontal axis [roll2]
Vertical axis [roll3]

[Moonlitdreams]

Before being transported into the arena:
Standard Action: Activate Ring of Invisibility


Initiative: [roll0]

What are your vision modes? That will determine whether we have line of sight or not. I have regular vision and blindsense.

[Heliomance]

As the marshal speaks his name, Etherscale looks up and nods, once. He speaks two words in an ancient language. he gems on his dragon-shaped mask glow, and his ectoplasmic body appears to become darker in shade, becoming more indistinct and harder to see.

Initiative: [roll0]

Swift action: Activate Dragon Mask
Standard action: Activate Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis

I have normal vision and See Invisibility. Also Darkvision and Low-light vision, not that it matters.

[Moonlitdreams]

In that case, you see a short and slender creature with short-cropped blue-black fur that tapers to obsidian black around his fox-like face and huge, twitching ears across from you. His black beady eyes stare out and flicker around quickly, as if he can never examine his surroundings quickly enough to console himself. A pair of wrinkly black wings are jointed to his wrists and sweep down to his thighs, and his lips seem to move for a mere moment before he disappears. With your See Invisibility you can see that he flies south and disappears behind one of the cliffs.

DM only:
Move action: Sote' flies to P-34, and his companion the Dire Lion runs into the cover after him.
Move action: Wildshapes into a Delver and burrows 15 feet underground. Do I sense anything with Tremorsense?


With the senses that I have, do I see you before moving?

Oh, and end turn.

[nefele]

@ Moonlitdreams:
I sense a misunderstanding here. :)

Your starting position is AN-7 (You rolled 40 on the horizontal axis, not the vertical). So you can't fly south (you're as south as it gets), and certainly can't reach P-34.

From your starting position, you can't see Etherscale.

Also, your actions for one round were move, wild shape and move again. Isn't Wild Shape a move action (and not free) with MoMF? Unless I'm missing something, you can't do all that. In case you want to use the Belt of Battle, you have to declare it in the spoiler.

Finally, you saw Etherscale before teleporting to the Arena, and he's incorporeal, a ghost. Tremorsense can't help you here.

@Heliomance:
You teleport to the Arena at C-7, and you don't see Sote.

[Moonlitdreams]

@nefele
Misunderstanding indeed. :smallredface: I definitely thought the 40 was on the vertical axis. That changes my action.

I wish to use a double move to fly to V-6, staying behind the cliffs as best as I can while searching for Etherscale. The Dire Lion follows behind me, on the ground.

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

Do I see anything?

[Moonlitdreams]

@nefele
Oh, and Hide check if needed to stay out of sight: [roll0]

[nefele]

@Moonlitdreams:
I assume you fly just high enough to pass over the cliffs. (As a small creature, you are 10-15 ft up.)
You can't hide without a cover, e.g. in mid-air.

Line of Sight established.
Sote' can see Etherscale at C-7, ground level (0-5 ft up).
Etherscale can see Sote' at V-6, above ground (10-15 ft up).

[Moonlitdreams]

@nefele
As soon as LoS is established, activate Belt of Battle and spend one charge for a move action, which Sote's spends dropping to the ground behind the cliffs, still at V-6.



Etherscale sees Sote' drop behind the cliffs and then can see nothing more.

[nefele]

Line of sight lost again.

Etherscale saw last Sote' at V-6, descending and disappearing behind the cliff which between them (S6-S7). His current position is unknown.

@Heliomance: your turn

@Moonlitdreams:
It is customary to give a visual hint to the opponent when we activate a magic item within sight. (When command words are required, the opponent should definitely hear you. When it's a mental command, we usually say something like "you see one of the belt's gems turning grey". It's not an official rule, but it's a custom that makes sense - and promotes fair play.)

In this case, you had enough movement left to hide behind the cliff before activating the Belt of Battle, so you don't need to say anything. Just for future reference.

[Moonlitdreams]

@nefele

Since I have enough movement left anyway, I take the form of a Stone Giant with the Belt of Battle charge and draw the Blurstrike Greatsword from my Gloves of Storing (swift action).

Thank you for the notice. I will make sure to do that from now on.

One of the gems on the belt Sote' is wearing turns dull gray right before he disappears from sight.

[nefele]

@Moonlitdreams:
Action economy. You can't do all that, I'm afraid.
You need 2 move actions to get at V6.
You spend your swift action (only 1 swift action is allowed per round) to activate the Belt of Battle.
With your extra move action, you will either wild shape on the spot or move further.
Either way, you don't have another swift action to use the Gloves of Storing.

Also remember that the extra action from the Belt needs to be taken immediately after activation. So, for this round, you would move to V-6 and then down, activate the Belt unseen by Etherscale, and wild shape.

Lastly, while I'm more than happy to help with the rules and everything, this is bordering on cooperation. :smalleek: When you do something illegal, you aren't technically allowed to revise your actions. What's done is done. I trust that Heliomance will grant you this revision, because it's your first Arena match and the rules aren't clear yet. :)

But from now on, be careful with your actions, OK? :)

[Heliomance]

Yes. With your senses, you see a dark, shadowy draconic figure, blurry at the edges, hovering slightly above the ground.

If you can still see me, and for the DM:
Etherscale mutters another word in the ancient tongue, and fifteen gigantic spikes of metal appear in mid air, falling to the ground with a clang. He then sinks into the ground, leaving just his eyes above.

Standard action: Activate ring of arming. My weapons have arrived.

Move action: Downwards into the ground. Hide check: [roll0]

If you can't see me, then all you know is that you heard a clang from my last known position.

[nefele]

@Heliomance:
I believe you should add +8 to that Hide check. On your sheet, you have 18 ranks and 8 miscallaneous, presumably the ghost's racial bonus. Since you have activated the Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis, you should add another +8 for a total modifier of +34.
So I guessed you just rolled a Hide check of 50. :)

[Heliomance]

@nefele:
I guess you're right. I looked at my sheet and thought that +8 was from the dark creature template - I tnd to include the bonuses from my standard buffs on there. Didn't realise ghosts had +8 racial. Total hide check: 52, I think, including Dex mod.

[Moonlitdreams]

@nefele
I really am so sorry. I will be extra careful with my actions from now on. :smalleek:

So your turn is finished, Heliomance?

If so, my turn actions for the DM, since I don't think you can still see me.
Swift action: Draw Blurstrike Greatsword from Gloves of Storing.
Standard: Ready an action to attack Etherscale when I next see him.

[Heliomance]

Yep, I'm done

[Moonlitdreams]

My turn is over, you're up.

[Heliomance]

@nefele, and you if you can see me:

Move action: 40ft south to K7, still underground
Standard action: Telekinesis on the darts, using the Violent Thrust maneuver to send them to S7, on top of the cliffs.

@nefele only:
I can use Violent Thrust again in [roll0] round(s).

Hide check while moving: [roll1]

And I'm done.

[Moonlitdreams]

Turn actions, for nefele and you if you can see me:
Not seeing any movement here, so I will wildshape into a Delver and burrow underground to M-5, at which point I peak my head out and look around.
Meanwhile, my Dire Lion is sniffing around to try and find Etherscale. He is around V-6, and has scent. Does he detect anything?

[nefele]

@Moonlitdreams
You see five gigantic darts hovering over the cliffs at S-7. You can not see Etherscale, neither can your lion sniff him. Roll a spot check.
(Also, I assume your lion is at V-6 exactly. If you want it to "move around", please post exactly the movement and position.)

@Etherscale
You can see a delver emerging out of the ground at M-5. Please wait for Moonlitdreams to clarify something before posting your actions.

OOC: It would be best if you guys keep track of what round it is, and write "Round X" before actions. I think we are currently in Round 3, and Moonlitdreams's turn isn't over just yet.

Since you want to play it out in the dark (and it's much more exiting that way), please wait for confirmation about what (if anything) you can see before posting actions each round. If I'm gone AWOL, you can leave a shout-out in the Arena thread for someone else to help out, or perhaps pm Lyndworm. :)

[Moonlitdreams]

@nefele
Yes, the lion is at V-6 exactly, and I think I will keep him there, as he won't help much against a ghost.

Rules clarification, if you don't mind: Does the previous post's actions count as a double move, or do I still have a standard left? In any case, I will wait for the result of the Hide and Spot check to do anything else.

Hide check: [roll0]
Spot check: [roll1]

[nefele]

@Moonlitdreams:
This round, you used one move action to wild shape and one to move exactly your burrow speed. (5 ft down, 50 from V-6 to M-5 and 5 to emerge.) That's two move actions. So, you don't have another move or standard action for this round, but you have one swift (or immediate) action left.

Also, damn. I'm afraid you rolled a hide check a bit too late. :smalleek: I had already told Etherscale where you are, because you entered his view all of a sudden, without hiding. (Hiding isn't a separate action, it's part of movement. If I don't see a Hide check when you describe your movement, I assume you weren't hiding.)

I'm sorry. Would you like to ask Heliomance to roll a spot check, and pretend he didn't see you if he doesn't beat it? If so, please go ahead - and tell him how much he needs to roll. (In general, rolling Hide and Spot checks in public saves time.)

[Moonlitdreams]

@nefele
Ah... okay. Do I see him as he sees me?

No, it's fine, I'll just list actions for if I see him and if I don't.

If I do not see him, I look around thoroughly.

If I do see him, I use that last swift action to utter the command word for my Boots of Temporal Acceleration and use the two extra rounds that gives me according to the answer to this query: It says in the PHB that a monk's fists count as magical weapons (Ki Strike class ability). I presume that this would still be in effect during Wild Shape, and would affect natural weapons as well, due to the fact that they are essentially the fists in this form. Does that match the rules? I can post the question to the Talkie thread if this needs further clarification.


Spot check: 120+21

[Moonlitdreams]

:smallredface: THIS is the Spot check: [roll0]

[nefele]

@Moonlitdreams:
You don't see Etherscale. (his Hide check is above, in plain sight). That said, Spot checks don't take an action when they are reactive (e.g., when someone has hidden and we want to determine if he hid successfully). But you need to spend a move action to spot something you failed to see previously.

The monk's Unarmed Strike isn't only his fists. He can also use his "elbows, knees, and feet", and they all count as natural weapons. Presumably, this includes other appropriate body parts for non-humanoid monks. So when you wild shape, your natural weapons gain all the benefits of Ki Strike, and you can Flurry with them.

P.S. For future reference, are you talking about the Boots of Temporal Acceleration from MIC? These?

Once per day, you can enter another time frame for 2 rounds, speeding up so greatly that all other creatures seem frozen, though they are actually moving at normal speed. Other creatures are normally immune to your attacks, powers, or spells, but if you create an area effect that lasts longer than 2 rounds, that effect applies normally once the duration of the item's effect expires.


@Heliomance: Your turn. (Finally. :smalltongue:)

[Heliomance]

Round 3:

The darts levitate and move to Q5.
I don't move.

Your turn.

[Moonlitdreams]

Round 4:

Round actions:

Moving from M-5 to H-12. I will stop in the middle of the movement if I see him or anything else out of the ordinary.
Spot check: [roll0]
Listen check: [roll1]
Hide check: [roll2]
Move Silently check: [roll3]

My turn may or may not be over.


@nefele

The monk's Unarmed Strike isn't only his fists. He can also use his "elbows, knees, and feet", and they all count as natural weapons. Presumably, this includes other appropriate body parts for non-humanoid monks. So when you wild shape, your natural weapons gain all the benefits of Ki Strike, and you can Flurry with them.
That is what I was trying to clarify, yes. Just wanted to make sure; thank you. :smallbiggrin:

And yes, I am referring to the Boots of Temporal Acceleration from MiC, but I will not be using them this turn. See above actions.

Edit: Nevermind, based on the Hide check you did earlier, I cannot see you with those rolls. Turn end.

[nefele]

@Moonlitdreams: OK. Just note that you're on round 4 (your turn comes first).
Wait, are you underground? Or have you emerged?

[Moonlitdreams]

@nefele
I had emerged, but am now skulking around in as stealthily of a way I can, while casting a wary eye at those giant darts I saw and looking around for Etherscale.

[nefele]

@Heliomance:You see the delver passing right in front of you (you can make an AoO, actually :smalltongue:) and reach J-10. At this point, he has cover, so you have to beat his Hide check to see where he went after that.

A question. What is your speed exactly? I understand Fly 30 (perfect), but what's that 25ft/x4?

[Heliomance]

@nefele
I won't take an AoO as I don't actually have any means of affecting him with one. As for my speed, the 25ft is my land speed, which I never actually use. Also, my current fly speed is 40ft because of the Collar of Umbral Metamorphosis.

Spot: [roll0]

[Heliomance]

Listen check: [roll0]

[Moonlitdreams]

@nefele

I realized that I have been making a mistake. Sote' has blindsense, so according to the text of the SRD, he did not even need to make Spot and Listen checks. If Etherscale has been anywhere within a 60' radius of me at any time in this match, blindsense means that I sense and locate him as long as I have line of effect with him. With that in mind, have I sensed him, and if so, where?

[nefele]

@Moonlitdreams:
Etherscale is incorporeal (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/typesSubtypes.htm#incorporealSubtype). He has no physical body. He cannot be sensed by tremorsense or scent. If he makes a noise (if he chooses to make a noise, because he can remain completely inaudible if he wishes), he may be detected by Listen checks or Blindsense/Blindsight which are based on acute hearing. As long as he doesn't make a noise, though, he cannot be detected by anything you (or your lion) have. Unless of course he moves and you manage to Spot him.

By the way, where do you get Blindsense from? If it's from being an anthropomorphic bat, shouldn't it have 20 ft radius instead of 60? And shouldn't it be inapplicable when you wild shape to a delver? (No more bat ears!) I'm sorry, I've never really worked with anthropomorphic creatures before. :smallredface:

EDIT- Catgirl killing! Also, bats rely on echolocation to detect objects, so technically that wouldn't apply Vs an incorporeal creature (which doesn't have a physical body to send sound waves back). :smalltongue:

@Heliomance:
Your Listen check confirms your visual input: he is somewhere North-East in relation to you. (You need to beat his Move Silently check by 20 or more to pinpoint him.) Your turn.

OOC: Modifiers we have all forgotten:
-5 to Hide/Move Silently checks for moving more than half your speed.
-1 to Spot/Listen checks for every 10 ft of distance
Let's remember them from now on. :)

[Heliomance]

My last hide check included the -5.

@nefele:
Move action: 15 ft northeast through the cliff to I9. Do I see him?

Hide: [roll0]

Actually, add 5 to that. I moved less than half my speed.

[nefele]

@Etherscale:
Yes, you see the delver in H-12, ground level. You don't see the lion.

[Heliomance]

The delver'll do for now.

Suddenly, fifteen gigantic spikes of metal shoot through the air straight towards the delver. Violent Thrust.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]

[roll5]+[roll6]+[roll7] (Sneak Attack) +[roll8] (Skirmish)
[roll9]+[roll10]+[roll11] (Sneak Attack) +[roll12] (Skirmish)
[roll13]+[roll14]+[roll15] (Sneak Attack) +[roll16] (Skirmish)
[roll17]+[roll18]+[roll19] (Sneak Attack) +[roll20] (Skirmish)
[roll21]+[roll22]+[roll23] (Sneak Attack) +[roll24] (Skirmish)

[roll25]
[roll26]
[roll27]
[roll28]
[roll29]

[roll30]+[roll31]+[roll32] (Sneak Attack) +[roll33] (Skirmish)
[roll34]+[roll35]+[roll36] (Sneak Attack) +[roll37] (Skirmish)
[roll38]+[roll39]+[roll40] (Sneak Attack) +[roll41] (Skirmish)
[roll42]+[roll43]+[roll44] (Sneak Attack) +[roll45] (Skirmish)
[roll46]+[roll47]+[roll48] (Sneak Attack) +[roll49] (Skirmish)

[roll50]
[roll51]
[roll52]
[roll53]
[roll54]

[roll55]+[roll56]+[roll57] (Sneak Attack) +[roll58] (Skirmish)
[roll59]+[roll60]+[roll61] (Sneak Attack) +[roll62] (Skirmish)
[roll63]+[roll64]+[roll65] (Sneak Attack) +[roll66] (Skirmish)
[roll67]+[roll68]+[roll69] (Sneak Attack) +[roll70] (Skirmish)
[roll71]+[roll72]+[roll73] (Sneak Attack) +[roll74] (Skirmish)

Blue text is cold damage, yellow is electricity, green is acid. Everything else is stabbity. Crit 19-20 x3.

[Heliomance]

@nefele:
Violent thrust in [roll0] rounds

Hide check to snipe at -20:
[roll1]

[Moonlitdreams]

Yeah. That sound you hear? That's Sote' dying. That was a massive amount of damage. If I had hit you first I might have had a chance, but I just couldn't find you. Very good game.

@nefele
Per GWA rules, am I allowed to modify my character slightly before challenging anyone else? I think it needs it.

[Heliomance]

I spent most of the time in the floor, pretty much only my eyes sticking out. Seeing me is hard. Actually, technically I didn't need to do that - I could have hidden successfully in mid-air. The dark creature template is fun like that. You came close enough for me to AoO you at one point!

To be honest, I probably could have survived just floating in mid-air and not hiding, depending on how many attacks you had. Incorporeality is a pain to hit through. And I do have Frightful Moan and Horrific Appearance if I really needed a break, though they're not really so much in the spirit of the arena.

Good game, though. Telekinesis is hilariously broken when you crunch the numbers, and Etherscale is built to take full advantage of that.

[nefele]

@Moonlitdreams: Technically, if you change your build, the new character has to be re-approved. If it's something minor (like maneuver selection or equipment) we don't really bother.

If Lyndworm isn't around for now, I guess you could make your changes and play, and then be retroactively approved again. :)

@Heliomance: I'd like a game with Etherscale, methinks, but if you don't mind, I'd prefer the honour system. With a referee (as you might have noticed :smalltongue:), the tension is indeed high, but it takes days to finish the fight. Would you be OK with that? :)

EDIT- Why did Sneak Attack apply in your attacks? :smallconfused:

[nefele]

@Heliomance: Also, can you please explain something to me? How can you be inside a solid object and see far away at the same time?


An incorporeal creature can enter or pass through solid objects, but must remain adjacent to the object’s exterior, and so cannot pass entirely through an object whose space is larger than its own. It can sense the presence of creatures or objects within a square adjacent to its current location, but enemies have total concealment (50% miss chance) from an incorporeal creature that is inside an object. In order to see farther from the object it is in and attack normally, the incorporeal creature must emerge. An incorporeal creature inside an object has total cover, but when it attacks a creature outside the object it only has cover, so a creature outside with a readied action could strike at it as it attacks.

[Heliomance]

I'm pretty sure I stated that my eyes were exposed - rather than being actually inside the ground and unable to be got at, I was effectively using it as 50% cover. I assume a spellscale's eyes are fairly close to the top of its head, but there's still going to be some head visible. A spot check would have seen me, the spot check was just high.

I included the sneak attack because I wasn't sure whether it applied or not. If it doesn't, and it makes the difference, feel free to ignore it. However, I'm fairly sure you're considered flatfooted against an enemy you can't see. Whether, by the RAW, that means you have to be able to see Etherscale or just his darts, I'm not sure.

[nefele]

Whether, by the RAW, that means you have to be able to see Etherscale or just his darts, I'm not sure.
Neither am I, which is why I asked. :)


I'm pretty sure I stated that my eyes were exposed - rather than being actually inside the ground and unable to be got at, I was effectively using it as 50% cover. I assume a spellscale's eyes are fairly close to the top of its head, but there's still going to be some head visible. A spot check would have seen me, the spot check was just high.
The mental image makes sense. But which square are you on? If it's underground, you can't reach the surface and look around. If it's above ground, you don't have cover any more.

IMHO, the only way for this to work would be to assume that the ground level doesn't exactly coincide with a grid line. This is of course completely arbitrary (and would also imply that you cannot hide with total cover at all). But otherwise, I am under the impression that your tactics are illegal: you can't be in two squares at the same time. You can't say that your body is underground in square A, but your eyes are above ground in square B.

I suggest we ask Lyndworm how that works, exactly. :)
(Disclaimer: I'm not bashing your build here, it's just that the rules of incorporeality are notoriously poorly written.)

[Lyndworm]

Match Finalized.

Heliomance/Etherscale, Victor
Wins 2/Losses 0

Moonlitdreams/Sote' , Victim
Wins 0/Losses 1



OOC:
I see that there's been some discussion here. If you'd like to ask any specific questions, please do so in the Talkie thread and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.