This is Halloween, This is Halloween (IC)

[kreenlover]

As is customary, you gather in the town square. Your respective strengths have allowed you to retain your rule here for another year, or to recently wrest power from another. The people don't really care; they only care if you can put on a good show. The inhabitants of the town laugh and cheer you on, and gather around the great scrying crystal, ready for a night of entertainment.

A wolf howls in the distance, and your blood runs cold. The back of your neck prickles, and you get the feeling of being watched. The wind gusts, and the floating candles that light the area flicker, and almost go out.

Clouds scud across the moon, and shadows move among the houses. It is a good night for scaring, a usual night in the Town.
A Good Omen.

The large square is decorated with pumpkins, and streamers. The strange-folk dance and sing, ready for the evening. Some have even brought lawn chairs out to sit on, while others give out candies to the children.

The Golden Pumpkin awaits you atop the pedestal in the center. The stairs to the small platform around it are ahead of you.

[commander panda]

the scarecrow king walked among the strangefoalk with a tangled sense of duty and bewilderment. he had never quite understood these strange creatures obsession with terror. as Skettal walks, the warped and twisted denizens of the halloween plane part before him. many give him disproportionate grin and slap him on the back.

he checks his harnesses and equipment as he aproaches the crystal, nodding to his "scaremates." one more year of power he thinks i wonder who i'll be returning with?

[kinem]

As Pazzip strides towards the big shiny fruit, the mezzoloth mentally reviews his current mission once more.

http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/9179/mezzoloth.jpg

This was the first time since his arrival in this strange plane and winning for himself a place of some power that he had been required to perform a mission. A leader now ... forced to serve! I should kill you all! he thinks as he glowers at some of the townspeople, and the thought made him angry enough for his eyes to glow red, eliciting a few cheers from the ignorant fools.

It had taken a long time for him to understand this mission, and many attempts had been required to explain it to him. This is Not-War. I am to seek out the Not-Enemies of these fools and Not-Kill them. I will Not-Bring my troops. I am to hunt the other mortals down and make them feel the cold hand of death not quite closing around their throats. My mighty weapon, stained with the blood of innumerable fiends and mortals and angels alike, will smite the very beds of their children, possibly causing those same children to wet themselves. This will be fun for all and in return I get one more year of being a Not-King of these fools.

[kreenlover]

As you both approach the platform cheers erupt. The Golden Pumpkin awaits above, sitting proudly on its stand.

As you ascend the stairs the Marshal goes over the rules once more.
"Remember, no wanton killing, or killing for the fun of it. If you kill to scare, then it is fine.
No harming children. You may give them nightmares for life, but do not harm their bodies. If you know that a child is watching, do not harm a parent. If a parent has a young child, do not harm the parent.
If you draw overmuch attention to yourself you will endanger this entire Plane. However, don't be too lame in your scaring" At this his face splits into a wide wide smile, far wider than normal. "We want you to have fun, and we want we to have fun! If you do not entertain us, we shall kill you and mount your head above the gates while feasting on your entrails." He is still smiling. "Your compatriot will join you later; he has said that he will wait a while before joining you there. More scaring for the two of you then!
Also, try and be back before the sun rises. Or else bad things will happen, and the pumpkin may lose its ability to jump between the Planes.
Now, on your marks, get set, scare!"
He swirls aside, his head staying in one place as his body twirls, and with a flourish he cuts the rope around the Golden Pumpkin.
The crowd cheers again, louder than before as you finish your climb. Your eyes meet above the Pumpkin as you climb up from opposite sides of the octagon.

[commander panda]

Skettal dimly notes that his lack of entrails makes the marshals threat rather pointless. he does like this plane, though, its inhabitants accepted him like old friends, and he saw not cause to disappoint them.

Sket is moving before the rope hits the ground. he approaches the pumpkin with feigned enthusiasm and lays his wooden hand against the fruit.

[kinem]

Pazzip's eyes still glow with anger as he mounts the pedestal.

If this Marshal likes smiles so much, maybe I should give him a second one.

His attention turns to the firewood man. This one knows ambush. That skill I do not disrespect. I will play along ... for now.

His eyes dim as he places his empty claw on the pumpkin.

[kreenlover]

As you place your hands on the pumpkin there is a flash and a bang.

As the smoke that whirls up around you fades you can see that you are in a forest grove on the Material Plane. You can tell that it is the Material Plane because there are no floating candles.

To the east you can hear faint sounds and to the west the last rays of daylight fade as the sun sets below the horizon.

As you take a step the pumpkin is now a deep black, so deep that you can only see it from a lack of light. It rests on a cushion of pine needles.

The trees around you are mostly pines and other evergreens along with some deciduous that are beautiful shades of orange gold and red.

The light fades as you watch to a dark grey. Night is falling fast here.

[kinem]

"You've done this before" Pazzip remarks to his fellow traveler. "What do you know of this place?"

As his insectile eyes adjust to the dimmer light, though his darkvision is not needed quite yet, he surveys the area, making sure he can find his way back before moving on.

[commander panda]

the scarecrow shakes his head. his voice is quiet and dry, like his throat is made of straw. "no. place changes yearly. humans would threaten, otherwise."
as he says this, the cape on his back parts down the middle and stretches into a pair of leathery wings. "i will see where we are." he lifts himself into the air and above the tree tops.

i want to know as much about the surrounding area as possible
spot [roll0]
survival [roll1]
search [roll2]

sorry this took so long, i've just started the first D&D club at my school in years and things have been a bit hectic.

[kreenlover]

Skettal floats above the ground on currents of air.

Below him, spread out he can see a small village to the east. A wall has been erected around the town, and it is manned by guards.

In the center of the town children laugh and frolic in a Harvest Festival.
The adults lay around, enjoying the time off after a day of work.

The guards all have fairly poor made bows, only two arrows apiece, and only two appear to have anything better than pitchforks and rusted boar spears (the two have longswords).

To the west a road winds away off into fields and pastureland. Cows grave and horses roam in their paddocks.

To the north you can see a band of goblins, trying to be stealthy, but slowly making their way towards the village. They seem to also be wanting to take advantage of Halloween.

To the south the land continues, becoming rockier and poorer before suddenly dropping off at a cliff edge.

Far in the distance you can see the walls of a great city.

As for anything about nature, well, you are drawing a blank there.

Also, thats great! I'm dming my school club as well, and its always a bit of a trial to get people to come out and show up on a semi-regular basis even. And, once its going, it devolves into backstabbing and immature jokes soon enough :smallfrown:

What school if you don't mind my asking

[commander panda]

Skettal returns to the earth. he leaves the wings out to drape over the forest floor. "there is a town to the east. they are having festival. there are guards, but not many, and not well equipped. they are about to be attacked. by goblins. we must move fast if we do not want our surprise stolen."

[kinem]

"East?" Pazzip's home plane lies in eternal dusk; compass directions mean little to him, but his knowledge of strange planes such as the material plane helps here.

"That way? All right. We should sneak into town, start fun. Hard part is to not just attack and kill everyone."

Pazzip heads in the direction Skettal had explored, trying to move quietly while keeping close to cover, hoping not to be seen by the guards.

ooc: If needed:
hide [roll0]
move silently [roll1]

[commander panda]

the fiend's plan is sound... but must the scaring start with the humans? it could be the strangefolk of the halloween plain would enjoy an unusual oppening act. maybe start with goblins? humans will be vigilant if attacked. we scare goblins and remove difficulty at once?

[kinem]

"I was looking forward to watching them fight!" Pazzip admits. "But you know these creatures better than I do. If you think it'd make our job easier, fine with me."

[commander panda]

skettal nodes and heads to the north, allowing his wings to return to cape form. he does not wish to be in charge, but he truly does believe that putting the humans more on edge will only bring trouble later. he also believes that, for whatever reason, goblins scare easier than humans, and an easy scare is to good to pass up.

he's moving as fat as possible while staying stealthy, to intercept the goblins before they reach town.

hide [roll0]
move silently [roll1]
spot [roll2]
listen [roll3]

[kreenlover]

The two of you advance as fast as you can while still remaining stealthy.
You approach the goblins from the south and crouch down in some shrubs.
The band is getting ready to begin moving again, having stopped for a few of them to have a little tussle.

[kinem]

I will start with direct approach Pazzip telepathically tells Skettal. Hopefully they won't see us or know what's going on.

Choosing one of the goblins within 50', he targets the creature with his cause fear spell-like ability (Will partial DC 14).

[commander panda]

skettal hears the mezzoloth and begins to circle around through the shrubs, so as to approach from another direction. he reaches to a pouch tied on his belt and removes a white wand with a human ear carved in the handle.

as the fear affect gains influence, the scarecrow points the wooden rod and imagines the ghost sound of a goblin voice in a horrid, happy tone. it speaks their mother tongue from amidst themselves. hello, little green bags of flesh... he leaves it at that for now, preparing to cast again should it be necessary, and allowing his cape to, again, take the form of wings.

sorry this took a while. my mother insisted i accompany her to nuit blanche, and i didn't manage to get this out before we left. (aaand now i sound like a shutin :smallamused:.)

use magic device [roll0]
move silently [roll1]
hide [roll2]

[kreenlover]

The goblin targeted by Pazzip looks around and begins to wail quietly.
When Skettal's voice rings out, it turns and flees directly away from it, towards Pazzip.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwVT7HmSlvTmellHQWEtNFpuNGc/edit?usp=drive_web

[kinem]

You run to your doom Pazzip telepathically tells the goblin.

[commander panda]

skettal continues to circle sand removes a wide brim leather hat from another pouch at his waist. he pulls it on, spreads his wings and quickly vanishes into the tree canopy. once he's stable, he casts again, this time right in the ears of the largest grouping of goblins. well what the f*ck are you waiting for? run, so i can chase you, you green little rats!!

wand of ghost sound 48/50

use magic device [roll0]
hide [roll1]
move silently [roll2]

[commander panda]

whoops:smallannoyed:
balance [roll0]

also, where are me and kinem on the map?

[kreenlover]

The one running towards Pazzip screams and turns around to run the other way.
Then, Skettal shouts and they all scream and scatter. The one runs right back towards Pazzip, and pushes the bushes. When he comes face to face with the bug he shrieks, and drops his weapon, cowering.

You two are wherever you like

[kinem]

When the goblin approaches him, Pazzip jumps right in front of him, eyes blazing red, and brandishes his trident. "GRRR!"

ooc: Intimidate [roll0]

[commander panda]

as the goblins break, Skettal throws himself out of the tree, on to the air, and lets his hat do its work. illusionary gouts of fire spring from the tips of his wings and crawl along the membrane, down his back and over his head until he's engulfed in it. he passes low in the path of the goblins, herding them back to the clearing.
dear shadows, i hate fire...:smallannoyed:

intimidate en masse [roll0]

[kreenlover]

The one before Pazzip yep, falls over dead of fear.
The others scream, and scatter, but the one with a skull on his face begins to chant and pulls some acorns from inside his robe. He stares at Skettal, and ***** his arm to throw.

[kinem]

"I didn't touch him!" Pazzip says of the dead goblin for the benefit of any scrying strangefolk.

Seeing what the goblin spellcaster is doing, he charges him, attempting to grab him and hold him still so he can't cast spells.

touch attack to initiate grapple [roll0]
grapple check [roll1]

[commander panda]

if pazzip succeeds on grapple

the scarecrow nearly crashes when he sees the goblin casting. luckily, the mezzoloth is as good as it looks at what it does. soon as it's subdued, skettal drops down and breaks the goblin's nose, before continuing to spread panic.

nonlethal punch to knock it out [roll0] damage [roll1] + shadow strike [roll2]
not sure if to much non-lethal can kill. he purposely goes easy if it does.

if pazzip fails horribly and painfully

as the goblin raises it's arm, skettal abandons the unpleasant fiery terror show and breaks for the trees, cutting the firelight to avoid visibility.
once he's, for all intents and purposes, invisible, skettal draws his bow and waits...

going to initiate a death attack. so this is the first observance round, i guess.
using dodge, if possible, against the goblin.
hide [roll3]

[kreenlover]

Pazzip dodges forwards and wraps the goblin shaman tightly in his arms.
No sooner does he do this than Skettal swoops down and smashes the goblin into unconsciousness.

The rest of the goblins, upon seeing their shaman immobilized and then beaten unconscious in a single punch, drop their weapons and flee into the night shrieking.

[kinem]

"That was easy."

Pazzip searches the goblin for anything that might be valuable, and takes his spell components.

"Let's go." Leaving the unconscious goblin, he starts towards the human town, keeping to cover where possible.

[commander panda]

skettal considers using ghost sound again for a little more encoragment, decides against it, follows pazzip. "i will scout. ten minuets." he pulls off the hat and the flames go. then he returns to the sky and heads for town.

skettal will return to the ground and gather all the info he can once he reaches the city. i'm looking for weak points in the perimeter, inattentive guards, unformative conversations, and possibly leads on what/who is where.

move silently [roll0]
hide [roll1]
spot [roll2]
search [roll3]
listen? [roll4]

[kreenlover]

The goblin spellcaster does not have much. He has his bone mask and some ratty robes.
He has an interesting wand in his belt pouch, but asides from that there is nothing.

Skettal glides above the town.

The guards appear to be mostly bored and not paying all that much attention. He does hear one interesting conversation.

"Ho Conrad!"
"Ho Rus. How goes the watch?"
"Fairly well. I have not seen anything moving out there except for a large shadow that swooped past the moon at one point"
"Its probably just one of the Bat Knights. They really are trying to find the Hallow Lords aren't they?"
"Yah, they are. Since those mages tore Blackrock apart three years ago they've been searching for them every Halloween and unceasingly trying to get into Halloween"
"Yah. Personally I hope that they find those monsters. Those Mawkins deserve whatever they get. And, if they can shut down Halloween itself, then that will be fantastic!"
"Yes. To never live in fear on Hallow's Eve? I would love that"
"At least we can rest safe this year with the Bat Riders patrolling the country side"
"Yes. Well, I'm glad that I can at least get off Watch duties and get some nice mulled wine"
"Yah yah, get going. It's my watch now"

I'll post a map of the town when I get home

[kinem]

Pazzip can't use the wand, so he leaves it. He takes only the bone mask, putting it in his backpack. He creeps slowly towards town, waiting for Skettal to return with his report.

On second thought, some of the strangefolk might pay for the wand or be able to use it on him, so he goes back and takes the wand also.

[commander panda]

Skettal follows the mulled wine man through the allys. A wrathful feeling builds in his chest.
"and if they can shut down halloween altogether-"

A nameless scarecrow comes to life, hung high in a field of corn. It is as a babe, fresh of mind and full of hope...
Dogs are barking. The scarecrow runs and the burning field behind it casts it's shadow long. It feels the cracks in it's firewood bones...
it watches from a hayloft. In the distance, a pile of wood and straw bodies that seems a mile high, burns like a pyre and paints the sky black...

"we'll catch you, you strawbones freak! You can run, and you can hide, but anywhere you go, we'll burn down on top'o you! You can't escape-"
They wish to find my home.
Skettal moves smoothly among the shadows. He watches and waits.
As soon as he thinks there are no witnesses, skettal shadow walks behind the guard, moves in, and knocks him out.
The scarecrow pulls the human deep into an ally, ties his hands with a silken cord, and slaps him. Hard.
"turn up volume." skeletal says, hoping the strangefoalk can hear him. "this is important."
Once Rus is roused, skettal clasps a hand on his mouth and leans in.
"bat knights. Bat riders. Hunting Halloween... Explain."

nonlethal cheap shot [roll0] damage [roll1][roll2]

Hide [roll3]
Move silently [roll4]
Spot [roll5]
Listen [roll6]
intimidate (don't know what the bonuses would be for this situation. So do whatever)[roll7]

[kreenlover]

Rus eye's widen in fear and he begins to stammer and tries to shriek around Skettal's hand. When he sees the baleful glow in his eyes however he falls silent.

"What do you want of me?" He seems to be absolutely terrified "I don't know anything! Really! I just want to go home to my family!"
It takes him a moment more of frantic pleading before he registers what he has heard.
"Wait... The Bat Riders? You!" his face lights up with sudden recognition "You're the one that they are hunting! Ha! You're the Halloween Lord! I won't tell you a thing you bastard! You abomination! You bundle of kindling! You won't get a word out of me!"
He takes a deep breath and prepares to shout and maybe do something drastic.

[commander panda]

skettal draws a knife and sticks it in the guards mouth. it's in deep enough that "screaming" could quite easily become "bleeding."
"dont scream. you will never see your family again. talk."
skettal is not overly carful with the dagger. he probably cut something.

[commander panda]

still listening for trouble [roll0] i'll take ten (or twenty) if possible.
edit: never mind, thats good enough:smallsmile:.

[kreenlover]

Rus spits out blood (and a small piece of flesh) when Skettal removes the knife
"Ok" his voice is a whimper now "The Bat Riders are ab orgabizatiob. They were foubded by the High Coubciw three Hawwoweebs ago. The currebt Hawwoweeb Words arrived abd decided that a good way to scare peopwe wouwd be to destroy the city.
"Ubtiw theb we had beeb fairwy acceptibg of the Hawwoweeb Words, but they decided that it beeded to stop with that. They put together the Bat Riders.
"The Bat Riders are ab ewite group of cavawry. They traib ib spewws, sword, abd riding frob the day that they joib. They ride fwying bats, abd are sworb to hubt you dowb.
"They wabt to fibd the Hawwoweeb Words obe Hawwoweeb abd kiww theb. Theb, wheb they are dobe kiwwing theb they wiww use the Gowdeb Pubpkib to opeb a gate back to Hawwoweeb abd take over there. They haveb't beeb abwe to fibd a way there otherwise.
"They either wabt to kiww aww the Strabgefowk or at weast ebswave theb. Thats aw I bow, reawwy. Pwease wet be go bow. I wob't cause abybore troubwe, I probise"

As Rus finishes talking Skettal hears people walking down the streets behind him. It sounds like the marching of armoured boots.

In the forest glade Pazzip hears a rustling in the branches about four dozen feet ahead of him.

[commander panda]

"lie for me, rus. or family gets special attention."
skettal smashes the man unconscious again and shadow walks to better cover. he draws his bow and knocks an arrow.

[commander panda]

i hate forgetting rolls:smallannoyed:

cheap shot [roll0] [roll1] [roll2]
hide [roll3]

[kinem]

In the forest glade Pazzip hears a rustling in the branches about four dozen feet ahead of him.

Pazzip tries to see what's there while keeping behind the trees himself.

hide [roll0]
spot [roll1]
if needed: initiative [roll2]

[kreenlover]

Ahead of him Pazzip sees two small children run out of hiding.

"Tag!" one of them shouts as she taps the boy on the arm "You're it!"
"Aww man! I thought for sure I was going to get away this time"
"Well, you didn't. Catch me if you can!"

The little girl runs straight for the tree that Pazzip is hiding behind

Also, could you keep your rolls in spoilers? That would be great if you could

[kreenlover]

As Skettal sucker punches Rus and runs back into the shadows several guards run up.
One has a bat in flight emblazoned on his targ.
He begins barking orders as soon as he sees Rus.
"Squad! Attention. Fanning spread. Pattern thirty-three enemy within. Execute!"
The squad leaps to his orders and begins to run off throughout the village. One runs down the alley, looking around, but manages to miss Skettal.
Meanwhile the Bat Rider crouches down beside Rus.
"Soldier" he slaps him awake "It is your duty to tell me what has happened here. What assaulted you?"
Rus looks worried and his eyes half dart towards where Skettal last was "I uhh. It was the Halloween Lord Captain. He told me that he was going to the city to put an end to the Bat Riders. He was huge, 10 feet tall with wings and claws of fire!"
The Captain looks at him and his eyes harden "Soldier, you know I don't tolerate lies" Rus' face pales as the Captain draws his dagger "Now, we can do this the easy way or the very very hard way" he says as he positions his dagger above Rus' left eye.
At that moment the guard in the alley runs back "Nobody down there Sir. They must have left"

[kinem]

Ahead of him Pazzip sees two small children run out of hiding.

"Tag!" one of them shouts as she taps the boy on the arm "You're it!"
"Aww man! I thought for sure I was going to get away this time"
"Well, you didn't. Catch me if you can!"

The little girl runs straight for the tree that Pazzip is hiding behind

A chance to do a little scaring, but I don't want humans knowing I'm here yet. Too bad I'm not supposed to kill them.

Pazzip reaches out with his mind, telepathically telling the little girl We are the trees. We are getting hungry ...

[kreenlover]

The girl screams.

"I haven't even started chasing you yet!" The boy protests.
"The trees are talking to me!" She shrieks again, but the boy doesn't seem to believe her.

[commander panda]

skettal eases grip on his bow as the bat knights disperse. luckily the captain don't seem to believe in rus's ten-foot-flaming-demon-halloween-lord. should have said i was a mugger... he silently teleports up to the lip of the lightless rooftops and hoists himself up. then he runs.

he's activating his boots of speed so he can sneak at 35ft.
also, it should probably be noted that echolocation won't work on skettal while he's sneaking (darkstalker feat.)

he'll stay on foot as far as the forest, then fly to where he left pazzip.

hide [roll0]
move silently [roll1]

edit: also, i'm still working on potions and wands, but skettal now has a +10 to hide, so that roll should be a 56.

[kinem]

Pazzip continues to telepathically taunt the girl. Which tastes better - a little boy ... or a little girl?

[kreenlover]

The girl screams
"They are going to eat us! The trees want to eat us!"
The boy si getting scared by now.
"Stay away from the shadows! The trees can't eat us if we stay in the light!"

Meanwhile Skettal reaches the walls of the village and is greeted by a worrisome sight.

The Bat Knight stands atop a pedestal and is talking to a wizard and the assembled town guards.
"Attention! We have been deceived" There are gasps from the crowd. "Thats right! The Halloween lords are not coming for us. They are here!
"They are within our walls. And so I call upon the emergency powers invested in me by Act 373 of the Council. We will be summoning our allies and marching on Halloween. Prepare for deployment into the forests! We shall find and kill the Halloween Lords!" His proclamation is greeted by cheers.
"Also" he continues "there are two children outside the walls. We will search for them"

[commander panda]

sh*t, sh*t, sh*t, sh*t, sh*t!. The more skettal hears, the more worried he gets. He looks up at the sky and loudly whispers "you hear this. withdraw the pumpkin. NOW."

Skettal draws his bow and studies the speaking knight. He sees how the man moves his body to match his words. How he causes his chain and plate to flex and shift. Skettal sees the cracks and flaws in the mans defense. He knocks an arrow and- If this works, those guards will soil themselves... looses for the throat.

SNIPING DEATH ATTAAAAAACK! (Fort DC19) [roll0] [roll1]
I case you didn't know, even if the knight is somehow immune to crits (and death attack, by extension,) he still takes full shadow strike damage. Also, skettal's bow has distance and force enchantments.

If the knight survives

Skettal shadow walks to another roof and hides again, repeating the death attack exercise.
hide [roll2]

If the knight dies

Skeletal activates invisibility, his speed boots and his wings, then books it to the clearing.
activating disappear. moving at 60ft/sec (360ft/round) Back to the clearing.

[commander panda]

critical hit! :smallbiggrin:
confirming [roll0]

[kreenlover]

The Bat Knight appears about to say something else when he jerks backwards.
The assembled soldiers startle as he sways back and fort for a second.

Then, blood fountains from his throat and he collapses, dead.
The soldiers begin to panic with the mage's attempts at regaining control going nowhere.

[commander panda]

good. skettal draws another arrow and observes the mage. wait... wait... zoooning in... and looses another arrow for the heart.

death attack (DC19) [roll0] [roll1] [roll2]

hide [roll3]

regardless of whether the man survives, skettal considers this chaos his queue to move. he shadow walks from nook to cranny until he is over the wall and in the forest. then he flies.

move silently [roll4]
hide[roll5]
spot (for any pursuers) [roll6]
flight speed of 360ft/round with boots of speed active.

[kreenlover]

The wizard drops dead.

Meanwhile the little girl and little boy have grabbed each other and are sitting in the center of the clearing, screaming.

[commander panda]

Skettal is now flying through the forest, back to pazzip.

Spot [roll0]

[kinem]

Pazzip casts darkness on a stick and tosses it in front of the children.

[kreenlover]

The children scream as the darkness envelopes them.
Pazzip hears a sudden rustling sound around them.

Also, make a listen check Pazzip

[kinem]

That was kind of fun Pazzip admits to himself. Now what? He tries to make out the source of the sound.

listen [roll0]

[kreenlover]

Pazzip thinks that the rustling is coming from somewhere ahead of him, but it is hard to tell with the children's continued wailing, screaming, and blind scrambling.

Skettal wings by overhead, looking for Pazzip. He sees a globe of darkness, two soldiers rushing through the bushes towards the globe, and three heavily armoured knights accompanied by two mages tramping along some distance past the globe, heading straight for the clearing with the Golden Pumpkin.

[commander panda]

skettal makes his choice quickly. he assumes pazzip is near the globe, but if he cant see him, neither can the soldiers. the mezoloth can handle it.

he shouts loudly as he can with vocal cords made of plant matter. "pazzip. soldiers! kill them and meet at pumpkin grove!" then, like a dread bird of prey, the scarecrow folds his wings, draws his blades and falls toward the doomed transgressors.

he's going after the knights and mages.
using surprise round to make a two weapon shadowstrike on whichever knight looks to be in charge. he is still under the effects of haste, so extra attacks, and if he doesn't use all his move action getting to them, he spring attacks away and flys for cover in the trees.
longsword#1: [roll0] [roll1] [roll2]
shortsword#1: [roll3] [roll4] [roll5]
longsword#2: [roll6] [roll7] [roll8]
shortsword#2: [roll9] [roll10] [roll11]

also, if i drop him, cleave at the nearest enemy (preferably another knight.)
rolls for that. (does the second guys get his dex? if not, another two weapon shadow attack.)
longsword#3: [roll12] [roll13] [roll14]
shortsword#3: [roll15] [roll16] [roll17]
longsword#4: [roll18] [roll19] [roll20]
shortsword#4: [roll21] [roll22] [roll23]

also, bear in mind that even though he's using a standard action to attack, he still moves double speed for flying downward.

[commander panda]

longsword#3 was a crit.
confirming [roll0]
it's a vorpal longsword, so auto-beheading if this hits (which will likely spray blood all over everyone. which will cause some chinks in moral.)

*phew* killing things is hard! :smallbiggrin:

Edit: ****, I forgot. Both swords take a -2 on attack becaus two weapon fighting. Also, the shortsword has human bain, so it gets +1

[kinem]

"What have you done? Why ruin my fun?"

Pazzip strides forward and dismisses the darkness.

"Don't try to run, humans. Soldiers, I didn't come here to kill anyone, but if you don't tell me what's going on right now, none of you can escape me."

To make his point more clearly, he produces flame in his one empty hand.

[kreenlover]

Pazzip stalks forwards in time to see Skettal swoop down out of the sky.
With a series of blindingly fast attacks Skettal slices the first knight to shreds, and beheads a second before swooping back up into the knight.

The wizard turns slowly, fear flitting across his face as he draws a wand from his belt.

"Die!" he shrieks as a lightning bolt flashes out at Pazzip

DC 15 half, [roll0]

[commander panda]

skettal alights silently on a tree branch and sends an arrow at the wizard with the lightning bolt.
"wonder." he calls to the survivors, just loud enough to hear. "what is faster. magic or arrows." the implication is clear. do you want to find out?
hide [roll0]
attack [roll1] [roll2] [roll3]
skettal readies an action to attack, then shadow leap, if the survivors attempt to move, cast, or do anything offensive.

[kinem]

Though Pazzip ducks and avoids most of it, part of the lightning bolt does strike him; however, it has no effect on him.

"What was that? Is someone trying to tickle me? Ha ha, you guys are funny."

Suddenly his eyes glow red with anger.

"Now surrender, humans, before we have to kill any more of you!"


first checking caster level 5 vs my SR 22
[roll0]

if needed
Reflex [roll1]

[kreenlover]

Skettal's bolt flies true. The wizard collapses with a yell, clutching at his chest.
The two soldiers creeping closer to Pazzip drop their weapons, grab the two screaming children, and run for the village.

There is a moment of silence, and then the wizard starts to laugh. A horrible grating laughter.
His flesh bubbles, and tears. A horned demon leaps out of his flesh.
"Hello fearlings. You'll die now"
with a wave of his hand the two fallen knights stumble back to their feet.

[kinem]

Pazzip quickly thinks back on what he knows of demons ...

ooc: How far from Pazzip is he?

knowledge (planes) about the demon [roll0]

[commander panda]

Using my readied action to interrupt the casting.

Skeletal is already loosing his arrow when the demon starts talking. And he's in another tree by the time it hits.

attack [roll0] [roll1] I think speaking probably gave his position away, but if I'm forgetting something [roll2]

[kreenlover]

Pazzip identifies the hulking demon as a Hezrou as it finishes its hideous growth spurt. Skettal's arrow bounces off the creatures hide.
"I give you one chance to surrender fearlings! Then my slaves and I shall dismember you!"
He stands 30 feet away. The knights are 35 feet away

[commander panda]

Oh yeah, knowledge. that stuff I have :smalltongue:. Looking for weaknesses.
knowledge (the planes)[roll0]
Also, if I forget rolls from now on, kreen, should I put them here, or in the OOC?

Damn ninjas :smallannoyed:

[commander panda]

skettal sends another arrow, hoping to drain, rather than kill.

using enervating strike to drain 2 levels
[roll0] [roll1] [roll2]
hide [roll3]
also, bear in mind skettal's bow has force on it.

[kinem]

"So, demon, are you now a 'protector' of humans? Your 'protection' is rather more deadly than our little pranks, no?"

Pazzip strides up to the demon and tries to stick his fork in it.

power attack for -5/+10
trident attack [roll0]
damage [roll1]

[kreenlover]

Pazzip strides forwards and impales the Hezrou as Skettal's arrow bounces off again.

"Hurraaagh!" He lashes out at Pazzip with his claws "I still give you a chance to surrender! Or" his face grows conspiratorial "If you can free me from my binding you will be allowed to live"

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

[kinem]

After the demon's claws scratch impotently at Pazzip's shield and tough exoskeleton, Pazzip replies

"Stop! I could beat you with three hands tied behind my back. But maybe we will free you - if you tell us what we want to know. Or do you need some more meat tenderizing before you start talking sense?"

He holds his trident in position ready to strike but does not thrust it yet.

ooc: Pazzip readies an action to attack (as above) if the demon doesn't stop.

[kreenlover]

The demon roars.
"I can't stop! The magic binds me to keep killing you people! But I will tell you what you want, if you promise to free me!"

[kinem]

"Sure, I promise." Unlike the baatezu, promises mean little to a yugoloth like Pazzip. "Now tell us about our enemies."

[kreenlover]

He raises his claws and slashes at Pazzip again.
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

"The Bat Knights? They are almost worse than what they say about you. They steal, lie, burn and pillage, all in the name of finding Halloween. They try and force the population to follow you through fear. They are also crafty, deceptive, and good at plotting. I wouldn't be surprised if they are getting the better of you right now"

[kinem]

"What do you mean by getting the better of us? Who is their leader? Who bound you? Answer well, for I'll only do my part of our bargain if you do yours. And should I find out you lied, I'll find you and kill you."

Pazzip assumes a defensive posture. (ooc: Total defense, AC 37)

[commander panda]

skettal puts away his bow, draws his blades and drops from his tree. he remains far out of striking distance.
"they intend to attack halloween. how? what do they know? how do they know?"

going full defence, just in case (AC 27). also, naming the hezrou as subject to my dodge bonus so AC+1.
also, sense motive [roll0] in case he's lying, or hiding something.

[kreenlover]

The two zombies lumber towards Skettal, closing to melee range.

"So many questions so little time. I was bound by their head mage, a man named Acrotho. He is an expert conjurer, binder, and warper of space. Their leader is a Bat Knight by the name of Naber. He is a brute, a human with more minotaur blood than he has human.
"They intend to attack Halloween by using the Golden Pumpkin to tear a rift in space. They will march their army through, and take control. They will subjugate the populace as slaves.
"They have a Strangefolk captive, as to how they know. As for what, I am merely a servant in the ranks. They do not tell me everything.
"What they did tell me however" his face cracks open in a horrible smile
"Is that if I subdue you people for long enough I get my freedom, and you get to die"
With his words he leaps towards Pazzip, tearing into him in a frenzy of claws and teeth. While the suddenly not lumbering ghouls lunge at Skettal


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7]
[roll8]
[roll9]
[roll10]
[roll11]

[roll12]
[roll13]
[roll14]
[roll15]
[roll16]
[roll17]
[roll18]
[roll19]

[commander panda]

skettal manages to get out of the ghouls paths. barley. as they pass skettal disappears, activates boots of speed, and lays into them.

activating disappear (haunting stalker) (14/15 rounds) which lets me remain invisible while attacking.

same as before: two handed shadow strike (with haste), cleave if the first one is down, attack second, spring attack toward the hezrou (so he's standing close enough to 5ft step and flank attack next turn).
longsword #1[roll0] [roll1] [roll2]
shortsword #1[roll3] [roll4] [roll5]
longsword #2[roll6] [roll7] [roll8]
shortsword #2[roll9] [roll10] [roll11]

longsword #3[roll12] [roll13] [roll14]
shortsword #3[roll15] [roll16] [roll17]
longsword #4[roll18] [roll19] [roll20]
shortsword #4[roll21] [roll22] [roll23]

also, i just realized boots of speed aren't unlimited. so can we assume i have 7/10 rounds of use left today?

[kinem]

Panda, a demon (chaotic evil fiend) like the hezrou is a tanar'ri in Planescape teminology, while a devil (lawful evil fiend) is a baatezu. Pazzip the mezzoloth is a yugoloth, or daemon (neutral evil fiend).

There are no baatezu here, but fiends know that they are the only ones that honor deals, which is why I mentioned them.

"Perhaps in death you will be free."

Pazzip attempts to finish off the demon.

PA for -5/+10, full attack w/speed trident
attack [roll0], damage [roll1]
attack [roll2], damage [roll3]
attack [roll4], damage [roll5]

[kreenlover]

Skettal's blades whir like a windmill, cleaving flesh, blood, and bone with equal ease. When the first night drops he simply moves the dance to the other one. Soon both are little more than a puddle of gore.

Pazzip leans back, and thrusts three times at the Hezrou. The first two stab into his chest, and although they look to do a lot of damage, the wounds are not fatal.
However, the third one punches all the way through the Hezrou's body.

As the mighty Demon collapses to it's knees and then disappears you hear its final words echo in your minds despite its pained howling.

"One hundred years means nothing to an immortal fearlings. You had best sleep with one eye open from now on..."

[kinem]

"If he wants to get his ass kicked again that's fine by me."

Pazzip studies the clearing carefully, in case he needs a place to teleport back to.

Telepathically To the pumpkin?

[commander panda]

"yes. hurry."
skettal, still invisible, hits the air streams again, and flys toward the pumpkin patch.

if he sees/hears any trouble, he hovers and gets ready to snipe.
spot [roll0]
listen [roll1]

[kinem]

Pazzip dismisses the flame in his hand, and takes the precautions of casting see invisibility and of grabbing a stick and casting darkness on it.

He then teleports near the pumpkin patch.

[kreenlover]

The two arrive at the pumpkin in time to see a flash of light as a hulking man with a greataxe and a thin shape in robes disappear along with the pumpkin.

When the light fades they can see rank upon rank of armoured bat knights with loaded crossbows staring out into the forest. More circle above the clearing on their bats.

[commander panda]

NO


the black sky spreads like a foul stain. the scarecrow is alone, and they will find it soon.
dogs are barking, it hears them. there is nowhere to go, soon they will come, and soon it will BUR-


skettal near dives headfirst into the hoard, then snarls and pulls up.
now is not the time to fight, though to admit it is truly painfull. the scarecrow watches the pumpkin go with a wrathful eye, then quickly moves to stop pazzip.
"we must go. now. cannot fight here."

[kinem]

Damn it. Too late. Telepathically to Skettal I go back to clearing.

Pazzip drops the stick with darkness on it, then teleports back to the other clearing. Perhaps they'll waste bolts shooting the darkness.

[kreenlover]

As Skettal wheels away he sees the force arrayed ripple in reaction to the globe of darkness.
The front rank fires, then drops to one knee to begin reloading as the second rank fires, then drops, then the third rank, all the way back. By the time the last rank has fired the front two ranks are ready to fire again, but stand.

Then a fireball streaks to the inside of the darkness.

As Skettal wheels away he sees several skeletons march forwards into the globe, axes at the ready.

[commander panda]

skettal drops his own globe of deeper darkness on top of the crossbowman formation, and wings it back to the clearing.

[kinem]

When Skettal approaches the clearing, he sees Pazzip there.

Now what? I am loathe to lose my servants. But we have no way to get back, right?

[commander panda]

skettal hits the ground and immediately starts pacing nervously.
"no. must get pumpkin. find leaders, kill them, take it. we will not loose them. i will. not. loose them!" then he stops. turns to the sky. "alfred. you are watching. tell commander: end halloween leave. gather knight, soldiers, militia, casters, everything else. mount full defence of pumpkin portal. nothing gets through alive. nothing. go. now."
he turns back to pazzip. "we must move. to the city."

[kinem]

Pazzip hesitates. Do I really have a dog in this fight? Perhaps I could see who wins, then throw in on that side. Yet if I back down now it would be seen as weakness - and I won't have that.

"Shelly, if you're watching: Unleash the canaloths. Hold 'em back until the humans come through in force then have them summon mezzoloths for cloudkills. Target the invaders only."

Telepathically If that army is going through maybe we should sneak back there and go in behind them.

[commander panda]

skettal nods as pazzip offers his own aid. "you are not invested the way i am. thank you."
the mezzoloth's suggestion is a good one. skettal would rather the bat knights not set foot on halloween, but they would not conqour in an hour, and having the knights distracted at the front would open other opportunities. "commander goes in rear. acrotho. naber maybe. kill them, army crumples. like paper."

[kinem]

Pazzip attempts to quietly creep back behind the bat army.

hide [roll0], move silently[roll1]

[kreenlover]

As Pazzip creeps through the forest there are no sounds. Everything is deathly still and quiet.
When he arrives at the pumpkin clearing he is greeted by a horrible sight. Walls of iron have been erected around the clearing. Guards march along the top. Light flashes from within almost continually, and he can hear chanting. It appears that the wizards are trying to open their portal to Halloween.

[kinem]

How tall are the walls of iron? How large is the area enclosed by the walls, and in what shape?

[kinem]

They have built a trap for themselves.

Pazzip places himself about 100' distant from the nearest 60' long iron wall, and about 20' from the rightmost edge of it. He then casts cloudkill to appear straight ahead of him centered about 20' past the wall inside the enclosure, just above the 10' wall height, as it begins rolling down and away from him.

He then moves 20' left parallel to the wall. If by the time he is able to cast again the first cloudkill has not been dispelled, he casts a second cloudkill centered 20' inside the wall straight ahead of him there. If it has been dispelled, he casts it more centrally located inside the enclosure.



############
#..........#
#..........#
#..........#
#..........#
#...*......#
#..........#
#..2....1..#
#..........#
#..........#
#..........#
############

This shows the locations to which he casts it. 1 is the first, 2 is the second, * is the alternate.

Cloudkill (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/cloudkill.htm) has a 20' radius, sinks down to the ground, and moves away from him at 10' per round. Fort partial DC 18; see the spell description.

He then attempts to hide back behind a tree, waiting for reactions.

hide [roll0]

[commander panda]

as the mezzoloth works, skettal repositions himself at the top of a high tree, where he is obscured my the leaves. he observes the chaos and sees what he can see.

looking for troop formations, the pumpkin, location of leaders, weak points in defences, effects of cloudkill, possible appearance of a portal, and anything else notable/useful. skettal draws his wand of message.
hide [roll0]
spot [roll1]
also, my invisibility is probably gone by now.

[kreenlover]

Pazzip's Cloudkill causes mass panic. He hears voices chanting, but still more screams.
His second Cloudkill is met with more screams, but then the screams cut off as one voice chants louder than the rest.

Skettal sees the wall guards turn to look at the chaos. The first Cloudkill has decimated the guards on the right, cutting swathes through the troops. Dozens of crossbowmen lie of the ground alongside men and women in robes.
The second Cloudkill was quickly dispelled, and sputtered out, harming only a few.
Meanwhile three wizards stand around the Golden Pumpkin chanting louder and louder. The Pumpkin phases in and out faster and faster, flickering back and forth between Halloween and the Material Plane. Suddenly with a horrid tearing sound the Pumpkin lands on the Material Plane. Then, it bursts into a Golden Curtain of light as the Plane's defenses finally break.
Through the curtain Skettal can see a mage and a warrior by their attire butchering the few Strangefolk who tried to defend the town. A group of bat knights faces off against the Canaloths and your assembled knights. The two forces seem evenly matched for now, but as soon as more Bat Knights ca go through the balance will tip in their favour.
As Skettal watches more groups of Bat Knights and crossbowmen teleport in to the inside of the enclosure.

[commander panda]

skettal relays cause and effect to pazzip through the message wand, and gives him the location of the reinforcements. unfortunately, the chaos is only temporary, and the plan is still blown. we cant go in behind them. cant let anything go in there. the battle would be over... very well, then. the scarecrow sheaths his wand, vanishes again and throws himself, wings wide, over the walls, hoping to holy hell he survives the next minute... then drops on top the pumpkin. crushing it like an indignant child as he draws arms and starts slicing.


use magic device [roll0]
you know the drill by now:smalltongue:
disappear (haunting stalker,) two handed shadow strike, cleave, shadow strike, spring attack outt'a the line of fire.
he's going after the mages holding the portal, starting with the leader.

longsword#1 [roll1] [roll2] [roll3]
shortsword#1 [roll4] [roll5] [roll6]

longsword#2 [roll7] [roll8] [roll9]
shortsword#2 [roll10] [roll11] [roll12]
edit: whoops, the short sword has +1damage for being human bane.

i know i've already mentioned this, but its highly applicable with all the mages around.
Ally of the Dark (Ex): The power of the Plane of Shadows protects the darkstalker from detection. Beginning at 11th level, the darkstalker's Disappear ability may not be dispelled by invisibility purge, nor may it be ignored by see invisibility or true seeing. Additionally, starting at 11th level, the shadows conceal all magical auras the darkstalker would normally project while under the effects of Disappear, making her invisible to spells like detect magic and arcane sight. Her Disappear ability may be dispelled by dispel magic and spells like it other than invisibility purge, but the darkstalker treats her caster level of Disappear for the purposes of resisting dispels as equal to twice her class level.

[kinem]

I hate to try this Pazzip thinks but I see no other choice now. Time to see if Mannu from my old squad will answer my call.

Attempt to summon mezzoloth; 1-40 succeeds.
[roll0]

[kinem]

With his attempt to summon a fellow mezzoloth a failure, Pazzip scales the iron wall and will move to attack any mage he sees.

climb vs DC 25 [roll0]
Power attack 10 [roll1], damage [roll2]

[kinem]

to confirm crit [roll0]
additional damage [roll1]

[kreenlover]

Skettal flies up, and then lunges down. His two short sword strikes miss, deflected by hardened air, but his long sword slashes first once, then back, slicing one wizard.
Her skin is hardened, and tougher than it should be, but his blade still bites deep enough to kill on the second strike. He continues in a sweep for the next one's head, but is again deflected by air.

Meanwhile Pazzip hurls himself over the wall, and dodging the multitude of slashes of loosed arrows, charges forwards to impale the mage next to Skettal.
His trident forces its way past the magical defenses, and tears past the toughened skin, to pop out the other side of the man's chest in a gory shower.

The two wizards collapse, and as they do, so too does the portal. The third wizard turns to face Pazzip and draws a glass cone from her robes. She waves it around, then blows through it, and a wave of icy cold washes over him, and catches Skettal too, quite by accident.
DC 22 ref for half
[roll0]


K represents Bat Knights
M represents the one remaining mage
C represents either a cleric or a mage
P with numbers represents a lesser mage holding the portals that reinforcements are coming through
O and the grey circle represents an ogre shock trooper
The orange circle is the pumpkin, the orange cross the area the portal will appear in, and the green lines reinforcement portals.
The bold P and S represent Pazzip and Skettal respectively
Outside of this area it is filled with crossbowmen and low level people who will not try and attack you for fear of hitting their allies.
Map (https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwVT7HmSlvTmQmdtRUwyVUxkMm8/edit?usp=drive_web)

[commander panda]

skettal flinches as the icy wind blasts him. "bad idea." he says aloud, then pumps his wings and throws himself across the fallen portal toward the mage.

reflex [roll0]
longsword [roll1]
shortsword [roll2]

[commander panda]

oops
longsword [roll0] [roll1]
shortsword [roll2] [roll3]

[kinem]

Don't forget my SR 22. I assume it's caster level 10.
CL 10 vs SR 22 [roll0] - It did not beat SR, so Pazzip took no damage
if needed Reflex vs DC 22 [roll1]
Pazzip has cold resistance 10

Since Skettal is dealing with the mage, Pazzip goes to attack one of the clerics.

go to h6, attack C2
PA 10 [roll2], damage [roll3]

[kreenlover]

Skettal launches himself over the pumpkin, straight at the mage. His blades descend with a woosh of air. The first one flashes as it goes, and the second catches the mage in the side of the head.
The blow sends the head flying, already severed by the first vorpal blade.

Meanwhile Pazzip darts for the nearest Cleric. He lunges, stabbing through the man's chest, but not killing him. As he passes through the nearby ogre's reach, the beast swings at him.

At the same time a crossbow volley covers the area where Skettal stands, the cleirc seals his wounds with a spell and the ogre and two knights swing at Pazzip again.

AoA
[roll0]
[roll1]
regular turn attacks
Ogre
[roll2]
[roll3]
Knights
[roll4]
[roll5]
[roll6]
[roll7]
Vs Skettal. Reflex DC 15 half
[roll8]

[commander panda]

reflex [roll0]
edit: so... success?....:smalleek:

skettal grimaces again, but ignores the archers. he takes the air again and moves to strike the mages bringing reinforcements.

attacking P1
longsword [roll1] [roll2] [roll3]
snortsword [roll4] [roll5] [roll6]
spring attack to K19 (flying, to avoid another blasty spell)

[kinem]

Pazzip has DR 10/good. Assuming the knight was not wielding a Good weapon, Pazzip took 2 damage. AC 33, hp 106/108

Pazzip's eyes glow with anger as the knight's sword actually hurts him, though it's only a small cut in his tough exoskeleton.

Grr, I'll get him back for that! Taking the spellcasters down quickly is more important right now though.

Pazzip attacks the cleric again; in his anger, he strikes as hard as he can but perhaps not taking as much care for accuracy. If the cleric drops, he turns to the knight who cut him.

PA 10
attack [roll0], damage [roll1]
attack [roll2], damage [roll3]
attack [roll4], damage [roll5]

[kreenlover]

Skettal lunges forwards and slashes the mage to ribbons. The defenses are lesser here, and he was evidently less experienced. The portal wavers, and begins to fade as the other mage struggles to hold it. From beyond it Skettal can see another group of crossbowmen preparing to come through.

Pazzip's blind strikes do not do much good. However the final blow punches through the man's armour and tears out his back. With a wheeze the cleric falls.
Meanwhile the two knights and the ogre strike at Pazzip again. The others are moving closer, waiting to take their turn if the three fall.
Meanwhile the crossbowmen loose at the fallen mage, crossbow bolts peppering the wall and ground.

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]
[roll5]

The weapons are not good, no

[commander panda]

skettal sees the arches, and he sees pazzip fighting, and breaks off before striking the mage. he flies quickly back to the pumpkin and begins gathering shards. "pazzip! costly time. needed elsewhere. stay? go?"

12/15 turns of invisibility left

[kinem]

"You have a point" Pazzip admits.

With a parting thrust at the knight, Pazzip heads toward - and through - the fading portal.

PA 10
attack [roll0], damage [roll1]

[kinem]

confirm [roll0], additional damage [roll1]

[commander panda]

skettal follows him through, carrying the anchoring pumpkin shards off of this plane.

[kreenlover]

Pazzip stabs the knight through the eye with his trident, then runs through the portal.

The two emerge into a warzone. The bat knights and crossbowmen face off against the Halloween Knights and creatures of Halloween.
Over the sound of battle the two can hear a strange sound. It sounds almost like...singing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV7AzNYh5bo).

Map up soon. internet problems means I can't get it up today