You Just Got Schooled IC Group 2

[GuyFawkes]

Chapter 1: First Day Funk

Under the hot blistering sun, you walk for miles and miles. As far as your eyes can see, the land is dead. Dust flies at every light breeze that blows, but there are signs of rebirth here or there. A shrub, a patch of grass, nothing more. You would have been lost ages ago, where it not for the two distinct features that gave you your bearing: the mountains looming on the horizon before you and the stream of people trickling down towards it.

You are but one of a few tens, maybe even well over a hundred, who took this road for whatever reasons, yet all for the same purpose: to try your hand at becoming one of the elite mercenary forces in these parts of the world, the Jokers of the Blood Carnival. Wherever you may be when it all happened three years ago, the news got to you, and it lit up something within you that ultimately led you right in this very spot right now. It raised questions, and you knew the answers lied on those peaks in front of you. And so you trudge on, however weary you are, however tired you may be. You are too close to back away now.

When the thought that those peaks aren’t getting any closer slowly and steadily intensified in your starved and fatigued mind, you find yourself stand in front of your destination. At long last, you are here. But this is just the beginning of your journey. And this might just be the toughest hurdle you have to face.


http://matteomazzali.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/fortress.jpg



*


“Up up up! Everyone up and about in five! Today is your first day. First order of business is trainee orientation. Be at the grounds in ten minutes. You don’t want to be late on your first day. You. Do. Not. Want. To. Be. Late. Now move it!”

A loud gravely bark cuts your dreams, pleasant or unpleasant as it was. It is your first day in training camp. Everything was a whirlwind yesterday, from signing up, to being assigned rooms and roommates-slash-teammates. Like you, everyone seems so different, and yet you have to work with them for the rest of your stay here. And all of that starts now.

First hurdle: training orientation.

[Qwertystop]

Gol wakes abruptly to the shouting, hollow and empty as every morning. His shell and belt, though - those had not faded. A useless half-bind, the urge to scratch and bite with neither claws nor fangs apparent. Most days he would fix this quickly, but no time

no time

no time
NO. Focus. Shape himself clean, pick a body. Have to make a good impression. Careful. Shielded.

An amiable-looking dwarf (though a bit on the tall side) gets out of Gol's bed and quickly dresses. He has dark brown hair and dark (slightly purple) skin. Most of his clothes are fairly nondescript, but he wears an indigo belt and a pale brown, barbed shell.

<yaaaawn> "Morning, all."

[bcool999]

Eugene jumps slightly at the awakening bark. Some quality of it, maybe the expectation of complete obedience, reminded him of his half-brother. But that is ridiculous... even he wouldn't mess with the Carnival.

Shaking himself fully awake, Eugene gets up and begins to dress. He decides to wear the traveling clothes from yesterday, afraid that they would start with physical exercise and not wanting to get his good clothes dirty.

When the dwarf (Gol was his name yes?) awakens and greets the team, Eugene responds with his usual smirk. "Yes morning to you as well. We best get on our way quickly. Punctuality would appear to be important since our wake up call stressed not being late twice." Eugene looks at the others and asks, "Should we eat on the way? I can get us some food, just simple trail rations mind you, but it may be a while before they feed us here so if you're hungry speak up."

Taking his own advice, Eugene reaches into his Survival Pouch and pulls out a simple trail ration, dried oat cake and some dried salted meat, to break his fast before what he feared would prove a long hard day. But if I can be free of my brother it is worth it right? Plus I heard that some jokers had skills similar to mine, so maybe I can get some real training here.

[CoreBrute23]

When he heard the call for training, Jack shot out of bed, his hand reaching for his dagger. He then opened his eyes in the sunlight and cried out, "Gaah!" And covered his retinas from further assault.

I forgot, the Blood Carnival train in daytime, not night. He groaned at the thought. "This will take some getting used to." He blinked the pain away, and leapt out the top bunk.

He reached for the closet which held his backpack filled with essentials, and his dark blue traveler clothes with hood. At least it's not black. He thought. That would burn in this light. And look ridiculous. He quickly began putting it on.

As he began putting on his slightly heavier shoe, he nodded at Eugene.

"Human's right. We shouldn't be late. Bad impression for the squad." He stood up and began putting on his weapons and gear. "Thank you for the offer of food, but I am not hungry. Despite popular belief, Halflings do not require 7 meals a day." Once properly equipped he turned to the Dwarf and nodded greeting.

"Name's Jack, but call me Dagger." He then turned to Eugene and pulled up his hood. "Shall we continue introductions on the road?" If no one objects to the idea, he opens the door and begins lightly jogging.

Gm, you mentioned some of our equipment would be only assigned to us on missions. Is there anything on our characters sheets we wouldn't have/they put in holding? Weapons or magical items etc?

[Feathersnow]

Come, Mathers, we have to make a good first impression. Drilib and Mathers head out to the training grounds, reamaining aloof of the other trainees. If they make it, he can meet them later.

[Qwertystop]

"Not morning people, are you? 's fine, me neither."

Gol sighs and rubs his temples, bares his completely ordinary teeth in a grimace and fails to disguise it as a yawn.

"They'll give some time for prep 'fore training starts, right? For casters and such? I'll need the hour to get my head together..."

"Eugh. I'm Gol, Dagger, 'n you're... Gene, right? John?Somethin' like tha'."

Safe. Tired. No threat at all.

"Yeah. We should get goin'."

(and he does)

[GuyFawkes]

The sun is still below the horizon when everyone gathers at the training grounds. You haven't had the chance to see it yesterday, but now that you do, you notice how grand it is - almost the size of coliseums, only with fewer seats around it - with the shadows from the torches making it look larger than life. It is here that you will be spending a considerable amount of your time, if ever you do last that long.

Around you there are more than a hundred other recruits, some still visibly sleepy, the rest more than fired up. Down to one side of the shorter axis of the oval that is the training grounds, a small sort-of stage stands, with a few people standing on top of it. One of them, sporting long, black hair and clad in armor, steps in front and raises his clenched fist.

"Attention all recruits!" a loud, commanding voice fills the whole grounds like it is somehow magically-amplified.

"My name is Alistaire Henderson. I am the overseer of this facility. As such, it is my duty to see to it that all the activities here go smoothly, and are done in a manner upholding the standards of the Carnival. It is also my duty to assure that all that come out of here are fit to bear the name of a Joker."

"Now, what does it take to bear the name of a Joker?" he pauses as he looks around among you.

"Courage? Yes, definitely. Courage to press on despite the odds, and more importantly, courage to fight for what you believe in. Strength. You must have the strength to back up that courage, else you will be no more than barking dogs who do not bite."

"And last, but the most important of all, is integrity. We may be mercenaries, but we are no ordinary fighting force for hire. We are the descendants who bear the name of heroes, and when you bear the name similar to them, you carry with it their values and beliefs. We may take money to swing our blade, but it does not mean we swing it without thought."

"We are not righteous men, no. We take lives, we pillage, we plunder if needed. But we have rules. We have principles, yet however few they are, we stick to them, and dishonoring them is the worst crime we can commit."

"These rules will be given to you after this orientation and be drilled into you for the course of your stay here, along with the rules you will have to observe while you stay here. Each group will be assigned an instructor, and he or she will be your instructor and guide through your whole stay here. You will receive training from other instructors, such as ones that specialize in specific subjects of training, but your main instructor will not change throughout. You can direct all your queries and concerns to them, and only them alone. You are not to elevate any issue to anyone else before them. They are the ones lined up behind me, and you will proceed to them when I finish here and begin your training."

You notice a long line of men and women standing at attention and in constant spacing from each other behind the stage.

"What else? Have I forgotten anything?" Henderson looks behind him as if asking the others' opinions, and when most of them shake their head, he looks back to you.

"Well then. That concludes this orientation. At least my part of it. You may now proceed to your group's assigned instructor for the rest of the orientation. Oh! One more thing. See that building with the smoke-belching chimney?" he points to such a building to your right. "Yeah, do not, I repeat, DO NOT, ever, go inside that building. In under no circumstance must you enter it. That is all. Good luck, and welcome to the Carnival Gates!"

On the stage, Henderson turns and walks down and off into the rear part of the stage, but does not appear to walk off to any side, just disappearing out into thin air. One of the persons behind him walks forward and speaks.

"Recruits, you may now proceed to your assigned instructors. Move by group, and in an orderly fashion. Your instructors will have an arcane mark on top of them bearing your group's name. They will give you the rest of the instructions regarding the rules and regulations of the Carnival, as well as this training facility. Move!"

The crowd begins to move, most of them orderly, but there are those who do so with blatant disregard of the instructions, talking loudly and moving haphazardly across the field. Beside those groups, however, loud blasts erupt, and you can see the man at the stage pointing at those exact locations.

"I said, in an orderly fashion. Do not make me repeat myself," is all he says, and the crowd moves as instructed.

In your searching, you manage to find your instructor at the far left of the line. Under the arcane mark bearing your group's name, you find a rather short, feline-looking humanoid. Looks to be male, clad in loose cloth and a chain shirt, with two swords on each side of his hip and a huge, impressive-looking bow across his body. He is looking at your direction, probably has seen you before you did him.

"You Group 2?" he asks as you draw near enough, his voice rather lower and thicker than you expected. "Name's Harrow. I will be your group's instructor starting today. My first task is to orient you with the rules and guidelines of the Carnival in general, as well as your stay here. But," he looks around, "not here. Too crowded. Come, follow me."

Harrow turns and walks over to the benches, hopping up each higher bench, and effortlessly leaps on top of the wall at the end. "Try to keep up," he turns and says. "Oh, let's make this interesting. Let's play a game of tag. If any of you catches me, then we proceed to the next part of your orientation. Ready? Game start!" he adds before hopping down the other side of the wall.

Roll initiative

[Feathersnow]

Drilib looks annoyed. There is not way he's going to catch anyone, least of all in this armor. Luckily, Mathers is here.

initiative [roll0]

[Qwertystop]

Gol sighs.
"If only I'd known ahead of time, I'd have shaped up something more suitable for a chase."
[roll0]

[CoreBrute23]

Before Dagger left for the orientation, he remembered that his 'special' items were being held elsewhere. Disapointed, he took this in his stride.

When he heard the competition his instructor had laid out, Dagger raised an eyebrow. I bet his race has some sort of advantage in speed. He thought. Still, natural ability can only take you so far. Time to show what skill and will can acomplish.

Initiative: [roll0]

[bcool999]

Left partially stunned by the apparently flippant nature of their instructor, Eugene looks to the others before starting after him. Funny that my first time playing tag would be when trying to become a mercenary!

Initiative: [roll0]
Also DM, is the Burst of Speed ability from Magic Marksman a swift action to use? Because at my level it is a move action and 2 mana points for the equivalent of a move action. :smalltongue:

[GuyFawkes]

As soon as his feet touches the ground, instructor Harrow wastes no time to put distance between him and his group. He moves lithely and swiftly, his legs moving like they were made for running. Then, at an intersection, he stops and turns around to wait for his pursuers.

Double move with a speed of 70 ft puts him 140 ft from the wall.

You are directly behind the wall on the other side (inside the training grounds). The wall is roughly 10 ft high, requiring a DC 10 Jump check (a move action) to grab hold of the ledge (DC 24 for a Small creature) and another move action to pull yourself up. Or there is an exit to your left, about 50 ft from you, which you can use to run around the wall. Or if you have other ways to bypass a measly wall (which I'm sure you do), then by all means go ahead.

Also, for the game, you only need to make a successful touch attack to win.

Initiative:

Harrow: 25
Gol: 23
Drilib: 15
Eugene: 12
Dagger: 10

I'm also gonna be doing group initiative, so any of you can go ahead.

[Qwertystop]

Gol dashes to the exit and around the wall, grumbling about how he wasn't prepared. He checks around the door quickly before going through, in case it wasn't just a running-race.

Double-move 60', so 10' past the door. As I get to the door, Spot [roll0].

[CoreBrute23]

Jack was stunned at the speed of his instructor. I've never seen anything move that quickly on two legs. Perhaps magically enhanced? Thus he was a bit slower than his team mates in reacting to the challenge.

Seeing Gol take the long route, Jack glanced up and smiled. "Kisar Kemmar, Yuptun Mar Kisaros."* He whispered softly.

Then, without a running start, he bent his knees and jumped straight up. His body twisted, his back was against the wall. He quickly bent and...

Jump 9(Str+Ranks)+2 for being Halfling+ 4 Great Leap Ninja ability+ 2 Tumble Synergy bonus= [roll0]

His hand gracefully grabbed the ledge, and he pulled himself up, briefly holding himself upside down over the wall.

Now the fun part. he thought privately.
Short cuts were made for short people.

[bcool999]

Seeing the halfling leap almost effortlessly up the 10ft. wall made Eugene reconsider attempting the feat himself. If I tried now and failed how much more of a failure would I look when compared to Dagger?

Instead he focuses his mana into his legs and runs around the wall, ending up next to Gol. "You're pretty fast for a dwarf, no offense meant of course. I will see if I can circle around and chase him to you..." Eugene says as he sees how far their instructor had gotten in so short a time, "Or maybe not... One thing is for sure. Jokers apparently don't joke around even with tag. When they start running, they start Running!"

Eugene then jogs ahead of Gol about 30ft., actually ending up only about 10ft. from where he had started, but at least on the other side of the wall.

spending 2 mana to use Burst of Speed so 60' to catch up with Gol, then moving 30ft. more for a grand total of 90ft. moved to avoid a wall...

[Feathersnow]

I mount Mathers. We proceed to try to run the Cat-person down.

[GuyFawkes]

Harrow scratches his head with his one hand and puts the other on his hip.

"Oooh, boy. I may have overdone it a bit," he mutters to himself. Then, louder for the rest of you to hear. "Hey, hey, come along now. No need to be shy, you guys. Let's have some fun!"

Readied action to run if anyone gets close to touch him.

You cannot see Harrow from where you are. You can, however, see that there is a road that goes along the outer wall curving to the right. Following that should lead you to the point where Harrow leapt out of.
You can see Harrow just dead straight ahead of you, standing with his hand on his hip at the third intersection down the street.

Initiative:

Harrow: 25
Gol: 23
Drilib: 15
Eugene: 12
Dagger: 10

[Qwertystop]

"I suppose I did better than I thought at this shape, then. Barely managed to get this short."

"You're quite a bit quicker, though. Surrounding him does seem like the best option, but he probably knows the area better than us."

So saying, Gol runs along to the other side of where he started.

[CoreBrute23]

Jack focussed on the target infront of him. He bent his knees pulled his arms back like a diver, and jumped as far forward as he could.

As he hit the ground, he fell into a handstand, rolled and came up running.

I'm planning to do a long jump. Great Leap means I get to do it without a running start, so the DC is not doubled.
The SRD Jump table (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/jump.htm) says the distance I can go in ft is however hi my DC is. So whatever I roll will be how many feet I travel. Then I spend my second move action to run my normal 20 ft.

Jump 9+2 for being a Halfling+4 Great Leap Ninja ability+ 2 Tumble Synergy bonus-6 for only having 20 ft speed=
[roll0]
Ok, so assuming I don't suffer anything for fumbling, I jump a total of 12 feet forward, and then run 20 more feet.
Thus: 32 ft forward. 108ft before I reach Harrow, since he's 140 from the wall.

[bcool999]

Eugene continues along the path, finally arriving at where their instructor jumped down and continuing to jog until he was about 10ft. behind Dagger.

"Not really what I was expecting on our first day. Where did you learn to jump like that anyway?" Asks Eugene as he once more channels his mana to speed past Dagger.

Move action so I am about 10ft. behind Dagger (since I was 10ft. last turn from being directly on the other side of the wall from the start plus 20 more feet.) Then a move action for another Burst of Speed which should bring me within 60ft. of the instructor (since he is about 140ft. from the wall right?)

[Feathersnow]

Mathers, follow the cat-person! Cries Drilib, hoping the cat-like hunter has a better grasp of this game than the short-legged, heavily armored gnome. Drilib has never chased anything in his life!

[GuyFawkes]

"Nifty skill you got there," Harrow shouts at Eugene. "Didn't expect you'd be the first to reach me first." The instructor then looks at the others behind the human.

"Hmm. On second thought, not really?" he giggles. "Come!"

Flexing his powerful leg muscles, he bolts towards his left.

"This way guys!"

Double Move for 140 feet. From your point of view, he's going to the right direction, disappearing around the corner.

[Qwertystop]

Gol sighs and continues following.

So that's double-move for 60' if it's not a straight line, or Run action for up to 120' if there is a straight-line path that goes for more than 60'.

[bcool999]

Eugene sighs So close yet miles away. he thinks to himself as he moves to the spot their instructor was, looking ahead to where he disappeared to and hoping for a shortcut.

Just a double move 60ft. to where he was this round. Also Spot Check for some details as to where the instructor is going/ways to head him off.
Spot: [roll0]

This chase feels kinda hopeless... I imagine he is leading us somewhere specific, but if that is the case I vote we fast-forward to it since we probably won't catch him unless we start sneaking up on him/he lets us catch him.

[CoreBrute23]

Goddamn it! Over eager son of a drow ruined my plan. Jack started pacing it as fast as he can, trying to catch up with Gol.

"Dwarf I have a plan. Carry me." When he gets close enough, he jumps into the Midnight Occultist's arms. He then starts whispering.

I have no idea how far away Gol is from me. If 40 feet is not enough to reach him, I run 20 ft towards him, and then jump the remaining distance. Hopefully I make it.
Incase I need it jump: [roll0]

"When you get within throwing distance, wait for my signal. I will turn invisible, then you throw me at the instructor. He can't dodge what he can't see. And even if he can, I can tag him before he moves. Otherwise we will never catch him."

[GuyFawkes]

As Eugene reaches the corner, he sees Harrow just straight ahead. There are two intersections in between, and he is in between the second and another intersection further ahead. As for heading him off, he could possibly go anywhere from there, so it's a tough plan to pull off.

Meanwhile, Harrow stops at where he is and, in a puzzling move, sits down.

"Let's make this interesting. I'll wait here a bit."

[Qwertystop]

Gol says "Um... Okay?" and slows down a bit, ready to grab Jack.

Moving up to the first intersection - just around the corner, so Harrow can't see. That's a move action, so I'm readying an action to pick Jack up when he catches up.

[CoreBrute23]

Jack runs towards Gol, trying to get within the Dwarf's grasp as quickly as possible.
I run 80 ft towards Gol.

Leaping into Gol's arms, Jack says quickly, "Wait for my signal, then throw me as far as you can towards the instructor. When I give the signal, you won't see me but trust me I'm there."

[GuyFawkes]

Harrow still sits there, waiting.

"Come on, now. You're almost here," he calls out.

Tactical:

Harrow is still at 140 feet from the corner. Eugene is at the corner, and Gol and Jack not far behind. Brilib and Mathers should be at the corner as well, but didn't post yet for the last turn.

[Qwertystop]

Gol staggers a little under the weight, and whispers back: "Are you crazy? I can run with you, but I wouldn't be able to throw you farther than I could trip. Just run when I drop you."

He then proceeds to run ahead, dropping Jack as soon as he pauses for breath.

Like before, the better of double-move 60' (if there's bends before 60') or Run-action up to 120' (up to the nearest bend). Then, free action to drop Jack, so he can run from that point.

[bcool999]

Eugene

Almost certain that their instructor has a plan to make them appear foolish, but unable to think of anything clever to beat him with. Eugene continues to boost his speed with mana, and hope that their instructor is overconfident.

Sorry for not posting. Will be more active from now on, and stop waiting for others to post for fear of ruining their brilliant plans.

Eugene moves 90 feet toward the instructor (ends 50ft. away)

[CoreBrute23]

As jack was dropped he started focussing his mind on his own brand of energy.

While Sorcerers and wizard manipulated magic, and Eugene converted magic to his special brand of energy, Jack used a completely different sort of power. His was the natural energy of the body, focussed through will and physical training. This was Ki.

He felt the Ki surround his body, and knew he had changed. He was not manipulating the light, or casting an illusion. He simply was invisible. And with that certainty, he ran.

Swift action to turn invisible [Ghost Step], Enduring Ki feat makes it last for two rounds at the cost of 2 Ki. Now run action to get to the instructor. That moves me 80 ft towards him, since I still have both my standard actions.

I don't know how far I am from the instructor, if that will get me close enough within range or not. But at least he can't see me!

[GuyFawkes]

"Oh, good, you're here. Was beginning to get bored," Harrow stands without using his hands to support himself up. On his face is a smug look, the way a feline humanoid can look the part. He looks at his team as Eugene comes up first before Drilib and Mathers and Gol manages to catch p, in fact overtaking the young man.

"Hmm, you seem to be lacking one member? Can't catch up? Ha ha ha!" he laughs as he puts his hands on both sides of his waist. "Alrightie, on to the next phase. Since you lot have a problem keeping up, let's make this interesting. I won't run away anymore. You just have to tag me. With anything. Anything you can throw at me. Then you pass. Ready? Go!"

Tactical: Eugene is at 50 feet, Drilib and Mathers and Gol at 30 feet, Jack can reach where Harrow is. The road is 15 feet wide and extends 50 feet forward and back from Harrow to the nearest intersection. The buildings to the left and right are two-story buildings 20 feet high to the rooftop.

[CoreBrute23]

Within easy grasp, Jack almost chuckled at how unaware his instructor was. This is too easy.

He then tried to grab the feline's arm.


[roll0]

Come on, not a one!

[Qwertystop]

Gol runs to the side a bit, then dashes in towards Harrow.
Moving around so as to not crash into Jack and trying to tag him from the side.

Attack roll [roll0]

[bcool999]

Eugene

Throwing caution to the wind, Eugene also charges forward hoping to tag the instructor.

Charging for +2 to hit -2 to AC
Melee Touch Attack: [roll0]

(Sorry for waiting so long to post. Hopefully we can get back into a good schedule.)

[GuyFawkes]

"Hmm?"

Harrow's senses confuses him: while his ears could pick up the rustling of clothes and small bits of metal and boots impacting dirt, his eyes did not register anything to match those auditory input. But the seasoned warrior that he is, he easily gets it.

"Invisibility, eh? Neat trick!" he says with a grin. Harrow then closes his eyes and breathes deeply, and when he opens them again, his eyes are following where Jack is supposed to be, like he could see him. When the halfling is close enough for an attack, Harrow uses his experience to move out of the path of the most possible attacks. But fighting an invisible opponent is indeed difficult, and Jack's hand darts true towards his intructor's arm. At the last instant though, when it seems they have won, something invisible deflects Jack's hand away, and the response from this collision gives Harrow enough idea to move away accordingly.

"Oooh! Close!" the feline instructor taunted.

Next comes Gol who charges in without any tactics other than pitting his own speed against Harrow, and the result is almost obvious. His grabbing hand whiffs past the catfolk with a lot of room to spare. But Eugene and Drilib does not give Harrow time to compose himself, both launching themselves forward for their attacks. Eugene's hand is easily avoided, but as the instructor dodges to the left, he finds himself in the direct path of the charging Mathers, and with his small, outstretched arms, the gnome finally tags Harrow right smack on the forehead. Both Drilib and Mathers are surrounded by dust as they stop to a screeching halt, and when it settles, Drilib is raising his hand.

"Tagged!"

Harrow looks at the gnome and then the others with a blank face, before bursting into a laugh that seems more like chirping rather than what one would expect from a feline creature.

"Well done, well done!" he says to you while clapping his hands. "You are not too fast, but you are quick. I pride myself in my quickness. But you got me on the first try. I must be slacking on my training," he adds before laughing again.

"Alright, come! We move on to the next part!"

Harrow marches on down the street you are on and takes the next left turn. He walks down again for a couple minutes until you find yourselves at the end of the street, which then branches off to both sides. Opposite you is a low stone wall, and the catfolk walks towards it. Without any effort he hops and stands over it, then looks at you and motions for you to follow. While the wall back at the training grounds was about 10 feet tall, this one was about half that high, and you find it no trouble to go over it and follow your instructor.

When you do manage to go over it, you find him sitting underneath an old elm tree. Behind him, you can see the ground drop into a cliff, and as you walk closer, you can see the ground below, roughly a hundred feet down at your estimate, dead and barren, though sprouts of greenery could be seen here or there.

"Come, sit down beside me," Harrow calls out to you as he rummages his bag. Out of it he produces some sheets of paper and hands them over to you.

"Read them. Those are the rules and regulations you will be following while you're here. Memorize them. Then ask me if you have questions."

The Blood Carnival is an independent fighting force. As such, it owes no allegiance to any sovereign state, nation, power, entities, or individual. It does, however, lend its services to any and all sovereign states, nations, power, entities, or individuals. Such services include, but may not be limited to:


Deployment of manpower
Buying and/or Selling of any information of interest
Arbitration between two or more disputing sovereign states, nations, power, entities, or individuals
Training of standing armies and/or other military/paramilitary/militia forces


Services to be rendered shall incur remuneration, the exact details of which to be discussed and agreed upon by qualified Blood Carnival personnel and the client before such services are to be rendered. This is materialized in the form of a written contract to be signed by both parties.

All requests for services must be duly submitted through proper channels for processing. Should a request be given to a member of the Carnival, said member is to submit the request to the Requests Committee for processing and approval. Requests that are not processed and recognized by the Requests Committee shall not be honored by the Carnival as a legitimate request, and any consequence of the actions committed within that request, the Carnival shall hold no liability whatsoever.

Entering into contracts with both, or in case of multiple factions, two or more sides of any armed or unarmed conflict is strictly prohibited. This applies to all types of services the Carnival is able to render. As a corollary, any contract that deploys a Joker against other Jokers in other missions is strictly prohibited.

All contracts are to be fulfilled by any Joker assigned to the utmost of his or her ability. Failure to do so shall mean failure of the contract, and the client is relieved of any of its responsibilities stated in the contract. The assigned Joker/s is/are to undergo investigation.

All contracts are on a need-to-know basis. Only the Carnival Head Committee, the Requests Committee, and the client are to be privy of all manners of relevant information regarding the contract. Assigned Jokers are given only what is enough for them to execute their mission. Divulging of information, unless through proper request and contract, is a capital offense.

Personal conflict between two or more Jokers is strictly prohibited. If there is a need for violence to settle a dispute, the parties involved should request for an official duel, to be witnessed by three or more Jokers not involved with the said dispute.

Divulging of information regarding the Carnival to any outside entity is a capital offense.

Jokers are free to take any mission that is within his/her capabilities. At the same time, accepting of missions is not compulsory.

Compensation for Jokers is stipulated in the contract for each mission he or she undertakes. A Joker may request for additional compensation should the completion of the mission entail factors not stated in the contract, to be reviewed and approved by the Compensation Committee.

Jokers are free to utilize all facilities and amenities provided by the organization. In cases of deployment, Jokers can make use of equipment as deemed necessary for the completion of the contract.

Jokers are free to leave the Carnival at any given time. To do so, he or she must submit a formal request to the Head Committee and undergo an interview for the process to be finalized and recognized. Former members are hereby relieved of all duties and responsibilities of a Joker, as well as all privileges of one. Any Joker who does not comply with this shall be considered a full member, and thus must still abide by the rules of the organization.
A person is considered a recruit once he or she has undergone the orientation up until he or she graduates. Basic training course lasts for two years, and another year is used for field training.

All recruits must follow the commands of the overseer.

All recruits must follow the commands of their group instructor.

In cases where the group instructor's commands conflict that of the overseer, the overseer's commands always takes priority.

In cases where the overseer's or group instructor's command is in conflict with the rules and regulations for recruits, the rules and regulations take priority.

During the course of the training, the Carnival shall provide free food and lodging for all recruits.

Recruits shall utilize a color-coding system for all matters regarding their personal belongings and those granted to them for use in training. Possession and/or use of equipment and/or objects not color-coded to the recruit is strictly prohibited.

All recruits must use standard equipment to be provided by the training facility during training, unless otherwise instructed. Use of equipment other than those provided is strictly prohibited.

All recruits can use any facility during the allotted time of use only. He or she may apply for personal use of any facility outside of such times, to be submitted to his or her group instructor, and await approval from the Training Committee. Approval is subject to availability of the facility during the time slot applied for, as well as the intended us.

All concerns and queries regarding training or other matters must be addressed to the group instructor only. Bypassing the group instructor is strictly prohibited.

All recruits must observe the proper time in eating, sleeping, and taking baths. Doing such activities outside of allotted times is strictly prohibited.

Destruction of Carnival property is strictly prohibited and penalized accordingly.

All violations shall be monitored by the group instructors and, depending on the severity of each case, shall either be considered a minor or major offense. Committing a minor offense shall earn a corresponding punishment to be decided by the group instructor. A major offense shall be elevated to the Training Committee for investigation, after which corresponding punishment shall be issued by them.

A recruit can only commit 2 major offenses. A third shall result in immediate expulsion. 3 minor offenses constitute 1 major offense.

By signing in as a recruit, a person willingly agrees to undergo all training done in this facility. He or she also agrees to abide by all the rules stated in this Rules and Regulations Guide. In case of serious injury that may result to permanent disfigurement or death, the recruit also agrees that the Carnival is not in any way liable or responsible, except for cases where foul play is found.

[Qwertystop]

"Fair enough. Is it permitted to request that additional information be provided, if one believes it to be necessary information for the completion of an assigned contract (but it was not provided)?"

[bcool999]

Eugene

Eugene quickly skims over the rules, nodding at the ones that seem obvious, but tilting his head slightly at a couple of other rules. "Well, as heartbreaking as it is that there will be no sneaking off to take a nap or grab a snack, I believe I will survive. What grabs my attention the most is the use of the word 'facilities' and the fact that they are free to use during designated hours. I am curious, other than the mess hall and bunkhouse along with other essential facilities, just what all can be found hereabouts? Also... about that rule on no personal equipment," continues Eugene as he reaches beneath his cloak and pulls out what appears to be an armored puppet in the shape of a full plated knight. It is far too large to have fit on Eugene's person without being immediately noticeable even though there was no sign of it until now.

Eugene sets the puppet down and his hand can be seen to glow as it releases the puppet, which promptly stands on it's own legs and bows to Eugene saying, "How can I serve you Master?" in a tinny voice, before standing straight and silent awaiting commands.

Eugene motions for the puppet to turn towards Harrow and says, "Introduce yourself."

Immediately the Puppet turns and bows to Harrow and says, "Greetings and salutations, I am Sir Stalwart, loyal servant and training partner to my master Eugene DeChamlae. It is an honor to make your acquaintance." Sir Stalwart then returns to his straight posture, waiting for more instructions.

Eugene then says, ""You see, I am unsure what to classify Sir Stalwart as. He can think and act on his own, which makes him a good training partner for combat, but without an investment of power from me..." Eugene snaps his fingers and Sir Stalwart collapses to the ground, a puppet once more. "...that happens. So is he just a piece of personal equipment, or will he be allowed to assist me in training?"

[GuyFawkes]

"Cool stuff!" Harrow suddenly sits upright from his relaxed position, his ears twitching, clearly interested in Sir Stalwart. "Yeah, Sir Stalwart is welcome here. Kinda like how his pet is welcome here," Harrow motions to Drilib and Mathers. "But I will tell you both when you can have them during training."

"We will also be having a tour after this, so you get a rough idea of how this place looks like. And yes, you may, but it will depend on the higher ups if they will actually give you the information you ask," Harrow says the last part to Gol.

"More questions?"

[CoreBrute23]

Jack is scowling slightly, as he becomes visible. What was that thing that blocked me? Some kind of magic spell? He took the rules and regulations, examining them closely. Not finding anything too surprising there, he turned to Harrow.

"So what's the next step then in training? And are we going to be only training with you, or will we be given the opportunity to learn from more specialized instructors, such as if Drilib wants to improve his riding, or Eugene wants to work on his magic?"

[Qwertystop]

"And on the note of magic, is time going to be allotted in future for spellcasters and similar to ready themselves? I'm not exactly a spellcaster, but I do need a minute to bind, and an hour to shape if I'm not using the same melds as the last day. I didn't really time or foreknowledge this morning, any more than some Wizard would, or I'd have done better."

Gol realizes what he's just said.

"Not to be making excuses, though, sir."

[GuyFawkes]

"Haha do not worry, we will not be doing stuff that needs your binds. But tomorrow, you should have done all your preparations before call time. And that is at six. You have your breakfast at five. How you go about it is up to you," Harrow replies to Gol.

To Jack, "For now and the next couple months I will be your trainer. Be doing the basics and stuff like that. Later on, you will get to train under specialized teachers. For Drilib, there are a lot of mounted warriors in the Carnival, so are binders for you," he looks at Gol. "Not sure of people who can teach how to be a puppeteer though," he nods at Eugene before giggling, which to him is some sort of repetitive high-pitched sounds.

"You look like you specialize in stealth and scouting? You can be under me. If you like," he looks back to Jack.

"For today, we will tackle the rules. Then after that, we can do a tour to familiarize yourselves with the camp, if you like. Or you can just go about yourselves. Get lost, find new places. I like that," Harrow smiles and his face is as if he is somewhere else.

"So what will it be? Any more questions?"

Oh, drats. Sorry, I meant Jack, who used to be named James. :smallbiggrin:

[CoreBrute23]

Jack nodded at Harrow's. Given how Harrow was able to detect him despite his ninja training, it would probably be better if he did learn from the feline-esc man, if only to learn that ability.

"I'd rather keep to the tour for now. But just to clarify something, we recruits only need to heed orders from you, our instructor, and the overseer right? We are under no obligation to obey the orders of other experienced Jokers right?" Jack was in no mood to be pushed around from some swaggering oversized mercenary. Or worse, a human.

OOC: When you say James, do you mean my character? My character is called Jack.

[Qwertystop]

"No more questions, sir."

[GuyFawkes]

"Yes. But when you are under an instructor, you are obliged to listen to them. It is not a hard requirement, as you can see you cannot find it in the rules. But you learning under them is a favor, really. So it's a sign of respect. Unless you think that you cannot learn anything from them, then feel free to approach me and I will assign you with another instructor."

Harrow then stands up. "All right, no more questions? So shall we take the tour?"

[CoreBrute23]

"That's all my questions."

[bcool999]

Eugene

"I am ready too." says Eugene as he safely stores Sir Stalwart in his Dimensional Gallery, "So where too first?"

[GuyFawkes]

"Right this way, gents."

Harrow walks back towards the wall and goes over it as easily as last time and you follow. He takes the road going to the left and walks along it until about two blocks before taking a right.

"The whole camp is divided into four quarters roughly, with the Training Grounds smack dab in the center of those. To your left, you will see that it's somehow familiar. That's cause this is your quarters. This is the Trainee's Quarters. That's where you find the lecture rooms and sleeping quarters and pretty much most of the laboratories and stuff like those. Where you'll be spending most of the time."

He continues on and after a few minutes you walk down a road close to the Training Grounds, which you see to your right. After quite some time of walking, you finally reach a walled-off block. The wall is so high you cannot see what lies inside, and extends almost as far as your eyes could see in two directions.

"This is the next quarter. We call it the Field. My personal favorite. Inside is a massive space that constantly changes depending on the training you want. It's usually divided into smaller sectors so multiple groups can use it, and it can be modified to simulate almost any and all conditions you may encounter out there, courtesy of our world-class builders and mages."

"Unlike most quarters though, you can't go in anytime. You must have a reservation to use it, and even then, you cannot go in unless you are with your group and with your group instructor. Exceptions are for when you get rewards from the tournaments."

"Really cool stuff, the Field is. Any questions?"

[CoreBrute23]

"Tournaments?" Jack asks curiously. He doesn't remember any mention of a tournament among the Jokers.

[GuyFawkes]

"Mhmm. Tournaments," Harrow nods. "One of the exciting times for you recruits. There are two each year. There is one for individuals against individuals, as there is for groups."

[bcool999]

Eugene

"Those tournaments do sound pretty exciting. I am guessing that they are used by the higher ups as a way to see what the recruits can do and what they learned while they have been training huh? Besides private Field time, are there any other prizes for doing well in the tournament?" says Eugene, thinking almost giddily about custom guns or equipment made by some of the legendary Joker craftsmen and craftswomen.

[Qwertystop]

"Combat only, I assume?"

[GuyFawkes]

"Bragging rights," Harrow says with a grin. "The prizes change every tournament. Makes it even more exciting." Turning to Gol, he adds. "And no, not purely combat. In the preliminaries, we sometimes use obstacle courses and do elimination based on the time contestants finish it. Again, the tournament format changes. Makes people think and not just prepare for a definite course of action. The format is announced a week before."

"Any more questions?

[Qwertystop]

"Nothing comes to mind, sir, though I'm sure there will be something as soon as we get to whatever's next."

[GuyFawkes]

"Okay! This way gents!"

Harrow leads on, crossing the street, following a smaller street south through buildings. As you walk on, you come across other groups with their respective instructors milling about, some apparently on the same tour as you.

It does not take long before you see before you another walled-off section. This one, however, is not as tall as that of the Field, made only of a stone section about two feet high and vertical steel sections above it, such that you can see what is beyond it: a wide field with some weird-looking buildings and the rest covered by a thick expanse of trees.

"This, folks, is the south-east quarter, the Zoo. Here, were we keep our vast collection of creatures we use in the Field, and those that serve as mounts and companions for other Jokers. You will be housing your pet here," the instructor nods at Drilib. "We also grow different kinds of trees and herbs here. And lastly, deep inside here, we have the Arcanum Ward, where some of our members do magical research. Basically, this is the multi-purpose quarter." Harrow finishes.

"Questions?"

[Qwertystop]

"In the Arcanum Ward - is that all kinds of magic, or just traditional wizardry? Might there be someone there who could advise me in meldshaping or soulbinding?"

[GuyFawkes]

"Mostly, wizard stuff, but yeah, I heard they got subdivisions there. They should have meldshapers and binders doing research there. We got a lot of them here in the Carnival. Not my thing though, you gotta ask some of the magick dudes," Harrow replies to Gol.

"Any more questions?"

[bcool999]

Eugene

Arcanum Ward huh? Guess that is where I will learn more about Mana... I hope Joker teachers won't be as dull and boring as that old codger that tried to tutor me as a kid...

"*YAWN* Ah, I beg your pardon, guess I am getting pretty worn out already. So is there one quarter left, or is it about time to hit the sack?"

[GuyFawkes]

"Yes, last one."

Harrow then walks back towards the main street they used earlier and heads for the direction of the training grounds once more. This time he takes the southern route around the grounds and after a few minutes, the group begins to see more buildings. You take another street leading farther west. Around here, you see a lot more people, and you observe that they do not seem to be recruits. Rather, ordinary-looking folks, men, women, and children even.

As you walk further on, you begin to see the smoke belching out of several chimneys, and the atmosphere begins to cackle with energy. To your left and right, you can see stalls and shops of all sorts, and people coming to and fro, in and out of them. Different sounds and different aromas begin to assault your senses, and the street becomes harder to walk in, and if not for the large frame of Isak who parts the stream of people you would take quite some time to get where you are supposed to go.

Slowly you approach a plaza. In the middle is a rectangular stone platform, surrounded by a low double iron fence, with patches of flowers and low-lying shrubs in between. Outside the fence, benches surround the platform on all sides, all of which are occupied by people of all sorts, some looking like lovers, others perhaps taking a breather from all the buying and looking around. On top of the platform stands three stone statues, roughly the size of Isak. All have their backs against the others', forming a sort of triangle among themselves. The statues are of excellent craftmanship, and they clearly depict their real-life counterparts up to the last detail. But even if they didn't, it is hard to miss who the three are supposed to represent: the Founders of the Blood Carnival of course.

Harrow stops as he reaches the iron fence and turns to address you. "This..." he begins, but pauses to adjust the volume of his voice so you could here him over the noise of the hustle and bustle around you. "This," he repeats in a much louder, high-pitched voice, "...is the Shops Quarters. As you can see, its name is pretty straightforward. This is the quarter where shops and all the stuff you might want can be found. The shops here are mostly branches of known shops in the bigger cities, and if not, they're good enough to rival those found elsewhere. You are free to roam around and shop if you have the money on your free time here."

"As you can see, most of the people here are ordinary folks. They come from everywhere to try and make their living here. In the beginning, they were the families of the people who wished to train and become part of the Carnival, until more and more people came as we became more famous. Now, it's the lifeline of the economy of the camp."

"Alright, this concludes your tour. You are free to stay here until your dinner time. If you have no more questions, I see you tomorrow."

[Qwertystop]

Finally, a rest - a pause

time to fill


to fill himself

Gol immediately shifts into a human shape, with a more middling skin-tone and slightly lighter hair. He then runs off without a word to find some secluded corner or dead-end alley, with unpaved ground he can draw on.

[bcool999]

Eugene

Deciding he has nothing better to do, Eugene goes off to find a nice comfortable spot to nap until dinner.

[GuyFawkes]

The rest of the day passes uneventfully. Before dinner you decide to go back to the training quarter and head for the mess hall for dinner. Shortly after that, you are told to go back to your rooms and by nine, it was lights out. So much for your first day.

Early the next day, the same wake up call tears through your sleep at five in the morning. You all wake up, perhaps a bit more rested. You move to have breakfast, and while you are there, a couple of Jokers approached Jack and Drilib, talking to them in whispers. You are not sure, but they simply nod and wordlessly follow the Jokers. Clueless, you proceed with your breakfast and wait for the two to come back. An hour passes and still no sign of them, so you go back to your room, electing to wait for the two there.

Outside your room, you notice Harrow sitting down on the railing. With him are two persons, who look to be recruits as well. One is a particularly bestial humanoid with a large canine like jaw, more hair than usual and claw like fingers and toes. He is short and extremely stocky with brown eyes and long brown hair. He wears ragged leathers and hides across most of his body but his hands and feet are bare. The other simply is covered in full armor.

"Oh hey. Ready for your second day?" Harrow calls out as you come close. "Yeah, about your two friends. Some...personal problems came up, and so they are forced to withdraw from training. A bit sad, but it happens most of the time here. But we can't have you two go by yourselves, so I brought new recruits to fill up their spots. Hey, you two, introduce yourselves!"

[Dread_Head]

Skavos growls and glares at Gol and Eugene before straightening slightly from his habitual slump and greeting them.

"Hello. I'm named Skavos Beastfriend. What should I call you? Have you been here long? It's so busy here, I'm not used to being surrounded by so many people..."

And trails off turning to glare at passers by and flinch whenever someone comes too near him. He then turns to Harrow and asks

"You're in charge of our training then? What are we doing today?"

[Qwertystop]

Gol backs away slightly from the glare. He looks much the same as before, with one major difference: bull's horns, coated with ice, grow from the top of his head.

"Um... hello?"

He sounds a lot more withdrawn than he did the previous day.

[GuyFawkes]

One other character steps forward from beside Skavos. While Skavos is an interesting-looking fellow, this one certainly is more than that. Wearing full plate armor, but with hydraulic cylinders fixed on the limbs, there is accompanying whirring and hissing with his every move.

"Greetings. I am called Nutbolt," came a monotonous voice. And while it seems he (or she, you are not sure) seems to have something more to say, he (you decide it's a he for now) does not.

Meanwhile, Harrow nods. "Alright, now that everyone's here, we can start." He drops down the railing and walks towards the door. He opens it and looks at you.

"Come inside," he calls out to you. Once all of you are inside your room, he closes the door and walks towards the chest. From one of the pouches on his belt, he produces a ring of keys and he bends down to use one of them to open the lock. In a single twist, you can hear the lock click open and he swings the top cover up and open, revealing the contents within: assorted weapons and armors, all tagged with a simple emblem in the color you chose to represent your group.

"As discussed yesterday, you will be provided standard equipment. We have taken into consideration the things you wrote down on your sheets during sign up to provide you with all the equipment you will need. You will find those inside here. This chest is a magical device that holds an extra dimensional storage inside, so you can store more than its size would suggest. You can use it to store all your personal items that you won't be using, like your weapons and magical devices for safekeeping. It is magically enhanced to be able to withstand heavy blows, as well as warded magical locks that will allow only your members to open it. It is coupled with a lock made by our finest smiths that can be opened only with these keys," he holds up the ring of keys he used earlier. "Each member will have one. If somebody tries to open it without using these, the keys will glow to notify you of it. Here," he hands out the keys. "Keep it safe. If you were to lose it, you would have to pay for making a new one yourself. And these things are not exactly cheap."

As soon as you have one key each, Harrow continues. "Alright, put your new gear on. We're gonna test them out today."

[bcool999]

Eugene

Bowing to Skavos and Nutbolt Eugene introduces himself, "Greetings Scavos and Nutbolt, I am Eugene DeChamlae, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Reluctantly, Eugene takes out the weapons marked for him, appreciative of their masterful craftsmanship and weight, before reluctantly pulling out his pistols from beneath his cloak and setting them in the chest. He is about to walk away when he catches Harrow's eye and turns back to draw out an entire musket from beneath his cloak (which certainly should not have had room to conceal such a weapon) and sets it inside the chest as well.

Setting a few more items into the chest, Eugene steps away with barely concealed dismay at having to forfeit his weapons. How they could possibly be safer in that chest than on me at all times is beyond me, especially since they do me no good out of reach in an emergancy!

[Dread_Head]

Skavos walks over to the chest and pulls out a quarterstaff and places it to one side. Then he shrugs off his backpack and tucks his boots and the leather circlet he'd been wearing on his brow into it, before dropping it into he chest along with his cloak and quarterstaff. He then picks the staff up and takes a few experimental swings with it. "Hmm, should be serviceable."

Skavos then takes one of the keys from Harrow and tucks it into a pouch on his belt. "Nifty chest. Can we use our magic items in the mornings and evenings when we're not in training? Or are we completely banned from using them?"

[Qwertystop]

Gol retrieves a chain shirt, then takes a large black cloth from where it was folded by his bed and puts it in the chest.

"Thank you."

[GuyFawkes]

"Yes, you can use them outside of training," Harrow says while nodding.

"Alrighty, everyone ready?"

[bcool999]

Eugene

After taking a few moments to ensure that both pistols were properly loaded, Eugene grins and says, "I would be more ready in an hour when I have had a chance to properly familiarize myself with these new guns, but then what would be the point of making me drop off my old ones? Lead on." He keeps both pistols in his hands as he speaks, subtly shifting their weight in his hands as if trying to find the best grip.

[Dread_Head]

"In that case I'll be with you in 30 seconds, I can catch you up if necessary." and Skavos retrieves his Lesser rod of Extend from his backpack and uses it to cast Heart of Air and Heart of Water before putting it back in the chest.

[GuyFawkes]

"No worries, we wait."

Once Skavos is done, Harrow leads you outside and down the path leading out of the dormitories. You take a familiar street that leads towards the training grounds. Upon reaching it, you take a left and down a path towards the west. Not long, you see the distinct sight of the walled-off quarters of the Field.

Arriving at the junction, you take the road parallel to the wall that leads north, and after a few minutes, about a hundred paces after, Harrow stops and turns towards the wall. He walks closer and places his hand on it. Upon inspection, that particular section seems unremarkable, but after a few moments, the area touched by the instructor seems to depress into the wall and after a few inches, slides to the right, revealing a rectangular hole the size of a normal door. Harrow looks back at you and motions for you to follow him inside.

Stepping into the hole in the wall, the door behind you closes as everyone gets in, and you find yourself in a room, or more like a hallway, extending to your left and right. The wall behind you is unadorned, except with lanterns that glow with the unmistakable glow of magic placed at intervals throughout the wall's length. The wall opposite it, on the other hand, looks to be the same except with identical-looking doors set in between the lanterns. There are a few people walking to and fro, and one of them approaches Harrow.

"Good morning, Master Harrow," the man says with a slight bow.

"Good morning, West. Is my room ready?"

"Yes, sir. Right this way please."

The man called West leads you towards your right. You reach the end and take a right, and after a few doors, he stops and turns to your instructor.

"Here is your reserved room, sir. Is there anything else you will be needing?"

"Nope, thanks!" Harrow replies.

"Very well, sir," West bows again, turns and walks away.

harrow moves towards the door and pushes it open, ushering you inside. The inside of the room, you find is nothing but a square room, about twenty feet to a side. Opposite the door you entered is another door, and there is a long bench on the wall to your right. On the corner to your left is a small cabinet, and beside it, centered on the wall to your left is a rectangular mirror. He then points at the bench.

"Sit down." Once you have all settled down, he begins.

"Welcome to the Field. As I said yesterday, this is where we do most of our training. Made by complex devices and magicks, it may look simple on the outside but it takes a lot of people to keep this place running. As you have seen, this place is made up of a long hallway parallel to the wall you see outside. Opposite are numerous identical-looking doors that lead to identical-looking rooms, such as this one, and similarly furnished."

"There are two important parts to this room. That door and that mirror," he points to the door opposite the one you entered in and the mirror facing you. "That door serves as a dimensional door that is keyed to open to certain locations within the Field that the requester of the room has previously arranged for. It will only open from this side though, so once you go inside and close it, you cannot go out until it is opened from this side, or at the end of the day, when you will be forced shunted out of the area and back here. That mirror is a scrying device. It will show what is going on inside the area you are in. This helps when not everyone is sent inside, and also for me to monitor what you are doing inside."

"Now, with that out of the way, let us begin. For starters, you will be facing off with five opponents. Should be nothing you cannot handle. It is but for me to see your natural tendencies in battle. All right, everyone go in."

Once you all step through the door, it disappears, and you find yourself in another square room, this one larger and the top open to the sky. The ground is natural terrain instead of worked stone like the room you came in, and the walls look to be made of steel. To the opposite side, you find five men all wearing similar armor and bearing similar weapons.

"Start!" the magically amplified voice of Harrow tells you.

Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=86189)
Initiative:
Eugene: (1d20+5)[20]
Nutbolt: (1d20+8)[20]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[16]
Gol: (1d20+4)[10]
Thugs: (1d20+1)[9]

[bcool999]

Eugene
AC 22
HP 60/60

Hearing Harrow start the bout, Eugene calls on his mana, creating an outer layer to deflect incoming blows from his person. His defenses seen too, Eugene examines the field and notices their slight disadvantage in numbers, "I may like our odds in a 4 on 5 fight, but why take chances right?" Comments Eugene as he reaches into his cloak and pulls out Sir Stalwart, powering him in the process. "Sir Stalwart! Ready for battle?!?"

Sir Stalwart
AC 15
HP 38/38

"Always ready Master!" Replies Sir Stalwart as he hefts his unique scythe in preparation of attacking foes.

Move Action: Activated Mana Armor (-1 mana)
Free Actions: Talk, pull out Sir Stalwart
Standard Action: Allot 3 mana in Sir Stalwart (Mana pool at 11/15)

Sir Stalwarts Actions: Move to area indicated on Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=86292), drawing weapon.
Standard: Readied Action to attack any thug that enters his threatened area. (Has Reach Weapon)
Readied attack roll: [roll0]
Readied Damage Roll: [roll1]

[Dread_Head]

Skavos chants an invocation as he moves to stand in front of the team and as he does so his quarterstaff doubles in size and spikes sprout from it. Then he lets out a low growl and drops into an agile stance spinning his staff round in a sweeping defensive pattern.

Standard: Cast Shillelagh
Move: Move forwards (map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=86478))
Free: Enter Whirling Frenzy - +4 Str, +2 Ac & Reflex, extra attack but all attacks at -2.

[Qwertystop]

The Mother of Minotaurs is bashful, yes, respectful, yes, but underneath all that? Haagenti is a minotaur, and that's half bull.

"RHAAAAAAAAAA!"

Charge! :smallbiggrin:
Charging at the H1 grunt:
Attack: [roll0]
Damage (Gore attack): [roll1] bludgeoning plus [roll2] cold damage.
AC dropped by 2 until my next action.
New map: http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=86503

[GuyFawkes]

As the battle begins, Eugene and Skavos survey the battlefield. Noting the distance between them and their opponents, as well as their advantage in numbers, the two decide to exercise caution, opting to bolster their defenses, and in Eugene's case, even the numbers game by calling out the ever-trusty Sir Stalwart.

Caution, however, is not a concept shared by Gol and the mysterious one who called himself (or itself) Nutbolt. The two do not waste anytime to get into the thick of melee, with the dwarf charging the one in the center and the armored warrior at the rightmost thug. The binder uses his totem for a gore attack, dropping low underneath his opponent's swing and barrels straight at his chest, doing significant damage. Not far behind him, Nubolt brings up his heavy flail, spinning it furiously and brings it down into a low sweep aimed at his target's legs. He misjudges his timing though and the thug catches his trip attempt with a counter, prompting the armored warrior to drop his weapon to avoid being dragged in and off-balanced.

The other warriors begins their maneuver around the two who came bravely (or rashly) charging in, with coordinated movements, not unlike those among soldiers. One thug circles around Nutbolt to flank him and swings at him, but his attacks merely glance off the armor. This does create an opening for the other warrior: as Nutbolt adjusts to regard the new opponent, he swats Nutbolt's arm aside and swings with all his might at the armored warrior's torso. The damage is not deep, but the sheer force of the swing makes Nutbolt flinch.

While Gol is still engaged with his target, the leftmost warrior charges in with his sword high, thrusting at the dwarf. Gol manages to see the attack just in time to lean back and dodge it, but apparently not quickly enough, receiving a gash on his shoulder. He does not have time to dwell on it though as his original target has already swung behind him for a pincer maneuver. He steps forward to avoid the attack, but as he does so, he steps into the path of the last thug charging in with a similar high thrust. The dwarf plants his left foot and puts all his weight into it to step sideways to the right, the sword whistling past inches from his nose.

ROUND 2

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=86515)

Initiative:
Eugene: (1d20+5)[20]
Nutbolt: (1d20+8)[20]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[16]
Gol: (1d20+4)[10]
Thugs: (1d20+1)[9]

Tactical:
Nutbolt receives 4 damage.
Gol is dealt 4 damage.

[bcool999]

Eugene

Seeing his allies get surrounded Eugene realizes that perhaps they should have compared combat styles before the fight. I would have much preferred letting them come to us, but maybe we can play this to our advantage as well. Eugene thinks as he urges Sir Stalwart forward, "Sir Stalwart! Advance and prepare to engage."

"Yes Master!" replies Sir Stalwart as he marches forward across the field, ending up almost close enough to strike at the enemy. Meanwhile, Eugene advances in Sir Stalwarts wake, aiming down the barrel of one of his loaned pistols and firing at one of the thugs surrounding Gol. After firing the pistol, Eugene thinks for a moment before dropping the spent pistol and transferring the loaded one into his main hand.

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=86523)
Sir Stalwart: Double move to location on map.
Eugene: Single move to location on map and an attack against Thug 5.
Attack: [roll0] (I am going to need to invest in precise shot eventually aren't I?)
Damage: [roll1]
Free Actions: Speaking, dropping pistol, and switching hands.

[Dread_Head]

Skavos tips back his head and lets loose a howl before charging the thug flanking Gol.
"I'll finish this one" He cries in a guttural howl before swinging his staff in a two-handed blow at the thug.

Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=86525)
Full round action: Charge
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
-2 AC til next turn (to 17).

[Qwertystop]

With the pain, Gol's belt fades in color and seems to lose a bit of substance, but his odd shell grows more vivid. His roaring continues, but takes on a more raw tone, and he bashes his head against the enemy more wildly.

Swift action to move one Essentia from Wormtail Belt to Dread Carapace. AC down by 1 (but net +1 from last round, since the penalty from cahrging is gone), attack bonus with Gore down by 1, damage bonus to Gore up by 1.

Standard action: Attack Thug 3 (or Thug 5 if Skavos finished 3 before this action)
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] bludgeoning and [roll2] cold

EDIT: Map unchanged.

[GuyFawkes]

The gunslinger and his trusty sidekick move in to engage their enemies, and Eugene fires off his pistol on the move. He seems to be having some issue adjusting with the standard issue pistol, however, as his shot fails to hit where he intends it. He pays no mind to it much, dropping the fired pistol and switching his offhand one to his main. Skavos similarly charges in, his target one of the men circling Gol. He howls as he brings up his staff, spinning it and bringing it down using both his hands. His target, though engaged in melee with Gol, manages to note his attack - perhaps from his howling - and twists in time to parry the blow.

To their right, Nutbolt does not mind losing his flail much: his (its) own body is a weapon in its own. He sidesteps to the right to avoid the thrust from the thug in front of him and spins into a backhand slam directed at the warrior behind him, connecting solidly to the man's jaw. The blow is powerful enough to bend the warrior's helm, and he sways for a few heartbeats before regaining his balance. Before Nutbolt could capitalize on the opportunity, the thug he left behind circles around to his back and puts pressure with fast thrusts and swings. Nutbolt manages to parry and dodge them handily, but even with his seemingly futile attempts, the thug smiles, and Nutbolt realizes soon enough as a downward blow rocks his back: it seems the duo's response to Nutbolt's superior defense is fighting with deftly-coordinated attacks.

The thugs surrounding Gol display the same coordination as well. Even with Skavos and the others closing in, the concentrate their attacks on the dwarf. The concerted offense overwhelms the binder's defenses, and finally one blade finds the back of his shoulder. He manages to turn his body in time to prevent a direct hit and the chain shirt prevents the sword from digging into his flesh, but he still feels the weight of it. The cascade of blades continue, and another nicks Gol on the arm. The compounding damage begins to show its effect and Gol is a step slow in keeping up, until finally, he couldn't avoid a powerful slash to his side.

ROUND 3

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=86557)

Initiative:
Eugene: (1d20+5)[20]
Nutbolt: (1d20+8)[20]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[16]
Gol: (1d20+4)[10]
Thugs: (1d20+1)[9]

Tactical:
Nutbolt receives 4 damage.
Gol is dealt 22 damage.

[bcool999]

Eudene

"Sir Stalwart, surround and engage!" Eugene orders as he focuses his mana into his pistol, causing electricity to softly crackle along the surface of the gun without harming it. Then, instead of firing on the enemies, Eugene decides to aid his allies who are surrounded and fires a 'shot' at the ground next to Skavos. Immediately, a bright light bursts from that point, blinding some if not all of his foes.

Meanwhile, Sir Stalwart steps a few more paces forward until he stands directly behind the thug Eugene shot at earlier. Silently and mechanically, Sir Stalwart raises his Scythe and brings it down with all the force he can muster.

Eugene:
Move: Activate Elemental Bullets (electricity) -2 mana (10 remaining)
Standard: Activate Flashbang centered on the square next to Skavos. All enemies must make DC 16 Fort saves or be blinded for 1 round (the text specifically mentions enemies so I don't believe allies are affected) -2 mana (8 remaining)

Sir Stalwart:
Move action: Move into flanking with Gol on Thug 5
Standard Action: Power attack for 3
Attack: [roll0] (+2 for flanking, -3 for power attack)
Damage: [roll1]

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=86575)

[Dread_Head]

Skavos steps round the thug to attack him from the back and swings his staff hard at its head before swinging rapidly again aiming for the thugs ribs this time.

Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=86586)
5 foot step to flank then full attack with whirling frenzy
Attack: [roll0] (including +2 from flanking)
Damage: [roll1]
Attack: [roll2] (including +2 from flanking)
Damage: [roll3]
AC back up to 19

[Qwertystop]

The small shift in equipment, having failed, promptly reverses itself, and Gol hops to the side before ramming again.
Somewhere below the blur, he thinks I have got to stop choosing vestiges for social interaction.

Swift action switching the Essentia back from Dread Carapace to Wormtail Belt. Five-foot to I3 and attack Thug 3.
Damage: [roll0]
Attack: [roll1] bludgeoning and [roll2] cold

Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=86600)

[GuyFawkes]

Eugene and Sir Stalwart begin their assault, with the puppet knight engaging the nearest thug. It raises its scythe and spins it over its head before swinging it forward, hacking at its opponent from afar with its long reach. Eugene aims his pistol again at the same target, his weapon now cackling with electrical energy. Just as he is about to fire though, he decides to adopt another tactic. He aims at the ground just beside Skavos, shouts at his teammates, "Close your eyes a bit!" and fires. As soon as his bullet impacts the ground, a bright light bursts and surrounds the fighting. Most of the thugs are able to get the clue and close their eyes as well, but two of them are not able to react fast enough, and they scream and clutch their eyes.

After the distraction, Skavos moves to his right to a flanking position. He spins his staff and swings high, then using the momentum of the first swing, spins the staff around again into another swing, this time directed at the midsection. Both swings catch nothing but air though; it would seem the blinding light affected him at least that much.

Gol, meanwhile, finally decides planting himself in the middle of three opponents is not a good idea, and he similarly circles right, keeping in step with Skavos. He uses the staff wielder's attacks to find himself an opening. When the thug steps back to avoid Skavos' staff, he charges in, catching the man again with his ramming attack, this time to his right side, just below the rib. The attack lifts the thug into the air and as he lands, his knees almost buckle beneath him. However, he summons enough strength not to, and though he is teetering, he still swings his sword at Gol. The damage is obvious though, and the dwarf could easily read his attacks, avoiding them with ease.

Nutbolt also moves around the battlefield, continuing to shift for a better position. Thankfully, the thug he is engaged with was not able to react fast enough to Eugene's attack, and the man is clutching his eyes and swings blindly in front of him. He hits nothing but air though, as Nutbolt is already to his side, bringing up his right hand for a heavy blow to the back of the man's head. The force is enough dent the man's armor again, and this time, he drops forward. The other thug engaging him steps forward and to the side, avoiding his falling comrade and goes at Nutbolt, but his attacks are deftly parried by the armored man's bracer.

The thug being engaged by Sir Stalwart also catches the blinding attack squarely, and he swings blindly at where Gol was. The other thug tries to follow Gol, but with his companion blinded and swinging wildly, he changes target and goes after the puppet. He lunges in after the scythe passes him, but his thrust misses its target completely, with the puppet surprisingly nimble.

ROUND 3

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=86604)

Initiative:
Eugene: (1d20+5)[20]
Nutbolt: (1d20+8)[20]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[16]
Gol: (1d20+4)[10]
Thugs: (1d20+1)[9]

Tactical:
Thug 1 is dead.
Thug 3 is barely standing.
Thug 5 has received damaged and is blinded.
Thugs 2 and 4 are relatively unscathed.

[bcool999]

Eugene

Seeing that his blinding shot was effective on the foe right before him, Eugene quickly reloads his pistol and fires at him, sending an electrically charged ball of metal hurtling toward his still recovering foe.

Likewise, Sir Stalwart disengages slightly from the thug before him to make room for a great sweep toward the same foe Eugene targeted.

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=86633) (removed areas of effect to indicate that the blindness has worn off after Eugene's turn)
Eugene:
Move Action: Reload pistol.
Standard Action: Attack Thug 5 who is still blinded until after this attack. (-2 AC, loses dex to AC)
Attack: [roll0] (-4 if he is still considered in melee even though every ally is at least 10 feet away)
Damage: [roll1] + [roll2] Electric

Sir Stalwart:
5-foot step (on map)
Standard: Power attack for 3 on Thug 5.
Attack: [roll3]
Damage: [roll4]

[Dread_Head]

Skavos continues to spin his staff in whirling attacks seemingly infuriated by his foes ability to dodge them.

Map unchanged (possibly)
Attack Thug 3: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
If that attack downs him then Skavos five foot steps to flank with nutbolt (to K1) and attacks thug 2
Attack: [roll2] (+2 if he moves to flank with nutbolt)
Damage: [roll3]

[Qwertystop]

nothing'sworkingbacktodefaultplan

"GAAAAAAAAAHHHHH"
Charging Thug 4
[roll0]
[roll1] plus [roll2] cold
AC down by two until next action.
New map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=86864).

[GuyFawkes]

Gol lowers his shoulder and charges again, this time at the thug engaging Sir Stalwart. He connects, but the man is able to lift his sword sideways at the last moment, preventing any significant damage. He pushes the dwarf off, and using the shoving motion, gets his sword up in position to slash down. His blade cuts through the air and inches from Gol's nose, with the totemist using the thug's shove to step back from the blade.

Nutbolt meanwhile circles right for a better position, and while the thug's focus is momentarily stolen by Skavos' spinning staff, its powerful fist slams into the man's midsection, lifting him from his feet. The poor fellow gasps for air, but manages to stay up on wobbly legs. He looks at the hulking armored warrior in front of him and back at the armorless staff wielder behind him. He had been connecting with a few blows, but he finds he cannot penetrate the thick armor.

The choice is clear.

He spins around and goes after Skavos, using his spinning motion to generate speed and power. And a good choice it was, for his blade tastes flesh. Although the cut is not deep, but flesh nonetheless.

ROUND 4

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=86901)

Initiative:
Eugene: (1d20+5)[20]
Nutbolt: (1d20+8)[20]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[16]
Gol: (1d20+4)[10]
Thugs: (1d20+1)[9]

Tactical:
Thugs 1,3, and 5 are dead.
Thug 2 is badly damaged.
Thug 4 still looks good.
Skavos is dealt 8 slashing damage.

[bcool999]

Eugene

Reloading once more, This reminds me why I started shooting magic rather than bullets, bullets are such a hassle! Eugene takes aim at the thug before him once more, careful to avoid hitting the injured Gol.

Meanwhile, Sir Stalwart takes advantage of Gol's distraction and circles the same opponent, just out of reach of any retaliation. Then sends another powerful blow towards him as Eugene fires another shocking shot.

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=86902)

Eugene: Move action Reload.
Standard action Shoot Thug 4, Attack: [roll0] (-4 for firing into melee added)
Damage: [roll1] + [roll2] Electricity

Sir Stalwart:
Move: Circle around for flanking with Gol (staying outside opponents reach)
Standard: Power attack for 3.
Attack: [roll3] (+2 for flanking added, -3 for power attack subtracted)
Damage: [roll4]

[Dread_Head]

Skavos's skin re knits itself the moment the thugs blade slices through it and he whirls to attack his foe, swinging first high then low.

Full attack on thug 2.
Attack: [roll0] (including +2 from flanking)
Damage: [roll1]
Attack: [roll2] (including +2 from flanking)
Damage: [roll3]

[GuyFawkes]

Skavos retaliates with his staff, whipping it high. It cracks against the last thug's skull just below his ear, the man's head tilting unnaturally to the right as Skavos follows through with his strike. He uses his momentum to spin around and strike for a second time, but his weapon whiffs at nothing but air, for the thug is already slumped on the ground, motionless.

"Well done, well done," the voice of Harrow echoes in the room. "Still not built for speed this group is, I see, but you do your job. Come, join me."

Back at the other end of the room, the door materializes where it was earlier and swings open.

[bcool999]

Eugene

Letting go of his Mana-wrought protections, and enhancements, Eugene realizes that he had just killed two men, and aided in killing three others. He is not sure what to think of this as he reaches down to collect the pistol he had discarded. I had never killed a person before, but it's as if I wasn't really fighting people. It didn't feel any different from target practice save that they moved around a bit and I had allies in the mix. Maybe if they would have actually attacked me personally it would be different? Is this how I am supposed to feel? Indifferent?

Sir Stalwart, perhaps sensing his master's distress, walks over and kneels. "Can I be of more service Master?" asks Sir Stalwart, snapping Eugene out of his thoughts. "Hmm? Oh, thank you Sir Stalwart. I shall call again if I have need of you." Replies Eugene as he returns the mana powering Sir Stalwart to himself and spirits the puppet away into his cloak. He then heads toward the door, empty pistols in hand, trying to distract himself by attempting to attune himself to the new weapons.

Let me know when an hour has passed and I can finally make good use of these guns! (I am worried because some of the language in the Magic Marksman class refers to mana guns instead of firearms in general. i.e. the Advanced Marksman assault track says you do not provoking AoOs from opponents "When firing his mana guns", or since it takes two hands to reload and I can't really dual wield with that restriction the language that says I threaten a 30ft. area "when dual-wielding firearms" would likely only apply with mana guns since they don't need reloading)

[GuyFawkes]

As you file into the waiting room, Harrow greets you with a nod and points you to the bench.

"How was it? Easy? Difficult?" he asks. "Oh, before that, check that cabinet there. There're wands and potions there to heal your wounds." he points at the cabinet at the corner.

Wands and Potions of CLW and CSW, respectively. Don't worry about the quantity, there will be enough.

[Qwertystop]

Between potions, Gol focuses on pulling some sense out from between his competing influences:

"Well, I definitely need to plan my bindings better."

He stretches - stretches - streeeetches - and ends up in a more human shape, though still dark blue with icy horns, floating brown shell, and equally detached purple belt.

"I should have aimed less towards not offending anyone and more towards holding my own in a fight. Perhaps I should be someone who can keep his head clear, next time... ugh, this is difficult. I assume we won't get foreknowledge of what we're doing on what days?"

[Dread_Head]

"It's been a while since I was in a real fight, that was easy enough but could have ended faster. Maybe before the next fight we should talk about our tactics a little?"

Skavos shakes his head a little then asks Harrow "So what's next, more fighting?"

[bcool999]

Eugene

Not needing any healing since Eugene was unscathed in the fight, Eugene focuses on the guns in his hands."I suppose they weren't terribly challenging. Though I felt crippled working with these." Eugene says, shaking the pistols for emphasis, "If they had any ranged or magical support I would likely have gotten hurt, and have had a much harder time of it." Eugene finally manages to pry himself from inspecting the pistols long enough to examine the others, "I will admit that I am unused to working with anyone other than Sir Stalwart. If our teamwork had been on par with our enemies we likely would have little to no need of the cabinets healing contents."

[GuyFawkes]

Harrow nods and smiles. "At least you recognize the things you can improve on. That's good. Well, I'll leave it up to you to figure out how to fight together as a group for now. And yes, we will have one more session inside. I will give you a few minutes to catch your breath before going..."

The instructor is cut off by a knock on the door.

"Yes?"

The door opens and in steps West, who bows a little and walks next to Harrow. He puts his face near the instructor's and whispers something, with Harrow nodding at times.

"Yeah, sure, bring 'em in," Harrow finally says when West finishes. "Oh, and you boy," he points at Nutbolt, "you gonna have to follow Mr. West here. You are needed somewhere else."

"Follow me, please," West says to Nutbolt, who stands and wordlessly follows.

As soon as the two disappear out into the hallway, another two come in. Leading the duo is a tall mass of walking water, or some sort of liquid, as it is murky, almost inky in color. It has two appendages extending to the sides, ending in webbed fingers, probably arms. The other is a human male, probably in his late teens or twenties, sporting short blonde hair and mostly black threads, and wears a sword on his hip.

"As is usual here, there may be times when members are shuffled as the higher up see fit. So, from now on, these two will be your new teammates. Go ahead, introduce yourselves. And you might want to discuss a bit of how you work in the battlefield so you guys work together better than you showed earlier."

[Jyssika]

The water elemental seems to make a strange gesture with its body perhaps some sort of curtsy.
I am Swolsh Swoosh Splash Frrrooown; but you may call me Water.
Thank you for allowing me to work with you Master Harrow.

He moves into the room; inspecting the others and generally trying to mingle whilst Israel introduces himself, doing so it becomes clear he has no weapons or armour on his person.

His name is Aquan; its part of his character theme that most people he meets has no idea what he just said and has gotten used to people giving him water'y nicknames. If your char speaks Aquan feel free however to call him any of the above. Or... if you character is overly semantic they can attempt to say his name without speaking common and he will probaby be very appreciative but the pronuciation would probably be rather bad.

[Yael]

Ah, hello. Says the duskblade, as he passes his right hand through his hair, scratching a bit his head. The name's Israel Lloyd, call me Israel, or Lloyd, it's the same for me. Then, Lloyd retires his hand from his head and places it on his belt. Sword and kinda magic stuff, don't expect me to do some heavy magical stuff, but I could swing a sword.
Lloyd steps further into the room, trying to do not get wet because of Water's being. So, what rows your boat, here?

[bcool999]

Eugene

"Eugene DeChamlae at your service," Eugene says with a bow, "I specialize in using firearms and a touch of magic as well, though they are not your traditional spells or incantations."

[Qwertystop]

Gol gives a little bow to each newcomer - "Hello, Lloyd, <gurgling noise>" - tries to pronounce Water's name, but fails dismally.

"I'm Gol. At the moment, I mostly charge in a fight, but I'll try to fix that tomorrow."

[Jyssika]

Water looks at the humanoids quizzically; to him they all seem so, fixed.
I am capable of adapting.

Usually a normal person might continue their explanation from there,
but after an awkward silence whilst those present wait for Water to
finish his sentance, it becomes clear he doesn't intend to elaborate further.

[bcool999]

Eugene

"Well while we are on the subject of introductions," begins Eugene as he reaches into his cloak and pulls out Sir Stalwart, again displaying some sort of extra-dimensional storage capacity, "Allow me to introduce Sir Stalwart."

With a bluish glow that travels down Eugene's arm to the three foot tall knight puppet, a flash of light escapes the puppets eyes and it begins to animate, "How may I serve you Master." is the phrase the puppet exclaims as it rests on bended knee before Eugene. "Meet our new allies Sir Stalwart. The wet one is named Water, and the blond human man is named Lloyd." As Sir Stalwart stands and bows to the duo, Eugene turns to Water and Lloyd and says, "This is Sir Stalwart, my long standing friend and training partner. He will try and keep enemies from getting too close to his allies if he can while also landing as many blows as he is able."

[GuyFawkes]

"Right right, so everyone is introduced. Into the room you go," Harrow cuts in. "Another round before we call it a day. Uh, not really, we still have lectures later. But anyway. This time, you will be facing a varied unit, and a bit tougher than the last ones, so whatever you need to adjust with your game plan, you best do it fast. Now back inside, go go go!"

As you step in through the door, you find yourself in another room. This one is much larger than the previous one, and looks way different. Whereas the previous one was a bare box, this one had terrain features: a small body of water in the middle, a bluff about twenty feet high at the far end, and trees and shrub scattered here and there.

Up on the bluff and across the water, you can see your opponents. As Harrow had said, they are different from the ones you just faced. They look to be of different disciplines and maybe a tad more tougher.

ROUND 1

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=87441)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.

[Jyssika]

Water rushes forward; his blood water boiling with rage at the
thought of facing an arcane caster, he could feel is presence somehow sat
at the back on the hill ready to torment him with his magic.


Move to M14 using have swim speed (presuming not desert due to big pond) 45ft.
Trying to go as deep as possible; presumably once he hits water the rest of his move
speed scales by 2 ... but I didn't wanna presume depth of water or anything... and
it doesnt matter how deep he is since he can attack freely through water...
[Sorry... hes really good in water, I imagine it wont come up much, sorry if i seem llike
im exploiting it on the first combat...]
Not sure if water gets cover for being in water... But he also has Dark Stalker so any
blind sight ec cetera wont be able to see him in there; just plain old eye ballage.


Spalshing into the cool water he is however reminded he is now a member
of a team; and a teammate should help his team. Stopping like a shark in
the water he picks his target, the biggest barbarian at the front.

Aqua Bolt Ranged at L8 Barb
[roll0]
If hits
[roll1]

Fort save with DC 13 or be Stunned for 1 round (dazed if they're immune to stun), and on a Reflex save with DC 18 or be pushed back 5 feet for every point they failed the save.
If this makes them hit a solid surface or another creature, they both take 1d6 damage for every 5 feet left to move.

[GuyFawkes]

Water is the first to strike, immediately moving, perhaps quite predictably, into the middle of the pool at the center of the room. He raises his hand and a ball of water hits the orc in front of him like a bullet.

The swordsmen look at Water but does not engage, thinking it to be a disadvantage with their armor to wade into the pool. Instead, they spread out to both sides and wait for their opponents to come closer. At the back, a shady figure creeps along the bottom of the bluff to a spot behind one of the trees.

ROUND 1

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=87673)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.

[Dread_Head]

I'll take this side Skavos cries before moving to the right of the lake.

He then mutters an incantation and his jaw starts to lengthen and whiskers sprout from his face whilst fine grey hair starts covering his body.
The transformation had barely started before he roars and his features become even more bestial with his teeth transforming into a strong jaw, his hands and feet becoming more claw like and the fur sprouting on his body changes to orange and black stripes. He ducks into the same whirling stance from the previous combat and tosses his quarterstaff aside snarling and hissing through his elongated fangs.


Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=87874)
Move Action: Move
Standard Action: Cast Bite of the Wererat (+6 enhancement Dex, +2 enhancement con, +3 enhancement NA, bite attack. Lasts for 6 rounds)
Free Actions: Enter Whirling Frenzy (+4 Str, +2 Dodge to AC & Reflex, extra attack at -2. Lasts for 6 rounds), drop staff and shift (+2 Str and Bite attack. Lasts 7 rounds.)

[bcool999]

Eugene

Quickly shielding himself from attack with mana infused fog, Eugene replies to Skavos "Then I will go around this way." Circling around to the left of the lake with Sir Stalwart on his heels.

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=87913)
Move Action: Phantasm, 2 Mana spent for 20% concealment
Standard Action: Move 30ft. to position on map

Sir Stalwart (Started at J22)
Move action: Move to position on map
Standard action: Readied action to attack any enemy that enters his threatened area.

[GuyFawkes]

Skavos starts to move, going around the pool to the right. As he does so, he begins to change, his jaws elongating into a snout full of sharp teeth, and his body covered in hair. He drops his staff and howls, preparing to rend the swordsman in his path.

The archers from above begin their assault as well. Each of the three targeting Skavos, Water, and Israel, respectively, but none are successful.

The orc looks at Water, but like the swordsmen, do not engage the elemental in his terms. He scowls as he moves to the right, knowing his companion will need his assistance on the transformed Skavos.

ROUND 1

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=87913)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.

[Yael]

Lloyd dodges the arrow that was shot at him. Woah! Bad manners! Israel moves his feet towards the pond, while he walks he draws his bow and an arrow. I'll cover from behind, then! Can't really decide on which side should I take, teehee! Said Lloyd in a voice high enough so Sir Stalwart, Gol, Water and Eugene can hear. He aims his bow at the closest enemy in range, and shots his readied arrow, although he isn't that good with ranged play, he knows how to wield a bow, and because of the distance between he and the enemies, Lloyd thought that ranged combat while getting closer would be helpful enough.

Walk as a Move Action from J21 to I17
• As part of the Move Action, Lloyd draws his bow, and as a Free Action he also draws an arrow.

As a Standard Action, Lloyd shots an arrow to Fighter 2.
Ranged attack roll: [roll0]
Arrow damage roll: [roll1]Critical Confirm roll: [roll2]
Critical Damage roll: [roll3] + 6

[Qwertystop]

...Well then. Going in alone was painful last time... best pick a partner.
<Lloyd acts>
... the beast-man, then.

Updated the map to account for Israel's turn
Double move to R15
New map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=88228)

[GuyFawkes]

Israel and Gol pick sides, with the human going left and the dwarf going right. As he reaches the edge of the pool, Israel fires off his bow at the swordsman across him. His arrow strikes the man on his chest but fails to penetrate his armor.

Up above the bluff, the mage looks down and surveys the battlefield as he is about to finish his spell. He decides to target the trio to the left, and once he utters the last word of the magic, the area around Israel and the others begin to be filled with small, glittery dust that gets into their clothing and their eyes.

ROUND 2

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=88254)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.
Israel, Eugene, and Sir Stalwart must succeed on a Will Save with DC 16 or be blinded for 4 rounds.

[Jyssika]

Water surges forward from the pond at the centre of the room;
The Water that entered may have been elegant and agile of
form but emerges bigger and bulkier with a more wavelike form.

Aquan: Step asside; let me dessicate your arcane master!


MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=88262)

Swift action to swap 6 Dex to 6 Str.

[roll0] Melee Aqua Bolt
[roll1] Dmg

Fort save with DC 16 or be Stunned for 1 round (dazed if they're immune to stun), and on a Reflex save with DC 15 or be pushed back 5 feet for every point they failed the save.
If this makes them hit a solid surface or another creature, they both take 1d6 damage for every 5 feet left to move.

[Yael]

After realizing Israel didn't do the damage he was expecting, he left out a single: Tch...!, little after, golden dust suddlendly appeared and Lloyd reacted to it.

Will Save: [roll0]

If blinded, Lloyd drops its bow and covers his eyes with both his hands, shouting: Gyahh!

If not blinded, Lloyd smiles and tries to identify (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/spellcraft.htm) the source, as the spell that was cast.
Spellcraft check: [roll1]After I checked the DCs, this would be next to useless, but whatever.

[GuyFawkes]

The trio manages to resist the blinding effect of the spell. Israel smiles and tries to identify the spell, but he could not get a fix on it; it was just there on the tip of his tongue.

Water then surges forward, aiming for the lone swordsman. He form changes as he does so and finally attacks like a crashing wave. The swordsman is prepared, however, blocking the elemental's assault. He then steps to the side and uses Water's momentum to sneak in a thrust. Behind the two, the other character lurking by the bluff darts forward and circles around and behind Water, waiting for his opportunity. When the swordsman attacks, he lunges forward as well. His sword sinks into the elemental's body, but not as effective as he had hoped, for there was no way to discern his target's weak point.

On the other side of the pool, the other swordsman takes the first move, dashing forward with his sword up high. He goes in between Gol and Skavos, turning at the last moment to his right to chop down on the feral Skavos. The shapeshifter receives the attack without blinking, the blade doing no damage against his tough skin.

ROUND 2

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=88287)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.
Water receives 7 slashing and 4 piercing damage.

[Dread_Head]

Skavos roars and moves round his opponent, keen to push forwards before turning and tearing savagely with his jaws twice.

Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=88366)
5ft step to square on the map
Full Attack:
Bite [roll0]
Damage [roll1]+1 constitution damage
Bite [roll2]
Damage [roll3]+1 constitution damage

[GuyFawkes]

Skavos retaliates with a couple of bites, but he finds unlike the previous ones they fought, this swordsman is much more capable, and his attacks miss. Not giving him room to breath, the half-orc also comes charging in at him, axe held high. He anticipates the attack well though, and he disengages from the swordsman just in time to dodge the chopping axe.

The archers continue with their ranged attack, targeting Eugene, Israel, and Gol but only one of them manages to land a hit, the gunslinger the victim.

ROUND 2

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=88471)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.
Eugene takes 3 piercing damage.

[bcool999]

Eugene // Sir Stalwart
HP: 57/60 // 38/38
AC: 18, 18 Touch, 14 FF // 15, 13 touch, 13 FF
Conditions: 20% miss chance, Elemental Bullets (Electricity)

Grunting in surprise as the arrow grazes his arm, Eugene nevertheless remains calm and composed. Sending Sir Stalwart forward to aid water, Eugene once more charges his guns with crackling electricity, then he waits for the wizard to attempt another spell.

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=88477)

Sir Stalwart double moves.
Eugene 5ft. steps up to the shore.
Move: Elemental Bullets +1d6 electric damage to attacks
Standard: Readied action to shoot the wizard when/if he starts casting.

Attack: [roll0] (-2 for range penalty included)
Damage: [roll1] + [roll2] Electricity

[Qwertystop]

Gol
Gol sidesteps the swordsman, pinning him between Gol's icy horns and Skavos' claws, teeth, and staff. Glad of his extra height, he lowers his head and lunges.


HP 42/42
AC: 21, 14 touch, 17 FF
Conditions/Other Modifiers: Flanking
5-foot step to R14
Attack Fighter 1:
Attack roll: [roll0]
Damage roll: [roll1] bludgeoning + [roll2] cold.
Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=88483)

[Yael]

Israel Lloyd. (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=973270)

Ranged doesn't fit my style, I'm telling you... Lloyd whispers to himself, but he tries to locate the biggest threat. He didn't put that effort after skimming through the battlefield, and found that Water could use some help, so he drew two arrows and kept one in his mouth.
Take this, you meanies! Israel aimed and shot one of the two enemies that are flanking the elemental, Water. After the first arrow, Lloyd immediatly grabbed the arrow that he was holding with his mouth and shot again against the same target. Off we go!
After shooting, Lloyd gave a step back, to prepare to run heavily.
As a [B]Full-Round Action, Lloyd shoots against Rogue, performing a Full Attack.
• Attack Roll: [roll0]
• Damage Roll: [roll1] Attack Roll: [roll2]
Damage Roll: [roll3]
• • Attack Roll: [roll4]
• • Damage Roll: [roll5]Attack Roll: [roll6]
Damage Roll: [roll7]
As a Free Action, Lloyd performs a 5-ft. step from H17 to G18.

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=88483)

[GuyFawkes]

Gol flanks the swordsman and lowers his head for a horn attack. Bone clangs against metal, and the swordsman twists to deflect the blow and avoid any damage.

Israel steps forward and decides to give ranged support to Water. However, as he suspected, ranged combat is not his forte, and his arrows miss their target.

Up above, the wizard begins another spell, but Eugene is ready for him. He shoots at the man with his pistol and hits him on the abdomen. Amazingly, the wizard staves away the pain and finishes his spell, sending force missiles towards Sir Stalwart before limping back from the bluff edge, out of sight.

ROUND 2

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=88522)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.
Sir Stalwart takes 8 force damage.

[Jyssika]

Waters edges curl; a strange pirranah like smile appearing on his face
as he instantly turns to face the rogue who believed he could get the
better of their aqautic foe.

His form grows more and more wavelike; almost losing all humanoid
resemblance instead simply a huge crashing wavelike block of water.

Swift action shifting 6 more dex to str.
Fast healing 3.
If rogue is knocked back at all; 5ft step to follow up.

[roll0]
If hits
[roll1]

Fort save with DC 19 or be Stunned for 1 round (dazed if they're immune to stun), and on a Reflex save with DC 12 or be pushed back 5 feet for every point they failed the save.
If this makes them hit a solid surface or another creature, they both take 1d6 damage for every 5 feet left to move.

[GuyFawkes]

Water becomes even more like a wave and turns to face the rogue. He crashes down on him, the weight of him pushing him back and the force of the impact stunning the man. The swordsman keeps in step and continues to hack at Water, but he is a step too slow to connect.

At the other side of the pool, the other swordsman circles around Skavos and throws an upward diagonal slash. Even with the half-orc menacing him from behind, the shapeshifter manages to lean back enough so that the sword manages to hit only his armor.

ROUND 2

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=88536)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.
The rogue is stunned for 1 round.

[Dread_Head]

Having been foiled in his attacks against the swordsman Skavos instead turns his attention on the barbarian who had just attacked him. Skavos shifts round into the water before attempting to rend the barbarian with his teeth.

Skavos
HP 56/56
AC: 25, 22 touch, 19 FF
Conditions: DR 10/Silver, 25% Fortification

Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=88586)

Actions
5ft step to P13 (Skavos has a swim speed (from the Heart of Water spell he cast this morning) which I assume lets him 5ft step into the water. If not Skavos will stay where he was before his turn (Q14))
Full Attack
Bite: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]+1 con damage
Bite: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]+1 con damage

[GuyFawkes]

Skavos makes a splash as he goes down into the pool, which he finds is only waist-deep. He then proceeds to menace the half-orc with his bites again, and this time, he succeeds to sink in his teeth into the barbarian's leg. The half-orc howls in pain and retaliates with a downward chop with his axe, putting his weight behind the swing that it penetrates your toughened skin.

The archers continue to fire away, with the leftmost one firing at Water. Despite the target's mass seemingly changing constantly, he steadies his bow and his arrow manages to hit the elemental. The other two takes a shot at Gol. One of the missiles does not even come close, while the other manages to hit the totemist right in his chest.

ROUND 2

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=88724)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.
Water takes 5 piercing damage.
Skavos is dealt 13 slashing damage.
Gol is hit with 8 piercing damage.

[bcool999]

Eugene // Sir Stalwart
HP 57/60 // 30/38
AC 18, 18 Touch, 14 FF // AC 15, 13 Touch, 13 FF
Conditions: 20% Miss chance, Elemental Bullets (Electric)

Holstering his spent pistol to free up a hand, Eugene fires his loaded pistol at the archer to give him something to think about.

Meanwhile, Sir Stalwart closes into melee with the soggy rogue and attempts to remove his head from his shoulders.

MAP
(http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=88778)
Eugene:
Move action: holster pistol
Free action: Switch which hand holds the pistol so it is in his main hand
No-action: 5ft. step towards archer
Standard action: Fire on the archer (On far left nearest Eugene)
Attack: [roll0] (-2 from range penalty included)
Damage: [roll1] + [roll2] Electricity

Sir Stalwart:
Move action: close in on rogue
Standard action: Power attack for -3 to hit +6 to damage
Attack: [roll3]
Damage: [roll4]

[Yael]

Those guys need more help, it seems. Lloyd thought as he turned his sight to the right. He started running towards their comrades to have a 3-on-3 situation at the east. While at the move, the duskblade withdrew his bow and drew his longsword, holding it with both his hands.

Israel Lloyd (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=973270)
Male Chaotic Good Human Duskblade 6, Level 6th, Init +1, HP 50/50, Speed 20 ft.
AC 17, Touch 11, Flat-footed 16, Fort +9, Ref +4, Will +8, Base Attack Bonus 6/+1
+1 Enhancement Longsword +10/+5 (1d8 + 5, 19-20 / x2)
+1 Enhancement Breastplate, (+6 Armor, +1 Dex)
Abilities Str 16, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 10
Condition None

Lloyd moves from his position four squares east. While on the move, he withdraws his bow as part of his Move Action.
As his second Move Action, Lloyd walks two squares east and one northeast, ending adjacent with the Fighter. As part of this second Move Action, Lloyd draws his longsword, holding it with his two hands.I have no access to the map, it won't load, so I'll just specify as I remember.

[Qwertystop]

Gol
Keep focused... keep it together... going wild won't help...

"I am trying to help you here," Gol snaps at Skavos.

HP 34/42
AC: 21, 14 touch, 17 FF
Conditions/Other Modifiers: Flanking
5-foot step to R14
Attack Fighter 1:
Attack roll: [roll0]
Damage roll: [roll1] bludgeoning + [roll2] cold.
Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=88923)

[GuyFawkes]

Master and puppet go into action, with Eugene taking the archer and Sir Stalwart going for the rogue. Both are unsuccessful with their attacks; Eugene's bullet goes wide to the left, clanging and ricocheting off the invisible wall of the room while Sir Stalwart's swing goes harmlessly over the stunned rogue's head.

Israel decides to forego ranged combat and stick to what he does best; fight with his sword. He engages the swordsman to the right, and Gol takes advantage of double-teaming him. he drops his head and lunges, this time his horn tearing through metal and flesh.

Up from the bluff, the wizard reappears on the ledge and throws a ray at Water, which sizzles and as it hits the elemental.

scorching ray
ROUND 2

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=89344)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.
Water is hit with 11 fire damage.

[Jyssika]

Arcane arts!
Water boils with anger as the ray of burning heat blasts a large
cloud of steam from his back.

Water takes a step deeper back into the water; evidently happy
to have both himself and his opponant waist deep in the pool.

Common: Surrender; you need not have to die!


http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=89402

3 Fast healing (Pending dispel on ray attack or not hp is either of the 2 values listed in HP box)

5ft step then grabble vs rogue.
Presumably no AoO due to stunned.

Touch attack [roll0] +1 extra for both being in water.
Grapple Check [roll1] +1 extra for both being in water.

[GuyFawkes]

Water surges in to the water, and next towards the stunned rogue who could do nothing to thwart the elemental's grasp. His comrade comes in closer to his aid, hacking at Water and connecting with his blade.

On the other side, the swordsman regards Israel but turns back at Gol as he is hit with his horn attack. He steps to the side and swings inward to the left, but the totemist is ready to block that sword.

ROUND 2

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=89482)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.
Water is dealt 10 slashing damage.

[Dread_Head]

Skavos shifts round in the water to pin his foe between himself and Gol before unleashing another pair of savage bite attacks.


Skavos
HP 53/56
AC: 25, 22 touch, 19 FF
Conditions: DR 10/Silver, 25% Fortification

Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=89605)

Actions
5ft step to P12
Full Attack
Bite: [roll0]+2 from flanking
Damage: [roll1]+1 con damage
Bite: [roll2]+2 from flanking
Damage: [roll3]+1 con damage[/QUOTE]

[GuyFawkes]

Skavos works around the half-orc and lunges in with his fangs. This time, both his attempts connect, tearing through flesh and liberating lots of blood. This enrages the half-orc and he roars in fury. He keeps in step with Skavos and swings down his axe with so much force he could not control it, and the shapeshifter dodges the telegraphed attack easily. Noticing their comrade in trouble, the archers once again switch targets, this time focusing on Skavos. One arrow misses badly, but the other sinks into the shapeshifter's tough skin. The other archer shoots at the small puppet and grazes Sir Stalwart's arm.

ROUND 2

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=89632)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.
Skavos takes 6 piercing damage.
Sir Stalwart is dealt 4 piercing damage.

[bcool999]

Annoyed at the wizard's return, Eugene attempts to teach him the error of that decision with more gunfire.

Meanwhile, Sir Stalwart seeks nearby cover from the archer above and then continues his assault on his master's enemies. Starting with the swordsman attempting to save his captured ally.


Eugene // Sir Stalwart
HP 57/60 // 26/38
AC 18, 18 Touch, 14 FF // 15, 13 Touch, 13 FF
Conditions: 20% miss chance, Elemental Bullets (Electric)

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=89633)

Eugene: 5ft. step
Move: Reload
Standard: Attack Wizard
Attack: (Distance penalty included)
Damage: [roll1] + [roll2]

Sir Stalwart: Move to space on map (Should grant cover from archer fire)
Standard: Attack Fighter

Attack: [roll3]
Damage: [1d8+4

[Yael]

This is where I demonstrate that I am a worthy swordsman! Come on, Lloyd! Quicky spoke to himself, as he approached the foe in front of him. Gyah! He shout as he swong his sword for the first time, holding his hand with both his hands hoping to get that hit with style.

Israel Lloyd (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=973270)
Male Chaotic Good Human Duskblade 6, Level 6th, Init +1, HP 50/50, Speed 20 ft.
AC 17, Touch 11, Flat-footed 16, Fort +9, Ref +4, Will +8, Base Attack Bonus 6/+1
+1 Enhancement Longsword +10/+5 (1d8 + 5, 19-20 / x2)
+1 Enhancement Breastplate, (+6 Armor, +1 Dex)
Abilities Str 16, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 10
Condition None

Lloyd 5-foot steps to the square adjacent to him as a free action.
Lloyd Full Attacks Fighter 1 with his longsword, which he is holding with both of his hands. Calling for a -2/+4 Power Attack.

Attack Roll: [roll0]
Damage Roll: [roll1]Attack Roll: [roll2]
Damage Roll: [roll3]
Attack Roll: [roll4]
Damage Roll: [roll5]Attack Roll: [roll6]
Damage Roll: [roll7]

[Qwertystop]

Skavos' scuffle has shifted out of reach - too far to maintain the flank without taking a hit. The other one, then, with the overdramatic lunatic.

Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=89651) updated for Lloyd. You were unclear - there are two squares to which you could five-foot and from which you could attack. I went with Q16 as opposed to Q15, and am making my move assuming that. If I'm wrong, it can be modified easily.

HP 34/42
AC: 21, 14 touch, 17 FF
Conditions/Other Modifiers: Flanking

5-foot step to S14
Attack Fighter 1: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] bludgeoning + [roll2] cold.

[GuyFawkes]

Israel and Gol team up on the swordsman, and their concerted effort pays off. Israel immediately shows his worth as a swordsman, connecting solidly with his first swing, but perhaps gets over-excited and mistimes his swing, missing wide on the second. Gol capitalizes on the distraction and drives his horn into the swordsman, connecting yet again. The swordsman is bloodied, but he still stands.

Eugene fires again at the wizard, and it looks like he is getting used to the new guns since his bullet finds its target once more. His trusty companion does not share his fate, though, as its attacks are still ineffective.

Up above, the wizard curses loudly as another bullet hits him. He knows another such hit could be the end of him, but he starts another spell anyway. And for this one, he needs to get closer to his target, and obviously, to his opponents.

He just hopes they would miss.

As he finishes his spell, he throws a ray at Skavos. The ray connects and the shifter is not hurt, but instead is almost instantly sapped of his strength.

ray of enfeeblement
ROUND 3

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=89656)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.
Skavos suffers 5 penalty to Strength.

[Jyssika]

Water; still clinging to the now struggling rogue
who does not seem intent on answering his demands
attempts to drag the fool deeper into the pond,
hoping to lure the swordsman to follow where
he will be easy prey for the sharklike elemental.

Common: Do you not know how to speak whelp?


Fast Healing 3

Grapple check to move both him and the rogue 5ft (effectively a 5ft step) south east i13 j13 respectively.
[roll0] +1 for both being in water.

After Grapple check Water will convert 2 Str to 2 Dex as a swift action.

[GuyFawkes]

Water uses brute strength to pull the thug further into the pool, and the man could do nothing to stand his ground. Recovering his body control, he contorts and squirms to escape the elemental's grasp. His companion keeps in step with them - now going into the pond - and continues to hack at Water. He exploits an opening from the elemental's effort at dragging the rogue and scores a solid blow.

At the other side of the pool, the other swordsman re-positions himself to escape the flank. He still focuses on Gol and brings his sword up once more. With a strong downward cut, he blows through Gol's defense and cuts his shoulder.

ROUND 3

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=89943)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.
Gol is hit with 10 slashing damage.
Water takes 16 slashing damage.

[Dread_Head]

Skavos roars in anger at the wizard in response to the weakness he now feels in his bones. He then start moving towards the wizard before remembering his current combatant. He howls once more before attempting to bite the barbarian twice more.


Skavos
HP 53/56
AC: 25, 22 touch, 19 FF
Conditions: DR 10/Silver, 25% Fortification

Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=90041)

Actions
5ft step to P11
Full Attack
Bite: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]+1 con damage
Bite: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3]+1 con damage

[GuyFawkes]

The wizard's spell seems to be effective, as Skavos' bites lose their snap from before, and his opponent manages to defend himself from them this time. The half-orc then retaliates with another heavy swing, and while the shifter is weakened, he is still very much capable of avoiding such clumsy an attack.

The archers continue their volley from up above, this time choosing Sir Stalwart and Skavos as their targets. Three more arrows fly, but none hit their mark.

ROUND 3

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=90173)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.

[bcool999]

Eugene and Sir Stalwart

Seeing the ray that stuck his ally Skavos, Eugene decides he has had enough of that wizard. "Charge Sir Stalwart! Strike down the enemy spellcaster!" While he gives his order, Eugene quickly reloads and fires at the wizard himself, giving his foe no chance to prepare himself for the coming assault.

Hearing his master's order, Sir Stalwart lets out a massive roar as he launches himself at the wizard. "For my Master! HRRRAAAAAAGH!"

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=90202)
Eugene // Sir Stalwart
HP 57/60 // 26/38
AC 18, 18 Touch, 14 FF // 13, 11 Touch, 11 FF (-2 for charging applied)
Conditions: 20% miss chance, Elemental Bullets (Electric)

Eugene: Move action reload
Standard action attack on the wizard
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] + [roll2]

Sir Stalwart:
Full Round Action: Charge the wizard. Power attack for -2, +4
Attack: [roll3]
Damage: [roll4]

[Yael]

Arcane fluff? Yes please! Israel shouts while he lets his sword to do some weird stuff with his hands, making his sword to emanate electricity, for which he swings it towards the warrior.
Behold! Lloyd speaks as he holds his weapon with his two hands and deliver what he thinks may be the killing blow.

Israel Lloyd (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=973270)
Male Chaotic Good Human Duskblade 6, Level 6th, Init +1, HP 50/50, Speed 20 ft.
AC 17, Touch 11, Flat-footed 16, Fort +9, Ref +4, Will +8, Base Attack Bonus 6/+1
+1 Enhancement Longsword +10/+5 (1d8 + 5, 19-20 / x2)
+1 Enhancement Breastplate, (+6 Armor, +1 Dex)
Abilities Str 16, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 10
Condition None
Spells per Day:
• 0: 6.
• 1st: 6 (-1 this turn).
• 2nd: 3.

Lloyd performs a 5-ft. Step from Q16 to Q15 as a free action.
As a Standard Action, Israel arcane channels his spell: Shocking Grasp (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/shockingGrasp.htm) into his longsword, following it witn a single attack towards Fighter 1, for which he calls for a -2/+4 Power Attack.
Attack Roll: [roll0] (I don't know if the +3 to the attack roll is made if the enemy has metal armor, so I won't add it, but if it applies, please add it.)
Damage Roll: [roll1]Attack Roll: [roll2] (Same as with normal attack roll)
Damage Roll: [roll3]
Plus [roll4] electricity damage.
MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=90267)

[Qwertystop]

Keep circling, keep it together... now!

HP 34/42
AC: 21, 14 touch, 17 FF
Conditions/Other Modifiers: Flanking

5-foot step to R13
Attack Barbarian: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] bludgeoning and [roll2] cold
Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=90676)

[GuyFawkes]

In a blink of an eye, the group manages to turn the tide in their favor. Eugene locks in on the foolish wizard with his sights and fires, and the robed man does not even see what hits him. He catches the bullet straight on his forehead, and he goes down without even a sound but a thud as his dead body hits the ground. Israel charges his sword with magic and his blow impacts the swordsman's full plate with a loud and scintillating display that is more than enough to take care of his target. With his opponent dead, Gol turns his horns towards the half-orc. His attack impacts with much force, and the barbarian looks to be dead. However, he is kept standing by his sheer rage.

ROUND 4

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=90693)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.
Fighter 1 is dead.
Wizard is dead.

[Jyssika]

Water growing tired of the mans silence realises he
must act; further spurred on by the mechanical puppet
having dropped the Wizard, a task he wished to do
personally.



HP 49/68
AC: 15, 10 touch, 15 FF
Conditions/Other Modifiers: Water Mastery, Fast Healing 3, DR 3, In Grapple.

Fast Healing 3

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=90693)

Attempt to Pin the Rogue
[roll0] +1 For both being in water.

[GuyFawkes]

Water presses down even more and succeeds on pinning the rogue, who growls as he tries to get away still. The swordsman relentlessly comes at him, clearly intent on using the elemental's struggle with his comrade to land his attacks, and he does.

ROUND 4

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=90732)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.
Rogue is pinned (and awaiting Water's grapple check).
Water is dealt 6 slashing damage.

[Dread_Head]

Angered by his previous failure Skavos attacks his foe again whilst roaring. He tears first at his opponents throat then tries to open up his leg with his savage jaw.

Skavos
HP 53/56
AC: 25, 22 touch, 19 FF
Conditions: DR 10/Silver, 25% Fortification

Map remains the same

Actions
Full Attack
Bite: [roll0] (includes +2 from flanking)
Damage: [roll1]+1 con damage
Bite: [roll2] (includes +2 from flanking)
Damage: [roll3]+1 con damage

[GuyFawkes]

Skavos' savage assault connects and is enough to finally drop the half-orc. With their melee buffers almost non-existent, the archers act defensively, focusing on the nearest threat: Sir Stalwart. Their concerted ranged attacks all connect, dealing the puppet considerable damage.

ROUND 4

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=90993)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.
Rogue is grappled.
Barbarian is dead.
Sir Stalwart is hit with 3, 5, and 7 piercing damage.

[bcool999]

Eugene & Sir Stalwart
HP 57/60 // 11/37
AC 18, 14 FF, 18 T // AC 15, 13 FF, 13 T
Conditions: Concealment 20%, Elemental Bullets (Electricity)

Grimacing as Sir Stalwart gets feathered with arrows, Eugene thinks it's time to show those archers that they aren't as safe as their superior positioning would suggest. "Get those archers Sir Stalwart!" Eugene urges his ally on while reloading. He then levels his pistol and fires a shot at the archer directly in front of him up on the bluff.

Meanwhile, Sir Stalwart is in a sorry state, feathered with arrows, tiny blue streams of mana can be seen escaping his form where the shafts pierced his inhuman flesh. However, despite the damage to his body, Sir Stalwart is undeterred from his mechanical persistence. He moves up the bluff and starts to menace the nearest archer with his scythe.

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=91002)

Eugene's actions:
Move action: reload
Free: talk
Standard: Attack Archer 1 (leftmost one)
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] + [roll2]

Sir Stalwart:
Double move up to position on Map, threatening archer 2.

[Qwertystop]

Gol stops to catch his breath, and steps out of the way of the lunatic (the one with the axe) as they topple. He remains on guard for incoming arrow-fire as he goes to stand by Skavos.

"Just the fragile ones left now, hm..."


HP 34/42
AC: 25, 18 touch, 21 FF
Conditions/Other Modifiers: Taking Total Defense
Moved to Q11
Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=91176)

[Yael]

Yeah! Teamwork! Lloyd shouts as Gol gets close and attacks the fighter, then he effectively sidesteps behind the fighter to attack at full power. Once again, Arcane Fluff: Shocking Grasp! But even before he deliver his full strength attack, he adds another arcane essence into his friend. Behold my True strength!

Israel Lloyd (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=973270)
Male Chaotic Good Human Duskblade 6, Level 6th, Init +1, HP 50/50, Speed 20 ft.
AC 17, Touch 11, Flat-footed 16, Fort +9, Ref +4, Will +8, Base Attack Bonus 6/+1
+1 Enhancement Longsword +10/+5 (1d8 + 5, 19-20 / x2)
+1 Enhancement Breastplate, (+6 Armor, +1 Dex)
Abilities Str 16, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 10
Condition Flanking Fighter 1.
Spells per Day:
• 0: 6.
• 1st: 4 (-2 this turn).
• 2nd: 3.

Lloyd performs a 5-ft. Step from Q15 to R15 as a Free Action.
Using Quick Cast, Lloyd casts True Strike (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/trueStrike.htm) as a Swift Action.
As a Standard Action, Israel arcane channels his spell: Shocking Grasp (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/shockingGrasp.htm) into his longsword, following it witn a single attack towards Fighter 1, for which he calls for a -6/+12 Power Attack.
Attack Roll: [roll0] (I don't know if the +3 to the attack roll is made if the enemy has metal armor, so I won't add it, but if it applies, please add it, flanking bonus applied.)
Damage Roll: [roll1]Attack Roll: [roll2] (Same as with normal attack roll)
Damage Roll: [roll3]
Plus [roll4] electricity damage.
MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=91182)

[GuyFawkes]

Eugene and Sir Stalwart make their move on the archers. Eugene's bullet hits but fails to penetrate armor while Sir Stalwart brings his scythe up to menace another archer. Gol also moves in, but is more cautious in doing so. Israel, meanwhile, seems to be fixated on showing more of his prowess and keeps on hacking at the already-dead swordsman.

ROUND 5

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=91589)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.
Rogue is grappled.

[Jyssika]

Water chuckles; bubbles and swash rippling through his
body as it warps and bends into a wall of water and crashes
over the rogue and fighter now waist deep in their own deaths.

Deep water still, runs!


HP 49/68
AC: 18, 13 touch, 15 FF
Conditions/Other Modifiers: Fast Healing 3, DR 3.


Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=91662)
Fast Healing 3
Free Action to stop pinning and grappling Rogue.
Swift action to swap 6 Str to Dex.
Standard action to Form of the Wave.diagnally between the Rogue and Fighter hitting both.


[roll0] (d8's) because both under water? (If not its d6's)
(Reflex save for half, DC 18)

[GuyFawkes]

Water crashes over the two in a form that resembles a real wave. The attack catches the swordsman full on, while the rogue is nimble enough to avoid most of the damage but is still hurt considerably. They immediately come up and go after the elemental in the same tactic they deployed earlier: the swordsman up front and the rogue behind. Both lunge in simultaneously, and both connect.

ROUND 5

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=91848)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.
Water is hit with 8 slashing and 3 piercing damage.

[Dread_Head]

"Yes, lets go crush them" Skavos replies to Gol before bounding up the slope howling to a position where he threatens one of the archers.

Skavos
HP 53/56
AC: 25, 22 touch, 19 FF
Conditions: DR 10/Silver, 25% Fortification

Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=91858)

Double move to E3

[GuyFawkes]

Skavos bounds up the bluff and stops just near the leftmost archer, who responds by dropping his bow and drawing a sword and dagger. He circles Skavos to the left and lunges in with his right sword and left dagger, but the shifter simply brushes the attacks aside. The other two keep their bows and fire at Sir Stalwart, both sinking their arrows in.

ROUND 5

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=91863)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.
Sir Stalwart is dealt 7 and 2 piercing damage.

[bcool999]

Eugene & Sir Stalwart
HP 57/60 // 2/38
AC 18, 18 Touch, 14 FF // AC 15, 13 T, 13 FF
Conditions: Concealment 20% miss chance, Elemental Bullets (Electric)

With the last two arrows hitting him, Sir Stalwart looks to be in a sorry state. Mana leaks profusely from his joints and wounds, and his movements are jerky and slow with the loss of the energy that animates him. Still he plows onward, defiantly striking at the archer before him with the last of his strength.

Meanwhile, Eugene also puts pressure on the archers by blasting one of the archers on the right bluff. Leaving the lone archer on the right to the jaws of Skavos.

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=91891)

Sir Stalwart will attempt to go out in a blaze of glory with a full power attack! (-4 to hit, +8 damage)
5ft. step to threaten archer and attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Eugene will attack the archer on the right that Sir Stalwart is not attacking.
Attack: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3] + [roll4]

[Qwertystop]

Finally. Back to basics.
Charge, turn, and bash.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

HP 34/42
AC: 19, 12 touch, 15 FF
Conditions/Other Modifiers: Charging (-2 AC but +2 attack, accounted for)
Charging at Fighter 2
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] bludgeoning plus [roll2] cold.

Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=92262)

[GuyFawkes]

Perhaps in the heat of his precarious situation, Sir Skavos' swing is much more crisp than before, and his scythe connects with a vengeance. Eugene, on the other hand, seems to have lost his touch, probably due to the distance, and misses widely.

Gol goes back to his favored routine and charges the swordsman on the other side of the pool, and his attack hits with a loud crass, but the swordsman still stands despite the damage. Israel, left on his own, looks around the battlefield and decides to intimate his prowess with the sword to the archers up top.

ROUND 6

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=92757)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.

[Jyssika]

Water; asthough comming full circle steps back from
between the two assailants and assumes his original
form, the graceful elegant elemental humanoid form
he originally introduced himself as to his fellow party
members.

He flashes strange look to Gol before attempting to blast
the rogue off his feet.
# (http://hydra-media.cursecdn.com/dota2.gamepedia.com/0/00/Mrph_kill_09.mp3)Didn't you see me waving!


HP 47/68
AC: 20, 15 touch, 15 FF
Conditions/Other Modifiers: Fast Healing 3, DR 3.


Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=92954)
Fast Healing 3
5ft Step
Swift action to swap 4 Str to Dex.
Standard action Aqua Bolt (ranged) the rogue.

[roll0]
If hits
[roll1]

Fort save with DC 13 or be Stunned for 1 round (dazed if they're immune to stun), and on a Reflex save with DC 18 or be pushed back 5 feet for every point they failed the save.
If this makes them hit a solid surface or another creature, they both take 1d6 damage for every 5 feet left to move.

[GuyFawkes]

Water's aqua bolt finally takes the fight out of the pesky rogue - even at the last moment he tries to take advantage of an opening the elemental's attack presents him - and he slowly crumples down to the ground. The swordsman ignores the newcomer Gol and sticks with Water, but his swing is off, apparently from the panic of seeing his comrade fall.

ROUND 6

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=92808)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.
Rogue is down.

[Dread_Head]

Skavos' powerful jaws tear once then twice at the archers torso before he sits back on his haunches as he abruptly seems worn out. His spell wears off and he falls out of his spinning stance appearing visibly fatigued.

Skavos
HP 48/51
AC: 16, 16 touch, 14 FF
Conditions: DR 10/Silver, 25% Fortification

Map unchanged

Full Attack
Bite: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] + 1 Constitution damage
Bite: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3] + 1 Constitution damage
Bite of the Wererat and Whirling Frenzy end

[GuyFawkes]

Skavos feels the effects of the wizard's spell once more as his attacks lose their speed and power. Then, his own spell ends, to which the archer capitalizes. He drops his bow and draws a sword and dagger, immediately coming at Skavos. His lead sword is deftly parried by the shifter, though he fails to see the trailing dagger which pierces his side.

At the other side, the archer hit by Sir Stalwart steps back to get out of his range and fires at him, hitting the puppet on the chest. His comrade also fires, and his arrow hits the center of Sir Stalwart's face. After receiving the attack, the space around the puppet seems to warp, and he disappears into thin air.

ROUND 6

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=93279)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.
Skavos is hit with 2 piercing damage.

[bcool999]

Eugene
HP 57/60
AC 18, 18 Touch, 14 FF
Conditions: Concealment 20% miss chance, Elemental Bullets (Electric)

Scowling as Sir Stalwart falls to the slings and arrows of their enemies (mostly arrows but that lacks a certain poetry), Eugene reloads his pistol and takes aim at the thug who finished off his ally.

Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=93362) Unchanged save for changing Sir Stalwart's border color to white to show that he is down and out of this fight.

Eugene will attack the archer that finished off Sir Stalwart. (I assume the one on the cliff edge far right, Archer 1)
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] + [roll2]

[Qwertystop]

Gol moves to behind the warrior who so rudely ignored him, and continues to bash.

HP 34/42
AC: 21, 14 touch, 17 FF
Conditions/Other Modifiers: Flanking (+2 attack, accounted for)
Attacking Fighter 2
Attack: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1] bludgeoning plus [roll2] cold.

Map. (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=93430)

[GuyFawkes]

Gol goes at the swordsman, but he seems less efficient in this than charging. On the other side, Israel rushes up the bluff to close in on the two archers on the left.

ROUND 7

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=93542)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.

[Jyssika]

Water steps back before finally turning on the swordsman
whom had thus far he had ignored.

Time for a soaking!


HP 50/68
AC: 20, 15 touch, 15 FF
Conditions/Other Modifiers: Fast Healing 3, DR 3.


Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=93557)
Fast Healing 3
5ft Step
Standard action Aqua Bolt (ranged) the fighter.

[roll0] -4 for firing into Melee.
If hits
[roll1]

Fort save with DC 13 or be Stunned for 1 round (dazed if they're immune to stun), and on a Reflex save with DC 18 or be pushed back 5 feet for every point they failed the save.
If this makes them hit a solid surface or another creature, they both take 1d6 damage for every 5 feet left to move.

[GuyFawkes]

Water finishes off the last opponents below with a resounding water crash on metal armor.

ROUND 7

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=93587)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.

[Dread_Head]

Hmmm, this isn't working out so great anymore. Damn that wizard. Time for a different tactic maybe.

Skavos backs away from the archer and begins chanting and gesturing to invoke a spell. Meanwhile the orange and black striped fur retracts from his body and his jaws shrink back to their usual size.

Skavos
HP 48/51
AC: 16, 16 touch, 14 FF
Conditions: DR 10/Silver, 25% Fortification

Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=93699)

5-foot step to
Full round action: Cast Summon Natures Ally III (by spontaneously converting his Sleet Storm spell)
Shifting ends.

[GuyFawkes]

When Skavos begins his spell, the archer immediately lunges forward with his sword, then follows up with his dagger, but the shifter deftly dodges them while concentrating. On the other side, the closer of the two archers drop his bow and draw a similar pair of sword and dagger and steps forward to meet Israel. Perhaps the latter did not expect his quarry's move or he just is not paying attention, but when the archer swings at him, Israel's sword comes up to meet the attacker's weapons a step too late, and he suffers damage from both.

ROUND 7

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=93809)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.
Israel takes 9 slashing and 4 piercing damage.

[Yael]

Gah! After a "piercing feeling", Israel snaps out of his sudden daydreaming that lasted quite long, meditating about slashing with all his arcane might against an already dead being... You...! Lloyd's only reaction is to attack back, channeling his sword and trying to deliver damage towards the archer.

Israel Lloyd (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=973270)
Male Chaotic Good Human Duskblade 6, Level 6th, Init +1, HP 37/50, Speed 20 ft.
AC 17, Touch 11, Flat-footed 16, Fort +9, Ref +4, Will +8, Base Attack Bonus 6/+1
+1 Enhancement Longsword +10/+5 (1d8 + 5, 19-20 / x2)
+1 Enhancement Breastplate, (+6 Armor, +1 Dex)
Abilities Str 16, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 10
Condition: None.
Spells per Day:
• 0: 6.
• 1st: 3 (-1 this turn).
• 2nd: 3.

Lloyd performs a 5-ft. Step from P3 to Q3 as a Free Action.
As a Standard Action, Israel arcane channels his spell: Shocking Grasp (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/shockingGrasp.htm) into his longsword, following it witn a single attack towards Fighter 1, for which he calls for a -4/+8 Power Attack.
Attack Roll: [roll0] (I don't know if the +3 to the attack roll is made if the enemy has metal armor, so I won't add it, but if it applies, please add it, flanking bonus applied.)
Damage Roll: [roll1]Attack Roll: [roll2] (Same as with normal attack roll)
Damage Roll: [roll3]
Plus [roll4] electricity damage.
MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=94108)

[bcool999]

Eugene
HP 57/60
AC 18, Touch 18, FF 14
Conditions: 20% miss chance, Elemental Bullets (electric)

"Tch" Eugene scoffs as yet another shot goes wide. Time to close the distance I suppose. He thinks as he moves forward, waving at Water and Gol as he passes.

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=94109)

Eugene double moves to spot on map tumbling past the fighter (and taking a -10 to the check to go full speed)
Tumble (DC 15): [roll0]

Nevermind, just realized the the fighter was no more a few posts back.

[Qwertystop]

Gol sighs as his last opponent is removed, and runs up the slope to assist in taking down the archers.
Double-move to M1
Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=94293)

[GuyFawkes]

Israel retaliates with a heavy chop at the archer-turned-dual-wielding-swordsman. His sword bites hard and tears through armor and flesh and the spell lays down the finishing blow, shocking the poor man into unconsciousness. He falls down on the ground, his whole body still twitching with spasms.

With all enemies below taken care of, both Gol and Eugene move up closer.

ROUND 8

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=94317)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.

[Jyssika]

Water surges forward after the two males intent on
proving himself capable of keeping up with his would
be team mates.

He fires a needle fine jet of water from the low ground
intent on dealing with the further most archer.


HP 53/68
AC: 20, 15 touch, 15 FF
Conditions/Other Modifiers: Fast Healing 3, DR 3.


Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=94336)
Fast Healing 3
45ft Move.
Standard action Aqua Bolt (ranged) the furthest archer..

[roll0]to hit.
If hits
[roll1]

Fort save with DC 13 or be Stunned for 1 round (dazed if they're immune to stun), and on a Reflex save with DC 18 or be pushed back 5 feet for every point they failed the save.
If this makes them hit a solid surface or another creature, they both take 1d6 damage for every 5 feet left to move.

[Dread_Head]

Skavos finishes the spell and backs away from the warrior and the large ferocious looking wolf that had appeared behind him. Skavos then mutters another incantation stretches out his hand and long strands of wet kelp reach out to envelop his foes.

Meanwhile the wolf charges forwards and tears at the warrior with it's savage jaw.

Skavos
HP 48/51
AC: 16, 16 touch, 14 FF
Conditions: DR 10/Silver, 25% Fortification

Dire Wolf (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/direWolf.htm)
HP 45/45
AC: 12, 11 touch, 12 FF
Conditions: N/A

Dire Wolf summoned to A-B 5-6
Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=94737)

Skavos
Move Action: Move to L3 (provoking an AOO)
Standard: Cast Kelpstrand on Archer 1 and Archer 3.
Ranged Touch to hit Archer 1: [roll0]
Grapple on archer 1: [roll1]
Ranged Touch to hit Archer 3: [roll2]
Grapple on archer 3: [roll3]

Dire Wolf
Full round action: Charge to C-D 3-4
Bite: [roll4] (+2 from charging included)
Damage: [roll5]
If attack hits then trip
Strength Check [roll6]

[GuyFawkes]

Water comes closer to the base of the bluff and fires off a water jet with enough power to knock his target, the rightmost archer back just inches off the invisible wall. Skavos finishes his spell and conjures a massive wolf before hightailing it and going for the other side of the bluff. His opponent takes advantage of the opportunity and lashes at him as he turns away, his sword scoring a hit. But before he could follow up his attack, the dire wolf bears down on him from behind and its huge maw clamps on the archer's leg and drags him down to the ground. He rolls up to a stand, providing an opening for the wolf, and swings at it wildly.

Skavos now turns his attention on to the other remaining archer and fires off another spell, a strand of kelp issuing from his fingertips. It hits the archer and wraps around him, slowly tightening and binding him.

ROUND 8

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=95151)

Initiative:
Water: (1d20+5)[22]
Fighter: (1d20+2)[21]
Rogue: (1d20+3)[16]
Skavos: (1d20+5)[14]
Barbarian: (1d20+1)[14]
Archers: (1d20+3)[10]
Eugene: (1d20+5)[11]
Israel: (1d20+1)[7]
Gol: (1d20+4)[6]
Wizard: (1d20)[6]

Tactical:
The bluff is 20 feet high, and you can go up through the slope at j4 to m4. Creatures 10 feet from the edge of the bluff have no LoS to creatures below, and vice versa.
Trees at c8-d9, g5-h6, and t12-u13 provide cover.
Skavos is hit with 4 slashing damage.

[bcool999]

Eugene
HP 57/60
AC 22, Touch 18, FF 18
Conditions: 20% miss chance, Elemental Bullets (electric), Mana Armor

Finally moving up the slope and finding himself on equal ground with the archers made Eugene realize that perhaps it would be best to add a touch more protection if he was going to be this close to the action. Calling on his mana, he adds to the protective mist surrounding him and then thickens it, the result being a protective layer of magic which should turn aside most blades and arrows.

MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=95159)

Move Action: Eugene moves next to where Sir Stalwart fell.
Standard Action: Uses Mana Armor to gain +4 armor AC

[Qwertystop]

Too many bodies to build up speed... best to be cautious.

HP 34/42
AC: 25, 19 touch, 17 FF
Conditions/Other Modifiers: +4 dodge to AC (not flat-foot, I guess) from Total Defense

Moving to S2 and taking a Total Defense action.

Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=95368)

[Yael]

"This is getting lengthy...!" Lloyd mumbles, "Better to be careful, here." He says as he starts moving his hands in an specific pattern. "Behold the endurance of a mighty bear!" He says as he cast a spell on himself.

Israel Lloyd (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=973270)
Male Chaotic Good Human Duskblade 6, Level 6th, Init +1, HP 49/62, Speed 20 ft.
AC 17, Touch 11, Flat-footed 16, Fort +11, Ref +4, Will +8, Base Attack Bonus 6/+1
+1 Enhancement Longsword +10/+5 (1d8 + 5, 19-20 / x2)
+1 Enhancement Breastplate, (+6 Armor, +1 Dex)
Abilities Str 16, Dex 12, Con 16, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 10
Condition: Constitution Enhanced (Turns 1/60).
Spells per Day:
• 0: 6.
• 1st: 3 .
• 2nd: 2 (-1 this turn).

Lloyd cast into himself Bear's Endurance (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/bearsEndurance.htm) as a Standard Action.
MAP (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=95368)

Green means modified upwards.
Red means modified downwards.

[Jyssika]

Finally making it up to the top of the bluff Water
swaps targets; not wishing to navigate the sea of
bodies and team mates between him and his
catch.


HP 56/68
AC: 20, 15 touch, 15 FF
Conditions/Other Modifiers: Fast Healing 3, DR 3.


Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=95425)
Fast Healing 3
30ft Move.
Standard action Aqua Bolt (ranged) the furthest archer..

[roll0] to hit -4 Due to firing into melee.
If hits
[roll1]

Fort save with DC 13 or be Stunned for 1 round (dazed if they're immune to stun), and on a Reflex save with DC 18 or be pushed back 5 feet for every point they failed the save.
If this makes them hit a solid surface or another creature, they both take 1d6 damage for every 5 feet left to move.

[Dread_Head]

Skavos looks down at his empty hands his jaw having shrunk until his teeth were no longer vicious weapons, then he looks at the last standing enemies.
I'm too drained of energy after getting hit by that spell to contribute in this fight any further, especially without my quarterstaff. I'll leave the last couple of enemies to my comrades and to the wolf
He then returns to the spot he dropped his quarterstaff. Meanwhile the wolf tears at the enemy it is fighting once more with it's bite and attempting to drag him from his feet again.


Skavos
HP 48/51
AC: 16, 16 touch, 14 FF
Conditions: DR 10/Silver, 25% Fortification

Dire Wolf
HP 45/45
AC: 14, 11 touch, 12 FF
Conditions: N/A

Map (http://pyromancers.com/media/view/main.swf?round_id=95441)

Skavos' actions
Double move to Q15.

Dire Wolf Actions
Attack: Bite [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]
If successful attack then trip attempt [roll2]
If the guy is tripped and provokes an AoO by standing
Attack: Bite [roll3]
Damage: [roll4]

[GuyFawkes]

The dire wolf makes short work of the archer on the left, with it tearing at his flesh as he tried to stand and another for good measure. With a horrible scream, he is brought down again, and this time, there is no struggle or attempt at getting back up.

The other archer snaps the kelpstrands binding him, only to eat the water bullet shot at him by Water. The force sends him careening back and slamming into the invisible wall, finally squeezing the consciousness out of him, and he slowly slumps down to the ground.

With that, it looks like it is finally over.

"Fight over. Well done, guys!" Harrow's high-pitched, magically-amplified voice fills the room. "Come on out." As he says so, the door reappears where it had been when you got in earlier.

When all of you have finally gone back into the waiting room, Harrow speaks.

"Okay, let's do some self-evaluation here. How would you say you guys did in that fight? Oh, but before that, there are some potions and wands inside that cabinet over there. Go fix yourselves up first."

Basically CLW wands and potions, more than enough to fix everyone up to full health and then some.

[Jyssika]

By the time everyone has made it back into the small room
Water's innate healing has restored him fully, whilst the
others go about healing themselves he takes the initiative
to answer their mentors question.

I could have achieved the same results quicker had I not
been drawn into melee.

[bcool999]

With the battle over, Eugene releases his hold on his mana-formed defenses since they were rather draining to keep up at all times. At the healing cabinet, Eugene feels as right as rain after a single potion, and he recounts the battle.

"We did alright considering that the enemy had superior positioning and ranged/magical support. It might have ended differently had the enemy focused fire on us one at a time, but they seemed to go after the easiest to hit target rather than the most threatening, unfortunately for Sir Stalwart."

When mentioning Sir Stalwart, Eugene pulls the puppet out of his cloak partway. The puppet had indeed seen better days with scars from the recent battle marring its form, but strange magical lights already gleam at the edges of these wounds, ostensibly for the purpose of healing them. Sighing, Eugene returns the puppet to the non-space beneath his cloak, Sir Stalwart will need a few hours before he is ready to rejoin us.

[Dread_Head]

Skavos walks over to the cabinet and draws out one of the wands which he uses to heal himself and anyone else who needs it.

"That was a bit of a slog, between that and this damned spell I couldn't fight much by the end. Maybe I should have thrown out more spells at the start of the battle. But I got a bit caught up in the thrill of the fight and the smell of the blood. Still I was never in any danger from those weaklings."

[Qwertystop]

"Same as last time - I should be something other than a charger, for my own safety. Ranged or not, that's the question."

[Jyssika]

Water looks quizzically towards Gol and Skavos;
bemused that they too shunned the role as melee
compatant.

If we three are not to melee; then who should hold the tides at bay?

Deep bubbling thumps rise inside him as he listens back
to his own sentance and a dolphin like smile grows.

Interesting language you have...

[Qwertystop]

"Oh, I can still fight up close if we need that... but perhaps just with a little more defense, or finesse."

[Dread_Head]

"I can fight, but not very well when I'm drained of strength and only in short bursts otherwise. I can also summon animals such as that wolf to fight for us if we need."

[Jyssika]

Water takes a glance around the group; realizing now that perhaps all of them have
ways of coping should they be forced into melee... The gun wielder atleast being able
to stand behind the puppet.

But you would both consider yourself more effective if not locked in melee?

[bcool999]

Chucking slightly at Water's observation of the front-line fighters of the last battle preferring to change tactics Eugene says, "Strange as it might sound from one who wields pistols, I actually prefer to be in the thick of things rather than sniping from afar. Unfortunately, I am not yet used to the guns I have received from the Carnival, and can't use them to their full potential yet."

Eugene turns to Harrow and asks, "How would you rate our performance instructor? Also, maybe you can satisfy my curiosity as to where the Blood Carnival dregs up all these opponents? I suppose you could take some lifers off the hands of some prisons, but that can't be where they all came from can it?"

[Jyssika]

Water is deeply intrigued by the lean posh looking mans
eagerness to get into melee, he notes for the first time
the small blades on the ends of his ranged weapons
and takes a moment to consider the man in general.

I too would wish to know of the nature of these men
we are faced against; I believe it is wasteful to kill a fish
you do not intend to eat.

Yet... my opponant would not surrender.

His statement is added quickly and respectfully after
Eugene has spoken, not wishing to come across as
interupting him but instead trying to show support
of a question he also would like to have answered.

[Yael]

Lloyd enters the room and rests its back on the wall while he drinks a potion. Overconfidence... I must admit that I was overconfident and I got distracted... He finished off his potion and puts it away. Maybe a better strategy... As a team?

[GuyFawkes]

Harrow nods at each member's response, and when most of them have given their opinion and there is a lull in the conversation, he replies.

"Your points are rather on the spot, mmhmm. And to answer your first question," he looks at Eugene, "...I would give you a seven out of ten for your performance today. Good enough, but from what I can see with your individual potential, you could have done better if you knew how to work as a team."

"For your second question, yes we take most of the people you will face from prisons. These are the ones sentenced to death, so really, we are giving them a chance here. If they fight well enough, they can continue to live longer. And if they last for a year or more, we do give chance to some of them to live a new life, depending on if they have shown they have changed their ways. Some have even made it here into the Carnival."

"We also employ summoned creatures, illusions, and creatures bred by our staff at the Zoo."

"More questions?"

[Jyssika]

Water simply bowed his head slightly as a thanks for the answers and sign he had no more questions.

[Qwertystop]

"None, sir."

[bcool999]

Once more engrossed in the pistols he was given, Eugene listens to his instructor between subtle alterations of grip and balance exercises in order to make the pistols 'feel right' to him. With a grin he responds, "Nothing to lose sleep over then. Though that zoo seems like an interesting place to visit. I am sure the Carnival must have collected quite the menagerie over the years."

[GuyFawkes]

"Oh, yes!" Harrow chirps. "We have some Jokers who specialize in capturing, breeding, and training creatures to fight for them. And they have quite a collection. There are a lot that I have never seen before. You can look around there if you want. If you have no more questions, you can do so now," he dismisses them with a wave of his hand.

"Oh, right. Not before you finish 50 laps around the training grounds. After that, you're free until tomorrow. Tomorrow, you should finish another 50 laps before I meet you at seven in the morning. Got it?"

[bcool999]

Eugene

Not sure if he will ever get used to their instructor's almost absent minded and off hand orders, Eugene blinks for a moment before shrugging and making his way out to the training field to do the laps.

Once there, he sets a quick pace using his mana to improve his speed making this not only a physical form of training, but also strengthening Eugene's ability to generate and draw on his stores of mana.

Sooo... how far is 50 laps? Using his Burst of Speed mana ability each round to increase his speed and Hustling, Eugene can manage 9 miles of jogging in an hour.

[Jyssika]

Water follows just behind Eugine, in no particular rush to complete the task nor wishing to cause insult by over taking him.

At the training ground he assesses the ground knowing it will take him eons should it be dessicated.

Water begins his very slow circuits barely quicker than an elderly dwarf

Water completes his laps at an insane speed, a wave of water torrentially rushing around the circuit.

After finishing: if he is not last, he will patiantly wait for others to complete their laps.

[Yael]

"Laps, my favorite." Israel mumbles. "Fine." Lloyd leaves and starts its training.

Unlike Eugene and Water, Israel runs normally, and after finishing his laps, he sits down, tired actualy.

So, I must do "run" checks every so often. Israel runs four times his land speed (20 feet into 80 feet), for X times his Constitution Score (X being 16), so after 16 rounds Israel would've ran 1,280 feet (or 380 meters). So after he ran his 1,280 feet, he must successfuly do its Constitution checks to continue running afterwards. Israel knows this is quite the task, but he won't cast any spell, instead, he'll just run.

After his 1,280 feet, here are the constitution checks (spoilered inside the spoiler].DC 10 [roll0] Up to 1,360 ft.
DC 11 [roll1] Up to 1,440 ft.
DC 12 [roll2] Up to 1,520 ft. < Stops Here.
DC 13 [roll3] Up to 1,600 ft.
DC 14 [roll4] Up to 1,680 ft.
DC 15 [roll5] Up to 1,760 ft.
DC 16 [roll6] Up to 1,840 ft.
DC 17 [roll7] Up to 1,920 ft.
DC 18 [roll8] Up to 2,000 ft.
DC 19 [roll9] Up to 2,080 ft.
DC 20 [roll10] Up to 2,160 ft.
DC 21 [roll11] Up to 2,240 ft.
DC 22 [roll12] Up to 2,320 ft.
DC 23 [roll13] Up to 2,400 ft. < Maximum posible.After that, Israel rests for a minute (if necesary, cause I don't know the total distance for fifty laps in X court. And continues running.DC 10 [roll14] Up to +1,360 ft.
DC 11 [roll15] +Up to 1,440 ft.
DC 12 [roll16] +Up to 1,520 ft. < Stops Here.
DC 13 [roll17] +Up to 1,600 ft.
DC 14 [roll18] +Up to 1,680 ft.
DC 15 [roll19] +Up to 1,760 ft.
DC 16 [roll20] +Up to 1,840 ft.
DC 17 [roll21] +Up to 1,920 ft.
DC 18 [roll22] +Up to 2,000 ft.
DC 19 [roll23] +Up to 2,080 ft.
DC 20 [roll24] +Up to 2,160 ft.
DC 21 [roll25] +Up to 2,240 ft.
DC 22 [roll26] +Up to 2,320 ft.
DC 23 [roll27] +Up to 2,400 ft. < Maximum posible.

When finishes, Israel sits down to rest, if not the last in doing his training.

[Qwertystop]

Gol simply replies "Yessir" and gets to jogging, likely finishing around the middle of the pack.

Not doing all the math, but speed 30 and Con 17, so ahead of the 30'/16 and 20'/16 (Eugene and Lloyd). Couldn't get Skavos' sheet to load. Almost certainly behind Water, unless it's too arid.

[Dread_Head]

"Laps? Ok if that's what you think best"
Skavos then sets off at a steady jog which nevertheless sees him striding out near/at the front of the group.

Speed = 50ft and Con 16. Extrapolating from the table here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/movement.htm#modesofMovement) he can hustle at 10 miles an hour. I think he'll beat everyone except possibly Water.

After completing the laps Skavos waits for everyone then asks "So who else wants to look round this zoo then?"

[Yael]

Israel takes a deep breath and turns to Skavos. "Nothing like visiting the zoo after having a battle, eh? Count me in." Lloyd whistles to call for its companion, Kuro. When Kuro arrives, he poses on Israel's left shoulder. "We'll take a trip, Kuro." Says to his familiar.

[GuyFawkes]

Skavos and Israel go about towards their trip to the Zoo block right after their laps. After asking around for directions, they see the stone-and-steel wall and lush greenery that they have seen earlier on their tour. They then arrive at the large steel-wrought gate after walking along the wall southwards and enter. The path is made of stone for the first twenty yards or so, but turns into a more narrow dirt path, flanked on both sides by large trees.

After a hundred yards or so, the path diverges to the left and right. A wooden sign in front of you says:

<----The Caverns || Aviary ----->

[Qwertystop]

Gol follows to the zoo, and at the branch, stops.

"Caves, an aviary, and if there's anything else we'd probably have to go out-of-bounds through the trees. What do you think?"

[Jyssika]

Water also falls in step behind his comrades; not rushing now his form returns to
the tall dexterous one.

Wheres the water creatures; I was hoping for a swim.
He says it in such a manner you are reminded of a child blowing bubbles
through water at bathtime... he may even be attempting to make a joke.

[Dread_Head]

I think water creatures more likely in the caves than with the birds. Lets go that way first then although I do want to visit the aviary later.

Skavos heads off down the left branch of the path.

[GuyFawkes]

With Skavos leading the way, the group takes the left fork and proceeds. The scenery does not change much for a minute of walking until you notice the path leading to a low rocky mound. As you come closer, the low mound grows larger, and you reach the entrance where you notice you could not reach the top of the mouth of the cave even if you jumped. To your right, you can see a wooden sign that reads "The Caverns. Watch your step. No running and no loud noises.".

You continue inside, and you can see the cave expand, the ceiling disappearing into the darkness with only some stalactites jutting down and a few pillars reaching down to the ground letting you know that you are inside a cave and not under a starless night sky. To your left and right, magical lanterns in equally-spaced intervals light your path dimly, but enough so you can see well ahead of you or behind you.

After another minute or so, you once again come to a fork, and another sign which reads:

"<-----The Caverns Bestiary || Ranch, The Pool ---->"

[Qwertystop]

"Well, Water, it seems we have our destination."

[Jyssika]

Water bows his head ever so slightly; as Skavros continues to lead he follows at the back.

I wonder if it shall be cool or warm, fresh or salty!

[bcool999]

Eugene

"Considering that this is a zoo, my guess is that the pool will be fishy." Eugene says with a sigh at the end. "Which is a shame since I could use a good sauna or a hot bath after those laps."

[GuyFawkes]

You take the right path, and soon you reach another cave opening. As you exit, you see the path leading to a wide field to the left while your right is bordered by trees. As you follow the path, it is easy to see the two sections mentioned earlier: the one to your left with the tall steel fences and open fields with different beasts roaming around must be the Ranch, and the one to your right with the number of wide bodies of water should be the Pool. Ahead of you, a few people who seem to be the ones tending the place look at you for a few seconds but don't seem to mind at all and go back to whatever it is they are doing.

[Jyssika]

Water rolls forward towards the closest pool;

Aquan: What lives here!
Common: *Slashing, gurgling noises.*

[roll0] Spot check.

[Dread_Head]

"I wonder what beasts they have here" Skavos muttered before heading over to the ranch and wandering around.

[GuyFawkes]

One of the workers approach Water as he calls out to the denizens of the pond.

"A water elemental. If I am not mistaken, you should be the first to join the Carnival. But I am almost always mistaken when it comes to things that don't involve my work here." The man chuckles and crosses his hands over his chest. He looks to be middle-aged, with gray, thinning hair, and an obviously-receding hairline. His skin is dark, and his built looks to be muscular, but more of the type that should have been a warrior in his prime but not anymore.

"This pond right here contains more of the tamer ones we have, like sharks and rays and giant octopus," he continues the conversation in Aquan. "Anything you are looking in particular? Though I am afraid we do not have any of your kind here."

Over at the other side, Skavos walks along the fence, looking in. Inside he could see herds of herbivores roaming about, grazing, with the young playing around. Out to the right, he can vaguely see two great cats stalking among the grass, slowly inching forward for the kill. One of the herbivores closest to the cats seem to notice them, its head rising up and its eyes searching. This signals the two to start the ambush. They lunge in and dart at the herd, which by then have already began to disperse. They single out one of the younglings that got separated in the confusion, leading it to a patch of tall grass. From out of the grass, three other cats emerge and pounce at the young beast, one of them sinking its sharp claws at the buck's hindquarters. In the next instant, another wraps its powerful maws around the prey's neck, and down it goes.

"Amazing, isn't it? Nature at work. I've been watching them for decades, but it never ceases to amaze me."

To Skavos' side, one of the workers stand watching. He is an elf, only about as tall as Skavos' shoulder, with blond hair and wearing dark brown tunic and breeches. His gaze is fixed on the cats and their hunt, and he wears a smile on his face. When the lions have begun their feast, he turns his attention to Skavos.

"Welcome to the Ranch. How may I help you?"

[Jyssika]

Water looks down at the man whom has greeted him and now speaking Aquan.
Its always nice to hear someone speaking your native language; especially if they
are very good at it but its still clearly not their native tongue.

Aquan: I am Swolsh Swoosh Splash Frrrooown;

He holds out a watery hand; attempting to show the same curousy
that the man has shown him by speaking his home tongue.

As you will know my kin do not sleep, I would like to see extra currecular
activities for when my teammates are seeing to their requirements.

[Dread_Head]

Skavos turns to greet the elf.

"My name is Skavos, I'm a new recruit here. My instructor mentioned the zoo earlier and since training had finished for the day I thought I'd come take a look around. I hope we're not disturbing your work, I'd be fascinated to have a look around."

[bcool999]

Eugene

Watching the hunting spectacle play out before him, Eugene is rather impressed with this place. Is this really a zoo, or an artificial ecosystem? Then seeing the lions feast another thought crosses his mind, When was the last time I ate?

He considers pulling out his rifle and trying his hand at a little hunting himself, before remembering that the Carnival was providing meals and likely frowned on such poaching. Besides, Sir Stalwart is still on the mend so I would have to drag it out myself. Eugene thinks with a shake of his head. Before he can say anything about wishing to go and grab a bite to eat, he is betrayed by his body as it makes a quite ignoble growl of hunger.

[GuyFawkes]

The old man smiles and takes Water's hand and shakes it.

"A pleasure to meet you, Swolsh Swoosh Splash Frrrooown. My name is Faren. And what extra curricular activities might you have in mind? Looking around here is possible. Well, we do not usually allow trainees in the water due to safety reasons. But I am sure will have no problems. Though if you are thinking of the more...vigorous activities, I am afraid fighting and harming any denizen of the Zoo is out of the question."

The elf chuckles at Eugene's grumbling stomach. "No, no, not at all. In fact, half of our task here as caretakers is to help trainees if they are interested in knowing more of the creatures we have here in the Zoo. Where do you want to go? If you need food, we also have a canteen here."

[Jyssika]

Water; if the man has any idea how to read the
facial features of an Elemental, looks insulted at
the insinuation he would wish to fight with any of
the creatures.

I do not wish to harm any of the creatures you
keep here; simply aid in their well being and
make their captivity as pleasant as possible.

He bows his head slightly, sorry for his small outburst.

I have been away from my home for quite soom time;
I simply wished find some way or place to remind myself.
We fought in water today, it made me crave home.

Water looks back at to check if the others are getting
impatient; he notices the little one with the little skeleton
creature seemed to be hungry.

I believe my school are in need of food;
but I will hopefully return when they sleep.

[Qwertystop]

Gol just silently looks at some of the animals, vaguely impressed at their size.

[bcool999]

Eugene

With a rueful smile on his face at his faux pas, Eugene recovers quickly and bows gratefully to the elf. "Well at this point it would be rude to decline so I happily acquiesce. Lead on my good man."

He turns to his more... biologically similar companions and asks, "Care to dine gentlemen?" Before following the elf to the canteen.

[Dread_Head]

This place is amazing, I wonder if I would be allowed to work here upon completion of my training.

"Sure I could eat." Skavos follows Eugene and the elf to the canteen.

[GuyFawkes]

Faren does not know of the meaning of water elemental facial nuances, but he does pick up Water's raising voice, and he surely gets his message from there. He chuckles and raises his hands.

"That is possible, yes. In fact it will be my pleasure to guide you when you do so. It is always interesting to find trainees such as yourself who show interest in what we do here. Rest assured, while these creatures are in captivity, we do our very best to simulate much of their natural habitats and living conditions as possible. That way, we obtain the optimum data for our studies. Do come see me when you have the time. Farewell."

When everyone is ready, the elf leads them further down the road for a few minutes walk. They then take a left into a smaller path between two walled-off sections, with the one on the left being the one that contained the lions and the herbivores. The path passes through a copse before they spot a small wooden shack to the right. It is basically four posts holding up a thatched roof, with no walls all around, with a small counter at the middle surrounded by small tables and chairs.

"Got some company with ya, eh Andy?" the rather stocky woman who is tending the counter calls out to the elf. "Trainees, I s'ppose?"

"Yes. And please stop calling me Andy."

"Oh, come on now. I know ya like eet," the woman replies before laughing, which seemed more like snorting for her. "So whadlit be fer ya, laddies? We have fresh deer, pheasant, and wolf meat. All thanks to Andy here, 'course. We also got fresh fish. Just tell me which one you like and how ya want eet cooked."

[Qwertystop]

"Whatever's simplest."

[bcool999]

Eugene

Taking a seat at one of the nearby tables, Eugene contemplates his choices a moment and says, "I think I will try the Venison, medium-well if you would be so kind."

[Dread_Head]

"Wolf please and bloody." Skavos says as he moves forwards and takes a seat at the table. Then he looks at his companions. "So why'd y'all sign up then? ... or is that a rude question ... I'm sorry don't feel you have to answer."

[bcool999]

Eugene

While waiting for his meal, Eugene considers the question Skavos posed and how he would respond. "Well rude question or not I will answer it all the same." Eugene says with a smirk, "I am not sure how much you know about nobility, but being a fourth born son like myself brings with it a great deal of freedom as long as you don't embarrass the family. However, that freedom is contingent on the fact that a marriage alliance doesn't need to be made at the moment. I think my reason for being here is fairly obvious at this point."

"Besides, the only thing in my life that has truly belonged to me and not my family has been my skill." Eugene says as he pulls out a pistol from nowhere, "I heard that the Carnival will value me more for that than my genes or family so the choice was natural."

[Qwertystop]

"It's... long, but here's the short. I was trying to learn new things, mixing two kinds of magic to bring other into self. It worked... and then I was a lot better at fighting than at research."

[Yael]

Israel just followed along his teammates all along. "Nice place." sometimes escapes his mouth while chats with Kuro, his familiar.
When in the table, Lloyd sits on whichever chair is unoccupied at the time. While the raven stands on his shoulder, jumping to the chair from time to time.

[GuyFawkes]

"A'ryt, good tastes." the woman nods as she mentally takes note of your orders. "How 'bout you two?" she points at Water and Israel. "I'm not sure you be needin' anythin' to eet," she says to Water, "but you," she now looks at Israel, "what d'you be cravin'? I'm supposin' yer little birdie right there needs somethin' to be chewin' on too?"

[Jyssika]

Water inclines his head;
Thank you, I am self sufficient.

He moves to the table; and sits... his form awkwardsly
warps and morphs to incorporate the chair/stool, it really doesn't
particularly look as though he is sitting at all but simply attempting
to fit in.

[GuyFawkes]

You wait for a little while as the woman prepares your food. While doing so, Faren asks each of you about your personal details and shares some of his. Not before long, the woman returns with a tray full of food. Even before she lays them down on the table before you, you can smell the wonderful aroma, a promise of some gastronomic treat from the bland food you eat at the mess hall.

Faren converses with the woman as he waits for you to finish your meal, and when you do, he returns to your table.

"Now that your stomachs are filled, perhaps you wish to feed your curiosity now? Where would you like to go? What would you like to see?"

[Jyssika]

Water looks at his companions, he did not wish to
see anything further... although he did wish to be
allowed to enter some of the water pools but presumed
that wasn't what Faren had in mind.

[Dread_Head]

"I thank you for your food Faren. I would like to walk for a while and see what animals you have here before returning to my quarters. Are we free to wander as we wish here? Obviously I mean no harm to the animals and I won't enter any fenced off areas." Skavos says.

[bcool999]

Eugene

After enjoying his food, Eugene ponders the question of what to do next, when he remembers how inefficient shot and powder was and decides to remedy that annoyance. "I might go and see if I can find a shooting range... My performance today was... less than excellent." Says Eugene with a self depreciating grin as he rises from his seat, "Unless anyone wishes to join me, I will likely see everyone back at the barracks tonight."

[Qwertystop]

"I am no tourist. If I might train more before tomorrow I will, else I will just retire early."

[GuyFawkes]

"Of course. Although there are areas which are restricted to non-staff members, otherwise, you are indeed free to wander around here. As for the shooting range, you can find that at the north end of the Trainee's Quarters, along the wide street dividing the block from the Field."

He looks at all of you before continuing, "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

[Jyssika]

Water will gurgle at Eugines invitation to the shooting
range; something unexplicable in aquan, he was still
getting used to this speaking in Common malarky.

Eitherway; it seemed friendly enough to everyone present
and the movement to stand next to Eugine indicated it had
something to do with Water accepting his invitation to join
him.

[GuyFawkes]

The group decides to separate and do their own thing to pass the rest of the day. The next day, Harrow leads you back to the training grounds, and you see something new: an obstacle course made up of wall climbs, log balancing, swimming and jumping sections among them. Harrow invites you to try it and you do so. The whole group manages to finish the obstacle course, and as could have been guessed beforehand, the result differs for each member. Some had already reached the pace required by the upcoming test while others are a bit far behind.

"Good work for those who made it. For those who didn't, it's fine. This is what you are here for, anyway, right? Striving to become better than what you are now." Harrow leaves and gives you the rest of the day to train with the course and do your scheduled runs. After that, you go back to eat your dinner and then proceed to the room afterwards.

The days go by quickly, with you settling down to your routine of morning runs, lectures, practice on the obstacle course, afternoon runs, and then rest. The first few days is grueling, with your body aching and sore in places you never thought possible. As it goes on, however, you notice your body is slowly catching up to the rigors of the training. You no longer find yourself gasping for breath after the tenth lap, and your muscles don't ache as much as they used to. As for the lectures, while they could be dragging at the very least and you all but will yourselves to stay awake through them, Harrow mixes things up enough with interesting anecdotes, some even involving the Founders, and practical application of theories being discussed from time to time to keep your attention.

Before you know it, the time for the first evaluation is at hand. While it had not been clarified before, the atmosphere in the field now is heavy, as the announcement is made that those who fail the evaluation will be sent home, without any chance for appeal. One by one, the groups proceed to take on the course, and while most make it, a significant number fail, some of them even those who seem familiar to you, whom you've seen breeze through the course during practice but faltering when it mattered most, either from the pressure or just from rotten luck. The tension builds, and soon it is your group's turn to face the challenge.

One by one, you proceed to the starting point. Before you begin, Harrow calls out to you with but two words: scratching post. That, however, is enough to make you giggle; the word had been a running gag among you from one of the anecdotes he had told you earlier. Suddenly, you feel the pressure ease up a bit, and you begin at each one's pace. There is no hurry in your movements, as you recall the way you had found to take on the different obstacles to make them easier that they should have been, and soon you see yourself halfway done. Water begins to pull ahead, but then Skavos and Eugene catch up and surge ahead. Suddenly, it becomes a competition between you, and when you finally cross the finish line, you find to no surprise that your time is less than four minutes, the goal for next week.

After all the groups have finished, Harrow invites you over to a small restaurant in the Shop Quarters that serves the best noodle soup you have ever tasted in your life as his congratulatory treat for your group's excellent performance. You spend the rest of the day talking, eating, and just relaxing until night came, and Harrow bid his farewell. You decide to call it a day as well, and you go to your quarters for a much needed rest.

Just when you thought the worst part was over, the next week proves to be much tougher than the last. Perhaps thinking that having broken the four-minute mark for the next evaluation, you expected the training to be lighter, but it turns out to be the opposite. Harrow adds another set of workouts after lunch, and coupled with the morning and evening runs plus more basic weapon drills and battlefield maneuvers, your body is once more pushed to the limit. Additional activities are added to your training menu each day, and by the time you face the next evaluation, the fatigue takes its toll. You muster your will to concentrate on the course over the pain and the heaviness of your body, and you manage to finish the course, but your times are but a meager increase from your previous performance with some even on the negative. Thankfully, you still all pass.

The next week, you revert back to your normal training regime of morning and evening runs only. You also begin to tackle topics on magic and related subjects, while for your afternoon sessions, you focus more on group tactics. Mostly it is about observing each other and asking each other questions about themselves, learning each other's preferences and dislikes, quite light compared to the previous weeks.

By the end of your third week of your stay in the camp, Harrow announces your next evaluation.

"By the end of this coming week, you will be evaluated again. This time, it will be a contest among different groups. It will incorporate everything you've done so far here. The type of contest will be King of the Hill."

"Our version will be a three-group battle on a random hill-type course. The "hill" will be composed of different terrains around from the base up to the top. The three teams will be teleported randomly around the base of the hill and will have two options. One is to make their way up to the top of the hill where they will find a flag. However, the flag is inside a simple fort guarded by a neutral group. Capturing the flag will earn your group ten points. How you go about it is up to you. Also, if you manage to capture the flag and stay inside the fort until the end of the contest, you will earn another ten points. The match will last for ten minutes."

"The other way to go about it is to find the other teams and eliminate all of their members. Each member of the opposing groups you eliminate will be worth two points each. The game will end when the ten minutes is over or only members of one group are left, whichever comes first. The group with the least amount of points accumulated will be sent home. Also, any group with zero points will be sent home. That's about it. Any questions, hmm?"

[Jyssika]

Water sighs, over the past three weeks he had taken on more and more
qualities of those around him... No longer did he ever slip into Aquan or
struggle to understand the vast majority of jokes and puns told by what
he now considered his friends.

For him the training wasn't particularly difficult but he had struggled watching
his... friends... and in some cases even allowed them to over take him
as to provide them with a moral boost if he felt they needed it.

Now he would have to work with them closer than ever before; if his team was
to stay in this organization they would have to all pull their weight and cover
each others backs.

Are we allowed to see the arena before the contest?

[Qwertystop]

Almost every day since the start, Gol has been changing - refining his bindings and his form, trying to find something generally useful without being too debilitating emotionally. Success is... mixed.

Today, he has a foggy coat over his armor, bits of it fading in and out at random if you watch, and the same purple belt as on the first day. More noticeable are the swords, though, one for each limb behind hands and feet, though currently short enough not to obstruct his movements or damage the ground; quite the contrary, he appears more graceful than usual, tall and slim. Still dark blue, though, and the left side of his mouth is stretched oddly.

"Sounds simple enough. I assume we endeavor to remain nonlethal?"

Blink Shirt and Wormtail Belt shaped, pact with Paimon bound to Totem.
Binding check: [roll0] DC 20.

[bcool999]

After the long period of training and practice, any pudginess the noble scion might have once had from his privileged life has been burned off and hardened into firm wiry muscle. Also, given the time he has had to work on them, the practice guns given him by the carnival have been improved to be almost a match for his original set. He has even crafted a scope for his musket.

Since his arrival, he has quickly changed out of the noble clothing and jewelery you first found him in, and now wears a conservative explorer's outfit.

At Gol's question Eugene says, "I imagine the Carnival has magic enough to turn lethal blows into merely painful ones on a specially prepared battlefield." Eugene looks to Harrow before saying, "What we should really be asking is how big the other teams will be, and what the layout of the fort is."

[GuyFawkes]

"Uhm, nope. You won't be allowed to do that," Harrow replies to Water. "That's part of the evaluation, being able to adjust to your environment. We will be discussing that this week before the test."

"As for lethality of blows, no we don't have that magic to dampen blows. Killing your target is not out of the question. So it will be up to you if you should choose to chose the lethal way of dealing things or not," Harrow explains with a shrug. "You will all have equal number of members per team, so that will be fair. But, as I have mentioned, there will be neutral forces, and their numbers will also not be revealed. It's safe to expect there will also be traps."

"Any more questions?"

[Jyssika]

The Elemental bows slightly, expecting such an answer.

The walking form of water, the shifter of forms and the
fat rich man turned lean and tidy...
He pauses, hoping he had not offended either of his friends.
I believe we are most capable to adapt.

[GuyFawkes]

Harrow giggles with that chirp-like sound of a laugh. "I would like to believe that, yes." He then picks up his books and stands. "Well then, if there are no more questions, I'll be leaving you to your devices. You might want to start discussing an initial plan of sorts. Tomorrow, we start discussions on fighting in different environments. That's all. Dismissed." With that, Harrow takes his leave.