Archon's Rite IC Thread

[Phantos_Argent]

It was a quite night in the cold train yard. It had been over half an hour since you'd seen another living soul, which wasn't surprising considering the severity of the recent attacks. Anyone who had the means moved closer to the markets, even if it meant putting themselves at risk of attacking gangs. Rats scurried in and out of the shattered train cars, long since given way to rust and creeping vines. There were still a few remnants of the squatters that had lived here just a few weeks before, with half secured clotheslines flapping in the breeze, darkened fire pits with deep grooves that once contained stoves, and even a few curtains that had been combined with the train cars to form a semi-permanent shelter.

You were still waiting for the magical signal to notify the base when a strong mist started to form around your ankles. It caressed along your ankles and began congealing in an open field free of wrecks. It was the the thrice damned Chasm! Glowing red eyes was the first thing you witnessed peering from the fog and your squad draws it's weapons. A screeching howl emitted from the direct center before wolves began bounding out, half a dozen in total. Massive bats, each one the size of a cow and the source of the almost painful screeching, came next, erupting into the night sky.

Finally, two figures emerged from the Chasm, both dressed in an extravagant clothing. The first, a woman, bore gleaming black metal armor that shined like lacquer and a mace topped with a spike adorned skull. The second, as far as you could tell, was male and his silk frippery was adorned with gold. Both looked like villains from some archaic storybook fantasy, but their mouths snarled in unison and their eyes spoke of only hunger. That was always the case with Chasm beasts. They may look intelligent, may even act it, but they can't be reasoned with, intimidated, or charmed. All they truly wanted was to feel man flesh in bellies and blood on their lips. For a brief second it looked a third might be coming out, one dressed in a plain burgundy dress, but they retreated before you could catch a good look.

It's inhuman cargo deposited, the Chasm dispersed. With only one squad, you know it's hopeless. Even if you could make a break for it or send a signal to base, they would never make it in time. There were just too many and your squad was just newly formed, a collection of oddities that owed some debt to Notos. In fact, even now you feel yourself losing consciousness, some strange power that has kept you rooted in place. Hoping that whatever magic at work wouldn't leave you conscious during the monster's feast, you arms drop to your sides and your eyes close.

Your on a rock in the middle of a vast void. The sky is grey and a shimmering figure is floating before you. Too bright to even look at, it's arm reaches out and you wake up. Both of the vampires stalk forward, as if letting your fear season their meal. Gripping your weapon with a fierceness and power that would have surprised yourself even a moment ago, you raise it and stand your ground.


All three of you stand about 5 ft from one another. Three of the bats are flying above, about 25 ft up. Four of the wolves remained behind and they follow the two vampires respectively. Both vampires are about 15 ft away. Both the wolves and bats can be attacked as a group. Monsters and players will have grouped initiative.
Monster Init [roll0]

[Snowbluff]

Astra

Astra eyes the vampires carefully.

init [roll0]

[Ajadea]

Asha raises her rifle and levels it at the nearest vampire. Everything seems to be moving slower, crystal-clear in detail. Adrenaline, she tells herself. Just adrenaline.


[roll0] EDIT: You know what? I think we're going first.

[silphael]

What would this be this time? Another half-baked kid? Some animal from a remote place? A -

That's when the wagon split in two because of the chasm. And everything began to looks so small, too.

[roll0]

Edit : It's actually +6. So that makes me at 10.

[Phantos_Argent]

It's group initiative, so whoever wants to go can. Keeps combat moving faster.

[silphael]

"I will not let you reach mankind that way!"

In the middle of his sentence, the sound came out wrong, far deeper than earlier, as if echoing through a very large ribcage...

Let's go!

So, first, shifting, spending 1 spell point to increase duration, to Air Elemental (one more SP), with the following traits :
-Changing Size, going to Huge size, gaining 8 strength and 4 con, losing 4 dex
-Vitality (spending a second SP to get it)
-Pounce.

That's a move action.

As a standard action, I'm gonna use enhancement on me, spending 1 SP to increase duration, and add flaming to myself through natural enhancement.

Yup, that's a 4 sp round...

Also, I need to roll to toughness saves against painfull magic (against 14 if I'm not mistaken).

[roll0]

[roll1] (My con has increased between both)

The shifting is 8 minutes long, the enhancement only 6.

[Snowbluff]

Astra

Astra entends her fingers, entering her combat stance.

"Eh... screw this, I'm out."

She disappears.


Astra casts Invisibility!

She positions herself between the enemies and her allies. She pulls out her father's letter opener.

If the one with the mace provokes, she'll disarm it.
[roll0] versus flat footed CMD. She'll take the mace while she is at it.

[Ajadea]

Asha curses under her breath as her so-called allies seem to evaporate in front of her eyes. "Damn mages," she mutters. She could say that. She hardly counted, with her bag of parlor tricks.

She fires at the unarmored vampire, hoping the bastard would go down faster, and then backs up with one eye on the sky.


Attacking with the rifle as a Point Blank Shot, vs unarmored vamp. Within 5 range increments is a touch attack, though as far as I can tell, normal AC and Touch AC are the same under these rules.

[roll0][roll1]

After attack, move 30 feet away from the enemies.

[Phantos_Argent]

Silyund

As the most obvious threat, the various monsters direct themselves towards you. Two of the bats and four of the wolves surround you and attack! Clearly they mean to harry you, nipping at your elemental form and tearing gashes in the aether.


Bats 1-2 [roll0] x2. [roll1]
Wolves Pair 1 [roll2] x2. [roll3]

[Phantos_Argent]

Both of the bats tumble over one another directly behind Silyund, their thin bones and membranous wings slamming together in a twitching ball of fury.

Astra

The vampires don't seem to detect your presence, most likely distracted by the frantic melee occurring before them. Still, the armored one sniffs in you general direction and seems to know you're not gone entirely.

[Phantos_Argent]

Asha

The round flies true, rocking into the vampire's chest and leaving nothing but a bleeding hole behind. Unfortunately, you can already see it starting to once again form up. With a snarl the sorcerous vampire raises his hands and launches a blast of nectrotic energy straight towards you! It veers even as you try to dodge and it slams into your gullet. Pain, stronger and more intense than anything you've experienced before starts to assault your body. It's all you can do to remain on your feet!


It deals 3d6 negative energy damage, fortitude save DC 17 for half. If you fail the save you also fall prone.

[silphael]

As anger fills Silyund's mind, he dashes toward the flying vampires as claws and fangs forms out of anger. The giant reddish whirlwind seems to not care at all about the bats and wolves... and unleash a flurry of hit on the nearest vampire, while growling in a thunderous voice.

"Now that I'm free, you will not get out of there!"

First, entering rage, gaining +3 natural armor, a bite, and two claws. I'm going to use my leaping attack trait (forgot I had it, it was working with thrashing dragon), so here I roll my jump (not like 2 bats and 4 wolves can stop me)

[roll0]

If I jump higher than them (shouldn't be hard given my height and the fact that I have perfect flight maneuvrability) they are considered flat-footed against my attacks, and they all get +1 crit multiplier. As I got pounce, I can do all my attacks anyway (except the axe, which merged). Power attacking at -3/+6 if the jump works (not counted).

So here it is :
[roll1]
[roll2]

[roll3]
[roll4]

[roll5]
[roll6]

[roll7]
[roll8]

[roll9]
[roll10]

HP : 62/63, 21/22 rounds of rage, 79/80 rounds of shifting, 59/60 rounds of enhancement. RD 15/- (seriously? I'm amazing myself ><)

[Ajadea]

Asha cries out as pain wracks her body, making her vision go white. She comes to on the ground, and pushes herself up again, breathing heavily. She loads her rifle, pointing it at the spellcasting vampire. "Try. That. Again."


[roll0] EDIT: Alright, that's a fail.

Move Action: Stand from prone.
Ready Action: If that vampire casts a spell again, I shoot him.

[Snowbluff]

Astra

Astra notices the caster, and frowns in an invisible fashion. She conjures some plants to entangle and distract him. She then ducks into the shadows.

Conjure thorny plants (goodbye, sweet SP)
Entangle Reflex 19
Plants are thorny, so they deal one 1 damage :0

[roll0] Invisible stealth

Invisibility is not being concentrated on. 3 more rounds of duration.

[Phantos_Argent]

Silyund

Your enhanced form easily tears the vampire apart, blood spurting from half a dozen vicious wounds as she dies. In response, the second vampire who had ghosted free looks at you with with his cold dark eyes. Eyes that seemed to shine, growing larger, almost as if they were filling with stars...


The beasties make their attacks of opportunity from your jump.
[roll0], [roll1]
[roll2], [roll3]
Make a will save against the second vampire.


Astra

Neither the vampires or the monsters notice you, despite causing a pretty substantial change on the battlefield.

Asha

Seeing the danger in the vampire's casting, you fire another shot, even though your vision is now obscured by twisting plants.


It's very minor concealment, 10%. Go ahead and roll the d100.

[silphael]

Looking at the remaining vampire, Silyund grins again in anger, before pouncing once again in a maelstrom of blows.

"Your puny little magic won't help you!"

First, Will save against his effect (provided it can still cast after taking that shot) :

[roll0]

Then a new charge at the remaining vampire (not on the ground anymore, so leaping attack is kinda harsh to use...) but I can still pounce. Depending on the direction I might need a flight check though (DC 15 to turn more than 45° or 20 to turn 180°).

[roll1]

[roll2]

[roll3]

[roll4]

[roll5]

[roll6]

[roll7]

[roll8]

[roll9]

[roll10]

[roll11]

And each gets a bonus 1d6+3 fire damage.

[roll12]

[roll13]

[roll14]

[roll15]

[roll16]

HP : 53/63, 20/22 rounds of rage, 78/80 rounds of shifting, 58/60 rounds of enhancement. RD 15/-

Edit : If the second vampire is down, I end my rage here.

[Ajadea]

Asha's pleased as her shot strikes true through the brambles. She adjusts her grip and takes another, more carefully aimed one, at the bats.


Spending 1 grit to Dead Shot at the bats.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[roll2] [roll3]

Extra damage is dealt if both shots hit.

[Phantos_Argent]

Silyund stepped through the remnants of the last vampire, the pile of blood and flesh at her feet a testament to what anger is truly capable of. One of the dire bats fell at her side, it's body landing with a solid thunk. Without the vampires controlling them, the rest of the beasts scattered in different directions, seeking easier prey.


Asha killed one of the bats and the rest scatter, attempting to leave combat. This prompts AoO against the wolves from both Silyund and Astra. Regardless, combat is over.

[Snowbluff]

Astra reappears, smiling broadly. "I think we did alright for ourselves."

[Ajadea]

Asha slings her rifle over her shoulder once more. She straightens her glasses on her nose, dusts off her hair and coat. For a moment, everything seems hyperfocused, crystal-clear. But the moment passes, and she fixes the reappeared tiefling with a glare from her mismatched eyes. "Speak for yourself. My buyer's late, the base is late, and the most defensible thing here is a bunch of curtains. The flare should have gone up an hour ago."


Casting Foreshadow and Detect Scrying, for 2 sp. Senses last 9 hours.

[silphael]

The giant whirlwind of air utters in a thunderous voice :

"Definitely. Have we met? I'm Silyund, champion of the arena... well, former champion. I'm retired. Since right now."

His words seems partly bitter and partly relieved.

Given how much I paid my form, and that it slowly heals me currently, I'm not gonna get back to human form immediately. Plus it's kinda new to me ><.

[Snowbluff]

Astra

"Think someone is asleep at the wheel?" Astra asks Asha. She punches her in the arm. "We got these guys good, though. Maybe we should go back to the base and make sure everything is okay, and if they aren't, make our big damn heroes entrance!"

She looks up at the dust cloud, adjusting her glasses. "I'm hurt. I'm Astra! Hero? Anyone?" She looks around, rasing her arms in exasperation before letting them drop again.

[silphael]

Silyund

"Is your base far from here? If not I definitely could carry you and fly there at top speed..."

[Ajadea]

Asha pulls away slightly from Astra's punch. The blow, even muffled by her coat, stung slightly. "I don't believe we have. It's Asha, by the way. And it's not my base. I just do arms deals through them sometimes. Contact said they might have a buyer for me here, and they'd send a signal up after to check how it went, due to the attacks. Zero for two so far." Her accent is crisp and enunciated, an educated voice belied by her battered coat and black-smudged fingers. She looks up the full height of the towering whirlwind, eyebows raised. "Surprised a mage of your caliber got stuck pit-fighting."

[silphael]

Looking around himself, Silyund asks in an astonished voice :

"Wait, a mage? Where?"

[Ajadea]

Asha's eyebrows nearly disappear into her hairline. "You're a talking flying tornado, Silyund. That's not exactly something every John Doe can manage. Unless I'm very much mistaken and this is all an elaborate smoke and mirrors act. But smoke and mirrors don't generally turn Night crawlers into paste like that," she says, pointing to the slain vampires. Her voice takes on an accusatory tone. "Don't play dumb with me, it's just painful to watch. If you wanted to hide your magic, you wouldn't be shape shifting at the drop of a hat. So. What's a mage like you doing pit fighting?" Asha's foot taps on the ground. Tock tock. Waiting.

[Snowbluff]

Astra the Fox

Astra bounces on the balls of her feet and throws a few punches, shadow boxing. "I'll be honest, I only decided to be a hero a few minutes ago. It might take a few hours 'til everyone knows my name." She take a look at the taller woman. "What do ya say, wanna make that grand entrance?" She winks. "I mean we have a talking tornado. Freaking a, hat's worth something, right?"

[silphael]

"Wait, I'm the one you're calling mage? I wasn't, before that. I didn't really did that shape-shifting on purpose."

Well, everything still shows it's not a "normal" air elemental -whatever that may mean- that Silyund turned into : it's surrounded in bright red glyphs.

[Ajadea]

Asha rolls her eyes at Silyund. "Of course. Total accident. And I'm the Queen of Agoche," she says. She turns to Astra with a long-suffering sigh. "That signal really isn't coming, is it? Fine. Let's go make this grand entrance of yours. See how long the signal man's been taking a nap at his desk."

She starts off back towards the base, keeping her eye out for any more monsters.

[silphael]

Silyund opens his hands, ready to grab both of his newfound allies.

"Seriously, that will be far quicker that way. Even if you don't believe me."

[Phantos_Argent]

Your small party heads down to the checkpoint, a small circle of tents and fold-able desks laid out near the edge of the train yard. Despite a few of the beasts escaping, it's a quiet night and you don't see another soul. Instead of the hustle of activity you expected, the small base is deadly quiet. Slumped over her desk is the body of Captain Vorntruvis of the Amber Lock, a long knife buried several inches into her back. You met with her just a few hours ago, when the stocky woman was shouting orders and assigning sectors. Her guild sign, a copper padlock, still hung from her wrist as it slowly dripped blood onto the ground. Beside her you see a blasting tube and several grey balls, no doubt her non-magical method of signalling.

As you come closer, you all three see a piece of parchment that had been driven into her back with the knife. Different from the mass produced stuff official documents were written on, it seemed much older and practically hand made. Even the knife bore an ancient design, with a cowhide hilt and a dark blade, curved on one edge and serrated on the other. Without the neon smoke that normally bellowed from a bonfire in the checkpoint's center, it should still be a few minutes before anyone else shows up considering how difficult the maze of box cars was to navigate.

[Snowbluff]

Astra the Fox

"Hmm..." Astra examines the body, striking her chin with a gloved hand. "Three pieces of this old school papery stuff. So they couldn't get it all down in one piece?" She checks the dagger if it's safe to remove. "So I think we were a little late. Just a little bit. So much for a big entrance." She pulls the parchment off the knife, and reads it aloud.

[Ajadea]

Asha removes the knife and palpates the captain's neck, not really expecting to feel a pulse. "Vorntruvis was a decent woman. I wonder what happened here," she mutters. She rolls Vorntruvis' body over and closes her eyes, feeling unexpectedly solemn.

A torrent of sensations floods her.


Heal check to ascertain how long the captain has been dead. [roll0]

Spending 1 spell point to cast Witness the City as a standard action. Asking two questions with Perception for now - may ask follow up questions later.

Question 1: What happened here? [roll1]
Question 2: Who did this?[roll2]

[silphael]

Back into his normal shape, Silyund seems... dazzled. He seems lost, seeking something that is missing.

"Oh, right. No walls outside."

[Phantos_Argent]

Astra

Strangely enough, there is no writing on the paper. Instead, as you stare at a shape begins to form in your mind from the impression the woman's blood. It shifts, appearing to be a claw, an eye, a candle, before you blink and there is just blood on the page.

Asha

She has only been dead for around 10 minutes.

Vorntruvis was glancing nervously into the night before the paper fluttered behind her. The dagger, launched with inhuman speed, flew into the paper and then her back, piercing her heart in the process.

You only see a collection of shadows that seem to swirl around a single figure, their eyes blazing red in the night. A smile, one that seemed directed at you despite such a thing being impossible, is all you get of the creature's face but you know that it isn't human.

[Snowbluff]

Astra the Fox

"What in the Nine Hells..." Astra mutters. "Hey besties, is it wrong that I am getting some images in the blood. It's like a haunted Rorschach's test. An eye, like by itself, a chandler, and a claw. Should I see a shrink?" She asks, looking up from the paper.