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Biplanes and Dragons IC
Shards of your zeppelin whistle past your ears, fire billowing out behind you. Half of your team hadn't made it out, turned to ashes with the crew. Fey creatures shrieked past your ears.
1000 meters.
The wind whistles in your ears, blowing past your head at terminal velocity. Around you, sleet buckets out of the sky, lighting crackles across it, and thunder booms from it. It sounds as though the elements are at war with themselves.
900 meters.
Already, one of your teammates has been knocked unconscious, and another fried by a stray bolt of lightning.
800 meters.
Below you, eldritch magics are already sparking across the ground.
700 meters.
A burst of fire flares past you. Another teammate gone, incinerated in a split second.
600 meters.
You can see your target now. A small thicket of trees, at the top of a hill. It had appeared overnight a week ago, a solid ten miles behind your lines.
400 meters.
This outpost has been holding this valley for two weeks. Any force sent against it has died, horribly. Most of them never made it up the hill. The screams of those that did have echoed across the valley repeatedly. Whatever's down there has mowed through them without any trouble.
300 meters.
You're miraculously on target, all five of you set to drop directly at the base of the hill - surrounded by an unknown force, in the middle of their stronghold.
200 meters.
Right where you want to be.
100 meters.
Three days ago, you'd been split off from your regular groups, and assigned to a new team. You'd been handpicked by upper command - one man in particular. Emold McKulken. The Reaper, they called him. Your former teammates had given you solemn goodbyes. It was well known what happened to those picked for one of these teams. McKulken only put together teams for missions with an "acceptably high casualty rate."
The operation was explained to you. It was fairly simple. You were to parachute out of a ship into terrifying weather conditions, land in a heavily fortified position that no one had survived contact with, find out what exactly was guarding it, and then wipe it off the map with the 20 kilos of high explosives you'd been given - the ones that had been aboard the zeppelin when it was vaporized.
Touchdown.
Ahead of you, a hundred meters up the slight hill, lies the copse of trees. Lightning crackles around the valley, but the darkness amidst the trees is absolute.
M. Arillius
2017-04-11, 01:17 AM
The wind roars by his ears but his focus is downward. There is nothing he can do about the crackling blaze of lightning or the searing heat of fire. At best, he can dodge past the fey rising up to meet him. At worst he won't even see his death coming. Not the worst way to go. Not the best, to be certain.
The ground rises to meet him. At this point the younger man he had once been would have closed his eyes, fearful of the death that waited for him. Ryan did not do that. He had not lost fear, not the way some had, but he had learned to face it and move past. He counted the seconds, counted the distance, counted the time he had till he impacted. At the last possible moment, they had been told. Any sooner and they'd be sitting targets for the whatever ranged capabilities the fey were presenting.
Ryan counted to that last possible second... then counted a second more... and a second more. Every second he was falling was a second he wasn't slowly gliding down. Then, on that third second, after too many heartbeats to count, he ripped the cord and felt the shoot flair behind him. The force of it was enough to make him feel like his arms had been ripped from their sockets and the landing that soon followed probably came with a few sprains, at least.
That was fine. His suit, Hunter, was already working on it. His partners quiet tone buzzed in his ear. 'Landing complete. It is suggested that you move forward, Ryan. Stillness is death here.'
Some would say stillness was always death. Hunter knew better. So did the warrior that wore Hunter. Ryan reached for his weapons, using the cold iron axe to cut himself free while he fired twice at the nearest enemies to force them into cover. Once the heavy cloth of the parachute was free of his body he raced forward toward the trees. The nearest, best cover.
Already his shoulders and legs were healing. The pain of the harsh landing was gone. And the fear... Well... Ryan still felt it, a coiled serpent waiting in his heart. But for the moment at least something else occupied his mind. The cold, burning rage of battle and hate. His revolver cracked a third time as he fired over his shoulder while running, matching the thunderous roar of the sky above as he attempted to provide more cover for those who had survived the landing. He wasn't likely to hit anything, it was hard to even attempt to aim at a dead run, but that wasn't the point of the shots. He just wanted the enemies around him to think before they raised their head.
Ryan will be making a dead run for the trees unless cover presents itself between there and his position. The covering shots are mostly for effect, not actual attack rolls at any particular enemy, so I don't expect any of them to hit. If they're still a problem though I can remove that part of the post.
Ryan's shots have the desired effect - the fire-covered fey that had been harassing them mercilessly on the way down ducked and covered, gibbering in fear as bullets wing past their heads. He hits the treeline at a dead sprint, and, almost immediately, the sound of battle and storm is unnaturally silenced. Instead, a soft glow not visible from outside the copse illuminates the trees.
Ryan's shots have provided cover against the next attack made against each team member for their first action.
Arthur points himself feet first at the ground in a luge position, ripping through the air past the burning remnants of his zeppelin. The explosions and lightning reflected off the lenses of his mask as he glanced around for his teammates. He spotted Ryan zip by him, no more than a large blur of metal to his right. He'd been counting, figuring out the window in which he had to pull his chute. It wasn't a particularly large one. Too soon, he'd be target practice. Too late, a grisly stain against the ground. He counted. One one thousand... Two one thousan... NOW! he jerked forward the cord, coincidentally at almost the same time Ryan pulled his. He felt the snap of the parachute, ripping him backwards slightly, and grimaced.
His heels jarred into the ground, flexing his knees into a deep crouch. Arthur used his remaining momentum to free himself of the parachute and springboard forward in one smooth motion as he scrambled after the path Ryan had barged through to the trees, sliding one of his pistols out of its holster as he ran by the startled fey, just in case. He didn't bother firing and giving away his position, seeing as he was a smaller and weaker looking target than the behemoth ahead of him.
Dondasch
2017-04-11, 06:23 PM
Lierra tumbles through the air, fighting to right herself enough to parachute safely. She glimpses fae flying around her, but her erratic movement at least allows her to evade them. She manages to stabilize herself enough to pull the cord just in time. Her landing is hardly graceful, and certainly painful, but any that she could walk away from was a good one in her book.
As she pulls herself to her feet, Lierra checks on her collective. As she feared, it had been mostly destroyed between the deaths and the distance; there was only one member left. 'Aetas, are you all right?' 'I am uncracked!' A quick glance around shows that Obitus had also made it down unscathed, and that some of her teammates had already started running for the trees. She sprints after them, and ordering Obitus to follow.
Collective members: Lierra, Aetas
Lierra is running at a speed of 160 ft/round.
Obitus is a Construct, and can't run unless PF changed those rules, so it's only moving 60 ft/round.
Aetas is in one of Lierra's pockets.
cecil1994
2017-04-11, 06:59 PM
Clarence lands.
Their focus spills out across the hill, disjointed from the fall. Pond-water rushes from the pipes on his sides- tinted green, and falling into an unseen mold. Some flak from the zeppelin above splashes into the armor.
The water pours down what remains of their calves, sliding atop flesh and steel alike. It sinks into the ground... and propels them forward, guiding their steps and easing them around every obstacle.
They head for the copse ahead. There's quiet there, and a last chance at company- companions to shelter inside the reach of their hammer. They run.
Clarence is casting Shield, and using their Sudden Speed ability to make it to the group. They'll take up a defensive position and attempt to keep the area clear with their reach weapon and AoO's.
sakuuya
2017-04-12, 05:56 PM
Enola tries to track the trajectories of incoming attacks as she falls, but some of them don't make any damn sense, and it's infuriating. Even magical attacks, unconstrained by ordinary physical laws, should follow some kind of consistent--
Creator! Your parachute! ADAM1's mental voice cuts in.
Oh, the ground is getting fairly close now. Enola yanks on the coord, but her distractedness means that she's just a twitch later than she should be, and she lands hard. She stumbles as she disentangles herself from her parachute. The survivors of her unit are already heading toward their target when she gets herself free, and she hurries after them.
Nothin' special. Running at 120'/round to catch up with the group.
The group streams into the trees one by one; Obitus entering last by crashing through a small bush. Behind you, the fire-bathed fey that had moments ago been throwing balls of fire and magic at you have ceased moving and are standing still, silent, staring at you for a few moments before turning away to inspect the wreckage of the zeppelin.
The source of the soft light soon becomes apparent - the trees and bushes are covered with small worms, no bigger than a few centimeters long, each of which gives off a soft glow.
The two of you were in charge of the explosives for the mission (mentioned in the OP of the IC). As such, you know that they didn't make it off the zeppelin, but don't know if they're intact. They're made of a non-reactive substance (similar to C4), so fire wouldn't set them off, but there's also a decent chance that they were simply destroyed when it went down.
Ryan: [roll0]
Enola: [roll1]
Clarence: [roll2]
Lierra: [roll3]
Arthur: [roll4]
EDIT: Hey, you all failed. Fun stuff.
Several sets of yellow eyes peer at you from further into the treeline, where darkness once again takes hold.
Arthur takes a cursory glance around the forest, noting the worms. His face wrinkled with disgust momentarily, though hidden by his mask. He turns back outward to look at the wreckage streaming across the skying and pelting the ground like demonic hail. He sidles up to Enola and gestures at the remains of the zeppelin, commenting "Ordnance got stuck in the explosion. Inert and I didn't see any especially spectacular explosions, so it likely didn't explode. Possibility that it's intact, greater possibility that it simply got incinerated by those damn Fey. I'm really hoping we can recover it, I rarely get to play with that much in the way of explosives."
He spins his revolver idly, thinking. "Martin, Orson, you're taking point if willing? Or to either side, seeing as getting flanked could put us in a bad spot. Either way, our best, and coincidentally most suicidal, option is to continue forward into the enemy Base of Operations, see if we can improvise a method of blowing up these fey."
cecil1994
2017-04-13, 11:03 PM
Clarence takes in the quiet of the forest. So similar to home, and yet the taint of magic lingers- staining the wood and tinting the air. Soft light, for a gentler version of reality.
The pondwater has engulfed their goggles (now part helm, part filter) by the time they notice the others. Words burble through, in syntax that might have been eloquent if unsubmerged.
"Any plan that keeps us in the trees is a good one. I'm afraid I won't be much help from range.
They twirl their hammer. The disjointed metal of it glitters in the light.
"Besides... this forest is kind. It smells of home."
Their eyes soften at that, even as their vision sharpens.
Casting Heightened Awareness. This boosts my Perception into the 25 range- do I get a reroll?
Oh, and this wasn't to metagame- it gives a sizable Initiative bonus, and was almost cast instead of Shield last round.
M. Arillius
2017-04-14, 08:16 AM
Ryan grimaces at the two as he works to reload the three bullets he had fired moments ago. Normally he preferred his speed loader, which made the process almost as quick as pulling the trigger, but he hadn't emptied the clip so it wasn't exactly useful right now. His eyes quick turn away, his expression hidden by his helm and only the sullen golden glow of it's eyes to give any hint as to his feelings on the matter.
That is until he speaks, leaving no room to doubt his position. "This is a Fey forest. If you think it safe, I wish you luck in whatever after life you end up in." Unless the creature others had insisted on calling by the name Clarence really did consider this his home, in which case luck was the second thing he'd give. His eyes scan warily around him as he flips the revolver's chamber back into place with a flick of his wrist, fully reloaded. In the other hand his axe rises as if ready to strike at anything that moved to suddenly.
"I'll guard the rear." He says finally in response to Arthur's question. He gestured toward Clarence without taking his eyes off of his surroundings. "You take the front. I'm as good with the gun as I am with the axe, so I can engage enemies if they attack from the front of as quickly as I can enemies from behind." It also meant that if Clarence tried anything funny Ryan would be able to watch for it.
'Please do not start a fight with your fellow operatives.' Hunter chimed in, a subvocal whisper in his ear. Ryan felt a brief flicker of calming from the armor attempting to help him keep control. Hunter had likely read into Ryan's his wariness around the creature off to his left. 'There is a reason he was chosen for this mission. And you should be able to sympathize with someone who underwent such a change.'
The reminder was unnecessary. Ryan of all people knew that he wasn't normal anymore. His armor had been modified specifically to work with him because of that, in some ways even taking advantage of it. What Ryan couldn't say, since he couldn't whisper directly into the armors eardrum the way Hunter could, was that he did sympathize. In fact, part of his reasoning was born of that sympathy. He would also want to be put down if there were ever a time that those changes compromised him.
Saying that, or anything running through his mind, would only cause strife in the party though. Instead he moved to take position at the rear of the group as it had formed. "Catch your breath quickly. We need to start moving. Especially if we're going to need to improvise."
sakuuya
2017-04-14, 11:03 AM
"If we're really lucky," Enola says to Arthur, "They'll keep it tucked up all nice and snug in a base somewhere; save us the trouble of laying charges there ourselves. As for this place,"—she pats the bandoliers of reagents criss-crossed over her chest and smiles—"I bet we've got enough ordinance to blow it anyway. Unless you think you're not up to it?"
She idly taps out a rhythm on the vials as she looks around the copse. "Why do you think they broke off their attack?" she asks the group as a whole. "This place is supposed to be important, right? I can't believe they'd just give up to go root through some corpses. D'you think it has anything to do with these little guys?" She reaches out toward one of the glowing bugs.
Dondasch
2017-04-14, 06:32 PM
Lierra glances around as she enters the grove, alert for danger. Seeing no obvious threats, she brushes off some of the dirt from her landing, and concentrates on reforming her collective. Once Obitus arrives, she's certain that no more of her allies have survived, and reaches out with her mind, creating psychic bonds between them. The required concentration distracts her from the conversation.
As soon as she finishes, Aetas sends out a message. 'Everyone, we're being watched from over there!' The psicrystal can't point, but nonetheless her words come with an impression of direction, and an image of eyes amidst the darkness of the trees. 'Try to keep talking. If we don't let them know we've seen them, we may be able to surprise them.' Lierra sends, quickly following Aetas' warning. 'The fae outside broke off their attack, so they likely believe that whatever's in here can take care of us. We'll want every advantage we can get.' Lierra draws her revolver, and grabs her darklight with her other hand. 'When we're ready, I'll turn up the lights, and we can turn the tables on them.'
Collective members (7/8): Lierra, Aetas, Obitus, Ryan, Enola, Clarence, Arthur
I'm assuming that the illumination is shadowy, when the Darklight can increase to bright light within an 80 ft radius.
The worms move away from where Enola has reached out to touch them - the entire grove dims a little in response, as well. A few of the sets of eyes retreat a little into the forest, and begin circling the group.
As the light in the clearing dims, the brush and grass at your feet starts twisting up your feet, grasping at boots and armor. Almost simultaneously, two arrows streak out of the darkness, one from the left and one from the right. They fly towards Ryan and Arthur, one of them grazing Ryan's arm, and the other bouncing harmlessly off of Arthur's armor.
Ryan: [roll0]
Enola: [roll1]
Clarence: [roll2]
Lierra: [roll3]
Arthur: [roll4]
If you fail, you gain the entangled (http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/coreRulebook/glossary.html#entangled) condition.
Atk: [roll5]
Crit conf (x3): [roll6]
Dmg: [roll7]
Atk: [roll8]
Crit conf (x3): [roll9]
Dmg: [roll10]
cecil1994
2017-04-18, 08:01 AM
Clarence opens their mouth to respond to Arthur, the image of respectful disagreement... and then the collective forms. A watery eye twitches.
"How... are you in our mind?"
The voice wavers, sounding more like a three-part harmony than a singular song. They are almost grateful for the ambush.
Perception roll!
[roll0] (boosted by Heightened Awareness)
If this picks out a target, Clarence will charge and I'll roll attacks in the OOC. If not, they'll take up a defensive stance and ready an attack.
cecil1994
2017-04-18, 03:20 PM
The appearance of the woodland creatures provides a lovely distraction. Clarence bounds towards them, shattered legs still propelled by the waters above.
Their eyes flicker silver. Every path the creature could take is charted, every reaction to it plotted in advance. They raise the drowned hammer, and bring it crashing down on these echoes-cutting down futures and foes alike.
Alright, this is a lot.
Move to O11 (50ft move thanks to Sudden Speed), quick casting of Inevitable Strike (1 PP, +5 to the next attack roll, ignoring miss chance), free usage of Crystallized Weapon (2 PP, +2d6 damage on next hit (basically Deep Crystal)), standard action power attack with the Lucerne Hammer.
Attack Roll:
Damage Roll: [roll]1d12+2d6+13
Dondasch
2017-04-18, 05:18 PM
'Explanations later, killing now.' Lierra sends, holding up the darklight and willing it to illuminate the area. She scans the grove as the light returns, looking for their assailants. 'Three hostiles. Clarence and I have this one. Obitus will help with the one on my right.' As the construct tears through the overgrowth, she focuses her attention on the enemy nearest her, furrowing her brow in concentration.
The mental battle she begins is quite familiar to her. First is the mental siege, forcing her way past its mental walls and creating a breach for her other abilities. Next is to tear at the connection between the thing's body and its twisted soul, redistributing whatever she can steal among her allies.
Collective members (7/8): Lierra, Aetas, Obitus, Ryan, Enola, Clarence, Arthur
Lierra:
Move action to use Unwilling Participant on the creature at N9. If it fails a DC 16 Will save, it is forced into the collective, and takes a -2 penalty against saves forced by collective members. This expends Aetas' psionic focus
If N9 is forced into the collective, use Drain Health to deal 11 points of damage and heal herself the same amount. It is entitled to a DC 16 Will save for half damage and healing. Lierra will reallocate the healing to whoever has taken the most damage, currently Ryan.
If N9 is not forced into the collective, try Unwilling Participant again as a standard action.
Obitus:
Double move action to T21
Aetas:
Aetas can't really do anything in combat.
Arthur sprints towards the treeline towards his right, drawing and hurling a bomb from his satchel at the fey in the trees in the process. He yells at Enola, "If those fey are considerate enough to transport our ordnance for us, the world's gone crazier than it already is! Besides, I've got just as much experience making holes in things as you, Falkner."
Arthur moves to W20, and throws a Tanglefoot bomb at the nearest enemy. DC 16 Reflex to take half damage and avoid entanglement (separate rolls I believe as per the PFSRD Page (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/discoveries/paizo-alchemist-discoveries/tanglefoot-bomb-su/))
Attack: [roll0]
Crit Confirm: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
Reflex Save as Arthur is still in the Clearing: [roll3]
As Lierra's light brightens the grove to an almost-dazzling daylight, the creaturs' appearance becomes visible - twisted humanoid shapes made of branches and leaves. Clarence's target flinches under Lierra's mental attack, resisting briefly, but being swiftly overcome. Clarence pounces on the opportunity left open by its hesitation and brings their hammer down on its chest, sending splinters flying everywhere. The creature opens its slit of a mouth and lets loose an unearthly scream.
Arthur's bomb flies wide, striking a tree just past the creature's head. Fire splashes on the tree's bark and the back of the creature, searing its hide.
Clarence landed his attack. The creature at N9 resisted Lierra's first attempt to force it into the collective, but failed its second attempt.
Arthur's bomb missed, but dealt splash damage (6 hp).
We're waiting on M. Arillius and sakuuya before the fey go again.
sakuuya
2017-04-18, 10:40 PM
"Right now, I just wish I could make a hole in this...nature! Enola replies, spitting out the last word like an expletive as she struggles to free herself from the vines coiling around her legs. She's so occupied with trying to get untangled it that she isn't able to do more than attempt to move into a support position.
Escape Artist:[roll0]
If successful, move to L18; if unsuccessful, move to T20.
End-of-turn Reflex save, if necessary:[roll1]
As Ryan begins to act, another arrow flies towards him, finding a chink in his armor and distracting him before he can do anything.
Meanwhile, the northernmost creature steps back from Clarence's reach, and makes a few arcane gestures, accompanied by a soothing melody.
The eastern creature unleashes another arrow at Arthur, and it whizzes past his head, barely missing.
Ryan:
Attack:
Crit confirm (x3): [roll1]
Dmg: 1d8
Arthur:
Attack:
Crit confirm (x3): [roll3]
Dmg: 1d8
Clarence is target to the Slumber spell. Make a DC 17 Will save or fall asleep.
cecil1994
2017-04-21, 01:13 AM
Clarence breathes heavily, despite the lack of any actual need for them to do so. Their opponent crumples. The assault on their mind ebbs to nothing.
They advance towards the next one. Nothing like the present.
Moving to J17. Immediate Action: Danger Sight (+1 to saves)
Will Save: [roll0]
Dondasch
2017-04-21, 08:21 AM
A small smile creeps onto Lierra's face as she forces her way inside the fae's mind. 'I have you now, you blasted thing.' She begins pulling at its life, using its stolen vitality to heal Ryan's wounds. She attempts to slip free of the vines as she does so, moving a bit closer to the fae attacking Ryan.
Meanwhile, Obitus continues its march towards the eastern fae, uprooting the plants holding it back only to be ensnared by more with each step.
Collective members (8/8): Lierra, Aetas, Obitus, Ryan, Enola, Clarence, Arthur, creature at M8
Lierra (34/34 hp, 26/26 pp, entangled):
As a standard action, use Drain Health on the creature at M8 to deal 11 points of damage and heal herself the same amount. It is entitled to a DC 16 Will save for half damage and healing (at a -2 penalty for being an unwilling member of the collective). Lierra will reallocate the healing to whoever has taken the most damage, currently Ryan.
Move action to attempt a DC 15 Escape Artist check to break free of Entangle: [roll0]
5ft step to M15
Obitus (42/42 hp, entangled):
Double move action to Y18; Obitus will attempt the first Attack of Opportunity it is entitled to, if any.
Aetas:
I'm just going to stop mentioning Aetas in combat unless she's doing something.
sakuuya
2017-04-21, 07:04 PM
Enola, rolling her eyes, quits trying to tear the vines away from her legs for the moment. Instead, she just wades through them as best she can until she's behind Arthur. Then she pulls a bomb from her bandolier and chucks it at the fae who keeps attacking the other alchemist.
Move to V20, throw a cytillesh bomb at the enemy at Z18.
Bomb Attack: [roll0]
Bomb Damage: [roll1]
If that attack hits, DC 15 Fort save or be sickened.
Arthur's revolver delivers a sharp report as he fires at the fae, moving further out of the clearing, "Falkner, no use in wasting bombs, bullets will work just as well against these unseelie. This one seems to have trouble hitting me, which speaks extremely poorly of its marksmanship."
Attack: [roll0]
Crit Confirm: [roll1]
Damage: [roll2]
The fey trapped in Lierra's collective screams in agony as the last of its life is drained from it; it topples to the ground, an empty husk.
Arthur's bullet takes a chunk out of the shoulder creature he has targeted.
The western creature retreats into the forest, disappearing from sight into the darkness. Meanwhile, the eastern creature suddenly bursts into flames, shrieking as it withers to ash. The fight, for all intents and purposes, seems to be over.
Arthur clears the empty cartridge from his revolver and replaces it as he watches the injured fey run into the woods. He snorts and gestures at the rest of his team, "That was anti-climactic to a tee. Of course, we also didn't waste many resources, which is exceptional given our current status. Let's get a move on before nastier fey decide to show up, hmm?"
cecil1994
2017-05-03, 10:56 AM
The enemies vanished or vanquished, some part of Clarence's ardor goes the same. They slump. A hesitant voice murmurs in the collective-
"What is this? You should not be able to... reach us here, I think."
Nevertheless, they do as Arthur suggests.
"Onward and inward, anyways. There's more company here than we're willing to meet."
Dondasch
2017-05-03, 10:14 PM
'Since they apparently didn't bother to give you a proper briefing: I can link us together so that we can communicate and I can heal us more effectively. We can't find anything you don't send, so privacy isn't a concern.' Lierra scans the area, alert in case the fae returns with backup. 'Regardless, we need to move on quickly, before the escapee can warn the rest of its kind.'
Collective members (6/8): Lierra, Aetas, Obitus, Enola, Clarence, Arthur
Ryan leads the way deeper into the forest. The light from the worms grows dimmer as you proceed, until it's only barely enough to see by. As you go further, he begins to lengthen his lead, a little bit at a time. After nearly half an hour, he's just barely visible, despite any requests to slow down. Then, in the blink of an eye, he disappears; yanked into the darkness, making barely a sound as he goes. Almost simultaneously, the light from the worms blinks out. It's pitch black.
All around you, you start to hear rustling, whispers, and quiet laughter.
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