At the Edge of Humanity {IC}

[JonRG]

Jerid sees his chance to strike when the fire breaks out. Shifting into his natural form, he attempts to surprise the lone man standing off to the side before he can get into the fight.

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Surprise! It's a baby dragon. Now how does this attacking work again? Charging into the fray. AC down to 18. Let's hope this works!

Attack!: (1d20+15)[28]
Retreat: (1d6+5)[10] + (4d6)[8]

[Stegyre]

Tai

"Omar wants help–," Tai starts to say, as Alala stoops into her dive. "OOOOooooohhhhhhh!" If he had a hat, the rat would be holding on to it. Instead he aims to focus his mental powers on one of the other attackers: the one who seems to be trying to cudgel Omar into submission.

Spoiler: Actions

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Standard action to use Brain Lock on the one striking Omar: DC 19, or he's shut down for as long as Tai concentrates on maintaining it.

We're on our way, Omar, he assures their comrade.

[Silver Night]

Verin


"Wheee!" When they get within 150', Verin would attempt Hold Person (DC 19) on the nearer humanoid holding the cloth.

[~Corvus~]

Jerid moves in to strike at the lone man. He can't avoid what he doesn't anticipate, and he reaches to his side in pain. They're here! he manages with a groan.

The closer of the cloth-holders seems unaffected by Verin's spell. As Alala comes charging in, he's prepared. He dodges the strike even as she becomes visible, and takes several steps ahead without attacking. Two, We need to go. With one hand, he waves a rod, flicks his fingers in a brief pattern, and the air around him and Two shimmer with a blue aura that quickly disappears.

Got it, replies a voice Jerid could swear he's heard before. Two mutters in a strange bubbly language breaks a symbol over Omar's cloth. She casts a spell out of reach of the others, but a similar blue Aura, more intense than the last, flashes around both her and the other holding the cloth.

Spoiler: Details

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Spoiler: Aquan

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Merciful Sashelas, Lend us your aid if our enemies may smite us down.

One
Fort Save

Three
Will vs Brain Lock: (1d20+8)[26]
Defensive Casting vs 14 (Auto succeed, even on a 1)

Spoiler: Spellcraft DCs 16 and 18

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Twinned Karmic Backlash on Two and One, then Karmic Aura on Two.
Complete Mage 108-109

[~Corvus~]

Three begins chanting something that makes the air shimmer around them. Omar feels the pull of malevolence around him, as if fear itself is being pulled into the cloth that entrap him. As he chants, his grey cloth robes take on a darker hue and begins to empty of color. His skin wracks and buckles and he visibly looks uglier as he speaks With the air of a practiced man of war, he ignores the dragon biting his side and swings fists at Alala. His attack slams home into the Centaur's frame, and as his fist bounces back from her body, she feels the horrible feeling of cracked rib bones and pulped flesh as a black mark is left where his fist had hit.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Spoiler: Knowledge (religion) 22 or (The Planes 24)

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This is Dark Speech, the words used by dark gods themselves. Here it the manifests as Augmentation, a means of enhancing Corrupting spells.

Atk: (1d20+15)[25]
Damage: (2d6)[7] and 2 points of Constitution damage.

[Silver Night]

Verin


Verin squints at the fight, then mutters some words of her own and executes a gesture in the direction of the attackers that is neither polite nor strictly necessary for the spell (though it might be the sort of thing Olidammara appreciates).

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Conviction, Mass. +3 morale bonus to everyone's saving throws.

[Swami Monsoon]

Seeing that the cloth is not igniting, Omar tries to aim down towards his feet and releases a cloud of noxious fumes, hoping enough of the vapor will escape the cloth and hinder his attackers...

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Using Sickening Breath, 15' cone 0 damage, targets Sickened for two rounds (one with save)
I'm guessing that they pulled the cloth over his head and upper body first, which would probably leave a gap near his feet.

[Stegyre]

Tai

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Tai automatically makes the spellcraft checks.

Knowledge Devotion: (1d20+8)[9]

They're nimble. I'll give them that. Beware that if you strike them, it may tire you. He fires off a bolt of entangling ectoplasm at 3.

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Ranged touch attack (1d20+14)[26], entangled, no save, if successful.

[whoiam]

Alala drops her lance as the man punches her...

...and lets out several unrepeatable words in response.


More constructively (or destructively, if you prefer) she draws her Spiked Chain (move action) and then uses her Rabid Wolf Strike on the person who'd injured her.

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+4 Attack, -4 AC, +2d6 damage (Rabid Wolf Strike)
-4 Attack, +8 damage (Power Attack, 4 points)
Total: 4d6+24 damage, -4 AC

"Attack Roll" - (1d20+18)[38]
"Damage Roll" - (4d6+24)[39]

[whoiam]

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"Crit Confirmation roll" - (1d20+18)[19]

Woo, a natural 20! It's been so long... I think Alala got my last one as well, but that time she was only hitting an illusion :(

[~Corvus~]

When Omar breathes, the gas takes two by surprise and she starts to cough. Her grip on the cloth weakens. It may be the only chance he has.

Omar's attackers wear full-bodied, grey cloth robes, and even their heads are hidden by face masks. They have strips of leather that line the outside of the suit and look more like...a harness but without the rings. Their sleeves have room, ostensibly as easy storage for magical rods.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Omar may begin to remake his Grapple checks next round. He only needs to beat a
(1d20+11)[19]. Apply your bonus from Conviction to this roll.

...Still waiting for Jerid's actions

[JonRG]

Jerid snarls and takes another bite at The Familiar Man.

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Sorry. I guess I missed that I was up. I'm assuming no sneak attack. I guess lemme know if I'm wrong.

Attack 1: (1d20+13)[19]
Damage 1: (1d6+5)[9]
Attack 2: (1d20+8)[11]
Damage 2: (1d6+5)[6]

[~Corvus~]

Alala's curses spur her rage as she drops her lance and retrieves her chain. She swings her body around towards "Three", catching the man right in the jaw. Bone cracks and blood sprays from his mouth, and his chant ends in a scream. He tries to use the momentum from her blow to leverage the centaur off her hooves, but another bite from Jerid causes him to flinch for just the right amount of time for her to prevent his throw from succeeding.

"One" picks up the chanting. Omar feels the cloth continue to bind him, pulling itself magically together. He lets go of the cloth holding Omar's head, steps a little away from Alala and Omar, pulls two long rods from his cloth robe and pushes them together to make a short staff. His eyes crease with amusement as he continues his chant and draws a small symbol in the ground, then strikes it with the staff. A cacophony of muffled moans vibrates the muddy ground, and the ground shifts and churns nearby.

"Two" drops the cloth holding Omar, overcome by the sickening cloud she's breathed in. She falls to the ground and manages, Dahlia--

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It's clear that "One" is using the staff for a dark spell. The symbol in the ground is tough to see from here, but maybe it can be made out..

Spoiler: Perception DC 24, then knowledge (arcana) or (religion) 21

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This spell functions like an Animate spell, but taps the power of blood instead of onyx. It's an old and dangerous spell.

"Three" uses Devastating Throw against Alala. Opposed Trip (use Str or Dex, whichever's higher)
"3" (1d20+11)[22]
"Alala" (1d20+14)[28]

[Stegyre]

Tai

"Stop that.," Tai says to One, following up the order with a blast of energy.

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Is Three entangled, or not?

As for One: standard action to manifest a nasty-big energy ray at One

Attack: (1d20+21)[28] (spending 1 inspiration for Cunning Insight -- wouldn't want to miss with this many pp) Fire damage (10d6+10)[45] -- let's hope they didn't get their basic energy resistance up this morning.
No save.

Edit: it's a ranged touch attack; I'll put the save against the karma spells in the OOC thread.

[Swami Monsoon]

Omar squirms and makes another attempt to break free...

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(1d20+7)[13]

[Silver Night]

Verin


Verin targets the cloth with Dispel Magic.

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(1d20+8)[17]

[whoiam]

Jerid's distraction allowed Alala to turn a potential throw into a neat springboard for her to move backwards from. She grinned at the person who'd attempted it - she knew how heavy she was, and it was impressive he'd even thought to try.

"Get behind him, " Alala called out to Jerid, before keeping Three's mind off the little dragon with a little flattery.

"You're pretty good, " she complimented him, the compliment somewhat undermined by the two swings of her spiked chain that accompanied it...

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5' step directly back from 'Three'. Then full attacking with the Spiked Chain.

"Attack 1" - (1d20+18)[19]
"Damage 1" - (2d6+16)[23]
"Attack 2" - (1d20+13)[20]
"Damage 2" - (2d6+16)[24]

And switching stances into Tactics of the Wolf, giving Alala and her allies a +6 damage bonus on any attack vs a flanked opponent.

Flattery and some violence.

[~Corvus~]

Omar feels the cloth's hold weaken significantly. He scrambles to get out of the wet, heavy material but he still feels stuck in its endless folds.

When Alala resists his trip, "Three" shifts his bearing as his eyes promise the centaur he isn't done. He shifts forward with her swings and regains the ground she had used to move away from him. He is about ready to strike Alala.

One finishes the spel he'd been casting earlier. From the muddy ground fifty feet away, mud-clad skeletons rise from the ground. They clutch wicked and partially-rusted metal blades that look more menacing than they should.

Spoiler: Details

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"3" takes two 5-foot steps and positions himself to flank Alala with "1"
Skirmish map in OOC thread.

Also, see my updated sig. Vutha's been busy!

[Swami Monsoon]

As Omar struggles he exhales another cloud of noxious fumes, once again aiming at his feet...

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Re-apply Sickening Breath

[Silver Night]

Verin

Verin attempts to turn the skeletons, waving around a holy symbol and yelling what some might recognize as profanities in Undercommon and Infernal.

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Turning Check: (1d20+4)[8] Edit: Max single Undead effected is 7HD

Turning Damage: (2d6+12)[19] total HD of undead. Any undead with effective HD of less than half Verin's cleric class level who would be turned are instead destroyed.

[JonRG]

Jerid shifts behind Three and bites again while Alala distracts him.

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Five foot... step? If I have to Acrobatics for it, I can also.

Attack: (1d20+15)[20]
Damage: (1d6+11)[15] + (4d6)[15]

[~Corvus~]

Jerid shifts into position for another strike against "three" and bites down, tearing again at his side. This bite tears off a piece of his side and his suit, and, breathing hard, he grabs Jerid before he can retreat out of his reach.

Omar breathes again, and he sees some of the noxious vapor flowing out of the cloth. There's the way out!

"One", finished summoning the skeletons, blends into Alala's shadow and reappears just in front of the line of them. He orders the skeletons forward.

Spoiler: combat rolls

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Omar may exit the cloth this round as a move action.

"Three" uses Comet Throw against Jerid (success)
Melee touch+4 vs 15 (success unless Crit fail) (1d20+15)[20]
Opposed Trip: "Three" at +4 (1d20+10)[18] v Jerid (no AoO, can't trip on fail) (1d20+5)[15]
Move Jerid to S7 and deals above damage to all within S7 (Jerid, Tai, Verin, Alala).
(4d6+5)[19] & Reflex DC 22 to halve. All who fail also are moved to Y7 & fall prone.

"One" uses Shadow Stride and prepares a spell...

8 skeletons moving into range of Alala. She may make some AoOs. 4 Skeletons moving around Jerid, and he may also make AoOs as well. Strangely enough, these skeletons are vulnerable to Sneak Attacks.

[~Corvus~]

"three" manages to throw Jerid, and as he rockets towards Tai and Verin, a scramble ensues. Alala has been watching the skeletons' approach so intently that she doesn't manage to react in time to Jeridexeles rocketing into her side. With the other three trying to avoid entanglement, the poor centaur takes the brunt of the blow. The force of her fall sweeps several skeletons off their feet and forces them into the trees.

Verin's string of curses and holy power vaporize two skeletons outright and causes another to flee from her display.

Two stumbles away from the cloth under which Omar is struggling, still unable to stop coughing.

"One" uses another spell, but in all of the mayhem of combat, Tai is unable to see what exactly the spell is. However, he notices an arc of energy that passes through the skeletons and sets their rusted weapons to fizzle with magical lightning energy.

Spoiler: details

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We already had Alala take damage there, so she's good. Reflex save for no damage from the originator is strange, but I'll still have Jerid be moved.

Spoiler: Tai or Spellcraft DC 22

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It looks like a Chained Weapon of Energy spell.
(Comp Arcane + Spell Compendium)

[whoiam]

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"AOO from Prone" - (1d20+14)[28] (including the -4 penalty for being prone when making the attack)
"AOO Damage from Prone" - (2d6+16)[25]

Afterwards, counting the people arrayed against her, Alala takes a move action to stand up (provoking AOOs, if there's anyone in range of her new location), and then simply moves away. Her destination is a point at least 20' above the ground (therefore taking herself out of range of the skeletons).

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Rough calculations suggest she should be able to make it 20' back and 20' up - i.e. 30' diagonal movement, consistent with her reduced climb speed and max 45' climb rate, at the cost of exposing herself to AOOs twice in the case of there being an adjacent enemy with Combat Reflexes.

As part of her movement, she will switch weapons to her longbow.

[Silver Night]

Verin

Seeing as it seems to be where she'd be most effective, Verin will try and stay a bit back from the action (as she doesn't have much to offer in a fight) and try and turn undead again!

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Turning Check: (1d20+4)[19] Undead up to 11 effective HD affected

Turning 'damage': (2d6+12)[19] total HD of Skeletons affected. Again, any of them with less than half Verin's effective cleric level in HD that would be turned are instead destroyed.

[Swami Monsoon]

Omar finally crawls out of the folds of cloth... seeing the rank of skeletons in front of him, he ignites another spray of caustic, clinging sap...

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Breath weapon, 30' line, fire against row of 4 skeletons to his west, with Entangling Exhalation. Save DC 22.

Half damage (2d6)[5]
Targets Entangled and take 1d6/rd for (1d4)[3] rounds.

[Stegyre]

Tai

Tai grimaces. I need weaker minds. He focuses his thoughts upon the attackers. "I suggest you hunt for the spotted mushrooms necessary to counteract the fatal poison from the tree-man's breath before you die in agony!" He then scurries into the underbrush.

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Standard action to manifest psionic suggestion, boosted to affect all three. DC 21 to resist. Duration: 10 hours, or until they find some spotted mushrooms. Tai figures they don't necessarily know all the possible effects of what Omar has been breathing out upon them, and even those not directly affected may feel the need of finding the antidote for their companion(s).
Whether spotted mushrooms are safe to eat – that's a completely different matter. "They are the only known antidote."

Followed by moving into what I hope is some brush (the green area) and trying to hide: (1d20+23)[38]. "Being a team player does not mean leaving myself exposed."

[JonRG]

Jerid glares at Three, but then he pauses in thought. He didn't need to fight harder. He needed to fight smarter. So Jerid feints another bite to the gut before reaching to tear through the man's hood.

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Okay, here we go. Fingers crossed!

Grapple: (1d20+11)[24]
Bite: (1d20+13)[30]
Dexterity: (1d20+5)[23]

[~Corvus~]

Verin's intonations wash over the skeletons. Two more turn to flee, only to be caught in Omar's breath, but most of them stand against their attackers with absent-minded duty. They press forward to surround the dragon and the one that turns them.

With Tai's suggestion, "three" looks undaunted but the other two look at each other. Did you prepare Delay Poison? Well, we already used it for-- Shush. That one does look like he's from Sodis and-- they both gasp, whispering in unison We might have a cure for the Spellplague. They both vanish into each others' shadows and Omar can see them reappear on the other side of the tree grove. They continue in that direction, talking animatedly to each other as they flee.

"Three, unable to call out to them due to his lack of a functional jaw, has his hood pulled off by Jerid. The dragon's bite also manages to rip off the remainder of his lower jaw, causing yet another scream. He stumbles away from Jerid, who still has the suit gripped in jaws, and he flops down, unable to take the shock of such a terrifying injury.

Meanwhile, the skeletons pursue Verin and attack with viciousness not known to their kind.

Spoiler: details

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Moved Tai to AA5, as that is the closest underbrush available.
Alala's attacks felled one skeleton (now a color-blended square.) Three skeletons stand from prone, using their move and move to Omar.

Four (entangled) skeletons attack Verin (currently AC 22)
(1d20+8)[19] (1d20+8)[28] (1d20+8)[10] (1d20+8)[18]
Crits: (1d20+8)[22] (1d20+8)[25] (1d20+8)[28] (1d20+8)[13]
Damage: (1d8+4)[8] (1d8+4)[8] (1d8+4)[5] (1d8+4)[9]
electric: (1d6+1)[5] (1d6+1)[3] (1d6+1)[2] (1d6+1)[3]
24 + 3 fire damage here

A spell goes off: Mass snake's Swiftness, centered on O9:
(1d20+8)[17] (1d20+8)[23] (1d20+8)[28] (1d20+8)[12]
Crits: (1d20+8)[19] (1d20+8)[19] (1d20+8)[18] (1d20+8)[16]
Damage: (1d8+4)[5] (1d8+4)[9] (1d8+4)[6] (1d8+4)[10]
electric: (1d6+1)[2] (1d6+1)[3] (1d6+1)[3] (1d6+1)[5]
17 + (3+3) fire here.

Max of.. 41 slashing damage and 9 electric to Verin.

[Silver Night]

Verin

Verin, not one for the front lines, attempts to escape imminent death.

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That damage, plus the damage from earlier, minus the temp HP, leaves Verin at 24 HP.

Verin will attempt to cast Invisibility defensively:

Concentration: (1d20+13)[25] vs 17

If successful, she will try and get clear of the skeletons