Shattered Star II: Curse of the Lady's Light (IC)

[Tippnick]

He will assess what type of creatures they are

Iluvar greets Fallon, "How are you doing there Fallon? Friends of yours?"
FA: 5ft step North to flank and enable precise strike with the one he flanks with Fallon.

SWA; judgement of destruction +3 to damage
Full round attack in crane style flurry of blows
Attacking the one west of Fallon and east of him after 5 ft step

[

Spoiler: flurry

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Roll]d20+13[/roll] to hit using stunning Fist DC 17
[Roll]d8+2+3[/roll] damage from a punch
[(d6)[5] precise strike damage

A knee attack
(d20+13)[23] to hit with knee
[Roll]d8+2+3[/roll] damage
(d6)[2] precise strike damage

An elbow
[Roll]d20+8][/roll] to hit
[Roll]d8+2+3[/roll] elbow damage
(d6)[1] precise strike damage

[Tippnick]

Rolling rocks

Spoiler: fixing mistakes

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(d20+13)[22] 1st attack
(d20+8)[21] 3rd attack

[lostsole31]

Spoiler: Golden Gallery (Erima, Telgarana)

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R2T2: Rezah touches his statue again, re-starting the process.

R3T24: Telly comes out of delay to step over to the SE statue and touches that one.

R3T17: Erima, you can get no more information with detect psionics along this line of bearing at this time. What do you do?

Spoiler: Elsewhere (Iluvar)

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R2T6: Iluvar takes a look at these things, easily assessing what they are. He greets Fallon, "How are you doing there Fallon? Friends of yours?"

He gives a quiet prayer to Pharasma to help him hasten the sinspawn's meeting with his Lady. He punches the lustspawn in the kidney with a quick jab for 11, stunning it. The creature doubles over in pain, and Iluvar follows up with a knee to its neck for 14. He then drops it with an elbow strike for 8.

"We were just getting acquainted," begins Fallon, appearing in some distress, but looking at Iluvar with a "thirsty" eye.

R3T19: Blue snaps at Fallon, but is then overcome by its wounds and drops to the ground.

R3T18: Fallon looks at Iluvar, "You are looking way better than you did before, so perhaps I better be defensive right now." She commits to total defense with her rapier, and tries to acrobatically clear the area, but she is moving almost like she's drunk. Still, despite being not acrobatic at all, it is proof that "drunken style" works as the lustspawn threatening her fails to take advantage of the opening.

[silphael]

Erima touches the third statue, then moves toward the platform.

[lostsole31]

Spoiler: Golden Gallery (Erima, Telgarana)

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R3T17: Dropping concentration on her power, Erima touches the third statue and then goes over to stand on the central platform.

R3T14: The Scribe zooms over and touches the last statue, instantly transporting Erima elsewhere, and all the statues and platforms power down.

Spoiler: Elsewhere (Iluvar ... and now Erima)

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Erima appears in an alcove of a massive room where there's a fight well underway.

R3T13-7: A weird creature (Green) responds to Erima's sudden appearance by scratching and biting at her, but Erima finds her cool new armor more than enough to rebuff ... her? It is a hairless humanoid with perfectly formed, though sexualized, features ... which are then marred by its hideous face and claws. Another one of these creatures sidesteps a little and begins its onslaught against Iluvar, but the monk's defenses are more than a match to block the horror.

R3T6: Iluvar, what do you do?

[Tippnick]

"Erima, Fallon these creatures are aberrations called lustspawn. Their bite will affect your mind to create an unnatural lust", Iluvar points out.
He then attacks blue lustspawn.

Spoiler: flurry of blows

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Full round action
Flurry of blows
(d20+13)[32] stunning fist dc17 fort
[Roll]d8+2+3[/roll] damage
(d20+13)[16] front kick
[Roll]d8+2+3[/roll] damage
(d20+8)[28]knee
[Roll]d8+2+3[/roll]

[Tippnick]

Critical threat

Spoiler: crit threat

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(d20)[13]
(2d6)[7]

[lostsole31]

Spoiler: Elsewhere (Iluvar, Erima)

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R3T6: "Erima, Fallon, these creatures are aberrations called lustspawn. Their bite will affect your mind to create an unnatural lust", Iluvar points out.
He then attacks blue lustspawn with a knee to Blue's solar plexus for 8, and as is the weakness now verified with the second such struck sinspawn, as with most aberrations they aren't great at handling physical shocks to their system as Blue is now stunned. He then does a front snap kick to Blue's left lower arm for only a jab, but the shock of pain for 6 is enough to drop Blue. Iluvar then does a knee drop onto Blue for 14, while at the same time sending out a sweeping rear kick to Green with ANOTHER crit that does a SEVERE WOUND with that roundhouse kick that catches a surprised green in the belly for 19, and with that roundhouse then gets a free attack at the fallen Blue, Brown, and Red, delivering a death blow to all of them.

R4T18: "Trust me, Iluvar," says Fallon, "what I want to do to you right now? Well, they call it 'doing what comes naturally.'"

She closes on the last sinspawn (Green) to stab it in the head for 17, dropping it.

"Say, you don't happen to have one of those pesky vows of celibacy, do you?" she says, looking rather saucy in her diaphonous fey clothing.

R4T17: Erima, what do you do? Do you clear the area in case another ally comes 'porting through?

Spoiler: Golden Gallery (Telgarana)

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R3T2-R4T24: Rezah and Telgarana both do a combination of movement and statue-touching.

[silphael]

Erima moves inside the room, making sure to let people enter.

"Looks like my help isn't needed anymore ?"

[lostsole31]

It will take several more rounds, but the rest of the party will come through, the last one being The Scribe. Also, it takes a little less than a minute, but Fallon's lusty aspirations with Iluvar seem to fade (though she doesn't apologize or explain herself without prodding).

Anyone who knows can explains what the lustspawn were, and they have nothing of value on them.

This magnificent marble chamber is richly appointed. Its domed ceiling is frescoed with an image of a starry night sky, while a thick rug of exquisite manufacture covers much of the floor. A stairway rises to a pair of double doors to the west, while a hallway leads away to the south. Large alcoves decorated with gold tiles extend to the north and east. Black marble benches carved to represent coiling serpents sit on the northeast and southeast walls.

Rezah asks Iluvar, "Will you be offended if I call for Iomedae's aid to heal Pharasma's servant?"

[Tippnick]

"Go ahead, it breaks no tenets to heal her servants" Iluvar instructs.

[lostsole31]

"Truth be told, my Lady is sore with yours," Rezah says, "but you are mighty. Consider this a weak conversion attempt."

Rezah "the Jolly" says perfectly deadpan casting a minimum power CLW for 6 healing to Iluvar. "See what I mean?"

What now?

[Tippnick]

"If you could I saw Fallon take a wound. But after that let us explore the room and possible exits"Iluvar suggest.

[lostsole31]

"Just a scratch," says Fallon, "not worth the effort of a spell."

Which, oddly, is an answer that suits Rezah just fine. Since this is an exploration and not just a maguffin-grab, The Scribe wants a deep exploration, not just a quick-look. So, this includes taking rubbings, sketching, taking measurements, etc. Fallon begins first with a full-room safety check.

Next, the northern alcove will detect as magic, which Fallon and the Scribe determine to be strong conjuration magic.

The hallway to the south is not traversed, as it is too easy for someone "just taking a quick look," to cause problems.

The double doors to the west are obviously safety checked and clear.

The entire exploration and cataloguing of this room takes 166 min (2-3/4 hours).

At some point with all of the exploration, even with the thick heavy doors to the west, anyone getting close hears the sound of a large party in full swing.

What now? Mess with the northern alcove? Head south along that passage which then turns west? Or open the double doors to reveal the source of the sounds of a large party?

[Tippnick]

"A party? Lust? Hmm. Maybe we should gird ourselves against mind affecting effects", Iluvar suggests.

[lostsole31]

The only one who has anything prepared which might help is Rezah, who can ward an individual or an area .... but that isn't perfect, and better if a threat is known rather than done as a "maybe."

"Should we take the southern passage, then?" asks Fallon.

[Tippnick]

"I am good with that course. Let us hope to learn more about what we might be facing to the West by exploring our surroundings starting with the South", Iluvar agrees.

[silphael]

"Let's go south, yes. I suppose the north is the way back to where we were ?"

[lostsole31]

Nobody is sure if the northern alcove is a way to teleport back or not.

Erima, do you take point with Rezah? Fallon will be in the second-rank to notice traps (she can do so from 10' away).

Iluvar, where do you want to be?

[Tippnick]

Iluvar will go back to his previous spot as a mover the Scribe assigned him.

[lostsole31]

The group takes the southern hallway, but as they continue west they begin to hear the same sounds of a party.

[Tippnick]

"It looks like we were meant to go west. Let us try this door", Iluvar says.

[lostsole31]

Everyone (that's an NPC) looks at Iluvar curiously as you stand in the unenclosed hallway that turns to the north.

The Scribe asks, "Did you find a secret door, Iluvar?"

[Tippnick]

"I did not, I thought I saw a door to the west. However it just was a momentary play of the light. Pardon my mistake", Iluvar apologizes. "Do continue."

[lostsole31]

The party turns the corner and heads north. As the PCs approach the chamber to the north, the sound of a large party in full swing—delighted laughter, spirited music, the clinking of fine crystal, and the murmur of a large crowd—becomes increasingly obvious.

Does anyone do (or say) anything before continuing into the chamber?

[Tippnick]

Iluvar indicates he is ready to go, by pointing in the direction of the chamber.

[silphael]

Erima gets ready to crash in, focusing her mind in case things get messy.

Spoiler: OOC

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No preparation before seeing the place : what I can do right need to know, and the few that could be prebuff are likely to be used at max PP, which also... makes it a swift action.

[lostsole31]

This cavernous hall is made of marble, with two rows of pillars carved to resemble tree trunks supporting the ceiling thirty feet above. The frescoed ceiling is painted to depict the canopy of foliage such trees would produce, and a star-flooded sky, full moon aglow, peeks through the boughs here and there. A lavish rug, colored burnt orange shot through with threads of gold, runs the length of the room. Two great tapestries of rich burgundy hang from the sides of a balcony on the east wall that overlooks the ballroom from a height of thirty feet, while at the opposite end of the room, four statues of a beautiful woman guard a large stage.

When you first enter this room, they’re greeted by what might be an unexpected sight—a grand masked ball in full swing. Dozens of men and women dressed in fine clothing dance to the music of a small orchestra on the stage, while just below the stage sits none other than Runelord Sorshen herself on a ruby throne, clad in a scandalously revealing gown. As the PCs enter, she rises from the throne and claps her hands twice. This causes the orchestra to fall silent and the members of the dance to immediately hush and turn their attention to her as she speaks.

“Oh my sweet subjects,” she coos, her voice seductive and penetrating. “Now is the time for us to enjoy the succulent fruits of our labor. I give you license to indulge your appetites, every unexpressed libidinous impulse, for by such indulgences you honor me. Those who would interfere with this sacrament are like the blind chastising the sighted for looking with pleasure upon a rainbow. Why, some in our midst this very moment actively work against us—obstacles between us and the indulgence of our passions. Behold the cold and bloodless prudes who even now stand before us!”

At this point, all turn to face the PCs, their expressions a mixture of contempt and disgust. One looming man dressed in green-and-gold robes raises an accusing finger at the PCs and yells venomously: “The proper place for those without the Inner Fire is the grave! Come, let us drag them there!” At this command, the crowd surges toward the PCs in an angry mob, emitting a unified, growing howl of fury.

Begin Round One ...

R1T25: Fallon instantly lets loose with a grease spell right in front of the party to control the revelers' point of approach. All of the party-goers manage to resist falling on the grease.

R1T22: "There's no way that is Runelord Karzoug, the runelord of greed," harrumphs The Scribe. He gives a good hard stare and then calls out, "It's a powerful illusion. The revelers aren't real. And that isn't Runelord Sorshen down there on the throne."

R1T19: Telgarana isn't so sure and jumps out of formation to strike down a party-goer, but as soon as she does all of the revelers disappear, leaving only one distant creature still visible.

R1T16: Iluvar, what do you do? Mind the black spot, which is grease.

[Tippnick]

Spoiler: non-speaking role

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MA: moves toward the individual
5 feet sw- then 40 west
SA: casts divine favor
Will assess the individual
Will use an inspiration point to help if the roll of the d20 is below 12

[silphael]

Moving forward, sliding on the ground more than walking, Erima gathers her thoughts, her form growing to towering heights as a ring of potential futures starts spinning around her head.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move action, move forward, my boots of skating protecting me from grease afaik (if it doesn't, I'll cover the same distance anyway) so either 7 squares West, or 1 square NW, then 6 W.

Standard action, manifest Metamorphosis (using my PrC daily ability to do it once at full ML), gaining the following options from menu B (2 normal, one from Improved Metamorphosis feat) :
-+2 sizes
-+3 Natural Armor
-+4 enhancement bonus to strength (so only +2 above what I currently have due to ABP)
And this option from menu A : Cleave (from 2 extra PP).

Swift action, manifest Offensive Prescience at 7 PP (which allows it as a swift action), gaining a +4 insight bonus to damage.