The Complex of Doom (IC) Thread 2

[Cavir]

Once the negatives energies have finished healing the undead, Kricen has Babs try to drag the ooze out the hole. He'll heal the zombie as needed. If the zombie does have to fall with the ooze to get it out then Babs will be fully healed again just before doing so. The necromancer will of course get out of the way when needed.

"You should go tell the others to get out of the way of something big being dropped. If it survives the fall you should find it hard to miss it down there."

Spoiler: OOC

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If it is someway safer to kill the ooze before dragging it, Babs can slam it while Kricen touche sit from afar.

[J-H]

The ooze's acid burns the babau when he lays hands on it.
(2d6)[7] acid damage

[Cavir]

The zombie tries to follow orders but there's not way it will work. Kricen quickly realizes it too.

"Caidacyn, on second thought, go ahead and blast. We don't want it to adapt to that disease and be trouble for us again later. Maybe it will be decayed away by the time we ever want to come back."

He orders Babs to start bashing it while he uses his spectral hand to help kill the ooze. Once it is dead he heals up the zombie again then flies them both back down, taking notice of where the moving trees are. This side of the river? Coming towards them?

Spoiler: OOC

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Want to hand wave this all done or want us to do a bunch of rolls?
Too bad we can't use Coup de Grace on it.

[J-H]

It takes some time, and some stopping to heal the zombie babau, but eventually the two of you smash the ooze into cohesion. Only a little fewer than half of Caidacyn’s eldritch blasts take effect (SR 17).

The moving trees are far off to the south, not on your current intended course.

[Cavir]

"Resistant to magic? Hmmm." He makes a mental note of the trivia.

Kricen takes a look down the tunnel to see if it was possible to use the broom to get over the dead ooze currently. If not, hopefully its 'skin' would at some point fail and its inside spill out down the pillar to give them room to proceed then. He has the zombie get on the broom with him then flies back down to ground level. He keeps his eyes to the south, noticing which way the trees were moving since the group would still be heading west before turning south closer to the wall.

On the ground he informs the others. "Inside the tunnel there is a ladder heading upward. An oversized ooze plopped down and ended the exploration. It's dead now, but so big it blocks the path. If we need to go that route, maybe it will have dissolved away by then."

"There's also trees moving around on the other side of the river. Not headed this way though. Ready to keep heading west for the stone?"

[Dexam]

Caidacyn is more than happy to blast the ooze with her fey energies until it ceases moving entirely.

"Foul, unnatural creatures everywhere here," she mutters.

As Kricen and the zombie depart on the broomstick, Caidacyn notices a slight gap between the body of the ooze and the roof of the tunnel. Turning invisible once again, she spider-climbs up the tunnel, grimacing in disgust as she squeezes past the ooze's body. Peering up the shaft and feeling for the presence of living creatures, she begins to cautiously climb up the ladder...

[J-H]

The shaft goes up, up, up out of sight, a dizzyingly long unlit space that disappears into the darkness.

[razorback]

"Oozes and trees? The things epics are written about." he says dead-pan, with mirth behind his eyes. "A way out, at least if we need it. Hopefully they aren't flying trees, though they may not fit the tunnel. Do you want to explore it or continue on our path?"

[Dexam]

Caidacyn feels momentarily compelled by her curiosity to start climbing up the shaft to see where it leads, but changes her mind when she remembers the other party members below, and worries that they might leave her behind.

Instead, she scans the immediate area of the shaft, the ooze's body, and the tunnel entrance area for the presence of any magical auras. if nothing is found she climbs back down the pillar to rejoin the group; otherwise she further investigates the source of the magic.

[J-H]

Nothing magical is found, so she descends safely.

[Cavir]

"We can stay our course. I'm ready." That's when Kricen realizes they are still missing one member. He looks up and watches Caidacyn making her way down.

[razorback]

Once Caidacyn is down, Shim looks at the others as he makes his way with the others down their path. "Maybe keep a bit of space between each other? Just in case we run into a fire breathing... frog, or something." he says as he tries lighten the mood a bit.

Spoiler

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Anyone seen the OOC? Can't find it and wonder if I accidentally deleted my subscription.

[Cavir]

"Spreading out some is fine. Caidacyn, still up for scouting?"

[Dexam]

Caidacyn reports back on what little there was to find in the pillar. "It looks like a very long climb up," she says.

"I'll scout ahead," Caidacyn replies to Kricen, as she turns invisible once more. "But not too far - I suspect that for some creatures in this place, invisibility is no impediment."

Spoiler

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Hide: (1d20+7)[14]
Move Silently: (1d20+7)[26]
Spot: (1d20+4)[11]
Listen: (1d20+4)[21]

Detecting living creatures 30' every few rounds as move action.

[J-H]

Without any further incident, you reach the western wall. Tall and straight, it disappears into the mist near the ceiling. It must be cooler up there, since the air is plenty humid along the ground. Proceeding south, you rest through a night cycle and begin. Suddenly, you hear a buzzing sound as a reddish cloud of flowers zooms out of the forest and descends upon you.



Caidacyn and Shim both recognize it as something called a dread blossom swarm – a predatory cloud of flowers that disables and drains blood from anything living. They are deadly and hard to kill, as most weapons barely harm them. Cold and fire work best. This one seems to be pretty big.

Flying rapidly, they close before you can do anything, swooping in and trailing a cloud of pollen.

Spoiler

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Swarm damage (2d8)[14]
Fort DC17 or paralyzed for 1 round and (1d6)[3] CON damage
You get CON damage any time you’re paralyzed and in the swarm’s area at the end of the swarm’s turn.

Kricen (1d20+8)[17] Includes +2 for Mental Bastion
Shim (1d20+6)[26]
Matai (1d20+9)[24]
Wow, lucky!

Spoiler: Map & Status

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Kricen 11 damage
Shim 14 damage
Matai 14 damage

Note: Dread Blossom swarms have a fly speed of 60’. Out of range of Detect Living, and nobody made the spot check. This was just a surprise round, but swarms don’t need to do anything besides move around.

=> Party

[Cavir]

"What the? Spread out so it can only get one of us at a time."

Kricen moves away from the flora swarm as he pulls out a flask. He turns and throws it at the swarm. It erupts in fire. The undead try bashing at the flying flowers.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move to AG224 while pulling out Alchemist’s Fire. Throw it targeted at AG228. If I miss the scatter should still hurt it some. Since it covers multiple squares, perhaps the splash into its other squares will add to the damage?

The raptors will make a defensive line. I don't think their slams will do any damage. If they would let me know and I'll roll or J-H can roll. Big raptor stays in place. The medium sized ones line up at AG226 and AH226. Babs to AG225.

Flask: (1d20+3)[7] crit: (1d20+3)[15] Touch/splash
damage: (1d6)[5] crit: (1d6)[4] Fire Splash damage for +50%?
Scatter (1d8)[6] (1=north, clockwise)
Adj squares take 1 pt fire damage. On hit, tgt takes another 1d6 fire next round.

Kricen has DR3. DR2 from class, DR1 from armor crystal. down to 11 damage?

[razorback]

As the bloodsucking creatures swarm them, Shim calls out "I got nothing on these, I hope you do!"

Spoiler

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Shim the Charming
AC = 17 ; Current = 17
HP = 56 ; Current = 42

5 foot step to AH-228

Standard Action
Cast from scroll

Move Action
Pull out scroll of Sanctuary


Not sure if he can or needs to use concentration, but just in case
(1d20+11)[13]




Effects ~

Stance = Iron Guard's Glare
Vanguard Strike O
Mountain Hammer O
Douse the Flames O
Leading the Attack O
Tactical Strike O

[Cavir]

The undead pummel on the abomination.

Spoiler: OOC

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All for probably not much damage.

Spoiler: Max the raptor

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Talons: (1d20+10)[18] crit: (1d20+10)[16]
Damage: (2d6+5)[10] crit: (2d6+5)[7]

Foreclaws1: (1d20+5)[9] crit: (1d20+5)[9]
Damage: (1d4+2)[5] crit: (1d4+2)[3]

Foreclaws2: (1d20+5)[10] crit: (1d20+5)[16]
Damage: (1d4+2)[4] crit: (1d4+2)[3]

Bite: (1d20+5)[20] crit: (1d20+5)[10]
Damage: (1d8+2)[10] crit: (1d8+2)[5]

Spoiler: Val the raptor

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Talons: (1d20+7)[11] crit: (1d20+7)[27]
Damage: (1d8+4)[7] crit: (1d8+4)[8]

Foreclaws1: (1d20+2)[14] crit: (1d20+2)[4]
Damage: (1d3+2)[5] crit: (1d3+2)[5]

Foreclaws2: (1d20+2)[6] crit: (1d20+2)[12]
Damage: (1d3+2)[4] crit: (1d3+2)[4]

Bite: (1d20+2)[21] crit: (1d20+2)[17]
Damage: (2d4+2)[8] crit: (2d4+2)[7]

Spoiler: Victor the raptor

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Talons: (1d20+7)[16] crit: (1d20+7)[12]
Damage: (1d8+4)[5] crit: (1d8+4)[5]

Foreclaws1: (1d20+2)[7] crit: (1d20+2)[8]
Damage: (1d3+2)[4] crit: (1d3+2)[4]

Foreclaws2: (1d20+2)[10] crit: (1d20+2)[10]
Damage: (1d3+2)[5] crit: (1d3+2)[4]

Bite: (1d20+2)[17] crit: (1d20+2)[21]
Damage: (2d4+2)[5] crit: (2d4+2)[8]

[Kish]

"Grah," opines Matai, moving southwest away from the creatures and using a wand on himself. "Cold and fire, you say? I'm not a wizard or a swordsage!"

Spoiler

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Move to AE233 and use the wand of Lesser Vigor on myself.

[Dexam]

Caidacyn, still invisible, calls out. "I don't think that I have anything that will harm them - there's just too many! Can we flee?"

She backs away from the cloud of flowers and pulls a longspear from a pocket on enchanted backpack, readying it against the swarm should it come within reach.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move to AH234, ready longspear attack.

[razorback]

With everyone out of the way, Torlak rush under the undead dinosau as he yells "They call me Firebeard for a reason!" and flame erupts in front of him, engulfing the strange flower-creatures.

Spoiler

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Move to AG-227
Fire cone 15', DC 18
(4d6)[13]

[J-H]

Round 1, Part 1

The air resonates with the rapid thrum of hundreds of pairs of tiny wing-like petals beating in a constant vibration.

Shim ducks out of the swarm and casts a spell of protection, hoping that they will ignore him. Matai similarly moves away, using a wand and beginning to heal. Caidacyn steps back, hoping to bat a few away if they come near her.

Kricen falls back, flinging a bottle of Alchemist’s Fire. Torlak rushes forward, breathing fire on the swarm.

Spoiler

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Alchemist’s fire, 5 damage + 50% = 7, +3 for adjacent squares = 10 damage
13 fire damage, Ref DC 18 half, +50% from AOE fail, 19 damage
DB Ref (1d20+7)[12]

Kricen’s undead also attack it, smacking a few of the blossoms down. Their bites are most effective, since the blossoms drift away from cuts and puncture wounds.

Spoiler

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Max
Talons: Hit, 10 damage – 50% = 5 non-lethal damage
Claws miss
Bite hits for 10 non-lethal damage
Val bite hits for 8 non-lethal damage
Victor
Talons hit for 5 – 50% = 3 non-lethal damage
Bite hits for 5 non-lethal damage
Total = 31 non-lethal damage

Spoiler: Status

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DB 31 non-lethal damage, 29 lethal damage

Kricen 10 damage
Shim 14 damage, Sanctuary Will DC 11 (from scroll)
Matai 13 damage, Lesser Vigor

[J-H]

Round 1, Part 2

The swarm strengthens slightly, shrugging off some of the damage inflicted by the dinos (regenerate 5 non-lethal). Recoiling from the flames, they buzz southward, swarming around Matai, and Caidacyn, after she reveals herself. Pollen clouds the air, and sharp thorns scratch against exposed flesh, but both are able to shake off the worst of the pollen. The swarming is a bit much for Caidacyn, and the Killoren finds herself twitching and twisting, trying to slap them away and protect herself, so it's hard for her to focus.

Spoiler

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Longspear AOO
(1d20+6)[26] for (1d8)[4] -50% non-lethal hit! too bad they are immune to crits. 2 damage.

I failed to roll or make people roll for nausea if they started their turn in the swarm this round. I also overlooked the fact that the poisonous pollen has a 15’ radius around the swarm. These oversights have been corrected for future rounds of combat. I’m sure you’re all overjoyed at the increased fidelity to the Monster Manual.

Poison Pollen: Fort DC 17 or paralysis for 1 round; secondary damage is paralysis for 1 minute.
Anyone who fails the Fort save and is within the swarm takes (1d6)[4] CON damage.
Matai (1d20+9)[20] save
Caidacyn (1d20+5)[22] save

Also, nausea save DC 15 for Matai & Caidacyn
Matai (1d20+9)[24] save
Caidacyn (1d20+5)[9] nauseated, single action only next turn

Swarm damage 11 each

Spoiler: Map & Status

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DB 26 non-lethal damage, 29 lethal damage

Kricen 10 damage
Shim 14 damage, Sanctuary Will DC 11 (from scroll)
Matai 24 damage, Lesser Vigor
Caidacyn 11 damage, nauseated until Round 2, Part 2 ends

=> Party

[Cavir]

Kricen was surprised at how much his undead were able to affect the swarm of flowers. The fire from the earlier potion continued charring away at the animated flora.

The dread necromancer came up with a plan to make the others more effective. He moved to Shim while taking off his potion belt. "Shim, 4 acid flasks and 1 fire flask here. Purple and red flasks. Use them." He drops the belt into Shim's hand. "Shim, Torlak, get out of the way so my undead can charge." He pauses for his allies to get out of the way then addresses his undead. "Max, charge the flowers. Babs, follow behind Max." He orders one of the smaller skeletons to also charge the flowers.

Spoiler: OOC

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Followup damage from Alchemist’s Fire: (1d6)[3] +50%?

Move: Move to AI227 while taking potion belt off.
Free: Drop belt into Shim's hand
Std: Order Val or Victor to charge after the PCs in front act. If only one skele has the clear way to charge will get the order. If both can charge then AH226 charges.

Max: Charge to AE231/AF232
Talons: (1d20+11)[25] crit: (1d20+11)[29] (with charge)
Damage: (2d6+6)[17] crit: (2d6+6)[15]

Babs moves to AF230

Val/Victor: Charge to row 232
Talons: (1d20+7)[16] crit: (1d20+7)[14] (charging)
Damage: (1d8+4)[9] crit: (1d8+4)[11]

Edit from OOC:
Talons: (1d20+9)[25] crit: (1d20+9)[15] (charging)
Damage: (1d8+4)[6] crit: (1d8+4)[8]

Hoping Shim will move to the side to throw a flask and Torlak to breath fire then move out of the way.

[Kish]

Matai, making frustrated noises through his clenched teeth, darts out of the swarm.

Spoiler

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Taking a Run action, which should take him to AF245, if that square's clear and accessible. Also switching to Martial Spirit stance, in case it starts mattering.

[razorback]

Shim, nodding, pulls a potion from the belt as he moves away from the flying abominations, throwing when safe

Spoiler

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Shim the Charming
AC = 17 ; Current = 17
HP = 56 ; Current = 56

Move Action
Pull alchemist fire as move to AJ-232


Standard action
Thow at Swarm AG-233
(1d20+7)[10]

Damage
(1d6)[1]

Effects ~
Borrowed equipment:+2 bow, 56 Arrows, 5 Manifester Bane, 3 acid.

Torlak, on the other hand, fires before moving.

Spoiler

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Fire line 30', DC 18, at AF-233 and tyring to also hit AE-234
(4d6)[12]
Move to AI-229

[Dexam]

Swatting and batting at the plant-creatures that swarm about her face, Caidacyn moves clear, heading as far away from them as she can.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Move to AL230.

[J-H]

Round 2, Part 1

Matai heals 1hp.

Caidacyn and Matai both dash away from the swarm in different directions, still swatting at trailing dread blossom flowers.

Kricen hands off some potions to Shim, ordering his skeletal minions to attack. They all dash forward, slapping a few of the blossoms out of the sky. Shim throws another alchemist’s fire, but most of the flaming liquid spills onto the ground.

Torlak fires a jet of flame, roasting more of them.

Spoiler

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4 damage lingering from alch fire.
Max hits for 17 – 50% = 9 non-lethal
Val hits for 9 -50% = 5 non-lethal
Victor hits for 6 – 50% = 3 non-lethal
New alch fire hits for 1+50% = 2.
12 fire damage +50% = 18; Ref DC 18 half
DB Ref (1d20+7)[10]

Spoiler: Status

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DB 43 non-lethal damage, 53 lethal damage

Kricen 10 damage
Shim 14 damage, Sanctuary Will DC 11 (from scroll)
Matai 24 damage, Lesser Vigor
Caidacyn 11 damage, nauseated until Round 2, Part 2 ends

[J-H]

Round 2, Part 2

The swarm is looking very thin, and many of the blossoms are lying on the ground, but they're starting to buzz back up into the air.

Swarm regenerates 5hp of non-lethal damage and is at effectively -1hp.

Spoiler: Shim saves

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Poison Pollen, Fort DC 17 or paralysis for 1 round
Shim Fort (1d20+6)[15]

Spoiler: Status

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DB 43 non-lethal damage, 53 lethal damage

Kricen 10 damage
Shim 14 damage, Sanctuary Will DC 11 (from scroll)
Matai 24 damage, Lesser Vigor
Caidacyn 11 damage, nauseated until Round 2, Part 2 ends

[J-H]

The swarm is out of action for the moment; Kricen has his dinosaur skeletons jump and chop at it, keeping it from regaining cohesion, while Torlak slowly roasts it with his fire breath. By the time you’re done, Shim has recovered and moved away, and there’s a big blasted patch of ashes and a column of smoke rising into the air.

Victory!