Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

[almondsAndRain]

Three hated this mist- she couldn't see well to begin with, and this wasn't helping matters at all. One of her mules came to an abrupt halt, jostling her and knocking over some of the cargo. She couldn't tell why at first, but as the seconds past the sound of hundreds of tiny steps became clear, and she hated the mist even more.
By instinct, the warforged drew her crossbow and spun about in her seat, looking for one of the many sources of the noise. Then she caught sight of two red-eyed monsters coming up on Korlann and the wagon, and did her damnedest to repress her instinct to flee. Refusing to leave the party behind, Three cursed loudly to let loose some stress, and aimed at the creature nearest to Korlann to let loose a bolt.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Move Action
Draw crossbow

Standard Action
Attack roll, aimed at Giant Centipede 1: (1d20+4)[10]. Critical threat on a 19 or 20, or a rolled 23 or 24.
Critical confirmation: (1d20+4)[15]
Concealment chance: (1d100)[6]
Light crossbow damage: (1d8)[8]
If it is a critical hit, add this: (1d8)[4]

EDIT: Forgot to mention that Three has fourteen bolts remaining.

[Saintheart]

A track on the side of the hill, the Greenbelt, the Border Kingdoms
Afternoon, Fourth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)

The creatures boiled in, their horrible chittering making a cacophony of noise combined with the clashing of their mandibles.

Three’s crossbow clanked in reply, the warforged turning one-handed in her seat and pulling the trigger. The shot buzzed between its target’s antennae and disappeared into the roiling mist.

The two behind the cart focused in on Korlann. Taken by surprise, the monk managed to dodge the first set of clashing fangs, but it gave the other enough of a distraction to dart its sharp jaws in at him and rip a long, jagged gash in his arm all the way to his Skarn spines.

Then, worse: the monk felt the wound burn with a sudden fire. Poison. It had to be. Instinct kicked in, and he went into the quick mantra to resist the dire chemical entering his system. His training identified it as a soporific – something that would numb his arms and, in time, his whole body if he was hit with enough of it. Concentrating on defeating the poison in his veins, he felt its sting quickly fade – but that would only last as long as his adrenaline was still kicked in. He had perhaps another minute before the bilious substance built up in his system enough for him to have to try and fight the poison again.

More chittering, thundering steps, from the front. Two gleaming, nightmarish creatures came pouring out of the fog and went for Dergosh. The cleric got his shield up fast enough to knock the first set of jaws aside, but the second was faster, and dug into his thigh, scratching him. He felt the creature’s bile burn into his body, too, but his orcish makeup sneered at the weak, cowardly chemical and howled the numbing agent down with his thundering heart. For the moment, at least.

The horses were screaming, and the mules beginning to panic.

Spoiler: Tactical Map

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Spoiler: Tactical Notes

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That’s 8 hitpoints off Korlann, and 4 points off Dergosh.
Both made their saves against the poison, which is DEX damage and which they’ll have to save against again one minute from now (10 rounds to go) per secondary damage rules.
For completeness, it was a 19 roll on Korlann and a 41 on his concealment, and a 17 roll on Dergosh and a 77 on his concealment.
(Consider a percentile roll of 1-20 as a failure due to concealment. In Three's case the roll was nugatory since her attack roll missed anyway.)

Three: 1d20+9 – 21
Monstrous Centipedes: – 18
Gakan: 1d20+4 -- 17
Dergosh: 1d20+10 – 15
Korlann: 1d20+3 – 11
Kuros: 1d20+4 – 8
Ruk: 1d20+0 – 6


kjel/Gakan and Mercurion/Dergosh, you’re up.

Merc, if you're away from a computer that allows you to see battlemaps, you have two Large Monstrous Centipedes in melee range right in front of you right now. You're boxed in by your horse behind you, the 'canyon' wall, and Three's mules on your right, but I guess you could squeeze past your horse back towards Korlann 15 feet away if you wanted.

Otherwise, yes, you read that right: just Gakan and Dergosh for the moment, please.

[Mercurion 2]

Upon first catching the sound of movement, Dergosh was filled with a feeling of eager anticipation. However, upon hearing the noise more clearly, his anticipation quickly turned to disappointment; he was pretty sure snake dragons didn’t have any feet, much less lots and lots of them. He stood glaring into the fog.

Unfortunately his fireworks-mangled ear betrayed him, and he mistook the proper direction of the sound, leaving him glaring in not-quite-the-right direction as the chitinous beasts loomed out of the mists. Shoving Baghtru’s head with one hand in an attempt to move the horse away from the battle, Dergosh roared as the centipede’s mandible nicked him in the thigh. No sound came out of his mouth, but if his companions had not been otherwise engaged trying to stay alive they might have lip-read him screaming “DIE STUPID BUG” as a slim translucent spear once again erupted out of his mouth.

Spoiler

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Using domain power piercing scream. I think this would be a spell-like ability and not subject to an AoO, but if I’m wrong Dergosh will have learned an important lesson about close combat. Target is stunned for 1 round unless a DC 14 Fort is made, in which case damage is also halved.
(1d6)[4]

[kjelfalconer]

Nature was the worst.

He'd been riding on the cart in the first place because the fog had been messing with his (lack of) depth perception badly enough that he was struggling to miss his own legs, never mind any of the many, many horrible pitfalls hidden out them. And now nature was trying to eat him. Again. Nor was hiding an option. He was fairly certain the fog had more teeth it hadn't yet shown.

Drat.

So he threw a rock at the closest one. Hopefully the distraction would be enough to let someone else hit.

Spoiler: OOC

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Aid another: (1d20+5)[23]
Roll for miss chance (with disadvantage because of my flaw): (1d5)[2] or (1d5)[4] missing on either 1.

[Saintheart]

A track on the side of the hill, the Greenbelt, the Border Kingdoms
Afternoon, Fourth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)

Gakan moved a few feet closer to the back of the wagon and hurled a distracting rock at the closest centipede he could see, and for that split second he seemed to divert their attention from Korlann for a second.

In front of the wagon, Dergosh sent his piercing scream over the enemy - to minimal effect. The centipede's antennae bent hard from the force of the sonic assault, and it blinked, but it shook off the worst effects of the cleric's ability.

Then, from deep in the fog forward of the wagon, there was sudden, blurring motion. A long, scaly tail, ending in a long pair of gleaming black mandibles, came snapping out of the mist with all the speed and force of a twenty-foot-whip. It blurred in at Dergosh - but the cleric was still quick enough to turn his body slightly, avoiding the tail whip with some ease. Just as fast, the tail cracked back into the fog, leaving the Company no wiser as to where it came from.

The chittering in the air grew louder.

Spoiler: Tactical Notes

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Aid Another can only be done when in melee range, so I've presumed a five foot step towards the enemy for Gakan.

Monstrous Centipede 3, the target of Dergosh's scream, saved against his ability. That's 2 hitpoints of damage.

That tail strike certainly looked like a centipede's tail, but none of the opponents currently against you has anything like a tail that long.

Onward. As a reminder, the initiative order:

Initiative Order:
Three: 1d20+9 – 21
Monstrous Centipedes: – 18
Gakan: 1d20+4 -- 17
Dergosh: 1d20+10 – 15
Whatever the Hells just whipped its tail at Dergosh - 15
Korlann: 1d20+3 – 11
Kuros: 1d20+4 – 8
Ruk: 1d20+0 – 6

[bcool999]

Kuros drops the lead from his horse as his other hands move to his weapons and shield. He moves quickly away from the centipede before a step or two then twists his body back around with terrifying force and momentum. He carries the momentum from the sudden movement of his body into the swing of his longsword, whipping the sharp steel blade betwixt two chitinous plates with all his might. "Watch out for enemies in the mist!" Kuros shouts after seeing the whip like attack that Dergosh dodged.

Spoiler: OOC

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Free action: drop horse lead.
Move action: draw longsword, shield, gladius, and lucerne hammer.
Standard Action: Power attack for -2 to hit +4 damage with EDIT: Longsword wielded two handed.
Attack: (1d20+5)[16] Crit threat on roll of 24-25.
Damage: (2d4+11)[14] (+7 from 1.5 str mod, +4 PA)

[BluesEclipse]

Korlann lets out a cry of pain as the mandibles tear into his flesh, instincts honed from training allowing him to push himself off of the horse with the momentum provided. As his feet hit the ground, he immediately sets his stance and inhales, focusing his ki as he does to push against the insect's poison. Letting out a loud kiai, he thrusts his fist forward, the gathred ki focusing around it and forming a golden aura, which then ruptures at the climax of the strike to wash over the two insects. Bringing his fist back, his gaze focuses to see if the creature was dazed by the blow, his ki ready to flow into his leg as he lashes out with a kick at the centipede as well.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Free Action: Dismount, not sure if this will leave me in same space or put me in G3, but either one works. (Ride check made in OOC)
Full Action: Flurry of Blows
Attack 1 v Monstrous Centipede 1 (Using Pharaoh's Fist)
Concealment: (1d5)[5], Miss on 1
Hit: (1d20+6)[15], Crit on 24, On Hit, Monstrous Centipede 1 and all adjacent creatures (Monstrous Centipede 2, Korlann's Horse) must make a Fortitude Save DC 14 or be Stunned for 1 Round
Damage: (1d6+4)[10]

Attack 2 v Monstrous Centipede 1 (If not already stunned, will use Stunning Fist)
Concealment: (1d5)[1], Miss on 1
Hit: (1d20+6)[18], Crit on 24, If not already stunned, On Hit, Monstrous Centipede 1 must make a Fortitude Save DC 14 or be Stunned for 1 Round
Damage: (1d6+4)[9]

[Mercurion 2]

Dergosh bellowed with laughter as his blood rose with battle, shouting, “Ho! Bugs like to play with whips now! Grummsh see about that!”

The cleric cleared some space, raising his drum shield in front of him and gave it a single smash with his mace. At his feet materialized a huge rat, its snarled and unkempt fur a dirty black. One eye was beady and red, while the other was missing, the socket where it should be covered with a filthy pink scar. Drawn from Gruumsh’s very own realm, the rat leapt in the direction of the remaining centipede.

Spoiler

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Thought I’d go ahead and post for Dergosh’s next action, recognizing that the actions of Z or the centipedes could impact this, in which case I’ll adjust as needed. Make 5’ step back and cast summon monster I to call a fiendish dire rat in front of him. Rat attack: (1d20+4)[18]. Damage: (1d4)[4]

.

[almondsAndRain]

Three was beginning to be angry with herself- monsters in the fog were making food out of her party, and she still managed to miss. Sure, she was designed more to forge than to war, but that does not excuse failing. This mist was obscuring her vision too much for her to risk further attacks with her crossbow when her allies were engaged in melee, so she turned back around and reached for her longspear. After unstrapping it from the top of her backpack, Three flung herself off of the seat and onto the ground, ready to enter the fray.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Free Action: Three drops her light crossbow onto her seat.

Move Action One: Three takes her longspear off of her backpack. She keeps it in the back when directing the wagon, so she can’t draw it as part of normal movement right now.

Standard Action: Traded for a second Move Action.

Move Action Two: Three dismounts the wagon. I want her on the southern side of the map, so she’s in J6 now. I think. It overlaps a bit with the wagon and mule, so I’m not sure if she’s in it.

[Zombulian]

Ruk had been sitting nervously in the wagon as it trundled along in the mist. He wasn't used to such moisture, definitely not enough to create problems with visibility.

Despite being so nervous, Ruk found himself largely unprepared for the flurry of actions that happened around him. Suddenly there were giant bugs assaulting his comrades, and his friends were even combating them before he even stood up in the wagon.
Even so, he had been looking forward to testing out his abilities.

Spoiler: Combat

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Ruk stands up in the wagon and casts Grease[/URL] on H1&2 and I1&2. DC 15 Reflex save or fall. Also if they attempt to move they must make a DC 10 Balance check or not be able to move, fail by 5 or more and they fall. Unless they have 5 ranks in the Balance skill they are also Flat Footed.
If the cart/wagon is still moving enough for motion to be relevant in casting, Ruk makes a Concentration check DC 11 (1d20+8)[28].

[Saintheart]

A track on the side of the hill, the Greenbelt, the Border Kingdoms
Afternoon, Fourth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)

Though taken by surprise, the Company counterattacked hard.

Korlann’s hands blurred, and a wash of ki went over everyone around him, including Gakan – though the catfolk gritted his teeth to resist the energy that pulsed through his body.

The centipedes were not so fortunate. Both of them swayed as though listening to some invisible music, stunned. Korlann’s fists lashed out. One of his spines carved a gully in the first centipede’s head between its eyes, splashing foul black ichor over his arms, and the massive creature fell, body flexing and squirming in its death throes. The stink was dreadful.

Then a shiny patch appeared under the other centipede. It didn’t seem possible that something with so many feet could become unbalanced, but, under the influence of Korlann’s gifts and Ruk's spell, the impossible became inevitable – as the centipede stumbled and collapsed onto the ground, head still swaying in stupefaction.

Three was jumping down from the wagon, pulling her longspear from its sheath. Ahead of the wagon, Kuros had pulled all of his weapons, and, roaring, he swung his longsword in a fast, overhand chop that sliced another giant centipede’s head clean in half, the beast falling to the ground dead.

The last visible giant centipede stabbed its mandibles at Dergosh. The half-orc disdainfully avoided the strike with a slight twist of his hips. Then the centipede was pulling away – but not before Dergosh lashed out just as fast with his own mace, catching the creature’s carapace on its head and tearing it clean away. The centipede made a sound with some resemblance to a screaming hiss, and whirled away from the cleric, ichor spattering to the earth, its mandibles clashing still.

And still the chittering from further back in the fog was building, like a wall of noise.

Spoiler: Tactical Map

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Spoiler: Tactical Notes

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- Dergosh/Mercurion2: His AoO hit as Centipede 4 moved back, and he maxed out his damage – 11. Centipede 4 is clearly on its last legs. Also, note that Dergosh is using his action to start casting Summon Monster. That’s a full round action, and the rat he’s mentioned won’t show up until just on next round.

-Gakan/kjel and Korlann/Blues: Centipede 2 is both stunned and prone, on top of being flatfooted. I’d say Gakan is all primed for a sneak attack.

- Three/almonds: No problem with Three going into that spot, there’s enough room there.

Initiative Order:

Three: 1d20+9 – 21
Monstrous Centipedes: 1d20+2 – 18
Gakan: 1d20+4 -- 17
Dergosh: 1d20+10 – 15 (He is casting Summon Monster with this action.)
Whatever the hell swung that whip tail -- 15
Korlann: 1d20+3 -- 11
Kuros: 1d20+4 – 8
Ruk: 1d20+0 – 6

[kjelfalconer]

Oh. It was down, but still twitching. Probably. He still couldn't see it that well, but, well, he couldn't exactly distract it. At least he could look like he was trying to help.

Spoiler: OOC

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Attack closest centipede:
(1d5)[1], (1d5)[3], missing if either is a 1.
(1d20+5)[25] to hit (not including any bonuses from conditions)
(1d3+1)[4] damage.

[Saintheart]

A track on the side of the hill, the Greenbelt, the Border Kingdoms
Afternoon, Fourth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)

Gakan's claws missed.

Dergosh, meanwhile, had begun casting a spell. He reached into himself; reached across the planes, whispering the words of the incantation to bring the creature he sought to the Prime Material Plane.

The whiplike tail exploded from the mist towards him, in answer. It lashed in, sending fog clouds curling around it, and the barbed tip lashed across his leg. Another burning sensation, different from that wound he'd already taken, a different poison again.
Dergosh held his stance, the spell building within him. His heart pounded faster, burning at the poison in that tip, and overwhelmed the poison.
Then the whiplike tail curled around his leg. Dergosh tensed - but the force that pulled against him was immense, and the half-orc's leg went out from under him with a screech of thrown gravel and stones. Dergosh flipped up and flat onto his back.
The energies of the spell wavered. One syllable threatened to fall half-formed from Dergosh's lips.
He did not allow it to.
He willed it not to.
Half-orc strength and will wrenched the magic into shape, held its form, put it back into its course - as the spell continued and the doors between the planes began to open.

Spoiler: Tactical Notes

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[
And Dergosh is the tank right now. That's 1 nonlethal damage done to him, and he's prone. Fort saved against Poison by 2. Cooler part was the Concentration check to keep on casting when tripped up - DC 15, he got 17, so even flat on his back he's still casting the spell.

Initiative Order again:

Three: 1d20+9 – 21
Monstrous Centipedes: 1d20+2 – 18
Gakan: 1d20+4 -- 17
Dergosh: 1d20+10 – 15 (prone, casting.)
Whatever the hell swung that whip tail -- 15
Korlann: 1d20+3 -- 11
Kuros: 1d20+4 – 8
Ruk: 1d20+0 – 6

[bcool999]

Kuros sends his hammer in a diagonal ark aimed at the beast before him. He follows the blow up by stepping into the beasts reach before delivering another chop with his longsword, and adding a quick thrust of his Gladius. Kuros ends his weaponized flurry with his shield raised, prepared for any retaliation from either the foe before him, or the one hiding in the mist.

Spoiler: OOC

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Full Attack with multiweapon fighting.
Hammer: (1d20+5)[12] Crit on roll of 25. Miss chance (1 misses): (1d5)[4]
Damage: (2d4+7)[13] Bludgeoning
Take a 5ft. step after the hammer swing and continue attacking.
Longsword: (1d20+5)[13] Crit on roll of 25. Miss chance (1 misses): (1d5)[5]
Damage: (1d8+3)[6] Slashing
Gladius: (1d20+5)[20] Crit on roll of 25. Miss chance (1 misses): (1d5)[3]
Damage: (1d6+3)[6] Piercing

[BluesEclipse]

Korlann frowns as he hears the sounds of combat from the front of the wagon. "Go," he says to Gakan, "help them. It sounds like they've got a bit of trouble up there. I'll join you shortly." As he says the last, he lashes out at the fallen centipede with a swift kick, followed by a powerful palm thrust.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Flurry of Blows v Monstrous Centipede 2
Attack 1:
Concealment: (1d5)[5], Miss on 1
To Hit: (1d20+4)[11] Crit on 24
Damage: (1d6+4)[5] x2 on crit

Attack 2:
Concealment: (1d5)[4], Miss on 1
To Hit: (1d20+4)[10] Crit on 24
Damage: (1d6+4)[9] x2 on crit

[Saintheart]

A track on the side of the hill, the Greenbelt, the Border Kingdoms
Afternoon, Fourth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)

The kick made the creature flinch - in exactly the right way, moving its head into striking distance.
Korlann drove his palm into the centre of the centipede's head. The carapace cracked as if a sledgehammer hit it, and the monk's palm dived into the disgusting spongy substance beneath it. Always aim to end the strike six inches beyond the target, they had taught him, and so it was. And the centipede collapsed.

At the other end of the wagon, a more literal hammer whirled through the foggy air. The lucerne hammer caught the centipede in a high, fast blow that half-cracked its body. Then the silverbrow's other sets of arms came in on it, the Obah's blessings turning Kuros into a buzzsaw as short blade and long cut into the monster and filleted it, the beast collapsing to the ground. Kuros had his shield up, weapons dripping with black ooze, but nothing struck at him - yet.

The chittering reached a crescendo. The fog ahead of the wagon whirled.

Spoiler: Tactical Notes

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Thus, kills on both the remaining centipedes you can see. There obviously is something else out there, but you haven't been able to spot it yet.

Zombulian, you're up again - and then we're into Round Three (see what I did there) ... :D

[Zombulian]

Ruk let loose a burst of laughter as the giant vermin fell prey to his spell, and looked on with grim satisfaction as his allies fell upon it.
Things seemed under control, but just as he was thinking that he heard Dergosh's muttered incantation waver, and the heavy thud of the half-orc's body hitting the ground. His head whipped around toward his ally, eyes wide, ready to transposition himself, but he realized with amazement that Dergosh had never actually stopped channeling.Incredible!
This, however, still left open the mystery of what exactly was the culprit. The mist was too thick for Ruk to see. Maybe if he went up...
He shouted to no one in particular, "I'm gonna try to get a visual on this thing!" I hope this works.
The kobold took a deep breath and focused. His already slight form shrunk even more. His tail lengthened and a stinger formed on the end. Wings sprouted from his back.
He flew straight up.

Spoiler

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Ruk casts Alter Self and takes the form of a Pseudodragon. (Precocious Apprentice requires a DC 8 Spellcraft check to successfully cast the spell, but Ruk has a +9 to Spellcraft so...)
Pseudodragons have a fly speed of 60ft with Good mobility, so he can fly 30ft straight up from where he is. I suppose he attempts a spot check...
(1d20-2)[3]

[Saintheart]

Spoiler: Ruk

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The fog's persisting at this altitude, though you're very likely to be close to invisible right now to anything watching. You don't see anything. (On the presumption that blindsense does not cross over with Alter Self. If I'm wrong that would change things.)

[almondsAndRain]

Three pushed her way between Mule Two and Kuros’ horse. She heard Dergosh chanting a spell, a thud, and briefly thought the worst. But the chanting continued, which meant that the cleric was alive and had not lost control of the spell. The warforged caught sight of him on the ground and shot him a quick thumbs-up before falling into position between him and Kuros, searching through the fog for any sign of the creature that was attacking the cleric. "Good work holding the spell, Dergosh! Here's hoping Gruumsh blesses us with something strong."

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Move Action: Three moves to I9.

Standard Action: Three readies an action to attack the creature attacking Dergosh the next time it attacks someone.
As a reminder, she has a +1 to her attack roll, does 1d8 damage with the longspear, and threatens ten feet due to her longspear.
Or, if that won't be allowed due to it being a quasi-called shot, make a Spot roll for her to find the monster. She has a +1 to her Spot rolls due to her Wisdom modifier. I'd make the roll here, but it would suck for Three's first successful Spot roll to be one I didn't need to make.

[Saintheart]

Spoiler: Three

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Nah, you don't need a Spot check, you're planning to react to something that happens, not seek one a whole target as such.

[kjelfalconer]

And now he couldn't see any of them.

Well, he wasn't leaving the cart to look for it - he could barely see the damn thing as it was, and the only thing worse than being stuck out here was being stuck out here alone (though no doubt he'd have to try very hard to lose Dergosh). He slipped under the cart.

Spoiler: ooc

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Hide check: (1d20+9)[10]

[Mercurion 2]

The last three syllables of his conjuration had come out with a whoomph of compressed air as Dergosh landed flat on his back, driving the breath out of his lungs. Blood oozed from his elbows where gravel had embedded itself, but he raised himself up on his forearms and pointed the Rat of Gruumsh in the general direction the tail whip had come from, using his centipede goo covered mace like a baton.

The half-orc managed to grunt out three short words while he tried to suck air back into his lungs. An oily, dark green sheen appeared briefly over his entire body before it sunk into his skin and was absorbed.

He looked over at Three and Kuros, and a slightly battered grin appeared on his face again. “Starting to get good now. Let’s go get’em,” he said as he prepared to go back on the offensive.

Spoiler

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Staying prone—or prone-ish, depending how you want to count him being propped up on his elbows—and casting resistance. I don’t think there is any issue with casting while prone, but correct me if I am wrong. Getting ready to charge back into the fray next round and hoping the rat leads them to their opponent.

[Saintheart]

A track on the side of the hill, the Greenbelt, the Border Kingdoms
Afternoon, Fourth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)

The walls between the planes opened and closed in a heartbeat, and the rat was there. It sniffed the air experimentally, red eyes gleaming, looking into the fog, waiting to see if its caller’s enemy would appear.

It did.

It loomed out of the mist. Kuros’s eyes were drawn upward. And upward. It glistened black, wet with moisture, red eyes gleaming and the size of saucers. Antennae the size of greatswords gracefully tested the air. It undulated in place, body joints curving, wheeling back on itself. A body thicker than an ancient wanderwood’s trunk carved the mist aside. The chittering became a hiss of acid boiling. And at its other end, the other end of its thirty-foot-long, fearful length, was the whiptail that had cracked at them moments before.

The centipedes they had slain must have been warriors. Drones of some kind, perhaps.

Protecting a queen.

The gleaming, black shape suddenly exploded into motion. A great head and silvery mandibles and an impossible, circular ring of teeth shot at the silverbrow. Kuros’s instincts were up to the challenge, though, and he dodged away from the death in that massive maw. Three scrambled, brandishing her spear, but the whiptail centipede was undulating away, coiling, feet working in a drumbeat of hell as it went for the rock wall of the road cut and climbed it as effortlessly as though it were horizontal ground. Its coils swirled in threat.

Something else moved.

Many somethings, as small as the whiptail was large. The swarm came crawling out of the fog. Warriors, or children, or both? There were millions of them, all streaming across the ground in a patch ten feet wide, boiling over the ground…

…and over Dergosh and Three’s position.

The rat saw its peril too late. The swarm assaulted it, a wriggling, writhing mass engulfing the creature in seconds. Some horrible screech of pain crackled across the air and with a sudden thump of displaced air, the rat was gone, the swam writhing even more fiercely with its prey denied it.

It flowed over Three’s form. The efficiency of her construction kicked in; infinitesimal shards of wood closing off ingresses, powering up defence systems. The creatures’ biting was fierce, and she registered damage to her external shell, but the poison injected into her form was quickly routed away and neutralised. And she’d not been physically enabled with the sort of intestinal functions required to attempt to vomit.

Dergosh was still prone. He didn’t have a chance to get up and away. The centipedes crawled over him in a gleaming, black flood. They bit, a million small bites in seconds, and his blood fought against the tiny, weak infusions of poison into his system … but the sensation was like nothing he’d ever felt before, and the bile rose up in the back of his throat, nauseating him horribly.

The whiptail hissed, again, in challenge.

Spoiler: Tactical Map

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Spoiler: Tactical Notes

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- Gakan is safely hidden under the cart.
-The centipede swarm – see the MM for details, by hook or by crook your characters all are familiar with the threats of swarm fighting -- did 11 damage on the summoned rat, i.e. near max damage, not that it had to score that high to send it home.
- The swarm also did 5 hitpoints of damage on Three. Warforged are immune to poison and nausea, it turns out, so that’s all for her to worry about.
- The swarm also did 4 hitpoints of damage on Dergosh. He saved against the poison they carry – though this adds another secondary save he’ll have to make about 10 rounds from now – but not against the nausea, which means he’s down to a single move action for next round … which would probably be getting up from prone. Which I guess I could understand, lying prone and having millions of creatures crawl all over you and into … well … orifices.
- Unfortunately the whiptail centipede also didn’t get within 10 feet of Three, so her readied action fails. Your characters can certainly tell its bite will pack a pretty solid wallop if it hits. And yes, it does have a pretty big reach.
- The whiptail centipede is gripped onto the rock wall, but could still be hit if you get close enough to it.

Initiative Order:
Three: 1d20+9 – 21
Monstrous Centipedes: All dead!
Gakan: 1d20+4 -- 17
Dergosh: 1d20+10 – 15 (NB Nauseated and prone right now.)
Whiptail Centipede – 15
Centipede Swarm -- 15
Korlann: 1d20+3 -- 11
Kuros: 1d20+4 – 8
Ruk: 1d20+0 – 6


Blues, bcool, Zombulian, you’re up, and then we’re back to Three.

[BluesEclipse]

As Gakan vanishes in the fog, Korlann makes his way forward, around the cart, his attention being drawn towards the large insect clinging to the rock wall ahead, before noticing the chittering swarm of insects all but engulfing Three and Dergosh. Approaching them, he prepares to reach in towards his Orcish ally, intending to pull him out, before pausing as he watches the swarm. Seeing their movements, he finds himself momentarily recalling flashes of his training at Thessaris Valenti, learning to focus his ki and release it in a powerful burst to disrupt multiple creatures by striking at nests of spiders and other insects, cultivated at the monastery for this specific training. Nodding to himself, he breathes in, gathering his ki once more, before striking into the swarm and releasing another burst of power into it. If we can stop it for a moment, it gives us time to regroup and figure out how to beat these, he thinks to himself as he watches to see how the swarm reacts, keeping the Whiptail in the corner of his eye as well.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Move to G7 (And hope the AoO misses me)
Attack w/ Pharaoh's Fist against the Swarm
Concealment: (1d5)[5], Miss on a 1
To Hit: (1d20+6)[14], On Hit, Fort Save DC 14 or be Stunned for 1 round for the Swarm and All Adjacent Targets
Damage: Irrelevant

[Saintheart]

Spoiler: OOC

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Unfortunately that's a miss on the Centipede Swarm - but on the other hand, the Whiptail Centipede misses its AoO against Korlann. It rolled a 2. Second AoO which missed outright on attack rolls, not concealment, this creature is sucking hard right now.

[bcool999]

Kuros surges forward, intent on dealing with a threat that fears his weapons, or at the very least should fear his weapons. Making use of Korlann's actions distracting the beast to move up, Kuros positions himself to allow his allies easy flanking position should they want it. He winds up and swings with his hammer at the beast aiming to crack it's chitin shell.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move Action: move to F13.
Standard Action: Attack with Hammer Power attack for 2
Miss chance (1 misses): (1d5)[2]
Attack: (1d20+5)[10] (+2 bab, +5 str, -2 PA) Crit threat on 25
Damage: (2d4+11)[17] (+7 str, +4 PA)

Spoiler: In case of crit threat

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Attack: (1d20+5)[23] (+2 bab, +5 str, -2 PA)
Damage: (6d4+33)[47] (+7 str, +4 PA) added to the previous damage to make x4 damage.

[Saintheart]

Spoiler: OOC

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As you might guess, that's unfortunately a miss.

[Zombulian]

Ruk squinted at the perched worm from his hovering position. Something about this isn't right.
Though when he looked down he realized a much more immediate threat - the writhing mass currently covering his comrade. He reached a tiny claw towards his satchel before squeaking in dismay; he'd left it on the wagon, and his form likely couldn't support the bulk of it anyway.
He flew back down and began rummaging through the pack, removing an acid flask that now required the support of both his claws.

[almondsAndRain]

Moments after Three fell into position next to Kuros, the largest creature she had ever seen surged onto the northern wall of the valley. It was faster than a monster that size had any right to be, lunging at Kuros and retracting its head before she had the chance to react. The creature held her full attention- partly because of its size and speed, but mostly because of what those traits meant. If attacked alongside the other centipedes, the Company would have been overwhelmed. She didn’t understand why it-
A thousand warning signals were sent up from her legs to her processing unit. She looked down just to see thousands of centipedes swarming up her form, biting through her clothing and armor to tear open her wooden body. Her body automagically shut any crevices that were there by design, but had no real defense against being breached by these creatures. She could feel liquids pump through her body’s conduit, and wasn’t sure if it was pumped there to purify poisons or in an attempt to wash out the invading centipedes.
Her conduit could be compared to a mix between the circulatory and endocrine systems common among humanoids and animals. However it was only active when necessary and, in comparison to the amount of blood and hormones used in the human body, transferred only a meager amount of alchemical compounds throughout the body. One of these compounds was designed to imitate adrenaline rushes, activating only in times of stress, but granting the benefactor increased strength and resistance.
This Liquid Rage was the only reason that Three’s frame was able to handle the strain of the damage to her legs, her equipment, and the weight of Dergosh, who she unceremoniously grabbed by the boot and lugged away from the swarm. Aiming to put some distance (and, admittedly, bodies) between the healer and the insects, Three pulled the half-orc between Mule Two of Two and Kuros’ horse. She left him on the side of her wagon, hoping that he’ll have enough time to recover there.
Three turned for the rear-opening of the wagon at the two giant centipede corpses, but felt strange when she saw them. They started this skirmish by blocking off the escape, which seemed too intelligent for insects. Trying to shake off the irrelevant thoughts, Three turned towards her wagon and leaped, hoping to replicate the feat at the tower. Her foot landed awkwardly on the wagon however, and she slipped off.
Cursing at herself for her failure, Three grabs on to the railing on her wagon and pulls herself up. She could see the pair of centipede corpses in the front of the wagon, matching the pair in the back. The fact that they made sure to envelop the Company made her feel uneasy. The fact that the whiptail seemingly held back while attacking Dergosh didn't help matters. By all rights, this battle should have gone worse for her party than it had- an envelopment followed by an immediate attack from the whiptail and the swarm would not be survivable. Thinking that something else was at play, and hoping that she was right despite a lack of evidence, Three put her hands to either side of her mouth and yelled out, “Requesting parley with the commander of the centipedes!”

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Standard Action: Three grabs Dergosh and drags him to J5. She continues on to walk to I3, then attempts to Jump into the wagon at I4 and would end movement at I5.
I rolled a 1 and have a +8, for a total of 9. The roll can be seen in this post. Apologies, I posted this post in the wrong thread earlier.
Move Action: She climbs into the wagon.

[Saintheart]

A track on the side of the hill, the Greenbelt, the Border Kingdoms
Afternoon, Fourth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms (1374 DR)

There was no response but the chittering of the centipedes.

Spoiler: OOC

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The Jump check failed, so Three is just in the wagon.