Kingmaker in the Forgotten Realms [IC thread]

[Saintheart]

Hills, the Stolen Lands
Night
Twenty-sixth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms, 1374 DR

Complication Dice: 6 of 6

They’d set a quick pace the whole day. Kuros was taking them as close to due south as he could ascertain. The great swell of the Greenbelt rose and fell away on their right as the morning wore on, and by midday they were back in the shag-rocked hills they had emerged from.

The wind blew cold the whole day, out of the south, tugging at their faces and clothes. For once, though they couldn’t take the less conspicuous paths, nothing barred their path or assaulted them. Kuros did see trailsign of rothe and an indication of horsemen at another point – and what looked to be several people on foot dragging something behind them – but they covered the miles without being interrupted at all.

They set a strong enough march that they reached what was likely not far from Derval’s estimate of the limit of Stag Lord patrols toward sunset, and began looking for a place to rest. The mules were done in and even Ser Pig wasn’t showing his customary desire to steal anyone’s food from them. This section of the hills looked to be deserted even of mildly annoying animal life such as snakes and rats.

The Company eventually found a spot along a meandering hill trail somewhat protected from the elements. They chose a spot where the trail widened and an ancient devotional obelisk rose on the side of the road. Three feet high and carved from a single rock, the obelisk bore inscriptions worn down with time and the elements to nearly nothingness. Even Gizonde and Akara peering at the lettering in the dusk light couldn’t ascertain the language or even the letters.

It was after night fell that the obelisk’s true nature became apparent. It was not a devotional, but a marker. A warning.

Because eight black forms seeped out of the shadows around the obelisk. Themselves composed of shadow, with low, moaning keens, they surged towards the Company’s campfire, drawn by the warmth of life and blood, drawn to feed.

Gizonde immediately knew what they were: shadows, unquiet echoes of the dead, drawn by the warmth of the living in the night hours during which they were active. Hard to hit without magic, their darkest power was to drain the strength from their victims … who could be turned into shadows themselves if they succumbed.

Spoiler: Tactical Map

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Spoiler: Tactical Notes

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You’ve been attacked by 8 Shadows. AC 13 (but incorporeal), Fort +1, Ref +3, Will +4, 19 hitpoints each, rest of the details are in the hyperlink to the SRD.

First up, we’re on group initiative. To recap the rules:

1) Everyone including the opposition has initiative rolled
2) Anyone who got a roll higher than the monsters is put in one group
3) Anyone who got a roll lower than the monsters is put in a second group
4) Those who get initiative results higher than the monsters have 48 hours from the time of my update to post their actions. If someone in this group doesn’t post in that time, they are automatically shunted down to the group who acts after the monsters. Actions will be resolved in order of people’s posts.
5) I then update taking account of people’s posts and provide the monsters’ actions
6) Those who got rolls lower than the monsters (or who have been shunted into this group) have 48 hours from the time of my update to post their actions. If there is no post within 48 hours, the character is deemed to remain where they are and go on total defense for the round – no exceptions. Again, actions otherwise are resolved in order of posting.
7) Actions commencing in one round are resolved at the time of your post in the next round.

Edge cases may well arise (especially if stuff like Incite or Inhibit are used), but these will be resolved on a case-by-case basis.

Having rolled, the initiative order is as follows:

First: Everyone
Second: Shadows
There’s no surprise round, but everyone except Three is prone.

Also, if you don’t wear armour to bed, you don’t have armour on and your weapons aren’t readied, of course.

So everyone has 48 hours from the board time of this post to put up actions. If not, monsters take their turn and you drop into a ‘second group’ that acts after the monsters do. Actions are resolved in order of posting, and best way to deal with branching decisions is to just post ‘em up as contingencies OOC within the IC thread. Immediate actions and whatnot outside your turn, either post them as contingencies or slap a second post in with the immediate action.

[BluesEclipse]

Seeing the dark forms coalescing in the night, and seeing the tenseness in both Three and Gizonde as the shadows approach, Korlann bites back a curse before quickly springing to his feet. Not hesitating, he springs at the nearest foe to him, azure light blazing along his spines as he launches two quick strikes at the closest of the shadows.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Korlann will get to his feet as a move action, before using his standard action to charge to I12 and attack Shadow 7 with a Flurry of Blows.

Attack 1:
To Hit: (1d20+8)[17]
Miss Chance: (1d2)[1] (Miss on 1)
Damage: (1d8+4)[7]

Attack 2:
To Hit: (1d20+8)[15]
Miss Chance: (1d2)[2] (Miss on 1)
Damage: (1d8+4)[10]

[Zombulian]

As soon as Gizonde recognized the situation he jumped to his feet, dizzying himself slightly as his blood rushed suddenly through his long form. Ever since he had first learned of the apparitions in his Speaker training, they had been the subject of not-uncommon nightmares. Their strength draining touch was of particular note to him as it meant his gaunt physical form became a fatal hazard rather than simply an insecurity.

Once his mind cleared, he whispered a prayer and made a sign of protection over himself.

Spoiler: OOC

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Gizonde uses a move action to stand from prone and a standard action to cast Sanctuary on himself.

I rolled his Dark Knowledge check in the OOC, and I'm really not sure how to RP the ability. There's nothing about how the bonus is conferred to allies. +2 untyped to Attack Rolls on these guys.

[jdizzlean]

Spoiler

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sorry, crazy week, this is gonna just be mechanics from my phone


L 24 shadow

unfortunately, I can only guarantee a hit with magic missile.

(3d4+6)[10]

[almondsAndRain]

Crossbow in one hand and the Magic Weapon infusion prepared in the other, Three darted past Korlann towards Dergosh, the only member of the Company that used weapons but had no way of hitting this particular brand of enemy with them. The question was, how to explain these creatures to him? She tried, regardless: “The ‘goblins’ are undead, intang…” she caught herself, releasing the infusion into Dergosh’s mace with a trigger word, and taking her explanation in a different direction, “Only magic can hurt them. But they cheat! Kind of like how those big white spiders cheated! Sometimes when you would hit them, you don’t.”

Spoiler: OOC

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Move action: Three walks to K16.

Standard action: Three casts Magic Weapon on Dergosh’s fancy mace.

Three has three first level infusions remaining. She also has three second level infusions.

[Saintheart]

Hills, the Stolen Lands
Night
Twenty-sixth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms, 1374 DR

Complication Dice: 6 of 6

The moaning of the shadows crescendoed as they came gliding in against the Company. Korlann’s strike missed, and the training of the monastery was enough to avoid two of the dreaded creatures’ blows … but the third, which had originally been following Three but turned to the closer source of warmth and life, caressed his cheek with an insubstantial, black hand. Korlann’s skin stung and ice shot through his body like he’d spent hours on the Great Glacier, his limbs numbing…

So he had a good idea of what was happening as the rest of the shadows swarmed Kuros, still caught unaware. He dodged as best he could on the ground, but three of their black limbs slashed through his heavy, thick dragonscale, chilling his blood, his lifeforce draining…

Gizonde was concentrating on his spell as Akara’s magic missile blasted at one of the shadows, and an ethereal light surmounted him. He felt – with that special blessing that was somewhere between word and thought, that which came from his god, Oghma – knowledge flow from the Testament of the Last Tumagar into his companions, infusing them with better awareness of the creatures around them…

And Three’s infusion took hold on Dergosh’s mace, the evil-looking weapon seeming to gleam with an inner life.

Spoiler: Tactical Map

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Spoiler: Tactical Notes

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Right, that’s the 48 hour mark. Those who didn’t post are dropped into the second group and the shadows have acted.

- Kuros takes 11 STR damage. That brings him to 9 by my count.
- Korlann takes 2 STR damage.
- Note that the party gets a +2 to attack rolls from Gizonde’s Dark Knowledge.
- The white glow around Gizonde on the map is just the glow of the Sanctuary spell.

Initiative Order:
Korlann, Three, Gizonde, Akara
Monsters
Dergosh, Kuros

This leaves mercurion and bcool99 with 48 hours to post. If no answer in that time, they’re on total defense for the round and we’ll come back to the first group of four. If they post within that time, we’ll update and start the next round.

[Mercurion 2]

Spoiler: OOC

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Sorry, been traveling for work the last three days; first time I can say that in about 15 months.

“CHEAT!??!” Dergosh roared angrily. “Ear of Gruumsh not like cheaters!” he snorted as he stood up. He threw his arms to the side, hooking his hands like claws, then pounded them on his chest before throwing them out again. A wave of fizzing yellow light pulsed out from the cleric in all directions like ripples of water from a stone thrown particularly violently into a dark pond, bursting like breakers over the shadows.

The half-orc nearly dropped his mace as it unexpectedly lit up. “UUUUGHHHH! Undead intang’s curse new mace!”

Spoiler: Turning rolls

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Turning check - (1d20-1)[14]
Turning damage - (2d6+2)[10]
Damn! Turning resistance got me.

[jdizzlean]

If she had been by herself, Akara likely would have simply flown away from these pests. They were more hassle than they were worth. To bad the Company can't do likewise, and to bad all her spells save 1 were nearly useless, or at best only marginally effective.

Sighting in on her same target, she lets loose another volley, hoping to whittle them down 1 at a time if she must!

[/spoiler]

1st off saint: your link to the shadows is broken, i didn't want to edit your post to fix it unless you're ok w/ that in the future....
https://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/shadow.htm

targeting shadow 8 again, the first missile has warmage edge applied, the next 2 dont just like last time. should missile 1 or 2 drop shadow 8, any left over will target shadow 4. I'll roll them separately just in case

(1d4+4)[8]
(1d4+1)[5]
(1d4+1)[2]

should the shadows move towards me, i'll be forced to fly at the very least up to get away from them, my already lowered STR can't take to many hits :(

[/spoiler]

[Zombulian]

Now warded, Gizonde takes a few quick steps towards the others. He didn’t have much that could directly effect the undead, so it was time to call in backup. He began a summoning incantation.

Spoiler: OOC

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5Ft step to L18.
Begin casting SMIII (via Oghma’s Bard Spell) to summon a Coure at K18.

[BluesEclipse]

Korlann takes a deep breath, not allowing the soul-chilling touch of the shadows to deter him. He focuses his ki, lacing it around his spines as he swipes at one of the shadows next to him before following it up with a swift kick, twisting to ensure that the spines on his leg make contact.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Korlann attacks with Flurry of Blows. The first attack will invoke Fists of Iron for +1d6 damage, and is aimed at Shadow 7. If Shadow 7 is destroyed by the first attack, the second strike will hit Shadow 6.

Attack 1
To Hit: (1d20+5)[7]
Miss Chance: (1d2)[1], miss on 1
Damage: [roll]1d8+1d6+3[/roll]

Attack 2
To Hit: (1d20+5)[15]
Miss Chance: (1d2)[1], miss on 1
Damage: (1d8+3)[8]

[almondsAndRain]

Three’s focus turned to giving her crossbow a bit of a boost - the tried and true Bane enchantment. As the purple energy began to pulse through her weapon, Dergosh’s words stole her attention. “No, Dergosh, I temporarily enchanted your mace.” She considered correcting the cleric on the name of these creatures, but perhaps this was for the best? She didn’t want to confuse the man and lead him to attacking both these and normal shadows.

Spoiler: mechanics

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Three uses Rapid Infusion to toss Bane; Undead on her +1 crossbow through Personal Weapon Augmentation. It takes one round.

Three five foot steps to L15.

This is a few minutes late, apologies, I lost track of the time.

[Saintheart]

Hills, the Stolen Lands
Night
Twenty-sixth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms, 1374 DR

Complication Dice: 6 of 6

Akara’s streaking missiles impacted against the nearest Shadow, and with a sudden flare of blue light, that creature disappeared. The last of them nicked another of the creatures. So it seemed they could be harmed. Gizonde’s mind raced, and he had an idea: if Akara’s magic could hurt them, then they would need allies who could do the same. The Enoko began casting another spell, one to bring those allies near them…

As Three send arcane power surging into her weapon, Dergosh roared at the creatures, but – just barely – they took no heed of him.

Their focus remained on the two brace souls fighting them.

Kuros, the wind knocked out of him by having his strength stolen from his body, had barely enough presence of mind to get his shield over him, focusing in the way Master Geralt had once taught … and amazingly, three of the shadows’ reaching claws were turned with sparking bursts of actinic light. The fourth, though, sank into his chest, sending even more of a harsh chill down his spine.

Korlann fought for his life, but his strikes were just slightly off, and the creatures slipped his blows. Theirs, however, did not, and he gasped audibly as three of the black creatures’ arms surged into his form, stealing his lifeblood…

Spoiler: Tactical Map

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Spoiler: Tactical Notes

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Shadow 8 goes down, Shadow 4 takes 2 damage.
Korlann takes a total of 10 STR damage from three blows. Yes, I was surprised by that too. That gets him down to 4 STR by my count.
Kuros takes another 5 STR damage, bringing him to 6 STR. That one was a potential critical hit, but the shadow didn’t confirm.

Initiative Order:
Korlann, Three, Gizonde, Akara
Monsters
Dergosh, Kuros

So it’s over to mercurion and bcool once more. 48 hours to post up, or back on total defense again.

[Mercurion 2]

A brief snarl burst from Dergosh’s dark green lips as the undead resisted his Gruumsh-given power. The only thing to do, obviously, was to be louder.

He stepped towards the shadowy figures—why called intangs and not shadows? the orc briefly wondered—and bellowed, “Hear One-Ear’s roar, intangs!” A legion of translucent orc warriors sprang from the ground, this time in battle array each featuring a snarling wolf helm and cloak, and gave an earth-shaking battle cry before fading away.

Spoiler: Actions

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. Move to J16 and cast sound burst at G19 in order to catch shadows 1, 2, and 3 in the effect. 50% chance to avoid the damage below, but must make DC 16 Fort saves or be stunned for 1 round.
damage - (1d8)[5]

[bcool999]

Kuros wasn't quite sure what happened. One moment he was getting ready to camp and the next these shadows swarmed over him stealing his strength from him. Now Kuros was pinned to the ground under the weight of his equipment. Kuros desperately tries to ward the shadows off with his shield, but even breathing is starting to become an impossible labor.

Spoiler: OOC

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So Kuros has only 4 str left. He will most likely die next round, and be risen as a shadow 1d4 rounds later. He will use Total defense to bring his AC to 16 (After prone cancels out his shield) and try to stave off the inevitable.

[Saintheart]

Hills, the Stolen Lands
Night
Twenty-sixth of Kythorn, Year of Lightning Storms, 1374 DR

Complication Dice: 6 of 6

Strength draining from him, knowing that he was likely to die here, Kuros still had enough presence of mind to notice something strange amongst the shadows around him. They seemed to be ... moaning at one another. As if there was some sort of primal disagreement about who would claim the last of his life. One of the shadows seemed to be more agitated, more ... insistent than the others. It gave a great keening wail, and the other three shadows seemed to shrink away from it, disembodied holes for eyes and vague shapes turning towards the other members of the Company...

The shadow's wail was matched by a scream that came from beyond the world, a scream from a hundred half-orc throats, a scream that took form and mass and, from Dergosh's mouth, hurled itself at three of the shadows attacking Kuros. The shriek exploded, and it seemed even the vague, insubstantial forms of the shadows wavered like clouds partially ripped by sunlight. The moaning from those three creatures stopped, and they seemed to be completely stunned for a few precious seconds...

Spoiler: Tactical Map

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Spoiler: Tactical Notes

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Map's the same but for Dergosh moving to J16 - I'll update it later tonight, I just wanted to keep things rolling.

Anyway, some good news: Shadows 1, 2, and 3 all failed their Fort rolls and so are stunned for 1 round. Shadow 1 and 2 also took damage from Dergosh's sound burst - 5 on Shadow 1 (Merc's roll) and 6 on Shadow 2 (my roll).

What's going on with Kuros (well, before 3 of them were stunned) s that the shadows have an idea that they're about to drain out all that's left of his lifeforce, so like most primitive, animalistic survivors, they're fighting over who gets the last of a limited resource. One of the shadows seems to have asserted its dominance over the others and three of those shadows are now turning towards other sources of life force. Which is to say, the rest of the party.

Initiative Order:
Korlann, Three, Gizonde, Akara
Monsters
Dergosh, Kuros

This gives Zombulian, dizz, Blues, and almonds 48 hours to post up actions. Remember you all pull +2 on your attack rolls against the shadows because of Dark Knowledge, and Gizonde's Coure will appear whenever Zombulian posts - and can be directed at that point.

[BluesEclipse]

Korlann frowns, his attacks unable to land on the shadowy foes, and the chill spreading through his body leaving him barely able to stand, let alone fight. His eyes, however, remain as sharp as ever, and he watches his foes, finding an opportunity to slip back away from them and regroup with the others. "I can only pray that your magic can do what my arts cannot," he says as he joins the spellcasters among the group.

Spoiler: Mechanics

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Korlann withdraws, moving to M16.

[jdizzlean]

It quickly becomes apparent to Akara that this fight will not, and can not be won simply by throwing about darts of force. And since it appears the Company can not withdraw without leaving at least 1 member behind, then the time for rash action has come. Hoping that her guess may be correct, she focuses on the stone plinth, and smacking her hands together unleashes a clap so loud even Dergosh must notice over the sound of the rocks bouncing about inside his head.

Spoiler

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maybe a shatter cast on the stone may or may not destroy or drive off all of these at once?

i dunno how heavy the rock is, i can only affect 60#, which doesn't seem like all that much when you're talking a stone pillar... or maybe it'll be enough. either way, with only 6 more castings of magic missile left, i can't kill these things any other way for certain. that miss chance is just to high. my vote would be to run, even if it costs all our possessions, but it also seems unlikely we'd all make it out :(

[Saintheart]

The reply to dizz's post is in the new IC thread, which can be found over here!