Cracks of the Multiverse IC

[Xihirli]

"Let me worry about my things," she answered.
"Are you prepared to speak to our representative?" she called down to the librarian.

[SunderedWorldDM]

"Yessss, of coursssse," the voice seethes. "Sssssend them assss clossse to me assss possssible, I want a good look at them..."

[Xihirli]

Susanna lifted her rod and pointed it through the hole in the ceiling. "I name you Xotat! Emerge and speak for me!"
Sprouting from a portal to the abyss came forth a vulture-like demon, squawking angrily.

Spoiler: OOC

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5th level Summon Greater Demon for a Vrock.

[SunderedWorldDM]

The figure explodes into reality, squacking and cackling. "Yes? Yes? Yes?" The creature says back to you in threes. "What do you need me to do? What do you need me to do? What do you need me to do?" Xotat's talons are covered in blood, and you can see a fury in her yes of being summoned during a kill.

[Xihirli]

Susanna’s instructions were simple."Inform the librarian down there that she works for me. Kill her if she does not accept these terms."

[SunderedWorldDM]

"Yes, mistress. Yes, mistress. Yes, mistress." The vrock swoops down.

Spoiler: OOC

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Some math estimations to avoid senseless dice rolling:
The librarian has 7 attacks, each at +9. It's pretty safe to assume that 5 of those hit- 4 standard and the one special.The standard attacks do 13 average (magical) damage, so that's 4 times 13. The special does 15 and an effect that can't target the vrock. So that's a total of 4 times 13 plus 15 damage, or 67 damage the vrock just has to soak.

Meanwhile, the vrock is ineffective. The vrock can make two nonmagical melee attacks, which are either soaked into an 18 AC, negated by an optional ability that increases armor, or just taken and halved. The librarian has a +10 to Con saves, so its abilities are near-useless. So the vrock, at less than half hit points, hasn't even scratched the librarian.

This isn't going to end well for Xotat.

And yes, the librarian is a creature from the monster manual. While we're here, brief note on languagse: in my world, all demons/devils/yugoloths/bad things speak a common language, Infernal. Like Primordial, each type has its own dialect, but are mutually intelligible.

You hear the sounds of Infernal conversation. Lines spit back and forth like curses until the vrock leaps forward with a bloodcurdling screech. You hear the sound of metal swooshing and hideously cold laughter as Xotat cries in fear and pain. "You'll have to do better than that, intruderssssss," the yet-unseen librarian hisses.

[samduke]

to the others in a whispered voice, I think that what ever the librarian is, it belongs in the Marilith family, though I can quite get a good enough look from here to tell what exactly and I am not sticking my head down to look just yet.

[Ramsus]

General Dream Miqo'te Beastmaster/Sleepy Cat & Rem & Sleepnear & Nap AC: 15 HP: 108/108 & AC: 18 HP: 162/162 & AC: 13 HP: 68/68 & AC: 12 HP: 2/2 PP: 20/15/11/13 PIv: 10/7/10/6 PIs: 20/12/11/11 Senses: DV 60ft. Adv Smell. Rem: Blindsight 60ft. Nap: DV 30 ft. Adv Smell. Concentrating on: -- Rem: -- Conditions: -- Rem: -- Sleepnear: -- Nap: -- Dream yawns and stretches and comments, "Bored now." as she (on Sleepnear) and Rem suddenly just go down the hole.

[SunderedWorldDM]

You see a bedraggled bird demon skewered on the end of one of six blades, all being carried by a female-looking figure with six arms and a serpentine lower body. Yup, Definitely a Marilith.

"Finally!" she hisses. "Sssssssomebody new! What bringssss you to my library?" she coos, continuing to effortlessly make a vrock shish kebab. Her emerald green eyes almost entrance you, they glimmer with malice and beauty...

[Ramsus]

General Dream Miqo'te Beastmaster/Sleepy Cat & Rem & Sleepnear & Nap AC: 15 HP: 108/108 & AC: 18 HP: 162/162 & AC: 13 HP: 68/68 & AC: 12 HP: 2/2 PP: 20/15/11/13 PIv: 10/7/10/6 PIs: 20/12/11/11 Senses: DV 60ft. Adv Smell. Rem: Blindsight 60ft. Nap: DV 30 ft. Adv Smell. Concentrating on: -- Rem: -- Conditions: -- Rem: -- Sleepnear: -- Nap: -- Dream's eyes glimmer with malice and beauty right back, but also hunger like she's maybe salivating a little wondering what pan seared marlith steaks tastes like and she's definitely planning on finding out in just a moment. They do this while she retreats (hopefully) out of range and Rem launches into an attack, shooting webbing and then charging into melee. Spoiler Show As a reminder, Dream has the following feature. Magical Creature: Starting at 6th level, your companion’s attacks count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistances and immunity to nonmagical attacks. Also, Dream and Rem get advantage on attacks and saves against Fiends. (Which I'm 99% certain a Marilith is.) Rem's stuff Multiattack: The spider shark can make a hooked claw attack, a burrowing tooth attack, and a barbed web attack. Start with Barbed Web attack and then moves into melee to do the other two. Barbed Web Attack: (1d20+7)[9] advantage: (1d20+7)[14] damage: (3d10+2)[18] if crit: (3d10)[21] on hit: the target is retrained. As an action, the restrained creature can make a DC 18 Strength check, destroying from the webbing on a success. The effect ends if the webbing is destroyed. The webbing has AC 15; 25 hit points; is vulnerable to fire damage; and is immune to bludgeoning, poison, and psychic damage. Hooked Claw: (1d20+7)[17] advantage: (1d20+7)[15] damage: (2d8+3)[13] if crit: (2d8)[10] on hit: the target must make a DC 18 Strength saving throw, or be grappled and pulled towards the spider shark. While the target is grappled, attacks against it have advantage. Burrowing Tooth: (1d20+7)[15] advantage: (1d20+7)[26] damage: (3d8+3)[17] if crit: (3d8)[13] on hit: and the target must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw, or take an additional 1d8 damage at the beginning of its turn each round. A target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Dream's stuff Movement to make Sleepnear fly. The Dance of War bonus action attack with Rest: (1d20+8)[28] advantage: (1d20+8)[25] damage: (1d10+3)[11] psychic damage if crit: (1d10)[5]

[Xihirli]

Susanna looked down the crack, then shrugged.
"She's got this."

[samduke]

Dawn looks down - shrugging at Susanna I hope so, preparing to drop down if it starts looking bad for her ally

[Xihirli]

Susanna then sent Terese down the hole and saw through the bat's eyes to get a good look at the battle.
"Tell me if anything changes after I leave your senses," she told her familiar.

Spoiler: OOC

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Using her action to take on Terese's bat senses, including blindsight 30.

[SunderedWorldDM]

Dream walks back, commanding Rem to strike out.

The first attack with the barbed web misses rather wildly. The Marilith hisses. "Isssss that all you've got?" She chortles to herself, a deeply unsettling sound.

A hooked caw swings out, almost connecting, but it just hits where the rough, scaly hide begins, so the claw bounces off without effect. The strange, metallic chortling turns into a mocking guffaw.

Rem savagely attempts to burrow his tooth into the Marilith. The attack is inches from connecting with the soft feminine flesh of the demon's upper body, and despite a last-minute attempt to parry, the blow connects with flesh. A bloodcurdling screech rings out.

Meanwhile, Dream extends Rest, focusing on delivering a psychic attack. The attack resounds, and you hear the Marilith hiss, despising the discordance in her synaptic structure.

As Terese observes, she sees that the Marilith is incredibly tough to hit, can attack many times with great precision and strength, and can parry blows with ease- and, looking at the speed of her reaction time, can parry multiple times between her attacks... this looks like a difficult adversary to Susanna!

[Xihirli]

Because it was safe for Terese, Susanna had her fly back up and instead sent Leander to look. Leander shared his senses with Susanna, and now seeing the ground underneath the Merelith, Susanna uttered in the language of the Deep Ones; "Yg'bthnknah."
Underneath the Merelith, a summoning square appealed. Tentacles stretched up to bat at the Merelith, grabbing at her and pulling her in for a lot of painful hugs.

Spoiler: Evard's Black Tentacles

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At the start of her turn, the Merelith must make a DC 18 DEX save or be restrained and take (3d6)[8] bludgeoning damage. On subsequent turns, starting her turn restrained by the tentacles repeats the 3d6.

"Keep her locked in place and my friends from the deep will be able to keep helping you," Susanna called down the hole. She then had Leander return to her.

[SunderedWorldDM]

As the marilith barely hears the arcane words, she takes a brief slither out of the way as a mass of extradimensional tentacles opens up below. They grasp outwards, punctuating their flailing with a chorus of indecipherable and terrifying gibberish. For now, the marilith evades their grasp...

[SunderedWorldDM]

As the marilith squirms out of the way of the tentacles, she attempts to slash out at the spider shark in front of her in a dizzying wave of swordplay.

Spoiler: OOC

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All attacks are magical.
6 longsword attacks:
(1d20+9)[18], (2d8+4)[8] damage
(1d20+9)[15], (2d8+4)[10] damage
(1d20+9)[25], (2d8+4)[16] damage
(1d20+9)[14], (2d8+4)[13] damage
(1d20+9)[26], (2d8+4)[17] damage
(1d20+9)[16], (2d8+4)[15] damage
In case of crit: (2d8+4)[17] damage, (2d8+4)[14] damage

One tail swipe:
(1d20+9)[20], (2d10+4)[7]. If the target is Medium or smaller, it is grappled (escape DC 19). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, the marilith can automatically hit the target with its tail, and the marilith can't make tail attacks against other targets. (I´m pretty sure that doesn´t apply here, but there you go.)

[Ramsus]

General Dream Miqo'te Beastmaster/Sleepy Cat & Rem & Sleepnear & Nap AC: 15 HP: 108/108 & AC: 18 HP: 114/162 & AC: 13 HP: 68/68 & AC: 12 HP: 2/2 PP: 20/15/11/13 PIv: 10/7/10/6 PIs: 20/12/11/11 Senses: DV 60ft. Adv Smell. Rem: Blindsight 60ft. Nap: DV 30 ft. Adv Smell. Concentrating on: -- Rem: -- Conditions: -- Rem: -- Sleepnear: -- Nap: -- Rem gives a growl, clearly meant to be menacing, at being moderately injured despite more than half the blows being knocked aside or scraping off its carapace as it continues to trade blows with the Marilith. Dream mimics the growl, but it just comes out more like a cute cat yowl, as she fires another psychic bolt. Spoiler Show As a reminder, Dream has the following feature. Magical Creature: Starting at 6th level, your companion’s attacks count as magical for the purpose of overcoming resistances and immunity to nonmagical attacks. Also, Dream and Rem get advantage on attacks and saves against Fiends. Rem's stuff Multiattack: The spider shark can make a hooked claw attack, a burrowing tooth attack, and a barbed web attack. Hooked Claw: (1d20+7)[27] advantage: (1d20+7)[25] damage: (2d8+3)[12] if crit: (2d8)[4] on hit: the target must make a DC 18 Strength saving throw, or be grappled and pulled towards the spider shark. While the target is grappled, attacks against it have advantage. Barbed Web Attack: (1d20+7)[22] (disadvantage and advantage cancel out, having more advantage doesn't help) damage: (3d10+2)[17] if crit: (3d10)[20] on hit: the target is retrained. As an action, the restrained creature can make a DC 18 Strength check, destroying from the webbing on a success. The effect ends if the webbing is destroyed. The webbing has AC 15; 25 hit points; is vulnerable to fire damage; and is immune to bludgeoning, poison, and psychic damage. Burrowing Tooth: (1d20+7)[18] advantage: (1d20+7)[23] damage: (3d8+3)[19] if crit: (3d8)[17] on hit: and the target must make a DC 18 Constitution saving throw, or take an additional 1d8 damage at the beginning of its turn each round. A target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. Dream's stuff Movement to make Sleepnear fly. The Dance of War bonus action attack with Rest: (1d20+8)[9] advantage: (1d20+8)[10] damage: (1d10+3)[10] psychic damage if crit: (1d10)[2]

[SunderedWorldDM]

As the spider shark makes its attacks, Susanna, Dawn and Dream hear a sound of cracking and splintering. A shower of dirt and debris slam down into the overcroft, burying Susanna. The head of an astral ship pokes its head through the broken astral fortress as a strange bunch clamors out to inter the scene.

Meanwhile, the spider shark and the marilith brawl below. The hooked claw sinks into the serpentine carapace, and the marilith cries out, though she holds her ground. The marilith manages to parry the web, but the tooth sinks in. Despite the tooth burrowing, it doesn't break off in her skin, so no adverse effects. As Susanna is crushed, the spectral arms fade.

Despite the Dance of War working so well last time, this time the attack doesn't seem to take hold.

[Barbarian MD]

A lightly armored figure stands up, cloak billowing majestically from the bow of the ship, longbow out, arrow nocked and another three in the hand holding his bow. He looks down into the chamber below.

A single word escapes his lips in giant, as he does his best Henry Cavill impression.

Spoiler

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So what exactly do I see?

[SunderedWorldDM]

The ship crashed into what appears to be some sort of overcroft, a support between the ceiling and the outer wall (or more fortress, in some parts.) Meanwhile, another hole has been burrowed through into the main body of the fortress. Down there, you see a cat riding a horse floating above the ground, commanding some horrible hybrid amalgamation of a spider and a shark fighting a six-armed demon woman with a serpentine lower body, standing just behind a pair of open doors. Part of the floor is collapsed, exposing poisoned spikes- you presume most of the floor is trapped in this way. In the overcroft with you is another rune fighter. You have crushed a wizard.

[Kurokaze]

Megil stepped out of the ship and surveyed the scene. He drew his black blade from its scabbard and spoke as if addressing it for some reason. "So, who's our enemy here? Or do you just want me to slaughter them all?"

That marilith demon - end her!

He seemed to listen for a moment, then turned to look at the marilith. "That one, huh..? This is not your lucky day, demon." Focusing on his sword for a moment, the fingers of his free hand danced as he spoke the incantation and a spectral frost appears to cover him and his gear.

Don't be so cavalier - and don't waste my magic! That demon won't take full damage from that spell!

He shrugged and pointed the black blade at the demon, letting his other power flow out to curse her. "She'll die anyway."

Spoiler: OOC:

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action to cast Armor of Agathys, bonus action to use Hexblade's Curse.

[Barbarian MD]

Kore stands for a few moments, torn between pulling out a cigar and watching whatever this is from a distance and just shooting everything in sight.

Spoiler

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I'm going to shoot something. Is there a check of some sort I can roll to decide what to shoot? Otherwise I think I'm just going to put an arrow into everybody down there!

[Barbarian MD]

Kore turns to Megil and grunts, "The one with six arms, eh?"

Quick as lightning, three magic-imbued arrows streak out.

Spoiler

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ATK (d20+14)[15]
DMG (1d8+7)[9]

ATK (d20+14)[23]
DMG (1d8+7)[8]

ATK (d20+14)[17]
DMG (1d8+7)[13]

Assuming one of those hits:
When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can invoke the rune to summon fiery shackles: the target must succeed on a STR saving throw (DC 14) or be restrained for 1 minute, taking (2d6)[8] fire damage at the start of each of its turns. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, banishing the shackles on a success. Once you invoke the rune, you can’t do so again until you finish a short or long rest.

[SunderedWorldDM]

Kore looses three arrows. Just as one looks like it's about to hit, the marilith attempts to interpose a blade. Despite attempting a parry, the blow lands. The fire leaps from the arrow's tip and tries to envelop her. She attempts to evade the shackles. (1d20+10)[12] Unfortunately, she fails to evade them, and the shackles wrap about her.

[Barbarian MD]

Spoiler

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Advantage on the third attack due to restrained condition:

ATK (d20+14)[34]
DMG (1d8+7)[15]

[Barbarian MD]

Spoiler: crit damage

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huzzah for a crit
(d8)[7]

[Athaleon]

Next to emerge was a Half-Elf wielding a wicked-looking mace of black iron, clad in sturdy but well-worn mail that belied the imperious manner in which he carried himself. He looked down at the demon and the shark-creature grappling each other, raised his mace and cast a simple blessing with a word.

Spoiler

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Hi everybody!

Casting Bless on himself, Kore, and Megil.

[samduke]

seeing an advantage in the battle Dawn uses bonus action (Haug), <move action> grasping her sword, dropping through the ceiling catching the lip to swing towards the marlith ( acrobatics (1d20+8)[14] ) on landing next to the marlith attacking with her sword <attack> (1d20+11)[30] with advantage (1d20+11)[23] ; Damage (1d8+6)[13] , Extra attack 1: (1d20+11)[21] with advantage (1d20+11)[27] ; Damage (1d8+6)[7] , Extra Attack 2: (1d20+11)[27] with advantage (1d20+11)[15] ; Damage (1d8+6)[12] *all damage is magic slashing

[Modigar]

Climbing into sight next is a tall, slender, armoured figure. Though they have a shield slung across their back and multiple swords at their belt, they instead speak and gesture, fluidly casting two spells in succession.

Spoiler: Mechanical details

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Mind Sliver (cantrip) and then Mind Thrust (bonus action spell on the Marilith. Both Int saves. Mind Sliver does 3d6+5 damage on a failed save and knocks d4 off of the target's next saving throw, nothing on a passed save. Mind Thrust does 3d6+5 damage and forces the target to only Dash or Disengage with their action next turn, successful save means only taking half of the damage, and no control effect.
Mind Sliver Damage if successful: (3d6+5)[5][6][2](13) 18 psychic damage
Mind Sliver penalty: (d4)[1]
Mind Thrust Damage: (3d6+5)[4][2][1](7) 13 psychic damage (+1 for replacing the rolled 1 with a 2)
Rolls to replaces 1s on the damage dice: (3d6)[2][1][5](8)

Edit: Forgot that it doesn't factor in the static boosts with rollv, correct damage totals marked next to them.