Planescape: Center of All - IC

[tonberryking]

Rush considers this, and with a flick, dissipates her blade and returns the hilt to her buckler.

"I might. Where even is this place, anyway, and what do you lot want with it?"

[Archmage1]

Eilyra nods. "It's a portal, built to breach a prison containing a god of madness. We've been retained to take some steps to prevent the release of said god."

She also focuses, casting Detect Thoughts in preparation for Ash's Greater Scrying, as well as providing the blood from her sword to use as a focus.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

We need the 3rd round effect of detect thoughts for this plan to work, so casting it a little before Ash casts Greater Scrying.

[tonberryking]

"Well, that's certainly an important priority... " Rush rubs her chin as she shifts her hooves around. "May I accompany you all? I'd rather do more to repay your freeing me than simply offer your moldy papers in a crumbling castle, and sooner or later when dealing with mad gods, I imagine you'll need someone to hit things with a sharp stick."

[Archmage1]

Eilyra frowns, clearly considering Rush's words, before her glowing eyes take another look over Rush's equipment and armor. "Perhaps. We are planning on going after the Colubriloth. You could accompany us there, and consider it an audition. Afterwards, we can discuss things in more depth and come to a more formal arrangement."

She then looks to Ash, a few sparks glimmering in her hair as her spell finishes focusing. "Ash, if you would care to begin your scrying, I should be able to see what you see, and take us there."

[kinem]

Using the mirror she has stored, Ash attempts to scry on the Tekinto, which had escaped along with the bodies of the Colubriloth and the Baernoloth.

"Strange ... the spell seems blocked. I'll try the Nycaloth."

She is able to get an image of that one. "The big fiend is flying, some distance away but keeping an eye on this place it seems."

As Eilyra can also see, the fiend has taken precautions: its mirror images are back, and it’s now accompanied by a smaller Nycaloth which also has mirror images.

[Archmage1]

Having finished storing a portion of the Colubriloth's blood into a vial, and sealing it, and with the vision burning in her mind, Eilyra nods abruptly. "I have it. If you can't fly, resist." With that, Eilyra casts teleport, attempting to take the group to the Nycaloth before her vision fades.

(1d100)[19] Teleport(Perfect!)

[Cavir]

For a moment Avakuss considers teleporting with them, but realizes the 'loth would probably have its mirror images again so hoping to grapple the right one in mid-air was probably folly. With dismay he skips the teleport. Instead, he goes back into the gate room and comes up with a different idea. Using his size and extra limbs he gets back onto the roof of the tower, using the outer walls to not collapse the roof, to see what he can see. He stays wary of the spiders. If he is safe from the spiders he'll look to the skies for the action commencing.

[tonberryking]

Rush is quick on the uptake, once more holding her crystal hilt in her sword arm. "I can fly--" She gets out before the spell is suddenly cast, not even giving her the benefit of finishing a sentence.

However, should she rematerialize out in the open air, the "shawl" she had wraped over her lower torso and barding suddenly, magically tightens around her middle. Just as suddenly the dark blue cloth unfurls into a pair of midnight blue wings--bat wings, playing up to her "type", it would seem, which flap and catch an updraft to keep her aloft.

[kinem]

As Avakuss climbs onto the roof, he sees the 'spiders' starting to gather towards him. He has a choice: to immediately retreat down below, or to fight a swarm of them.

Meanwhile, Eilyra, Rush, and Ash appear midair about 30' above the huge Nycaloth, who is now followed by a smaller Nycaloth about 30' behind him, and about 1000' above the barren landscape. Each is surrounded by 8 mirror images that constantly shift. The River Styx flows nearby, and the ruined tower is visible below. The Nycaloth is flying rapidly and the newcomers have to scramble to keep up, not to mention to avoid falling to the distant ground.

OOC: PCs to act. Surprise round; single action only

[Archmage1]

Eilyra smiles as she sees the Nycaloth and it's images below, flying along, blissfully unaware of the pain it was about to enjoy. Not wanting to ruin the moment, she casts her initial spells swiftly, but carefully, moving from one to the next smoothly.

Casting: Haste(Eilyra, Ash, Rush)(Free action), Assay SR(Swift)(Nycaloth Commander), True Strike(Standard)

[tonberryking]

Rush's eyes widen slightly when spells are cast upon her, but she doesn't delay by accusing her new comrades of trying to dominate her mind or imprison her. No, she knows an enchantment that improves upon herself when she's hit with one. Looking towards the larger fleeing Nycaloth and the fuzzy fracted duplicate images for an instant, her form turns all red in a flash and seems to fade sideways in either direction into nothing.

For a heartbeat she remains gone, perhaps perplexing the others until she reappears in a red flash right on top of the Nycaloth with her sword igniting in the same moment. She brings it down like a sledge hammer.

Spoiler: OOC/rolls

Show

AC is now 47.

Using a swift action to Ghost Step- Her range is 250 ft which I assume is enough to reach them.

Drawing mind blade as a free action and then using my surprise round action to ATTACK!

(1d20+32)[49]

(1d100)[72] I guess I roll a % dice to see if it connects?

Damage:
(2d6+12)[18] Base damage
(2d6)[5] Holy
(1d4)[4] Psychokinetic


I forgot to say at any point that Rush's mindblade was charged with psychic strike. While I imagine that she always keeps it charged I don't want to meta so this one's on me. Next time, however...

[Cavir]

"Dammit." Avakuss drops back down into the tower. He keeps a look upwards for a few seconds to see if they follow. If not, he takes a closer look at the gate without touching or entering it.

[kinem]

Rush's precisely aimed attack nevertheless strikes one of the illusory images, causing it to vanish.

Ash casts a spell, lifting the spirits of herself and Rush.

OOC: Good Hope: +2 morale bonus to most d20 rolls for Ash and Rush

As wings flap and blades flash, the Nycaloths attempt to react to the sudden threat that has materialized in midair ...

OOC: Nycaloth Initiative (1d20+2)[19]

PCs: Use individual initiative
Ash initiative (1d20+12)[13]

[Archmage1]

Not hesitating to follow through on her surprise, Eilyra closes her eyes, and fires a green ray at the Commander, before quickly raising a barrier against the evil of the plane, and recharging the bloodstone of her sword, ready for combat next round.

Spoiler: Rolls

Show

(1d20+23)[30] Eilyra's initiative
(1d20+36)[52] Know: Planes(Collector of stories Derp. Knowledge devotion.)

(1d20+55)[75] Dimensional Anchor(True Strike bypasses concealment, such as from closing one's eyes)
(1d20+34)[53] Spell Penetration

Magic circle against Evil is cast, and may prevent the summoned nycaloth from approaching.
(1d20+24)[39] Eilyra's SR check to prevent it from approaching.

[tonberryking]

Upon realizing she'd have a better shot at hitting the actual demon if she closed her eyes, the centaur proceeds to do just that, swerving to the side ever so slightly and attempts a blind butchering of her foe, snapping her eyes open again as soon as the last blow is swung.

Spoiler: OOC/Rolls

Show

Upon finding out this thing can just re-do his damn spell, I may as well try to go with the 1 in 2 chance instead of the 1 in 8.

Attacks:
(1d20+34)[46] % (1d100)[38]
(1d20+34)[41] % (1d100)[63]
(1d20+29)[47] % (1d100)[99]
(1d20+24)[25] % (1d100)[20]

Damages:
(2d6+12)[16] (2d6)[11] (1d4)[3]
(2d6+12)[19] (2d6)[12] (1d4)[2]
(2d6+12)[21] (2d6)[7] (1d4)[2]
(2d6+12)[20] (2d6)[8] (1d4)[2]

[kinem]

Avakuss' inspection of the faintly purple glowing Gate doesn't reveal much, but somehow, it looks different than when he first saw it - perhaps related to the spell Eilyra cast.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two of Rush's blind attacks connect solidly with the flying fiend.

While the deep cuts might be fatal to a human, the bulky fiend is a much tougher foe, and knowing that the ray that struck it prevents escape by teleportation, the 'loth decides to stand and fight as best as it can while flapping its wings furiously to halt its momentum. The huge fiend is surprisingly agile in the air, even wearing armor. Meanwhile, the smaller Nycaloth charges in for its own attack on Rush.

OOC: Attacks on Rush AC 47
greataxe (1d20+41)[43], damage (4d6+15)[29]
greataxe (1d20+36)[53], damage (4d6+15)[27]
greataxe (1d20+31)[41], damage (4d6+15)[27]
greataxe (1d20+26)[43], damage (4d6+15)[26]
claw (1d20+30)[36], damage (1d8+3)[8] plus bleeding wound
claw (1d20+30)[50], damage (1d8+3)[9] plus bleeding wound

Smaller Nycaloth:
greataxe (1d20+20)[22], damage (3d6+15)[28]

PCs to act

[kinem]

OOC: Claw crit confirm (1d20+30)[43], damage (1d8+3)[9]

[tonberryking]

Rush continues pivoting around her attackers even as the claws and axe find purchase at least once. The arc of lost blood that's hers doesn't seem to bother her all that much, though she nonetheless retaliates before it can fall very far from her. Her red blade suddenly lets out a powerful peal as more red energies surround it in waves of jagged teeth, which she once more swings haphazardly with her eyes closed, but her hooves even strike out this time, too.

Spoiler: OOC/Rolls

Show

Here we go again!

Mindblade:
(1d20+34)[38](1d100)[66]
(1d20+34)[45](1d100)[34]
(1d20+29)[33](1d100)[80]
(1d20+24)[39](1d100)[83]

Hooves:
(1d20+18)[27](1d100)[35]
(1d20+18)[30](1d100)[42]

Psychic Strike doesn't discharge until it connects, so here is the damage for it: (5d8)[15]

MB Damage:
(2d6+12)[18](2d6)[8](1d4)[3]
(2d6+12)[18](2d6)[7](1d4)[2]
(2d6+12)[18](2d6)[8](1d4)[4]
(2d6+12)[16](2d6)[6](1d4)[4]

Hooves:
(1d6+15)[21](1d6+15)[18]

[Archmage1]

Knowing the Nycaloth's resistance to magic, and that her remaining spells would be of limited value here, Eilyra dances around the commander, her eyes shut, relying on skill and instinct to guide her strikes as she attempts to slash into the 'loth's form.

Spoiler: Rolls

Show

Using Bounding Attack twice
Burning a Night's Caress for arcane strike.

(1d20+45)[60] (1d100)[8] Attack 1
(1d10+20)[26](P/S) + (5d4)[12](Untyped) + (1d6)[3](Skirmish) + (1d6)[3] Fire

(1d20+40)[58] (1d100)[10] Attack 2
(1d10+20)[23](P/S) + (5d4)[16](Untyped) + (1d6)[1](Skirmish) + (1d6)[2] Fire

(1d20+45)[48] (1d100)[22] Attack 3
(1d10+20)[28](P/S) + (5d4)[13](Untyped) + (1d6)[1](Skirmish) + (1d6)[5] Fire

(1d20+40)[59] (1d100)[74] Attack 4 (Confirmation: 53)
(1d10+20)[28](P/S) + (5d4)[17](Untyped) + (1d6)[5](Skirmish) + (1d6)[3] Fire
Crit bonus damage: 29

If any attack hits, Bloodstone triggers.
(1d20+34)[41] Spell penetration
(10d6)[30]*1.5 damage(45) + 46(Crit bonus damage)

[kinem]

The many powerful attacks from Rush and Eilyra prove too much for the mighty yet wounded Nycaloth. The dead fiend begins to plunge towards the dull stony ground below. Its mirror images remain for the moment, so perhaps it is not quite dead, but surely will be when it lands.

Meanwhile the smaller Nycaloth sees just what it is up against …

OOC: Ash to act

[Archmage1]

Ash, seeing the challenges in hitting the mirrored image Nycaloth, reaches out and touches Rush, casting Heroics to grant Rush Blind-fight, improving her odd of hitting the Nycaloth.

(Blind-Fight lets her roll twice on concealment rolls, such as from having her eyes closed)

[kinem]

Seeing what happened to the larger Nycaloth, the remaining one uses its Teleport ability and vanishes.

The huge Nycaloth is still plunging towards the ground…

OOC: Eilyra and Rush can each act before it hits the ground if desired. Otherwise, combat is over. There are the ‘spiders’ in the area and you can assume they would start to move in.

[Archmage1]

Acting quickly, Eilyra darts down to catch the falling axe, her hair sending embers flying into the air at the rapid change in velocity, even as she casts levitate on the body to prevent it from falling into range of the spiders.

[kinem]

The plunging Nycaloth stops in mid-air as Eilyra casts Levitate on it.

Below, the ‘spiders’ are taking notice of the aerial activity, and they can indeed fly. However, there is no immediate move from them.

OOC: What now?

[Archmage1]

Holding onto the axe with one hand, and dragging the levitating Nycaloth with her other, Eilyra flies back up to Ash and Rush, her leathery wings flapping with the energy needed. After she regroups, she looks to the tower, her golden eyes intent. "It would seem to be time to return to Avakuss, as he may be entertaining unwelcome guests." That said, she looks to the still surviving Nycaloth, and back to Ash. "Perhaps you might be able to stabilize the Nycaloth? It might be useful to interrogate it." She looks back to the ruined tower, before putting the Nycaloth's axe into her backpack, and freeing a hand. "Once it is stabilized, we've got a bit of flying to do before I can portal us inside."

[tonberryking]

Rush's keeps her red blade drawn, not liking the look of those 'arachnids' either, as she flies in a 'holding' pattern around the others. She's possibly wondering if she's going to have to carry the corpse, but it would also appear that she can't cover in place with her flight ability.

"Can't you just summon it's soul or something to chat with? I don't like the idea of having to kill it again especially if your friend down there is about to fight off a bunch of hell spiders."

[Archmage1]

Eilyra gestures to the body she was pulling along as she flies towards the tower, far below. "That is it's soul. Outsiders don't have a separate one, which complicates a lot of spells and rituals. We might be able to use a corpse to reveal information, however, such magic tends to be chancy. If it dies, that's what we'll attempt, but there's no reason to waste the chance to interrogate it while it is still alive. We can always kill it later, and we will be taking precautions before waking it up. If the spiders are attacking, and it dies, well, it dies. I'm not going to expend significant effort to keep it alive."
Her explanation of her plans for the treatment of the prisoner is delivered coolly, and she clearly doesn't have any compunctions about killing it should that prove to be the safest path.

[kinem]

Using her healing skills, Ash is able to stabilize the bleeding of the huge fiend. In doing so she can see that the creature is wearing breastplate armor and a vest under it, both of which are highly magical.

The group drags the unconscious 'loth the long distance through the air over the top of the tower where they fought it the first time. Eilyra then Dimension Doors the group - along with the Nycaloth - into the smaller room, where the others had encountered Rush.

[Archmage1]

Arriving at last at the office, Eilyra steps away from the still bobbing unconscious Nycaloth commander, and looks at Avakuss. "Did anything of interest happen while we were away? We may have a chance to interrogate one of these fiends, with a modicum of preparation."

[tonberryking]

Rush is not particularly happy to carry the demon for any length back into the fortress, but she doesn't say that aloud. Instead, she merely serves the others though the first chance she gets, her sword is back out and she's ready to coup de gras the demon in case this interrogation goes south.

"Is that Axe of his ensorcelled? He might try to summon it back or pull out a different weapon..."