Ferrous Bueller's Day(s) Off - Six Dragons Walk Into a Tavern... [IC]

[Balthanon]

Bob's flames surge forward, holding for several moments and dispelling the darkness in the immediate vicinity-- as well as lighting a moldering carpet on fire, plus 2 chairs and a weapons rack. Luckily most of the walls and floor are made of stone and the ceiling is tall enough that his breath weapon doesn't actually reach the wooden beams keeping the ceiling in place.

[Feathersnow]

Stealing! From me!! They must be stopped!

Spoiler: stat block

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Skarthidesillijicijillised*ihthrax
--- CN See notes, Level 11+la, Init 3, HP 126/126, Speed
AC 26, Touch 14, Flat-footed 23, Fort 12, Ref 12, Will 11, Base Attack Bonus 11
Bite! +14 (1d8+5, )
In the unlikely event used as a primary attack Claws! +14/+14 (1d6+3, )
Never used as a primary attack Wings! +12/+12 (1d4+2, )
(+3 Armor, +3 Dex, +1 Deflect, +9 Natural)
Abilities Str 14, Dex 16, Con 20, Int 19, Wis 16, Cha 22
Condition None
Perception +16 (trapfinding)
sense motive +3

[Balthanon]

Attempting to follow the direction they saw the shadows moving last, the party moves forward at a good clip. Leaving behind the burning furniture in the central courtyard of sorts, they move through the doorway directly in front of themselves and find what appears to be a dining hall. A false start through the only door on the wall directly before them ends up leading into a kitchen... and as most of the intrepid adventurers are heading back and checking out the other exits from the dining hall, Shadowsoul notices a pot on the hearth that has begun to puff and bubble as if it were cooking, despite the fact that there is no fire in the enclosure. (Not through lack of trying on Bob's part, but burnt ash is not terribly flammable.)

[Eurus]

There's only one explanation: ghostly chefs.

Shadowsoul moves like a 1.25-ton leaf on the wind, giving Sketh a tap on the shoulder with his tail to draw the "leader's" attention as he sneaks closer to the hearth. When he gets there, he realizes that he has no way to actually perceive or interact with these hypothetical ghosts, having yet to master the Spirit-Dispelling Blade Prana. Instead, he leans forward and gives the pot a sniff, curiously wondering if ghost food smells like real food.

[Balthanon]

The pot itself smells of... well, iron and, for lack of a better description, the echo of a stew. Possibly beef or venison, it has another note to it that reminds Shadowsoul of absence or loss-- the deepest caves where living beings haven't set foot for dozens of years or that time his mother took his hoard away for a week for making her favorite tapestry into a mysterious cloak with a hood.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"What is it?" asks Amber as she directs her dancing lights over to the pot. That did not stop being a spell she had cast, even if Bob felt the little orbs were too dim for the purpose. "Wait. You don't think they're..."

She pauses dramatically for a second to see if someone else finishes the sentence for her.

Spoiler: If/when no one guesses it...

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"...cooking our shadows?"

[Eurus]

"Grounded?"

[Balthanon]

In the light, the pot doesn't appear to have any noticeable steam escaping to cause the bubbling and puffing that is occurring. The lid is shifting around a bit in addition to the sounds though, albeit not enough to actually reveal the interior of the pot.

[Dimers]

Brilliance stares at the possessed pot. "Huh. I don't want any food that's been sitting in an abandoned castle for years, but I am curious what's bubbling, but but, opening it seems kinda dumb? -- in a dangerous way? And it doesn't look like a Forsaken Golden Blade thing would fit in there, unless, like, it's a pixie or halfling blade, I guess. Hmm. I'll pop it open, and Bob and Carl, you can be ready to breath fire if something nasty comes out." The little gold goes over to put one claw on the pot lid.

[Feathersnow]

Maybe let me take the lead. I was trained for this
Sketh looks for traps.

Spoiler: stat block

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Skarthidesillijicijillised*ihthrax
--- CN See notes, Level 11+la, Init 3, HP 126/126, Speed
AC 26, Touch 14, Flat-footed 23, Fort 12, Ref 12, Will 11, Base Attack Bonus 11
Bite! +14 (1d8+5, )
In the unlikely event used as a primary attack Claws! +14/+14 (1d6+3, )
Never used as a primary attack Wings! +12/+12 (1d4+2, )
(+3 Armor, +3 Dex, +1 Deflect, +9 Natural)
Abilities Str 14, Dex 16, Con 20, Int 19, Wis 16, Cha 22
Condition None
Perception +16 (trapfinding)
sense motive +3

[Balthanon]

Sketh follows the guidelines for effective trap spotting to the 'T' and while he doesn't uncover what look to be intentionally set dangers, he is fairly certain that the pot will release something rather nasty. It has the look of a gas attack that he read about in 'Your Lair and You - End the Enemy Before They Ever Reach Your Hoard' by Elwenthinand. That said, he thinks he could probably minimize the explosive potential at least, assuming it is actually primed to explode like he thinks.

It does look like the pressure is building based on his examination, so if it continues to progress, they'll likely be hearing something go off behind them eventually.


OOC: Sorry about the delay; had this mostly typed up then the tab got buried apparently.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Assuming Sketh mentions any of this, Amber has some opinions.

"Then take it off the fire, quickly! Or stand back so we can knock it down from a distance!"

If Sketh tries to go with the first of those plans and has trouble, the little song dragon rushes in to help.

[Feathersnow]

Sketh tries defusing the bomb!

Spoiler: OoC

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disable device (1d20+15)[16]

[Balthanon]

Sketh dives into the disarming with panache and style, stepping forward and pulling the pot off the stove just like Amber instructed-- a second later, he realizes that there was no fire in the hearth to pull the pot off of, this is in no way what his instructors in the fine art of stealing other dragon's stuff told him was the best method of disarming traps, and finally, the pot is literally bulging in his arms now and looking more like a metal ball than a pot.

Throwing it up into the air, he dives at a table as the thing's lid finally explodes off, a wave of darkness washing over the room with concussive force before abruptly being sucked back in. The pot is hard to see amidst the amorphous cloud of darkness, but an odd reddish tint visibly outlines tendrils of pure darkness in an area perhaps fifteen foot across within the larger cloud.

Deep red eyes open and peer out of the gloom at the dragons in the kitchen and a sibilant whisper in Draconic seems to echo directly in the minds of all present. "I am the night..."

Spoiler: OOC

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Roll for initiative. :)

Natural 1's on disable device checks kind of suck.

Also, 16 points of damage to anyone within a 20 ft radius of the pot who didn't make a DC 22 Reflex save. At this point, that is definitely Amber and Sketh; probably Shadowsoul too. Not sure about the rest.

I'll post a map shortly.

[Eurus]

Shadowsoul blinks his eyes and shakes his head, hoping that he didn't just crack a horn. The whispering voice gets his attention, though. "Hey, wait, I'm the night. We can't both be the night..."

[Dimers]

Brilliance's armor and scales look disarrayed and darkened by the shadowy blast, but she shakes off the pain and glares at the cloud.

Deep red eyes open and peer out of the gloom at the dragons in the kitchen and a sibilant whisper in Draconic seems to echo directly in the minds of all present. "I am the night..."

With her tail pointing at Carlesvindr, Brilliance objects, "Hey! That's his line!"

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Amber spirals to the floor like the remains of an exploded firework. It takes a few seconds for her to shake the dust off her face. When she opens her eyes, they're glowing and sharp, granting the group an unearned aura confidence.

She nods in accord with Brill and Carl and points her claw dramatically into the red-black haze. "Stealing titles, stealing lines - you are nothing but a thief, through and through! Now give us our shadows back!"

[Balthanon]

The darkness tolls in a sepulchral tone... that might be slightly over-emphasized, despite it appearing to actually be some kind of undead or elemental thing. "The night answers not to those who are as gnats before the majesty of the dark... Besides, you're bright red, I have way more claim to being the night."

The last bit was significantly higher pitched than the first sentence, and sounded rather offended, rather than the detached tone that it had been attempting earlier.

OOC: Sketh goes first. I'll flesh this out a bit later-- wanted to get it out there, as I have a friend coming over shortly and need to get ready.

Battle Status and Map (Round 1)

[Feathersnow]

Sketh casts distract assailant (will DC 17)
Sketh then goes into a vicious flurry of attacks!

Spoiler: full attack

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Bite (1d20+14)[29]

Bite damage (1d8+5)[10]

Claw (1d20+12)[20]

Claw damage (1d6+2)[8]

Claw (1d20+12)[28]

Claw damage (1d6+2)[5]

Wing (1d20+12)[16]

Wing damage (1d4+2)[6]

Wing (1d20+12)[19]

Wing damage (1d4+2)[3]

With the first hit, if any, and assuming Sneak attack applies Sketh will attempt to steal a spell effect and a spell like ability

With the second hit, under those same conditions, Sketh will attempt to steal a spell and cold resistance

All other Sneak attacks resolve as normal

Hypothetical Sneak attack 3 (2d6)[3]

Hypothetical Sneak attack 4 (2d6)[6]

Hypothetical Sneak attack 5 (2d6)[9]

[thethird]

Bob moves so fast he seems to blur. When Sketh and Shadowsoul are out of the way he breathes a line of fire, that seems to be bigger and hotter than the one he used last time, straight at the shadowy monster.

Spoiler

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Bob flies to M9, while doing so he uses Flyby Breath to fire his (dragon) breath weapon as a free action as soon as there are no allies within the line of fire.

Breath weapon, modified with clinging (+3 round), power surge (extending duration 50%) (+1 round), and recover breath (-1 round).
Damage (4d8)[19] + 1/2 half that in the following 5 rounds; Reflex (DC 24 for half)
Time to recover (1d4+3)[7]

[Balthanon]

Sketh attacks with a flurry of natural weapon strikes... but half of them seem to pass through the creature with no effect-- and when he opens his mouth to take a breath and possibly tell the remainder of the party this if they didn't see, the breath in his mouth is actually sucked out and he notices there is no air to replace it. As they maneuver to attack as well, Amber and Brilliance notice the same effect and Shadowsoul notices a slight breeze in the direction of their opponent.

Bob's breath weapon on the other hand, certainly seems to interact with the creature-- too well, in fact. The breath that he is expelling at the creature spirals around it, seemingly sucked into it and igniting the reddish tint upon the darkness, noticeably incorporating the fire into its body. He actually has to fight to stop his breath weapon, rather than it simply running out and he gasps for air momentarily after it finally winks out.

The creature gives an almost orgasmic moan and its eyes flare with red light as it opens them wider. "Yesss.... Perhaps I shall be the fire in the night, the flames of darkness shall burn with my unholy might and your essence will mark my ascendance."

It's attention turning, it focuses upon Shadowsoul and a tendril reaches out and passes through his chest, he feels something seize within his lungs and it pulls, the air within his lungs spilling upwards with just a hint of fire and attempting to force his mouth open to allow the theft. Simultaneously, something else passes down the tendril of darkness and he feels an almost electric jolt of inspiration, but it burns itself out with little direction.

Two other tendrils unfurl from the creature as well, one stretching towards Bob but falling just short and then curling around to wrap around Brilliance and a second stretching into Sketh. Brilliance experiences much the same thing as Shadowsoul, but in Sketh, he feels the surge of passion target his talents at identifying weak points. Riding the surge, he comes out on top of it, but it causes him to gasp... and then start choking as the breath in his lungs is stolen.

"Your breath, your loyalty, and in return, the passion to inspire.... Truly, I am the fire and the night."

OOC:
Shadowsoul (8 damage, DC 21 Fort save)
Brilliance (1 damage, DC 21 Fort save)
Sketh (2 damage, DC 21 Fort save, DC 21 Will save; need a mischance for each of your attacks earlier; 50 or lower on a d100 is a hit, anything above misses; Edit: 2 con damage from the failed save; damage on the third attack applied.)

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"We do not need inspiration from you!"

With two flaps of her wings, Amber jumps backwards onto the table behind Bob. She opens her mouth and hums two notes to warm up, but stops herself. At this rate, if she starts singing, this monster will probably try to steal her voice. She starts rapidly strumming away at her lute instead, playing a fitting background track to get the team's blood pumping.

Spoiler

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Fly to R5, cast Inspirational Boost, and start up Inspire Courage.

Everyone gets +2 to attack and damage rolls!

[Balthanon]

As Amber flies away from the creature, one of it's tentacles lashes out at her and she feels a brief flash of pain as the shadowy substance spears through her back, then an electric thrill and a deep pressure to breath out.

OOC: Attack of opportunity, 2 damage and the same Fort save as the others.

[Eurus]

Shadowsoul recoils slightly, from mortal offense as much as from the strange sensation of the shadow tendril. "Hey, red is a great color! It just proves how good I am at sneaking!"

Determined to prove his point, he stands up on his hind legs in a stance almost like a boxer. He dodges and weaves as he strikes with a claw and then retreats, shadows streaming around his body to cloak him as he moves.

Spoiler: OOC

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Swift action: Enter Child of Shadow stance.
Standard action: Claw attack, Attack - (1d20+16)[22], Damage - (1d8+3)[6], Miss Chance - (1d100)[66]
Move action: Move to L33-M34, getting the concealment from Child of Shadow.

[Balthanon]

The same tendril that had been in his chest a moment ago strikes as the red dragon jumps further towards the middle of the room, but the shadowy wisps he has wrapped around himself aren't even needed, as the attack swings well away from him. Almost embarrassingly so.

Clearing a non-existent throat, the void in the center of the room mutters something about not even being worth hitting.

OOC: So... given that you saw it try and attack Bob earlier, you are aware that this thing has longer than average reach for its size. It just barely missed him. Your new location is still within its reach at this point. Let me know if you'd like to switch where you moved to.

[Dimers]

Clamping down on her breath, Brill growls deep in her throat and launches a furious flurry of battle-hardened body parts at the ... um ... blob of darkness that isn't quite there. Just in case it's more there than it's pretending to be.

[Balthanon]

Amber feels the unpleasant sensation of the creature ripping away bits of her breath and it feels vaguely... poetic or metaphysical as well, as each breath is slightly shallower than she was able to draw earlier.

Brilliant, staying within range of the thing, holds as much air within her lungs as she can (which as a dragon, is no small amount, even at her age) and mimics Sketh, albeit with significantly better luck. Her claws and wings tear away chunks of... well, whatever it is this thing is made of, which dissipates shortly after it is separated.

OOC: Round 2

Battle Status and Map (Round 2)

[Feathersnow]

Sketh takes a five foot step north, allowing flanking with Brilliance. They then launch into a more coordinated flurry, trying to find weak points in the mobster!

Spoiler: attack

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(1d20+14)[24] Bite

(1d8+5)[7] damage

(1d100)[1] miss chance


(1d20+12)[15] claw

(1d6+2)[7] damage

(1d100)[70] miss chance


(1d20+12)[27] claw

(1d6+2)[8] damage

(1d100)[65] miss chance


(1d20+12)[19] wing

(1d4+2)[5] damage

(1d100)[15] miss chance


(1d20+12)[19] wing

(1d40+2)[41] damage

(1d100)[27] miss chance

First successful Sneak attack, if any, steals a spell effect and and SLA

Second successful Sneak attack, if any, steals 10 points fire resistance and a spell slot

(2d6)[9] 3rd

(2d6)[6] 4th

(2d6)[6] 5th

[thethird]

That didnt work out as intended. What the hell? Bob has the sense that ice wouldn't help much either. And it seems that it somehow took some of my breath as I fired at it? What the hell? Okay, okay. What should we do when the breath fails? Obviously breath again.

Spoiler

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Bob flies closer to be within reach and fires a breath modified by slow breath, power surge (50% time increase), shape breath (for it to be a line). This deals no damage but on a failed fort save (DC 22) it's slowed for 3 rounds, if it passes the save it's slowed for one round. Then he moves back to O7.

[Balthanon]

Sketh's attacks strike out again and while he finds no weak points to target in the amorphous cloud, he nonetheless feels his attacks doing at least some damage-- rents in the smoke that don't quite heal. Though he also notes that some of those are new formations of smoke that formed after the creature stole the breaths of his companions and himself.

Bob's breath attack again triggers avaricious noises of satisfaction and pleasure from the creature and the breath swirls into its mass as it surges forward a bit, a tendril stretching out for him, but ending up snagging Shadowsoul instead as the other two delve at Brilliant and Sketh.


OOC: Sorry about that-- forgot this was waiting on me. :P Voidwraith takes a 5-foot step southeast and attacks Brilliant (7 damage), Shadowsoul (1 damage), and Sketh (3 damage); all have DC 21 Fort saves as well. Shadowsoul also has a second DC 21 Fort save vs a slow effect. :)

Shadowsoul, Amber, and Brilliant are up.