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The Supportive Spirits focus their ire on the enemies that have incurred the wrath of the greater spirit. One strikes Maeve and the other manages to fight through the effects of Lilith's spell to hit Lucius. Supportive Spirit Green: Curse of the Glades @ Maeve vs PD: 1d20+6 24 Natural Even Hit: The mook pool is healed by 7. This doesn't revive any Warriors, however. Supportive Spirit Blue: Curse of the Glades @ Lucius vs PD: 1d20+2 21 Both take 8 damage and are Vulnerable until the end of the Spirit's next turn. Jormund is no longer Vulnerable. The corpses remain standing, though it's clear that the Ravenous Spirit's hold on them is weakening. One manages to dodge past the Stormlash Skeleton and makes a run for Maeve, but after Magnus's furious strike Brianna is free to intercept the blow, which she does with ease! Reanimated Warrior: Disengage: 1d20 11 Reanimated Warrior: Latching Bite @ The other Warrior can't manage to clear Jormund and the remaining skeleton, but does manage to give the dwarf a painful, bleeding blow. Reanimated Warrior: Disengage: 1d20-1 9 Reanimated Warrior: Bloodied Weapon @ Jormund vs AC: 1d20+9 25 Jormund takes 4 damage and 4 ongoing. Escalation Die is now 2. Maeve, Lucius, Firgud, Brianna, and Lilith are up. Not that I expect the combat to last much longer...  quote:Reanimated Warrior x2: 4th Level Mook [Undead] (Next Mook drops at 9 damage) quote:Supportive Spirit x2: 2nd Level Caster [Undead]
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Mar 6, 2016 23:11
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 Brianna Antinea "Take the fight to their rear line. Prevent them from raising any more corpses!" Brianna barks as she pushes past the shambling corpse in front of her, paying it little mind as she dashes towards the spirit behind it, but she immediately pays for underestimating her opponent so. A sharp edge finds its way past her defenses and leaves a bleeding gash in her side. She grimaces but does not miss a step as she charges down the spirit and unleashes a sequence of aggressive slashes with her flaming sabre. The ethereal shape withers in front of her but still barely clings to its faint existence. Moving to engage the blue Supportive Spirit, provoking an opportunity attack from the Reanimated Warrior that's currently engaged with me. Reanimated Warrior: Opportunity Attack: 1d20+9 28 Brianna takes 4 damage and 4 ongoing. Fighter Attack vs Supportive Spirit: 1d20+7+2 25 vs AC, hit! Natural 16: Deadly Assault: 3d8+4+5+6 27 Fire damage. Skilled Intercept: 1d20+2 3, nope. Save vs Ongoing: 1d20 6, nope. pre:Brianna Antinea Stats Powers Maneuvers HP 41/50 {X}[ ][ ][ ] Smite Deadly Assault (Even hit) AC 23 {X} Bash Daze Bash! (Odd roll or any hit /w shield) PD 15 { } Bastion Defensive Fighting (Odd roll or 16+ /w shield) MD 17 {X} Surprising Taunt (Odd roll) Re 9/10 3d10+2 [ ] Inspire (16+) Peridian Officer's Sword and Shield +7 vs. AC — 3d8+4+5 Fire Damage Claymore +6 vs. AC — 3d10+3 Damage Passive Effects Threatening: When an enemy attempts to disengage from me they take -2 to the check. Counter-Attack: Once per round, when an enemy misses me with a natural odd melee attack roll, make a basic melee attack against that enemy as a free action.
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Mar 7, 2016 01:20
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 Maeve of the Stormlash Maeve can clearly see the tides of battle turning, and begins to move to strike down another skeleton, before looking to the spirit that struck her. Lowering her mace she extends her hand and summons forth the same power that bound her kin to her, a glow emanating from her chest, visible through the hides she wears, and hurls it at the spirit. Struck by the energy the spirit struggles momentarily before its eyes glow the same color and it turns to face its allies, raising its spectral arms to attack. Maeve's a bit surprised, mouthing "I can't believe that worked" to herself as her skeletal kin continue their fight with the dwarven skeletons. Move: If Maeve's not nearby to Green Support Spirit, move nearby to Green Support Spirit Free: Use Armored In Life -Negates Armor Penalty on next attack Standard: Use Command Undead on Green Support Spirit -Command Undead vs MD (@Green Support Spirit): 1d20+7 18 Green Spirit is Confused, Hard Save (16+) ends. Welcome to the Winning Team buddy. Minor: Give my summons the ED for this round. Bone Squad Melee Attacks: 1d20+11 31 1d12 2 1d20+8 12 Minion crits for an incredible 4 damage to the mook pool. pre:Maeve of Stormlash HP: 40/40 THP (2) Lay On Hands: 2/2 Recoveries: 8/8 (3d8+1) Initiative: +4 AC 20 PD 15 MD 17 Two Handed Mace (MBA): 1d20+6+ED; 3d8+3, 3 Miss Shortbow (RBA): 1d20+4+ED; 3d6+1 Encounter Daily/Recharge [-]Savage Lash [ ][ ]Savage Lash Daily [-]Command Undead I [ ][ ]Lay On Hands [-]Armored In Life [-]Summon Undead I (18+) [ ]Zombie Form I [-]Terror I (18+) [ ]Unholy Blast I Skeletal Minion HP 22/22 AC 19 PD 17 MD 13 Melee Basic Attack: +9+ED vs AC - 1d12 damage Crumbling Skeleton (Mooks) HP A:0/9 B:1/9 AC 16 PD 14 MD 10 Melee Basic Attack: +6 vs AC - 3 damage
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Mar 7, 2016 17:10
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 Lucius Severus Malcus Having cut down the lead Spirit, Lucius whirls around to the remaining animated corpses, and tries to finish them off. Sure Cut vs AC 18: 1d20+8 14 Miss Damage: 3+1d6 5 I'm assuming the oil damage doesn't apply here. However, animated corpses are not the same as humans of flesh and blood, and Lucius's stroke passing right through the empty air where the hamstring of a human would be. pre:Lucius Severus Malcus Stats Powers HP 40/40 { }Roll With it AC 17 { }Evasive strike PD 17 { }Sure Cut MD 15 { }Deflection { }Slick Feint { }Shadow Walk Re 7/8 3d6+2 Short Sword +6 vs. AC — 3d8+3+5 Fire Damage
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Mar 7, 2016 23:37
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 Lilith Avorena Might and magic were complementary goods, and Brianna's might, applied against a dangerous undead spirit, had in turn raised the demand for Lilith's magic. Lilith leveraged more magical forces to power another bolt of cold, and while it struck true, her magical supply could not meet the spirit's elevated demand for magical punishment, leaving it on (re)death's door, but still in the fight. Voidmote (Blue Supportive Spirit): 1d20 11 Hits, though does not penetrate damage resistance. Voidmote (Damage): 2d3 4 Does 2 cold damage due to damage resistance. pre:Lilith Avorena HP: 35/40 Recoveries: 8/8 (3d6+2) Initiative: +3 AC 15 PD 13 MD 18 Voidmote: autohit (roll for crit/crit miss); 2d3, Weaken on even Crescendo: 1d20+7+ED; 4d6, 3 miss, pop free on hit, multitarget with penalty Daily/Recharge [ ]Shield (Recharge 11+) [ ]Force Salvo [ ]Lightning Bolt [ ]Confusion [ ][ ]Utility Spell Green Bean fucked around with this message at 04:37 on Mar 9, 2016 |
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Mar 8, 2016 00:51
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 Firgud Rigiron Weigh the Odds: 1d4 3 pre:Firgud Rigiron Stats Recharge HP 40/40 (00) [x]Battle Captain AC 17 [x]Scramble (16+) PD 12 [x]BTS (11+) MD 18 Recoveries 8/8 (3d8+1) Command Points: 3 Melee: 1d20+2+ED; 3d6-1
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Mar 8, 2016 01:49
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Special Notice for MCP and others: Sockerbagarn brought this to my attention in IRC, but by RAW the Commander power Try Again is supposed to be used before the target rolls damage. Due to the limitations of PBP and people rolling damage with their attacks, it's probably better if those affected by Try Again re-roll their damage when they make their new roll. As Brianna breaks away to attack the Supportive Spirit, the last Warrior is left free to attack its original target: Maeve. With inhuman movements, the corpse lurches forward to grapple with the Stormlash scion. Maeve: Describe how you overpower and end the Spirit's threat. As the last remnants of the Ravenous Spirit fade away from the area, the corpses of the deserters and the dwarves fall still. Brianna is easily able to dissipate one of the Supportive Spirits with her blade- it bows its head in reverence as Maeve defeats the last Warrior and makes no motion to fight back. The other remains under the hold of Maeve's spell. It doesn't struggle against her, but she can feel its power weakening. It seems that without the Ravenous Spirit it has little attachment to its own form. This specter might have been mortal once, but it's been a very long time since it last drew breath. Usually spirits resemble their living forms, but this one is hazy and indistinct, a humanoid blob of blue-green vapor. It's nothing as blatantly wrong as the Ravenous Spirit, but exploring the connection between the two will take more work. Meanwhile, the rest of you find yourselves at the site of the failed parley between the dwarven soldiers and the Peridian deserters. Bodies lay scattered about in various states of decay. The foreboding feeling of the blue-green ghost is mostly gone now, but everyone aside from Brianna and Firgud can still feel hints of it. It's like something in your peripheral vision that vanishes when you turn to look directly. It's easy enough to ignore right now. Lucius, Lilith, and Jormund: You're no strangers to combat, but have you ever seen a battlefield after a battle? There are a lot of bodies and it's pretty grisly to look at.
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Mar 8, 2016 03:37
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Brianna Antinea After dispersing the spirit and confirming that the rest of the hostile undead had been dealt with Brianna removes one of her gauntlets and grasps the holy symbol she's wearing around her neck on a silver chain with her forever bloodstained hand. Then she closes her eyes and whispers a soft prayer to the distant gods. "If you can hear me, please carry the souls of the slain to a place where they can rest. They should not have to suffer any further." She opens her eyes and takes in the stunning field of mayhem in full. All of this over a needless misunderstanding? She almost hoped that there was some form of outside interference, something tangible to fight. Ignorance and hatred was much more difficult to put to the sword. The bodies needed to be buried as soon as possible, but not before they had a chance to investigate the battlefield thoroughly. She throws a sudden suspicious glance at Lucius. The lethal attack he delivered couldn't have just been out of luck, where had he learned those skills? She needs to find out more about his actual background, it could be a grave mistake to unknowingly travel with a trained assassin. But one thing at a time. Brianna extinguishes her blade and carefully cleans off the remaining venom before sheathing it. Then she starts walking through the area to tally up the butcher's bill and see if she finds anything out of the ordinary. Investigate the aftermath (Repentant Knight + Wis): 1d20+5+2+3 27 Taking an average recovery to get myself to full hp. pre:Brianna Antinea Stats Powers Maneuvers HP 50/50 { }[ ][ ][ ] Smite Deadly Assault (Even hit) AC 23 { } Bash Daze Bash! (Odd roll or any hit /w shield) PD 15 { } Bastion Defensive Fighting (Odd roll or 16+ /w shield) MD 17 { } Surprising Taunt (Odd roll) Re 8/10 3d10+2 [ ] Inspire (16+) Peridian Officer's Sword and Shield +7 vs. AC — 3d8+4+5 Fire Damage Claymore +6 vs. AC — 3d10+3 Damage Passive Effects Threatening: When an enemy attempts to disengage from me they take -2 to the check. Counter-Attack: Once per round, when an enemy misses me with a natural odd melee attack roll, make a basic melee attack against that enemy as a free action.
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Mar 9, 2016 03:06
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Lilith Avorena Lilith had been present during the fall of the dwarven capital, and before that, had been involved in several skirmishes with highwaymen while protecting her family's caravans. However, in neither case had she lingered in the aftermath. As far as first-time experiences go, this one was most unpleasant. Lilith was not the type to feel emotions particularly strongly, but she found herself host to a curious feeling of frustration. Here, two groups of soldiers had met to negotiate, and should have eventually come to some manner of satisfactory arrangement. It was the smart decision, the rational decision, the decision Lilith would have made. And now they were all dead. She quickly shook off these gloomy thoughts. Instead, she pulled out her spellbook and re-familiarized herself with a spell her former master had taught her. This was no time to be holding back.
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Mar 9, 2016 03:55
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Firgud Rigiron Maeve seemed busy with her new friends, which Firgud looks askance at, but doesn't comment on. Instead he hitches a ride with Brianna. "Check the deserters, see if there's any clues. I'll keep an eye out for Captain Tumerlin. Hm, how long ago did that deserter say the parley was? Some of these bodies are already pretty manky." Firgud looks around. Regretfully, since the bodies moved around a bit after they died the first time, a lot of information was lost. But he can still put a good eye towards figuring out what happened here. Wounds, torn up soil, discarded weapons, that sort of thing. Firgud ponders a moment, then remembers something. "Ah, and someone get my purse, we ought to bury these poor sods. Set to say a few more words, Jormund?" Recharge Scramble, BTS: 2#1d20 9 6 no good. Examination (Wis + General): 1d20+9 17 pre:Firgud Rigiron Stats Recharge HP 40/40 (00) [ ]Battle Captain AC 17 [x]Scramble (16+) PD 12 [x]BTS (11+) MD 18 Recoveries 8/8 (3d8+1) Command Points: 2 Melee: 1d20+2+ED; 3d6-1
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Mar 9, 2016 04:22
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As Brianna and Firgud scan the area, several things become apparent. From a cursory examination, the deserter's claims of an ambush seem to be true. The dwarven bodies are congregated near the treeline while the human bodies are more spread out through the clearing. Most of the human corpses have slim, metal crossbow bolts sticking out of them, while many of the dwarves have crossbows. A closer examination, however, reveals some conflicting details. Several of the humans have arrow wounds, and the fletching on the arrows matches ones the deserter soldiers used when they assaulted the base camp. The dwarven bodies are in worse shape than one might expect from a successful ambush. Were the humans expecting an attack? Firgud's mention of funerary rites may have been a bit premature, as several of the dwarves appear to have already been taken care of. While not buried, some of the corpses have been laid out in the proper positions, the coins and stones on their chests impossible to miss. These bodies seem protected, as none of them were among the Reanimated Warriors. In addition, there are no bodies that match Ruena's description of Captain Tumerlin. The state of the bodies is easy to explain, at least. Aside from being exposed to the elements for several days, the bodies show signs of being picked apart by scavengers. All the more reason to bury them quickly, it seems. --- There's something off about Lucius's short sword- it seems that the mighty blow he delivered against the Ravenous Spirit may have had lasting side effects. A faint feeling of supernatural malice lingers on the weapon, but it lacks the power to be truly threatening. Indeed, with a bit of work, Lucius might be able to make it work to his advantage. Haunted Short Sword (recharge 16+): A sliver of the Ravenous Spirit haunts this blade. At the end of your turn, if you did not make an attack, the Spirit may make a basic attack using the weapon as a free action, using a +5 as its attack bonus. This basic attack may not trigger flexible attacks; treat it as if an ally was attacking an enemy, and it doesn’t benefit from the escalation die. Attacks made with this weapon gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls. red plastic cup fucked around with this message at 05:51 on Mar 9, 2016 |
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Mar 9, 2016 05:43
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Lucius Severus Malcus Lucius sheafts his sword and looks around, the battle over. While the stench of the corpses is nothing compared to some of the things he'd brewed, rotting corpses are never a pleasant sight, especially with so many around. His gaze on the treeline, Lucius checks the nearby trees for the distinctive venom beetle, and exams his sword - it felt a bit odd
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Mar 9, 2016 12:02
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Maeve of the Stormlash Maeve's caught off guard by the sudden and unnaturally quick lunge from the stout skeleton, unable to keep it from pinning her arms to her side. But just as quickly as the dwarf skeleton was there, so were the Stormlash. Both skeletons throw themselves into Maeve and the dwarf, sending all four to the ground and the group rapidly becomes a messy pile of bones attacking bones, before eventually Maeve bursts from the pile and delivers a powerful blow to the dwarven skeleton, scattering its bones around the area. With the battle thoroughly handled Maeve looks to the spirit. "Grigori, how should I speak with this spirit?" "One might start with an introduction." Grigori replies plainly. This earns a doubtful glance, but Maeve faces the hazy spirit once more and asks it "I am Maeve of the Stormlash. Who, or what, are you?" Speaker To The Dead (Speaker + Cha): 1d20+8 21 Recharge (18+, 18+): 2#1d20 18 12 In hindsight I should have put which was which ahead of time but Summon's higher on my list. pre:Maeve of Stormlash HP: 40/40 THP () Lay On Hands: 2/2 Recoveries: 8/8 (3d8+1) Initiative: +4 AC 20 PD 15 MD 17 Two Handed Mace (MBA): 1d20+6+ED; 3d8+3, 3 Miss Shortbow (RBA): 1d20+4+ED; 3d6+1 Encounter Daily/Recharge [ ]Savage Lash [ ][ ]Savage Lash Daily [ ]Command Undead I [ ][ ]Lay On Hands [ ]Armored In Life [ ]Summon Undead I (18+) [ ]Zombie Form I [-]Terror I (18+) [ ]Unholy Blast I Skeletal Minion HP 22/22 AC 19 PD 17 MD 13 Melee Basic Attack: +9+ED vs AC - 1d12 damage
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Mar 9, 2016 14:39
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Brianna Antinea Brianna snaps one of the arrows in half and brings it up to her face to inspect it. She frowns as she regards the fletching while slowly rolling it back and forth between her fingers. "I don't like the implications of this arrow at all, Rigiron. Things are not as clear-cut as we might have hoped." She looks up at the dead dwarves in the treeline. "The dwarves ambushed the rebels." She turns to face the slain humans. "And they fought back. That much I believe." She looks at the arrow again, and then the dwarves who had been prepared for the afterlife. "But then I'm not sure what to think. Did they stop fighting, allowing the dwarves to start taking care of their dead, only for whoever fired these arrows to appear and kill them all? When I spoke to the deserter he claimed that Captain Lyone said that they were ambushed by the dwarves, he did not mention coming under fire from his own arrows. And where is Captain Tumerlin? If he does not lie dead here, why did he not return to the base camp?" She puts away the broken arrow shaft in her pack and shakes her head in disgust. "Whatever is happening in this forest is of the foulest sort. We must be cautious of who we decide to trust." She puts Firgud down on a large rock and grabs a shovel she had brought from the camp. "For now, let's focus on what we can do." She strikes the earth and starts digging graves.
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Mar 9, 2016 22:15
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  Jormund Fire-Stone / Magnus Magnusson XXXI Jormund for his part remains mostly unconcerned with the horrible mess. He was from a warrior and adventurer's family, and he grew up with "Uncle Scarbeard" showing off his eye socket or Aunt putting her own taxidermied severed arm up on the mantle, still clutching it's blade, as a trophy for doing her part in fighting off the Mongrol Lord. Magnus was even better prepared - first aid was an extremely important lesson of his, given how easily the Fire-Stones get injured, and that meant spending time in hospitals and temples and seeing some of the worst injuries he might have to deal with. As he prepares for leftover funeral rites, he strokes his beard thoughtfully. "Magic can do any number of strange and unnatural effects, the fog of war can shroud much, and even base trickery can go far. Perhaps a third party is playing all sides against one another? With dastardly enough illusions, you could hypothetically split a fighting force against itself." Spending a recovery to get back to max pre:Jormund Fire-stone Magnus Magnusson HP: 45/45 HP: 33/36 Recoveries: 7/8 (3d6+2) AC 19, PD 16, MD 13 AC 18, PD 16, MD 12 Basic Attack Basic Attack +7 vs AC, 3d8+4 +7 vs AC, 2d6 Daily/Recharge Battle Cries [ ] Acid Arrow 1 Pull it Together 1 (11+) [X] Sound Burst 1 Stay Strong 1 (16+) [ ] Charm Person 1 We Need You 1 (even hit) [ ] Song of Heroes 1 (re 11+) [ ][ ] Animal Companion Spells
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Mar 9, 2016 23:27
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Brianna Antinea Brianna plants the shovel in the dirt and wipes some sweat off her forehead before responding to Jormund. "Fog of war or no, I doubt anyone would mistake a human for a dwarf. This engagement was not large enough for any major missteps like that to happen. I'm certain whoever shot them did so intentionally. You bring up a fair point about magic though, Lilith said that there was a spellcaster in the area." She picks up the shovel again. "Even if there is a third party I'm still very suspicious of the actions of the two captains. Let's hope we will learn more at the hunting camp."
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Mar 10, 2016 03:11
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Communicating with the spirit is difficult, to say the least. It's barely a step above being mindless, meaning that it must have died a very long time ago. Maeve makes little progress until a spark of.. something shines in the spirit's long-dead eyes. It seems to want to show her something. Raising its ghostly hands, the spirit suddenly lunges at her, seizing Maeve's head and staring into her eyes. The rest of the world fades from her view as she relives a fragment of the spirit's memory. Maeve, seeing through the spirit's eyes, is led through the Old Temple by one of the hunched Elders. The Master hungers, and the being that was the spirit is all too happy to serve. Sharing the spirit's sight means sharing its emotions, and Maeve can feel a mixture of pride, honor, and fear. After ascending the stone steps, the Elder leads the spirit-being to the Master's body, and Maeve feels sadness and fear growing as she beholds it. The Master's great form, body torn apart, lays before her. The Master's blood has crystallized where it was shed, and though the Master's physical body is dead, its ravenous spirit lives on. Raising its arms in supplication, Maeve witnesses the spirit-being closing its eyes as the Elder leans over and slits the spirit-being's throat. At once, Maeve can feel the spirit being torn from its body and devoured by the ever-hungry Master, joining the multitudes of others that had already given their lives in service.. As the vision ends, Maeve returns to the present. Having been controlled by Maeve's magic, the spirit retains its autonomy but lacks the power to support itself. Before it vanishes, the spirit suffuses itself into Maeve's thick hide armor. Specral Armor (quick action- recharge 16+): Maeve's armor has been infused with a spirit's essence that grants it +1 AC. By focusing, she can step fully into the realm of the spirits for a brief time. While ghostly, you can move through solid objects, but can't end your turn inside one. You also get Resist Damage 12+, but can be damaged normally by Fire damage. You may remain ghostly for one round, but if you want you can try to stay ghostly by spending a recovery to let you begin making hard saves (16+) at the end of each turn. Pass the save, and you can prolong your ghostly status for another round. You can stay ghostly as long as you keep making saves. Fail, and you might lose your connection to the living world. --- Lucius finds none of the massive, venomous grubs he'd spotted earlier. At least, none in the immediate area. The trees around this part of the forest aren't large enough to support the large insects. He does happen upon a few thorny bushes that on closer inspection are heavy with plump, ripe berries. They're sweet and juicy, and don't seem to have any ill effects. --- With little left to do but speculate on what exactly occurred at the parley site, Brianna and the others set to work tending to the bodies. The dwarves are all committed to the earth, with whatever usable equipment they have thoughtfully noted and cataloged by Lilith. Overall, there's nothing out of the ordinary- these dwarves were simple soldiers. Inspecting the human corpses produces similar results as the deserters are even less equipped than the dwarves. Putting them all to rest takes a considerable amount of time, but by the end of the day the clearing looks a bit more presentable. It'll be a few hours before the sun sets, but that won't be enough time to make it to the deserter's Hunting Camp before nightfall. Heading back to the Base Camp won't take very long since you can follow the river.  You've got time to further explore the forests if you'd like, or head back to the Base Camp. If there's anything else you guys would like to do, either individually or as a group, go ahead and make rolls as appropriate.
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Mar 11, 2016 01:39
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Firgud Rigiron Firgud sighs and looks at the sun sinking lower in the sky. drat it all, I wish this hadn't just brought more questions. Simplest answer that fits everything that happened is some kind of third party. And we were just... unlucky for that ghost to be here? Hmph, I don't like it." Firgud rolls over to whoever is occupying Maeve's skeleton companion. "Can't say I'd be much use searching the forest, unless you need a badger hole investigated. I'm going back to camp, see if any of Captain Tumerlin's effects can shed a light on this."
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Mar 11, 2016 06:16
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Brianna Antinea Brianna nods as she kneads her sore muscles, she felt like she had gained a newfound respect for the common farmer after the last several hours of backbreaking work. It was not all the same of course. The farmer got to watch what he planted miraculously spring to life, while she very much hoped that the same would not happen to the men and women she had to put in the earth. "It's too late to head to the hunting camp now, arriving in the dark would be a poor idea. Let's travel back to camp, rest up and set out early in the morning."
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Mar 11, 2016 20:44
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Firgud Rigiron The trip back begins in silence, but Firgud (in the skeleton's arms) is traveling with Brianna at the front of the group. Having walked in silence for some time, Firgud speaks up. "I've got it. You were at Boldirgirn, weren't you? One of the lead units of Knights, the line breakers. That shield work is distinctive." He waits in silence, answer or no, then continues. "Hell of a battle. Don't think anyone could be proud of what happened. I think there was a Fire-Stone there too, one of General Struvast' aides. Relative of yours, Jormund?"
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Mar 14, 2016 12:56
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Brianna Antinea Brianna walks on in silence for a moment, hoping that something would happen to make the uncomfortable question hanging in the air disappear. She found no such luck, but at least it didn't seem like Firgud knew everything that had happened that day. "I was there, as was most of the other Peridian knights. For hours I charged the lines with my steed until a spear found its way past his barding and he died, then I charged some more with my own two legs. My armor was caked with the blood of your kin and mine when the dins of war finally quieted. "It was hell. I know you and your troops left the field for that diversionary stunt before the mindless slaughter truly began. Why would you want to talk about it?"
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Mar 14, 2016 14:20
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Firgud Rigiron Firgud mulls the question over. "Well, it'd been bothering me. Coulda sworn I recognized you, and little niggling unknowns worry me. I suppose that makes us comrades in arms, eh? I mean, you're here now. You could say we both lost things at Boldirgirn." Another awkward silence. "Besides, back when I had my body, I cut down my share of Peridian forces. We're both killers, it'd be poor form to hold it against you."
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Mar 14, 2016 18:02
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Jormund Fire-Stone / Magnus Magnusson XXXI For his part, Jormund keeps his response uncharacteristically short, curt, and frigidly cold. "Many Fire-Stones were there. A few even came back. They had a lot to tell about that fight." If he has more to share, he ain't sharing it now. Magnus gives Brianna a sympathetic look.
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Mar 14, 2016 22:34
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Brianna Antinea Without any expression showing on her face Brianna stares at Jormund for a moment, until she realizes she has been clenching her fist at her side subconsciously. She averts her eyes and focuses on the path ahead. "It's never that simple, Rigiron. We're done talking about this." She grits her teeth and trudges on.
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Mar 15, 2016 12:17
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(aaaaand we're back) The trip back to the Base Camp is uneventful, aside from a little uncomfortable conversational strife. The camp itself seems more or less in the same shape as you left it, though it looks like Ruena has press-ganged the Soldier to help fix things up. He's chopping wood under her supervision not far from the camp, while Ulmurg patrols the palisade walkway. "Uneventful day here," the orc remarks as the seven of you return to the camp. "Did yours go any better? It's beaked pig again for dinner, unless you happened to find something else out there." The three of them gather around to listen to your findings. Ruena is disheartened to find out that none of the other dwarves at the parley site made it, but she's glad to know one way or the other. "Wouldn't have figured I'd be the last one left of my squad," she mutters to herself. She's at a loss to explain Captain Tumerlin's actions, though she does add that an ambush seems out of character for him. "The Captain was always real careful about everything. None of us were eager for a fight after Boldirgirn, so I don't understand it any more than you do." The Deserter Soldier mentions that he never saw any prisoners, at least none at the Hunting Camp, leaving the whereabouts of Tumerlin (or his body unknown).
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Mar 21, 2016 06:07
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Firgud Rigiron Firgud smiles up at the Orc. "Hot meat sounds fine, Ulmurg. I'm looking forward to it." Firgud leaves the chef to ponder how and why a severed head eats and directs the skeleton to put him down by Ruena. He tries to put on his kindest face. "I know the feeling, soldier. Listen, if there are any left, we'll find them. And we've honored the rest, none of them would ask for anything more. Honor their memory, soldier, and keep working for a better future. Which means keeping an eye on our guest right now. I think we should bring him with us tomorrow. A good will gift, I suppose. In the meantime, where's the Captain's tent? I'll be frank with you, we came back with more questions than answers, and I'm tracking down anything that could help."
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Mar 21, 2016 12:48
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Brianna Antinea Shortly after getting back to camp Brianna gets to work cleaning her battered and worn suit of armor from all the dirt and grime that had gotten stuck on it during the long and laborious day. It had been years since the armor last was anywhere near as shiny as it was when she'd first received it, and dozens upon dozens dents from deflected blows marred the steel, but it still served her well and deserved good treatment. Besides, if tomorrow was the day for diplomacy then she could not very well arrive at the hunting camp looking the part of the swamp monster. She lets out a snort at the image in her head and gets back to scrubbing.
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Mar 21, 2016 16:58
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 After a few minutes of cleaning her armor, Brianna notices the deserter soldier approaching her. "Begging your pardon, Ma'am, but may I assist you? I figure it's only right I try and help out around here after.. Well, y'know." He's not an expert or anything, but armor maintenance isn't a difficult task and with his help it goes a little faster. While he works, the man starts talking about himself. His name is Creighton Loches and he deserted alongside his younger brother, Jeraldo. "My brother always wanted to be a poet but between you and me, he wasn't real good at it. Neither of us really wanted to take part in the war, but the King's conscriptors nabbed us when they came around our village. As far as I know he's still back at the main encampment, in case you were worrying about him being.. uh.." He chuckles awkwardly before coughing. "That wasn't funny. Sorry." --- Ruena takes Firgud to Captain Tumerlin's tent, or at least what's left of it. The tent itself was pretty much ruined by the fire, but his personal items are more or less unharmed. He's got about what one would expect an older soldier to have. Firgud spies a stash of hardtack rations- the old, good kind from before the dwarven army changed the recipe, as well as a few small pouches of tobacco and a tub of beard/mustache wax. More interestingly, there's a small diary, and Ruena is kind enough to turn the pages as the two of you read along. The pages are short and curtly-written, it seems the Captain didn't have much patience for writing things down, but there is enough to glean some information. Braston Tumerlin served in the dwarven army for a long time, but up until the war with Peridia he'd actually been serving as the head of a private security force for one of the old, rich, dwarven families. A bit of investigation reveals that this was the Fire-Stones, Jormund's family. A few of his entries give the impression that he was sweet on one of the Fire-Stone matriarchs, Belinda. After most of the Fire-Stones were killed in the war, Tumerlin was left out of a job and rejoined the army. Regarding the deserters, his writings indicate that he was suspicious of them, but he didn't write anything about planning an attack. He does note that there's a suspicious number of birds flying out overhead. The bird he mentions- a sort of pigeon, is the same sort that the Peridian army uses to carry messages between officers.
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Mar 22, 2016 01:39
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Lilith Avorena As the unofficial quartermaster of their scouting party, and the official quartermaster of the expedition, it fell to Lilith to organize their latest load of grave goods from the dwarven dead. Fortunately, thanks to her careful ledger notes, it wasn't particularly difficult to integrate them into her supply wagon. Now that there were multiple crates involved, she decided to start keeping an additional copy in plain writing, as opposed to the merchant's shorthand she used in her notes, since she might eventually need to show it to families. Despite the morbid context, sorting and organizing inventory helped centre Lilith, and she felt much more focused as she left her wagon. With that task out of the way, she set to her next important duty; warding the camp against magical prying. There was evidence of some sort of spellcaster afoot, and until she knew more about their intentions, there were precautions that had to be taken. She paced the edges of their base slowly, occasionally pausing to utter some strange arcane phrase or make a strange gesture. These were journeyman wards, sufficient to repel most forms of magical scrying and alert Lilith in the process, but not infallible; there were ways for a sufficiently powerful or determined spellcaster to bypass them. Still, Lilith supposed the same could be said about fortifications and a conventional assault, and her peace of mind improved as she finished up.
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Mar 22, 2016 02:40
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Brianna Antinea Brianna sits down on a nearby wooden crate and leans back against the palisade wall as Creighton works on her armor. She responds to the grim joke with a chuckle. "No need to apologize, I find it hard to laugh at any other kind of jokes these days." No matter how bad everything got, soldiers high or low would always have gallows humor to keep them company. "Well Creighton Loches, I must say that I'm relieved to know that I have yet to kill you, your brother, your dog or anyone else in your immediate family. I hope. The line of people wanting to seek some form of vengeance upon me is long enough already, even if we limit ourselves to just those in this camp. You missed a spot." She leans forward and points out a dark red smudge on the faulds. "That will do." She continues in a hushed tone. "Unfortunately that wasn't just a poor joke on my part, the actions I committed in the name of the High King yet haunt me. I owe a lot to some of those I travel with. Two of them seem to know all too well, one of them does not." She shakes her head and straightens her posture. "But that is my burden to bear, forget that I said anything." "Tomorrow we will go to the hunting camp to speak with Sergeant Lumm, it might help if you came with us. Are you fit to travel through the forest?"
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Mar 22, 2016 21:38
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Firgud Rigiron Firgud smirks. He was beginning to get an idea here. "Thank you Ruena. Old man like needs plenty of help with the simplest things, eh? Anyway, take me outside and put me on the pallisades. I think I'll take some time keeping watch. Oh, and bring up a shortbow too." Sitting on a log, he shouts over to Lucius. "Say, Malcus, you any good with a bow? Come over here, there's a little project you can help with." (if) Lucius approaches and Firgud takes on a conspiratorial tone. "You know what a Rock Pigeon looks like? Dark grey, with black wingtips and white stripes around the neck. They're not native to the area, but apparently there's a little population hanging around the area. I want you to shoot one down. They're favored by Peridians for messages, and well, we might just get lucky. Its too bad they taste terrible."
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Mar 23, 2016 03:15
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Creighton is quiet for a moment as he works. "Well, so far as I'm concerned what's done is done. Keep looking at the past and the future will go and sneak up on you. That's part of why me and the other soldiers deserted, after all. We saw where the High King was headed and we didn't like it." He gives Brianna a friendly nudge. "I won't be of no use in a fight, but I can walk. So long as you keep me from getting snatched up by a spider-eater on the way there I'll be fine. Sergeant Lumm's a good man, we'll get this all straightened out." --- Lilith's warding paid off. In the middle of the night she could sense someone attempting to scry on the camp, multiple times. The magic itself was persistent, but strangely unfocused. Whoever was behind it would create a small magical sensor somewhere around the camp, have it foiled by Lilith's wards, and then try again a few minutes later in an entirely different spot. A number of times the caster managed to pierce through the magical wards only to do vanish and create a new sensor that was promptly blocked. At one point the caster spent an hour and a half with the sensor pointed up at the night sky. The caster worked his or her magic with a baffling mixture of amateurism and expertise. The multiple failed attempts paints a picture of an apprentice spellcaster, yet no apprentice could keep up the scrying for the nearly three hours that it lasted.
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Mar 24, 2016 07:01
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Brianna Antinea Brianna considers Creighton's remark for a moment. "It's in the past where knowledge and experience lies, if you ignore it your future will become dangerous and unpredictable. But I think you're right, I've been focusing too hard on it. Getting lost in the past is just as harmful for your future. A balance should be struck." She gives the armor a once over and looks pleased with the results. "Good work, you would've made a decent squire back in the day. I think we've done all we can for my armor bar finding a master blacksmith to replace half of it, what do you say we let ourselves be in the present for a spell. Ulmurg's cooking smells delicious and between vanquishing undead and digging graves I've worked up quite the appetite today. Come on." She gets up from the crate and walks over to the firepit in the center of the camp.
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Mar 24, 2016 23:55
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Lucius Severus Malcus This a full rest or should I burn another recovery to get back to full health? Walking over to Firgud, Lucius smiles as he mentions Rock Pigeons. "I know their taste well - You get used to it, if you have to. Unfortunately I never learnt to use a bow, but they are docile creatures: it is possible to sneak up and grab them. In the middle of a city it was at least: I fear this wilderness may have spooked them." With that, Lucius wandered the nearby woods for an hour or two, with a light step and a throwing dagger in hand. --- The next day, Lucius speaks on the next task "I suppose that investigating the hunting camp is our next task: I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd rather not get into a fight unless we have to. If we're lucky and that escaped deserter didn't make it back, it shouldn't be too much trouble to simply talk to them. If not... it may be a bit harder."
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Mar 26, 2016 14:44
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Not a full rest. Feel free to spend recoveries if you want. Lucius's hunting trip goes fairly well- he spots a trio of rock pigeons flying overhead in the dusk, and one of them has something on its leg that shines in the light of the setting sun. Unfortunately, that's not the one he manages to catch. The two birds flanking the carrier seem trained to guard and take blows. As soon as Lucius lets loose with a dagger, the carrier pigeon immediately speeds up while one falls back, just in time for Lucius's dagger to shear off its wing. After tracking down the fallen pigeon, Lucius is able to confirm that it's got nothing on it. --- The beaked pig tastes just as good as it did last night, which is to say that it's an acceptable, but not fine dining experience. That night the aforementioned scrying takes place, and by the time the sun rises everyone's ready to embark on their trip to the deserter's hunting camp. Creighton stands bandaged up and ready to go, though he pauses for a moment to show Brianna a scrap of black cloth. "It's Sergeant Wells' eyepatch," he explains. "I figure Sergeant Lumm might like to have it." It takes several hours to reach the hunting camp, though your trip is fairly easy. At one point you pass by several of the huge trees that Lucius saw earlier, their upper bows laden with those enormous maggot-like creatures. That's not all, though. A gigantic winged insect buzzes around the maggots, and looks like it's large enough to carry off a horse.  "You seen those things before? We call them spider-eaters, because they eat the giant spiders you find sometimes around here. The big ones are pretty innocuous, but their venom burns real bad," Creighton mutters. "There's a guy back at the main camp who's obsessed with trying to tame them. I figure he's insane, but gathering the grubs when they're small makes it easy to harvest the venom sacks from them. Watch out, though. The grubs like to lurk around the swampy areas. They dig li'l holes in the bottom of the mud and stick their heads out of them to wait for prey to walk by. Like living bear traps with venom." He shakes his head. "Ain't surprised people don't live." --- It's a little past noon by the time that you start seeing tree stumps. "The hunting camp should be just up ahead," Creighton indicates. "We've been here for a while so it's a fair bit bigger than your li'l base camp" Tents surround a large wooden structure that looms out from the forest. It's got several walkways and simple thatched roofs. "That's the main building."  You're close enough that someone from the watchtowers could easily spot you, but no one's raised any sort of alarm. In fact, it doesn't look like the towers are occupied at all! There seems to be some sort of commotion near the main building, and you can hear raised voices. Getting a little closer reveals that there's two groups of humans having a stand off. Both groups have the look of deserter soldiers with their patchy Peridian armor, and among the larger group is a familiar face:  Laurence Petrine. The other, smaller group is lead by a grim-faced bald man. "That's Sergeant Lumm!" Creighton whispers. "What's going on?"  Neither side has drawn their weapons, but it looks like they're only moments away from doing so. Lumm's side looks hopelessly outmatched- Petrine has two figures flanking him: an older man with wild, white hair, and a hunched, hooded figure, along with several masked deserters and a few hunting dogs that are barking and growling at Lumm.  (You're all Far Away and in whatever direction you want to be in.) red plastic cup fucked around with this message at 23:36 on Mar 26, 2016 |
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Mar 26, 2016 23:25
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Firgud Rigiron Firgud raises an eyebrow. This was interesting. He hops a bit to turn towards Brianna and whispers. "Looks pretty hot, might blow up. You want to resolve this without killin' your brothers? You'd better hurry before they start doing for each other. And you should go with her, Lucius, back her up. Take the soldier with you too." He hops around. "Rest of us, I'd suggest we keep low and out of sight, keep the building between us and them. Things get violent, we come rushing around the back side. Call it a hunch o' mine, but I think we'll be wanting to keep Lumm breathing if we're going to figure out what the hell's going on here."
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Mar 27, 2016 11:28
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Jormund Fire-Stone / Magnus Magnusson XXXI "Hmph. Normally I would offer my own diplomatic services, but I have the feeling they wouldn't be quite so welcoming. Aye, I'll stay here. If one side will be our ally, best to save them before they get overwhelmed, but better still to stop the fight.""
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Mar 27, 2016 23:52
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Brianna Antinea "I concur. I'm getting the feeling that the elusive third party lies behind this situation and that Sergeant Lumm is their next target. If it comes to blows we mustn't let him fall, like you said Firgud, and if possible we should capture Petrine and the others alive." Brianna pulls on the straps securing her shield to her arm as she speaks, making sure its on tight. She did not trust Petrine to stay his hand one bit and can't help but think of those arrows embedded in the backs of the deserters at the parley site. "Creighton, follow but keep a safe distance. I don't want you stuck in the thick of it in your current state, if it should come to that. Lucius, are you ready? Let's go." [If someone wants to do something I'll give you time to act here.] Brianna steps out of hiding and walks towards the volatile scene with a resolute gait, sword sheathed at her side. She calls out to the two groups to gain their attention as she approaches. "Peridians, what is going on here? Stand down. We must talk."
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Mar 28, 2016 00:21
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As Brianna, Lucius, and Creighton approach the deserters, they can hear Lumm and Petrine arguing. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about, Laurence," the gruff sergeant growls. "All I know is that there's been a lot of suspicious activity going on and my soldiers have been the ones paying the price for it, and I don't think that's any coincidence." Laurence looks like he's about to draw his knife when he notices the three of you approaching. "Well isn't this a pleasant reunion?" He scoffs with a sardonic grin. Lucius notices the Ex-Corporal gesturing to his hooded friend, and that's enough time for him to let out a warning as the hunched figure shuffles to face Brianna, its eyes radiating some sort of magic. Hooded Figure: Unsettling Gaze @ Brianna vs MD: 1d20+8 10 Brianna feels a strange sensation, like something trying to twist and coil around her heart and mind, but she's able to shake it off. The hooded figure alerts Laurence with a rasping hiss, and the Ex-Corporal's grin falters. At that moment, the grey-haired old man's eyes go wide and he starts shouting. --- As the rest of you watch events unfold from the cover of the forest, a squeaky screeching noise suddenly splits the calm. Up above in the tree branches stands a black-feathered creature with multiple red, glowing eyes. It's a griffling- likely the one that had lived in Ulmurg's supply shed before the deserters attacked. As you watch, the creature's head is in a constant state of flux, growing multiple eyes and beaks that ooze back into its skull.  --- "Enemies! Enemies in the forest! I see them! We're surrounded!" The old man shouts, his eyes wild and unfocused. His shouting syncs up with the horrid beast's screeching. Petrine swears and orders some of the soldiers with him to investigate. "I've got nothing to say to you," he scowls, nocking an arrow to his bow. Despite your best intentions, it looks like you've got a fight on your hands! Camp Group (Roll a 22 or higher on Initiative to act immediately and go before Ex-Corporal Petrine, the Hooded Figure, and one of the Deserter Assassins)  Forest Group (Roll an 18 or higher on Initiative to act immediately and go before Fizzlefeathers the Griffling and two of the Deserter Assassins)  It costs two move actions to go from the Forest to the Camp, and vice versa. Or, if you succeed on a DC 15 skill check and explain how you do it, you can make the trip in one move action. quote:
red plastic cup fucked around with this message at 22:08 on Mar 30, 2016 |
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Mar 30, 2016 21:59
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Ex-Corporal Laurence Petrine 
War Wizard Draukney "The Mad" 
Hooded Figure
Deserter Assassins (Camp Group HP: 75, Forest Group HP: 100)
Peridian War Hound
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Lilith Avorena Wrongfooted at first by the griffling, Lilith coolly readied herself for battle. At least that was one mystery solved... Initiative: 1d20+3 16 pre:Lilith Avorena HP: 35/40 Recoveries: 8/8 (3d6+2) Initiative: +3 AC 15 PD 13 MD 18 Voidmote: autohit (roll for crit/crit miss); 2d3, Weaken on even Crescendo: 1d20+7+ED; 4d6, 3 miss, pop free on hit, multitarget with penalty Daily/Recharge [ ]Shield (Recharge 11+) [ ]Force Salvo [ ]Lightning Bolt [ ]Confusion [ ][ ]Utility Spell
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Mar 31, 2016 01:14
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