Invasion of Mori - IC [3.5][CE/NE][planar]

Round Three

Rose dances around on the edge of the battle, felling one kobold and moving back to where Pyre and Gabriel stand. Arxas dispels magic in a burst centered around where the fireballs originated, but does not get any results. Snargle continues his vicious assault on the halberd-bearing kobolds; though they move with uncanny speed, they are no match for his sheer power. A few manage to dodge hits, but another unlucky kobold is felled. Loriel begins sneaking over to the mage hit by her crossbow shot.

"You are quite outnumbered and will soon fall. Why don't you retreat until fully healed?" an invisible speaker asks Snargle in Common. The kobolds near the troll back away somewhat, leaving a path out for it, with the exception of the warrior who previously climbed aboard - that kobold continues to cling tightly. The speaker shouts something in Draconic, and then there is the sound of movement.

Those who can see invisible are treated to a horrific sight
[sblock] as the other kobold mage walks over to the invisible succubus. Touching her, he suddenly shatters into thousands of ravenous, writhing vermin that flow over her, stripping great chunks of flesh from her body as they feed. The unnatural display of power is unnerving even to hardened veterans. The limp form of Loriel, tattered and flayed, collapses in a rapidly-spreading pool of blood.

Kelteror is only shaken, the excesses of the Blood War making this seem like only a display of power rather than the grotesque spectacle most mortals would consider it. Vedak's undead mind allows him to marvel at it while being unaffected.[/sblock]

Everyone hears the sound of flesh tearing and sees a rapidly-growing puddle of blood appear on the cavern floor. It is evident that some sort of winged shape has collapsed in the midst of it, invisible.

The stony maug, smoking and cracked, lumbers away from the fight, while Kelteror attacks the nearest mage, now revealed as something not quite kobold. Kelteror's target seems unsurprised by the time the babau slashes at his back, dodging with inhuman alacrity. Gabriel bends one of the kobold halbardiers to his will, though no immediate action is forthcoming.

Placing his hand on Rose, Pyre calls upon the protectors of the Salamander race to close his ally's wounds, while Hanaav repairs the maug and sends a golem lumbering into the fray. Vedak calls upon dark powers to blind the more vicious mage and meets with success. Roillard completes his summoning, calling another wispy blue flame into being. With a gesture, he causes large chunks of hail to fall on the kobolds - and Snargle, incidentally. "Forgive me, but I doubt this will hurt our tough-skinned friend," he yells in perfect Abyssal.

OOC: [sblock]
See Invisible-enabled people will be happy to tell Arxas where to aim, I suspect. Sorry for the literalism, but it's impossible to interpret "where the last fireball came from" any other way. The group should probably begin suspecting that the enemies are moving after casting.

Initiatives – Rose Arxas Snargle Loriel Kobolds Maug Kelteror Gabriel Pyre Hanaav Vedak Roillard.

Draconic - "Fall back!"

Snargle - Victim of suggestion, will withdraw until fully healed.

Snargle took 16 bludgeoning and 4 cold damage from the ice storm, all of which is subdual.
Rose healed 15.
Maug healed 31.

Loriel took a massive amount of damage.[/sblock]

Edit: please disregard

Rose's eyes quickly dart in the direction of his new comrades. "What the *#&% was that!" the tiefling screams. Without waiting for response, he dances right back into the fray.

[sblock=OOC]Just have Rose dance around in whatever way seems most effective. He'll try to get flanking bonuses when he can and karmic strikes. And he ends some slight distance away from any enemies he can see, so as to not be subject to retalitory full-attacks. If, after getting hit from enemy AoO while trying to karmic strike, Rose is dangerously low on hitpoints, he will start tumbling to avoid them and try to get close to the band-aid again.

[size=-2]+24/+19/+14 Melee, keen falchion +1, 2d4+23, 15-20/x2 (power attacking for 3)
AC: 24 [26 after moving 40'; 28 or 30 vs. AoO][/size][/sblock]

Gabriel seems somewhat pleased, though at what, it's hard for an outsider to tell. Oh... this is going to hurt... he thinks to himself as he gathers for his next attack, stepping forward to catch as many of the kobolds as he can within the circle of his words.

He begins to speak in strange words dark and vile, words so evil they darken the air and fill it with a faint smell of decay and blood. Gabriel's handsome face seems to pinch and wither as he speaks, but those around him find their very souls slightly warped by what he says.

OOC: [sblock]Using the Dread aspect of Dark Speech. Anyone with 30 ft. of Gabriel has to make a Will save of 25 or be affected. Gabriel takes 1d4 Cha damage each round he uses the Dark Speech. Effects are dependant upon alignment and level, and can be found on page. 33 of BoVD. And at this point he doesn't care if he catches his teammates, as they're only going to be impressed or under his thumb, both of which are good to his thinking (assuming HD count as well as level, otherwise he might frighten the troll. )[/sblock]

(well...erm...that was fun. I guess I'll go make a combt monster. )

Snargle lumbers through the path opened up out of the pile of halberd wielders. He retreats until his flesh fully heals his wounds, a kobold clinging to his back and gibbets of others hanging from his teeth and caught on his claws.


ooc withdraw 30' towards comrades, not provoking AoOs from his first 5' of movement.

Well, well, well, what do we have here... Kelteror thinks to himself. As a seasoned warrior, he is glad this is not simply an ordinary Kobolts and mentally accepts the challenge. He tightens his grip on his guisarme and will attempt to hit the mage.

OCC: Kelteror should be 20ft away from the mage. Should the Mage move, Kelteror will get AoO(s).

• +2 mythral guisarme of frost (2 handed): +25/+20 to hit, 2d6+1d6 (frost) +23 damage, x3, S, 20 ft reach

Sneak Attack, if applicable (for AoOs): +2 hit/+2d6 damage


FYI: Special abilities and effects usually active[sblock]
Attacks:

• +2 mythral guisarme of frost (2 handed): +25/+20 to hit, 2d6+1d6 (frost) +23 damage, x3, S, 20 ft reach
• Natural weapons: +23/+23/+18 to hit with claw/claw/bite; 1d8+14/1d8+14/1d8+7 damage, 20/x2 S/P
• +1 composite longbow (+12 Str): +14/+9 to hit, 1d8+12 damage, x3, P, 110ft range

Feats & other:
5 Attacks of opportunity per round (combat reflexes)
20 ft reach with guisarme, 10 foot reach with natural weapons (claw, claw bite)
great cleave feat

Leap attack(feat): Charge action:
Magic:
Adaptation (from necklace)
freedom of movement (from ring)
Hat of disguise

Racial:
Spell resistance 15 Damage reduction 10/cold iron or good
darkvision 60 ft.
Immunity to electricity and poison
resistance to acid 10, cold 10, and fire 10
Telepathy 100 ft
See invisibility (SLA at will, always renewed)

Spell-Like Abilities, at will: darkness, dispel magic, see invisibility, greater teleport (self plus 50 pounds of objects only). Caster level 7th.

Sneak Attack (Ex): 2d6

Protective Slime (Su): A slimy red jelly coats the babau’s skin. Any weapon that touches it takes 1d8 points of acid damage from the corrosive goo, and the weapon’s hardness does not reduce this damage. A magic weapon may attempt a DC 18 Reflex save to avoid taking this damage. A creature who strikes the babau with an unarmed attack, unarmed strike, touch spell, or natural weapon takes this damage as well but can negate the damage with a DC 18 Reflex save. The save DCs are Constitution-based.

[/sblock]

Surprises at every corner in this mortal realm. In the Abyss, one would simply expect the unseen and grotesque.

Arxas, regretting his underestimation of the invisible creatures opposing him, decides to expend a potent divination; as he chants, smoke billows from his eyes and sparks dance across them. The effect clears a moment later, and the mage sees all as it truely is.

That's true seeing.

As Pyre saw the chunks of inhuman flesh fall away from near the clearing the kobolds had made he rushed towards the most hurt person within reach and cast his most potent healing spell.
((Since I'm after the Kobolds, I'm just going to be as nondescript as possible. Cure serious wounds 3d8+5))

"How many Divination spells do I have access to at this exact moment," Vedak mutters, "And yet none of them can help me out with what this creature is. Soooo, anyone know of any creatures that can turn into a mass of vermin and eat the flesh of another being within like seconds?" Vedak asks the others.

Turning to the other Kobold spellcaster, or perhaps the ONLY Kobold spellcaster, Vedak casts Blindness.

OOC: DC 21.