Cheiromancer
Adventurer
Well there you go. It was so cool I thought you must have invented it yourself!
I'd love to see the write-up.
I'd love to see the write-up.
-
The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
(Cydra) Great Conflicts
- Thread starter the Jester
- Start date
the Jester
Legend
Fight with a Mirror?
4 pm, 9/28/368 O.L.G., inside Angelfire Mountain, second level
“This place is disgusting,” Jezebel says, repelled.
The room they are in is ruined; it’s hard to tell what it might have once been. Now all that remains are scraps of burnt wood and cloth. But there are a few areas of stinking yellowish foam that remain, all that is left of bile puddles.
“You should’ve seen it before,” Sybele comments in a low voice.
Thrush is very nervous. Coming back here is a barely-contained nightmare for him. His first band of adventurers, a good decade ago now, died in here; in the end only he survived, and only by agreeing to serve the Bile Lords. Serve he did, with no way out, for almost ten years. And then our heroes came and saved him, and now he has a family. He won’t abandon Sybele in here, but- he thinks uneasily- if they aren’t careful, they’re going to be destroyed by the Bile Lords.
Just like Thrush’s first group.
He shudders to himself.
He’s not the only nervous one. Even though they cleaned this place out a year ago, only two members of this group were there (even Thrush wasn’t there at the time). To the others, this place is new. The group moves into another ruined chamber, this one containing a small stone vanity. A mirror is on the wall behind it and a stool is set before it.
“Let’s search around,” says Drelvin, and begins using his elven senses to search for secret doors. The others begin searching as well; Rex moves to examine first the vanity (empty) and then the mirror.
As the dragon disciple glances at it for the first time, he is startled to see something behind his reflection. He glances over his shoulder for an instant; nothing. He looks back at the mirror. It’s almost as if an elephantine face is overlaid across his reflection. He can see his own features, as well as its.
“Whoa,” Rex says, backing away.
Suddenly the chamber fills with greenish vapors, and our heroes gag as the stinking cloud fills the area. But only for an instant- Drelvin quickdraws Shastruth and the sword utilizes a dispel magic to disperse the cloud.
“What the hell was that?” Ulla cries. Thrush’s sword is in his hands.
“I- I’m not sure,” a shocked Rex replies. “I saw a face...” He watches the mirror intently.
“Well, I’m ready for it,” Jezebel says grimly. Her wand of enervation is held tightly in her hand.
A lightning bolt blasts from a fingertip that just extends beyond the surface of the mirror. Angelfire dodges aside, evading the blast.
“Oh yeah?? Let’s see how you like this!” cries Drelvin, and points his sword at the mirror. Shastruth casts a shatter and the mirror’s glass explodes into fragments.
“I don’t think,” Jezebel says, “that the mirror was the problem.”
And from the opposite wall, a ghostly figure half-appears and blasts out with another lightning bolt, catching both Sybele (who is still vomiting from the nausea induced by the cloud) and Thrush.
“Aha!!” cries Drelvin, and Shastruth casts dispel magic at the ghostly form.
Nothing. The ghostly figure fades back through the wall.
The battle becomes a cat-and-mouse matter, with our heroes waiting readily for a chance to attack the ghostly loxo, and the loxo flitting in and out of the walls, emerging just long enough to cast a spell before escaping through a wall, floor or ceiling again.
But Drelvin has some ghost touch arrows; so as soon as he spots the loxo ghost, he looses one, and each time he hits, he inflicts significant damage. Grinning fiercely, he shoots it several times. Londo, too, is fortunate to hit it several times. Finally, it emerges in the wrong place at the wrong time and Rex uses his force breath to finish it off, shredding it into many pieces of tattered ectoplasm.
The party gathers together and checks up. Nobody’s seriously hurt, and Angelfire and Londo cast a few minor healing spells to repair most of the wounds the battle left on the group. Then they move onward, continuing their second exploration of Mount Angelfire.
***
A timeless realm in a far dimension
The King of Bile, escorted by his most powerful creations, has come far beyond the pale of any mortal imagining to track her down, and at last he has found her.
A thousand million possibilities he has explored; forever, it seems, he has quested. All looking for the perfect cruelty, the hideous beauty that he has at last unearthed. And now, in this far realm of madness and mind-cracking power, he has at last come before her.
The trials and tribulations he has faced in tracking her are meaningless. The sacrifice of so many of his most powerful creations is meaningless. The only meaning to be found is in her vapid expression, the smeared blood that trails behind her, the entrails twitching around her. The Queen of Guts.
The King of Bile looks on as his creations battle hers, as he proves his worth to her by bringing down the pseudonatural things she has surrounded herself with. And then, when her guardians- and most of his entourage- have been destroyed, he approaches her. The rank cloud of yellow vapor around him- does it please her? He cannot read her expressions, not yet, but he will learn and he will treasure every bit of spite and venom within her breast.
They commune together, communicating in a way that no lesser being can for several moments; and he knows she understands his purpose now. But does she approve?
Suddenly the intestines that trail around her start to move, as if possessed of a life of their own; and the King of Bile watches with interest as she strangles the last of his entourage with contemptuous ease. He smiles as the innards loop about his neck.
“You are beautiful,” he whispers.
The noose around his throat pulls him gently to the Queen of Guts.
***
8 pm, 9/28/368 O.L.G., Mechanus, on the cog of Galadronus
“We’re going to take steps against that bitch Estelias first,” Emperor Prayzose says grimly.
Maps are spread across the table. Generals and admirals are clustered about, staring intently at the battle plans before them.
“Can we take Tirchond, with our forces diluted as they are now?” inquires Admiral Coyne. “They traditionally have a series of strong magical defenses.”
Prayzose nods. “Without a doubt. One of the key pieces of their typical defense is missing. They won’t be able to employ the wild zone generating device that they have typically used against Forinthian forces.”
“How do you know this?” Coyne asks in surprise.
“Because,” Emperor Prayzose replies in a heavy voice, “it has hatched.”
Next Time: Our heroes continue to rise through Bile- er, Mount Angelfire!
4 pm, 9/28/368 O.L.G., inside Angelfire Mountain, second level
“This place is disgusting,” Jezebel says, repelled.
The room they are in is ruined; it’s hard to tell what it might have once been. Now all that remains are scraps of burnt wood and cloth. But there are a few areas of stinking yellowish foam that remain, all that is left of bile puddles.
“You should’ve seen it before,” Sybele comments in a low voice.
Thrush is very nervous. Coming back here is a barely-contained nightmare for him. His first band of adventurers, a good decade ago now, died in here; in the end only he survived, and only by agreeing to serve the Bile Lords. Serve he did, with no way out, for almost ten years. And then our heroes came and saved him, and now he has a family. He won’t abandon Sybele in here, but- he thinks uneasily- if they aren’t careful, they’re going to be destroyed by the Bile Lords.
Just like Thrush’s first group.
He shudders to himself.
He’s not the only nervous one. Even though they cleaned this place out a year ago, only two members of this group were there (even Thrush wasn’t there at the time). To the others, this place is new. The group moves into another ruined chamber, this one containing a small stone vanity. A mirror is on the wall behind it and a stool is set before it.
“Let’s search around,” says Drelvin, and begins using his elven senses to search for secret doors. The others begin searching as well; Rex moves to examine first the vanity (empty) and then the mirror.
As the dragon disciple glances at it for the first time, he is startled to see something behind his reflection. He glances over his shoulder for an instant; nothing. He looks back at the mirror. It’s almost as if an elephantine face is overlaid across his reflection. He can see his own features, as well as its.
“Whoa,” Rex says, backing away.
Suddenly the chamber fills with greenish vapors, and our heroes gag as the stinking cloud fills the area. But only for an instant- Drelvin quickdraws Shastruth and the sword utilizes a dispel magic to disperse the cloud.
“What the hell was that?” Ulla cries. Thrush’s sword is in his hands.
“I- I’m not sure,” a shocked Rex replies. “I saw a face...” He watches the mirror intently.
“Well, I’m ready for it,” Jezebel says grimly. Her wand of enervation is held tightly in her hand.
A lightning bolt blasts from a fingertip that just extends beyond the surface of the mirror. Angelfire dodges aside, evading the blast.
“Oh yeah?? Let’s see how you like this!” cries Drelvin, and points his sword at the mirror. Shastruth casts a shatter and the mirror’s glass explodes into fragments.
“I don’t think,” Jezebel says, “that the mirror was the problem.”
And from the opposite wall, a ghostly figure half-appears and blasts out with another lightning bolt, catching both Sybele (who is still vomiting from the nausea induced by the cloud) and Thrush.
“Aha!!” cries Drelvin, and Shastruth casts dispel magic at the ghostly form.
Nothing. The ghostly figure fades back through the wall.
The battle becomes a cat-and-mouse matter, with our heroes waiting readily for a chance to attack the ghostly loxo, and the loxo flitting in and out of the walls, emerging just long enough to cast a spell before escaping through a wall, floor or ceiling again.
But Drelvin has some ghost touch arrows; so as soon as he spots the loxo ghost, he looses one, and each time he hits, he inflicts significant damage. Grinning fiercely, he shoots it several times. Londo, too, is fortunate to hit it several times. Finally, it emerges in the wrong place at the wrong time and Rex uses his force breath to finish it off, shredding it into many pieces of tattered ectoplasm.
The party gathers together and checks up. Nobody’s seriously hurt, and Angelfire and Londo cast a few minor healing spells to repair most of the wounds the battle left on the group. Then they move onward, continuing their second exploration of Mount Angelfire.
***
A timeless realm in a far dimension
The King of Bile, escorted by his most powerful creations, has come far beyond the pale of any mortal imagining to track her down, and at last he has found her.
A thousand million possibilities he has explored; forever, it seems, he has quested. All looking for the perfect cruelty, the hideous beauty that he has at last unearthed. And now, in this far realm of madness and mind-cracking power, he has at last come before her.
The trials and tribulations he has faced in tracking her are meaningless. The sacrifice of so many of his most powerful creations is meaningless. The only meaning to be found is in her vapid expression, the smeared blood that trails behind her, the entrails twitching around her. The Queen of Guts.
The King of Bile looks on as his creations battle hers, as he proves his worth to her by bringing down the pseudonatural things she has surrounded herself with. And then, when her guardians- and most of his entourage- have been destroyed, he approaches her. The rank cloud of yellow vapor around him- does it please her? He cannot read her expressions, not yet, but he will learn and he will treasure every bit of spite and venom within her breast.
They commune together, communicating in a way that no lesser being can for several moments; and he knows she understands his purpose now. But does she approve?
Suddenly the intestines that trail around her start to move, as if possessed of a life of their own; and the King of Bile watches with interest as she strangles the last of his entourage with contemptuous ease. He smiles as the innards loop about his neck.
“You are beautiful,” he whispers.
The noose around his throat pulls him gently to the Queen of Guts.
***
8 pm, 9/28/368 O.L.G., Mechanus, on the cog of Galadronus
“We’re going to take steps against that bitch Estelias first,” Emperor Prayzose says grimly.
Maps are spread across the table. Generals and admirals are clustered about, staring intently at the battle plans before them.
“Can we take Tirchond, with our forces diluted as they are now?” inquires Admiral Coyne. “They traditionally have a series of strong magical defenses.”
Prayzose nods. “Without a doubt. One of the key pieces of their typical defense is missing. They won’t be able to employ the wild zone generating device that they have typically used against Forinthian forces.”
“How do you know this?” Coyne asks in surprise.
“Because,” Emperor Prayzose replies in a heavy voice, “it has hatched.”
Next Time: Our heroes continue to rise through Bile- er, Mount Angelfire!
the Jester
Legend
Oops- I just realized that the last few updates, I've misdated things. Roll all them dates back one day, folks! The last update was on 9/27/368, not 9/28. My bad, and only truly important to my continuity notes, but I thought I'd mention it since I'll be correcting the mis-dating in the next update...
the Jester
Legend
Horbin Gets a Scolding
9 pm, 9/27/368 O.L.G., the Angelfire Inn, Angelfire, Pesh
There aren’t too many people in the town of Angelfire (Angelfire herself still can’t get over how cool it is that almost everything in town is named after her), but most of them seem to be in the inn tonight.
Our heroes perform some heavy feats of drinking. They smoke some fine halfling weed that puts them into a very friendly and hungry state of mind. Lester gets an obsequious little dwarven fellow named Baldric stoned, who then heartily encourages his friend (who sits in the corner cloaked and trying not to be noticed) to join the fun.
With the sort of embarrassment that a teenager feels about his parents, Baldric’s friend shoos him away.
Intrigued, the L stumbles over to the man, studies him for a moment, and declares, “Well, from your sword and shield and other gear, I’d say you look like an adventurer, probably a fighter or paladin or something... actually, come to think of it, with that big snake on your shield, probably not a paladin.” He grins. “That’s okay, paladins don’t usually get along with Angel too well. But anyway, I’m the Angel of Adventure-“ he flexes his bat wings- “and we’re going adventuring into Bile Mountain tomorrow! If you wanna come, meet us down here for breakfast at eight!” Stoned out of his mind, Lester proceeds to wander back over to his table, tripping over a farmer and spilling two drinks with his wings on the way.*
The locals don’t seem to mind.
***
1 am, 9/28/368 O.L.G., in Lester’s room
The L snores, fully clothed, his front saturated in spilled liquor. His afro is surprisingly resilient. The white streak in it- left by Acererak- makes him look unusually dignified.
Orbius giggles and sways on his feet. He hasn’t been this drunk in- in- since he was- well—ever.
Snicker, snicker, Eye of Boccob.
He casts a spell on the Angel of Adventure.
“Gotta look the part,” he burps, then trips over his own feet and lands snoring in the corner.
***
8 am, the common room
Edmund is in the common room at eight a.m. sharp for breakfast, but of the others only Sir Maxwell and Rex are already up.
Still, Edmund knows who they are. How could he not, being here last night and watching the palpable hero-worship? He heard the toasts, and everyone has heard stories at least of the L.
He isn’t sure he wants to do this, but- what the hell, eh?
Still, it’ll be good when they get up.
***
10 am, the plains northwest of Pesh City
Horbin the MFKG Holy appears with Orbius Visionary in the midst of many Forinthian soldiers and at once they hear the sounds of blades being drawn.
“Horbin the Holy,” says Bishop Curmath of Pesh, surprised. He is in the middle of discussion certain military matters with one of the generals while they walk through the camp, simultaneously inspecting the troops. He turns fully to face Horbin, wondering what he can possibly want.
“We come to you in the name of Galador’s blind son Dexter,” Horbin cries dramatically. “We seek to destroy a foulness upon the land, and we wish the aid of other good Galadorians! Tell me, have you heard of Bile Mountain?”
Bishop Curmath glances at Orbius, then looks back at Horbin. “We are here on a mission for the Light,” he says firmly. “It is rather you who should join us, Horbin.”
“I will not stand against you, but I am on a quest for goodness. We seek the final and complete overthrow of Bile Mountain, a sore of evil on Pesh itself! Surely you must see the value of this.”
“You keep odd company for a man in the Light,” Curmath answers. He nods. “Yes, we know of your Chaos-ridden companions- criminals and heretics!”
“What! None of my companions are criminals!”
“Lester,” the Bishop says with profound distaste, “has spent time in jail. Several of your companions are on the run from the law. How can you say that? Horbin,” he goes on persuasively, “you are a well-intentioned man- but you walk on the edge of shadow. You travel with Chaos and Evil both! You risk the favor of the Light, you risk your very soul. And now, at a time when sides must be chosen, and Galador has chosen his side- you seek to sway us from out course? Join us,” he says again.
“I serve the Light, but I disagree that we must all take sides. And I won’t fight Galador- I won’t. But I think that military power is being used wrongly, and it’s resulting in the death and injury of many innocent people! I won’t be party to that either! What we’re trying to do,” and Horbin urges his voice into its most beguiling aspect, “is to stomp out an evil chancre that’s been on Pesh for quite some time!”
“And yet,” the Bishop responds, “you were said to have destroyed Bile Mountain before. In fact, is that not why it is now called Angelfire Mountain? Why the need to return? Do you seek to trick our forces into some trap, Horbin?” He shakes his head. “You teeter,” he repeats, “on the edge of darkness. You must come back into the Light or be forsaken.”
Angrily, Horbin shakes his head back at Bishop Curmath. “No, it’s all of you who teeter- you teeter on the edge of evil! You don’t care about the loss of innocent lives, you only care about your ambitions.”
“I care about following the orders passed down to me by Galador, through his trusted servants, who surely are far wiser and able to see far more than I can. You border on heresy, Horbin! Beware that you do not go too far!”
“Then you will not help us,” Horbin sighs.
“This was a waste of time,” Orbius grunts to himself, grabbing Horbin and teleporting them back to the others in the small town of Angelfire.
Orbius’ divinations have continued to point towards some sort of garrison being pivotal in luring the Bile Lords out of their hidden lair. Our heroes aren’t sure where this garrison is, or whether they need to assume control of it or destroy or what, but they figure they might need some soldiers for it. Horbin was hoping to lure some of the Forinthians on Pesh away from the war effort and into something, in his view, more constructive.
Law versus Chaos, he thinks angrily. How dare they put that above good and evil?
How dare he tell me I’m on the edge of darkness?!
***
1 pm, 9/28/368 O.L.G., inside Angelfire Mountain, ascending
Our heroes continue their explorations the next day. So far nothing has really threatened them on the same level that everything Acererak and Felenga threatened them on. Hell, when they were here before they were running scared; but they won. And they’ve grown considerably in power since then; Orbius can even wish now, a feat equaled by few wizards alive. He is probably not the most powerful wizard on Cydra, but he certainly ranks in the top ten if not the top five... or three. It’s the same with all of them; from Thrush- the self-declared preeminent swordsman of his age- to Horbin, a cleric of such searing purity that Dexter’s will seems manifest in his every word. These adventurers are no slouches; they are hard-core, long-term, kick-in-the-door adventurers. They are world-famous. They have fought a demilich and won, defeated Angels of the Apocalypse, slain a Prince of Elemental Evil.
In short, they’re starting to get cocky.
Their journey up the mountain today began, interestingly enough, with yet another ally- a half-elf monk named Kagera. She seems intent on proving her mental and physical mastery to herself, and after a brief initial period of wariness and careful questioning, she joined the party easily.
They cut their way through some sort of shadow-shifting cloaker thing; they destroy a golem with ease. The strange arthropod bile monster dies with hardly a chance to act (though it does try to disarm Thrush).
Yep, things are going well, and Bile Mountain so far shows no sign of throwing any real resistance their way....
*Something along these lines is generally Lester’s modus operandus when it comes to meeting new pcs. :Rollseyes: (damn I miss that smiley!)
Next Time: Bile Mountain throws real resistance the party’s way!!
9 pm, 9/27/368 O.L.G., the Angelfire Inn, Angelfire, Pesh
There aren’t too many people in the town of Angelfire (Angelfire herself still can’t get over how cool it is that almost everything in town is named after her), but most of them seem to be in the inn tonight.
Our heroes perform some heavy feats of drinking. They smoke some fine halfling weed that puts them into a very friendly and hungry state of mind. Lester gets an obsequious little dwarven fellow named Baldric stoned, who then heartily encourages his friend (who sits in the corner cloaked and trying not to be noticed) to join the fun.
With the sort of embarrassment that a teenager feels about his parents, Baldric’s friend shoos him away.
Intrigued, the L stumbles over to the man, studies him for a moment, and declares, “Well, from your sword and shield and other gear, I’d say you look like an adventurer, probably a fighter or paladin or something... actually, come to think of it, with that big snake on your shield, probably not a paladin.” He grins. “That’s okay, paladins don’t usually get along with Angel too well. But anyway, I’m the Angel of Adventure-“ he flexes his bat wings- “and we’re going adventuring into Bile Mountain tomorrow! If you wanna come, meet us down here for breakfast at eight!” Stoned out of his mind, Lester proceeds to wander back over to his table, tripping over a farmer and spilling two drinks with his wings on the way.*
The locals don’t seem to mind.
***
1 am, 9/28/368 O.L.G., in Lester’s room
The L snores, fully clothed, his front saturated in spilled liquor. His afro is surprisingly resilient. The white streak in it- left by Acererak- makes him look unusually dignified.
Orbius giggles and sways on his feet. He hasn’t been this drunk in- in- since he was- well—ever.
Snicker, snicker, Eye of Boccob.
He casts a spell on the Angel of Adventure.
“Gotta look the part,” he burps, then trips over his own feet and lands snoring in the corner.
***
8 am, the common room
Edmund is in the common room at eight a.m. sharp for breakfast, but of the others only Sir Maxwell and Rex are already up.
Still, Edmund knows who they are. How could he not, being here last night and watching the palpable hero-worship? He heard the toasts, and everyone has heard stories at least of the L.
He isn’t sure he wants to do this, but- what the hell, eh?
Still, it’ll be good when they get up.
***
10 am, the plains northwest of Pesh City
Horbin the MFKG Holy appears with Orbius Visionary in the midst of many Forinthian soldiers and at once they hear the sounds of blades being drawn.
“Horbin the Holy,” says Bishop Curmath of Pesh, surprised. He is in the middle of discussion certain military matters with one of the generals while they walk through the camp, simultaneously inspecting the troops. He turns fully to face Horbin, wondering what he can possibly want.
“We come to you in the name of Galador’s blind son Dexter,” Horbin cries dramatically. “We seek to destroy a foulness upon the land, and we wish the aid of other good Galadorians! Tell me, have you heard of Bile Mountain?”
Bishop Curmath glances at Orbius, then looks back at Horbin. “We are here on a mission for the Light,” he says firmly. “It is rather you who should join us, Horbin.”
“I will not stand against you, but I am on a quest for goodness. We seek the final and complete overthrow of Bile Mountain, a sore of evil on Pesh itself! Surely you must see the value of this.”
“You keep odd company for a man in the Light,” Curmath answers. He nods. “Yes, we know of your Chaos-ridden companions- criminals and heretics!”
“What! None of my companions are criminals!”
“Lester,” the Bishop says with profound distaste, “has spent time in jail. Several of your companions are on the run from the law. How can you say that? Horbin,” he goes on persuasively, “you are a well-intentioned man- but you walk on the edge of shadow. You travel with Chaos and Evil both! You risk the favor of the Light, you risk your very soul. And now, at a time when sides must be chosen, and Galador has chosen his side- you seek to sway us from out course? Join us,” he says again.
“I serve the Light, but I disagree that we must all take sides. And I won’t fight Galador- I won’t. But I think that military power is being used wrongly, and it’s resulting in the death and injury of many innocent people! I won’t be party to that either! What we’re trying to do,” and Horbin urges his voice into its most beguiling aspect, “is to stomp out an evil chancre that’s been on Pesh for quite some time!”
“And yet,” the Bishop responds, “you were said to have destroyed Bile Mountain before. In fact, is that not why it is now called Angelfire Mountain? Why the need to return? Do you seek to trick our forces into some trap, Horbin?” He shakes his head. “You teeter,” he repeats, “on the edge of darkness. You must come back into the Light or be forsaken.”
Angrily, Horbin shakes his head back at Bishop Curmath. “No, it’s all of you who teeter- you teeter on the edge of evil! You don’t care about the loss of innocent lives, you only care about your ambitions.”
“I care about following the orders passed down to me by Galador, through his trusted servants, who surely are far wiser and able to see far more than I can. You border on heresy, Horbin! Beware that you do not go too far!”
“Then you will not help us,” Horbin sighs.
“This was a waste of time,” Orbius grunts to himself, grabbing Horbin and teleporting them back to the others in the small town of Angelfire.
Orbius’ divinations have continued to point towards some sort of garrison being pivotal in luring the Bile Lords out of their hidden lair. Our heroes aren’t sure where this garrison is, or whether they need to assume control of it or destroy or what, but they figure they might need some soldiers for it. Horbin was hoping to lure some of the Forinthians on Pesh away from the war effort and into something, in his view, more constructive.
Law versus Chaos, he thinks angrily. How dare they put that above good and evil?
How dare he tell me I’m on the edge of darkness?!
***
1 pm, 9/28/368 O.L.G., inside Angelfire Mountain, ascending
Our heroes continue their explorations the next day. So far nothing has really threatened them on the same level that everything Acererak and Felenga threatened them on. Hell, when they were here before they were running scared; but they won. And they’ve grown considerably in power since then; Orbius can even wish now, a feat equaled by few wizards alive. He is probably not the most powerful wizard on Cydra, but he certainly ranks in the top ten if not the top five... or three. It’s the same with all of them; from Thrush- the self-declared preeminent swordsman of his age- to Horbin, a cleric of such searing purity that Dexter’s will seems manifest in his every word. These adventurers are no slouches; they are hard-core, long-term, kick-in-the-door adventurers. They are world-famous. They have fought a demilich and won, defeated Angels of the Apocalypse, slain a Prince of Elemental Evil.
In short, they’re starting to get cocky.
Their journey up the mountain today began, interestingly enough, with yet another ally- a half-elf monk named Kagera. She seems intent on proving her mental and physical mastery to herself, and after a brief initial period of wariness and careful questioning, she joined the party easily.
They cut their way through some sort of shadow-shifting cloaker thing; they destroy a golem with ease. The strange arthropod bile monster dies with hardly a chance to act (though it does try to disarm Thrush).
Yep, things are going well, and Bile Mountain so far shows no sign of throwing any real resistance their way....
*Something along these lines is generally Lester’s modus operandus when it comes to meeting new pcs. :Rollseyes: (damn I miss that smiley!)
Next Time: Bile Mountain throws real resistance the party’s way!!
the Jester
Legend
Party roster as of the last update:
Sybele (fighter 8/egoist 11/warrior of chaos 2)
Sir Maxwell (paladin 13/knight of the chalice 6)
Lester (elementalist 14/warrior of chaos 4/divine oracle 2/contemplative 2/paraelementalist 1)
Edmund (fighter 18)
Res (sorcerer 1/fighter 1/ranger 1/monk 5/dragon disciple 10/half-dragon paragon 1/tattooed monk 1)
Ulla (druid 7/shifter 10/warshaper 2)
Kagera (monk 18)
A couple of interesting notes: We only had Edmund for one game, but he was a wry presence while he was there. Also, I have determined that nobody starts above 18th level; there just aren't enough unknown quantities of that magnitude out there. I might make occasional exceptions if the party is in extremely unusual locations (like Sigil or something), but I think that's the general starting ceiling. I'm not sure what I'll do when/if the party gets significantly higher level... meh, we'll see.
Sybele (fighter 8/egoist 11/warrior of chaos 2)
Sir Maxwell (paladin 13/knight of the chalice 6)
Lester (elementalist 14/warrior of chaos 4/divine oracle 2/contemplative 2/paraelementalist 1)
Edmund (fighter 18)
Res (sorcerer 1/fighter 1/ranger 1/monk 5/dragon disciple 10/half-dragon paragon 1/tattooed monk 1)
Ulla (druid 7/shifter 10/warshaper 2)
Kagera (monk 18)
A couple of interesting notes: We only had Edmund for one game, but he was a wry presence while he was there. Also, I have determined that nobody starts above 18th level; there just aren't enough unknown quantities of that magnitude out there. I might make occasional exceptions if the party is in extremely unusual locations (like Sigil or something), but I think that's the general starting ceiling. I'm not sure what I'll do when/if the party gets significantly higher level... meh, we'll see.
Angel of Adventure
First Post
So what did Orbius do to Lester?
??? - I shouldn't have to ask, since I play both of them. However, I'll let you write it into next story hour . . . and leave our readers in suspense till then!
??? - I shouldn't have to ask, since I play both of them. However, I'll let you write it into next story hour . . . and leave our readers in suspense till then!
Angel of Adventure
First Post
So What Did Orbius do to Lester?
I shouldn't have to ask, since I play both of them, but I thought I'd remind you, Jester, and let the suspense build until then . . .
Also, so what if our party is cocky? When was the last time scared sissies ever saved the world, . . . or killed a dragon, . . . or did anything remotely entertaining for Story Hour?!?
I shouldn't have to ask, since I play both of them, but I thought I'd remind you, Jester, and let the suspense build until then . . .
Also, so what if our party is cocky? When was the last time scared sissies ever saved the world, . . . or killed a dragon, . . . or did anything remotely entertaining for Story Hour?!?
the Jester
Legend
4 pm, 9/28/368 O.L.G., inside Angelfire Mountain, ascending
Tromping up through Bile Mountain, our heroes continue to explore. They almost cleared the entire place out once before; now only a few surviving monsters remain to oppose them, and most of them are no real challenge. A disgusting stink lingers in the passages and rooms; yellow stains are all over, and the walls are perforated with small holes eaten away by the bile over the centuries.
Lester can’t help but keep glancing at his wings. Overnight they have changed. Instead of the old, threatening, bat-style wings, they are now almost... angelic. It’s a wonder. How could something like this have happened?
Is it a sign? Are the angels of Heaven finally starting to accept him??
Edmund is a little annoyed. He hasn’t even gotten to swing his sword yet. He shakes his head. Why am I even here? he wonders idly, then shrugs. At least there’s a few coins to be made.
Suddenly there’s a sound from ahead- a loud snarling sound, the scraping of Thrush’s sword through flesh, something cries out...
“I’ll let you handle this,” Edmund says sardonically. He leans back against a wall and crosses his arms over his chest. “If you need anything, let me know.”
The party has come to a chamber with a staircase leading up, but a terrible creature stands snarling before them, guarding the stairway. It is a pale dead whitish-grey, obviously undead, with a long, snaky neck. Its ears are bat like; its large black eyes stare ahead hatefully. Cracked dirty claws emerge from its hands and leathery bat-wings beat the air behind its back. Thrush stands before it, having already chopped down its minions. Sir Maxwell rushes in, striking at the creature and smashing a hammer into it. There’s a crunching sound, but the creature remains standing. It retreats up the stairs, followed by Sybele, Lester and Maxwell, with Orbius in hot pursuit.
I’ve seen these before, here in Bile Mountain, Orbius realizes. His mind flicks through the enormous knowledge of undead that he’s accumulated over the years and recognizes it as an aag- a terribly powerful monster full of venom and negative energy. “Careful!” he calls after the others, “These things are dangerous!”
As it flees, the aag’s arm is blown off by a puncture from Orbius, and a succession of deadly magical vapors explode from his time stop, surrounding the creature and billowing through the hole at the top of the stairs! It grunts, then starts making passes through the air with its hand and snarling out some sort of profane utterances.
It’s too slow, however. Lester has already thrown a spell of his own, and a sunburst flashes through the chamber. There are cries and screams as almost everyone is blinded, but the aag is destroyed utterly. For just an instant, however, the L (or, as he now prefers, the Angel of Adventure) catches a glimpse of several more of the creatures outlined by the burst. He blinks the spots away, still able to see- four more of them! And a hand materializing between him and one of them... the L recognizes it as a Bigby’s interposing hand.
“Incoming!” he shouts, and then gives a yell of pain as one of them spits a gob of bile that bursts wetly over the group. He can hear Orbius, blinded, screaming for him. With a grunt of dismay, Lester thinks, To hell with it, and tosses another sunburst into the room. This one destroys the aag sorcerer who created the hand. Then a quickened pass through earth and stone and he is ready to sink into-
“Dammit!” he curses, as he glares at the stained rock of the walls. He could move into it, but then he’d be exposed to the bile. To hell with it, he thinks again firmly, and drops into the stone, moving into a better tactical position.
Sir Maxwell, meanwhile, swiftly moves in and engages one of the aags; but he is utterly unable to penetrate its defenses. The aag sneers at him, spittle spraying from its mealy grey mouth. It seems utterly contemptuous of his best efforts, and Sir Maxwell Norrington is not accustomed to being treated with contempt- much less by the undead!
“Garnet!” he cries, and swings again- a mighty blow, nearly the best he could possibly manage- to no avail! Maxwell gapes at the aag. How tough are these things??*
The aag laughs at him. “Analin,” it rumbles. “That is the name of your killer.” It smiles and lunges forward, slashes with its claws, biting, buffeting the paladin with its wings. Maxwell grunts and groans as the blows deal telling damage- and on top of the physical damage, he feels the scald of venom entering him from the bite. Negative energy courses through each blow, dealing terrible physical damage as well as draining his energy. Sir Maxwell gasps and withers before its assault, suffering terribly.
Suddenly- inexplicably- the blindness lifts.** Sybele blinks twice and moves into a firing position, but as she does Analin takes a bite out of her, his long snaky neck letting him reach her a surprising distance away. She fires a psionic shot at one of the other aags, hitting it. This one, she notes with dismay, is wearing full plate armor. It grins in her direction, clicking its claws together, but turns to a closer target- Lester. Even blinded, it manages to strike home with two claws. Lester groans and shudders as the energy drain hits him.
Kagera springs in and out of the melee, kicking and striking, but she can’t seem to hurt Analin. None of them can! And all of these aags are terrible tough... She whirls away again, moving so quickly that the enemy can’t strike back at her.***
Jezebel has been enhancing the group as much as possible, and Thrush, rendered greater invisible by her, finally clambers into the room just as Lester unleashes a blaze of divine flame and a tremendous series of electrical bolts. He lays about him but the aags are much tougher than he had expected and he misses. He draws his sword back into a guard position and makes a mental note to go for more accuracy and less strength to the blows on his next sequence of attacks. He grins fiercely; this might be a good fight at last.
Indeed.
Our heroes beat down the armored aag quickly, but they can’t even scratch the sneering Analin, and he drops Thrush in mere moments. “Honey!” cries Sybele. The terrible aag seems possessed of incredible, near-deific power.
The elemental blasts, powerful sorceries of Orbius and incredible skill at arms of our heroes slowly wear on one of the other aags. Three down, two to go thinks Sybele, but Analin still hasn’t been touched. Even the sunbursts didn’t harm him!
The party slowly hacks the last one other than Analin down, and then its them against the seemingly untouchable aag.
It glances around at its fallen companions, at Thrush’s bleeding form, at our wounded heroes. It chuckles and spits a huge gob of phlegm at Sir Maxwell’s feet.
The party and the aag rush together. Seeker missiles from Orbius manage to deal some damage at last, but it heals in seconds and things are back where they started, except that Lester and Sir Maxwell have a few more wounds. The paladin lunges again, and the aag catches the blow with his forearm, sneering and ignoring the force behind it. Maxwell gives a yell of frustration.
Analin relieves him of the burden of his frustration by beating him unconscious, smacking him across the head with a wing buffet. The knight of the chalice crumples to the ground.
Orbius and Lester are now concentrating their spell power on Analin, and though some of their magic gets through, the creature is clearly too powerful to overcome with damage before it overcomes them with its terrible claws and bite and wings. Orbius is staying below, firing what spells he can without actually being in its presence. Thanks to the extra eye he placed earlier on the Angel of Adventure, he can still see up there. Lester, cursing more colorfully than he has in several months, pulls the old flesh to stone trick out and tries that one- and to his amazement, it appears to succeed!
He draws back. “I... I think I got him,” he gasps. He’s bloodied and badly wounded.
A few potions, and everyone’s conscious again. “Wow, those guys were tough,” groans Kagera. “I could hardly hit them- and not at all on the toughest guy!”
“None of us could hurt him,” Sybele agrees. She shakes her head. That was a close one.
“We can’t forget how dangerous the Bile Lords and their servants are,” Thrush says in a hushed voice. “Trust me on this, I know.”
The party starts searching the bodies, and almost immediately a grim Orbius has bad news for him.
“That statue?” He gestures at Analin’s form. “It’s an illusion.”
***
5 pm, 9/28/368 O.L.G., inside Angelfire Mountain, uppermost level
Analin stands easily before the Bile Lord Zurtneg. He is not cowed; he is no servant to a mere Bile Lord. He serves their King directly.
“You were correct,” he rumbles at Zurtneg. “The adventurers are back. Several of them match the description you gave.”
Zurtneg studies the aag for a moment, his expression inscrutable. Then he nods as if to himself and issues a sending.
Release the bile stirges, he orders.
Next Time: Our heroes face hundreds and hundreds of bile breathing stirges!
*In Analin’s case, AC 59.
**Thank Orbius and his limited wish.
***In other words, Spring Attacking.
Tromping up through Bile Mountain, our heroes continue to explore. They almost cleared the entire place out once before; now only a few surviving monsters remain to oppose them, and most of them are no real challenge. A disgusting stink lingers in the passages and rooms; yellow stains are all over, and the walls are perforated with small holes eaten away by the bile over the centuries.
Lester can’t help but keep glancing at his wings. Overnight they have changed. Instead of the old, threatening, bat-style wings, they are now almost... angelic. It’s a wonder. How could something like this have happened?
Is it a sign? Are the angels of Heaven finally starting to accept him??
Edmund is a little annoyed. He hasn’t even gotten to swing his sword yet. He shakes his head. Why am I even here? he wonders idly, then shrugs. At least there’s a few coins to be made.
Suddenly there’s a sound from ahead- a loud snarling sound, the scraping of Thrush’s sword through flesh, something cries out...
“I’ll let you handle this,” Edmund says sardonically. He leans back against a wall and crosses his arms over his chest. “If you need anything, let me know.”
The party has come to a chamber with a staircase leading up, but a terrible creature stands snarling before them, guarding the stairway. It is a pale dead whitish-grey, obviously undead, with a long, snaky neck. Its ears are bat like; its large black eyes stare ahead hatefully. Cracked dirty claws emerge from its hands and leathery bat-wings beat the air behind its back. Thrush stands before it, having already chopped down its minions. Sir Maxwell rushes in, striking at the creature and smashing a hammer into it. There’s a crunching sound, but the creature remains standing. It retreats up the stairs, followed by Sybele, Lester and Maxwell, with Orbius in hot pursuit.
I’ve seen these before, here in Bile Mountain, Orbius realizes. His mind flicks through the enormous knowledge of undead that he’s accumulated over the years and recognizes it as an aag- a terribly powerful monster full of venom and negative energy. “Careful!” he calls after the others, “These things are dangerous!”
As it flees, the aag’s arm is blown off by a puncture from Orbius, and a succession of deadly magical vapors explode from his time stop, surrounding the creature and billowing through the hole at the top of the stairs! It grunts, then starts making passes through the air with its hand and snarling out some sort of profane utterances.
It’s too slow, however. Lester has already thrown a spell of his own, and a sunburst flashes through the chamber. There are cries and screams as almost everyone is blinded, but the aag is destroyed utterly. For just an instant, however, the L (or, as he now prefers, the Angel of Adventure) catches a glimpse of several more of the creatures outlined by the burst. He blinks the spots away, still able to see- four more of them! And a hand materializing between him and one of them... the L recognizes it as a Bigby’s interposing hand.
“Incoming!” he shouts, and then gives a yell of pain as one of them spits a gob of bile that bursts wetly over the group. He can hear Orbius, blinded, screaming for him. With a grunt of dismay, Lester thinks, To hell with it, and tosses another sunburst into the room. This one destroys the aag sorcerer who created the hand. Then a quickened pass through earth and stone and he is ready to sink into-
“Dammit!” he curses, as he glares at the stained rock of the walls. He could move into it, but then he’d be exposed to the bile. To hell with it, he thinks again firmly, and drops into the stone, moving into a better tactical position.
Sir Maxwell, meanwhile, swiftly moves in and engages one of the aags; but he is utterly unable to penetrate its defenses. The aag sneers at him, spittle spraying from its mealy grey mouth. It seems utterly contemptuous of his best efforts, and Sir Maxwell Norrington is not accustomed to being treated with contempt- much less by the undead!
“Garnet!” he cries, and swings again- a mighty blow, nearly the best he could possibly manage- to no avail! Maxwell gapes at the aag. How tough are these things??*
The aag laughs at him. “Analin,” it rumbles. “That is the name of your killer.” It smiles and lunges forward, slashes with its claws, biting, buffeting the paladin with its wings. Maxwell grunts and groans as the blows deal telling damage- and on top of the physical damage, he feels the scald of venom entering him from the bite. Negative energy courses through each blow, dealing terrible physical damage as well as draining his energy. Sir Maxwell gasps and withers before its assault, suffering terribly.
Suddenly- inexplicably- the blindness lifts.** Sybele blinks twice and moves into a firing position, but as she does Analin takes a bite out of her, his long snaky neck letting him reach her a surprising distance away. She fires a psionic shot at one of the other aags, hitting it. This one, she notes with dismay, is wearing full plate armor. It grins in her direction, clicking its claws together, but turns to a closer target- Lester. Even blinded, it manages to strike home with two claws. Lester groans and shudders as the energy drain hits him.
Kagera springs in and out of the melee, kicking and striking, but she can’t seem to hurt Analin. None of them can! And all of these aags are terrible tough... She whirls away again, moving so quickly that the enemy can’t strike back at her.***
Jezebel has been enhancing the group as much as possible, and Thrush, rendered greater invisible by her, finally clambers into the room just as Lester unleashes a blaze of divine flame and a tremendous series of electrical bolts. He lays about him but the aags are much tougher than he had expected and he misses. He draws his sword back into a guard position and makes a mental note to go for more accuracy and less strength to the blows on his next sequence of attacks. He grins fiercely; this might be a good fight at last.
Indeed.
Our heroes beat down the armored aag quickly, but they can’t even scratch the sneering Analin, and he drops Thrush in mere moments. “Honey!” cries Sybele. The terrible aag seems possessed of incredible, near-deific power.
The elemental blasts, powerful sorceries of Orbius and incredible skill at arms of our heroes slowly wear on one of the other aags. Three down, two to go thinks Sybele, but Analin still hasn’t been touched. Even the sunbursts didn’t harm him!
The party slowly hacks the last one other than Analin down, and then its them against the seemingly untouchable aag.
It glances around at its fallen companions, at Thrush’s bleeding form, at our wounded heroes. It chuckles and spits a huge gob of phlegm at Sir Maxwell’s feet.
The party and the aag rush together. Seeker missiles from Orbius manage to deal some damage at last, but it heals in seconds and things are back where they started, except that Lester and Sir Maxwell have a few more wounds. The paladin lunges again, and the aag catches the blow with his forearm, sneering and ignoring the force behind it. Maxwell gives a yell of frustration.
Analin relieves him of the burden of his frustration by beating him unconscious, smacking him across the head with a wing buffet. The knight of the chalice crumples to the ground.
Orbius and Lester are now concentrating their spell power on Analin, and though some of their magic gets through, the creature is clearly too powerful to overcome with damage before it overcomes them with its terrible claws and bite and wings. Orbius is staying below, firing what spells he can without actually being in its presence. Thanks to the extra eye he placed earlier on the Angel of Adventure, he can still see up there. Lester, cursing more colorfully than he has in several months, pulls the old flesh to stone trick out and tries that one- and to his amazement, it appears to succeed!
He draws back. “I... I think I got him,” he gasps. He’s bloodied and badly wounded.
A few potions, and everyone’s conscious again. “Wow, those guys were tough,” groans Kagera. “I could hardly hit them- and not at all on the toughest guy!”
“None of us could hurt him,” Sybele agrees. She shakes her head. That was a close one.
“We can’t forget how dangerous the Bile Lords and their servants are,” Thrush says in a hushed voice. “Trust me on this, I know.”
The party starts searching the bodies, and almost immediately a grim Orbius has bad news for him.
“That statue?” He gestures at Analin’s form. “It’s an illusion.”
***
5 pm, 9/28/368 O.L.G., inside Angelfire Mountain, uppermost level
Analin stands easily before the Bile Lord Zurtneg. He is not cowed; he is no servant to a mere Bile Lord. He serves their King directly.
“You were correct,” he rumbles at Zurtneg. “The adventurers are back. Several of them match the description you gave.”
Zurtneg studies the aag for a moment, his expression inscrutable. Then he nods as if to himself and issues a sending.
Release the bile stirges, he orders.
Next Time: Our heroes face hundreds and hundreds of bile breathing stirges!
*In Analin’s case, AC 59.
**Thank Orbius and his limited wish.
***In other words, Spring Attacking.
Mathew_Freeman
First Post
Sounds like an incredible fight! Could you put up the stats for that guy in your Rogue's Gallery thread? (if you do, could you post a link?)
the Jester
Legend
Already done. No link, but go look for the thread.
My players, as always, stay the hell outta there.
My players, as always, stay the hell outta there.
