Kulan: Knightfall's Crisis in Bluffside Game [IC]

[Knightfall]

"That's not what you said earlier. So, why do you think I'll just wait while you kill others? I came here to draw you away, not to save myself. I thought clerics are supposed to be wise. But I guess goblin blood remains dull regardless of personal power."
Loremaster goads the cleric trying to draw him away from the rest of the group.

Khagron ignores Akos verbal jab and keeps his focus on Big Tim.

Tim casually strolls toward the cleric, taking his time, looking almost whimsical as he sizes him up.

Tim says, "I've fought in many battles, both back home, and here. I have faced countless foes, of many varieties. All of them had some smart remark to make. Something to brag about. Some threat to make. But you know what? All of those enemies have one important thing in common: They're all dead now, by my hand. Why should you be any different? Watch this..."

Tim takes a single, half-hearted swipe at the bugbear, which misses. It's one of Tim's worst attempts, in fact. And as the towering knight grins from ear to ear, the bugbear can't help but wonder what will happen when Tim decides to get serious.

The bugbear raises his shield when Tim brings his greatsword around to strike, but he isn't even forced to block the blow. His infernal features are calm and when Tim smiles, Khagron's own face becomes twisted with a dark smile.

"You're friends seem to be in retreat," the infernal bugbear says. "I can't believe Phelix is so concerned about you Exemplars. You seem so... disorganized." He glances towards the open doorway on the other side of the room. He seems to want to say something else, but he instead steadies himself.

Custodio doesn't feel they should retreat and once Tim moves forward to confront the bugbear, he decides that he will flee unless one of his commanders orders him too. He incants a prayer to the Purifier and heals some of his wounds. Better to keep his potions in reserve. He moves forward to stand next to Falen.

"We cannot retreat, not yet," he says to Falen. "This villain must be put down."

Tuck quickly decides that he's not going anywhere while Mitrik still lives. He's not sure if the bugbear is one of Phelix's cronies. The devilish cleric seems to be more a hired assassin than a Loyalist. The kobold urban ranger rushes around to the other side of the room to stand next to Akos, just outside the antimagic zone.

He aims at Mitrik and fires two bolts at once from his crossbow. The thug doesn't see the shot coming. A bolt hits mitrik square in the back and the other hits the man in the back of the neck. Mitrik drops to the floor, dead.

Tuck grins at Akos. "One less Loyalist in the world."

The Cleric of Darkness, the bugbear named Khagron, now stands alone.

 

[Knightfall]

Khagron watches Mitrik die next to him, and he glance back towards Akos and Tuck. "A distraction... perhaps?"

He laughs and shakes his head. "It does not matter." He boldly steps toward Big Tim, Custodio, and Falen. He focuses his eyes main on the Tall Knight but he is careful not to give Falen or the Vanquisher cleric an opening. he begins to speak loud enough for all to hear.

"I speak to the Darkness now. I wish to tech these blasphemers a harsh lesson today. They speak of great deeds and destroying evil, but evil is eternal." He raises his mace in one clawed hand. "I beseech the Shadows of Forever to descend upon them and steal their heart and strength! Take from them their will, and if they found weak and wanting, their lives!"

A wave of evil fills the entire room. It spreads out in a powerful burst of sound and fury. The room is filled with wailing and screams of countless lives lost to power of evil and darkness. The power spreads through the open doorway and fills the corridor beyond.

OOC: Khagron uses Blasphemy as a spell-like ability. His caster level is equivalent to his total # of HD (11). Any creature/character with HD higher than his total HD is unaffected. (Thus, only the living altar is unaffected.) Akos is unaffected since he is in the antimagic zone. It is a 40-ft radius spread that is centred on the bugbear cleric. As a spread spell, it fills all available space. I'm not sure if the antimagic zone acts as barrier or as a nullification for its squares, but I'm assuming the latter. Regardless, the blasphemy fills the entire room and enough of the corridor to hit all the PCs and NPCs. There is no saving throw, but spell resistance would apply if Akos was hit by the blasphemy. The living altar's PR (-10) would also apply if it wasn't immune due to having more HD. Any creature/character with the same number of HD as the bugbear cleric is dazed for one round. (I don't think any of the characters have 11 HD.) If the creature/character has 7 to 10 HD, they are dazed and weakened. (Strength reduced by 2d6 for 2d4 rounds.) Any creature/character with 2 to 6 HD is dazed, weakened, and paralyzed (for 1d10 minutes). Any creature/character with 1 HD is killed. Rolls will be on the OOC thread.

 

[Knightfall]

The power of the evil cleric's ability slams into everyone in the room. Everyone and everything except Akos behind the antimagic field and the living altar, which is more powerful than the bugbear knows.

Tuck's strength is shattered and he falls down to the floor motionless. He is still conscious but he cannot move. His mind races as he lies there helpless.

The blasphemy hits both Spritewing and the unicorn the hardest. They are both paralyzed. The unicorn stands motionless While Spritewing topples to the floor under Rockhorn's weight.

The bugbear's power flow into the corridor beyond the room and hits everyone who had fled out of the room. Gattas gasps as he feels the strength being sapped from his body. "Damn! Worse than I thought! What was that? What did he do?"

"Blasphemy," Eeldai says with a gasp.

"Pathetic, you all are not worth my time," Khagron says. "You not as strong as Phelix believes. Killing you will be hardly a chore."

"Evil creature! You dare use such magic in this scared place! You shall pay for your hubris!" The alters telepathic mind rages out for all to hear.

"Oh be qui-"

Powerful crackling electric energy begins to spread across the living alter and then a powerful jolt blasts through the air to slam into the bugbear's back.

"What! N- no, not... possible!" The bugbear gasps in pain. His wings and back are completely charred and he gasps for air. "He did not say it... could... do... that."

The bugbear cleric falls to his knees. He looks up a Big Tim. "Damn, fighting you would have been fun, at least."

Then he falls to the floor, dead.

"What just happened?" Custodio says with a groan.

OOC: The bugbear died from massive damage. I rolled a one on his Fortitude save.

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

Spoiler: OOC Comment

I had that happen once, in my epic level campaign. A 65HD red dragon was affected by an epic version of Power Word Kill (Power Word Obliterate), after the PC broke through his Spell Resistance. But the only way he could fail his save was to roll a 1 on the die. Otherwise, he would take a mere 18d6 (avg. dam: 63 pts.), which he could easily shrug off.

He rolled a 1.