Round 2, continued
Atreus threatens Arnest, then leaps acrobatically over the specter. Unfortunately, his brilliant leap carries him directly into another specter, invisible until now. He feels a cold chill sap his strength, and the shock distracts him enough that both specters are able to get through his defenses. Undeterred, he whirls and stabs the first specter, dissipating a wide swath of its shadowy substance. The specter's translucent outline now appears ragged and tenuous; it is close to losing its grip on unlife.
(ooc: Atreus provokes OAs from specter 1 and specter 3, which was invisible until now. I gave him an extra +1 AC for being cool, but the specters weren't having it; they both hit him anyways for 15 total necrotic damage. In addition, Atreus discovers that the specters have an aura: adjacent enemies take -2 to defenses. Atreus hits with sly flourish for 11 after insubstantial; specter 1 is bloodied. Finally, Woe would get a combat challenge attack on specter 1, but he's not adjacent.)
Arnest glares at Atreus, but then he shoots Palindrome a begrudgingly grateful look.
"Thank you for the protective spell." He stands, and orders his bodyguards,
"Kill this one," indicating the faltering specter in front of him. Arcane energies form at his fingertips.
(ooc: stands up, readies an attack for when specter 1 dies)
The nearest bodyguard leaps to his feet and swings his axe in a professional arc, smearing a bit more of the specter's substance away, but not yet killing it. The next bodyguard steps out of Palindrome's illusory shadows and finishes the specter. The bodyguard steps in front of Arnest.
(ooc: orc 3 hits for 4 damage after insubstantial. Orc 2 hits for 6 after insubst., killing it. Orc 2 shifts into P6.)
Arnest, ready now that he is no longer threatened by the shadow, unleashes a blast of lightning from his fingertips, destroying three of the wraiths.
(ooc: dancing lightning hits wraith 4, 7, and 8, killing them.)
The last bodyguard steps forward and strikes at the newly appeared specter, a careful but feeble blow. Still, it draws the creature's attention. As the half orc moves, the mote becomes visible again.
(ooc: orc 1 moves to P8, provoking an OA from mote 1, which was invisible, that misses. orc 1 hits specter 3, shifting into P7.)
The westernmost specter drifts closer to Woe. Woe and Tander feel the draining chill of the creature's proximity. It exhales another cloud of sickly white vapor. Tander withstands the miasma, but Woe, Arnest, and two of his bodyguards sway and fall to the ground again. (ooc: specter 2 moves to Q3. Woe and Tander are in its aura and take -2 to defenses. It uses spectral breath missing Tander, but
hitting Woe, Arnest, Orc 3, and Orc 2. They take
13 psychic damage and fall prone. Woe is bloodied.)[/i]
The other specter blasts out a cloud of unholy vapor as well, encompassing the same group, with similarly devastating effect; only one of the orcs escapes the effect.
(ooc: spectral breath, same blast area. Woe eats a crit, everyone except orc 3 is hit, for 8 psychic damage and knocked prone. Woe takes 14.)
The mote, newly appeared where one of the bodyguards stood, flits over next to Arnest's supine form. It flashes with an intense cold light, then disappears again.
(ooc: mote 1 was in Q9, and it did get hit by Palindrome's grasping shadows earlier, so it's slowed. It moves to Q8 and uses Chill of the Grave, close burst 2. Only hits Arnest, for 9 cold damage, and Arnest gains vulnerable 3 cold (save ends). The mote disappears again.)
Two other motes appear in similar flashes of blinding cold, and immediately disappear. Miraculously, only Atreus is hit by the first blast, but the second is devastating. Woe, Atreus, and Arnest fall unconscious. Arnest manages to twist his body and look Palindrome in the eye as he crumples.
"I don't think your protective spell is working," he quips.
"Remember: if I fall, your deeds will come to light." (ooc: mote 2 and 3 appear in O5 and P5, respectively. Same attack; mote 2
hits only Atreus (the roll is a 9, but Atreus has -2 to defenses from the specter aura, and the mote is flanking him with the specter for CA, which hits his fort of 13 exactly). Atreus takes 6 cold damage and gains 3 vuln cold (save ends). The second mote
hits specter 2, Woe, Arnest, Atreus, and orc 1. They take
8 cold damage, and Atreus and Arnest take 3 more from vulnerability. All those guys gain 3 vuln. cold (save ends). Arnest, Atreus, and Woe are unconscious. Orc 1 becomes bloodied.)
Finally, three more wraiths emerge from the trees. Two attack Palindrome, and the third heads for one of the bodyguards. Palindrome avoids both attacks, but the bodyguard is not so lucky.
(ooc: wraiths 9, 10, and 11 come out. 9 hits orc 1; 10 and 11 miss Palindrome. rolls)
[sblock=initiative and status]
Tander hp
17/29 surges 8/8, prone
<=== You're up
Woe hp
-5/40 surges 10/10, dying, prone, vulnerable 3 cold (save ends)
Palindrome hp 24/24 surges 6/6
Atreus hp
-3/29 surges 7/7 +2 to attack rolls TENT (tander), dying, vulnerable 3 cold (save ends)
Arnest
47 damage, dying, prone, +2 to attack rolls TENT (tander), "protective spell" from Palindrome, vulnerable 3 cold (save ends)
Half orc 1
29 damage, bloodied, slowed TENT (wraith 10), vulnerable 3 cold (save ends)
Half orc 2
26 damage, bloodied, prone, slowed TENT (palindrome)
Half orc 3
19 damage, prone, +2 to attack rolls TENT (tander)
specter 1 destroyed
specter 2
unharmed
specter 3
4 damage, vulnerable 3 cold (save ends)
mote 1
unharmed, invisible, last seen in Q8
mote 2
unharmed, invisible, last seen in O5.
mote 3
unharmed, invisible, last seen in P5.
wraith 1 destroyed
wraith 2 destroyed
wraith 3 destroyed
wraith 4 destroyed
wraith 5 destroyed
wraith 6 destroyed
wraith 7 destroyed
wraith 8 destroyed
wraith 9
wraith 10
wraith 11
Zones in effect:
* burst 1 around Q9: grasping shadows. Until Palindrome's ENT, creatures who enter the zone take 4 psychic and are slowed TENT(palindrome)
* enemies adjacent to specters take -2 to defenses.
Resources used:
specter 2: spectral breath
specter 3: spectral breath
Tander: divine glow
Palindrome: grasping shadows
[/sblock]
[sblock=map]
[/sblock]
ooc: Whew! That was some update. I count 30 attack rolls I made in that round, and that's not including Arnest and the Tuskettes.
)
