The Closed Eye, part II (DM: covaithe, Judge: garyh)

[Dunamin]

What remains of Tander's sanity is shattered at the sight of Woe and Atreus chasing the half-orcs

"What... WHAT MADNESS IS THIS? WOE??!?!? ATREUS?!?!?"

"WE ARE GETTING KILLED OVER HERE! BY THE NINE HELLS I WILL !@#$ @!#$ THESE !@#$ SHADES INTO THEIR !@#$ HOLES WITH @!#$ AND BLAST !@#$ OF !#$% !%!@#$% $%"

“Don’t despair, Tander!” Woe shouts back. “The fact that our efforts have proven ineffective against those floating orbs is the reason why some of us have - and all of us should - withdraw from them for now!”

“As to these half-orc bodyguards, they have… You see… Hmm… Oh! … These bodyguards have clearly been possessed by ghosts from the field!”

“Yeah, that actually sounds sort of remotely plausible. Or at least remotely possible. I guess.”

The warrior taps his spear thoughtfully against his chin and shrugs.

“Uh… Have faith in Merkari!”

Woe drinks a healing potion and refocuses his attention on the immediate threat before him.

“You can’t fool me, vile spirit!” he screams at the top of his lungs, fixing a menacing glare at Goldtusk.

“I can tell that you have taken possession of this dentally challenged half-orc, by the undead smell of rot, decomposition, and complete absence of personal hygiene that’s reeking from him.”

Woe sighs loudly and a look of determination comes over him.

“Though it pains me so, I have no choice but to destroy this loathsome and repulsive host body you’ve chosen! If you’re in there somewhere, Goldie Locks, know that you’ll soon enough be in a better place!”

With a fervent thrust he strikes out at one of Goldtusk’s shoulders, but it turns out that his aim is compromised by the giggling and snickering that Woe can hardly suppress.

[sblock=Actions]Woe drinks a potion and attacks with Comeback Strike. He hits AC 15 (marking), which misses with Goldtusk having 20+. Since Comeback Strike is reliable, its unspent.

Woe Chinua - Human Fighter 2
Passive Perception 12, Passive Insight 12
AC 20, Fort 19, Reflex 17, Will 14
HP 26/40, Bloodied 20, Surge Value 10, Surges 8/11
Speed 5, Initiative +3
Action Points: 0, Second Wind
Powers: Cleave, Crushing Surge, Tide of Iron; Pass Forward; Spear of Myrdroon's Shard;
Steel Serpent Strike; Comeback Strike, Inspiring Word; Spear of Myrdroon's Shard
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[covaithe]

[sblock=Out of Character]

While I, on the other hand, am going to use LOTS of monsters with at-will invisibility powers. I had no idea they could be so much trouble! Did you make these from scratch?

No, they're from Dragon 375. I stumbled across them while browsing the compendium for interesting undead monsters. http://www.wizards.com/dndinsider/compendium/monster.aspx?id=3190

Is the radiating cold-flash power a melee attack? From the text, I got it was some kind of burst.

Close burst 2. But what Atreus got hit with this turn was a melee attack, not the flashy-thing.

Now that I look at the stat block again, I see that Chill of the Grave has the close blast icon. It clearly says burst in the text, though. I wonder if it's supposed to be a blast instead. Seems unlikely...
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[Dunamin]

[sblock=OOC]Since we're on the subject and since the specters are long-dead gone, what exactly were they?

I get now how the motes can attack and turn invisible on the same turn, but I'm still puzzled by how the specters did it.[/sblock]

 

[covaithe]

[sblock=OOC]

Since we're on the subject and since the specters are long-dead gone, what exactly were they?

I get now how the motes can attack and turn invisible on the same turn, but I'm still puzzled by how the specters did it.

Dragonborn Specter. Their invisibility is a standard action. They shouldn't have been able to attack and disappear in one turn; if they did it was a mistake on my part. I thought I was pretty careful about having them disappear, then attack on the next turn, then disappear on the next turn, etc....
Did I screw that up?
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[Atriden]

"What... WHAT MADNESS IS THIS? WOE??!?!? ATREUS?!?!?"

"WE ARE GETTING KILLED OVER HERE! BY THE NINE HELLS I WILL !@#$ @!#$ THESE !@#$ SHADES INTO THEIR !@#$ HOLES WITH @!#$ AND BLAST !@#$ OF !#$% !%!@#$% $%"

“As to these half-orc bodyguards, they have… You see… Hmm… Oh! … These bodyguards have clearly been possessed by ghosts from the field!”

Looking seriously at Tander Atreus responds " Possessed or not possessed, if you cherish your life Tander, then we must secure Arnest's body or have you forgotten his threats! We will fight these undeads another day " and Atreus carefully moves away from the mote to get a better angle on the fleeing half-orc. He then quickly reloads his sling and with a sigh fires at him but Atreus watches in horror as the bullet flies way past his target. For the first time during his lifetime, he is enraged and gives in for his frustration and let's out a furious scream " YOU BETTER RUN FAST, FOR I AM COMING FOR YOUR MASTER ! "

[sblock=Actions]
Move Action: Shifts to T10
Standard Action:Uses sly flourish against half-orc 1. Hits AC 7 ( Natural 1)and Does 13 damage.
Minor Action: ( I wish I had a healing potion )
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[covaithe]

Round 7

Tander howls with rage and fires a blast of holy light deep into the trees. (miss)

Palindrome's fireball flounces across the path and attempts to hug thin air, complaining all the while. His lonely arms find no companionship this time. (miss. With the penalties for invisibility and being prone, you're gonna need a natural 20 to hit with that attack. Scorching burst with that roll would have hit. Just sayin'.)

Woe drinks a healing potion, and does a lot of talking, making very little sense. He then attacks, but the burly half orc was not distracted by all the chatter, and bats the spear aside. (miss. This isn't you guys' day for the dice. )

Atreus carefully vacates his square, then looses a blast of invective at the fleeing bodyguard along with a sling bullet. The attack is no more effective than the threats, which is to say, not at all.

"Who you callin' dentally challenged, herbivore," the metal-toothed half orc sneers, but his answering blow is easily blocked by Woe's shield. (miss. Woe is no longer marked or slowed.)

The other bodyguard continues running, making good distance down the hill. (double run takes him 14 squares south. He's now 24 squares south of Woe.)

Atreus feels the mote enter his square and begins thrashing wildly. Either it worked, or luck is with him, for the expected chill touch does not come. The mote appears for a moment, darting forward right between Atreus' legs, then disappears. (natural 1. mote 1 is in Atreus' square again.)

Two bursts of cold explode out again from either side of Tander and Palindrome, just where they previously were. The westernmost mote looks a bit more ragged than before, but its chilling radiance is undiminished. Tander avoids one blast completely, but the other catches him full on, nearly dropping him in his tracks. When his vision clears, he sees Palindrome's crumpled body, unmoving, staring glassy-eyed into the sky. Happy's enormous fiery grin changes to an open-mouthed O of horror, and then he disappears, leaving only a wisp of reeking smoke behind him. Both motes disappear again. (mote 2 takes 3 damage after resists for starting near Happy, bloodying it. They attack. Tander takes one hit for 9 damage. Palindrome is hit twice, for 6 and then for 9, taking an extra 3 on the second hit from cold vulnerability. Rolls. That takes Palindrome's HP to -12, which exactly matches his bloodied value expressed as a negative number. Thus, he becomes the first L4W PC to die. Uh, congratulations? Happy, as a conjuration, disappears immediately when you die.)



[sblock=initiative and status]

Tander hp 1/29 surges 7/8, bloodied, +5 to healing, +2 defenses TSNT <=== You're up
Woe hp 26/40 surges 7/10
Palindrome hp -12/24 dead
Atreus hp 8/29 surges 3/7, bloodied, slowed TENT
Arnest dead
Half orc 1 40 damage, bloodied, carrying Arnest's body. 24 squares south of Woe.
Half orc 2 dead
Goldtusk 10 damage, marked by Woe
specter 1 destroyed
specter 2 dead
specter 3 dead
mote 1 4 damage, invisible, last seen in S10
mote 2 9 damage, invisible, last seen in R3.
mote 3 13 damage, invisible, last seen in S7
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 destroyed
wraith 10 destroyed
wraith 11 destroyed

Resources used:
Tander: divine glow, beacon of hope, AP, 2xHealing word, turn undead, second wind
Palindrome: grasping shadows, flaming sphere, AP
Atreus: second wind, AP
Woe: Second Wind, AP
[/sblock]

[sblock=map]

[/sblock]

 

[KenHood]

Well...

Does Palindrome come back as a specter?

Oh, and I already applied the penalty for being prone to the attack roll.

If you guys resurrect Palindrome, I am going to be VERY dissappointed in your roleplaying!

[sblock=DM Only]When the ***** loot my character's body, don't forget that he's got mousetraps, broken glass, and rusty nails in his pockets![/sblock]

 

[nerdytenor]

Tander watches, dumbfounded, as Palindrome is reduced to a heap of lifeless flesh by the motes.

"Palindrome?" he says, childlike.

The chill of the motes strikes Tander severely, and he almost collapses as well. But on some level he barely notices, his mind consumed with his fallen comrade. Tander's failure.

"Palindrome?"

After everything they had been through, and everything that had just been revealed to Tander... It is too much. Too much for his feeble human mind to handle.

Tander swoons...

[sblock=Divine Intervention]
"Oh, Tander. Don't give up yet!" Once again in his car-salesman outfit, Tander's God wears a shockingly inappropriate mischievous grin given the circumstances.

Tander stands, mute, in the empty white room.

"There, there, old buddy. I'm sorry about the wizard. Heck, he was my kind of mortal!" He chuckles. "Lotta trouble, that one. Had a heck of a story of his own..."

"But look, Tander. You're not done yet. Don't give up. I'm gonna give you a little boost - little pick-me up, ok? Now see if you can't make it through."

"And if I may suggest you might want to consider RUNNING!!!!!!"

He gives Tander a swift push through the aether...
[/sblock]

, and is miraculously renewed (OOC: Cure Light Wounds heals Tander for 16). He quickly moves in the direction of Atreus, trying not to think about his fallen comrade (OOC move 5 squares East) while he searches for signs of the hated motes (OOC Perception 12)



[sblock=Tander Stat Block]

Tander Oaksmith, Human Cleric 2
Passive Perception 15, Passive Insight 20
AC 17, Fort 14, Reflex 15, Will 19
Resist 5 poison
HP 17/29, Bloodied 14, Surge Value 7, Surges 7/8
Speed 5, Initiative +7
Action Points: 0

Current Effects
+5 to healing powers, that is, if there were any left...

Encounter Resources
Spiteful Glamor
USED Divine Glow
USED Healing Word One
USED Healing Word Two
USED Channel Divinity (Turn Undead or Divine Fortune)
USED Second Wind
USED Use Action Point

Daily Resources
USED Beacon of Hope
USED Cure Light Wounds
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[Atriden]

[sblock=This isn't good]
We need to run away, and now. If Tander can get in range of Woe's inspiring word or close enough to get his healing potion we could still make it out alive.

Kenhood: Damn, it sucks that Palindrome is dead, are you sure you don't want us to resurrect him? We could make up some excuse to bring him back to life .
If Covaithe gives his permission, Tander could drop his perception check and pick Palindrome up instead, if it is of course all right with Tander that is.
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[nerdytenor]

[sblock=Body parts]
Hmmm... Don't know if I can pull a body as a minor action, can I? Tander has 8 for Str. Pulling him along would be in character, though...
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