Cyr's burst of lightning zaps one of the shadowy tendrils, causing it to dissipate into the surrounding night. The dark ones and the other tendril however, manage to recoil quickly enough that they are unharmed.
-----
The tendrils of darkness swoop down, surrounding your party, two of them lashing out at Alnar, leaving ugly, festering wounds. One of them wraps itself around Jezebel's leg causing the tiefling a minor annoyance, and another exhales its burden of noxious fumes all over Ferris and Cyr, causing the shifter and the deva to go green as their stomachs turn in absolute revulsion.
The eyeless dark ones meanwhile launch a direct assault against the party, drawing their short swords. You are once again surprised to see one of their number simply step over the shadowy chasm as if the darkness within it were a solid object. The thralls lash out at your party, but to no avail. Perhaps their lack of any apparent eyesight hinders their aim.
Hekthesh, watching his underlings' ineffectual display, gives a disgusted chuckle, and says,
"It's up to me then, is it?" The malevolent half-pint then bursts into a flurry of motion. He once-again launches his boomerang in a wide arc, and its razor-sharp edge clips Alnar, Cyr, and Ferris as it passes by, leaving them with deep gashes. As the weapon flies, the little man steps sideways, draws a short sword from a sheath on his belt, and charges toward Sir Exsixten. Just as he catches his returning boomerang in his off-hand, Hekthesh lashes out at the mechanical knight, driving his small blade deep into an exposed area of Sir Exsixten's wooden frame.
[sblock="Lighting and Terrain (important!)"]The moon sheds dim light on the battlefield. If you have normal vision, everything in dim light is lightly obscured (-2 to melee/ranged attacks vs. non-adjacent enemies), but this doesn't apply right now, since Cyr lit a sunrod, which effectively lights the entire area.
The shadowy, arm-looking thing is a chasm in the center of the battelfield. A fall into it may be survivable, but it looks like a long way down. The chasm can be jumped using the athletics rules for horizontal jumps on pp. 182-183. The chasm is mostly 1 square wide, except at the western end (columns 5 and 6), where you'd need to jump over 2 squares to clear it. The dark area in the northeast of the map, past column 17 and row K is a sheer drop. It is far less likely that anyone pushed off such a precipice would survive.
The fallen pillars (C3-B4 and L8) and the stump (H13) are effectively low walls granting cover and partial concealment, but also blocking line of sight. The thick foliage of the ironwood trees placed around the map grant superior cover and total concealment vs. non-adjacent creatures, and they block line of sight.[/sblock]
[sblock="Enemy Actions, Tracking, and Stats"]
Round 2
Hekthesh -
Standard:
Dark Arc vs. Alnar =
hit for 6 damage, Cyr =
hit for 9 damage, Ferris =
hit for 8 damage
(roll)
Move: Shift to I8
Minor: Draw Short Sword
Free: Action Point
Standard:
Charge Sir Exsixten, moving to I10 =
hit (roll) for 18 damage (ouch! max damage)
Dark Servant Eyeless Thrall 1 -
Shadow's Wrath vs. Jezebel =
miss (roll)
Dark Servant Eyeless Thrall 2 - Shift to H11;
Shadow's Wrath vs. Sir Exsixten =
miss (roll)
Dark Servant Eyeless Thrall 3 - Move:
Dark Step to L10 via J10, K11, provoking OA from X610 =
miss (roll)
Shadow's Wrath vs. Alnar =
miss (roll)
Rotshadow Tendril 1 - Move to L8 up 0,
Tendril Caress vs. Alnar =
hit (roll) for 5 necrotic damage
Rotshadow Tendril 2 - Move to M4 up 0; Aid DS1 vs. Jezebel
Rotshadow Tendril 3 - Shift to J11;
Tendril Caress vs. Sir Exsixten =
miss (roll)
Rotshadow Tendril 5 -
Charges Sir Exsixten, moving to I12, using
Tendril Caress =
miss (roll)
Rotshadow Tendril 6 - Move to N13 up 0,
Fetid Breath - Blast 3, originating in N13, pointed west to encompass Cyr =
hit for 5-5 (resist) = 0 necrotic, and Ferris =
hit for 5 necrotic; Cyr and Ferris must save or contract Filth Fever
(roll)
Rotshadow Tendril 7 - Shift to N11;
Tendril Caress vs. Ferris =
miss (roll)
Rotshadow Tendril 8 - Move to K10 up 1;
Tendril Caress vs. Alnar =
hit (roll) for 5 necrotic damage
Tracking
PCs:
Alnar - 10/31 HP, bloodied; Exposed to Filth Fever; Dazed and Deafened till EONT
Cyr - 11/26 HP, bloodied; Exposed to Filth Fever
Ferris - 16/29 HP; Exposed to Filth Fever
Jezebel -
Sir Exsixten - 18/33 HP
Baddies:
Hekthesh - 11 damage taken; -2 to hit till Alnar's EONT
Eyeless Thrall 1 - Shadow's Wrath Used
Eyeless Thrall 2 - Shadow's Wrath Used
Eyeless Thrall 3 - 11 damage taken; Shadow's Wrath Used; -2 to hit till Alnar's EONT
Rotshadow Tendril 1 - HP: 1/1
Rotshadow Tendril 2 - HP: 1/1
Rotshadow Tendril 3 - HP: 1/1
Rotshadow Tendril 4 - Dead
Rotshadow Tendril 5 - HP: 1/1
Rotshadow Tendril 6 - HP: 1/1; Fetid Breath used
Rotshadow Tendril 7 - HP: 1/1; Fetid Breath used, Incorporeal Form used
Rotshadow Tendril 8 - HP: 1/1
Stats
Hekthesh - Fort: 15
Dark Servant Eyeless Thrall - Fort: 14
Rotshadow Tendril - Ac: 16; Ref: 14[/sblock]
[sblock=ooc]Just a quick note to let you know that I'm leaving again this weekend, and may not be able to update again till Monday. I'll try to post mini-updates the rest of the afternoon though, for anyone who takes their turn in the next few hours.[/sblock]
Basic Attack Quarterstaff +5 vs AC 1d8+2
Ranged Basic Attack Acid Orb +5 vs. Reflex 1d10+4+2 acid damage
Basic Attack Quarterstaff +5 vs AC 1d8+2
Ranged Basic Attack Acid Orb +5 vs. Reflex 1d10+4+2 acid damage
[/sblock]
[/sblock]
