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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pacdidj" data-source="post: 5251162" data-attributes="member: 86793">Sir Exsixten swings his axe at Hekthesh, but the wicked midget deftly parries the blow with his steel boomerang and lashes out viciously with his shortsword in retaliation, stepping backward as he does so. Fortunately for the mechanical knight, his enchanted armor manages to bunch together in such a way as to barely deflect the force of the blow. Ferris' blow strikes true leaving a small but painful wound in the eyeless thrall's side.Cyr launches a volley of radiant blades that tear through the shadow tendrils, but all of them reform just seconds later. The blades do inflict significant damage against Hekthesh and one of the thralls however, leaving the thrall just barely hanging on to consciousness. The deva follows with a volley of searing light that causes one of the tendrils to split apart momentarily, and another to completely dissipate.-----Hekthesh then drives his blade home once more, carving another deep groove into Sir Exsixten's wooden frame. The dark one hisses, "This grows tiresome, and I am needed elsewhere." Hekthesh draws a small silver whistle from a cloak pocket, puts it to his lips and blows, causing it to emit a forlorn and distant-sounding wail. Shadows begin to pool and swirl next to Sir Exsixten, and you all hear a deep and threatening growl.[sblock="Perception 15, or low-light vision"]You see at the center of the swirling darkness the form of a hulking and vicious looking black dog.[sblock="Nature or Arcana 15"]The creature is a Shadow Hound, another denizen of Lauto's realm of Herebos.[/sblock][/sblock]"Yes, come to me my pet. Stay and finish these pathetic creatures. I must go now and assist my master with the ritual," Hekthesh says as he steps out across the chasm, walking on shadow as he would on solid ground. Sir Exsixten attempts to stop the fleeing dark one, but his axe swings wide.[sblock="Insight 18"]You catch a subtle but distinct note of irony in the way Hekthesh says 'master'. Perhaps he's not entirely happy serving Dhakanmirr?[/sblock]As Hekthesh moves to depart the battlefield, the tendrils of darkness swirl around the tightly clustered group, and the creature at the center of the shadows goes on the attack. You all hear a grief-filled gravelly howl, that for some reason strikes a chord with Jezebel and Ferris, rattling their nerves and weakening their defenses. The dark form, now having coalesced into the shape of some sort of canine then winks out of existence and reappears next to Ferris, bringing with it a dark haze that seems to swallow the light shed by Cyr's sunrod. Taking Ferris by surprise, the fearsome creature gives the shifter a savage bite.Meanwhile the tendrils of darkness surround Alnar, Jezebel, Cyr, and Ferris, and four the them belch their vile putrescence all over the party causing everyone to double over with pain and sickness. Ferris is nearly overcome by this bilious onslaught; and the final tendril, as if sensing the shifter's peril, darts toward Ferris, giving him a lash on the back that proves more than he can bear. Ferris drops to the ground, his wounds festering and putrefying rather than bleeding.The thralls renew their assault as well. Two of them, compelled by Jezebel's divine sanction, mount a coordinated attack on the tiefling. One manages to graze her with his sword, and the wound it leaves, though small, seems to have turned instantly gangrenous causing her ongoing pain. The final thrall standing alone against the mechanical knight can't seem to find purchase for its blade.[sblock="Lighting and Terrain - updated (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). Cyr's sunrod illuminates much of the battlefield with bright light, but the hound is surrounded by a Shroud of Night (aura 5) that reduces bright light to dim light, and dim light to darkness.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 3Hekthesh - Immediate Interrupt: <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/m.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":melee:" title="Melee    :melee:" data-shortname=":melee:" /> Shadow Parry vs. Sir X610 = miss thanks to Sir X610's Piecemeal Chainmail <a href="http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2613745/" target="_blank">(roll)</a>Standard: <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/bm.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":bmelee:" title="Basic Melee    :bmelee:" data-shortname=":bmelee:" />Shortsword vs. Sir X610 = hit <a href="http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2613748/" target="_blank">(roll)</a>for 18 damageMove: Darkstep to L15, provoking OA from Sir X610 = miss <a href="http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2613759/" target="_blank">(roll)</a>Minor: Blow Shadow Hound Whistle, calling the hound to I9Shadow Hound - Minor: Baying, close burst 5 = hits Jezebel and Ferris <a href="http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2613895/" target="_blank">(roll)</a>, who take -2 to all defenses till hound's EONTMove: Teleport to N12Standard: <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/bm.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":bmelee:" title="Basic Melee    :bmelee:" data-shortname=":bmelee:" />Bite Ferris = hit <a href="http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2613912/" target="_blank">(roll)</a> for 15 damageDark Servant Eyeless Thrall 1 - Dark Step to N8; aid DS3 vs. JezebelDark Servant Eyeless Thrall 2 - Shift to I10; <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/m.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":melee:" title="Melee    :melee:" data-shortname=":melee:" />Shadow's Wrath  vs. Sir X610 = miss <a href="http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2614023/" target="_blank">(roll)</a>Dark Servant Eyeless Thrall 3 - <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/m.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":melee:" title="Melee    :melee:" data-shortname=":melee:" />Shadow's Wrath vs. Jezebel = hit <a href="http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2613994/" target="_blank">(roll)</a>for 4+<a href="http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2613995/" target="_blank">4</a> = 8 damage, and Jezebel takes 5 ongoing necrotic damage (save ends)Rotshadow Tendril 1 - Shift to K8 up 1; Fetid Breath, blast 3 pointed southeast vs.  Alnar = miss, Jezebel = miss, Cyr = hit for 5-5 = 0 damage;Ferris  = hit for 5 damage <a href="http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2613948/" target="_blank">(roll)</a>Rotshadow Tendril 3 - Fly to O10 up 1 (over your heads); Fetid Breath, blast 3 pointed northward vs.  Alnar = hit for 5 damage, Jezebel = miss, Cyr = hit for 5-5 = 0 damage, Ferris  = hit for 5 damage <a href="http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2613958/" target="_blank">(roll)</a>Rotshadow Tendril 5 - Fly to K12 up 1; Fetid Breath, blast 3 pointed northward vs.   Alnar = hit for 5 damage, Jezebel = hit for 5 damage, Cyr = hit  for 5-5 = 0 damage, Ferris  = miss <a href="http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2613982/" target="_blank">(roll)</a>Rotshadow Tendril 6 - Fly to N12 up 1; <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/bm.gif"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":bmelee:" title="Basic Melee    :bmelee:" data-shortname=":bmelee:" />Tendril Caress vs. Ferris = hit <a href="http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2613998/" target="_blank">(roll)</a>, because of the hound's defense penalty, for 5 damage. Ferris goes down and is dying.Rotshadow Tendril 8 - Fetid Breath, blast 3 pointed southward vs. Alnar = miss, Jezebel = hit for 5 damage, Cyr = miss, Ferris = miss <a href="http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2613929/" target="_blank">(roll)</a> and Jezebel must save at the end of encounter or contract Filth Fever; Shift to J9 up 2TrackingPCs:Alnar - 15/31 HP, bloodied; +4 AC till Cyr's EONT; Exposed to Filth FeverCyr - 16/26 HP, 12 THP; Exposed to Filth FeverFerris - -2/29 HP, prone, unconscious, dying; -2 all defenses till EONT; Exposed to Filth FeverJezebel - 31/37 HP; -2 all defenses till EONT; Ongoing 5 necrotic damage; Exposed to Filth FeverSir Exsixten - 12/33 HP, bloodied; +4 AC till Cyr's EONT; Grants CA to Hekthesh till EONT; +1 to hit till Cyr's EONTBaddies:Hekthesh - 22 damage taken; marked by Sir X610Shadow Hound - Eyeless Thrall 1 - 33/38 HP; Shadow's Wrath Recharged; -5 to hit till Jezebel's EONT; 7 damage for attacks not including JezebelEyeless Thrall 2 - 38/38 HP; Shadow's Wrath Recharged and usedEyeless Thrall 3 - 2/38 HP, bloodied; Shadow's Wrath Recharged and used; marked by Jezebel, 7 damage for attacks that don't include her till her EONTRotshadow Tendril 1 - HP: 1/1; Incorporeal Form used, Fetid Breath used; marked by Jezebel, 7 damage for attacks that don't include her till her EONTRotshadow Tendril 2 - DeadRotshadow Tendril 3 - HP: 1/1; Incorporeal Form used, Fetid Breath used; marked by Jezebel, 7 damage for attacks that don't include her till her EONTRotshadow Tendril 4 - DeadRotshadow Tendril 5 - HP: 1/1; Incorporeal Form used, Fetid Breath usedRotshadow Tendril 6 - HP: 1/1; Incorporeal Form used, Fetid Breath used Rotshadow Tendril 7 - DeadRotshadow Tendril 8 - HP: 1/1; Incorporeal Form used, Fetid Breath used; marked by Jezebel, 7 damage for attacks that don't include her till her EONT* - marks are indicated on the map with a square halo in the marking PC's colorStatsHekthesh - AC: 20; Fort: 15, Ref: 19, Will: 17Shadow Hound - ?Dark Servant Eyeless Thrall - AC: 17; Fort: 14, Ref: 16, Will: 14Rotshadow Tendril - AC: 16; Fort: 13, Ref: 14, Will: 13[/sblock]</blockquote>

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