Companions rain blows and magic upon monstrosity, blood-red glow of druidic pillars filling them with inhuman might and fury. Creature reels under the attacks, helplessly roaring its fury as massive chunks of rotting flesh and bone are stripped from its form. Yet as fury of heroes' assault vanes, monster twitches and howls, shaking its broken, frozen and burnt form. Obviously terribly hurt, but still moving, it lets loose high pitched howl preparing for what will surely be its last attack.
Stench of countless rotting corpses spreads around it, permeating the grove, filling area with black poison mist:
[sblock="monster action, free on being bloodied"] Creature activates aura:
Fetid swamp: aura 30: at start of creature's turn, all living subjects in aura take 5 poison and necrotic damage.
Note: strictly speaking, aura was activated as it was bloodied, but will resolve it here for simplicity.
[/sblock]
As creature twitches its tendrils, preparing for attack, unstable runes detonate, explosions missing companions, but hitting the
monster itself, tearing into its crumbling form and causing it to phase out, becoming barely visible and mist-like.
[sblock="runes explode"] all PCs are out of blast radius (close burst 1 around rune), but monster is hit
Rift explodes (attack vs horror) (1d20+18=21), creature takes 15 force damage and is phased until end of its next turn
[/sblock]
However, as creature phases out, it does not prevent vines from attacking. Tendrils cut into Lerrick and Martelai and try to crush Vermithrax, inflicting moderate wounds to companions apart from warlock who seems totally unhurt by monster's assault.
[sblock="vines attack"]
Bladed vine rends Lerrick for 11 +5 (vuln.) = 16 damage (
Vine vs Lerrick, attack vs AC (1d20+18=25)
Bladed vine misses Martelai (and dies)
Crushing vine crushes Vermithrax for 14 +5 = 19 damage (
Vine vs Vermithrax, attack vs AC (1d20+18=23))
[/sblock]
Still letting loose its howl, horror finally attacks, retching poison, rising new vines from the depths of the swamp
and finally swingings its tendrils toward Martelai. It grabs warlock, but being only half-way here, it inflicts only minor wound,
lessened even further by touch of holy energy coming from Cyr
[sblock="horror actions"]
-> Aura: everyone takes 5 necrotic and poison damage (+5 for vulnerability for total of 10)
-> Free: new vines appear (see map) [Note: 6 of them this time]
-> Standard: tendrils against Martelai: hit, 16 damage -10 for iron to glass, halved as monster is
phased to 3 (
Horror vs Martelai (vs AC) (1d20+14=26))
-> Cyr prevents 5 damage, grants Martelai +1 to hit; Martelai takes 0 damage and is grabbed
[/sblock]