Agents of Chaos (Final Update!)
- Thread starter the Jester
- Start date
the Jester
Legend
Talix said:Woah - hope they're not too late to deal with the Temple of Elemental Evil - I assume you've got consequences planned if they just never get around to it?
Well, remember that commune that said that there were only three Elemental Princes of Evil there...?
the Jester
Legend
The Battle of Pesh
"What do we do?" gasps Orbius.
"We've got to help the people of Pesh," Zeebo argues.
The party has stopped in their vaporous forms half a mile from the walls of the city. The roar of battle rages all around below them.
"We should destroy the ships," Sheva says, her fierce gaze directed at the naval battle. The wedge of ships fires a volley of great ballista bolts into the Chaos ships, and they look like they're heading in to ram as well. Sailors are abandoning ship. One of the Forinthian vessel shatters as huge tentacles abruptly heave out of the water and wrap around it with crushing force.
A loud BANG in the distance announces the Valonian orcish vessels, their sunpowder cannons fully deployed. They're fighting for Law in this battle- no doubt another of their attempts to become accepted as a civilized race. The orcish ships are long and broad and deep, heavily plated with armor. They're slow but strong and the sunpowder cannons have a better range than the more conventional catapults and ballistas firing from most of the ships.
Sea monsters are clashing- Dagon's demonic servants attacking from below but finding themselves engaging an army of dolphins and merellin, a race of dolphinweres. Both races- they are, after all, cousins- are known as the good guys of the sea. And they have larger big brothers with them, too: several powerful whale sorcerers. The sea seems to boil in places, to freeze in others; in some places it even burns with the oils of warfare and slaughter.
Within the walls, Pesh City is undergoing multiple assaults- maybe by both sides. It's hard to tell- the smoke is cloying. There is one obvious major battle that Zeebo's got his eye on.
"I don't have any interest in fighting Forinthians," Horbin says. "They serve my god... though not always in ways that serve the greater good. They are sometimes blinded by the Law..."
"I want to attack the ships," Angelfire says.
"We'll split up," Lester says. "Orbius, take my trump. Go with Zeebo, and try to take control of that situation. We can keep in touch through the trump."
Sheva casts a spell to send a mental message to her imp, then tells Zeebo, "Habiskis should be joining you shortly over there."
The entire party heads towards the food battle first- it's on the way to the ships- and then they split up for a brief while.
Next Time: Attack on the Flagship of Law!
"What do we do?" gasps Orbius.
"We've got to help the people of Pesh," Zeebo argues.
The party has stopped in their vaporous forms half a mile from the walls of the city. The roar of battle rages all around below them.
"We should destroy the ships," Sheva says, her fierce gaze directed at the naval battle. The wedge of ships fires a volley of great ballista bolts into the Chaos ships, and they look like they're heading in to ram as well. Sailors are abandoning ship. One of the Forinthian vessel shatters as huge tentacles abruptly heave out of the water and wrap around it with crushing force.
A loud BANG in the distance announces the Valonian orcish vessels, their sunpowder cannons fully deployed. They're fighting for Law in this battle- no doubt another of their attempts to become accepted as a civilized race. The orcish ships are long and broad and deep, heavily plated with armor. They're slow but strong and the sunpowder cannons have a better range than the more conventional catapults and ballistas firing from most of the ships.
Sea monsters are clashing- Dagon's demonic servants attacking from below but finding themselves engaging an army of dolphins and merellin, a race of dolphinweres. Both races- they are, after all, cousins- are known as the good guys of the sea. And they have larger big brothers with them, too: several powerful whale sorcerers. The sea seems to boil in places, to freeze in others; in some places it even burns with the oils of warfare and slaughter.
Within the walls, Pesh City is undergoing multiple assaults- maybe by both sides. It's hard to tell- the smoke is cloying. There is one obvious major battle that Zeebo's got his eye on.
"I don't have any interest in fighting Forinthians," Horbin says. "They serve my god... though not always in ways that serve the greater good. They are sometimes blinded by the Law..."
"I want to attack the ships," Angelfire says.
"We'll split up," Lester says. "Orbius, take my trump. Go with Zeebo, and try to take control of that situation. We can keep in touch through the trump."
Sheva casts a spell to send a mental message to her imp, then tells Zeebo, "Habiskis should be joining you shortly over there."
The entire party heads towards the food battle first- it's on the way to the ships- and then they split up for a brief while.
Next Time: Attack on the Flagship of Law!
the Jester
Legend
The Battle of Pesh (wide view)
Let's take a look at the big picture here.
There are over a million individuals clashing here, with summoned allies clashing across multiple planes. The Chaos fleet got here first; Pesh closed its doors and was besieged; and the Forinthian Fleet arrived to put some serious hurting on the Chaos fleet.
For the past several days the battle's raged hard. It will continue for several more.
Sharp wedges of ramming warships ply down on the collection of freebooters, cannibals, pirates and stranger things. The Forinthians ram; they fire catapults, ballista, spells, wands at the enemy. The Chaos ships respond, but not as a unit. That's Forinthia's strength- organization. That's Law's strength.
Forinthia has already dealt with many of the slaad ships and most of the demons by the time the party arrives, and the central forces are smashing against one another, firing volley after volley of shot and flaming oil at one another. The waves are high enough that nothing's reliable, but ships are burning everywhere- there's just too much oil in the air and flaming slickly on the water's surface.
In the city itself, there are several breaches in the wall and both the Forinthians and the Chaos fleet have established beachheads, but it's pretty much street-to-street fighting here. And the native Peshans are pretty much caught in the middle. While the battle is going on, a number of very nefarious things happen, including several unsanctioned assassinations. One will catch the eye of a prominent merchant who is also secretly a member of the Grey Brotherhood, which will start an investigation by the Brotherhood.
The Forinthians are struggling towards a Peshan food storage warehouse when one group of what appears to be elite resistance forces (Horbin, Hank the celestial storm giant, Orbius and Zeebo) swoops in on them and blasts them with spells. Hank refuses to fight them, and Horbin spends his time trying to talk him into it. Orbius and Zeebo handle the force promptly, but the Forinthians they defeat were just an advance scouting party; the main force looks much larger. Zeebo hurls a fireball their way and a chorus of shouts and screams joins rises as it detonates among them.
Then a masked figure comes out of nowhere, appearing from invisibility, stabbing Zeebo in the neck, and Zeebo suddenly can't move.
"Wait 'til you see what I've done to your reputation," the figure says gleefully, and then Orbius polymorphs him into a carp. The fish flees quickly, flying in hopes of water.
They elect to flee to join their companions at sea.
Horbin feels great reservations about it, but he doesn't think he can do much good in the city at the moment either; things are too dangerous. There's just too much fighting going on, and it's really unclear to him who's side he should be on. As they head to sea, Horbin attempts to call upon Dexter's blessings- and fails.
He stops in mid-air (they're all under a mass flight now), shaken. "I..." he gasps.
I've always justified the things I've done by the fact that Dexter's granted me his spells for everything I've done. Now... now he isn't granting me his blessing!
Horbin the Holy speaks a word of recall and vanishes.
Grim, Orbius pulls out Lester's trump.
Next Time: Lester breaks Galador's geas!
Let's take a look at the big picture here.
There are over a million individuals clashing here, with summoned allies clashing across multiple planes. The Chaos fleet got here first; Pesh closed its doors and was besieged; and the Forinthian Fleet arrived to put some serious hurting on the Chaos fleet.
For the past several days the battle's raged hard. It will continue for several more.
Sharp wedges of ramming warships ply down on the collection of freebooters, cannibals, pirates and stranger things. The Forinthians ram; they fire catapults, ballista, spells, wands at the enemy. The Chaos ships respond, but not as a unit. That's Forinthia's strength- organization. That's Law's strength.
Forinthia has already dealt with many of the slaad ships and most of the demons by the time the party arrives, and the central forces are smashing against one another, firing volley after volley of shot and flaming oil at one another. The waves are high enough that nothing's reliable, but ships are burning everywhere- there's just too much oil in the air and flaming slickly on the water's surface.
In the city itself, there are several breaches in the wall and both the Forinthians and the Chaos fleet have established beachheads, but it's pretty much street-to-street fighting here. And the native Peshans are pretty much caught in the middle. While the battle is going on, a number of very nefarious things happen, including several unsanctioned assassinations. One will catch the eye of a prominent merchant who is also secretly a member of the Grey Brotherhood, which will start an investigation by the Brotherhood.
The Forinthians are struggling towards a Peshan food storage warehouse when one group of what appears to be elite resistance forces (Horbin, Hank the celestial storm giant, Orbius and Zeebo) swoops in on them and blasts them with spells. Hank refuses to fight them, and Horbin spends his time trying to talk him into it. Orbius and Zeebo handle the force promptly, but the Forinthians they defeat were just an advance scouting party; the main force looks much larger. Zeebo hurls a fireball their way and a chorus of shouts and screams joins rises as it detonates among them.
Then a masked figure comes out of nowhere, appearing from invisibility, stabbing Zeebo in the neck, and Zeebo suddenly can't move.
"Wait 'til you see what I've done to your reputation," the figure says gleefully, and then Orbius polymorphs him into a carp. The fish flees quickly, flying in hopes of water.
They elect to flee to join their companions at sea.
Horbin feels great reservations about it, but he doesn't think he can do much good in the city at the moment either; things are too dangerous. There's just too much fighting going on, and it's really unclear to him who's side he should be on. As they head to sea, Horbin attempts to call upon Dexter's blessings- and fails.
He stops in mid-air (they're all under a mass flight now), shaken. "I..." he gasps.
I've always justified the things I've done by the fact that Dexter's granted me his spells for everything I've done. Now... now he isn't granting me his blessing!
Horbin the Holy speaks a word of recall and vanishes.
Grim, Orbius pulls out Lester's trump.
Next Time: Lester breaks Galador's geas!
Greybar
No Trouble at All
It was only a matter of time, I figure, that a man like Horbin could keep travelling and consorting with evil. Great timing on the final blow.
Is Horbin's player interested in the potential storyline of Horbin having a fall from grace, or will he likely keep working to stay along a middle path?
John
Is Horbin's player interested in the potential storyline of Horbin having a fall from grace, or will he likely keep working to stay along a middle path?
John
the Jester
Legend
Greybar said:
You'll see soon.
the Jester
Legend
Lester Breaks His Geas (and suffers)
Lester's reeling. His head feels funny, his arm feels weak, and he has a cough.
He cast an earthquake when they dropped the Mayor off- and suffered for it.*
Unseen, a certain alienist waits until our heroes are heading at full bore towards the fleet of Law, then summons up a horrible creature from far realms of madness. He hits it with a quickened fly spell and then hangs back to watch the fun.
The creature seemingly appears out of nowhere to attack the party, and none of them have seen its like before. Overall, it's almost worm-like- but in a horrific fashion. Two dead white human torsos meet in a single navel; instead of heads and arms, however, 4’ long orange tongues protrude from each torso’s upper section. Unseen claws seem to rip at the sanity of our heroes, and before anyone can react each tongue pronounces a power word, leaving Lester blind and Sheva stunned.
The L falls back. Maybe I can at least mess up the fleet, he thinks, enthusiastically forgetting all about the divine geas laid upon him by Galador in exchange for finding the scroll he used to true resurrect Orbius. He casts control winds and then suddenly cries out in horror, gibbering madly for a moment.**
Almost a dozen tentacles flail out from the tongues of the monster of madness, springing forth as if from nowhere, battering Thrush and Sheva intensely. Then its eye opens- the bellybutton right in the center looks like an old wound on the pupil- and everyone feels themselves jerk in the air.
Then, shaking her head clear, Sheva strikes and lays a deadly series of blows to the monster with Chronovestis. Thrush rallies and strikes it as well; and a series of attacks from the rest of the party leaves it open for one more blow from Sheva. She splits it in two.
Just then, Lester starts to shimmer as Orbius contacts him by trump. "Ahh!" he cries out to Orbius, "I've gone stupid!" At their request, he pulls Orbius and Zeebo back to the rest of the group. In the heat of the moment, nobody questions Horbin's absence. Most of the group pauses to collect itself for a moment, but Sheva and Angelfire race towards the Forinthian flagship. In the larger sense, it is pretty close by. It's also heading more or less towards the party; and with a tremendous Crack! it fires a sunpowder cannon at them. A ball whizzes past. Several of our heroes duck or flinch. They can see Angelfire reach the ship (Sheva's gone invisible) and move in- the ship's deck is crowded with what looks like hundreds of elite troops, many obviously spell casters. There's a roar from the ship as the melee begins.
"All right," Orbius cries, "up here we're just targets! If we're attacking that ship, let's get there right now! Gather around, I'll dimension door us in!"
The group hurriedly clusters around the Eye, and in a flash the battle with the flagship gets messy.
*Poor Lester! Breaking the divine geas drained six points of each ability score. Ouch! And yes, Galador interpeted it very strictly.
**Boom! Another six points. Don't make God tell ya again.
Next Time: The battle at the Forinthian flagship!
Lester's reeling. His head feels funny, his arm feels weak, and he has a cough.
He cast an earthquake when they dropped the Mayor off- and suffered for it.*
Unseen, a certain alienist waits until our heroes are heading at full bore towards the fleet of Law, then summons up a horrible creature from far realms of madness. He hits it with a quickened fly spell and then hangs back to watch the fun.
The creature seemingly appears out of nowhere to attack the party, and none of them have seen its like before. Overall, it's almost worm-like- but in a horrific fashion. Two dead white human torsos meet in a single navel; instead of heads and arms, however, 4’ long orange tongues protrude from each torso’s upper section. Unseen claws seem to rip at the sanity of our heroes, and before anyone can react each tongue pronounces a power word, leaving Lester blind and Sheva stunned.
The L falls back. Maybe I can at least mess up the fleet, he thinks, enthusiastically forgetting all about the divine geas laid upon him by Galador in exchange for finding the scroll he used to true resurrect Orbius. He casts control winds and then suddenly cries out in horror, gibbering madly for a moment.**
Almost a dozen tentacles flail out from the tongues of the monster of madness, springing forth as if from nowhere, battering Thrush and Sheva intensely. Then its eye opens- the bellybutton right in the center looks like an old wound on the pupil- and everyone feels themselves jerk in the air.
Then, shaking her head clear, Sheva strikes and lays a deadly series of blows to the monster with Chronovestis. Thrush rallies and strikes it as well; and a series of attacks from the rest of the party leaves it open for one more blow from Sheva. She splits it in two.
Just then, Lester starts to shimmer as Orbius contacts him by trump. "Ahh!" he cries out to Orbius, "I've gone stupid!" At their request, he pulls Orbius and Zeebo back to the rest of the group. In the heat of the moment, nobody questions Horbin's absence. Most of the group pauses to collect itself for a moment, but Sheva and Angelfire race towards the Forinthian flagship. In the larger sense, it is pretty close by. It's also heading more or less towards the party; and with a tremendous Crack! it fires a sunpowder cannon at them. A ball whizzes past. Several of our heroes duck or flinch. They can see Angelfire reach the ship (Sheva's gone invisible) and move in- the ship's deck is crowded with what looks like hundreds of elite troops, many obviously spell casters. There's a roar from the ship as the melee begins.
"All right," Orbius cries, "up here we're just targets! If we're attacking that ship, let's get there right now! Gather around, I'll dimension door us in!"
The group hurriedly clusters around the Eye, and in a flash the battle with the flagship gets messy.
*Poor Lester! Breaking the divine geas drained six points of each ability score. Ouch! And yes, Galador interpeted it very strictly.
**Boom! Another six points. Don't make God tell ya again.
Next Time: The battle at the Forinthian flagship!
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the Jester
Legend
Attack on the Flagship
Oh, man, is this messy.
Our heroes are attacking a huge warship, packed with the best soldiers and sailors the Forinthian Empire has to offer; the ship's cooks are 8th level.
Angelfire's hewing at them aggressively, but in seconds a wizard gains control of his mind. Blasts of magic shoot out; those trying to be invisible find it purged; a cry of, "Get the orcs!" leads to a squadron of pistoleers and riflemen!
Sheva drops the cleric with the invisibility purge in effect with a harm spell followed by a blow from Chronovestis, but the forces of Forinthia are mighty, raining blows and spells at our heroes. She creates an illusionary double and retreats invisibly to try to dispel the domination on Angelfire.
The rest of the party arrives thanks to Orbius' facility with teleportation, and almost immediately they fly in to lay low the defenders of Law and Empire. Thrush lands a punishing blow on a marine in the crow's nest, but the man stands his ground, whipping out a longsword. Immediately, to his dismay, the Mayor discovers that his fireballs do no good against the ship- the planks of the vessel seem to be warded against flame.
The decks are crowded with defenders; from within the crowd a quintet of magic missiles streaks up at Orbius, but the spell is turned, rebounding on its caster, whose own shield spell diffuses the volley harmlessly. Sheva becomes visible as blood sprays from another cleric, dropping him with a pair of lethal blows, and her time-sword cleaves into the wizard. With a grunt, he vanishes, teleporting somewhere less dangerous as his contingency kicks in. Arrows sing as they flash into the sky at the party members near the crows nest. Sybele returns fire. Every party member on deck is being beset. More dispel magic attempts flash at Angelfire, who charges up to the crows nest. "Stop attacking or I'll kill you!" he shouts at the party.
Orbius has taken a few arrows, but he's also moved into prime position. He casts a prismatic spray that destroys dozens of the crew, but he feels strongly unsettled at how many resist his powers.
These guys are elite, he thinks.
A gnome with goggles on leaps forward, throwing a pinch of dust at Sheva. She gasps as it starts to disintegrate her, then jerks back out of it in time to avoid its full effects. With a snarl, she swings her blade viciously at him several times- landing only one blow.
Sybele's firing an unbelievable number of arrows. And she's doing terrible damage. But she has to sink three or four arrows into each guy before he drops. And there are so many of them, she thinks grimly. Thwack! Right between the eyes! That's another one for Sybele...
Zeebo keeps getting nailed by some of the dozens of arrows and Forinthian blades around him. Shots of the sunpowder weapons are ringing in the air, too- it's terrifying to the poor little gnome. The party's understrength, too; Horbin and Lester are both off somewhere else. He fires yet another dispel magic, this one from one of his wands, at Angelfire- to no avail. He drops down next to Orbius to stay near his escape route; he's more than a little freaked out. War sucks! Zeebo thinks wildly.
Thrush drops one shady-looking rapier-holding sneaky-seeming dude in the crow's nest with a series of blows, then turns to face Angelfire.
"You'd better flee," Angelfire says with a smile, his falchion wet with blood.
Next Time: The Return of an Old Friend, and Sightings of Another!
Oh, man, is this messy.
Our heroes are attacking a huge warship, packed with the best soldiers and sailors the Forinthian Empire has to offer; the ship's cooks are 8th level.
Angelfire's hewing at them aggressively, but in seconds a wizard gains control of his mind. Blasts of magic shoot out; those trying to be invisible find it purged; a cry of, "Get the orcs!" leads to a squadron of pistoleers and riflemen!
Sheva drops the cleric with the invisibility purge in effect with a harm spell followed by a blow from Chronovestis, but the forces of Forinthia are mighty, raining blows and spells at our heroes. She creates an illusionary double and retreats invisibly to try to dispel the domination on Angelfire.
The rest of the party arrives thanks to Orbius' facility with teleportation, and almost immediately they fly in to lay low the defenders of Law and Empire. Thrush lands a punishing blow on a marine in the crow's nest, but the man stands his ground, whipping out a longsword. Immediately, to his dismay, the Mayor discovers that his fireballs do no good against the ship- the planks of the vessel seem to be warded against flame.
The decks are crowded with defenders; from within the crowd a quintet of magic missiles streaks up at Orbius, but the spell is turned, rebounding on its caster, whose own shield spell diffuses the volley harmlessly. Sheva becomes visible as blood sprays from another cleric, dropping him with a pair of lethal blows, and her time-sword cleaves into the wizard. With a grunt, he vanishes, teleporting somewhere less dangerous as his contingency kicks in. Arrows sing as they flash into the sky at the party members near the crows nest. Sybele returns fire. Every party member on deck is being beset. More dispel magic attempts flash at Angelfire, who charges up to the crows nest. "Stop attacking or I'll kill you!" he shouts at the party.
Orbius has taken a few arrows, but he's also moved into prime position. He casts a prismatic spray that destroys dozens of the crew, but he feels strongly unsettled at how many resist his powers.
These guys are elite, he thinks.
A gnome with goggles on leaps forward, throwing a pinch of dust at Sheva. She gasps as it starts to disintegrate her, then jerks back out of it in time to avoid its full effects. With a snarl, she swings her blade viciously at him several times- landing only one blow.
Sybele's firing an unbelievable number of arrows. And she's doing terrible damage. But she has to sink three or four arrows into each guy before he drops. And there are so many of them, she thinks grimly. Thwack! Right between the eyes! That's another one for Sybele...
Zeebo keeps getting nailed by some of the dozens of arrows and Forinthian blades around him. Shots of the sunpowder weapons are ringing in the air, too- it's terrifying to the poor little gnome. The party's understrength, too; Horbin and Lester are both off somewhere else. He fires yet another dispel magic, this one from one of his wands, at Angelfire- to no avail. He drops down next to Orbius to stay near his escape route; he's more than a little freaked out. War sucks! Zeebo thinks wildly.
Thrush drops one shady-looking rapier-holding sneaky-seeming dude in the crow's nest with a series of blows, then turns to face Angelfire.
"You'd better flee," Angelfire says with a smile, his falchion wet with blood.
Next Time: The Return of an Old Friend, and Sightings of Another!
the Jester
Legend
An Unanticpated View of an Old Friend or Two
Thrush lays into the remaining Forinthians in the crows nest. His first blow decapitates one of his foes*, then he slashes another sailor and knocks him screaming out of the crows nest and onto the deck below with a crunch. Following up with another critical hit, he breaks a third's hip.
"What's the plan here, folks?" he calls to the rest of the party, eyeing the dominated Angelfire who's warily approaching him.
Sheva's duelling with the gnome in the goggles while Sybele peppers a fantastic archer with arrows. And then a few allies fly in on our heroes side.
They don't know the magely-looking one or the barbarian, but the other one is that furry feline Grumpy Fluffbottom! They lost touch with him after they went to the Plane of Time- and here at an opportune moment, he arrives.
The sorcerer casts a fireball at the Forinthian vessel- to no avail. It fails to detonate thanks to the ship's wards. Grumbling, he tosses an area dispel magic- which just happens to free Angelfire from domination. Grumpy drops in and lays about him but is quickly overwhelmed, his fly dispelled. With a yowl, he backflips off the ship and into the sea, taking several severe wounds on the way. He shakes his head and treads water, then looks up with a sinking feeling as the harpoons start to splash around him. Suddenly a grinning golden-haired marine hurls a barbed shaft right into his shoulder and he screams, struggling to get free, but the marine jerks the harpoon by its chain and starts pulling Grumpy up to the ship. There's a roar of excitement from the crew and Grumpy mewls in fear. Meanwhile, the orcs on the ship fire boomsticks at the barbarian, dealing punishing wounds.
The battle rages hard for a few moments, with sheer numbers and the incredible eliteness of the entire crew of the flagship clearly going to be what carries the day. Thrush is felled by a fireball, dropping limply to the deck. The barbarian slows the enemy assault with a horn of blasting, stunning almost a score of the enemy, and roars, "Get the cannons!" But the tide of battle is running too strongly for the Forinthians; Grumpy falls prisoner and Thrush isn't moving. So those of the attackers who can, flee for the momentd, with Sybele crying out as she takes a couple of blows as she flies in to grab Thrush's still form. As she flies in, she sees a familiar face- fighting for the enemy.
It's Borlad.
Sybele cries out in dismay. Borlad Hammerhead is an old friend of Sybele's old group, the Swords of Assistance. The son and heir of Thane Vulker Hammerhead, Borlad was not manly enough for his father's liking, so Vulker sent Borlad out adventuring with the party for a time, and eventually they were sent to escort his bride-to-be in a political marriage to the Hammerhead Halls. He was an unwilling participant in the marriage, and the group had very mixed feelings about the whole situation. Borlad had been a friend and a true companion- and a cleric of Galador.
Groaning from their wounds, most of the party retreats, but Angelfire struggles on for a moment, quaffing a potion and leaping into the midst of the sailors- orcs, of course- near the cannons. He lays about him with the falchion, his eyes flitting about. Bags and barrels; which one...? he wonders, then shrugs to himself and exhales strongly. It tastes like cinnamon liquor... strong and fiery. He relishes it. A jet of flame shoots from his mouth as he breathes his fire breath on the sunpowder in the barrel.
There's a loud rumbling explosion as the powder detonates, and dozens of people are wounded, yelling and screaming as shrapnel and gouts of fire damage them. Then Angelfire timeslips- a perfect escape.
Our other heroes, meanwhile, have retreated to the Chaos ship that the sorcerer and barbarian, who introduce themselves as Telemundo and Bohr, respectively, came from. The distance between the two ships is closing rapidly; the Chaos vessel is clearly going to ram. Two great warships, their crews ready to fight...
"This is crazy," Zeebo gasps as spells whiz back and forth, ice storms battering the ship of Law and fireballs torching the Chaos vessel's sails. "We should get out of here!"
"Not yet," says Sybele. "I've got a plan." She flies off and around the enemy vessel. Ballista bolts spring from the Chaos ship, then the deckmaster screams, "BRACE FOR RAMMING!!"
With a few colorful epitaphs, our heroes grab what they can or simply rise up off the deck. Bohr fires his bow, trusting to his balance to hold him in good stead, but to his dismay he sees the arrows bounce off an unseen wall! "There's some kind of magic hoodoo ahead!" he screams, and the ship slips forward far too quickly to stop towards the wall of force. They seem doomed to a deadly collision- but Telemundo fires a sickly green ray that disintegrates the wall just in time! As they loom closer to the Forinthian flagship, our heroes see Grumpy, unconscous, tied to the mast, two harpoons still in his body.... and he screams in horrible agony as the ships impact! There's a horrendous crash, and then the marines are battling back and forth from ship to ship in a swirling tide of violence. The battle is stgart and terrifying, with spells, blades, blasts of sunpowder muskets and more, with the sea tinted red as the sun sinks towards the horizon. The air stinks of smoke and blood, and there are sharks in the water. Our heroes stick to the battle for a few moments, but it's too much for them, and they retreat into the skies.
Meanwhile, Sybele tries her best to be sneaky, but several arrows are zipping into the water around her. She doesn't care. She takes her slime grenade and smashes it against the ship near the water line, then speeds off. "Hey!" one of her observers cries, and there's clearly a little moment of panic that starts spreading.
"Let's get out of here!" Sybele shouts to her friends, flying above the battle. Bolts and magic are still flying into them. They head up and away.
"Good lord," exclaims Zeebo. "I'm glad to be out of there! I certainly don't need to die again!"
"No kidding," says Sheva. "Let's get out of here. We should be able to wind walk to the Shining City."
"I hope Tirchond's okay," Zeebo murmurs to himself.
"My daughter," Sybele whispers to herself.
*Speaking of custom feats, check out this custom feat only for high level fighters in the no-player lookee thread...
Next Time: Our heroes make an unexpected discovery, and pay a visit to Mabrack's Castle!
Thrush lays into the remaining Forinthians in the crows nest. His first blow decapitates one of his foes*, then he slashes another sailor and knocks him screaming out of the crows nest and onto the deck below with a crunch. Following up with another critical hit, he breaks a third's hip.
"What's the plan here, folks?" he calls to the rest of the party, eyeing the dominated Angelfire who's warily approaching him.
Sheva's duelling with the gnome in the goggles while Sybele peppers a fantastic archer with arrows. And then a few allies fly in on our heroes side.
They don't know the magely-looking one or the barbarian, but the other one is that furry feline Grumpy Fluffbottom! They lost touch with him after they went to the Plane of Time- and here at an opportune moment, he arrives.
The sorcerer casts a fireball at the Forinthian vessel- to no avail. It fails to detonate thanks to the ship's wards. Grumbling, he tosses an area dispel magic- which just happens to free Angelfire from domination. Grumpy drops in and lays about him but is quickly overwhelmed, his fly dispelled. With a yowl, he backflips off the ship and into the sea, taking several severe wounds on the way. He shakes his head and treads water, then looks up with a sinking feeling as the harpoons start to splash around him. Suddenly a grinning golden-haired marine hurls a barbed shaft right into his shoulder and he screams, struggling to get free, but the marine jerks the harpoon by its chain and starts pulling Grumpy up to the ship. There's a roar of excitement from the crew and Grumpy mewls in fear. Meanwhile, the orcs on the ship fire boomsticks at the barbarian, dealing punishing wounds.
The battle rages hard for a few moments, with sheer numbers and the incredible eliteness of the entire crew of the flagship clearly going to be what carries the day. Thrush is felled by a fireball, dropping limply to the deck. The barbarian slows the enemy assault with a horn of blasting, stunning almost a score of the enemy, and roars, "Get the cannons!" But the tide of battle is running too strongly for the Forinthians; Grumpy falls prisoner and Thrush isn't moving. So those of the attackers who can, flee for the momentd, with Sybele crying out as she takes a couple of blows as she flies in to grab Thrush's still form. As she flies in, she sees a familiar face- fighting for the enemy.
It's Borlad.
Sybele cries out in dismay. Borlad Hammerhead is an old friend of Sybele's old group, the Swords of Assistance. The son and heir of Thane Vulker Hammerhead, Borlad was not manly enough for his father's liking, so Vulker sent Borlad out adventuring with the party for a time, and eventually they were sent to escort his bride-to-be in a political marriage to the Hammerhead Halls. He was an unwilling participant in the marriage, and the group had very mixed feelings about the whole situation. Borlad had been a friend and a true companion- and a cleric of Galador.
Groaning from their wounds, most of the party retreats, but Angelfire struggles on for a moment, quaffing a potion and leaping into the midst of the sailors- orcs, of course- near the cannons. He lays about him with the falchion, his eyes flitting about. Bags and barrels; which one...? he wonders, then shrugs to himself and exhales strongly. It tastes like cinnamon liquor... strong and fiery. He relishes it. A jet of flame shoots from his mouth as he breathes his fire breath on the sunpowder in the barrel.
There's a loud rumbling explosion as the powder detonates, and dozens of people are wounded, yelling and screaming as shrapnel and gouts of fire damage them. Then Angelfire timeslips- a perfect escape.
Our other heroes, meanwhile, have retreated to the Chaos ship that the sorcerer and barbarian, who introduce themselves as Telemundo and Bohr, respectively, came from. The distance between the two ships is closing rapidly; the Chaos vessel is clearly going to ram. Two great warships, their crews ready to fight...
"This is crazy," Zeebo gasps as spells whiz back and forth, ice storms battering the ship of Law and fireballs torching the Chaos vessel's sails. "We should get out of here!"
"Not yet," says Sybele. "I've got a plan." She flies off and around the enemy vessel. Ballista bolts spring from the Chaos ship, then the deckmaster screams, "BRACE FOR RAMMING!!"
With a few colorful epitaphs, our heroes grab what they can or simply rise up off the deck. Bohr fires his bow, trusting to his balance to hold him in good stead, but to his dismay he sees the arrows bounce off an unseen wall! "There's some kind of magic hoodoo ahead!" he screams, and the ship slips forward far too quickly to stop towards the wall of force. They seem doomed to a deadly collision- but Telemundo fires a sickly green ray that disintegrates the wall just in time! As they loom closer to the Forinthian flagship, our heroes see Grumpy, unconscous, tied to the mast, two harpoons still in his body.... and he screams in horrible agony as the ships impact! There's a horrendous crash, and then the marines are battling back and forth from ship to ship in a swirling tide of violence. The battle is stgart and terrifying, with spells, blades, blasts of sunpowder muskets and more, with the sea tinted red as the sun sinks towards the horizon. The air stinks of smoke and blood, and there are sharks in the water. Our heroes stick to the battle for a few moments, but it's too much for them, and they retreat into the skies.
Meanwhile, Sybele tries her best to be sneaky, but several arrows are zipping into the water around her. She doesn't care. She takes her slime grenade and smashes it against the ship near the water line, then speeds off. "Hey!" one of her observers cries, and there's clearly a little moment of panic that starts spreading.
"Let's get out of here!" Sybele shouts to her friends, flying above the battle. Bolts and magic are still flying into them. They head up and away.
"Good lord," exclaims Zeebo. "I'm glad to be out of there! I certainly don't need to die again!"
"No kidding," says Sheva. "Let's get out of here. We should be able to wind walk to the Shining City."
"I hope Tirchond's okay," Zeebo murmurs to himself.
"My daughter," Sybele whispers to herself.
*Speaking of custom feats, check out this custom feat only for high level fighters in the no-player lookee thread...
Next Time: Our heroes make an unexpected discovery, and pay a visit to Mabrack's Castle!
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Hoo hoo, now thats a big fight! And some elite crew! They were certainly feeling Horbin's departure without a timely heal spell or two. I couldn't even picture all of the combatants...do you have an estimate how many people were on that ship?
Also, if you have any thoughts on the current armor system I started a thread in house rules about it. Basically Im a little dissatisfied with medium armor, and very unhappy with heavy armor. I'd like to hear your input, especially since you're running a fairly high level group.
http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=49897
Technik
Also, if you have any thoughts on the current armor system I started a thread in house rules about it. Basically Im a little dissatisfied with medium armor, and very unhappy with heavy armor. I'd like to hear your input, especially since you're running a fairly high level group.
http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=49897
Technik
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