(Cydra) Great Conflicts

[the Jester]

All right, I've been too busy prepping for the next session to do any real writing, but here's a quick update with a minor spoiler in it. It won't matter, though; it's too late for the pcs to do anything about it.


******

The Bastion of Law

“They will be coming in the next few days,” Prayzose tells the other Arrows of Law.

“We had better be ready,” declares Marius. “They are extraordinarily powerful. They destroyed Asmodeus. We would do well not to underestimate them.”

Dekrasode nods. He has adopted a human form for the sake of a comfortable fit in the chamber in which the Arrows are meeting. “They are friends of Malford,” he declares. “That alone speaks highly of them.” He smiles. The face he wears is an old pleasure: Emperor Tovan “Kinslayer” of Imperial Wotan. “And let us not underestimate the powers of Orbius. They might yet discover the identity of our soon-to-be seventh and attempt to strike him down.”

“Boccob’s eyes see much,” declares the Judge of Worlds flatly. It has shifted, over the last few hours, into a war machine form that is... formidable. It bristles with weapons: blades and tubes...

Marius’ brow furrows as he recognizes the clockwork mechanisms of Law’s uneasy ally, Master Control. I hope the Judge of Worlds doesn’t underestimate Master Control either, the chronomancer thinks. Of all of Law’s powerful allies, the strange, formless machine consciousness worries Marius the most. Despite its strict logical- and therefore lawful- bent, Master Control seemed... too ambitious. And too unreliable: Marius’ chronal magics had shown him that it went back to before.

He frowns as his mind lingers for a moment on some recent temporal ripples of strange import, but then he shrugs. Time enough for that later. The coming confrontation looks ominous. I will have to take special measures to ensure that neither I nor my items are severely inconvenienced, he thinks, and his mind solves the problem instantly.

He turns to the others. “My initial wave will only hinder them, but it should at least give them food for thought.”

“We can’t afford to strike with anything less than maximum force,” Prayzose says grimly. “I am not looking forward to this battle.”

“You are frightened?” Dekrasode goads.

He knows full well how I feel, Prayzose sighs internally. Patiently, he replies, “Some of them are my friends, Dekrasode. I will spare them if I can.”

“We cannot afford to spare them,” snaps the dragon.

“I think we can.”

“This is not the time,” Lord Alyth interrupts the two of them sharply. “We have common enemies to confront. Our strength lies in standing together. We must greet them together, as the fingers on one hand clenched into a fist.” Grimly, he adds, “I do not know them, as some of you do; but their work speaks for them. Asmodeus was well done.” After a moment, he adds, “His replacement was well-chosen. If they struck at him, could he defeat them?”

Prayzose hesitates. “He... might be able to. Or at least drive them off. It would depend on whether they put him in a position to use his best tactics. If they ambushed him, they would probably defeat him. In a fair fight... I think he could stand against them.”

“If they determine his identity-” begins Cluma

“If they determine his identity, then nothing,” snorts Lord Alyth. “We will provide him with a safe trip to us here until the time comes for his appointment.”

Cluma sighs. He nods. He paces a moment, caressing the Rod of Seven Parts. He strides to the window and looks out over the ramparts.

“Do not worry,” Prayzose says. He smiles. “Our plan will work.”

“How much time until we can inform them it is under way?” Cluma asks.

“We will have reports via sending. You worry too much, my friend.”

“Do not underestimate them,” Dekrasode snaps.

Lord Alyth nods. “Indeed. We have not.” His eyes bore into the dragon. “That is why we have a plan.”

“And while we... inconvenience our enemies,” Marius states, “our forces will take the fight to their homes.”

Next Time: Back to our heroes, where they are falling into a decidedly different trap in Bile Mountain!

 

[Sollir Furryfoot]

Tehe, I <3 the Arrows of Law

 

[the Jester]

The first level of Bile Mountain, 10:10 a.m.

Back up just a moment with me. Our heroes have only one remaining day in Bile Mountain, that place that seems to have become as much of a nemesis as any creature could. Then their time will be up, and they must move onward to assault the Bastion of Law before the new Arrow of Law (who will replace Asmodeus, whom our party has slain) is appointed. For the moment, the identity of this new Arrow is hidden; but as long as the Seven Arrows of Law are missing a member, the Bastion is vulnerable. If they can overthrow it, the battle between Law and Chaos should move away from a stalemate and to a winnable position. At the least, the party will have discharged the debt that many of them accumulated at the Isle of Vuivui, when the power of Chaos granted unto them a variety of potent items. Bile Mountain seemed a good place to start because it would render them inscrutable; it is protected from scrying by mighty epic wardings. They should be able to take the forces of Law by surprise.

It is their last day in the mountain before beginning their assault on the Bastion of Law. And speaking of taking by surprise, our heroes have just fallen into a trap.

The cavern they are in is vast; it stretches hundreds of feet across. The lion’s share of it is full of a slow-moving pool of water. (For millennia, it was a polluted mess of bile, but in their previous journeys within the mountain the party destroyed the Crux Crystal that generated the bile.) A thin wafer of shore, never more than 100’ wide, circles the vast cave, save for where the river flows in and through the mountain. Along one section of this shore, a narrow stair climbs up to the entrance to the dungeons within the mountain. It is here that we find our heroes, at the same instant at which we left them. They have ascended that stair, and at the top, Inoke (who is in the lead) has stopped and exclaimed in surprise at the presence of a wall of force.

“Wait,” says Chakar, “that wasn’t there before-”

Caustic acid sprays down from the ceiling, splattering all over the party’s front rank- Thrush, Chakar and Inoke! Inoke’s psionic powers activate energy adaptation instantly, saving him from the worst of the acid, but Thrush howls in agony as his armor melts into pieces! Chakar’s gloves of dexterity* melt down to nothing as well. The dwarven monk cries out in anger.

Above the party, a bile ooze hangs, swollen and foul.

The hair on the back of Lillamere’s neck begins to stand up. It’s a trap, he thinks.

The ooze lashes out at Thrush, battering at him with its pseudopodia from the ceiling. Without his armor, caught off-guard and still flat-footed, Thrush is a sitting duck. Blow after blow rains on him for impressive damage. “Aargh!” he yells, and the muscles in his arms tighten and bunch. Suddenly his sword cleaves a great rent in the ooze, too fast even to see, and a massive gout of yellow-brown fluid spurts out of the thing! Thrush backpedals, trying to put some distance between him and the equipment-eating thing, and cries, “Horbin! I could use a little healing!”

Damn it, where are you, Alcar? Horbin sends crossly over the party’s telepathic bond. They haven’t seen him at all today. After the party returned to Var last time, he vanished. There is no answer now, either. Cursing to himself, Horbin hurls a destruction at the ooze and moves to intercept Thrush.

But then the trap begins to close, as a group of nimblewrights surfaces a ways away in the vast underground lake. They all start casting spells. Suddenly Horbin is under assault by multiple polar rays and empowered disintegrates! He screams as lancing magical rays hit him again and again, and only his incredible fortitude saves him from utter destruction!

“It’s a trap!” Baron Lillamere shouts. “They were waiting for us!”

“Zey are targeting Horbin!” cries Gerontius. “Stop zem!”

“I think I can take care of the ooze,” Inoke states. He activates his iron body psionic power. “Between being made of iron and my energy adaptation, I don’t even know if it will be able to hurt me.” He smiles. Just like the thorciasids, he thinks, and charges! But instead of trying to hurt it, Inoke knocks it off of the ceiling! Together, he and it plummet to the shoreline below the stairway!

Chakar frowns. If I hit the ooze with my fists or feet, it will burn me. I must find another way. He looks around for a moment. The walls are pitted and scarred from centuries of bile exposure. The dwarven monk smiles. He finds easy purchase for fingers and toes in the bile-pitted stone of the walls. He begins to climb, and when he reaches sufficient height, he maintains a staunch grip with his feet, knees and chin while he uses his hands to tear a chunk of rock free from the wall! He swings himself around and hurls it at the ooze, and the rock crashes into it with a wet smacking sound!

Then he hurls himself off the wall, not at the ooze, but at the stairway directly above the ooze. It, too, is composed of the weakened stone, and he smashes into the edge of it with dramatic force, dislodging it and forcing a large chunk down on the ooze! Chakar himself leaps aside, landing on the stairs.

Horbin retreats enough to cast first a quickened heal on himself, and then a mass cure critical wounds. The combination does not fully restore him, but it’s a good start. Still- he can’t stand up to much more of that. Alcar! We need you! he shouts again, telepathically.

Simultaneously, Sybele calls out over the mind link, This is a trap. We don’t want to be in here. I’m going to take down that wall of force. She rushes up the stairs until she reaches it, leaping past the hole that Chakar just made, and manifests psionic disintegrate. “Come on!” she cries aloud. She takes a step past the position of the disintegrated barrier- and encounters another one. “Oh no! There’s another one!” she yelps. Where there are two walls of force, there are probably plenty of walls of force. We just need to take these guys!

But things begin looking even worse as a pair of enormous nasty things extrude from the muck at the bottom of the water. Great octopi made out of mud, they begin moving forward towards Inoke. Great dripping tentacles smack the huge iron warrior for significant effect. They grasp at him, but fortunately, Inoke wears a ring of freedom of movement and thus slips free with ease. But the mud-monsters are nothing to laugh at: they are gargantuan, they have many attacks- and they hit hard- and their tentacles quickly prove to be able to reach quite a distance.

Then the nimblewright start casting spells to enhance the ooze and the octopi, as well as to further impair our heroes. Inoke and Thrush both find themselves the targets of rays of enfeeblement, and Inoke additionally suffers a greater dispel magic, polar ray, slow, and multiple quickened magic missiles. It’s enough damage that even he is impressed.

From the top of the stairs, Thrush, Chakar and Dorn Wankerman all leap to the attack on the ooze- literally! They jump down from above, some of them accepting as much as 30’ of falling. The ooze is standing up to the damage that Inoke is putting out, but the combination of them is sure to be enough to defeat it... isn’t it? Wankerman starts the fun with his bullywug breakdance**, using techniques gleaned from studying the bullywug battle techniques.

As if in response, the ooze spews another foul burst of caustic acid, burning Horbin and Inoke and destroying the cleric’s shield and Gerontius’ headband! A few seconds later, the nimblewrights fire another volley of spells, this time area-affecting ones such as reverse gravity (which plucks Horbin away from the rest of the party, and which also looks an awful lot like setting him up for some more targeted fun) and ice storm, as well as targeted spells that nobody recognizes but that Inoke and Gerontius resist.

Things get even harrier when the death snappers arrive. At first, our heroes take them for four giant snapping turtles, and idle in-battle speculation assumes they will be bile monsters. But unfortunately for the party, they are quite incorrect.

Captured, awakened by one of the Bile Lords, trained to be formidable guardians- and then sacrificed to the Queen of Guts, their entrails torn open to be drooled on by her... and now, at last, aware, full of spite and hate- they are gutlings.***

The battle reaches a new fever pitch.

***

9:00 a.m., The Cathedral of Dexter, Var

Alcar alights before the great Cathedral of Dexter. Built by Malford to commemorate his friend, the building is a wonder of stained glass windows and elegant marble. The best gnomish artists and architects available had been summoned to make the cathedral something special, and they had succeeded.

Alcar doesn’t usually come here. But he has been drawn here this morning. Stories of an imposter, masquerading as him- a fire begins to burn in his breast, but he takes a deep breath. Faith, he thinks, will guide me.

He walks into the nave and there, radiant, is-

Himself?

Himself, but radiant. Surrounded by a golden aura, the flaming color of the sun. The blaze of the Light.

“Alcar, so-called Angel of Food!” the figure calls.

“So-called!” Alcar exclaims.

“Your halo is tarnished,” the radiant figure says angrily. “I am the aleax of the Light your God, and I have come to punish you in His name!”

Next Time: The ambush at Bile Mountain continues!


*iirc- I know he lost magic gloves here. Seldomseen, do I have it right??

**A custom tactical feat from my campaign. For your edification:

BULLYWUG BREAKDANCE (Tactical)

You have studied the techniques of the bullywugs, who have had leaders that performed frighteningly well with their spears, and have learned several devastating spear techniques.

Prerequisites: Jump (7 ranks), Always Ready, Combat Reflexes, Hold the Line, Skill Focus (jump), Weapon Focus (any spear)

Benefits: Following the bullywug techniques, you gain access to the following three maneuvers:

-Death Leap: When you move and jump to attack an enemy from above with your spear you inflict double damage.

-Trick Flank: When an enemy moves to attack you and you did not move in your last turn, if you are wielding a spear and there is a square adjacent to you from which you would flank that enemy, you may take a 5’ step and an attack of opportunity on that enemy from flanking as an immediate action. If you choose to take a 5’ step, you must step into flanking, but if multiple squares allow you to flank, you may choose which square to step into. You move and take your attack of opportunity after your enemy finishes moving but before she attacks.

-Avoid Charge: When you are being charged and you take an attack on the charger (whether an attack of opportunity, a readied action, or what have you) you may choose to leap away at the last instant instead of taking the attack. You make a Jump check and move the indicated distance perpendicular to the line of the charge; if this carries you out of reach of the charger, his charge continues 15’ or to the limit of his charge range, whichever is less.

***In the interest of full disclosure, the death snappers were gutling awakened giant snapping turtle fighter 15s.

 

[Greybar]

This does look dire. It is certainly not surprising that the knowing enemy has started targeting Horbin. Had the party considered what to do if/when Horbin or Orbius was specifically targeted like that?

 

[SeldomSeen]

Yes Jester, that is correct. stupid slime melted 'em right off. Good job catching some of the cinematic feel of this scary battle.

As to planning what to do if a primary healer gets attacked.......

Planning in the chaos parting goes like this

Player 1 "ok we are all agreed on this cool plan witch will allow us to handily defeat our enemies, right?"

Player 2 "yes lets......OH SHINY OBJECT!!"

Player 3 "I'm shopping"

Players 4-7 **does exact opposite of what was planned**

 

[helium3]

***In the interest of full disclosure, the death snappers were gutling awakened giant snapping turtle fighter 15s.

What's the CR on something like that?

 

[the Jester]

What's the CR on something like that?

Ehhh, right about CR 22...

You know where to go to check out their stats, right?

 

[SpadeHammerfist]

er, sort of...

link it, oh mighty one, link it, please,

that's just about the right CR to hassle my PCs (why did I let them use Swashbucklers??)

ta, in advance

 

[the Jester]

Well, let's just say that, as a 'no-player lookee' thread, I don't want to link to it from here... in case of any 'mistaken clicks' ahem that a player might make.

Look in the Rogues' Gallery forum and you'll find it easily.

 

[Knightfall]

Excellent updates, as usual. Keep up the good work, J. - KF72