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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 1713203" data-attributes="member: 1210">Edit: Whoops!  Looks like the first time I posted this it got eaten, so let me insert this between that last update there and the one that was here, and then I'll stick that'n after it...  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f631.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":o" title="Eek!    :o"  data-smilie="9"data-shortname=":o" /> 2 p.m., 9/30/368 O.L.G., inside Angelfire MountainOur heroes have returned to what was once known as Bile Mountain.  They wait momentarily while Orbius sends his mobile scry ahead.  Lester is intoning syllables of elemental power, summoning a veritable army of incredibly powerful elementals.  “What’s up there?” asks Rex. “Corridors... wait...”  Orbius lets out a low whistle.  “Stirges.  Lots of them.  They’re... they’re roosting on the ceiling, and they literally cover it.*  Boccob’s balls!  There are tons of them!”Lester strides over.  “No problem!” he says cheerfully.The elementals move up to the level in question and form into whirlwinds.  The group can hear a terrible noise arise, thousands of wings, splashing, the roar of high winds.  Elementals and stirges alike die, but in the end the stirges can’t kill the elementals fast enough.  Our heroes wait a few moments, then advance after the elementals to a scene of appalling carnage.  Bile and blood and stirge bits are everywhere.  The remaining elementals are mopping up the remaining stirges, but Lester’s swarm of elementals has been reduced to a precious few.  A few minutes later it’s all over.“Well,” says Lester abruptly, “it’s been fun, guys, but I gotta go.”Everyone turns to him.  “What?” Thrush gapes.“Yeah, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately,” the L goes on.  “I am the Angel of Adventure and all, but I also have a lot of responsibilities.  Some conversations I’ve had with Anvar have made me realize that I’ve been shirking my duty to the Temple of Elemental Good.  I have a lot of work to do with those guys.”“But, but Lester-“ Sybele protests.“Aw, c’mon, guys, it isn’t like we’ll never see each other again!  And if you ever really need me, you know where to find me.  Well, maybe you don’t, since the Temple is hidden, but I’m sure you could manage to do it.  Horbin could send me a sending or something.”  He turns to Orbius.  “What do you say, pal?”The Eye glances sadly at Jezebel.  “I’ll be in touch,” he says softly.  She beams at him.  “But I think Lester needs someone like me to look out for him.”“Seeya, guys,” the L says sadly, and he and Orbius leave the group.**Next Time: Without Lester and Orbius, our heroes move on up to the fifth level of Bile Mountain- formerly the beholder level!*As tiny creatures, four stirges will fit into a 5’ square.  The area in question was a 15’ wide passage 100’ long (60 squares), plus a section 15’x25’ (another 15 squares), plus a section 15’x190’ long (another 114 squares), plus another 15’x70’ (another 52 squares), plus a room 30’x50’ (60 more squares), yielding a total of 1204 bile-templated stirges, all capable of unleashing breath weapons that do a wee bit of damage and a wee bit of constitution damage.  Sure, the DC is low, but if you’re rolling thousands of saving throws, you’re bound to fail a few, right? <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />Interestingly, by the book an encounter like this is worth NO XP to the party (because they’re so damn high level), but I ad hoc’ed it.  It was a tactical challenge that, if mishandled, could have easily led to a tpk.  **Why did this happen, you ask?  Well, it’s because James (Lester’s player) had a baby.  This really limits his gaming time, so he asked me to start an online/pbp/email game for the L.  This was his last regular game with us, sadly, though he has made it to one halfling session subsequently and he may be able to make it this weekend for another halfling session.  *crosses fingers*</blockquote>

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