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(Epic Cydra) Empires of Chaos
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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 4427650" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p>Somewhere atop an ice-sheathed mountain, fluttering the weave of the universe with hands of raw entropy, Kale Curi croons to himself. </p><p></p><p>Once- long ago- he was human. </p><p></p><p>Now he wears the yellow robes of an Entropic Legionnaire. Long ago, Sariach Entropy broke his mind and twisted his soul. Even the divine influence in his blood- his grandmother, after she died, was revered as a minor goddess- could not save him. </p><p></p><p>Without Zelman to oppose him, Entropy won out. </p><p></p><p>Now Kale’s mind is a fractured, torn curtain that barely covers something much deeper, more primordial than thought. His once-towering intellect is now more like a widespread net, catching many things from all corners while letting all the fine details slip through.</p><p></p><p>Fine details. Like who he is, who he was, who he would be. </p><p></p><p>An emerald light suddenly gleams, reflected in the ice on his mountaintop, and his hands snap back into claws. </p><p></p><p><strong><em>Kale.</em></strong></p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>“Well, zat could ‘ave been ‘arder,” Gerontius says aloud, pulling his dagger from the deathdrinker.</p><p></p><p>“I’m sure that it will be,” Baron Lillamere smirks. </p><p></p><p>The party surveys the devastation all around them. Bones from the great boneyard that attacked them are scattered everywhere, crushed, cut, scorched and broken. The corpses of the deathbringers and the deathdrinker take up a large amount of space. The stench of the undead and the demon fills the air.</p><p></p><p>Our heroes, of course, have smelled far worse. In fact, the stink of demon and undead is actually less unpleasant than the background aroma of bile.</p><p></p><p>To one side of the room, the collapsed section of wall that the boneyard busted through leads to a hallway. On the other end, a closed door waits. Another hallway also leads from the area, but it is blocked by a portcullis. After a moment or two of poking around, the party settles on the portcullis as being the most promising avenue of exploration. </p><p></p><p>Alcar’s arms bulge as he single-handedly lifts it up and out of the way. </p><p></p><p>“I could have done that,” comments Wankerman.</p><p></p><p>The party passes through. After only about 20’, the passage turns to the right, but at the elbow of the turn there is a door. However, the passage seems to have large areas molten open into caverns right off of it. </p><p></p><p><em>Uh oh,</em> Gerontius sends telepathically. <em>There might be more bile oozes in there.</em>* An instant later, he calls out, <em>Movement!</em></p><p></p><p>“It <em>is</em> a bile ooze!” Alcar shouts, and casts a trinity of spells: two <em>destructions</em> and a <em>flame strike!</em> The ooze quivers, but is far from destroyed. And before anyone else can act, it spews out an acidic blast that covers Alcar, Blaze and Inoke! All three of them cry out in pain; both Blazier and Alcar are also stunned. To his horror, Blaze’s <em>cloak of charisma</em> melts and dissolves under the onslaught!</p><p></p><p>Things suddenly get worse when the shadow spider drops on Blaze from above. A moment later, four shadows of the void- terrible undead creatures of raw negative energy- burst into the conflict, and our heroes are fighting for their lives. JJ blasts them with an <em>energy wave</em> for immense damage, but they keep coming.</p><p></p><p>As he weathers another round of attacks from one of the bile oozes, Inoke suddenly lights up. “I’ve got it!” he exclaims, and initiates <em>iron body</em>. <em>That ought to protect me from being stunned,</em> he thinks, and grins.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Bouncing from one end of infinity to the other, back and forth, the turmoil in the Negative Energy Plane continues. It is reaching a fever pitch. The fabric of reality itself is starting to tear apart. The plane cannot sustain such violent motion for much longer without rupturing utterly. </p><p></p><p>The negative energy storm, outside the Fortress of Conclusion, rages. Slowly, a panel atop the great edifice slides open, and a long, slender arm of crystal extends, like a lightning rod, into the storm.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p><em>Fiendbane</em> sings as Lady Janis swings again, cutting desperately into the Void Master’s null-flesh. It screams again, the noise swallowed by the raging negative energy storm that swirls all around them. Overhead- though they cannot tell, as it is black on black in a field of blackness- a great ceiling panel slowly slides open. The crystal arm extends into the storm, and swiftly, the negative energy is drawn forward to it. Like a flood of water racing downhill, it rushes to charge the crystalline rod. </p><p></p><p>The Void Master’s flailing claws tear flesh and spirit. Lady Janis begins to falter. The negative energy running through the place makes the beast seem to swell with power.</p><p></p><p>“You cannot defeat me!” Its laughter booms through the halls of the Fortress of Conclusion. “But celebrate, mortals- for you shall be the first souls that lord Orcus consumes upon his return!”</p><p></p><p>“I don’t think so,” Thepsa snarls. She fires another withering beam of eldritch energy at the creature, and it howls in rage again. </p><p></p><p>Then Toofsy, the halfling barbarian, charges in, her adamantine glaive striking out as swift as a cobra. She takes the Void Master’s leg out from under her. “DIE, you black-hearted bastard!” she roars. </p><p></p><p>“And let us help!” adds Lady Janis, wincing from the pain of her wounds. Blood and blackness stain the breastplate of her armor. She swings <em>Fiendbane</em> down again and again, and the Void Master tries desperately to concentrate long enough to <em>dimension door</em> away again.</p><p></p><p>But it cannot.</p><p></p><p>With Thepsa firing spells to discourage it from focusing, with Toofsy and Lady Janis brutally hacking at it, the Void Master weakens. Inky fluids fly hissing from its form as the heroes hack and cut at it, until, finally, it gives a last, fading wail- and melts into an oily stain.</p><p></p><p>Lady Janis lifts her blade high, still dripping with the foul ichor of their foe. “HAIL VANDREU!!” she cries. “His will be done!”</p><p></p><p>Then the entire Fortress of Conclusion shakes, throwing Zarthos off the edge of one of the walkways even as he tries to heal his friends.</p><p></p><p>With the strength of a tsunami, the negative energy flows through the ‘lightning rod’ above the room and directly into the Wand of Orcus.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Outside the bounds of life and death, the helpless vestige of Acererak the Demilich watches. It feels a rush of exaltation as the crystal rod is invested with much of the power of an entire plane.</p><p></p><p><em>Yesss,</em> Acererak thinks. <em>Formlessness will be lost. I shall return. And I shall seek revenge on those upstarts that dared travel to my fortress and destroy my Phylactery!</em> He gloats as the energy runs through the shard of his hopes, and slowly he begins to feed on it, gaining power and form with each passing moment.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>In the guts of Bile Mountain, our heroes rally. With Inoke immunized against the bile ooze’s acidic attack, he is able to bear the brunt of the bile oozes. Meanwhile the others turn to face the shadows of the void, as well as the spider that is trying to eat Blaze’s face. The gnome manages to squirm away from the spider, then casts a quickened <em>shield</em> and a <em>displacement</em> spell- but he can feel the difference in his potency, without his cloak, and he utters a very colorful curse at the bile oozes. </p><p></p><p>The spider scrabbles to its feet and begins to pursue Blaze, but JJ intervenes, channeling a <em>cold stun</em> with an <em>anarchic surge.</em> It blasts out, destroying the shadow spider.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, the shadows of the void that remain blast at Alcar with <em>polar rays.</em> It is clear that they view him as their primary target; indeed, the angel-cleric is certainly the best equipped to deal with them. However, when Alcar takes both <em>polar rays</em> full in the chest without even slowing down, they flee through the door at the bend in the hallway, moving right through the door without stopping to open it.**</p><p></p><p>Then another ooze rushes out at Alcar- but unlike the others, this one is run through with blackness. “Look out!” warns Wankerman with a shout. </p><p></p><p>The angel turns his attention to the newcomer, even as Inoke finishes off one of the bile oozes and whirls to perform a <em>heedless charge</em> on the next. With a roar, he gives it the so-called ‘Inoke Special’- a <em>psionic lion’s charge,</em> going all out, that utterly destroys another of the oozes!</p><p></p><p>Just when it looks like things are starting to wind down, however, the shadows of the void dart back into the fray, coming out of the walls, and another figure phases up through the ground. Trilaterally symmetric, it is clearly a xorn- but not just any xorn. Wankerman recognizes it. “Watch out, that’s Bennng!” he cries. “That’s one mean xorn elder- it is an interplanar thief and mercenary!”</p><p></p><p>“Not anymore,” Baron Lillamere cries. “Look, it’s dripping with bile!”</p><p></p><p>Bennng leads forward and takes a terrific bite out of Wankerman, dealing shocking amounts of damage.***</p><p></p><p>But the party has had a few moments to unleash some healing on themselves, and now they rally and strike. It takes Alcar only a single volley of spells to put the two shadows of the void down, and then he and Inoke double-team the xorn. Between them, they are two of the mightiest warriors in the cosmos; Bennng is bound to fall. Instead of letting itself be slain, however, it drops back through the floor, phasing away. Immediately, our heroes turn and focus on the shadegut ooze, the last remaining visible opponent, although some focus on it by drawing back and shouting for healing. Once again, his <em>iron body</em> and <em>energy immunity</em> protecting him, Inoke finishes the monster.</p><p></p><p>Silence falls, broken only by the sound of the party’s panting breath. </p><p></p><p>“I ‘ave plenty of ‘ealing scrolls and a wand,” Gerontius says, after a moment. </p><p></p><p>Alcar nods. “Let’s get healed and then go kick some Bile Lord ass!”</p><p></p><p><em><strong>Next Time:</strong></em> What will happen on the Negative Energy Plane? Will the xorn return? Where are the Bile Lords, and how will our heroes perform- the Calling Out?</p><p></p><p></p><p>*During their <em>Revenge on Bile Mountain,</em> the pcs encountered several nasty bile oozes that they quickly learned could destroy their items with an acidic spray effect.</p><p></p><p>**By this time, our heroes have already discovered that opening and closing doors is a free action to many of the creatures in Bile Mountain, but they have not figured out how they do it. The answer lies on page 108-9 of <em>Dungeonscape,</em> for the record- I wasn’t cheating! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>***78 points of damage in a single bite. That was 6d8+20 plus 7d6 sneak attack. Ouch!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 4427650, member: 1210"] Somewhere atop an ice-sheathed mountain, fluttering the weave of the universe with hands of raw entropy, Kale Curi croons to himself. Once- long ago- he was human. Now he wears the yellow robes of an Entropic Legionnaire. Long ago, Sariach Entropy broke his mind and twisted his soul. Even the divine influence in his blood- his grandmother, after she died, was revered as a minor goddess- could not save him. Without Zelman to oppose him, Entropy won out. Now Kale’s mind is a fractured, torn curtain that barely covers something much deeper, more primordial than thought. His once-towering intellect is now more like a widespread net, catching many things from all corners while letting all the fine details slip through. Fine details. Like who he is, who he was, who he would be. An emerald light suddenly gleams, reflected in the ice on his mountaintop, and his hands snap back into claws. [b][i]Kale.[/i][/b] *** “Well, zat could ‘ave been ‘arder,” Gerontius says aloud, pulling his dagger from the deathdrinker. “I’m sure that it will be,” Baron Lillamere smirks. The party surveys the devastation all around them. Bones from the great boneyard that attacked them are scattered everywhere, crushed, cut, scorched and broken. The corpses of the deathbringers and the deathdrinker take up a large amount of space. The stench of the undead and the demon fills the air. Our heroes, of course, have smelled far worse. In fact, the stink of demon and undead is actually less unpleasant than the background aroma of bile. To one side of the room, the collapsed section of wall that the boneyard busted through leads to a hallway. On the other end, a closed door waits. Another hallway also leads from the area, but it is blocked by a portcullis. After a moment or two of poking around, the party settles on the portcullis as being the most promising avenue of exploration. Alcar’s arms bulge as he single-handedly lifts it up and out of the way. “I could have done that,” comments Wankerman. The party passes through. After only about 20’, the passage turns to the right, but at the elbow of the turn there is a door. However, the passage seems to have large areas molten open into caverns right off of it. [i]Uh oh,[/i] Gerontius sends telepathically. [i]There might be more bile oozes in there.[/i]* An instant later, he calls out, [i]Movement![/i] “It [i]is[/i] a bile ooze!” Alcar shouts, and casts a trinity of spells: two [i]destructions[/i] and a [i]flame strike![/i] The ooze quivers, but is far from destroyed. And before anyone else can act, it spews out an acidic blast that covers Alcar, Blaze and Inoke! All three of them cry out in pain; both Blazier and Alcar are also stunned. To his horror, Blaze’s [i]cloak of charisma[/i] melts and dissolves under the onslaught! Things suddenly get worse when the shadow spider drops on Blaze from above. A moment later, four shadows of the void- terrible undead creatures of raw negative energy- burst into the conflict, and our heroes are fighting for their lives. JJ blasts them with an [i]energy wave[/i] for immense damage, but they keep coming. As he weathers another round of attacks from one of the bile oozes, Inoke suddenly lights up. “I’ve got it!” he exclaims, and initiates [i]iron body[/i]. [i]That ought to protect me from being stunned,[/i] he thinks, and grins. *** Bouncing from one end of infinity to the other, back and forth, the turmoil in the Negative Energy Plane continues. It is reaching a fever pitch. The fabric of reality itself is starting to tear apart. The plane cannot sustain such violent motion for much longer without rupturing utterly. The negative energy storm, outside the Fortress of Conclusion, rages. Slowly, a panel atop the great edifice slides open, and a long, slender arm of crystal extends, like a lightning rod, into the storm. *** [i]Fiendbane[/i] sings as Lady Janis swings again, cutting desperately into the Void Master’s null-flesh. It screams again, the noise swallowed by the raging negative energy storm that swirls all around them. Overhead- though they cannot tell, as it is black on black in a field of blackness- a great ceiling panel slowly slides open. The crystal arm extends into the storm, and swiftly, the negative energy is drawn forward to it. Like a flood of water racing downhill, it rushes to charge the crystalline rod. The Void Master’s flailing claws tear flesh and spirit. Lady Janis begins to falter. The negative energy running through the place makes the beast seem to swell with power. “You cannot defeat me!” Its laughter booms through the halls of the Fortress of Conclusion. “But celebrate, mortals- for you shall be the first souls that lord Orcus consumes upon his return!” “I don’t think so,” Thepsa snarls. She fires another withering beam of eldritch energy at the creature, and it howls in rage again. Then Toofsy, the halfling barbarian, charges in, her adamantine glaive striking out as swift as a cobra. She takes the Void Master’s leg out from under her. “DIE, you black-hearted bastard!” she roars. “And let us help!” adds Lady Janis, wincing from the pain of her wounds. Blood and blackness stain the breastplate of her armor. She swings [i]Fiendbane[/i] down again and again, and the Void Master tries desperately to concentrate long enough to [i]dimension door[/i] away again. But it cannot. With Thepsa firing spells to discourage it from focusing, with Toofsy and Lady Janis brutally hacking at it, the Void Master weakens. Inky fluids fly hissing from its form as the heroes hack and cut at it, until, finally, it gives a last, fading wail- and melts into an oily stain. Lady Janis lifts her blade high, still dripping with the foul ichor of their foe. “HAIL VANDREU!!” she cries. “His will be done!” Then the entire Fortress of Conclusion shakes, throwing Zarthos off the edge of one of the walkways even as he tries to heal his friends. With the strength of a tsunami, the negative energy flows through the ‘lightning rod’ above the room and directly into the Wand of Orcus. *** Outside the bounds of life and death, the helpless vestige of Acererak the Demilich watches. It feels a rush of exaltation as the crystal rod is invested with much of the power of an entire plane. [i]Yesss,[/i] Acererak thinks. [i]Formlessness will be lost. I shall return. And I shall seek revenge on those upstarts that dared travel to my fortress and destroy my Phylactery![/i] He gloats as the energy runs through the shard of his hopes, and slowly he begins to feed on it, gaining power and form with each passing moment. *** In the guts of Bile Mountain, our heroes rally. With Inoke immunized against the bile ooze’s acidic attack, he is able to bear the brunt of the bile oozes. Meanwhile the others turn to face the shadows of the void, as well as the spider that is trying to eat Blaze’s face. The gnome manages to squirm away from the spider, then casts a quickened [i]shield[/i] and a [i]displacement[/i] spell- but he can feel the difference in his potency, without his cloak, and he utters a very colorful curse at the bile oozes. The spider scrabbles to its feet and begins to pursue Blaze, but JJ intervenes, channeling a [i]cold stun[/i] with an [i]anarchic surge.[/i] It blasts out, destroying the shadow spider. Meanwhile, the shadows of the void that remain blast at Alcar with [i]polar rays.[/i] It is clear that they view him as their primary target; indeed, the angel-cleric is certainly the best equipped to deal with them. However, when Alcar takes both [i]polar rays[/i] full in the chest without even slowing down, they flee through the door at the bend in the hallway, moving right through the door without stopping to open it.** Then another ooze rushes out at Alcar- but unlike the others, this one is run through with blackness. “Look out!” warns Wankerman with a shout. The angel turns his attention to the newcomer, even as Inoke finishes off one of the bile oozes and whirls to perform a [i]heedless charge[/i] on the next. With a roar, he gives it the so-called ‘Inoke Special’- a [i]psionic lion’s charge,[/i] going all out, that utterly destroys another of the oozes! Just when it looks like things are starting to wind down, however, the shadows of the void dart back into the fray, coming out of the walls, and another figure phases up through the ground. Trilaterally symmetric, it is clearly a xorn- but not just any xorn. Wankerman recognizes it. “Watch out, that’s Bennng!” he cries. “That’s one mean xorn elder- it is an interplanar thief and mercenary!” “Not anymore,” Baron Lillamere cries. “Look, it’s dripping with bile!” Bennng leads forward and takes a terrific bite out of Wankerman, dealing shocking amounts of damage.*** But the party has had a few moments to unleash some healing on themselves, and now they rally and strike. It takes Alcar only a single volley of spells to put the two shadows of the void down, and then he and Inoke double-team the xorn. Between them, they are two of the mightiest warriors in the cosmos; Bennng is bound to fall. Instead of letting itself be slain, however, it drops back through the floor, phasing away. Immediately, our heroes turn and focus on the shadegut ooze, the last remaining visible opponent, although some focus on it by drawing back and shouting for healing. Once again, his [i]iron body[/i] and [i]energy immunity[/i] protecting him, Inoke finishes the monster. Silence falls, broken only by the sound of the party’s panting breath. “I ‘ave plenty of ‘ealing scrolls and a wand,” Gerontius says, after a moment. Alcar nods. “Let’s get healed and then go kick some Bile Lord ass!” [i][b]Next Time:[/b][/i][b][/b] What will happen on the Negative Energy Plane? Will the xorn return? Where are the Bile Lords, and how will our heroes perform- the Calling Out? *During their [i]Revenge on Bile Mountain,[/i] the pcs encountered several nasty bile oozes that they quickly learned could destroy their items with an acidic spray effect. **By this time, our heroes have already discovered that opening and closing doors is a free action to many of the creatures in Bile Mountain, but they have not figured out how they do it. The answer lies on page 108-9 of [i]Dungeonscape,[/i] for the record- I wasn’t cheating! :) ***78 points of damage in a single bite. That was 6d8+20 plus 7d6 sneak attack. Ouch! [/QUOTE]
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