NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="doctorbadwolf" data-source="post: 7931667" data-attributes="member: 6704184">Okay, so the undead keep coming up from the ground in groups of 2-6, with a planned large ogre zombie planned for 3 rounds into the ritual. Every turn, I roll a d6, and on a 4+ more undead rise up the next turn. One mistake I made here was, I should have given Dougal 2 turns per round at this point, because his turns were pretty short, and the ritual turns were longer due to talking out what people wanted to try to do and working out what checks to use. Basically, I was running a skill challenge in initiative, with a PC and an NPC fighting a battle in the same initiative. Other than Dougal's long wait between turns, it went off really well. So, I told Vidanya that she needed 4 roles filled in the ritual, and she needed an arcanist, and she needed Khalid's help with translating ancient Vaes Shadar (the language the ritual was in). So, there would be 4 roles, each standing at a compass point. She needed a Signer, a Cryer, a Cup-Bearer, and a Seeker. Between all of us, (as I always let the players decide what parts of a skill challenge even are, what they mean, etc. "What is the challenge or complication you face unexpectedly while trying to drop off the decoy chest at the vault?", etc. ) we worked out the four roles and what Ocuthim needed to do as the arcanist. Signer. Vidanya. Leads the ritual, assigns the other roles, draws the circle and sigils and the compass circles. (smaller circles that intersect the main circle, where the 4 roles stand)Cryer. Gwen. Calls out the chant that brings all participants into focus. (we played AFI's Strength Through Wounding, here. "Through our bleeding, we are one" seems appropriate for Blood of Vol rituals) Gwen and I together had the rad idea of her basically doing the equivelent of a work song, like blacksmiths and other craftsfolk used, to guide the timing and pacing of the ritual, and keep everyone focused and in the zone. Cup-Bearer was Uldrana (the mounted archer who they had been fighting. she dind't wanna die any more than anyone else did). Set the Altar and the Bowl, and project her will upon the offered blood of the participants to enact the ritual.Seeker. Hiro. Normally this would be a role that a layperson fills, serving as the avatar of the community. We worked out that he would essentially guide the ritualists through the spaces between planes, to find a path to funnel the negative energy and the soul of Dal Azbara, hopefully to harmlessly dissipate both.Ocuthim, the Arcanist. Not normally a role in such rites, but required here to shut down the contigency and basically do a dispel magic style effect as part of the ritual, without triggering a failsafe against such efforts. Khalid stood next to Vidanya. Vidanya stabbed her holy obsidian sword into the ground next to her, acting as a focus and anchor, drew the circle around the body of Dal Azbara, and the sigils and compass circles, and called the roles. Each took their place, and as Vidanya closed the circle, Uldrana cut her arm and called upon the other participants to offer their divine power for the good of all. Everyone followed suit, a couple having to make Wisdom checks to overcome a deep reluctance to cut themselves. Turn by turn, I asked them what they were giving to the ritual, and asked them if they would spend resources to do more, boost their checks, or give a benefit to someone else. Meanwhile Dougal and Inigo kept the undead off their butts. OH, and Nadia, Vidanya's Steed. She trampled several undead. Also, I'd let Vidanya take control of a Karrnathi undead by spending a spell slot and making a spell attack against Dal Azbara's spell save DC, which she beat. Vidanya steadied faltering participants, especially Uldrana who was quite shaken by learning that her friend (and maybe lover?) had been willing to murder her and Berald in order to attain lichdom rather than truly die. Over the rounds, Uldrana more and more looked to Vidanya for guidance and strength. (Persuasion, and Religion, checks)Hiro sought the paths between planes, and strategised how to best use them. Insight and Perception. Gwen performed, and used her bardic power to help those outside the ritual. Ocuthim disabled Azbara's two magic items that were fueling her contigency, and then work on a more "now disarm the bomb itself" level. Arcana, Riddle (a custom skill), and an opposed spellcasting check. Partway through, I described the blood they'd spilt as gathering itself upon the crystaline latticework of the ritual archetecture that formed from the compass points and the sigils, forming complex geometry throughout the circle and round it. Hiro anchored them with his magical axe physically while anchoring his own attunement to it in the metaphysical space they'd entered to find the path down which to syphon the negative energy of the spell they were stopping. His axe was opposite Vidanya's sword, each on the wielder's right hand side as they faced eachother at North and South.Uldrana caused the latticework to resonate in accompaniment to Gwen's singing and bandore playing. Like harp strings set to resonate by opposing magnets rather than by plucking, creating a harmonious drone under the steady rhythm and melody of the ritual music.Ocuthim disabled one item, then the contingency effect, then the second item, at one point creating 4 circles around the body inside the greater circle, each with a small aperture facing one of the compass points, creating a symbolic maze, and guiding energy into the maze to be lost and dissipate, or be "tricked" into going where Hiro guided it.Hiro found a way to ground the negative energy in a recursive loop back to Mabar, but ground the spiritual energy of the various trapped souls powering the undead back to Dollurh where the dead belong.  A lot of esoteric fantasy-techno-babble later, I ask Vidanya how she closes the circle. She says with her sword, so I work with her to describe how she steps into the circle as she pulls her obsidian Sword of The Seeker from the earth, and then plunges it into Dal Azbara's heart, and then steps back into her place. Khalid replaces Vidanya's blade with his spiked chain, which is made of a sort of solid shadow made into obsidian, and he spends all his remaining ki to cause it to resonate with the leyline latticework so that it anchors where the sword no longer is. The last elements of the spells spiral throughout the circle, grounded by planar bindings, trapped in symbolic laberynth, as Dal Azbara's body rises ten feet into the air. The souls of the dead begin to be pulled into the circle as well. The malign spirit of the karrnathi undead laughs as it is returned to Mabar, Dal Azbara's spirit screams in rage as it is pulled to dollurh, and Sir Berald's soul departs last. He manages to stand within the circle, and face Vidanya, and tells her that he can see now that the Emerald Claw was lied to, tricked into beleiving that only by serving the Queen of Night could they break the bonds of death. He shares a look with Uldrana, who nods agreement. He tells Vidanya, "I would serve you, in death, if you wish. I can wait for a time in the plains of Dollurh, before oblivion takes me. Call upon me, and I will aid you. But first, you must see why. You must see what only the dead may see." And he reached his spectral arms out, one behind to the vortext between planes, and one to her forhead. And Vidanya sees from his perspective, sees herself with black and red feathered wings stretched out behind her, a crown of shadow like a halo above her head, and then she sees herself in the air, in flight, her sword reshaping itself into a spear with a line of blood red through the center of it's midnight shape. She sees her Steed in the air beside her, also winged now, and her Second, Khalid, leaping from Nadia's back, a smaller spear leaping from his hand in the same downward arc as hers, a trail of shadow stretching from his spear to his hand, just like hers. She sees their spears streaking toward the vague shape of a roaring monstrosity greater than the imagination can hold, and her vision clears, and Sir Berald salutes her with is spectral blade, and departs. The lines of blood outlined power flare with radiant light, as white and black light burn out of Azbara and the sword that has pierced her, and the ritual ends. Vidanya's blade has a thin line of pure blood red through it's center, and Khalid's spiked chain has somehow melted itself into a spear in his hand. The undead have all crumbled, and the sun shines, untroubled, upon the northern Talenta Plains. Some tension breaking talk of loot and a winded and exhausted conversation between Gwen and Vidanya later, we end the session, and I let every one know that they have leveled up to level 7. I think the next adventure is gonna be a bit less epic. take a breather from that level of tension and stakes.</blockquote>

Verification