IC: Dichotomy's Age of Worms Redux, Part VI

[o3caudata]

Kushnak charges toward the druid.

[sblock=oc]
Doesn't matter for this battle, but i believe Kushnak should have gotten an AoO on Korush.

Also, unless Korush's scimitar is adamantine, stoneskin stopped the first 10 dmg.


Charge J, PA(5)

+20 3d6+24.

dodge on J. AC 23 vs J, 22 vs others.

I'm still 5' off the ground, and charge makes me stop/attack as soon as i can, so i'm 5' away from J.
[/sblock]

 

[Dichotomy]

Kushnak, with the speed of flight and holy strength, flies across the arena toward Joren. With an upward swing of his sword, he splits Joren from pelvis to skull. As each half of the man falls to the sides, the crowd screams.

As Korush officially executes his surrender, with weeping that can no longer be heard over the screaming throng, Erdolliel blasts fire upon the already grappled remnants of the battle. Two of the elves collapse dead. As the tentacles batter those still alive, the last gnoll is killed, and Rennida and her remaining archer both surrender as well.

Nethezar screams at Erdolliel to be heard over the crowd. "Dismiss your spell, before we get disqualified!"
[sblock=OOC]Sorry… Again. I completely forgot about the AoO, and I hadn't written down stoneskin on my notes. I might, at some point, actually remember how to do this…

And for me being picky, Ti, it would help if either your character sheet or you post had something making it easier to figure out the DC for the saving throw. (I don't want to be stupid and miss some modifier, since I'm obviously a bit inept.) If I missed it, I apologize. I think the DC is 17, correct?

R = Rennida; 1-3 are her elven archer cohorts
J = Joren; B = his dire badger; 4-5 are his gnolls
I = Korush; 6-7 are his mercs; all three are atop heavy warhorses

Kushnak: charges Joren, 20!, 8+, crit confirmed…. 70 damage… Joren is so beyond dead...
Korush: drops scimitar, kneels
Erdolliel: fireball 38 damage; ref saves 1-3+ fail; 2-19+ success; 3-4+ fail; Rennida-13+ success; 4-2+ fail
Tentacles: grapples 2, 10 v 3, success, 8 damage; grapples Rennida, 15 v 16, success, 10 damage; grapples 4, 20 v 12, success, 10 damage
2: surrenders
Rennida: surrenders

Status & Initiative
Kushnak (24): 3 damage (5 feet up)
Erdolliel (21): (25 feet up)
1 (18): dead
2 (18): 36 damage; grappled
3 (18): dead
Joren (slower 18): way too much damage
Rennida (14): 46 damage; grappled
Nethezar (6)
4 (4): 48 damage; grappled; unconscious[/sblock]

 

[o3caudata]

Kushnak surveys the field and looks toward Erdolliel.

[sblock=oc]

i'll delay.

A critical no less. Awesome.

No worries Di. It's all good.

For future's sake though, when i get AoO's in the arena. If the person who provokes it has a weapon(and isn't surrendered), i want to use the AoO to disarm them, not attack them. I'll post my disarm in my sblocks moving forward.

Ti, if you want my spellsheet, it works pretty well(i auto-calc my DC's)

[/sblock]

 

[TiCaudata]

Erdolliel dismisses the spell and floats to the ground next to Nethezar and Kushnak.[sblock=oc]I'll try to post the DCs for my spells. I do already have O3's spellbook with all its delicious auto-calcs as a separate tab in my character sheet.

Poor druid, 148 damage in 2 rounds... [/sblock]

 

[Dichotomy]

[sblock=OOC]I'm the -excuses man. Choir concerts (all done), broken internet (appears fixed), and now a mean cold. Although the latter means that I'm staying home, so posting should be easier, when I'm not on a pseudoephedrine high.[/sblock]
After the tentacles vanish, it is plain to see how clear and decisive the victory was. The competitors who are not flat-out dead or unconscious can barely raise their heads.

The crowd suddenly goes silent, as Raknian steps forward on his pavilion. After pausing to build tension, he calls, "Your victors, the Iron Salamanders!" and the crowd erupts once again.

The wounded and dead are quickly carried away, as the Arena Wardens instruct you to wait. Ekaym, as the trio's manager, is brought from special seating area to Raknian's pavilion where he is handed a bronze trophy in the shape of a bull and a sack of, presumably, coins.

After the short ceremony, the trio is lead back down into the Coenoby, where you learn that, with ruthless efficiency, your competitors and their belongings have already been removed. Of the competitors that have yet to compete, nearly all appear shocked to learn that the Iron Salamanders won the bout.

As the day wears on, the other teams head out for their matches. At the end of the day the trio learns that, in addition to themselves, the remaining competitors are Auric's Warband, the two dwarven warriors called Pitch Blade, the four sorcerers called Draconic Blood, two druids called Snow Leopards, and and upset win by three halflings called Drunken Devilry (who had quite lived up to their names the previous night).
[sblock=OOC]I'll pause there, in case you want to interject anything.

IIRC, you just won 10,000 gold from the bookies for winning this fight. You also get the prize money of 2,000 (plus the bronze statue, which is work 100). I think you had to borrow 1,858.5 from Ekaym to pay Tirra. Right?[/sblock]

 

[o3caudata]

[sblock=oc]
At least it's not me! (for now.)

Hope you feel better soon sir.
[/sblock]

Kushnak looks suspiciously at the statue once they're underground again.

"We should dispose of that." he says, nodding toward the statue. " Raknian has been with it. There's no telling what it might...do." He says, voice heavy with implication.

[sblock=oc]

i think you're right about the borrowed money.

the only thing i remember wanting was a scroll of stoneskin which costs us 950 gp

beyond that... erm?
[/sblock]

 

[Dichotomy]

[sblock=OOC]Also, I forgot, your deal with Ekaym was that he would keep half the winnings (from the prize money, not wagers). So, in theory you'd only get 1,000 of the 2,000 that was the prize for the first round.[/sblock]

 

[TiCaudata]

[sblock=oc]It's me!! It's me!! but we're back in PA safe and sound.[/sblock]Erdolliel examines the statue in their rooms in order to make sure that nothing is amiss with it. After she finishes, she sighs, "You're probably right. Maybe we can give it to Ekyam when we see him next. For 'safe keeping' of course..."

She then spends the rest of the day, seeing if she can glean any information about the other teams' battle tactics and staring holes through the victors as they return from the arena.[sblock=oc]Search +18. Detect Magic permanent. Spellcraft +18 for auras on statues and on competitors later. If she finds something on the statue, she'll probably say something different.

Not sure how to find out anything about the competitors. If I recall, we aren't allowed to watch the other bouts, but maybe we can glean something from listening (+14) to the bout if possible. Spot (+14 too) on the victors (and any losers that come back down) for wounds and singe marks that might indicate our soon-to-be opponents tactics. Also detect magic on the victors to see their auras as fully as possible.[/sblock]

 

[Dichotomy]

[sblock=OOC]Ekaym has the statute, so you can't examine it right away. But (since he's coming to see you), you get the chance later. The statue has no magic, and Erdolliel's search turns up nothing.

On the remaining competitors:
Auric's warband: Auric has 5 auras, the strongest being moderate; Khellek has 6 auras, the strongest being moderate (and at least three wands are visible)
Pitch Blade (two dwarves): 10 auras between them, the strongest being moderate
Draconic Blood (4 sorcs): All four have the same auras: ring (faint abjuration), cloak (moderate transmutation), and wand (faint evocation)
Snow Leopards (2 druids): nothing
Drunken Devilry (3 halflings): nothing

Regarding tactics, you learn some things, but, if you don't mind, I'll leave details until just before fights. I don't want to spend time typing up tactics you won't need to know.[/sblock]Erdolliel spends her time eyeing the victors. Auric and Khellek spend no time talking with the other competitors, though Auric's booming laugh can be heard almost nonstop until he and the wizard shut the door to their room. The two dwarves of Pitch Blade are even worse. As they return from their victory, they make straight for their room and ignore even shouts of congratulations from the other competitors. They do, however, have time to stare daggers back at Erdolliel as she watches them, with looks filled with murder.

"Do you think they might suspect something?" Nethezar sarcastically inquires.

Around 7:00 p.m., shortly after the evening meal, Ekaym enters the Coenoby. As he spots the trio, a genuine grin breaks open on his face.

"Please, take no offense, but I never expected such a trouncing! If the other managers are smart, they'll be advising the other teams of your prowess and tactics. Those elven women were the odd-on favorites for your match, and you effectively eliminated them almost before the battle started! And, Kushnak, when you," Ekaym's voice lowers to a fierce whisper, to discourage any eavesdropping, "when you… got huge… That was impressive!

"Now, I've got your considerable winnings, minus my loan for Tirra. I can give the gold to you now, or I can hold onto it, if you need me to purchase anything for you. I can also re-wager up to 1,000 of it, though your ratio has dropped to three-to-one, if you win the next bout."

Ekaym continues, still speaking with his voice low. "While I'm glad that you turned out to be admirable gladiators, I must admit that I had a hidden motive for entering you in the games. You see… my sister Lahaka disappeared here last year, not long after the previous Champion's Games. I've been looking for her for months now, but I've hit a dead end.

"She was a traveling entertainer, a bright joy that brought happiness to cities throughout the world. It seems that her travels eventually brought her here, to the Free City, and more to the point, she caught Loris Raknian's eye. I believe that they became lovers. What I do know is that she vanished the day after the Champion's Games ended.

"I've paid for divination spells to learn more, but alas have learned little. And so I decided to come to the games themselves. I hoped that by entering some gladiators in the competition, I'd have a chance to explore the area, talk with Raknian, and maybe find out what happened to Lahaka. But so far, I've found nothing. Raknian's nearly impossible to get to, and I've uncovered no clues in the outlying buildings. There's two places I've not been able to reach--his palace and the arena understructure. This is where you come in, my friends. If you can slip away from the Coenoby between battles and search the surrounding rooms for clues as to what happened to my sister, I'll turn over all of the winnings from the games to you. What do you say?"

 

[TiCaudata]

Erdolliel snorts at Nethezar. "Let them! We'll have to face them soon enough and likely cannot hide ourselves much longer." She raises her eyebrows at Nethezar when Ekyam confirms this.

"Many thanks Ekaym, we will be needing another stoneskin scroll for certain. 3:1 now? That's still decent odds, we should bet the maximum on ourselves again before the next round. I think we should keep the remainder of the winnings, unless either of you can think of something for us to purchase?" The last part is directed at Kushnak and Nethezar.

"As for your sister. What are the consequences of being caught outside of the Coenoby?"