Comments, replies, and rulings on posts
Again, I will go post by post, and react in a time-line sequence.
Some of the things attempted do not work the way you hoped they would, so it's important to read this.
First of all, I am assuming Hazen and Kas retreated from the battlefield, with their remaining elite guard.
There was no way they could survive, if they did not.
Tokiwong
Malachai wonders on the Fate of the neighboring lands he tried to conquer a while back...
OOC: Whatever happened to Anabtsericon's lands neighboring mine when I marched into them... I think I got lost in the shuffle...
ANSWER:
The Empire of Iuz now includes Heimmorj, Blackmoor, and all of the Godspires, the former territories of the Solistarim.
They, of course, have gone into their Secret Retreat, wherever it is.
These rich territories have a base PL as follows:
Heimmorj: 3
Blackmoor: 10
The Godspires: 40
This is due to caches of ancient tomes and magical items, and due to rich veins of precious ore, among other things.
Blackmoor and Heimmorj have a few surviving inhabitants from the time before the Antimatter Barrage and Robot Onslaught, also.
The Godspires took considerable damage from the 150 nuclear explosions, but by no means are they reduced to glass!
There are 150 craters, and hazardous radiation zones, here and there through the majestic mountains, which are hundreds of miles long, and over 200 miles wide.
However, there IS one great change here.
There were already lava lakes up here, in which swam and frolicked the salamanders and fire newts.
Now, there are at least 3 lakes the size of the one in Sunndi, and numerous small rivers of lava run to the ocean.
The heat from these Great Lakes of Lava has cancelled winter in the northern Flanaess.
The prevailing winds are from the west and northwest, and the Lava Lakes warm the air as it flows over them.
Instead of snowfalls, hot rains fall in Blackmoor and the northern lands of the Wolf Nomads and eastern Burneal.
The frozen northern coast is bathed by pleasant cool winds off the normally glacial ocean as far east as the Hold of Stonefist.
Ironically, it grows colder as one goes south, although all of the Flanaess are running at least 10 degrees Fahrenheit (6 degrees Celsius) above normal.
There is no freeze-up of the ocean between the Godspires and the Hold of Stonefist at all.
In the Vesve Forest, I assume the Faerie maintain by magic a normal climate, which would mean cold winters.
The Vesve is practically the only place where it is snowing, outside the Thillronian Peninsula (which is far enough east the grip of winter takes hold almost normally.)
The melting icecaps and glaciers in the heavily glaciated Godspires is turning Blackmoor's swamp into a vast fen, and flooding all of Heimmorj.
- - -
Anabstercorian
They're yours, Tokiwong. The Godspires are completely under your control.
They retain rich mineral resources, but the underbelly and cave system have gone wild, repopulated with the beasts of the underdark, and the surface is nothing but radioactive glass.
Still - They're yours.
Blackmoor and that other little country wisely surrender. Having been abandoned by the Solistarim, they'd love a new protector. They're all yours.
ANSWER:
Read my post above Anabstercorian's.
But yes ... they're all yours, Tokiwong. But beware of any and all Anabstercorians who give gifts!
By the way, had Anabstercorian retained the True Staff of Ancient Penumbra, it would have increased his PL by 100.
It still would, if he could get it back.
But the Army of Darkness is here to stay, Staff or no Staff.
Such outrages as the stealing of the True Staff of Ancient Penumbra, shall not go unpunished!
Besides, Mina was very persuasive ...
- - -
William Ronald
Hazen aims at Melkor and there is a look of anger directed towards the god's avatar.
"Melkor, I do not believe you will ever accept peace with my people. You showed up and urged others to attack me. You were foolish enough to ally with Vecna, and made an enemy of the rest of the world. You even poisoned the Isles of Woe. You lead your forces to their deaths. No wonder that the people of Netheril are abandoning you."
If the battle continues, Hazen will fight. If it is over, Hazen will leave.
(Edena: I have e-mailed a few people. I hope they will return. Maybe make a special appeal to each of them. I want to fully revive the IR.)
ANSWER:
I don't think Melkor wants peace either.
But then, he's a picker compared to Mina.
And she's a picker, compared to the Red Army!
As for the Isles of Woe, they are now mountains in the great depression (over 5000 feet deep at it's deepest point!) that used to be the Nyr Dyv.
- - -
LordMelkor{Talos}
Melkor laughs at these words:
-Foul, I don`t care about "my people" anymore that I care about ants! These are slaves of mine, they exist ONLY to satisfy my needs. You really think that dead of millions of my people during the siege of Shadow Throne saddened me, that I mourn their loss!? Quite the opposite, I found pleasure in the fact that they died fighting FOR me, and number of my enemies slain at that time was greater than those of my servants, and many of their souls came to me, and they are now learning the price of opposing me
- - -
Spoof
Edena did you get the e-mail on the Glass House and others? The internet is acting funney here and I am not sure what is going through and what is not
ANSWER: Yes, I did. I need to ask some certain someones some questions before Glass House can be implemented.
- - -
LordMelkor{Talos}
Spoof, Ahlissa is a Drow , not normal Elf, actually she is one of the minority of Torillian Drow that didn`t turn to Good after the end of second IR, which means she is quite evil, and always was.
ANSWER: Actually, she is probably the only drow on Toril that did not turn to good alignment.
Edena, could you bump power level of each of my remaining NPC`s by one, it would be 15 out of 16 limit for NPC pl.
ANSWER: Nay. If you lose NPCs, they are lost. You do not gain new PL for that PL which is lost! And e-mail me, and tell me how Ahlissa was not captured by Alzem, if this is the case.
- - -
The Forsaken One
Teeeheeeeeee
Kewl, so now it are little red men from space, at least they aren't green
ANSWER: Don't tempt me.
And, actually, illithid are sorta greenish, and they comprise half of the Army of Darkness, which came from space, so ...
Melkor, I believe you had something for me?
Edena, I think I'll just use the red steel/goo from my armies to create Geestesstorm with instead of stuff from the bloodwaste. Kalanyr is helping me release them from the Armor and goo and steel from my armies. Don't want to see my Troops go red when the red goo might be awakened.
in SHort: No red goo/souls/energy from the red goo is released but the energy/souls/goo from the red steel and goo I'm currently using in my Armies. Time to get rid of the stuff and with Kal short help make it go away at a steady pace.
ANSWER: Oh no you don't! Not so fast. You spent months creating the stuff, and your work is not so readily undone!
Kalanyr indeed has 10th level magic, and - WITH TIME - he can destroy all the Red Steel and Red Goo safely, but it will take many months.
After all, your Formians have Red Steel in their carapaces. Just simply destroying it might kill them flat out.
Any attempt to rush the process of getting rid of the Red Goo and Red Steel might just awaken it, like the Red Army was awakened.
Kalanyr is required to do this carefully and slowly.
So, it will be several months before it is done.
Edena I'm sending a squadron of unseelie back to the site of the battle to return Melkors arm, Anab brain fluid and Vaeregoth Carapace back to the hive.
ANSWER: I was wondering when someone would think of that. Unfortunately, the Red Army got them first. If someone had stated they took these items when they fled, it would have been another matter.
The Red Army has the Carapace of Vaeregoth, the Brain-Fluid of Anabstercorian, and the Arm (and Leg) of Melkor.
They will put these items to good use ... trust me on that!
Since I'm first at it and it just takes less then a few seconds to get it all scraped up by a few unseelie.
I wan't some trophies and they might have some use in the future
I'm still awaiting your creative answer Edena
ANSWER: Don't rush me on the creative answer. I'm working on it. Besides, dismantling your Red Goo project is disrupting your other efforts.
The Unseelie you send to the battlefield, get recruited into the Red Army, except for the few allowed to come back to tell you the tale - the Red Army WANTS you to know what's coming for you.
They want you to have plenty of time to contemplate your fate, before they come for you.
- - -
The Forsaken One
Yeah!
I'm beating Anab. to this question this time~!
HOW MANY LEVELS DID WE GAIN?!!!!!!!!! (Hahahaha beat you to it Anab. )
ANSWER: Anabstercorian and Vaeregoth gain 1 level each. Melkor gains, if his player finds it applicable, 1 level also.
Hazen and Kas gain 1 level.
- - -
LordMelkor{Talos}
Forsaken One, it seems our battle was interrupted as we were making the deal, sorry Queen but I don`t give artifacts for nothing, you haven`t even proven that you are not my enemy, quite the opposite actually.
ANSWER: No comment.
- - -
zouron
*A collection of samurais stand around wu jen, one of the samurais steps forward and says*
You have shamed your people and there is only one punishment for this, how ever if you do the noble thing we will consider that you repaired your dept in full.
*The samurai hands the wu jen a tanto. The Wu Jen takes the blade and opens his blouse, then runs himself through. The Lead Samurai speaks.*
Your dept is paid in full, your spirit can stand before the celestial council in honour.
*The Samurais walks away from the dead body.*
ANSWER: WOAH! Ok, guys, THIS is how the Eternal Order operates.
One does not give incorrect reports to the higher-ups, and a defective Crystal Ball is no excuse for incorrect information!!
- - -
creamsteak
Sanctus Punitor in the observatory of the Castle Delrune
"So the goo has achieved sentience. How odd that it came from negative energy. Much earlier in this rather self-destructive time I remeber researching the outcome of negative and positive energy on the goo and coming up blank. Mayhaps I have incompetent sorcerors or something worse."
ANSWER: The Red Goo does not come entirely from negative energy. Only a tiny fraction of it's strength comes from that.
It just happens to be able to soak up negative energy and use it.
It's actual strength comes from the strength of the souls and spirits within it - and THEY are very strong.
"It seems that something MUST have changed the goo in order for this to happen. Something that we know nothing about, just yet."
"I think I am going to attempt something I have not ever seen before. I am going to attempt to combine my Paladin magic with my Ranger magic and my Elven magic and see if I can do something far greater than any of them could be individually."
Preparations for battle with the Red Goo army:
Freedom of Movement - Subject moves normally despite impediments.
Freedom of Movement will allow Sanctus to make maximum use of his mobility in this epic battle. This is just a prerequisite buffer to such a battle when getting stuck in one place is obviously going to lead to instant death.
Tree Stride - Step from one tree to another far away.
Tree Stride will allow Sanctus to make use a greater range of mobility while in combat. The forests might not exist near the battlefield, but it always good to be able to make use of them if the battle happens to move to them.
Wind Wall - Deflect arrows, smaller creatures, and gases.
This is a spell that is going to be readied as a quickened spell to release on individual cases in the case of missle fire getting too heavy, or some other truely dangerous situation occurs.
Holy Sword - Weapon becomes +5, does double damage against evil.
Holy Sword is a spell that Sanctus prefers to always have available. The +5 is irrelevent, as his sword is a +6 innately. The double damage against evil is another important anti-evil trait and should be great in this fight.
Dispel Evil - +4 bonus against attacks by evil creatures.
Another little buffer, not even necessary to mention why it has to be taken.
Death Ward - Grants immunity to death spells and effects.
Another little buffer, not even necessary to mention why it has to be taken.
Polymorph Self - You assume new form.
The most important spell selected. Sanctus Punitor is going to attempt to turn himself into a large Adamantium Golem to provide an incredible degree of Red Goo resistance and the ability to go head first into combat with the destraught souls of the Goo Army. Sanctus is going to go all out on the offensive to destroy as much goo as possible and quite possibly gain his sword the Purpose: Defeat/Slay Red Goo.
The only two questions now are:
Does my sword slay the Red Goo or does it restore them to happiness instead (consider it does 20d6 Holy Damage which could possibly act as possitive energy to negate the Negative Energy imbued in them).
Can I polymorph into an Adamantium Golem as indicated in this post? I know it is a bit odd, but I think it should be doable for a PC.
ANSWER: I am allowing all of the above, because it's a good start, and good thinking.
But it's not enough.
The Holy Sword will, indeed, free the souls to go on to the Afterlife - one soul per hit.
However, being an Adamantium Golem is no protection at all - one touch from the weapons or the flesh of the Red Army, and said Adamantium will turn to Red Goo just as fast as the weakest flesh.
Freedom of movement is fine - but it won't stop red Magic Missiles, which automatically hit.
Jumping from tree to tree is great ... the Red Army will simply melt the trees into Red Goo, and they will rise as Tree Red Goo Monsters, and the NEXT time one tries tree jumping, one will jump right into one of those Tree Red Goo Monsters, and then ... well, we won't think about that.
Dispel Evil will free a number of souls at once.
So will Resurrection, while True Resurrection will free many at once, and Raise Dead will free one (no experience point penalties for casting these spells this way.)
A Wish will free many souls.
10th level magic will free hundreds of souls per spell cast.
- - -
Uvenelei
Aurican and his draconic forces (26 PL total) join the fun in the Boarder Ethereal. Everyone is encased in protective spells and illusions, boosted magically, and as undectable as they can be made. A fleet of illusionary dragons will draw fire from the Red Army by flying back and forth over head.
As a further precaution, everyone is equipped with a one use magic item that heals the user if they are touched by Red Goo; hopefully that will halt the infection by the goo.
Some of the real dragons will hit the Red Army in the flank, unleashing a devestating hit and run strike, using breath weapons, meteor swarms, mass heal (if the Red Goo Monsters are still released by healing spells) and whatever psionics the gem dragons would have (I'm not very familiar with psionics).
The rest of the dragons and Aurican will heal Hazen, Kas, and their honor guards, and will reinforce any defences the remaining combatants have put up to ward off the Red Army. After the Red Army is confused and everyone else is healed and safe, I suggest that we all leave and nuke the battle field. I then follow my advice and retreat, taking anyone who wants to go with me.
Note: Of course, this doesn't happen if you're all gone/dead when I get there.
ANSWER: A remnant of the Shade Army is still there, Uvenelei, when you arrive.
They are so desperate at this point that they would JOIN the Alliance of the Crescent (!) if you would only get them the heck OUT OF THERE!!!
However, Hazen and Kas have left, along with their remaining elite guard.
If you stay (only if you stay) the following happens:
The Red Army reacts with all the precision and war readiness that it had in life.
After all, many of these were men and women from the Kingdom of Ulek, the Pomarj, the Lortmil Technomancy, Celene, the Kevellond League, the Baklunish Confederation, and the Alliance of the Crescent, before they were killed fighting the Shade on Turn 3.
They are not easily surprised, and they can react swiftly to new events.
The dragon strikes devastate parts of the Red Army, initially.
The illusions draw off most of their fire, initially.
The Mass Heal spells free some - but not many this time - of the imprisoned souls. It would appear the evil magic holding them is stronger than it was.
Aurican has the time to access the fighting capability of this (still relatively small) fighting force, and to rescue the remaining Shade (!) if he wishes to.
But then, the Red Army turns the tide.
Magic missiles and storms of lightning bolts, fireballs, cones of cold, and the like slam the dragons.
Their spell resistance fends off most of the incoming attacks, but those few that get through ... it is a ghastly sight, watching a dragon turn into Red Goo (think of the flames eating their way along the length of the Hindenburg.)
The death agony of the dragons would shatter rocks, if any rocks existed here.
Only a few dragons are killed by this initial assault, but now hundreds of archers take up position, and fire.
Although their arrows cannot penetrate the dragon's thick hide, they don't have to - they only have to touch. One touch is enough.
Aurican's one-shot doses meant to stop one from becoming Red Goo turn out to be useless, except for one or two exceptions.
Some of the Dragons utter Wish spells, and that does work - it reverses the killing effect of the hits before the transformation is complete.
In this way, most of the dragons are saved.
Then the dragons get the heck out of there.
They want no more of this.
The rest of Aurican's army seems to think following their dragon allies would be a good idea.
- - -
Anabstercorian
Ow
ANSWER: Yes.
Anabstercorian limps back to the Army of Darkness, his magical powers unable to do more than staunch the bleeding. The Illithid and Drow bow respectfully to him before he slumps to his knees.
<< Healing. Now. And there will be no sarcastic comments! Not one of you could have survived what I just did. >>
They nod and begin to tend to his wounds, carrying him to his command Rockjammer.
ANSWER: I hate to say this, but someone ... DID ... snicker in the background, when Anabstercorian said that.
Anabstercorian is psychically hurt, but not so psychically hurt he can't identify who the snickerer was - a dwarf, who thinks this about as funny as it gets.
Everyone else in that room backs away from said dwarf quickly, and they carefully try not to think of ANYTHING AT ALL, knowing what the consequences of an incorrect thought might be.
As for the dwarf, he folds his arms over his chest, and huffs:
So, yer hurt. Ye'd laugh at me, were I to be hurtin.
Go stuff it, Anabstercorian, if ya don't like it.
Can't take the heat, ya shouldn't be fightin at all.
Everyone in the room is now scrambling for the exits - this leaves Anabstercorian only half bandaged, and still bleeding ...
Edena, my strategy for fighting Red Goo armies will be simple. I will have a backpack and Shades of Cataclysmic Redoubt. The backpack will contain a high-yield nuclear bomb. I will detonate the bomb in the midst of my enemies. This is just for later reference. I'm not attacking anyone yet.
ANSWER: You don't have nuclear weapons yet. Send me an e-mail concerning the Cataclysmic Redoubts - I have lost my article on this, and need it.
Anabstercorian, High Leader of the Solistarim, who are North-West of the Land of Black Ice, and have a Power Level of about 220.
ANSWER: No. It's Anabstercorian, High Leader of the Solistarim, who is being snickered at by one of his dwarven commanders.
- - -
Serpenteye
OOC: So this is the end of the end of the world that never was and the beginning of another truer end?
Hi Edena and everybody else! Hi Mr Draco!
ANSWER: Hey there! Welcome back to the IR, Serpenteye!
The God Emperor of the Union of Worlds, the Union of Oerth and the Great Empire of Aerdi, the God of all portfolios, prepares himself for battle. The Lord of Love (one of his many aspects) embraces that aspect of his being, flooding his body and mind with pure energy, pure love.
ANSWER: The Lord of Love? Uh huh. There is a diety of love and passion on Oerth (can't remember the name right now) and she isn't stepping down.
Besides, you haven't stated you are treating the POWs with the love and (all the other stuff Mina recommended) that Mina recommended.
If you take her advice, and every POW in the Union gets all the illusory women he wants, or illusory men she wants, plus an illusory mansion, endless amounts of illusory food, real medical care and cure spells, and it becomes the desire and envy of all soldiers to be taken prisoner by the Union of Oerth - THEN I will dub the God Emperor the Lord of Love!
He steps out to the middle of the battlefield, glowing like a sun in the eyes of the celestials, like the shadow of the multiverse to the shade and like the fires of salvation to the Red Army, and speaks:
"Hold!" his voice thunders over the combattants and
ANSWER: They stop for just a second. Mind you, Uvenelei's forces are there - UVENELEI, READ THIS - they could attack the God Emperor if they wished.
for a moment he is the focus of every eye. He turns to the reds: "I feel your pain. I know the deapths of your hatred. I see your sorrow. I see your souls. Your souls have been tortured, your minds have been maimed, your bodies been violated but your true nature, the very core of your being is still your own. You are fighting inside, doomed to forever battle against yourself. You are lost," His voice is full of compassion and love. "but I offer salvation. Open yourselves to me, open the part of you that still remains your own and you will be released. You will live again. Pure."
The God Emperor concentrates, pulls further energy into himself, so much that he begin to feel his soul weaken and fade away, so much that his body begins to blurr into insubstantiality. He is filled by love, filled beyond the point of breaking.
And then it is all released in a precise explosion, aimed not at the bodies of the red army but at their souls. For a moment their souls are bathed in pure love and, woven within that love, an undetectable web of compulsion to direct their future devotion (if the love-bath works).
ANSWER: That was, actually, a really good idea, and if someone of truly pure heart (who had not sponsored the Olympic Games of Torture!) and great power, had tried this, it would have worked ... although it would have cost the person doing it several levels lost, permanently.
It would have freed some of the Red Army.
In the case of the God Emperor, though, it has little effect (he DID, after all, hold the Olympic Games of Torture, and it takes time for a soul to turn white ...)
The Red Army's leader speaks:
There shall be a new Union of the Worlds, and WE shall lead it.
You, God Emperor, shall be our slave.
You will shine our shoes.
You will brush our teeth.
You will dress us in the morning.
You will serve us breakfast in bed.
You will wait on us at dinner.
And, you will bathe all our women, then have your hands cut off for daring to touch them, only to have your hands regenerated each time for the next woman.
And no, Mina and her One God won't save you.
We will cast down the One God, and Mina will serve us alongside you!
We give you 5 seconds to run ...
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3
2
1 ...
