Kingdom of Alwen Res: Sword of Power Campaign

[DungeonMaster]

Ivana clicks her heels and is hasted! She tries to move but the creature's tendrils keep on her as though she was being restrained by a physical object!
A flash of light goes by her as Snare leaps from his position and slashes once making the mist shudder.
Ivanna struggles! (using your grapple check you rolled) and is lifted off her feat into the fog and darkness beyond your sight!
Ivanna loses 4 Con from blood drain. You're carried very quickly off to you know not where but you think the thing followed a more or less straight line, you feel as though you're high-up in the air, you're not sure how far though because beneath you is only fog.
The creature's coloration is changing as it drains your blood and it clearly resembles a knot of fog with a vaguely humanoid shape including arms and a torso. Its lower body trails off into vapor. Initially white its body is now tinged with rusty red and the white glow of its eyes is lurid. It exhibits no other facial features but the unfeeling stare of the undeath.
Cassiel and Krymtchie: you watch as Ivana is literally lifted off her feat and pulled screaming off into the fog above the dark water - before you can even react! What do you do now?



Ben: Using bluff to hide incurs a -10 on your hide check and attacking while hidden gives you a -20 circumstance penalty. I rolled the spots in order, first to see if it sees you on the attack roll, which it does. Then your bluff diversion works (it has no sense motive) but you tried too much! Double moving + using the bluff to hide makes you check at 40-10-5 = 25 and the creature sees you (spot 28)! Doesn't matter though because it's trying to kill Ivana.

Jason: one day, in the far far future, D&D will have a simple polymorph mechanic. That day is not today...

 

[ThaDoc]

Well that's not good.
27 of 67 HP

So describe this out to me, cuz it's still not making sense. The room was, what, ankle deep (?) in murky water. This mist is on top of the water? and the tendril came from below the mist and up? or from the ceiling and down?
SO, which way was I pulled? down or up?

That and I don't quite understand how the tendril attacked and got a full grapple on me in one surprise round. From my fun with Lurgurtz I was under the impression that you have to perform a melee touch attack first, then are able to grapple (dealing damage, pinning or whatever).

Or was this just the grab part and it hasn't started a grapple yet. OMGWTFBBQ my brain is breaking.

In other news, Skype makes Mike's computer go crazy. I believe we've (Mike, Steve, and I) have settled on TeamSpeak 2.0. A similar program that supports Voice-Over-IP/Net. That and it has a Linux server/client install.
GO-GO-GADGET DOWNLOAD! http://www.goteamspeak.com/news.php We're using Mike's server at... ho ho ho ho! Private server, you'll all get PMs. Don't want any unwanted n00b guests.

 

[Bif the Understudy]

Well heres another reason why everyone should have had one of those harnesses.....tsk, tsk, tsk...

Anyway, I suggest a nice dimension door or something similar to get you outta this scrape.
Also, I think snare had moved after his spring attack to where the water dropped down, so I might be in the general area where this thing is dragging Ivana.
I don't know if this makes a difference, but I wasn't trying to hide when I was attacking, only after, once my move was done. But as you said it doesn't matter, since its trying to kill Ivana, it might make a difference though where it tries to go down to its carnal house, since I might be standing there.

About the rods, I don't intend on keeping them, only when I'm scouting, since I'm probably gonna be the first person in a room, the detection abilities would come in handy, and I might be on the roof at the time, so I'd wanna be safe rather than sorry, and I suggest that everyone has one of these devices installed. (The immovable rods are much to useful for one person to have them all the time, especially if they are only going to be used as a ladder)

 

[DungeonMaster]

Yup, all your impressions are correct. As I said earlier I'm testing out monsters from the MM2 which have non-standard mechanics.
This thing has an (Ex) ability called "seize" which means when it makes a successful incorporeal touch attack it automatically wraps a tendril around an opponent. The opponent can break free as though it's a grapple, but it doesn't need to make one to "seize". It also has an (Sp) ability called "lift" which as a free action allows it to lift 300 lbs on a seized object or person telekinetically. It needs to make a successful grapple check to lift against a struggling opponent (and it automatically beats the roll you made).
It then ran, with it's perfect maneuvarbility a good distance into the fog at an up-angle.
The Crimson Death Mist attacked you from above you, at the edge of the mist. The room is ankle deep in water (leg if you're a halfling) and from Snare's investigations the water gets deeper as you move away from the door you had your back against.
What Ivona now realises is the fog gets deeper as you go into it as well, though she's unsure how far the creature has dragged her.
So to recap: It attacked you, hit you, seized you automatically, you cast haste, snare slashed it and it lifted you as a free action and ran into the fog with Ivona in tow, the blood drain is also automatic each round an opponent remains seized.
I like the monster - probably because of a certain "alien" film of my recollection - but I won't drop it into a campaign without testing it first.

I'm going to try and install that program shortly. Our schedules are 3 hours off but in 3 days that will be no problem.

 

[Kinger]

OOC: So, I can't see where it went? Dandy. I suppose instead of my finely rolled attack routine, I'll just have to run after it. 22 to spot it (roll 8619).

And I too reccomend a nice dimension door, so you can, y'know, SURVIVE.

 

[DungeonMaster]

Cassiel knows where it went in general direction - out accross the swampy water and fog, simply by watching Ivana get plucked screaming all the way. You can clearly hear her screams in the distance as it drains her of blood (unless she's too proud to scream ). Are you going to run after it through the water or jump to the collumns? There are a number of columns spaced about the room about 40 feet apart each from what you can see.
What is your light-source?

 

[Kinger]

If I can jump, I'm gonna jump.

I have an ever-burning torch, and thankfully can fight perfectly well with it in my hand.

Leaping to the columns! Rolling... a 3. Huzzah. That gives me a total jump check result of only 55. Damn. After a 20-foot running start, I jump up to 116 feet. If that's close enough to charge I'd like to.

 

[DungeonMaster]

Ok! Just to be clear You can jump to a column about 60 feet out then jump again to another column 40 feet out from that one as a full-round action. The mist obscures the further columns but you guess they're there. Or you can just jump right to where you think she's screaming from and get one attack but you're completely unsure of the footing out there (might be lava for all you know). I'm not sure which you meant? I'll require an attack roll each time (AC 0) and a climb check (DC:20) to grab the columns.

 

[Bif the Understudy]

Yeah, theres gonna be a change in plans for snare's next actions I guess too.

Snare runs over to the immovable rods, releases them and puts one in its holder at his side, "Better grab these batons, I'm sure someone paid good money for them and I wouldn't want them to go missing." Then, turning invisible, Snare begins to make his way into the mist to find his bestest friend, Ivana, or was it Kymchie, he could never remember.


Also, how do I connect to Mike's server, send me an e-mail with details please.

 

[Kinger]

Go-go Spiderman physics!

Sweet. Rebound jumping it is! No need for the climb checks (25 mod anyway, and natural 1 doesn't equate to failure), so all I need to do is roll another jump and some attack rolls, yes?

First Jump Check automatically success, First attack roll (roll of 10) success, First climb check automatically success, Second jump check automatically success, second attack roll (roll of 7) success, second climb check automatically success... Now clinging to second column, I guess.

********

Look before you leap, Cassiel thinks to himself. Leaps of faith were rarely wise. Rather than leap directly after the fleeing creature, the Vigilant Mountain opts to attack only when safe footing is more assured.

Leaving great, splashing footprints in the shallow water, the monk gives himself a running start before flying into the air towards a crumbling column not far away. Landing against it with both feet and one hand, he leaps from the column to a second in a remarkable athletic display. Clinging to the second column like a monkey in a tree, Brother Cassiel thrusts his torch into the shadows and attempts to locate his companion and the elusive creature.