Planescape 3.5e - Cold Black Mask

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Heinrich fixes his helm back onto his head, leaving only his eyes exposed, straps his shield onto his forearm and sits carefully in a chair so that he can see both the door and the window. Pulling out his longsword, he sets it across his knees for easy access, and relaxes, ready for the long watch. "Sindr, I shall wake you when Istvan returns, that you might cast your spell of alarm. Until then I shall keep the watch, and see that nothing disturbs us."

 

[Cage-Rattler]

István Angushtri:[sblock] ooc: My mistake; I misread Silence's duration as being 1 round / level, not 1 minute level which means (unless my math is way off -- completely possible) that you technically could go for another 43 rounds, if you chose.

I'd rule that a character wouldn't be able to determine how much DR / Fast Healing a creature had in anything but abstract terms; I'll give you an example below, and hopefully it'll be satisfactory.

One last thing; I believe it takes one Move Action to sheathe a weapon, and a Move Action to draw a weapon (István doesn't have the Quick Draw feat). I willing to allow that István can both sheathe the rapier and draw the dagger in a single Move Action, but the imp'll gain a 50-foot lead on him.

If the imp keeps flying at its speed (Double Move = 100 ft/rnd), it'll reach the warehouse door at the beginning of Round 3.

With all that in mind, I'll let you edit your actions for Round 2 if you want.
[/sblock]

ooc: Doops; sorry all, I forgot I've been meaning to clear up an issue with István's intentions. In-character post to come after I get his reply.

 

[Dire Lemming]

OOC: You can draw a weapon as part of a move as a free action.

 

[Ambrus]

[sblock=Cage-Rattler]Your math isn't off, though all of a whisper-gnome's spell-like abilities are racial abilities rather than class abilities, so its caster level is perpetually stuck at 1st level; hence the 1 minute duration rather than a 5 minute duration.

In most campaigns I've played, including my own, the DM usually gives some hints about the amount of damage reduction, fast healing and AC a monster has after a round or two of combat. DR only comes in three levels: 5/–, 10/–, 15/–, so if you'd like to be abstract about it, you can describe it as lesser, moderate and greater invulnerability. Resistance to various energies likewise follows the 5, 10, 15 guideline while regeneration and fast healing usually only occur in the 2 or 5 range (lesser or greater). I'm not trying to tell you how to run your game, it's just that without being able to tell the difference between lesser, moderate and greater DR and fast healing, a character can't gauge whether he's winning, loosing or simply wasting his time and hit points by continuing to fight a creature.

For example, from what you'd described in round one, that I'd dealt 21 points of damage before DR (without making any mention of the amount of DR involved) and that the imp's "wound seems to close" I'm left to guess what effect, if any, István has had on the creature so far. If it's an imp with lesser DR and fast healing then of those 21 hit points it's only suffered 16 damage and has healed 2 and so I can gauge that the creature is still badly injured and that István is winning the combat. If on the other hand however, the "imp" is actually a polymorphed pit fiend (oh god I hope not) with greater DR and regeneration then of those 21 hit points then it's suffered only 6 damage and healed 5 and so I've had no appreciable effect at all on the "imp".

In my opinion, I believe players should be able to gauge how deeply their weapons bite into a creature (to gauge the amount of DR) and how quickly its wounds heal (to gauge fast healing and regeneration) so that they don't end up pointlessly sacrificing their characters' lives in a hopeless battle rather than fleeing when they have the chance.

You're right that one can't both draw and sheathe a weapon in the same move-equivalent action. But I didn't say that István was sheathing his rapier; he's simply drawing the dagger with his empty hand and attacking normally with it instead of the rapier.

You hadn't made any previous mention of the imp increasing its speed in a double-move so I'd assumed it was continuing to advance at a speed of 50-ft. as it did back in round 1. The only change I'll make in my stated actions is to have István initiate a charge against the imp, adding a further +2 to the attack roll (and forfeiting his +1 height bonus for leaping above the imp) and suffering a -2 penalty to his AC. Make sense?[/sblock]OOC: Sorry for holding things up guys.

 

[Cage-Rattler]

István Angushtri:[sblock] ooc: Aha! Thanks for clearing that up. My fault on not being clearer on the imp's movements; since István had been getting a charge off on every round, he would've been able to keep up a 100' / round rate. No worries though; we'll say the imp's been going slow up to this point, and that it'll take two more rounds at this rate for him to reach the warehouse if that's where he's headed, and if he doesn't start putting on the speed, and if István doesn't kill him before he gets there .

István's Round 2: The gnome's hand wraps tightly around the hilt of his silver dagger (yay!) and he comes down on the imp like an avenging angel, the pure metal biting deep. (Attack = AC 20; hit. Damage = 5, DR bypassed)

Imp's Round 3: The imp's fresh wound steams and smokes, and is slow in closing. (Imp is Severely Wounded; has Fast Healing / Lesser) Knowing that it hasn't been able to outrun the gnome, the imp changes tactics; it whirls on István and lashes out with its barbed tail. The scorpion-like stinger crashes against the gnome's protective mithral shirt but fails to penetrate. (AC 25 hits; Damage negated by armor.)

Now on István's Round 3.[/sblock]

In the upstairs room of the Slumbering Lamb, the four remaining residents began to prepare for the night. Heinrich, ever vigilant, noticed that even though Hagen lay still in bed, he seemed restless, gazing upward at the ceiling or to where the mask sat. There was an electric tension in the air, compounded by their gnomish companion's missing presence.

=======================================

Anthony waited patiently while Lilly picked out a bed at random -- both were identical -- and the two readied themselves for sleep. Within moments of arranging herself in bed, Lilly's breathing became slow and rhythmic, but sleep came more slowly to the aasimar.

* * *

Anthony felt himself stir suddenly; he had been dozing, or just about to doze, when something woke him. Not much time could have passed; his tiefling friend was still sleeping in the same position, and a diffused glow through the partitions told him that the lantern was still burning in the main commons.

Gradually he became aware of a faint commotion; a muted argument, coming from Dinah's room. He easily identified her voice, and while he couldn't make out any individual words, he could tell that she sounded angry or frustrated. The other voice was a mystery; a low murmur that he could barely pick up through the closed door.

 

[Dire Lemming]

Concerned about what exactly could be going on so late at night, Anthony quietly gets out of bed and creeps closer to the door to listen.

 

[Ambrus]

[sblock=Cage-Rattler]OOC: Yay for silver dagger! Yay for mithral chain! Yay for not being poisoned! Yay for hitting the damned thing! w00t! Istvan makes a mental note to pick silver when attacking devils from the Temple of the Lords of the Nine in the future.

BTW, I forgot to factor in the -1 penalty to the damage roll inherent in all silver weapons. Sorry. Please subtract it from last round's damage roll. I've factored it back in below.

A quick question; is this imp tiny-sized? If so then I believe István would have gotten an Attack of Opportunity against it when it attacked him because it would have 0-ft. reach and would have had to enter his space first. If that's the case, he would have tried hitting it with his silver dagger again (dagger +9, 1d3-2 damage, minimum 1).

If István does get the AoO against the imp, and if he hits, and if it goes unconscious, then the whisper-gnome will execute a Coup de grace on the creature as a full-round action during his turn. If not however, just go with the actions listed below.

Invigorated by his successful choice of weapon and in striking a wounding blow against the imp, István dives to the side, executes a simple forward roll and springs to his feet in the blink of an eye. Moving at a dizzying speed around the infernal creature, the harrier attempts to distract and confound the imp before lunging towards it once more. Just before striking however, István nimbly leaps up over-top the creature to strike it from above with his bloodied silver dagger (Move-action to circle around the imp and execute a jump check to gain a +1 height advantage and sufficient movement for a skirmish attack before striking as a standard action, silver dagger +10, 1d3-2 +1d6 damage).[/sblock]

 

[Cage-Rattler]

István Angushtri:[sblock] István's Round 3: István's quick footwork catches the wounded imp off-guard, and he manages to deliver a vicious slash that completely severs the devil's poison-tipped tail! (Attack = Natural 20 -- but no critical; Damage = 7, DR bypassed)
The imp thrashes in mid-air with an eerily silent shriek, and a gout of flame bursts out of its mouth before it crashes lifeless to the hard ground, inches from its occasionally-twitching tail.
Combat ends. I did give an AoO for the Tiny imp attacking István, but for some reason forgot to include it in the previous post (AC 14 missed). And while it would be funny if the imp/raven was a disguised Pit Fiend, I wouldn't unleash that on you. Yet. [/sblock]

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Standing to one side of the door (so as to give himself some time to react should it suddenly open), the aasimar was barely able to make out Dinah's part of the conversation. (Listen Check taking 10 = 20.) The other speaker's words were largely unintelligible; whomever she was speaking to probably had their back to the door. Dinah clearly sounded put out about something.

"... been here. Maybe if you leather-headed sods paid attention the first time, we wouldn't have to go through this again!

There was a murmur of response, and when Dinah spoke again, she seemed less sure of herself.

"If you've been keeping an eye on my case, you'd already have your answer, wouldn't you?" Another murmured reply, and this time her voice sounded angry. "Aye, I do mind. You bleeders can either sod off and leave us alone, or I'll have Kalel throw you out by your sodding scars!"

There was a moment of heavy silence -- then the sudden sounds of a scuffle. The struggle died off quickly, and the other, unknown voice spoke again; this time, Anthony could make out distinct words.
"If she makes a noise, just stick a shiv in 'er ribs."

The door began to open.

 

[Zurai]

Sindr, too, is restless. He lies back in the bedding, but his eyes start sightlessly at the ceiling, his mind busy processing the day's - and night's - events. Especially troubling is Istvan's disappearance.

 

[Ambrus]

[sblock=ooc]Having witnessed the infernal creature's unnatural ability to heal itself, the whisper-gnome wastes no time in kneeling next to the imp's prone form and stabbing it through the heart (round 4: full-round action to perform a coup-de-grace). Applying his full weight to the blade, István runs the devil through and then twists the blade widdershins to allow the last of its life blood to run freely out onto the cobblestone-covered street of the Clerk's Ward (round 5: full-round action to perform a second coup-de-grace).

Standing once more, the whisper-gnome lets out a mystically silenced sigh of relief as he retrieves a folded leather sack from a pocket while shaking the blood off of his crystal shard and returning the weapon to the sheath at his back (round 6: move-equivalent action each to retrieve a stored item, and sheathe a weapon). Reaching down, István grips his dagger handle and deftly uses it to pick up the imp's body and drop it into the sack, dagger and all, in one swift motion. A nimble flick of his boot deftly flips the severed stinger into the sack as well (round 7: move-equivalent action each to pick up both body parts, free action to drop them into the bag). Tucking the improvised body-bag under his cloak, the devil-slayer checks that his scarf and hood are firmly in place as he darts out of the street and straight up the wall of the nearest building (round 8: double move-equivalent towards cover on a rooftop, attempting to Hide +23, taking 10).

Confidant that no one has heard sound of the brief conflict, István waits in hiding on the rooftop in the shadow of a chimney for his mystical silence to wane while watching and listening attentively for unwanted attention (Listen +6, Spot +11, taking 20).

OOC: If nothing else happens and István doesn't spot or hear anything suspicious nearby, then he'll return to the nearby boarding house in stealth and proceed to sneak back inside and make his way back up to the party's room. So, did István catch sight of the imp's destination? I'm not clear on that.

BTW, thanks for the AoO. I have to say, I think that was an awesome inaugural fight for István. Kudos to you and many thanks! [/sblock]