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Message: <blockquote data-quote="darkbard" data-source="post: 9201344" data-attributes="member: 1282">The last Bladeling on the field is slain, and there is a brief moment of utter stillness. Then, Xin Mae emerges from behind the safety of an ancient and giant erratic boulder, a quill and sheaves of papyrus desperately clutched in his tight fists. "And on the day of The Battle for the Succor of Dolg Olsolis did fall the Hero Gan, a simple and forthright man who loved children and beasts and brought his mighty sword arm to bear in the hopeful deliverance of the besieged, to spare them their plight and ensure the spread of Delban's faith to all peoples of the Dolgs. A big man has fallen, but in his stead is born The Martyr of Dolg Olsolis, and so shall he be remembered. Thus it is recorded, and thus always will he be recalled." The scholar and linguist seems settled into an unshakable state of near-sedation by the death, so unlike his nervous, excitable norm.* * *Keldan retrieves the gem-encrusted helmet of the captain and the battalion's warchest.* * *Though the battle has paused, it is not over. To the north, at Dolg Olsolis's gates, the warhorns of the remaining phalanxes of the Legion of Ruth sound even now, marshaling their forces. "Look there," observes Xin Mae, "the petrified remains of an ancient cypress. It is said that a secret way into the fortress can be found by following a trail at its base."IBHEA pulls from a pocket in his alba a carved piece of obsidian in the shape of a donkey. "Lay-ah!" he intones, and the carving alters and expands, transforming into a mount of appropriate size, braying and kicking at the sand with its rear hooves. "Help me load our fallen comrade onto Sunspot's back, Keldan, scrivener, and then we will see about this secret way."* * *Many moments later, the group has navigated a dangerous, meandering trail, no more than a footpath, really, that leads to a bronze door set into a hidden spot high on the butte. At the approach of the three figures, with a fourth sprawled across the back of the stone equine, the door cracks open. Behind, is revealed a starved and desperate populace on its last legs."Good people of Dolg Olsolis, we are here to provide hope for the coming better days in Delban's name! Though not yet defeated, the Bladeling Horde has suffered great losses at our hands; yet for all that, we are not without irreparable sorrow of our own. Lo, Mighty Gan, a warrior strong in arms and honest in spirit, has fallen as martyr to their wicked blades in our coming."What's more, we bear gifts that will aid in the replenishing of your stores, treasure taken from our fallen enemies."[HR][/HR]My thoughts:As for what remains in Dolg Olsolis, do I have the following correct: my trajectory is to rally aid for its succor, as (I assume) an SC, and then a final combat against the remaining Legionnaires, the group from area A, not already defeated?I think the SC could be neatly tied to locating the remaining Blessed in the Dolg, with supernatural fallout on a Success leading to (i) aid against the remaining army and (ii) a religious revival that betokens the spread of Delban's faith.[HR][/HR]Per [USER=6696971]@Manbearcat[/USER] ,Why don't we do this.  Why don't you write a vignette about you guys finding the hidden trail into Dolg Olsoris (outlined in C) and coming upon an utterly besieged, starving collective.  Your aim here is to do exactly as you've outlined in (i) and (ii).  The Skill Challenge will default to Level +2 because of this, Comp 2.The decision-point I had in mind was the following:* Take a Short Rest only and rally the Dolg, pressing the immediacy of the situation, and the sudden opportunity that needs seizing upon.* Take an Extended Rest and the Level of the Skill Challenge increases by +2 because these peoples' spirits are broken already due to privation and losses suffered.  Another day is asking a hell of a lot of their morale and of their will to hold.On a failure, the force of A raids Dolg Olsoris and its just you and Keldan with the beleagured people hunkering down in their homes or falling to their knees and begging for mercy.After your vignette and your choice of the two above, I'll include your opening obstacle based on what you've written in your vignette and your choice.XP: 1578 - 350 * 2 (companion PCs) = 878.LOOT: 700 coin and 1 art object worth 250 gp coin[HR][/HR]This will level Ibhea to 9 (Arunny is midcombat but will level up thereafter).His statistics don't change significantly (as it's an odd-level increase); his new HP total is 64, and he picks up a new Daily Power. I will choose Decree of Khirad, the L1 Warlock Daily.[SPOILER]<h3>Decree of Khirad</h3><h3>Warlock Attack 1</h3>A pale blue flame appears above your brow as you utter a condemnation that makes foes mistake allies for enemies.Daily   ✦     Arcane, Charm, Implement, PsychicStandard Action      Close blast 3Target: Each enemy in the blastEffect: Before the attack, you slide the target 2 squares.Attack: Charisma vs. WillHit: The target makes a melee basic attack as a free action against a creature of your choice. If the target misses with the attack, it takes 1d6 + your Charisma modifier psychic damage.Miss: 1d6 + Charisma modifier psychic damage.[/SPOILER]Keldan's stats don't change too much either: his HPs increase to 92, and all his defenses, attacks, and damage increase by 1, AC 23, F22, R21, W24.I will be taking a Short Rest, which will reset Keldan's HP to full, and Ibhea suffered no damage, so he is at full HP, with 2 Surges remaining.I'm also taking advantage of the opportunity to exchange some coin and loot here since we're again in a settlement. Per our houserules, it's a DC 27 Streetwise check (at-level Moderate +10) in such circumstances, and I've rolled 14 +16 = 30, so that's a success. Ibhea will trade his no-longer-needed Veteran's Leather Armor +2 (at half value, ie 1300 gp) + 600 gp Astral shards + 250 art object (the helm Keldan recovered) +450 gp (warchest) for Bracers of Escape (L7 Arms Slot Item). I imagine this as an exchange between hosts and guests. This will leave Ibhea with 435 GP, just enough to contribute to an at-level SC or similar use!Bracers[SPOILER]<h3>Bracers of EscapeLevel 7+ Uncommon</h3>These bracers can whisk you out of harm's way.<table style='width: 100%'><tr><td>Lvl 7</td><td></td><td>2,600 gp</td><td></td><td>Lvl 27</td><td></td><td>1,625,000 gp</td></tr><tr><td>Lvl 17</td><td></td><td>65,000 gp</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr></table>Arms Slot<h3>Power ✦ Daily (Immediate Interrupt)</h3>You can use this power when you are the target of a melee attack. You teleport 2 squares.Level 17: 5 squares.Level 27: 10 squares.[/SPOILER][HR][/HR]Alright, so you're electing for the Short Rest and level +2 option (rather than Extended Rest refresh and Level +4).Level 11, Complexity 2 SC (2 Secondary Skills, 6 Successes before 3 Failures, DCs 13/19/27, take 1 Advantage due to your stunning victories over much of the force arrayed against Dolg Olsolis):  Muster the forces of Olsolis for the coming raid, deliver them from privation, and instill in them faith in Delban's glorious purpose.Cistern nearly dry.  Date palms fully plucked.  Silo open and only remnant grain to sift through.  A few withered goats remain.  Though the people are on the precipice of starvation and the madness that comes with it, all in the Dolgs have heard of the simple but capable faculty of Gan...of his persistent bravery in defending Hana...and of his steadfast sacrifice in all of the former roles.  Faces are a stricken mask of disbelief and grief.Before anything else, Gan must be put to rest in a ceremony befitting a hero of such consistent valor, small and large.  Spirits must be raised from this low before considering any other overtures.++++++++++++++++++++++++++HARD DCFailure here will shake the potential forces you can muster herein should you ultimately succeed at your SC.  They will take -2 to defenses (save ends) to begin the raid on Dolg Olsolis.[HR][/HR] IBHEA and the worn representatives of the Dolg trade gifts in ritual exchange. Though there is precious little in the fortress's stores, a hasty and meager meal of porridge is prepared to complete the welcoming ceremony. The whisky priest uncorks a bottle of araq to conclude the ritual, though perhaps he is less generous in his apportioning to others as might be expected from their desperate need of some respite from the siege.His face flush, the whisky priest stands. "Now that our union is made, let us pay the proper respects to the fallen martyr and confer beloved Gan's body into Delban's welcoming flames."A small pyre is constructed in the town agora of whatever wood and burnables can be spared.Sunspot brays his brittle cry."Brethren," Ibhea begins, "our fallen warrior before us is no sign of failure but of hope. Delban teaches that the ills befalling our world are due to excess, that to persevere against our basest impulses we must restrain our desires, our drives, our very selves. In this way can be restored the holy order of equity and justice to the fallen."Several bedraggled villagers nod their heads in eager agreement. "What The Martyr Gan did in giving his life was the model of restraint, curtailing even his drive to heroism and self-preservation in favor of sacrifice and proffering to others the opportunity to continue in his stead. And so, let us release now his body, as has been released his spirit, freed forever from the tribulations of a broken world!" As the priest's voice rises to crescendo, he unleashes a torrent of black flame upon the pyre and Gan's inert body. The black flames catch quickly, black smoke rising and the body soon catching flame. And then something happens. The black flames turn purple, and the gathered mourners recoil in horror at a ceremony gone wrong.++++++++++++++I'm wagering that Advantage for 2 Successes if meeting that Difficult DC.Ibhea makes a Secondary Skill Diplomacy check to sway the populace that Gan's sacrifice is but a foretelling of their coming victory, rousing their broken spirits temporarily, r(9)+9=18 vs 13 Easy DC. Success for +2 forward tohis Primary Skill Religion check, (r)1+17+2=20 vs 27 Difficult DC. Failure.Advantage used, one Secondary Skill used, and magnificent failure! <sad trombone> <img class="smilie smilie--emoji" alt="😆" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f606.png" title="Grinning squinting face    :laughing:" data-shortname=":laughing:" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" />[HR][/HR]0/6 Successes (1 Failure/1 Hard DC Available/1 Secondary Skill Available)No, not the flame itself.  The flickering conflagration that consumes the pyre and the body of Gan merely has its hue momentarily distorted...a fell reflection that serves as metaphor rather than transmutation.Heads crane.  Eyes go skyward.  Gasps abound.  As before in Dolg Hana, waves of purple undulate across the celestial landscape high above.  Images of distorted beings seem to take shape from the alien aurora.  Horror erupts as the ritual to lay the brave martyr to rest is interrupted.  A supernatural threat to the exhausted people of Dolg Olsolis is more than they can bear.  They throw themselves to the ground in supplication and terror at the incomprehensible manifestation.  (1)At the same time, one of the spectators spots a shadowy figure atop the highest of the three peaks that loom over the elevated Dolg Olsolis.  "LOOK!"  Pointed finger reveals the cloaked Legion of Ruth scout surveiling Dolg Olsolis with spyglass and preparing for a precarious downclimb back to the besieging host.  If they get back with their intel on numbers and assets, your efforts will be at disadvantage and thoughts of surrender will no doubt creep into the minds of those you seek to inspire!  (2)++++++++++++++++How do you deal with both (1) and (2).  Each are MEDIUM DC.[HR][/HR](1) Reassured that he has not misrememered--or slurred--the Rite of Return to Ashes, IBHEA raises his voice to a shout, breaking the terror that ripples through the assembled. "Do not fear this alien anomaly, goodfolk of Dolg Olsolis! 'T'is but a mirage that would divert our attention from fulfilling our duty to the Martyred."Nay, rely on Omthala's clarity to dispel this intrusion and ensure deliverance of the faithful to Her Son's embrace. "Radiant Mother above, we pray to you now, in our hour of mourning and need, to wipe these foul visions from our eyes so that honor may be done Your Son's mortal servant, our faith reinforced through his sacrifice." As if in answer to Ibhea's prayer, the sun above bursts forth from between two purple-gray clouds, dispersing its yellow light across the heavens. An audible collective sigh is exhaled by the mourners.(2) Then, in quick response to the old grand dame who espied the Bladeling scout, the whisky priest steps forward from the crowd, in the direction of the highest of three peaks, and gathers crackling black energy into a sphere in his outspread hand. Perhaps in emulation of the Javelineers who felled poor Gan--and almost laid him, himself, low on the battlefield, as well--he hurls the sphere far, farther than any human should have the capacity to perform, and the Legionnaire of Ruth is struck where they cling to their spyglass, their descent unattempted, a crumpled form in its stead.++++++++++++++(1) Ibhea makes a Primary Skill Religion check (training exhausted) to beseech Omthala's aid in dispelling the Caiphonian apparition, r(15)+12=27 vs 19 Moderate DC. Success.(2) Ibhea uses Hand of Blight to strike down the Legionnaire of Ruth before they can return to camp with intelligence about the Dolg, r(7) +11 +2 Cunning Stalker +1 Prime Shot = 21 vs 21 L9 NAD. Success.[HR][/HR]2/6 Successes (1 Failure/1 Hard DC Available/1 Secondary Skill Available)Gan put to fitting rest.The Caiphonian storm heading Bantouk-wards adjured.The scout smote.Yet so much of flagging will and health remains.  (1) A man of extremely advanced age pulls a pittance from the cistern...just enough to wet the lips of those fully broken by thirst.  If not food, these people need water...desperately...or there will be no fight in them (MEDIUM DC).(2) Age.  Elderly.  Youth.  Where are the fighting-age adolescents and adults?  Injured or dead, that is where.  A grim triage center for those who clashed with the legions forces tells the tale of Dolg Olsolis fighting-capable.  They have little in the way of supplies for first aid and many are injured beyond mundane means.  The bladeling hordes' encampments are always equipped with magical salves and unguents...How do you deal with the personnel problem in the Dolg?  (HIGH DC if you attempt to sneak into the bladeling camp.  MEDIUM DC otherwise).[HR][/HR](1) KELDAN puts a firm but gentle hand on Ibhea's shoulder. "Our companion is charred and returned to the gods, Messenger, but we overlook the pressing needs of the good people of Dolg Olsolis. Without immediate sustenance, there will be none living in the fortress to stand with us against the Legion of Ruth."The Dolg Aratian tilts his bearded, shaggy head towards the cistern. "Well's run dry. Folks will die soon of privation. But perhaps in this I can lend my skill."Rooting about the unburned kindling near the pyre, he picks out a forked switch and begins pacing back and forth across the agora, slim limb extended. He has caught the populace's attention now, and some collect around and follow him. Soon, he pulls up near two dirty and emaciated urchins, the switch dipping as if suddenly ponderous."Many a time in the sere summer months, I would dowse the dry hills to water my flock. Dig here, and we shall have a new well to supply us," he finishes proudly.* * * (2) Surveying the wounded fighting-capable adults of the Dolg, IBHEA decides quickly that if they are to stand against the Legion, warriors must be healed and released from their sickbeds. And so he gathers a small group of agile youngsters to accompany him through the secret bronze gate and within shouting distance of the Bladeling's main remaining encampment. Dusk is beginning to fall, that time when even sharp-eyed sentries battle the changing, dimming light."Wait here, young ones, for I must go this last alone," he practically whispers. The whisky priest is no stranger to the shadows, practiced in the art of moving unseen and unheard since his days as an urchin in Burning Row; now, his patron Delban adds the power of sorcery through means of the enchanted boots acquired from Elven traders. Ibhea literally disappears for a brief moment, stealing into and out of a Bladeling field hospital, and reappearing, arms laden with unguents and salves, at a breakneck run towards the group. ++++++++++++Keldan makes a Primary Skill Nature check to dowse for an alternate water supply, r(9)+13=22 vs 19 Moderate DC. Success.Ibhea expends his Boots of Elvenkind Daily Power--Effect: You move up to your speed, and you are hidden (invisible and silent) during the move--for an Autosuccess.[HR][/HR]4/6 Successes (1 Failure/1 Hard DC Available/1 Secondary Skill Available)The morning sun tickles the horizon and, as it does, fresh well-water trickles past the lips of the nearly zomibified-by-thirst residents of Dolg Olsolis.The pilfered healing agents bring those near dead back from the brink and those injured to a state of repair.Spirits are rising like the sun.That is when howl...or screech...something penetrating...racks the ears and bodies of all present like a wave of discord.  A physical blade of terrible sound cutting into the mind.  After recovering from the stagger, all eyes pan to the dark entrance of a cave cut into the rock, hewn stair descending its depths.  One of the elders and master potmaker nearby, Jaleh by name, detects Ibhea's consternation and leans in with a whisper.  "Ziwar and Yasmin.  Returned from us from a terrible plight in the desert wilds.  Cast into some awful pit not of their designs.  A kind soul delivered them from their suffering...but they returned...changed...and changing still.  Conjoined, we thought the seemingly magical affliction would fade.  It only grew worse.  Their eyes became barren of sight and their skin became so sensitive that Omthala's rays had their comfort stolen, replaced by horrific pain.  That is the sound you hear.  It is physical hurt at even the most distant rays of the sun...it is emotional hurt at what has been lost."She walks him nearer the cave entrance.  "In the time before, the girls were infused with magic from Our Radiant Queen of the Sky.  Now that font is quenched.  And our prayers and our mundane healers have provided no succor.  We know not what to do but to ease them into another, unfortunate pit to diminish their suffering until whatever terrible fate this is claims them..."She looks away in some combination of sadness and revulsion."Soon...I think..."Jaleh walks away from the cave entrance.+++++++++++++++++++++++What do you do, [USER=1282]@darkbard[/USER] ?  Maybe there is nothing to do?  If you put them out of their misery, you can have it at the MEDIUM DC and that success will count against the HARD DC.If you confront and cast out their Caiphonian taint, (a) make your move at the HARD DC and (b) you will have to still Heal them afterward as the damage done (and the undoing of their plight) will leave them on death's door.  That would be at the MEDIUM DC.[HR][/HR]At Jaleh's mention of a pit and mysterious, benevolent stranger, IBHEA and Xin Mae exchange knowing glances.When the elderly potter has hobbled off, the two pilgrims enter the dark cave and light a sputtering, dim tallow candle before descending the winding, hewn stairs. At the bottom, squatting amidst fetid bedding of loose straw is an abomination, which wails pitifully at their approach. What was once, clearly, two girls, is now a single creature, a fusion of the two before: one clouded hazel eye and one clouded brown above two twisted mouths set in a single, pallid, asymmetrical face; four arms emerging from a misshapen torso and a single pair of crossed legs.One mouth opens to speak, "I can sense the goddess about you, priest, even as I could in that other. And yet, something else, too. Do you feel it, Ziwar?""Yes, Yasmin. Though it, too, burns, there is almost something soothing in its darkness," speaks the other mouth.It is clear more than two minds work their expression here, that some third entity suffuses the two children. "What you sense, pitiable but blessed ones," pronounces the whisky priest with confidence, "are the heralded Black Flames of Delban, Son of the Radiant Mother, returned to free you to your destiny." He retrieves and unwraps The Shadowed Sun from its oiled coverings, turning pages until he comes across what he's looking for. "Yes, here it is: the Ritual to Dispel Aberrant Sorcery!" Before initiating the ritual, the whisky priest swallows three long draughts from a bottle of araq. "For luck. And power," he says quietly. And then Ibhea begins intoning those words, untranslated, even here in the sacred text, from the ancient tongue of dragons, used by arcanists across the ages, "Beliir x'crathica forticulati sergim hianthi ...""Hiarnthi," Xin Mae corrects. "So it is pronounced. Even the most novice scholars of Draconic know that word. The most novice scholars." He sighs. "Begin again."* * *Ibhea completes the ritual, holding aloft Omthala's symbol, which gleams with a brilliant radiance that washes over the creature(s) before them, scouring whatever malevolence lurks within.+++++++++++++Ibhea makes a Secondary Skill Religion check (training exhausted) to locate within the sacred text the appropriate ritual to cast out the Caiphonian taint, +12 vs 13 Easy DC= autosuccess for +2 forward to Primary Skill Check.He also uses Shining Symbol (Encounter Power) for a +2 power bonus to the roll.Primary Skill Arcana check, r(5) TRIGGERS XIN MAE'S HISTORICAL REVELATIONTrigger: An ally within 5 squares of you makes a knowledge check and dislikes the result.Effect: The target rerolls the knowledge check and uses either result.Reroll(19) +13 +2 Secondary Skill +2 Power Bonus = 36 vs 27 Difficult DC. Success.++++++++++++The misshapen form rocks frantically and quakes. Its sightless eyes glow gradually, then emphatically, with a deep purple. Both mouths release a terrifying scream of pain. A brilliant flash, and it is diffused. One is now two again.Xin Mae rushes over to the still forms on the hay nest. "Ibhea, do something! They do not breathe! This won't do at all. No, this cannot end this way. Rather unseemly. Rather. Do something!"The whisky priest rummages through a pocket in his qabā and withdraws a sleek glass bottle. Dividing it between the two still forms, he empties its contents into their mouths. And kneels there, waiting.And waiting.And then ... paired, deep intakes of breath, mouths dilating and shutting like fish out of water, and four eyes fluttering open."Delban is merciful," Ibhea sighs under his breath."Welcome, Blessed, to your destiny!"++++++++++++Ibhea expends his Potion of Healing <s>for a +2 item bonus to his Primary Skill Heal check, r(6) +6 +2 item bonus = 14 vs 19 Moderate DC. Failure.</s> for an Autosuccess.Per [USER=6696971]@Manbearcat[/USER] , I would treat your expenditure of your PoH Consumable as a Daily or 1/10 xp worth coin. That should be autosuccess and resolve the SC.</blockquote>

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