Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Greenfield" data-source="post: 7794178" data-attributes="member: 6669384">I thought you all deserved to know what happened, so here's the epilogue, in pseudo story form.<Story>The sky was a twisted collage of smoke and fire, and the ground shifted  underfoot as Sir Pax Manus, temple knight of Corellan called for his horse.Across the field his opponent was already mounting up, his Second holding the reins and helping secure the tournament straps.There was an odd symmetry to the pair.  Sir Pax, champion of Freedom, wore dark armor of adamantine, scarred where the symbol of a dark deity had been struck and gouged from the surface.Sir Michael Irons, Paladin of Tyranny, sat resplendent in armor of shining mithral, all silver and blue, his cloak billowing behind him like a cloud.  His armor was scarred as well, for it had once carried the sigil of a knight of Pelor.  The irony wasn't lost on either of the pair.Off to one side Leona and Siri sat and watched.  Leona almost bounced in her seat, repeating "This will make such a great story!", with occasional remarks about writing a ballad about it all.Siri tried to ignore the energetic Bard, concentrating on her friend, Sir Pax.  His horse was in pain due to the fiery nature of the place, but the Cleric of Kord was soothing it, granting it protection against the near-hellish flames.At the far end of the field, the man who had been called Shade was pacing impatiently.  He seemed cat-like in his movements, looking sharp eyed and predatory, waiting for his chance to pounce.  He carried only a belt knife, with similar blades visible at the top of each of his boots, yet he felt dangerous.Once both knights were ready, Leona called out in a surprising loud voice, "Are you ready?".  Both men raised their lances, looking at her, then back to each other.Leona stood up on her bench and cried, "Pretend I have a handkerchief to drop."  And then her raised arm snapped down, and the pair were thundering down the field towards each other.Pax' horse was the swifter, as it's feet flew over the lava-boggy field, and he leaned his weight forward, rising up slightly in the stirrups as they crashed together.He felt his lance catch slightly in his opponent's armor, then slide off.  Sir Michael's lance didn't slide, but found a shoulder joint in Pax' armor and emerged bloody.The pair wheeled, paused a moment to ensure that their opponent was ready, then charged again.  Once more the field rang with the sound of impact, and both lances now showed blood.They spun once more and, without pause, thundered down the fiery field once more.Pax raised his lance tip at the last moment, targeting his opponent's head, but Michael shifted slightly in the saddle.  His own lance struck true and so solidly that Pax reeled from the impact, unhorsed by the blow. </story><Commentary> The evil Paladin scored a Critical hit.  My rule for being unhorsed was simple:  When struck, make a Ride check, with the damage done as the target DC.  I'm sure there are official rules somewhere for that sort of thing, but I had no idea what or where they are, so I just ran with what felt right. </Commentary><Story>  Pax rolled as he landed, as he'd been trained, and came up with his lance in his hand.  Blood flowed freely from the tear in his side.Sir Michael paused.  "Can you continue?", he asked.  He seemed to be stalling, and Pax took advantage of the moment and called upon a gift from his deity to close his wounds.  It took almost every ounce of that gift, but when the moment passed he stood, ready to fight again.Sir Michael waited until he was sure Pax had finished, then lowered his visor and charged once more.Pax shifted his feet from side to side as he watched his foe try to ride him down.  Just before impact he stopped and, bracing the butt of his lance against his foot, dropped the tip into striking position.Sir Michael's lance scored true again, and Pax was forced to steady himself, lest he fall.On the next pass, Pax lance scored, as did Michael's.  The, to Pax' surprise, Micheal called shade over and handed him the lance.  "Never let it be said that I'm anything but fair.", he declared, then accepted his axe from his second.From there the pair approached each other and began to exchange blows, over and over again.</Story><Commentary>The two faced off like that for the rest of the scene, though both had really cold dice.  Pax, the PC, was taking the worst of it, but the cold dice made it drag on.I had advised the group that they needed to regroup.  One of the players resisted, or at least failed to realize what would happen when the single combat turned into anything larger.I even went so far as to ask his CR (Clue Resistance) and he still missed it.  He comes in via Skype and has a hearing problem, but I don't think that accounts for this.  He was in Wind Walk form, and it takes five rounds to solidify.  In combat five rounds can be the rest of your life.I finally told him about available time, and asked what he was going to do with it.  I listed options, then said, loud anc clear, "THIS IS  A CLUE!!!".  His response?  "I'll just wait back here and see what happens."</Commentary><Story>Mash, the mighty Barbarian, slowly solidified in the courtyard, then moved to the gate so he could see the battle.  As he approached the gateway he saw a towering figure standing by the side, watching the battle.  Summoning his will, he cast a spell as quiely as he could.  A bolt of green light leapt from his hand and struck the Half Ogre, sapping his strength.At once Renaldo, the Cleric of Hextor, cried out, "Treachery", and cast a spell of his own.Mash felt the curse strike him, but it failed to overpower his willpower, so he remained unaffected.  Still, the peace of the moment was broken, and battle began in earnest.Siri sprang to her feet and activated the blessing on her Celestial armor so she could take flight.  Leona looked surprised, and cried out, "Wait, you'll ruin the ending."  But suddenly there was a blade in her hand, and Siri felt it slide across the thin protection on the back of her knee.  And just like that the bouncy, sparkly Bard was gone and Siri found herself facing a much darker, fiercer foe.  "Hi.  I'm Blades", the Halfling said with a grin.Across the field Shade stopped his pacing and pointed an accusing finger at Mash.  And in an instant there was a bow in his hand, and an arrow sprang from it like a thunderbolt.  And nobody had even seen him draw it.</Story><Commentary>I have an admission to make:  I can't recall the name of the party Ranger, so I'll have to make something up.  I'll call him Ardan.Shade is a Scout and has a pair of Gloves of Storing.  He had prepared by activating the Shock effect on his bow (normally a Standard Action), nocked and drawn an arrow, then put the bow into his glove.  When needed he can "point" at a target and snap his fingers (activating the Glove is a free action.)  The bow is suddenly there and he isn't holding the string back any more so it fires.  One free shot, with a penalty for the way it's aimed, without the bow actually being there.Yeah, it's a dirty trick, but it has style.I'm going to break right now, but more will follow.</blockquote>

Verification