Turn, more round 3 actions, updated e-mail addy
Subject Turn
I have heard from Porter, Josh and Kevin. Ally is still casting his summon monster and then do the message spell.
Salix is useless at the moment, so I still need to hear from Ashley, Jason and Randy.
From: Jason
Subject Round 3 actions
Sorry about the delay. My email just started forwarding to a new account, and that new account was putting it all in the spam folder. Oops. I think I have that fixed now though.
If the wasps continue to be held at bay, Ragnar will stay where he is, guarding Salix and letting the fighters take care of slowly killing the bugs. If they break through and attack Salix, Ragnar try to stay in their way. If that's impossible (it probably is) he'll get out of the way and cast Shield Other on Salix (close range, not touch spell thank goodness.) If the wasps break through the barrier but remain and attack the fighters only, Ragnar will remain where he is or, if someone gets seriously beat up in one round, cast a cure spell.
From: Mark
Subject Updated e-mail
Should I change the address for you on the mailing list and on my contact list to this new G-mail account?
From: Randy
Subject Round 3 actions
Ranthir will step up beside the others and attack with his sword.
Round 3, round 4 actions
Subject Turn
I think everyone has replied. I will try and get a turn out tonight. I have two major projects due at work today so it is unlikely to be during the day.
From: Mark
Subject Round 3
OODM: Initiative for round 3. Ranthir (23), Harp (22),Creature (20),Kal (20), Surin (20),Allistair (14), Ragnar (10), Mund (9), Salix (6).
Ran sees Mund's axe fell hundreds of the little insects and moves forward to help. He steps up next to Mund and swings at the swarm. His sword flashes through the swirling insects but does no damage.
Harp also steps forward, his sword swinging with blinding speed. The blade meets no resistance as it passes time and time again through the nebulous cloud of bugs. A creature here and there is caught by the blade, but it is obvious to the 1/2 orc that his weapon is having no effect.
The swarm shifts over and flow over Ran. They attempt to sting and bite him but are repelled. As they move to surround the 1/2 elf, Ran and Mund both swing. Ran's sword has no effect again, but Mund's axe connects again (AOO, AC20, 14+11=25,hit, damage 6) and hundreds more of the creatures fall to the ground.
Kal advances and stabs at the edge of the swarm. His rapier passes through the swarm like he was fighting a shadow.
Allistair finishes his chant and three small swirls of air appear behind the swarm. At his mental command the three swirls attack the swarm. The air is angry with motion and confusion as little insectoid bodies are flung around and swirled back and forth. The swarm seethes and flows trying to keep together. The elementals seem to be doing a good job of disrupting the swarm but not that many bodies fall to the ground.
Allistair then chants his message spell and starts to send a warning to Surin to be on the look out for a spell caster back at the edge of the woods. However, the mage realizes that he needs to be able to the person he wants to whisper to. He does warn the others about the chance of a mage at the other end of the clearing.
Ragnar is pleased to see that his prayer has worked. He stands ready to help if anyone gets hurt.
Mund swings his axe, small pieces of ice falling from the edge of the blade. Seeing that he has had better luck with the flat of the blade, he swings it once (AC20, 19+11=30, damage 5) and fells more of the things. However, on his backstroke he overbalances and almost looses his grip on the axe (AC20, 1+6=7, miss).
Salix, trying to keep his stomach from heaving again turns to Ragnar "Do you need help? Is everyone ok?"
OODM: I need round 4 actions.
From: Josh
Subject Round 4 actions
OOC: Mark, after Kal sees Ran and Harp's attacks fail, does he have enough time to change his action to magic missle?
From: Porter
Subject Round 4 actions
OOC: Can we all hear each other now when we whisper?
From: Mark
Subject Round 4 actions
Not on this round. He can on round 4
From: Mark
Subject Round 4 actions
No. Allistair is the connect point. He can talk to people and people can talk to him, using the spell, but they can not talk directly to each other, using the spell.
What this means is that people can talk to each other using normal means, but can not whisper using the message spell that Ally has going.
I hope that that makes sense.
From: Porter
Subject Round 4 actions
OOC: That makes perfect sense.
IC: Mund sees that his fellow sword-wielding companions aren't accomplishing much and says to them "If you can't hurt these things, back off and either cover the magickers or make sure there's nothing else out there to bite us in the butt."
Round 4 actions, round 4
Subject Round 4 actions
Ragnar hears Salix begin to take an interest in his surroundings with relief. "Salix!" He exclaims. "Yes, do we ever. Heironeous is holding swarm of insects back, but I'm not entirely sure how long that will last. In the meantime, we just can't seem to kill them fast enough. Do you have any idea how we can kill them?"
Hopefully Salix has some ideas, which Ragnar will attempt to follow up on. If not I'll get a turn out tomorrow morning.
From: Karl
Subject Round 4 actions
Can I get a knowledge check for Salix? What does he know about these things and how they might be defeated? Also, what actions can he take? Is he still nauseated?
From: Karl
Subject Round 4 actions
"Burn them! Weapons won't work." Salix blurts out between retches. "a torch. Or maybe a spell." He doubles over again and falls back against the tree.
(OOC - *I* know that Ally's fireball failed to damage them, but Salix doesn't. Also, I don't know if it failed because the swarm is specially protected or if Derek just got a bad roll. I'd have thought a fireball would have worked. )
From: Kevin
Subject Round 4 actions
Harp watches his sword swing through the creatures, hitting a few but doing no real damage. Damn, he growled to himself, how do you hit something so small?? Ran and Kal seem to be having the same problem. Only Mund's ice sword seems to be having any affect.
Harp says to the others "Regular weapons don't seem to do any good. If you got anything else in your bag of tricks, now's the time to pull it out and try it."
Maybe he was going about this all wrong -Ragnar's prayer to provide them a safe haven from these things seemed to be working. Maybe Heironious would help him defeat these things. Recalling the simple prayer he had been taught, Harp asks the Battlelord to send the incarnation of Justicebringer to assist them.
OOC: Mark, Harp will cast Spiritual Weapon and attack the swarm. He should get 1 attack this turn and then 2 attacks next turn (assuming they are still in range).
From: Randy
Subject Round 4 actions
Ranthir follows Mund's advice and backs off a little ways. As Mund continues the fight, Ranthir scans the surrounding area, watching to see if there is anything else to be concerned with.
From: Mark
Subject Round 4
OODM: Initiative for round 4. Ranthir (23), Harp (22),Creature (20),Kal (20), Surin (20), Elementals (14), Allistair (14), Ragnar (10), Mund (9), Salix (6).
Ran watches as most of the others find out how ineffective their weapons are. Mund suggests that the others step back, since only his axe seems to have any effect. He tries to look behind the swarm, seeing if there is any sign of a mage or another person.
Harp does the same and chants the prayer that will summon an avatar his his god's weapon. The glowing sword appears behind the swarm and strikes at it (AC20, 4+9=13, miss). The shimmering sword passes through the swarm doing no damage.
An odd buzzing comes from the swarm and it darts away from the party and the elementals. It weaves and dodges and then sinks to the ground and disappears.
Kal looks out into the field, trying to see where the swarm went but is unable.
Surin moves slowly towards the back of the clearing, trying to see if there are any telltale signs of a mage.
The rest of the party stands around Ragnar, waiting to see what happens next. Salix is able to blurt out through his pain "Burn them. Weapons won't work. A torch or maybe a spell." He doubles over again, his stomach trying to empty itself again.
OODM: I need actions.
Where did they go, and up a tree
Subject E-mail
OOC: Can someone forward me Karl's two emails "RE: Round 3" ? His mail always gets marked as phishing mail by gmail (I guess since it's from @visa.com), and I accidentially deleted it this time with the rest of my spam.
From: Derek
Subject Where did they go
Allistair whispers using the Message spell to everyone. "I'm still not sure what is going on. Did those bugs just turn invisible, or did the mage that summoned them send them back to wherever they came from? Either way, it means we aren't safe yet."
Can Allistair make a spellcraft check to determine whether that was something going invisible, a summoned creature being sent back, or something else entirely?
From: Mark
Subject Where did they go
In this situation I am going to say no, he can not. Even if a caster was visible, he would be over 80 feet away, which is -16 to spot checks and something similar to spell craft checks.
However, a spell that was dismissed would not provoke a spell craft check.
From: Josh
Subject Where did they go
Kal waits for someone else to take the lead.
OOC: I might get another email out if someone comes up with a plan. But Kal won't take any leading role unless told to do so.
From: Derek
Subject Where did they go
Allistair whispers using the message spell to everyone, "Maybe Mund should go out 15 feet or so and see if the bugs are gone. He's the only one that can defend himself if they've just gone invisible or something. If we decide the bugs are gone, we should probably spread out. If there is a wizard out there, we are sitting ducks for a fireball or something similar."
From: Kevin
Subject Where did they go
Harp whispers back to Allistair "Right, but if those bugs show up again, only Ragnars protection circle is keeping them from surrounding us. Tell Mund that if he sees them again to high tail it back here. The rest of us can spread out a bit, but tell evey one to get ready to center back on Ragnar if something pops up."
Harp will keep his spiritual weapon close to where Mund is so if something does appear he is ready to attack with it (while it lasts).
Harp will move 20' (3 squares) up to D16.
From: Porter
Subject Where did they go
Nobody seems to be taking control, so Mund speaks up.
"OK, fellers, let's split, two by two, and see what we can find. If there's somebody out there causing this, we need to find out."
"Allistair, you need to stay behind and coordinate everybody else. I'll stay here and guard you and Salix."
"Unless anybody has a better idea, all get moving."
From: Derek
Subject Up a tree
Allistair tells everyone via Message: "I'm going to cast Rope Trick to climb the tree, and give us a place to get out of danger if we need it. I'll try and get Salix up there and out of danger."
Allistair will cast Rope Trick, having the rope go high enough that a person could use the rope to then get into the main branches of the tree. He will then start climbing and tell Salix to climb up after him.
From: Porter
Subject Up a tree
Assuming that everybody else splits up into couples, Mund will stay and guard Allistair and Salix until they're safe. Once that's done, he'll join one of the couples at random.
From: Jason
Subject Up a tree
Assuming the others start breaking into couples, Ragnar says to Mund "Since we're an odd number without you, I'll stick around until they're safe, then we can head out together."
If we follow Harp's plan, he'll stay with Salix and the others watching as Mund looks for the bugs. In fact, if Mund goes out looking for them alone, Ragnar will cast aid on him before he leaves.
From: Porter
Subject Up a tree
"Good thinking. Here. I'll keep an eye out for the east half, and you do the same for the west half."
"Allistair, since we have two others here, one of us can help get Salix up in that magic box if you need it. Let us know."
Where did they go?
Subject Turn
Sorry it has been so long since the last turn. It has been a very hectic past couple of days. I will get the next turn out tonight.
From: Mark
Subject Where did they go?
The party looks over the clearing warily. No one is sure where the insects went, if they are invisible, if they were dismissed or if there is a mage out there summoning creatures to fight them. Allistair tells the party that he is going to use his rope trick spell to help get Salix and himself into the tree behind them. Mund agrees with the idea and he and Ragnar turn to watch the clearing while the mage casts his spell.
Allistair quickly has the rope up to the level of the first main branches, almost 30 feet in the air. He climbs and finds a good spot on the limb. Even though the tree is almost dead, the limbs are still solid. He motions down for Mund and Ragnar to help Salix. The two do their best to help the 1/2 elf but the going is slow. Salix moves slowly up the rope, taking his time, slowly regaining a bit of his composure. He is just about to the branch when his strength fails him. His hands slip loose and he can just start to feel the odd weightlessness that comes as one freefalls from a great height. His fall is jerked up short by soft hand grabbing him by the back of his armor.
Allistair's voice rings out "Grab the damn rope. Mund might be able to carry you all day, but I sure as hell can't." With Ally's assistance, Salix is able to work his way onto the branch. He sits with his back against the trunk, gasping for air, trying not to throw up on those beneath him. During the climb the elementals had gone back to their own plane and Harp's sword had vanished. A few minutes later Surin pops up in front of the party. "I looked all I could guys but did not see any sign of any type of caster out there." Mund tells them to split up into two's and that he and Ran would go out as a pair and that Harp and Kal should go out as a pair. "Ragnar, you and Surin stay here. If we run into anything we will come runnin back here."
Harp and Kal nod and move a bit north and to the west, placing some distance between themselves and the other two. Mund and Ranthir move east a bit and forward as well. Everyone keeps their eyes on the ground, trying to see if they can find the insects that they suspect are hiding there. After a few minutes of moving slowly, Mund holds up a hand and Ran stops. The barbarian whispers to Ally "Tell Harp and Kal to stop for a second." Ally relays the instructions and in the few seconds that all four of them are still, they can here a buzzing, like a beehive. They are not able to pinpoint where the sound is coming from, but they know that the creatures are still out there.
OODM: What do you do? The reason the characters have moved so little is that I have them searching each 5 foot square with a "Taking 20" That is 2 minutes per square, but this way they are sure that they are not missing anything. Ally and Salix are 30 feet up in the tree.
Where did they go, part 2
Subject Where did they go
Harp stops when he hears Allistairs voice come thorugh his head. He could hear the damn things, but where where they? When he had been a little one, he had seen farmers in his village burn infestations of bugs out in the fields, but these things sure did not seem like they had been hurt by Allistair fireball. And, he sure did not seem to be able to hit them with normal weapons. What did Mund have in mind?
Harp wispers back to Allistair "What's your brothers plan?"
From: Porter
Subject Where did they go
Mund whispers "I don't think this is something we can just ignore. Let's keep looking around, real careful like. Let everybody know as soon as you hear anything."
"Alley -- what's going on with Surin?"
Status, spells still going and there they are
Subject Turn
I will try and get a turn out tonight. You have until this evening to get anything in.
From: Karl
Subject Status
What's Salix's nauseated status? Still nauseated?
From: Mark
Subject Status
Yes but feeling a bit better. It will last another minuted and then he will be in the sickened status.
From: Jason
Subject Spells
OOC I've been reviewing the cleric spell list, and I must say that their options for dealing with invisibility are fairly limited. I have invisibility purge at 3rd level, which makes invisible people visible within 35 feet of me, and that's it, unless someone else can see another such spell? It seems a shame to use a 3rd level spell to counter a first when you can't even be sure it will work; if I'm not close to this hypothetical invisible person, nothing happens (and we still can't be sure there's no one there either.)
From: Derek
Subject Where are they
Allistair whispers to everyone. "We know they're around, we just don't know what's going on yet. Let's save our more powerful spells for when we're sure we'll need them. If these bugs pop up again, running back to the tree should keep you safe. Surin is still out there, I assume. I couldn't locate him with this spell, and I don't want him to give away his position unless he's going to get a critical strike against an enemy."
From: Porter
Subject Where are they
Mund whispers to Alley, confident that his words will be forwarded to everyone. "Gotcha. Let's keep looking."
From: Derek
Subject Where are they
Allistair relays Mund's words to everyone else.
From: Mark
Subject Where are they
I am assuming that most of you did not see the part where Surin showed back up next to Ragnar, at the tree?
Ashley had him search around for a bit but the invisibilty spell only lasts 7 minutes and he had been out for a couple when the swarm showed up.
He is next to the tree now.
From: Kevin
Subject Where are they
Harp continues to move foward slowly, trying to see or hear anything that might give a clue as to where the bugs are really at.
From: Mark
Subject There they are
The four fighters slowly move forward, carefully searching the ground before them. They spend the next 10 minutes conferring with Allistair about what they have not found and where they should go next. They still hear the occasional buzzing sound, but are unable to locate it. They have advanced about 25 feet when the cloud pops up about 20 feet from them and moves towards them. Kal and Mund get surrounded by the swarm before they realize what is happening. The stinging and biting insects swarm over the two(Mund damage 13, Kal damage 8).
The bites and stings burn. Mund body is able to fight off the cold heat that tries to seep into the wounds (DC18 Fort save, 12+13=25, save) as is Kal (DC18 Fort save, 16+6=22, save). The glittering bodies, however, are more of a problem. The scintillating patterns and images cause Mund to become dizzy and nauseas (DC18 Fort save, 4+13=17, fail.). Kal, however, is able to throw off the effects and keeps his composure (DC18 Fort Save, 16+6+22, save).
Round 1 Init: Kal (24), Swarm (23), Ranthir (21), Salix (20), Ally (13), Mund (12), Ragnar (12), Surin (10), Harp (7).
I need round 1 actions. Mund is nauseated. Salix is just sickened right now.
From: Jason
Subject Still going
Are any of the spells we cast still in effect after 10 minutes?
From: Mark
Subject Still going
The magic circle is as well as message. Those are 10 minutes per level. The Doom is not and neither is the invisibilty. The spiritual weapon is gone as are the elementals.
From: Porter
Subject There they are
"We.. found...something...Getting hurt... *blech*," Mund says to his brother as he bends over, emptying his stomach.
He musters all of his strength to yell out "Take my axe! It can kill them!" and tries to hand it to whomever grabs for it.
From: Josh
Subject There they are
Kal's gonna high-tail it back to wherever that circle of protection is. By Ragnar?
From: Josh
Subject There they are
OOC: Kal can't swing no axe.
Circles, round 1 actions, round 1
Subject Circles
Is the circle centered on a place or on Ragnar?
From: Mark
Subject Circles
In this situation, since he did not, IIRC, mention a particular space, it is centered on an intersection just next to him, but it moves with him.
Let me know if that does not make sense.
From: Josh
Subject Round 1 actions
Since the circle's so close, Kal will also cast MM at the swarm after he gets back. (If he can't do both, have him stop however far away from the circle so he can still cast).
From: Derek
Subject Round 1 actions
Allistair calls out loud so that everyone including Surin can hear. "Ragnar! You're protected from the bugs, so go get close to Mund! Everyone else stay close to Ragnar!"
Allistair will also fire a magic missile at the bugs.
Allistair then asks Salix, "Are you feeling any better? Do you have any idea what these demon-bugs are? They don't seem natural, but I have no idea what they really are."
From: Ashley
Subject Round 1 actions
You don't need to shout. I'm like, right next to you.
IC: Surin turns to Salix and makes sure that he's all right. "Ragnar's going to move closer to Mund to protect him with his circle. Do you need any help?"
From: Jason
Subject Round 1 actions
Hmm... As I recall, forcing a circle of protection against an enemy doesn't work nearly as well as letting him run up against it. Ragnar would definitely know that, so if he can, he's going to get up close enough to Mund that Mund can take a 5 foot step into the circle, but without trying to move closer since the bugs and Mund are in the same square. As he does so, he'll call for Mund to step back.
Of course, looking at initiatives, its possible Mund may not be stuck in the middle of the bugs by Ragnar's turn, in which case he'll just move up to cover Mund. Let me know if any of that didn't make sense.
From: Porter
Subject Round 1 actions
Is anybody going to take Mund's axe?
From: Randy
Subject Round 1 actions
Ranthir runs to grab the axe from Mund, dropping his sword to recover later. He attempts to attack the swarm, a little uncomfortably having not used an axe since his early training.
From: Mark
Subject Position note
Position note.
Surin is at the base of the tree with Ragnar. Ally and Salix are 30 feet or so up the tree on a large branch. There is a rope floating in the air next to the branch.
From: Kevin
Subject round 1 actions
OOC: Mark, Harp is so far back in the intiative, I am unsure what could be by his turn. If Ragnar has moved up slightly, Harp will step back to where he seems as far away from Ragnar as he did the first time the bugs attacked but were repelled (i.e. Harp does not know how big the circle is, but he knows how far away he was last time).
He will try to place himself between any of the other party members and the swarm, if he can, especially Kal.
From: Mark
Subject Round 1
Round 1 Init: Kal (24), Swarm (23), Ranthir (21), Salix (20), Ally (13), Mund (12), Ragnar (12), Surin (10), Harp (7).
Kal swats at the cloud of creatures around him, his rapier singularly ineffective against the creatures. However he knew that magic could hurt these things. Moving back towards Ragnar he chants the mage arrow spell and sends 4 more bolts of force into the swarm. The bolts tear through the swarm leaving a trail of dead insects in their path (Damage 11).
Mund calls out to the others telling them to take his axe. Ran, who is closest to him shouts that he is on the way. The 1/2 elf's voice seems to draw the attention of the swarm and it flows towards him. Ranthir soon finds himself engulfed by the biting stinging bodies of the swarm, their tiny bodies able to penetrate his armor. Mund, doubled over and retching on the ground is also surrounded by the creatures and subject to the same covering attack. The bites and stings take their toll (Mund damage 12, Ranthir damage 15). The poison in the stingers and the mandibles seems to have no effect on Mund( Fort Save, DC18, 20+13=33, save) but Ran is not so lucky (Fort Save, DC18, 1+7=8). He feels his limbs tighten up and his reflexes slow (Dex score drops by 2 points).
Ran drops his sword and moves towards Mund grabbing the axe from the barbarians flailing hands. He grips the haft awkwardly, trying to remember the training he was given years ago. As he swings the blade through the swarm he forgets to turn the blade so that the flat is going through the swarm and his attack is effect less (AC20, 5+10=15,miss).
Salix hears the shouts coming from his friends out in the field and is finally able to respond to Allistair's questions. "I'm better." Looking out at the swarm his eyes go wide. "I have never seen anything like that. It moves like it knows what it is doing. Swarms usually move in chaotic, random fashion. This is like no swarm I have ever seen."
Ally nods at this. He sees his brother swinging his hands around while he vomits on the ground. "Well lets see how this works." He chants the mage arrow spell and his four bolts of force tear through the swarm, (Damage 15), dropping hundreds of more of the creatures.
Mund stands where he is, trying to keep his feet. He now knows how Salix felt when he stepped out of the tree. This is even worse than that night in that town in the Wildlands.
Ragnar sees Mund and Ranthir engulfed by the swarm. As he moves toward them he shouts "Move back to the sound of my voice. The swarm can not follow you into the circle."
Surin stands next to the tree, watching the melee going on in front of him.
Harp gives a small prayer of thanks to the battle lord that the swarm went the other way and moves as fast as he can to a place near Ragnar.
Mund is finally able to shake off his vertigo and get his stomach under control.(Fort save, DC18, 6+13=19, save). Ran gets a little light headed at the swirling forms around him but he is able to clamp down on the sense of falling and maintain his composure (Fort Save, DC18, 14+7=21, save).
OODM: End round 1. I need round 2 actions. Salix is only sickened. Mund and Ran are able to act.
Magic items, round 2 actions
Subject Round 2 actions
Mund manages to pull himself together, surprised that he's able to so quickly. /Huh. Salix was out for a long time. /
He sees Ran fumble with the axe. He clearly isn't used to such a weapon. "I'm feeling better! Want me to take it back?" he yells, gesturing for Ran to move forward and give him his axe back.
OOC:
If Ran is willing to give Mund the axe back (sorry about that -- I thought Mund would be out for a minute like Salix), Mund will take it and attack again.
If it's possible, Mund will only take a 5-foot step, allowing him to have a full attack round. He'll use the 5-foot step to move toward Ran to get the axe if that's what's required to get the axe. Otherwise, he'll use the 5-foot step to move toward the circle of protection.
From: Mark
Subject Round 2 actions
I am making a DM call here, just like I did last round.
Ran and Mund will only get 1 attack in the rounds they change weapons. A full attack assumes that you have your weapon ready and in hand.
I think by the rules, technically, last round Ran should not have had an attack since he had to move next to Mund, a move action, and then take the weapons which could also count as a move action.
By the same token here, if Mund takes his Axe back that would be a move action and there fore Mund would only get a single standard action, or 1 attack. It will be at his highest bonus, but Mund will not get two attacks.
Also, Salix was out for over 10 minutes. His condition was caused by something different than what effected Mund.
From: Porter
Subject Round 2 actions
That makes sense.
I'll wait to write up more until I see whether Ran wants to give Mund the axe back.
From: Kevin
Subject Round 2 actions
Harp stays close to Ragnar, wishing there was something more he could do. His avatar of Justicebringer has already dissappated, so there is very little he can do.
From: Randy
Subject Round 2 actions
Ran, feeling the affects of the stings, moves to Mund and gives him the axe. He then moves to towards the sound of Ragnar's voice.
From: Porter
Subject Round 2 actions
Mund eagerly takes the axe, its familiar heft bringing comfort to him as he feels his limbs fill with new strength. [Begin rage.]
He then attacks the swarm again.
From: Derek
Subject Round 2 actions
Allistair calls out to the group with the message spell. "Ragnar's rignt behind you, so just get close to him and you'll be fine. I'm thinking that perhaps these creatures may be some magical intelligent insect that can turn themselves invisible rather than having been summoned by a wizard. If they had been summoned, they would probably have had to return to their home plane a while ago, like the elementals we summoned did. I guess we're just going to have to kill them, whatever they are."
That being said, Allistair will fire off his 2nd (and last) magic missle. (Allistair doesn't have so many MM's since he's trying to be more versatile)
From: Kevin
Subject Round 2 actions
You know, a wand of MM sure would be nice right about now.
Doesn't every self respecting mage have one of those so he can be more versatile in the spells he memorizes?
Maybe if we had stopped of at Wand-a-rama before we left we could have corrected this oversight.
From: Jason
Subject Round 2 actions
Hearing Allistair's call, Ragnar decides to cast Searing Light. He's still leery of closing with the swarm, knowing that this could cause his circle of protection to collapse (or at least allow the swarm inside.)
From: Porter
Subject Magic items
Part of the problem is that this campaign has been incredibly magic-item and money poor in comparison to a normal campaign. Even if he allowed it, we probably couldn't afford it.
From: Jason
Subject Magic items
Eh, I dunno, I mean we did find a gem that countered *all* illusion spells cast near it. That's some fairly powerful magic :)
More seriously though, yeah wands are crazy expensive.
From: Josh
Subject Round 2 actions
Kal will go to I15 (still inside ragnar's protection) and cast detect thoughts in the general direction of the woods, where we saw the thing go invisible. (should also hit the swarm).
From: Mark
Subject Magic items
Actually with the stuff you got at the end of the last adventure, you guys are just about at the correct wealth level. I mean almost every one has at least two magic items, some three.
From: Kevin
Subject Round 2 actions
OC: Mark, if any of the other characters get close to where Ragnar is but are unable to make it into the circle, Harp will go up and drag them in if needed (i.e. for some reason Mund is not quite able to get into the circle and is 10 ft away, Harp can move up behind him, grab him, and pull him back into the circle.
From: Porter
Subject Round 2 actions
After his attack, Mund will flee into the protective circle.
From: Mark
Subject Round 2 actions
He will not be able to get the axe, attack and move to the circle all in the same round.
You get a move action and a standard action. You can also, insted of move/standard, take a full round action. A full attack, 2 attacks, is a full round action. A regular attack, 1 attack, is a standard action.
From: Porter
Subject round 2 actions
That makes perfect sense.
Mund will attack while he can.
Round 2
Subject Turn
I will get the next turn out tonight.
From: Mark
Subject Round 2
Round 2 Init: Kal (24), Swarm (23), Ranthir (21), Salix (20), Ally (13), Mund (12), Ragnar (12), Surin (10), Harp (7).
Kal sees that Ragnar has moved past him and hurries to get close to the cleric. The elf hustles forward and takes up position just ahead of the dwarf. He chants the spell for detecting thoughts and aims his gaze out to where the swarm had come from.
The swarm swirls for a few seconds, reshaping itself from the loss of so many of its members to the magic being used against it. The cloud moves up in the air, putting space between itself and the two fighters. It then makes a straight rush at the two people sitting in the tree. Suddenly Salix and Allistair's find themselves being crawled over, bitten and stung, all while trying to stay on the large branch they are on (Ally 14 points damage, Salix 13 points). The mage's rugged upbringing helps him resist the cold that tries to seep into his body (DC18 Fort save, 15+6=21, save) but the druid's already frail state of health is no match for the insects poison (DC18, 3+7=10, fail). Salix's muscles start to ache and freeze up on him (DEX down 6 points).
Each of the two wobble and try to maintain their position on the branch. Ally does his best, but his waving arms and the light coating of slime on the branch are too much for him and he tumbles off the branch (Balance check, DC15, 1+0=1, fail). The soggy ground absorbs some of the shock, but the mage lands on his shoulder, dislocating it. Pain rips through the mage and he screams in agony( Damage 12). Salix's luck is no better. He tries to grab onto a close by branch to steady himself but his muscles betray him (Balance check, DC15, 4-1=3, fail) and he plummets the thirty feet to the ground. He lands on his back, ribs cracking with the impact (Damage 18). The 1/2 elf spits up a mouth full of blood.
Ran moves to Mund and shoves the axe into the barbarians hands. "Go help your brother." He then moves to try and find sanctuary near Ragnar.
Salix and Ally lay at the bottom of the tree, broken bones and bruised bodies speaking volumes. Both gasp and try and over come the pain of their fall. Ally rolls over on to his hands and knees and crawls with just one arm supporting his weight. He scampers by Surin as fast as he can and makes it to within 5 feet of Ragnar. Salix, blood dripping from his mouth, follows suite.
Mund grabs the axe from Ran and turns to see the swarm attack his brother. He watches in horror as he and Salix fall from the tree and land with sickening thumps on the ground. Mund's eyes go red and he moves at full speed towards the swarm, axe waiving,outraged curses flowing from his mouth.
Ragnar is torn between healing those wounded at his feet and smiting the foe in front of him. He knows that Mund would gladly sacrifice himself for his brother, but if the swarm staid in the air there was no way for the barbarian to reach it. The dwarf holds up his shield and chants the prayer for the Battle Lords cleansing light to smite his foe. A ray of bright light strikes the center of the swarm, (AC20, 17+5=22, damage 8) burning insectoid bodies. Hundreds of little creatures float to the ground, like a ruby red snowfall.
Surin looks up at the swarm 10 feet above him and notices that Ragnar had moved away He scuttles back until he is standing next to Ragnar.
Harp kneels down and chants one of the healing graces. Salix feels the healing warmth flow through him and his broken rib cage starts to mend just a bit (Sacrifice Hold Person for CmodW, Heal 11).
OODM End of round. 6 points of Salix's damage and 2 of Ally's are non lethal. I have marked this difference on the character sheets. I need round 3 actions.
From: Jason
Subject Round 3 actions
That thing could really move, Ragnar notes with horror as it flies up above their heads to attack Allistair and Salix, who he had left defenseless in their tree. Cursing himself for a fool, he realizes something that should have thought of earlier. He'd assumed that his newest, powerful prayer would not be effective against bugs, as it only affected those who's natures were contrary to the nature of his patron. Normally he would never have considered an insect, no matter how aggressive, to be actually evil, for they didn't have the intelligence for it. But this swarm had just demonstrated that it did have a guiding intelligence of some sort, and the fact that his circle of protection held it at bay indicated that its purposes were not aligned with those of his deity. Calling on Heironeous once again, he asks his lord to smite his enemies.
OOC: Casting holy smite, and he'll make some basic effort to hit the swarm but not Mund (or anyone else that's around.) But the 10% priority is hitting the swarm, not missing Mund, as Ragnar knows it doesn't effect good people and it hasn't really even occurred to him that Mund might not be a "good" (in alignment) person.