Ch. 3: Hell's Bells

[Urson]

Tanner

att[1d20+3] = 18+3 = 21 THAC0 4
att[1d20+3] = 20+3 = 23 THAC0 4Boom!

sword[1d8+3] = 6+3 = 9
sword[1d8+3] = 5+3 = 8 x2= 16

The parasites in his skin enrage Tanner, drawing even more strength from his muscles. He delivers a mighty slash!

[Zhym]

Combat Round 9

On the vulture ledge:
The vulture-man thing bleeds green goo from multiple wounds. It finds itself outnumbered. Sensing, perhaps, that the tide of battle has turned against it, it issues forth a mighty screech like the one the other monster made before it disappeared. Khogeki and Tanner go deaf, the ringing in their ears drowning out any other sounds—and Tanner just having partly regained his hearing from the last screech. But Tanner is not stunned this time. And the Unseen Servant, too, retains his wits, if not his hearing.

The tranquil warrior-philosopher strikes with precise savagery as he coolly states: "Demon, like all of your kind, you bring suffering and oppression primarily to yourself." Being deaf, he says it rather loudly. The monk lashes out in a flurry of fists, but cannot seem to make contact with the surprisingly nimble vulture-man monster. The monster laughs derisively.

Its mirth is short-lived. The parasites in Tanner's skin (-2 HP) enrage him. He delivers a pair of mighty slashes! The first slices a wing off. The second disembowels the monster. It falls.

Meanwhile, further aft:
The toad monster and the toad-monster statue continue their assaults on Xale and Odilo. The statue hits Xale with a stony backhand that lifts the dwarf off his feet (-8 HP). The insects continue to bite (-2). A few feet away, the monster steps back from Odilo—only by a foot, alas, not enough to rid the wizard of the monster's disgusting stench. A wall of violet flame springs up, separating Xale, Odilo, and their opponents from everyone else. The flames stretch from the floor to the ceiling in front of the ledge and doglegs to the aft wall on the starboard side (see map below). Hallagad finds himself standing right next to the flames. Thanks to the magical protection of his ring, he finds the heat of the flames, which would blister the skin of most humans at this distance, to be a little toasty.

The others make themselves ready to resume battle—or at least hope to survive it. Malibran moves south, stopping more than 20' away from the wall to avoid being burned. Risdac waves his wand-staff to cast Protection from Evil on himself. Hallagad readies his thunder hammer, but pauses when the curtain of fire appears, obscuring his target.

Rool skitters back down the wall. Desperate, he drinks his last potion of healing even though he knows it's dangerous to mix potions (dice roll). The results do not sit well in his stomach. The polymorph potion is instantly neutralized, and the healing is half what it should be (+9). On the other hand, at least he didn't explode.

Inside the wall of fire, the toad-man monster grins evilly. Then again, how else would an infernal creature grin?

Map:

Demonwing 18-02-04.png (115.68 KiB) Viewed 1971 times

Notes:

I held Hallgad's action because of the wall of fire. If you want to go ahead with his attack, I'll make it take effect this round. Note that I'll still use the original roll, however.

-----
Status: Malibran (H LG C20[13](Pholtus)): 47/90; Khogeki (H LN M16): 47/78; Odilo (1/2E NG MU17): 22/54; Xale (D NG C14[9](Dalt)/F13): 10/75; Risdac (Giant NG MU17): 10/58; Tanner (H CG F19): 51/107; Rool (H LN T20): 12/85; Hallagad (H LG P15(Pelor)): 43/93
Effects: Protection from Evil (Odilo, 30 rounds; Risdac, 16 rounds)
Light Sources: Continual light coin (Tanner); Continual light dagger (Odilo)

[Scott308]

Risdac Egargi

Seeing the wall of violet flame spring up, preventing the party from assisting those on the other side, the mage decides to take matters into his own (oversized, misshapen) hands. He uses a charge from the Staff of the Magi to cast Dispel Magic on the wall, near where Hallagad stands.

Would this cause the entire wall to be dispelled or just the area of effect, leaving part of the wall still there? If Risdac would know the entire wall would disappear, he will instead cast it where the wall bends in an attempt to not disrupt any spells Odilo had cast. If it would only disrupt a portion, or he would not be sure what will happen, he will center the spell to try avoiding placing Xale and Odio in the area of effect but still removing the wall near where Hallagad stands.

[Inferno]

The Unseen Servant:

The humble sensei bows to Tanner. Then he runs down the sheer, vertical wall and races to the barrier of purple flames.
Should it disappear for any reason, or a foe emerge from it, he'll wield his magic katana to strike a newly-exposed enemy with orderly abandon.


Jade Destiny: (Thac0:10): To hit: [1d20+3] = 14+3 = 17, damage: small/medium: [1d8+11] = 3+11 = 14, large: [1d10+11] = 1+11 = 12

[GreyWolfVT]

Odilo vomits and tries to back away towards the wall to the (west?) left hand side of the map near the O mark the wall not made of flames.

[Norjax]

Rool Diov

The master thief recovers after passing through the gurgling pain in his abdomen. This isn’t the first time he risked mixing potions in a desperate situation, but it doesn’t seem to get easier. He moves to the starboard passage (but not around the corner) and watches for any sign of activity from its unexplored depths. After arriving at his new position, he nocks an arrow in his short bow to prepare for any intruders.

Movement:

[Urson]

Tanner

Gritting his teeth against the constant itch and burn of the parasites, Tanner uses his Grasshopper Boots to spring down from the ledge safely. He moves to 10' of the wall of flames and pauses, hoping the fire will do some damage to the tendrils in his skin.

[AleBelly]

Hallagad grits his teeth, draws his sword, and says a brief prayer to his ring. He charges through the wall of fire and attacks the foe nearest him.

I'm operating under the assumption that he'll only be in the fire for a couple of segments per p.130 of the DMG. I feel a bit metagamy, but also think that a high level paladin will very well understand the capabilities and protections the ring affords.

Attack with holy avenger (THAC0 6) [1d20+6] = 17+6 = 23, damage s/m [1d8+8] = 6+8 = 14, l [1d12+8] = 6+8 = 14

Assuming one attack since he moved. Just in case a second is warranted:

Attack with holy avenger (THAC0 6) [1d20+6] = 2+6 = 8, damage s/m [1d8+8] = 7+8 = 15, l [1d12+8] = 7+8 = 15

[Zhym]

Combat Round 10

Inside the wall of fire:
The frogman monster, now protected by the wall of fire from attacks, picks up the helpless, dry-heaving Odilo with both claws in a savage and powerful bear hug. It sinks its gleaming, slavering teeth into Odilo's shoulder (-17 HP).

The frogman monster's statue doppelganger continues its assault on Xale. It punches him in the face, knocking him off his feet and into the wall. Xale slumps down to the floor, limp, blood flowing from his open mouth. (-11 HP, now at -1 and bleeding out) The insects that surrounded him hover, awaiting a new target.

Outside the wall of fire:
The Unseen Servant bows to Tanner, then runs down the 35' wall and toward the barrier of purple flames. Tanner, gritting his teeth against the constant burn of the growing parasites (-1 HP), follows, using his Grasshopper Boots to make it down safely off of the ledge. Tanner moves to within 10' of the wall of fire and pauses, hoping that the flames will do some damage to the tendrils in his skin. His skin blisters (-5 HP). The tendrils writhe and singe, but keep growing.

Meanwhile, Rool makes his way toward the starboard passage.

Hallagad and Risdac both concentrate on trying to dispel the wall of fire. Hallagad rushes forward, his Holy Avenger held high. Malibran waves his staff, and a 40' section of wall (the section closest to the port wall) disappears just as the paladin reaches it. Hallagad stands at the bottom of a 15' wall, from the top of which come the sounds of a battle. Or slaughter.

Khogeki has his opening. He runs forward, flies the 15' to the top of the ledge, and appears in the midst of battle almost as quickly as if he had teleported there. With orderly abandon, he brings Jade Destiny in an aesthetically pleasing arc through the scaly green hide of a surprised frogman monster. The monster lifts its head toward Khogeki, bits of Odilo still stuck between its teeth. immediately starts retching, overcome with the foul stench of the creature before him. He falls the 15' back to the floor at the bottom of the ledge, unable to break his fall (-8 HP). At least the fall took him away from the noxious creature. He climbs to his feet.

Notes:

Initiative: Party [1d6] = 4; Monsters [1d6] = 5

When I first posted this, I forgot about the monster's stink aura. I rolled a save for Khogeki and he...didn't. He can act as long as he's more than 10' from the monster. If he comes closer, he'll be helpless.

Malibran is in no position to attack anyone this round and I didn't want to use any of his spells as an NPC. ravenn4544, if you get back in time you can post any non-combat action (e.g., movement, spell casting) and I'll have it take effect this round.

Calculating the Unseen Servant's movement: He has a 30" movement rate when running.

• Falling 35': about 1/3 of a segment
• Running 100': 1/3 of Khogeki's movement, or a bit over 3 segments, during which time the wall drops.
• Fly: 12" movement rate; flying up 15' is 12.5% of his movement rate takes a little over 1 segment.

We'll say that's just under half of Khogeki's movement rate, so he gets his attack in.

-----
Status: Malibran (H LG C20[13](Pholtus)): 47/90; Khogeki (H LN M16): 39/78; Odilo (1/2E NG MU17): 5/54; Xale (D NG C14[9](Dalt)/F13): -1/75; Risdac (Giant NG MU17): 10/58; Tanner (H CG F19): 45/107; Rool (H LN T20): 12/85; Hallagad (H LG P15(Pelor)): 43/93
Effects: Protection from Evil (Odilo, 29 rounds; Risdac, 15 rounds)
Light Sources: Continual light coin (Tanner); Continual light dagger (Odilo)

[ravenn4544]

OOC: thanks zhym.

Malibran seeing that he is out of immediate melee range prays for the ability to help his comrades on the ledge.

Cast spiritual hammer at Frog Man

Attack Roll for hammer:

THACO(9): = 1
Well, shit.

[ravenn4544]

Malibran sighs at the spell that sputters and fails. He assumes it is the unholy land they are in.

He tries again...

cast spiritual hammer at frog man

THACO(9):[1d20] = 10

OOC: ogre power gauntlets for attack/damage are not included if applicable

[Urson]

Tanner

Seeing the results of his experiment, Tanner grits his teeth and steps into the purple flames. Knowing it will hurt, he hopes it will destroy the tendrils before they drive him mad.

He screams in pain, but holds his position until he sees the results.

[AleBelly]

Hallagad steps back from the wall until he can see the foes on the ledge. He draws his hammer of thunderbolts and throws it at the statue doppelganger (or another unengaged foe).

Throw hammer of thunderbolts +3 (THAC0 6) [1d20+3] = 9+3 = 12 damage [2d6] = 5

[Scott308]

Risdac Egargi

Now that there is an opening in the wall of fire, the giant mage steps forward ten feet before sending nine orange bolts of pure energy streaking towards the frog creature.

Magic Missile (3 of 9 total): [1d4+1] = 3+1 = 4; [1d4+1] = 4+1 = 5; [1d4+1] = 4+1 = 5
Magic Missile (3 of 9 total): [1d4+1] = 3+1 = 4; [1d4+1] = 4+1 = 5; [1d4+1] = 4+1 = 5
Magic Missile (3 of 9 total): [1d4+1] = 3+1 = 4; [1d4+1] = 4+1 = 5; [1d4+1] = 4+1 = 5

42 total damage

Spell Casting (Somatic) DEX Check (18): [1d20+2] = 9+2 = 11

[Inferno]

The Unseen Servant sees that Xale's need is greatest. Before healing can be administered to the valiant dwarf, the threat of the living statue must be removed. That task, at least, is one to which the monk is suited.

The sensei takes to the air, hurtling through the opening in the curtain of flames.

Giving both demonic toads a wide berth, he flies in high. Suddenly, the servant plunges down, striking with the Jade Destiny from mid-air into the back of the animated simulacrum, and landing due east of it.


Jade Destiny: (Thac0:10): To hit: [1d20+3] = 2+3 = 5, damage: small/medium: [1d8+11] = 3+11 = 14, large: [1d10+11] = 9+11 = 20
Macro doesn't include bonuses for striking from behind, if any.

[Zhym]

Combat Round 11

Tanner continues looking for a way to destroy the tendrils that are growing out of his skin. Desperate, he steps into the purple flame. The pain is excruciating. His flesh blackens, melts, and withers in the flames (-16 HP). The tendrils burn and fall off—but new ones sprout to take their place, even in the flames (-2 HP).

Rool continues to keep watch for anything coming from the starboard passage.

Hallagad (+1 HP, Ring of Regeneration) steps back from the wall until he can see the foes on the ledge. He draws his hammer of thunderbolts and throws it at the animated statue. Sparks fly as the hammer chips a hunk of rock off of the statue. Malibran also throws a hammer—a hammer of the spirit. It smashes into the monster's head with the force of Hallagad's belief.

Risdac steps forward ten feet and calls forth nine orange bolts of pure energy. The missiles streak with unerring accuracy toward the frog creature, but each fizzles out with a soft "fzzt" just short of its thick hide.

Atop the ledge, Xale bleeds (-1 HP). Odilo struggles to break free of the toadman monster. Even as his guts try to expel the contents of an empty stomach, he pushes against the monster's bad-touch hug. With a mighty burst of effort, the mage manages to break the monster's hold and slip free!

The Unseen Servant (+1 HP from Ring of Regeneration) tries to find a way to attack the doppleganger statue without coming near the toadman monster. He flies high into the air, giving both the demonic toad and its statue double a wide berth, and lands 10' to the starboard side of the statue. The monk calmly extends one arm toward the statue and curls his fingers towards him in the universal sign for, "Bring it."

The demon pauses, considering its options. It is outnumbered and its protective wall has a great big hole in it. It is being pounded by hammers and a hideous giant is somehow sending bolts of force at it. It calculates its odds and doesn't like the result.

It winks and disappears in a pop. "Be seeing you," it says, in perfect common, before it flashes away. The stone statue returns to immobility. The wall of purple fire fades away.

The battle, at last, is over. For now.

Initiative: Party [1d6] = 6; Monsters [1d6] = 1
Odilo 1/2 STR Check (7): [1d20] = 4

-----
Status: Malibran (H LG C20[13](Pholtus)): 47/90; Khogeki (H LN M16): 40/78; Odilo (1/2E NG MU17): 5/54; Xale (D NG C14[9](Dalt)/F13): -2/75; Risdac (Giant NG MU17): 10/58; Tanner (H CG F19): 30/107; Rool (H LN T20): 12/85; Hallagad (H LG P15(Pelor)): 44/93
Effects: Protection from Evil (Odilo, 28 rounds; Risdac, 14 rounds)
Light Sources: Continual light coin (Tanner); Continual light dagger (Odilo)

[AleBelly]

Hallagad assumes one of the others will stabilize Xale, for he has no easy way to get up on the ledge to do so.

Instead, his attention turns to Tanner. Why does he stand in the middle of fire if it harms him so? Then he sees the growths sprout again.

Hoping it is some form of disease, the paladin strides over to Tanner. "Come, let me examine your predicament." He will attempt to use his ability to heal disease on Tanner unless he knows the effort will be futile.

[Inferno]

The Unseen Servant looks to where the demon had been a moment ago, before it fled the battlefield. "If your enemy is cowardly, you must bring the battle to him," the sensei says softly.

Then he goes to Xale, fearing the worst. Finding that he still draws breath, the humble monk gently binds the dwarf's wounds and wipes the blood from his noble face.

"Somehow, Brother Xale yet lives."

[GreyWolfVT]

Odilo downs one of his potions of extra-healing. Potion Extra-Healing [3d8+3] = 11+3 = 14

[Urson]

Tanner

The old warrior nods to Hallagad, his eyes blazing with a fury he can't express. Thanks, brother.

Even as he is ministered to, he keeps his eyes peeled for another attack.