IC II

[shaidar]

Sorry, I've just remembered (again) that you can't cast and move the same round. Ribar wants to get to 30' from the priest so his Holy Chant will reach, Newton will have to stay where he is to cast.

[PresGas]

Sumer

Sumer sees the rest of the group move and opts to follow behind the people attacking the priest, offering to burn any shadow creatures that come to intercept with Burning Hands. If none come toward them, she will bring the power to bear on the priest itself.

[VonAlric]

Gardo

As the figure looks as hisses at the group, Gardo puffs up a bit. "You don't get to hiss at me for free! If you have something to say, why don't you come over here and tell me to my face! That way I can.... Wait, Feargus, you're not going to get there first!" Gardo follows quickly after Feargus to attack the figure ahead of them.


Notai

The walls and roof here bother her more than other places she has been. Something about this place is unnatural and it raises the hairs on the back of her neck. As the group moves forward towards the altar, she quickly raises the spear and launches it at the figure, hoping to keep the creature from mounting any attack, recalling the spear after the attack.

[thirdkingdom]

Round One

Quick as lightning, the adventurers act first. Ribar and Sumer move closer to get into range with the spells, while Newton summons a net of flickering fire that settles over the priest's form, illuminating its incorporeal shape and making it easier to see. Both Feargus and Gardo move forward, their speed enhanced by Sumer's spell, and deal a series of blows to the priest. Notai's spear sails overhead, sinking into the creature's form, before being recalled back into her hand. Zellar, drawing upon Mnencir to enter her battle trance, attacks the lurking shadows, destroying one but missing the other on her backstroke.

Zellar is swarmed by three of the other shadows, and she feels the icy touch from one as it steals the strength from her body. Two of the creatures surround Ribar, and he is able to avoid the attacks of only one. Another approaches Sumer, but she dodges out of the way.

Gardo and Feargus watch as, on his throne, the shadow priest seems to suck in the surrounding shadows, repairing much of the damage that had been inflicted. He reaches forward, clawing at Gardo. The warrior can feel the strength leave him as both attacks pierce his armor and seem to freeze his soul!

Actions for Round Two, please!
Initiative, PCs first, followed by Shadow priest, followed by shadows:: 3#1d6 5 4 4

Shadows: 8, 9, 11, 14, 15, 13
Shadow priest: 74-14-22-10+23=51


Gardo. https://orokos.com/roll/805887: 2#1d20+10 27 15 2#1d8+5 9 10 First attack hits for 9 damage. Actually, this also does an extra 1d6: https://orokos.com/roll/805890: 1d6 5 Total of 14 damage.
Newton. Spells happen first. Newton casts Faerie Fire. Just a note, the description of Faerie Fire from OSE states that a single object or creature can be affected if the caster is below 5th level. We've decided that Newton's spellcasting functions at half his class level, so he can affect one target. I'm going to assume it is the shadow priest.
Ribar. Moves forward 30'.
Zellar. Enters battle trance, gaining +1 to hit, damage, and saves against magical fear. Extra rolls in case of cleave:: 6#1d20+5 24 17 6 24 8 22 6#2d4 5 5 3 5...
Feargus. https://orokos.com/roll/805889: 2#1d20+11 28 26 2#1d8+5 10 12 Total of 22 damage
Notai. https://orokos.com/roll/805891: 1d20+5 25 1d6+4 8 Max damage, for 10 total!
Sumer. Moves to shadow priest to get within range. In OSE one cannot move and cast spells in the same turn.

Shadow priest. Uses ability called Absorb Shadows, heals half the damage it took in the round. Regains 23 hp, makes two attacks against Gardo. https://orokos.com/roll/805895: 2#1d20+8 24 24 2#2d4 5 5 1d2 1 Gardo takes 10 damage, has attack and damage rolls reduced by 2, and must Save v paralysis. https://orokos.com/roll/805897: 2#1d20 10 12 Saves both times.

Shadows: Instead of a strength drain, which will be difficult to track, we're just going to say that each hit imposes a -1 penalty to hit and damage. https://orokos.com/roll/805894: 6#1d20+2 19 6 11 22 18 5 6#1d4 1 1 1 3... Actually, first shadow is dead, slain by Zellar. Ignore that result. Three move to swarm Zellar, the third hits, for two damage. One hits Ribar, for 3 damage.

[beniliusbob]

Zellar

Zellar howls with battle frenzy and continues to attack the shadows, willing the strength of the Mnencir to replace that which the shadows stole.

[The_Wanderer]

Feargus
Feargus continues swinging his mace..a trace of doubt entering his mind after he sees the thing weather the opening storm of blows and even draw strength.

Each of those initial hits (and any more hits) from Feargus should deal an extra 1d6 from striking, right?

[shaidar]

Newton moves forward (hasted) to defend Ribar, who starts his Holy Chant

Not sure what this is in rules terms, but Newton want to use his attacks to try and prevent Ribar being disturbed while he chants. If this isn't an option then Newton will fight the shadows normally by Ribar's side. Here is another question, Ribar has no magical weapon, but does have a +1 shield, could he use this to shield bash the shadows?

[VonAlric]

Gardo

Feeling the attack pierce into him, Gardo lets out a loud yell, the kind one hears during an arm wrestling match and one opponent is trying to push back the pain. His eyes get a little wider, a little more crazy. "Yeah! You want to fight! Then quit cheating! Feargus! He did use those shadows to heal himself up, right! That's cheating, you bastard!"


Notai

Hearing Gardo's exclamation, she quickly moves to engage the closest shadows, hoping to destroy them before they can be used by the priest of the shades.

[PresGas]

Sumer

Gets just close enough to get the burning hands spell off at the creature. Grim determination on her face.

[thirdkingdom]

Newton moves forward (hasted) to defend Ribar, who starts his Holy Chant

Not sure what this is in rules terms, but Newton want to use his attacks to try and prevent Ribar being disturbed while he chants. If this isn't an option then Newton will fight the shadows normally by Ribar's side. Here is another question, Ribar has no magical weapon, but does have a +1 shield, could he use this to shield bash the shadows?

Sure, I'll allow a shieldbash. It'll do 1d4 damage.

[thirdkingdom]

Round Two

The shadows move first, but for the most part the adventurers are able to evade their attacks, except for Notai, who feels the icy claws of shadow rake across her cheek; two more shadows emerge from the gloom that lines the perimeter of the building, but are not able to act immediatelys. The adventurers quickly counterattack; Gardo attacks but misses. Ribar begins to chant a holy prayer, bolstering the morale of his companions while putting the fear of Manifest into the hearts of the enemy. Newton advances and lands a solid blow against the shadow attacking Ribar, Zellar cuts another shadow to ribbons, Sumer summons a fan of flame that catches the shadow priest as well as the two new ones, as they are not yet engaged in melee. Feargus's first attack barely misses, and his second deals a devastating blow upon the priest. The shadow priest cackles hollowly, reaching out and raking Gardo twice again. The fighter is able to *just* avoid the first blow, but is caught by the second, and he feels ice fill his veins as his limbs freeze and refuse to follow his commands.

Grinning wickedly at Feargus, the shadow priest seemingly winks out of existence, disappearing in front of his eyes!

Initiative, PCs first, followed by Shadow priest, followed by shadows:: 3#1d6 3 2 5
Shadows: 9, 11-11, 14-8, 15, 13 New shadow hp: 10-6, 13-6
Shadow priest: 51+3-6-13

Shadows act first: Three attacking Zellar, one attacking Ribar, last attacking Notai:: 5#1d20+2 6 7 6 10 15 5#1d4 2 1 1 4 3... What shitty rolls. Does the last hit Notai? Yes, that does. Notai suffers 3 hp and has a -1 to attack and damage.
https://orokos.com/roll/806295: 1d4 2 more shadows emerge, will act next round.

Gardo: https://orokos.com/roll/806296: 2#1d20+8 9 14 2#1d8+5 8 12
Ribar casts holy chant, affecting all subsequent rolls.
Newton: Let's say that Newton just attacks the shadow attacking Ribar: https://orokos.com/roll/806297: 1d20+8 25 1d6+5 7 And that's a hit, for 8 damage.
Zellar: https://orokos.com/roll/806298: 6#1d20+6 24 18 11 8 9 10 6#2d4+1 7 4 6 4... First two attacks hit, but the third misses, so she's still unable to Cleave.
Sumer: Inflicts 6 hp upon target with attack, no save.
Notai: https://orokos.com/roll/806299: 2#1d20+6 21 25 2#1d6+5 10 6 Slays the one facing her, and she can cleave . . . Actually, I forgot about the -1 to attack and damage from the shadow's attack, but it's still enough to slay the shadow.
Feargus: https://orokos.com/roll/806300: 2#1d20+12 16 28 2#1d8+6 13 13 Wow, that first attack *just* misses. Hard to believe with a +12 modifier!
Shadow priest: Keep attacking Gardo, I guess:: 2#1d20+7 27 25 2#2d4-1 7 3 2#1d20+1 5 5 Those are better rolls. Don't forget that Gardo can cancel one attack per day. I'm going to assume he'll cancel the first, so he only takes 3 damage, but even with the bonus to saves from holy chant he still is affected by the creature's paralyzing touch.

[beniliusbob]

Zellar

"Gardo! Fear not! Help is on the way!"

Zellar moves to Gardo's side and fights off any shadows who get in her way.

Priority is getting adjacent to Gardo, taking the opportunity to make an attack if possible. Will use CLW to remove paralysis the following turn.

[VonAlric]

Gardo will avoid both of the blows. With Luck, I can avoid two attacks a day. This seems like as good a time as any.

[beniliusbob]

In that case, Zellar just kills more shadows!

[PresGas]

Sumer

In the midst of the battle Sumer looks suspiciously at the space where the "priest" was. Not liking the blows dealt to Gardo, she opts to see if the creature is just unseeable or has literally departed from wherever the party is.

She opts to cantrip conjure a minor mist of ink in the direction of where the priest was. Not likely to give any invisibility penalties per se, but if we see the mist move, we know it is at least still in the room.

[shaidar]

Newton continues to defend Ribar, targeting any shadows that look like they are intent on harming him or failing that going for the closest one.

so, no sign of the faerie fire surrounding the priest?

[The_Wanderer]

Feargus

"Really? You disappear on me?" Feargus glance out the window at the barren landscape and shivers before turning on the shadows in the room and carving through them.

If he gets any sign that the priest is still there, he will strike out at it instead.
TK - I think you missed Feargus' +1d6 damage from striking again. Not sure it really matters though.
This priest seems as close as a key to this whole thing as we have observed. Other than destroying it though, I'm not sure what other options we have.

[thirdkingdom]

Sumer

In the midst of the battle Sumer looks suspiciously at the space where the "priest" was. Not liking the blows dealt to Gardo, she opts to see if the creature is just unseeable or has literally departed from wherever the party is.

She opts to cantrip conjure a minor mist of ink in the direction of where the priest was. Not likely to give any invisibility penalties per se, but if we see the mist move, we know it is at least still in the room.

Since you're stating that you're casting a spell I'll let you change your actions based on the new round

Round Three, beginning

There's a moment where the adventurers cast their gazes about frantically, searching for the disappeared priest; an instant later it reappears, close to the door where the adventurers first entered, still within the range of Ribar's holy chant and Sumer's spells, but nearly sixty feet distant from Feargus. If it were not for Newton's lambent light still surrounding it there is no doubt it could have surprised the adventurers, but the soft glow from the spell alerts the party to its presence before it can cause trouble!

I'm pausing here to allow characters to re-adjust their actions. Those with an initiative bonus can act prior to the Shadow priest, while those without will act simultaneously.
Initiative, PCs first, followed by Shadow priest, followed by shadows:: 3#1d6 6 6 1

[thirdkingdom]

Feargus

"Really? You disappear on me?" Feargus glance out the window at the barren landscape and shivers before turning on the shadows in the room and carving through them.

If he gets any sign that the priest is still there, he will strike out at it instead.
TK - I think you missed Feargus' +1d6 damage from striking again. Not sure it really matters though.
This priest seems as close as a key to this whole thing as we have observed. Other than destroying it though, I'm not sure what other options we have.

Oops! https://orokos.com/roll/806705: 1d6 5 That's not nothing!

[beniliusbob]

No changes to Zellar's action.