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[pbp][13th Age] Enter the Temple of Temporal Chaos
Amigu
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Full disclaimer
Hey all. I haven't played or DM'd 13th Age before. This is a bit of a warm up for the IRL game that I'll be running. So if you want to play I'm going to need you to be lenient! It won't effect the pace of the game but I may make a few crunch mistakes here and there.
How to play
In that spirit, I'm thinking we should play this fast and loose. I'll set you up a bit of an initial scene and if you're keen then narrate how you enter the citadel and show us your character in spoilers - including icon allegiances, initial relationship roles and of course your ONE UNIQUE THING.
I'll announce when I'm cutting off submissions. Then I'll set up a gambit that allows you to collectively set the tone of the adventure with your responses.
We'll play it as if you're all meeting for the first time. However, if you and another player want to skip that part just come as a team. I really don't mind.
From then on I'll just keep progressing the game and you tell me how you want to react. We'll all tell the story together, no time to overthink it, let's do something epic!
Do: Make bold moves
Don't: Play a truly evil character. Shady or roguish is okay. I just don't have time for any sardonic/gory stuff.
The Setup
You are all pilgrims to the island of Felicity.
While no faction claims ownership over Felicity, the only settlement on the island -the Citadel of Equipoise- is tended to by an order known as The Awareness of Symmetry.
The Awareness believe that Felicity sits at the centre of all ley lines which run through the Dragon Empire.
The Citadel of Equipose is built on an island encircled by enormous steep water falls which dwarf the citadel itself. Thirteen bridges lead into the tall shimmering tower.
This is where would be adventurers come to decide on their next quest – Although the Awareness of Symmetry believe that decisions are merely the echoes of an unfolding ever expanding reality... Whatever that means.
Hey all. I haven't played or DM'd 13th Age before. This is a bit of a warm up for the IRL game that I'll be running. So if you want to play I'm going to need you to be lenient! It won't effect the pace of the game but I may make a few crunch mistakes here and there.
How to play
In that spirit, I'm thinking we should play this fast and loose. I'll set you up a bit of an initial scene and if you're keen then narrate how you enter the citadel and show us your character in spoilers - including icon allegiances, initial relationship roles and of course your ONE UNIQUE THING.
I'll announce when I'm cutting off submissions. Then I'll set up a gambit that allows you to collectively set the tone of the adventure with your responses.
We'll play it as if you're all meeting for the first time. However, if you and another player want to skip that part just come as a team. I really don't mind.
From then on I'll just keep progressing the game and you tell me how you want to react. We'll all tell the story together, no time to overthink it, let's do something epic!
Do: Make bold moves
Don't: Play a truly evil character. Shady or roguish is okay. I just don't have time for any sardonic/gory stuff.
The Setup
You are all pilgrims to the island of Felicity.
While no faction claims ownership over Felicity, the only settlement on the island -the Citadel of Equipoise- is tended to by an order known as The Awareness of Symmetry.
The Awareness believe that Felicity sits at the centre of all ley lines which run through the Dragon Empire.
The Citadel of Equipose is built on an island encircled by enormous steep water falls which dwarf the citadel itself. Thirteen bridges lead into the tall shimmering tower.
This is where would be adventurers come to decide on their next quest – Although the Awareness of Symmetry believe that decisions are merely the echoes of an unfolding ever expanding reality... Whatever that means.
BitD PbP Character Volstrom
Amigu on
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Posts
Hey! Provided you have access to -and an understanding of- the rules you totally can! I would suggest playing a barbarian because they're real simple.
Go for it! If you like you can just copy paste your last character and write yourself into the Felicity scene.
Str 16 (+3) Con 10 (0) Dex 14 (+2) Int 8 (-1) Wis 16 (+3) Cha 8 (-1)
AC 14
PD 14
MD 11
HP 19
Recoveries 8
Ki: 4 per day
Initiative +7
Recovery Roll 1d8 +0
Icon Relationships:
High Druid +2
Emperor -1
Background:
Monk of the Elemental Temple +5
Prophet of the Chaos +2
Former Slumrat +1
OUT: While training to summon a fire elemental, Ryo's spell when wrong, causing the elemental to be summoned and fusion with him. He now has blacken skin with cracks that glow like a log on fire and eyes that look like burning coals and when he gets ready to fight, his bald head becomes covered with flaming hair.
Melee Attack
At-Will
Target: One enemy
Attack: Dexterity + Level vs. AC
Hit:PUNCH + Strength damage.
Miss: Damage equal to your level.
Ranged Attack
At-Will
Target: One enemy
Attack: Dexterity + Level vs. AC
Hit: WEAPON + Dexterity damage.
Miss:—
Talents:
Human (Racial Power)
Quick to Fight
At the start of each battle, roll initiative twice and choose the result you want.
General Feat
Improved Initiative
Gain a +4 bonus to Initiative checks.
Druid:
Divine Implements
Not all clerics believe that druidic magic has anything to do with the divine. Many druids think of their magic as natural rather than divine. But perspectives and self-images don’t change the fact that druids’ spells seem to qualify as divine magic so far as magic items are concerned! Your best options for improving your spellcasting are symbols and staffs.
Druidic Summoning
The Elemental Caster talent provides access to elemental summoning spells. Other talents might include summoning spells in the future.
Nature Talking
Everybody knows that druids can talk with plants and animals. It doesn’t always work, though druids might not admit that, since no one but another druid or a particularly cunning bard will have any way of knowing what the plant/animal said in return. Twice per day, a druid can talk with a non-hostile animal or plant for a
short time (in battle, it takes one to three rounds). Conversations are simple and the feature doesn’t really increase the plant or animal’s brain power, so talking with animals about things like “are there other scary two-leggers around here” is probably the limit. As a rule, plants don’t remember much about things that happened before the last sunrise or sunset, with the possible exception of events involving fire.
If there is useful information for the druid to gain out of the situation, they should roll a skill check that’s appropriate for the tier. Talking to animals requires a hard DC, and plants usually require a ridiculously hard DC. A druid gains a +1 bonus when talking with animals for every talent spent on the Shifter or Animal Companion talents. A druid gains a +1 bonus when talking with plants for every talent spent on the Terrain Caster talent.
Wilderness Survival
You never suffer from natural weather-related cold, heat, or exposure. You can go longer than most people without eating or drinking, but only a couple days longer.
Fire Mastery (Elemental Caster)
If you take fire mastery feats, small flickers of flame may accompany your strong moods. They don’t tend to set anything on fire or hurt anyone. They’re expressions of your core magical nature. Subtlety is a challenge.
Adventurer Feat:You gain the flame spear spell below.
Monk:
JAB, PUNCH, and KICK Attacks
Under normal circumstances, melee weapons that are traditional in a monk’s style function like special effects for monks. Most monk attacks are rated as JAB, PUNCH, or KICK attacks, in the same sense that most fighter attacks are WEAPON attacks.
• JAB attacks deal 1d4 damage per level.
• PUNCH attacks deal 1d6 damage per level.
• KICK attacks deal 1d8 damage per level.
Monks don’t use weapon damage dice unless they are using a non-traditional weapon or a basic ranged attack that is not part of one of their monk forms. Neither case is ideal for monks, since they can only use non-traditional weapon attacks for basic attacks instead of using their forms.
When fighting barehanded, with bracers, or with traditional monk weapons, monks use damage dice based on the form they are attacking with, or PUNCH damage for basic melee attacks. (See Melee Weapons on the left.) While using a magic weapon, monks add the weapon’s attack and damage bonus to their attacks, and they can use that weapon’s power(s).All monk attacks that use Dexterity as the attack stat use Strength as the ability score that determines damage.
Forms
When you learn a monk form, you learn all three elements of that form: an opening attack, flow attack, and finishing attack.
Each element requires a standard action to use (although some standard action elements provide access to free or quick actions you can choose to use or ignore).
Using your forms in battle: You must follow a specific form progression during battle. Your first standard action attack after rolling initiative in a battle must be an opening. Your second attack can be a flow attack from ANY form you know or you can “go back” and use another opening. After you use a flow attack, your next monk attack can be a finishing attack from ANY form you know, or you can go back to another opening. You can’t use another flow attack.
After a finishing attack you must start over with an opening on your next standard action. If you spend a turn without attacking for some reason, you must start your forms over with an opening on your next standard action.It’s worth noting that this form progression occurs whether you hit or miss with your attack.
[*]Mixing forms:As long as you use the proper element of the form (opening, flow, or finishing attack), you can use an opening, flow, or finishing attack from ANY of the forms you know. Part of the fun of playing a monk character is tracking which moves you have used and announcing the elements/names of the form as they roll out across the rounds. Announce your action during your turn in your best Hong Kong action theater voice unless that conflicts with your character’s story.
[*]Defense bonus:When you use an element of a form, you gain an AC bonus until the start of your next turn. After using an opening attack you gain a +1 bonus to AC. After using a flow attack, you gain a +2 bonus to AC. After using a finishing attack, you gain a +3 bonus to AC.If elven grace or some other power lets you use multiple elements of your forms in a turn, the AC bonuses don’t stack but you do get to use the highest bonus.
[*]Keeping track of your forms:Your best choice each round will usually be between all the elements of a single category of attack. If you’re writing out your forms, you’ll want to track all your opening attacks together, all your flow attacks separately, and all your finishing attacks in their own group.
Ki
You gain a number of ki points each day equal to 1 + your Wisdom modifier. (It increases as you gain levels; see the level progression table.) You can spend ki to modify the natural result of one of your attack rolls, as explained below. Talents and some feats provide ki powers, each of which can be activated by spending 1 point of ki. Ki is a daily resource. When you take a full heal-up, you regain all your ki points. As a rule, you don’t regain ki during a quick rest.
[*]Spending ki to adjust your attack roll:After rolling an attack, you can spend 1 point of ki as a free action to change your attack’s natural result by 1, unless that result is a natural 1. The change can be positive or negative. For example, you could change a natural roll of 19 into a natural 20, or natural roll of 3 into a natural 2, allowing you to reroll the attack thanks to the monk’s two-weapon fighting feature.
[*]Ki powers: Adventurer-tier talents and a few feats offer
additional ways to spend ki points. Spending ki is a free action:Unless otherwise specified, spending ki is a free action. Spend only 1 point of ki per turn: As a rule you can spend only 1 point of ki each turn. You can spend multiple points of ki each round, but only once during your turn and once during each other creature’s turn. The exceptions to this rule are forms that cost multiple points of ki for a single use.
Two-Weapon Fighting
Since monks are trained to strike with all their limbs, we’re happy to say that they can always be considered to be fighting
with two weapons in melee, even when they’re barehanded. As indicated on page 168 of the 13th Age core rulebook, the principal advantage of “two-weapon fighting” is that you get to reroll your attack when you roll a natural 2 with a melee attack, sticking with the reroll.
Bracers as Magic Items
Monks get magic-weapon style powers from magical bracers; see page 235 for more information about bracers. In practice, a monk fighting barehanded looks to bracers for magical advantage. A monk who fights with the monastery’s traditional weapons might use bracers or a magical weapon, but a monk wearing magical bracers can’t use a magical melee weapon at the same time.
Diamond Focus
You gain a +2 bonus to saves while you’re not staggered. In addition, you can go one round without using a monk attack form and still maintain your place in the attack form progression. For example, if you made an opening attack last round but don’t attack this round (or with your next standard action) for any reason, even being stunned or unconscious, you can still use a flow attack with your next standard action.
-Ki Power (Diamond Soul): When you are dazed, weakened, or stunned, you can spend 1 point of ki to make an immediate normal save (11+). If you succeed, the effect ends. If you fail, the condition affects you normally. (This power also works on effects that aren’t save ends. It also breaks the stunned rule by letting you use a free action to spend ki.)
Leaf on Wind
Once per battle when you use a move action, you can take another move action as a free action.
In addition, if you fall with a wall, tree, or other physical object next to you, you can fall up to 30 feet per level without taking damage. (You slap the surface, catch handholds, and use other maneuvers to slow your descent.)
-Ki Power (Wind’s Comrade): You can spend 1 point of ki during your turn to gain flightuntil the end of your turn
Spells:
Flame Spear
Ranged spell At-Will
Target: One nearby enemy
Attack: Wisdom + Level vs. PD
Hit: 1d12 + Wisdom fire damage.
Natural Odd Hit: As a hit, plus one of your allies engaged with the target, if any, takes 1d6 fire damage.
3rd level spell 5d6 damage 2d6 damage on odd hit.
5th level spell 5d8 damage 2d8 damage on odd hit.
7th level spell 7d10 damage 3d10 damage on odd hit.
9th level spell 10d10 damage 4d6 damage on odd hit.
Faerie Fire
Ranged spell Daily
Target: One nearby enemy
Attack: Wisdom + Level vs. PD
Hit: 3d6 + Wisdom fire damage, and the target is vulnerable (hard save ends, 16+).
Miss:Half damage, and the target is vulnerable until the end of your next turn.
3rd level spell 6d6 damage, and in addition to being vulnerable, the target can’t turn invisible or hide from you or your allies (save ends both).
5th level spell 6d10 damage, and the target also can’t teleport (save ends all).
7th level spell 10d10 damage.
9th level spell 2d8 x 10 damage.
Forms:
Dance of the Mantis
Opening Attack (Springing Mantis Strike)
Melee attack
Special:When you start your turn unengaged, you can move before the attack as part of the standard action for this attack.
Target:One enemy
Attack:Dexterity + Level vs. AC
Hit: JAB + Strength damage.
Flow Attack (The Pincer Whirls Shut)
Melee attack
Target:One enemy
Attack:Dexterity + Level vs. AC
Hit:PUNCH + Strength damage, or KICK + Strength damage against large or huge targets.
Natural Even Hit:As a hit, plus you can roll a disengage check as a free action after the attack.
Miss:Half damage.
Finishing Attack (Precise Mantis Kick)
Melee attack
Target:One enemy
Attack:Dexterity + Level + 2 vs. AC
Hit:KICK + Strength damage.
Natural Even Miss:Your crit range with opening, flow, and finishing attacks expands by 1 until the end of the battle.
Natural Odd Miss:Damage equal to your level.
Original Venom
Opening Attack (First Deadly Venom)
Melee attack
Target:One enemy
Attack: Dexterity + Level vs. AC
Hit: JAB + Strength damage, and if the target is staggered after the attack, it also takes 5 ongoing poison damage.
Miss:You take damage equal to your level.
Flow Attack (Second Certain Toxin)
Melee attack
Target: One enemy
Attack: Dexterity + Level vs. PD
Hit: PUNCH + Strength damage.
Natural Even Hit:As a hit, plus 5 ongoing poison damage.
Miss:You take damage equal to your level.
Finishing Attack (Third Poisonous Lesson)
Melee attack
Target:One enemy taking ongoing damage
Attack:Dexterity + Level vs. AC
Hit:KICK + Strength damage.
Natural Even Hit:As a hit, plus 10 ongoing poison damage, and if the target has 45 hp points or fewer, it’s hampered (save ends both). (The hp threshold also goes up automatically based on your level.)
3rd level monk 72 hp or fewer.
5th level monk 108 hp or fewer.
7th level monk 180 hp or fewer.
9th level monk 300 hp or fewer.
Natural Odd Hit:As a hit, plus 5 ongoing poison damage.
Miss:You take damage equal to your level.
Background
Bust out that multiclass character!
While it is easy for play by post, you might want to see my game here and check out the Icon Relationship Token system that I use to replace the Icon Roll system that's default in the books because that's the hardest part of running this game. And remembering to up the escalation die at the top of the round.
Just post your character and get started, I'll cut it off at around 4-5 players depending on demand.
Players
Just describe yourself arriving in the area along with anything that you think will be helpful to start the RP. Then when everyone has showed up, I'll progress the game.
...hmm.
I'm gonna hold off since technically I already joined a game already and wanna let other folks get a chance
I'll write my OOC posts in italics.
I love the Temple of Elemental Evil reference. Feel free to narrate how and why you are approaching the Citadel of Equipoise - Perhaps you suspect it is one of the temples that forms a bridge between the Dragon Empire and the Elemental Chaos?
As for Icon relationships, I want to try the book's approach and have everyone roll at the beginning of each "session". So roll away!
Playing it out was the plan. But it will be played out in a few posts and then we'll seal the deal with some combat. Like I said, big fast moves!
That's fair. If you change your mind just drop by.
Yld'dric, the Dusk
OUT: Yld'dric is the unfortunate sole lone carrier of a disease sent by the Lich to wipe out the Elves, after the High Priestess contained the outbreak in him.
Backstory:
But things really boiled over when the Elf Queen sent a band of her adventurers to assassinate the King.
No-one knows quite what happened on the quest, but one thing was certain. The dead were not buried.
The adventurers turned up some days later at an elvish outpost, Sea's Awakening, drifting atop an otherwise abandoned ship.
They were also quite, quite undead.
The village priests and guards made short work of the husks, but the full extent of the Lich's plan soon made itself evident.
These were Plague-bearers. Undead not controlled directly by the Lich himself, but instead dead bodies possessed by a virulent plague, who merely used the corpses as a convenient mode of transport to find and infect new victims.
The Plague spread rapidly. Even those who had not come into contact with the bearers, would breathe it in as the dead shed the plague into the air.
Many rushed to the temples and clerics for healing. None were successful in finding a cure.
Yld'dric was of noble class however, and had the resources to pursue the most powerful clerics and petitioned them to heal him.
In his fractured state, they gave him a choice. They had but one cure and it came at a most dear price.
He accepted.
The Priestess's clerics gathered around him and put a powerful binding magic on him.
The disease from all over the town, under the weight of all the Priestess's might, was drawn into this one vessel.
Springing up from the inside, the plague roiled. The pale skin of the elves darkening to a swirling grey.
Fighting within the main, it resisted the clerics, and the white magic winding around him lit up with pain and fire.
The man screamed, echoing the raw feral emotion of the plague inside him.
Twice, thrice the plague lashed out, trying to regain its freedom, but the spell held strong.
Finally the plague settled. It could not escape. Not yet. And so it waited.
The clerics, drained and pale faced, sent a missive to their mistress.
The plague had been contained but it would not hold.
Whilst its virulence had slowed, it would still gnaw at its container.
If this one fell, then the plague would be free again, and it would continue its desolation.
And so they requested that this one be guarded and kept fed, so that the white magic might continue to work, and the plague, eventually, defeated.
It has been some ten years now.
Yld'dric has lost a lot of his own time. Memories burned and replaced with other things, like fevers and hallucinations.
But mostly the wicked animal instincts of the plague.
They have come to an understanding.
Under the eye of the Elf Queen, he has been trained to hunt, and it is allowed to feed on what they catch.
Should the virus act out, the white magic can be triggered by a simple keyword, given to the ever-present guards.
Not that this is used much any more.
The plague and the mind of the man have been together so long now that their thoughts and instincts are often both their own.
The Elf Queen and the High Priestess both know the torment that still lies dormant at the heart of this elf, and those who follow them know but the legend of the horror.
The observant are squeamish as the skin still blisters and bubbles, and the patterns that flow through the man twist as the man talks.
But the Lich King just waits.
Mechanics:
HP = 30
Str: 10 - +0
Dex: 14 (+2) - +3
Con: 16 - +3
Wis: 16 (+2) - +4
Int: 8 - -1
Cha: 8 - -1
AC = 17 (shield, no armour) / 21 (shield, ice armour, -2 to ATK) [expect me to don armour after combat starts and I start regenning]
PD = 15
MD = 11
Recoveries = 8
Recovery dice = 1d8 + 3
Longsword, Shield, Javelins?
Melee = +4 (-2) vs AC, 1d8 damage
Ranged = +4 vs AC, 1d6 + 4 damage
Backgrounds:
Hunter = 3
Fallen Elf Noble = 2
Undying, but not Undead = 3
Icons:
The Elf Queen - Conflicted 1
The High Priestess - Conflicted 1
The Lich King - Negative 1
'Dark Elf' racial - Infect
Once per battle, deal ongoing damage to a target you hit with a natural even attack roll as a free action. The ongoing damage equals 5 times your level.
Class Features:
Elemental Bond: Negative (Resistance 12+, A is now 16+)
Elemental Manipulation: Once per combat, or once per minute, manipulate the elements as a standard action
Choose one per resistance:
Mend a small, mundane item of metal. Or, manipulate at a distance a nearby item of the same material for one round.
Create a torch-like source of light that lasts until the end of the battle, or one minute out of battle.
Ignite one nearby, mundane flammable item (of campfire size or smaller) or evaporate one small source (a bucket or puddle) of normal water.
Freeze one small source (a bucket or puddle) of normal water, or quench one nearby, mundane flame of campfire size or less.
Manipulate, at a distance, any one small nearby item for one round.
Feats : 1 Adventurer - Improved Elemental Bond.
Powers : 2
Choking Contagion (16+)
Consume (16+)
Daily
Recharge 16+ after battle
Quick action
Effect: Until the end of the battle, you may make the following attack:
Close quarters attack
Move action
Target: One nearby creature
Attack: Wisdom + Level vs. PD
Hit: The target, if engaged, pops free without provoking opportunity attacks. If a nearby enemy, the target is now engaged with you.
Special: On each even hit, target an additional nearby creature, that was either in a group with or engaged with the target.
Power pool level : 1st Level
BLOOD FOR THE STONE -> Consume
Daily
Recharge 16+
Free action when you hit an enemy with an attack
Effect: You gain temporary hit points equal to the damage dealt to that enemy.
Class Talents : 3
Frozen Heart : Cold resistance (12+)
Regeneration
Subcutaneous Spores
Summon and Don Heavy Armour as a free action. Grants Cold resistance (12+)
WORLD’S BREATH - Regeneration
Whenever you are staggered and you hit with an even attack roll, regain hit points equal to your Wisdom modifier. At 5th level, increase the hit points gained to 2x your Wisdom modifier. At 8th level, increase to 4x.
IRON THORNS - Subcutaneous Spores
While you are conscious and not stunned, deal your Wisdom modifier in damage to each enemy who hits you with a melee attack and rolls an odd attack roll. This damage hits the enemy after their attack damages you. At 5th level, this damage increases to 2x your Wisdom modifier, and to 3x at 8th level.
Yld'dric spotted the tower whilst in the forest some days ago, whilst sating his hunger as had become the norm.
Something in seeing the tower glinting in the sunlight sung out to him though, and now he finds himself at the base of the structure.
Regaining his senses, he realises that the virus is clamoring for a different thing for once, and telling him to climb.
Geth roll 3d6 for Elf Priestess Lich
In the Citadel of Equipoise, in its grand library, a lone priest watches carefully over the burned man going over the different tomes and scrolls. Each small flicker and spark from the half-elemental causes the priest to hold his breath and nearly jump to protect the ancient papers from the possible flames. Ryo doesn't seem to care, looking at each page only briefly before moving on to another. The elemental in him was searching, looking for words that may relate to the Elemental Chaos, to old gods, to ancient temples. There were many pages that had been useless to him, a few promising pages, but none that so far had jumped out as a clue. The half-elemental cracked his neck, causing a small flame to crawl from the cracks in his skin, and nearly giving the poor priest a heart attack. Ryo paid him no mind as he checked yet another page.
Geth roll 3#1d6 for HD, HD, E
Ryo is also looking for clues to other temples that might be connected to old gods or the Elemental Chaos. Intelligence -1, Prophet of the Chaos +2.
Geth roll 1d20+1 for Searching for ancient knowledge .
HP 33
Str 17+3
Con 16 + 3
Dex 14+2
Int 9-1
Wis 12+1
Cha 9-1
AC 18+1=19
PD 14
MD 10
Recoveries 9
Recovery rolls 1d8 +4
Melee
Attack 1d20+3 hit 1d10
Talents
Heavy warrior feat use 2x per 8 houers sleep
Power attack
Cleave.
Maneuvers
Grim intent
Carveing an opening
Deadly assault
one unique thing ancestor achent magic armer and 2 hand battle axe
Icon relation
The emperor + 2
The dwarf King+1
Back grounds
Dragon slayer+4
Expurt training+4
Ryo is scratching his head over a line in an unnaturally smooth, white scroll "... and what may seem to be a node or a blockage from one angle may well reveal itself as an intersecting reality under the right light..." when the lone priest approaches the monk and tentatively lays his hand on Ryo's wrist.
The priest has an oddly painted face and his gold robes are covered in network-like patterns that shimmer in the light.
"Please. These scrolls pertain to internal matters of the Awareness of Symmetry. That's not to say that they are off limits to you, but I do believe you might find them rather... Academic. However, many travelers see things in a new light after experiencing our steam baths. Would you and your warrior friend care to follow me? We already have one guest in the steam room. He probably doesn't know it yet but I would wager that he is waiting for the two of you. Interestingly he carries a similar burden to you."
The priest gestures for Ryo and Seljin to follow him and walks up a stair case. When he opens the door at the top of the stairs, steam languidly rolls down the steps.
Meanwhile
Yld'dric sits in a marble chamber wearing a loincloth that the priests provided him with. He has no explanation for why he agreed to leaving his weapons and possessions in the adjacent changing room other than that the virus left him no choice.
The chamber is fairly large -15x15 feet- and the stone benches could comfortably fit five people. What is particularly interesting about the chamber is that it has an extremely high ceiling. Steam that seems to be coming out of the floor itself is lazily rising to the lofty ceiling of the chamber. At first it just felt humid but now the steam is giving Yld'dric a rare moment of relief from the magical plague that riles underneath his skin. The swirling patterns on his hands are arranging in ways that he hasn't seen before - they are forming ever changing geometric patterns as if the virus itself is reacting to the atmosphere of the room.
Yld'dric find himself thinking "Any moment now they'll be here."
When Ryo and Seljin follow the priest up the staircase they enter into an antechamber. It is made of white marble and has wardrobes on the north wall. The Wardrobes are made of silvery wood and instead of solid wooden doors, they have doors made of brass lattice which forms intricate geometric patterns. Next to the wardrobes there are changing booths.
A tightly packed bundle is visible in one of the wardrobes. You can see a sword and some javelins tied to the bundle.
An elven priestess with similar facial markings and robes as the male priest is waiting for you. "Greetings pilgrims. Please don't be alarmed by our face paint. While it obscures our features it also wards us from scrying magicks. Please leave your weapons and possessions in the wardrobes, put on these loincloths and follow me into the steam room. Our guest is waiting."
Seljin isn't sure whether the interplay of steam and light are playing tricks on his eyes but the wardrobe's patterns almost appear to be moving. The effect is not unpleasant. Beams of light break through patterned glass windows in the antechamber and cross each other at sharp angles. It almost feels as if the room is suspended in a lattice of light.
There is no door between the antechamber and the steam room, Yld'dric overhears everything that is being said and can see the vague outlines of people through the steam.
He briefly considers getting up to hail the newcomers, before promptly slumping back down into his stupor.
Pleasantly warm and with a mind his own, he breathes out a sigh.
I could stay here forever...
As the three of you sit in the steamy chamber, a clear headed high begins to settle over you. Much like how Yld'dric's virus plagued him less, Ryo's skin cools by half a degree and small gentle flames begin to rhythmically pulse up his body. The knots in Seljin's muscled body loosen and you begin to partake in a shared hallucination.
The dense steam seems to shape into a vague map of the known world, with the steam thinning where the oceans of the Dragon Empire are located.
Wafts of steam form two figures which dwarf the map - one Elven, one lich-like. They both slowly float towards each other hands and claws outstretched preparing to tear each other apart. Just before the two ominous silhouettes reach each other, small puffs of steam begin emerge out of the map. No... not puffs of steam, nasty little demons with batwings. Initially you only see a few of the small creatures but they grow exponentially in numbers, tearing the map apart at the seams. The daemons begin biting and tugging at the Lich and the Elf and the two figures unwillingly turn back to back to stave of the imps that are besieging them from all sides.
Before you can see what happens next, the Elven priestess from earlier on steps into the room to pour aromatic oils onto the warm stone floor. As the oils hit the ground the steam in the room pleasantly thickens.
The male priest in the other room screams in shock. You hear a wardrobe break open and something scuttles into the steam room. A small dark shape moves towards the priestess at an inhumane speed, as it reaches her foot you make out that it is... a grey severed hand!
The ghastly thing is scampering along using its five fingers. It darts up the priestess like a fleshy spider. She swats at it but it nimbly evades her and is suddenly grabbing onto her hair. From the top of her head the hand lets go, and in falling to the ground it smudges the warding symbols on the priestess's face. The hand hits the ground with a sickening thud and is suddenly inanimate.
The Elven priestess looks up at the party in shock, suddenly her eyes light up with an unnatural blue gleam and her body is no longer hers to control. In an instant her face is calm and regal and when she speaks her voice is a silvery echo:
"Yld'dric our child. Listen to your queen, there is little time, the magical wards in this tower are strong. We are besieged on all sides by daemons. As of yet the elemental temples hold the tide at bay and no-one is the wiser. But soon neither the Golden Wyrm, nor the ancient temples will be able to stop the onslaught. It pains me to say it, but without our enemy the Lich, the wards would already have fallen.
In this dire time we have struck a bargain with the Lich. We wish it had never come to this for we already have beset you with a burden dark and painful, but you are our only common man. Someone who can act covertly, without upsetting the balance in the court! Travel into the sea north of Felicity and ..."
The priestess begins to sprout a long purple claw from the centre of her left hand. Whether it is her or the Elf Queen's expression of horror on the vessels face, you can not say - "By the Stars! A Daemon has found us! This... this was not part of the plan! Wizard King! This was not what was meant to hAaaAAAAaaaaaAAA"
You can do little but watch as the priestess' clothes tear to shreds and both her arms contort into purple pincers. She only stops screaming when a thick sharp daemon tongue emerges from the hole that was her mouth seconds ago. The tortured vessel looks to be moving as if it were a puppet on strings and all humanity has left her eyes. Acid green ooze drips from her tongue and she lunges forward.
Roll initiative.
The daemon has an initiative of 9
Your gear is in the antechamber. Picking up your weapons/items is a quick action (one to get everything), donning armour is a standard action.
I just threw it together on powerpoint. Have included one that you can edit in a similar way to reposition your characters. Obviously feel free to use your own visuals for your dudes!
Geth roll 1d20+7 for Ryo's initiative
Geth roll 1d20+3 for Seijin's initiative
Edit: Ryo, you speed demon!
And I didn't pick up Improved Initiative to be the last fucker in the fight. Also, good thing Ryo has no gear for fighting...
Ryo stands quickly and takes up a fighting stance. The elemental force inside him burns hot, causing the water to start boiling near him. Small flickers of flames push out of the cracks in his head and his coal eyes are now yellow. "Speak your business, daemon, and release the woman's body and soul. Or we will tear you from her ourselves!"
"Good to hear someone else is seeing this too. I was beginning to think that the perfumes weren't only for the smell."
The venom dripping from its tongue looks like it might be able to do just that.
I decided I prefer this blue approach to OOC posting! So fighting order is
Ryo 25
Yld'dric 18
Seijin 11
Daemon 9
Priest 8 (but he's looking pretty terrified)
Are you reading my thread?
Opening Attack (Springing Mantis Strike) +1 AC
Geth roll 1d20+3 vs. Daemon's AC
Geth roll 1d4+3 for damage
Sure am!
Halting for a moment in the corridor to make sure the other Priest is still fleshy enough, he throws a gob of black gunk from his hand at his napsack.
After a second, a corresponding white light surround his hand and the black gunk is pulled back.
The slight difference being, his sword's hilt is pulled with it.
Turning to face the daemon once more, he braces himself to defend the corridor.
Yld'dric moves to the corridor and uses Elemental Manipulation to bring his sword back to him
There has got to be a blue that works on both mobile and the normal forum...
Geth roll 1d20+4 vs. Daemon's ac
Geth roll 1d4+3 for damage
Grims intent on even miss
Geth roll 1d4+3 for damage
So you probably already know this but only one flexible attack can be used per normal attack and the decision of which is used (if any can be) happens after you see the result of the attack roll.
It's a good idea to roll grim intent at the same time as the normal damage and attack die though (as you've done) if you don't want to double post. Then you can edit the post to choose your flexible attack.
Also, you just crit so you deal double damage (12). Even though none of your flexible attacks apply