The Eye of Anubis: Book Six

[Nathan of the FoS]

"Chargions!" Charles shouts, more for the sound of it than anything--there's just not much room for charging on this little...mesa? Butte? Island of some sort.

Muttering a cantrip designed to focus the mind--obviously, he needs the help--he dashes for the bridge on his right, pistol still in his left hand, a bag of salt in his right.

Moving to W23 and casting true strike.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Lia's eyes narrow -- and her hands suddenly lash out wildly, as if the wizard were having a 'moment' of some sort. At one point during these wild motions, however, one of her hands fleetingly caresses Kuzan's robes. Those closest to her might hear her mutter some words: "Facultam volati tibi dono - Go, Kuzan! Go!"

(Casting Fly on Kuzan, otherwise staying behind the others. Kuzan, remember you're flying with the added speed of Haste and perfect maneuverability, 'kay? Sleight of hand check to obscure the casting: 19)

[Kaitou Kage]

Kuzan closed his eyes for a moment and murmured the prayers he'd practiced so many times. They came as second nature to him now, flowing from his lips so quickly as to take almost no time at all.

"Lord Varuna, guide us
By your wisdom, we act,
By your strength, we strike."

The surge of divine power washed out over the field, covering friend and foe alike.

Prayers delivered, Kuzan braced for action. Just wait for the right moment, he told himself. Just wait for the right moment.

Quickened bless followed by prayer. Holding the rest of my actions for this round.

Bless is +1 morale on attack rolls -- the save vs. fear bonus is overridden by the Conviction.

Prayer is +1 luck bonus to all attack rolls, saves, skill checks and ability checks. Enemies also suffer -1 luck penalty to the same rolls.

[lostboy]

Khalil weighs up the situation . The wedge of land was too small for all of them to make an frontal assault, and Khalil having an aversion to having giant footprints on his head, wasnt about to go chjarging in and waste his cover.

Looking around he quickly decides on a better course of action and keeping his breathing to a minimum, moves as silently as possible across the nearest bridge.

[OOC: double move with haste (90ft = 18 squares right?) across the lower left bridge and then up to V9, move silently 19 to cross the bridge without giving himself away to the fey

Right now in position for some sneaky attempt at flanking that probabley will go tits up, but might get Kuzan some space]

[steveflam]

Ishaq moves to face the Giant. In an instant he is raging. Brandishing his greatsword with both hands, he swings it at the behemoth!

Okay Ishaq has a total of 28 ............

Raging grants a +4 to strength, so he now has 23. BAB at level 7 is +7/+2. So for first attacks it is +7 BAB, +6(Str), +1 Magical sword for +14 to hit. I didn't include the bonuses from spells this morning unfortunatley. If they do count he scored an extra 2 so his attack on the giant is 30!
Damage is 19 total. 2d6 for greatsword, 1d6 for crystal, +6 for str bonus, +1 sword, +3 because it's two handed. NT i calculated +9 but it's +10, sorry!

[The Whistler]

"Only if I can have the puppy." Spite interrupted, looking with curiosity at Otto. "No fair if you get all the nice ones."

The gunsmith bowed slightly (better put: inclined himself more than having a half-transmuted spine had already hunched him over), somehow managing to pull off "respectful yet terse" despite certain newfound restrictions in facial expression. His voice was deeper and more gravelly, but still clear and well-enunciated--though he had the disconcerting sensation of having to spot-rearrange his vocal cords to keep himself understandable.

"With respect, good miss, I am already 'taken...'" A pause, as an image of a tiny blonde woman with a wry smile flashed through his head. If it was possible for a wolf-headed man to grin, then...

"...And by somebody *far* more attractive."

In a blink, the gunsmith was no longer there.

Classic three-pronger. Heavy infantry up the front, Charles to the right; no freakin' clue where Khalil's off to, not to mention half your spell-slingers. Regardless, though, that leaves 'to the left'--and you like symmetry, don't you?

Yeah--*you* like symmetry. That's on you.

Funny. You like people calling you "puppy"?

Point. Grrr....

A shot rings out from across the leftmost bridge, flying farther and faster and brighter than any pistol bullet should, as a telltale blue glow among the assembled Fey indicates that someone's boots have started to warm up...

OOC: Don't have my books on me--does Haste double your range increment (+40 ft. for Otto, taking Fast Movement into account) or just add a flat 30 feet? Regardless, booking it across the bottom left bridge and moving as far north as I can--either to AC/8 or AA/8 depending on the answer to that first question--then firing at Spite with Donnenschlag; the Distance enchantment should cover the long range increment, until I can get close enough to effectively use the Skirmisher Boots. That's a 32 to hit (forgot to add the bonus from the +4 to Dex in my online roll, Neo), for 22 points of regular damage and one point of fire damage.

[yalenusveler]

Andre spoke a short prayer, his eyes suddenly glowing a faint blue. His eyes then swept about, alighting on Spite. "Oh..and by the by, when I said you were the pretty one, I lied. CLAMO!" A line of sound lancing from his hand to the Fey sister.

OOC:44 damage, dc 19 fort save. 33 on the "Stupid incorporeal" roll so a hit due to NT telling me the wrong percentages for hit/miss. Will be corrected in the future. Stupid incorporeal

[NeoTiamat]

Statue of Beyrath, The Mazes, The Kermanevar, Sebua
June 24th, 761, 8:21 PM; Day 99 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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PC Actions:
Ishaq charges the giant, hits it for 19 damage.
Lia casts Fly on Kuzan
Otto shoots Spite for 23 damage, bypassed incorporeality, -9 for DR, 14 damage dealt.
Andre casts Sound Lance on Spite, bypassed Incorporeality, Spite saves and takes 22 damage.
Charles casts True Strike
Kuzan casts Quickened Bless and Prayer,
Khalil scampers across bridge.
Tomas uses a Full Defense (+4 AC)

"Really? Huh, so it is like the Straussi sisters." Tomas says innocently, as if they were a pair of neighborhood girls innocently flirting with him rather than a pair of deranged fairy enforcers summoning giants and talking about electrocuting the hell out of people. "That's interesting. Did you choose the names yourselves?"

"Well, they're what's called 'Use-names' among the Fey, so we chose them ourselves. No one, and I do mean no one tells another person their true name. With the right name you can control anything, and that goes for particularly for the Fair Folk." Spite explained agreeably. Then she got hit by a bullet and a bolt of solid sound at the same time, which somewhat dampened the Faerie of Air's good mood. "Excuse me Tomas, I'll be with you in a second."

Spite raised a single hand to the sky, and suddenly you noticed that her dress began to move, teased by the small, sluggish wind. Except it was no longer so sluggish. Chill, freezing, viciously cold and stronger than it had any right to be, the air began to move faster and faster, around the Statue of Beyrath.

The Faerie courtiers were unaffected by the wind, and in it's eye the Featherflute continued on with his tune, ignoring the roaring, rushing hurricane that now occupied the valley. The massive cloud giant, alone not a creature of Faerie, seemed to be buffeted by the wind, but he was too massive to be moved.

You, on the other hand, had far less stability against the awe-inspiring wind.

Andre spoke a short prayer, his eyes suddenly glowing a faint blue. His eyes then swept about, alighting on Spite. "Oh..and by the by, when I said you were the pretty one, I lied. CLAMO!" A line of sound lancing from his hand to the Fey sister.

"With respect, good miss, I am already 'taken...'" A pause, as an image of a tiny blonde woman with a wry smile flashed through his head. If it was possible for a wolf-headed man to grin, then...

"...And by somebody *far* more attractive."

"Andre, you're sweet, so I'll forgive you this one time. But no one insults Spite but me..."

Malice smiled pleasantly, and lifted a single, long-nailed hand that was untouched by the rampaging windstorm. With a simple gesture, she drew those fingers together, grasping something small, and white and flickering in her dainty hand. Otto forgot to breathe.

Literally.

===============================================

Ishaq charged in, slashing madly against the giant's kneecap, axe biting through the links of cloud-stuff chainmail which garbed the giant. That classically handsome face contorted in anger, and the huge axe rose to put an end to this tiresome warrior.

But then, the giant had a better idea, a look of contemplation and cunning taking their place on his face. The giant took a great breath in, expanding his lungs to a capacity mere creatures of flesh and blood could not, and then breathed out.

A vast rush of white mist, not unlike the giant's substance, expanded across the island upon which the Statue of Beyrath stood, cascading off the sides and covering every inch of the rocky terrain. At first, the hip-deep mist seemed harmless, but it was thicker and more grasping than any construction of air had a right to be, the tendrils of mist gripping your body like quicksand.

Between wind and mist, reaching the candle had just gotten a lot harder.

Enemy Actions:
Spite casts a Psionic power that basically turns the green area into a small hurricane. Basically, the green area is covered by Windstorm-level winds (check the SRD for more details). In a nutshell, everyone in the green area must make a DC 18 Fort Save every round. If fail while on the ground, you get knocked Prone. If you're in the air, you get blown away 2d6x10 feet in a clockwise fashion, with the center being on the statue (so if you're below it, you get blown to the left, if you're left of it, you get blow up, etc), and take 2d6 nonlethal damage from buffeting. Lastly, all ranged attacks (as in pistols), are impossible in that wind.

Malice casts Crisis of Breath on Otto. DC 18 Will save, or else you need to take standard actions every round to remember to breathe. If you instead act/attack, you must make Fortitude save or start suffocating. More details here: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/power ... Breath.htm

The Cloud Giant casts a seriously nasty control spell (Spellcraft DC 20 to Identify). Basically, all the purple area has been covered with a thick, grasping mist. Creatures within that mist have their speeds reduced to 5 ft. (Haste notwithstanding), and suffer a -2 to AC and AB. The only exception is if you can fly out of it, levitate, or similarly put yourself above the mist.

Alright, for the future, Spite and Malice are incorporeal, so they require a % to hit. 1-50 = miss, 51-100 = hit. I know we've been all over before this, so let's settle on this.

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PC Overview: Haste (+1 AB, AC, Reflex, +30 ft., +1 Attack when Full Attacking), Mass Conviction (+3 Morale to Saves), Bless (+1 morale on attack rolls), Prayer (+1 luck bonus to all attack rolls, saves, skill checks and ability checks. Enemies also suffer -1 luck penalty to the same rolls),
Kuzan: Invisible, Divine Insight, Fly
Tomas: Endure Elements
Otto: Bite of the Werewolf
Charles: True Sight
Lia:
Ishaq:
Khalil: Invisible
Andre:

Monster Overview:
Spite: Psi-Buff, -36 HP
Malice: Psi-Buff,
The Cloud Giant: -19 HP




Green Area: Windstorm-level winds (check the SRD for more details). In a nutshell, everyone in the green area must make a DC 18 Fort Save every round. If fail while on the ground, you get knocked Prone. If you're in the air, you get blown away 2d6x10 feet in a clockwise fashion, with the center being on the statue (so if you're below it, you get blown to the left, if you're left of it, you get blow up, etc), and take 2d6 nonlethal damage from buffeting. Lastly, all ranged attacks (as in pistols), are impossible in that wind.

Purple Area: Thick, grasping mist. Creatures within that mist have their speeds reduced to 5 ft. (Haste notwithstanding), and suffer a -2 to AC and AB. The only exception is if you can fly out of it, levitate, or similarly put yourself above the mist.

[Kaitou Kage]

I can do this, Kuzan thought to himself, I can do this and make it work.

He floated up above the mist, hovering high in the air, and watched the windstorm with a casual, invisible eye. The storm didn't bother him, not much. He'd faced that sort of thing and worse, and Lord Varuna's blessings offered him some protection against the winds that other humans lacked.

I know I can do this.

He whispered a spell, barely audible over the windstorm, and a soft, gentle warmth enveloped him, whispering offers of safety and protection.

Floating straight up 60 feet and casting Sanctuary on myself. Creatures must make a DC 16 Will save to attack me as long as I don't attack.

Spellcraft 20 on the nose to identify the cloud giant's little thing.

Neo, I need you to send me information pertaining to Kuzan for that windstorm. Thanks to domain powers, wind effects, whether mundane or magical, treat Kuzan as if he were a Large creature.

[Rock of the Fraternity]

Lia snarls at the way the battle is going, but otherwise does not waste time. Pointing her hand at Spite, the wizard bares her fangs in a sharp grin. 'All the tricks you put up will not work against this!' she thinks. "Sagittae magicae, omne errore vacuaeu, volete!" Four darts of energy shoot across the battlefield, howling like miniature banshees, to impact with the malicious Fey.

(Casting Magic Missile on Spite. Force effect bypasses incorporeality, I believe, so unless there is spell resistance or something else going on, that's 11 damage. Yay ... underwhelmed ...)

[steveflam]

Fortitude save = 10 + 3[Mass Conviction] +1[Prayer] +2 extra from rage rolled a 14, think Ishaq passes.

1st attack is 26 = Raging grants a +4 to strength, so he now has 23. BAB at level 7 is +7/+2. So for first attacks it is +7 BAB, +6(Str), +1 Magical Sword, +1 Haste , +1 Bless, +1 Prayer for a total of +17. Rolled a 9.

2nd attack is 31. +2 BAB, +6 Str, +1 Magical Sword, +1 Haste, Bless, Prayer = +12, rolled a 19 for possible crit!

Confirm crit = I rolled an 18 adding his normal +9 [ not counting bonuses from spells he gets +6 str +2 bab +1 sword.

Extra attack from Haste of which I use his first attack so I got a 24 total.

Damage is 2d6+1d6 crystal +10 for every attack so it's as follows:

23 + 15 x 2 + 21 so 74 if all 3 hit of course

Ishaq renews ardor and attacks the giant 3 times!

[Nathan of the FoS]

Charles has always been rather glad that he's not too "vulgar big", but as Spite's windstorm smashes him to the ground in mid-stride he finds himself wishing for just a bit more size. Spitting out his mouthful of sand, he crab-crawls to the edge of the windy area and turns on his knees to survey the scene.

The enemy is controlling the field, he thinks, distantly furious. Oh, good show, Ishaq, cut him off at the knees.

With the wizard's sight still fizzing in his brain--but beginning to gutter out--he knows he doesn't have much time. Firing a pistol into a hurricane is perhaps not the brightest of ideas, and an infestiminal fraction of a thought dismisses a shot at either of the principle targets (more's the pity), but there's still the giant...waste of a cold-iron bullet, though. It's pretty much that or nothing, though...unless they can do something to end this windstorm Charles is reduced to the role of a spectator in this combat.

Driving down the impulse that screams that he has to do something, he allows the spell to fade unused, and looks longingly at the other side of the ravine...

Then realizes there's no reason for that. With haste and a strong tail wind, why not? Stepping back and holstering the pistol, he bounces on the balls of his feet for a moment and then commits himself to the hands of Fate, launching himself into the air, clearing the ravine (if not by much--good show, that), landing behind Tomas and Ishaq, and promptly disappearing into the waist-high fog as he fails to make a clean landing.

This should be amusing. Fort save 10, knocked prone, crawl move to get to Y23, jump check 28 to leap just as he enters the wind and get across the ravine, landing in the square just behind Ishaq. This looks like a 12-14 foot jump, so DC would be 24-28, with whatever wind boost is appropriate. Yes, I know, the bridge is right there. It's one of those style-points things--also, it saves one round of wading through the fog later.

[lostboy]

[OOC: Fort save 26 + 4 for the mods : 30 ]

Bracing himself against the wind, Khalil grits his teeth and carefully (and quietly!) inches forward along the bridge getting as close as he can to the fey known as Spite.

As he moves to strike the cloak of invisibility drops away and he suddenly appears right behind Spite.

[okaay this is blatant suicide but with the lack of ability to throw it, Khalil will attempt to dump a bag of salt over Spite form behind as a touch attack, so here goes nothing:

Move Silently: 27! to square V15
To hit: 29! with the bag of salt as a touch attack / 17 with a magic silvered scimitar for kicks
Miss chance - 98! & 36 so scimiatr does nada but she should get a bag of salt in the face... and hopefully be well distracted]

[DocBeard]

"No, no problem." Tomas waves Spite off, smiling and nodding as the winds whip around him. He trips over the gale force power, then kicking his feet out and bringing his hand to his scabbard, swinging at the air wildly with Ivorsen in order to push his body forward, allowing the Lamordian to get better footing. "I am having some business of mine own, ja? Just have to wait..."

And then Ishaq bounds forward, more force of nature than man! Tomas flicks a salute to the desert warrior by tapping the blunt end of his sword against his forehead, and then muscles his way forward, looking up at the giant and struggling to keep his balance. Hrm, balance...Tomas swings at the Giant's leg, aiming for what he hopes is the achilles's tendon, or otherwise 'a bad place to hit while it is all crazy windy'.

"That your best, schweetheart?!" Tomas snaps out at the giant, ducking back and pulling his shield up for a quick block if necessary. "At least the shadow thing put up a fight, ha!"

"...but anyway!" Tomas has to yell over the whipping winds, but still manages to sound casual, somehow, "This sort of answers my question anyway, no? What I was leading up to you see, was which one of you ladies was stronger. But your reactions have been most informative, so thank you!" Tomas then proceeds not to tell the girls which one he's decided is the toughest.

(OOC: Okay, I make the fort check, I hit the giant for a big 6 points of damage, and I roll a 22 on my Diplomacy check. My argument for using Diplomacy instead of Bluff is that Tomas is not lying at any time, just using a logical argument to express himself.)

[The Whistler]

Okay, so far so good. Just press your advantage, get into closer range--

--Roger.--

--Mental finger on all the magic item triggers; we're going to need to pull a couple fast ones--

--Got it, Chief.--

--and for Fate's sake keep track of your bullets, we don't want any mixups--

--Know what I think would be a great idea? If you kept breathing out for the next forty seconds.--

--All over it. Hold on a sec.--

--Wait...what?--

In short order, those among the Fair Folk who had not yet had the pleasure of seeing a wolf-man being punched in the gut by an invisible force...those people were spectacularly entertained. Otto collapsed against the canyon wall to his right, gasping for air--

New plan. Stay out of dang trouble until the situation changes somehow...

--And grimly set to work unloading Charles' pistol.

...And, for Fate's sake, keep track of your bullets.

OOC: 14 on the save--looks like Otto's going to be spectacularly ineffective for a while, though I might risk the Fort save to make a shot or two if things get desperate later on. For now, taking the standard action to keep breathing, and for my move action, swapping the cold iron bullet into Donnenschlag (and the Flaming bullet into Charles' gun) so that whatever shots I *do* make will be more effective at a distance. Don't know how long that process'll take, but in all likelihood I'll have a few move actions to spend on it if necessary...