Desertum Plateau
Even though I have used the swirly simoleon symbol that I normally reserve for portals, Doldor identifies the swirling bluish door as not a portal, or at least not an interplanar one. It really seems like "door" is the closest approximation of a name for it.
Spoiler: Namia
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It's very wibbly, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't hurt much to allow the following re readying a full-round action: split it into two standard actions, do the first standard action (beginning the full-round action) on one turn, then ready the second standard action (finishing the full-round action) for whatever you want to respond to. This is mostly to permit the classic "knife to the throat" coup-de-grace-if-you-try-anything trope, but it works for Namia's rage, too. So she does that. Standard action to begin beginning to rage on one turn, standard action to ready the standard action of concluding beginning to rage on second turn, subsequently has rage as a standard action readied.
Indeed, when Doldor conjures a monkey and directs it to touch the bluish energy field, the energy field immediately winks out and stops blocking sight and sound, revealing within: a strangely-shaped area, surrounded by more of the wall of souls, with three more of the bluish door things at the far end.
Within the inner area: darkness, and two creatures! Or something. Probably creatures. Definitely not friendly. Shadowy midnight-blue forms hover in the air, their vaguely humanoid forms twisting and reshaping constantly, but regardless of how their features change, their visages retain expressions of menace.
Shian and Numius both identify these as incarnum wraiths! They're like regular wraiths (so, incorporeal, touch attack drains Constitution), but formed of pure incarnum, hating all living creatures, and it has special hatred for and effectiveness against meldshapers: if it strikes a creature that can shape incarnum, then it drains essentia instead of Constitution (the lost essentia return when the incarnum wraith is slain), and if it slays a creature that can shape incarnum, the victim rises as another incarnum wraith.
Good news: the incarnum wraiths, despite being incorporeal, appear unwilling or unable to pass through the wall/ceiling of souls -- perhaps they would become trapped like the souls already trapped there? -- nor the floor of bluish sand.
Combat
The wraiths don't even give the party a chance to speak before hissing and floating swiftly forth and attacking... the monkey!
- but Namia's readied action takes effect and she flies into a rage -
The first one extremely touches the monkey in a bad place, dealing the monkey 4 damage and the monkey fails its Fortitude save so it also takes 4 Constitution drain, which reduces its hp an additional 2, leaving it at -2, so it hoots and shrieks and vanishes into the aether, unsummoned.
The other wraith has its choice of targets! But it appears resistant to the idea of emerging out into the relative light, deep sandy purple storm notwithstanding. And Eleanor, despite her surprise, is wielding Exogenesis readily. So it... scoots around to an area past the wall where it can't easily be seen or targeted.
Spoiler: Map
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Code:
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.% %%..........%.
.% %...........%.DD
.% %..........w%.DD
.% §.............EC
.% %...........%.AH
.% %...........%.UUtt
.% %%.........w%.UUtt
.% %§%%%%.....%.
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# = standing stone
% = wall of souls
. = floor of bluish sand
§ = swirly blue door
C = Scarecrow
DD = Doldor on Marcus
H = Shian (35' up)
E = Eleanor
A = Namia
UU = Numius
tt = Titan
m = Doldor's monkey
w = incarnum wraith
Re: Megadungeon B (IC) III
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