The Dying Earth [IC]

[Vox Clamantis]

Laertius

With an evil grin, Laertius prepares to show the demons why letting him lace the room with his blood might have been a bad idea...

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Initiative: (1d20+5)[23]

I usually go last, so I'll wait until my turn.

[Tequila Sunrise]

Reed's dagger buries itself in one of the great demon's hind legs, causing it to reel in pain and bulging-eyed rage. It is now Laertius' turn.

Map

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Reed
Laertius
Lob2
Demon
Lob1
Variel
Hearts
Dolgan

[Vox Clamantis]

Laertius

With a gesture and an expression of fiendish glee in his eyes, Laertius causes the blood that he had leaked around the chamber to suddenly dart towards one side of the room and absorb into the bodies of the demons there.

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Free: Bolstering Blood (2d10)[12] damage to me and to every target hit by Blood Pulse
Standard: Blood Pulse the hex just north of Heart 8.
Attack Lob 2: (1d20+16)[27] vs Will
Attack Heart 6: (1d20+16)[24] vs Will
Attack Heart 8: (1d20+16)[23] vs Will
Attack DEMON: (1d20+16)[32] vs Will
Attack Heart 5: (1d20+16)[23] vs Will
Attack Heart 7: (1d20+16)[26] vs Will
Attack Lob 1: (1d20+16)[27] vs Will
Attack Heart 4: (1d20+16)[28] vs Will
Hit: (2d6+11)[17] damage, and until the end of my next turn the target takes 1d6 damage for every square it leaves.

[Tequila Sunrise]

Laertius' blood spell strikes at the demons, and the hearts demons scream briefly, and then are lifeless. The two lobster demons strike at Laertius and one's pincer injects its poison into his blood. (6 damage, -2 to attacks, dazed, save ends) The great demon remains where it is, glaring at Laertius and Reed balefully. It pulls Reed's dagger out of its leg with a foreleg, and the wound immediately begins to heal. It is now Variel's turn.

Map

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Reed
Laertius
Lob2
Demon
Lob1
Variel
Hearts
Dolgan

[Crucival]

Variel

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HP 100/100 AC:30 Fort: 23 Ref: 25 Will: 23 1/10 surges used

Variel extends an aura of protection over the party, and then darts forward, positioning himself between a pair of heart demons and swiping his sword in a circle, a wave of force blasting outward from him in all directions.

"Nuisances. I'll clear the way. Concentrate on the main demon." Even as the force of his weapon dissipates, he gazes at the main demon, noting every fact about it. Chaos must fuel its regeneration, and grant it the power to use the other demons.

Across the room, he tugs at the thin threads of power that connect him to the Soul of Chaos, trying to touch the creature's mind, if only briefly.

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Minor Action: Silversteel Veil encounter power. Variel and everyone in close burst 1 get +2 to AC and Ref until his next turn. So he's now at AC 32 and Ref 27. Dolgan, Laertius, and Reed also get the same bonuses, since he uses it before he moves.

Move Action: Move one square west, and two squares southwest, to put him in between heart1 and heart2.

Standard Action: Sword Burst At-will power
Close burst 1, Int vs Ref (Not sure whether I roll once for the whole burst, or once per target)
Heart1: (1d20+15)[10](25) for (1d6+8)[5](13) force damage
Heart2: (1d20+15)[14](29) for (1d6+8)[1](9) force damage

Using his Chaos sense to see if the Demon is some sort of thinking creature, and whether it's controlling the smaller demons.
Arcana: (1d20+17)[14](31)

[Tequila Sunrise]

Variel expertly cuts down two heart demons with a single swing. Reaching out with his mind, he finds the great demon's psyche writhing with the reckless hate typical of demonkind, but he also senses intelligence somewhere underneath it. How much intelligence, though, is up to speculation.

The last heart demon moves in and claws toward Laertius, but only succeeds in flailing about. It is now Dolgan's turn.

Map

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Reed
Laertius
Lob2
Demon
Lob1
Variel
Heart3
Dolgan

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Dolgan Glanbek, Priest of Moradin

Dolgan completes his prayer, and in the few seconds that have passed the battlefield is far more empty. Dolgan quickly moves forward, reducing his distance to the demon. "Meet your destruction, spawn of hell! Moradin will not allow you to survive this day!" he shouts, before calling upon Moradin to mark him for destruction. A white light projects from Dolgan's emblem and envelops the demon, remaining there to eat away its flesh.

Dolgan, however, is not done. As in previous fights, he calls forth the fires of Moradin's forge, burning and stunning the demons around him as the cave is brightly illuminated by the white flames spurting from his axe.

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HP 72/86 Healing Surge 21 (0 used /9)
AC 31 Fort 25 Reflex 26 Will 27

Move: Move NorthWest->West->SouthWest->SouthWest.

Free Action: Smite Evil on the Demon

Standard Action: Cascade of Light on Demon
Wis vs. Will Ranged 10 Radiant damage
To Hit Demon - (1d20+15)[19](34) Critical! (Illuminating Attack)
Damage - (3d8+8)[2][6][6](22) 34 damage (including +2 from Smite Evil)
If it hits, +2 damage from smite evil and Demon becomes vulnerable to all damage from Dolgan (save ends). If it does not hit, half damage

Action Point: Demon gets 10 ongoing radiant damage (15 if he's vulnerable to Dolgan, I think) (save ends)

Extra Standard Action: Solar Wrath
Wis vs. Will Close burst 8 Radiant damage
To Hit Demon - (1d20+15)[12](27)
To Hit Lob 1 - (1d20+15)[16](31)
To Hit Lob 2 - (1d20+15)[13](28)
To Hit Heart 3 - (1d20+15)[4](19)
Damage - (3d8+8)[5][2][2](17)

• Demon gets +2 damage if I hit and missed the previous attack (Smite Evil)
• Any demonic entity hit is stunned until end of my next turn

Man, that was long. Hopefully I haven't forgotten anything...

[NecroRebel]

"No true god would allow abominations like these to exist! Return to the dust which spawned you!" Reed shouts, his confidence returning now that open battle has broken out. Once more, he strikes at the eel-toad, attempting to draw its attention and make it drop its guard against his companions' attacks.

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Assuming I still have CA from Easy Target for the time being.

Distracting Shadows on the demon.

Attack vs. AC - (1d20+23)[1](24) ...Crap.
Damage if hit - (2d4+9)[1][1](11)+Sneak Attack - (3d8)[6][7][6](19)
If hit, it grants CA to me and all allies until the end of my next turn.

If Easy Target's CA lapsed, I'll just use Ferret Out Frailty on it before attacking.

Current Status:

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HP 73/73 Surge 18 Used 1/6
AC 29 Fort 22 Ref 30 Will 24
AC and Ref drop by 2 at the end of Variel's turn.

[Vox Clamantis]

Laertius

Parrying the demonic heart's attack with his staff, Laertius shouts a single, muffled word and fades from sight, becoming nearly transparent. His barely detectable outline seems to move off a few feet before the battle is lit by a flash as a shard of brilliant light appears and slashes at the lightning demon.

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Minor: Blur (+2 all defenses 'til the end of the encounter and invisible to anyone 5 or more distant)
Move: Shift W
Standard: Mordenkainen's Sword
Attack: (1d20+16)[24] vs Reflex
Hit: (1d10+11)[14] force damage

[Tequila Sunrise]

Dolgan's prayers stun each demon, except for the remaining heart, and wrack the great one with lingering holy power. Reed takes aim, but a nearby heart pumps a spray of spores into his face and his blade doesn't come near anything. Laertius' conjured sword opens a small wound on the great one. It is now Variel's turn.

Map

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Reed
Laertius
Lob2
Demon
Lob1
Variel
Heart3
Dolgan

[Vox Clamantis]

Laertius

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Since almost all of the demons are stunned, I'll post Laertius' actions and ignore the un-stunned heart

Stepping closer to the demons, Laertius dramatically whips his staff around and points it at the largest of their number. A brilliant stobe of light pierces the underwater cavern, bright as the sun on a clear day.

Across the room, the conjured plane of force continues to dart around, slashing.

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Move: W two hexes
Standard: Color Spray (massive 5 close burst, love the size of it)
Attack Demon: (1d20+18)[35] vs Will
Attack Lob 1: (1d20+18)[38] vs Will
Attack Lob 2: (1d20+18)[23] vs Will
Hit: (1d6+11)[17] radiant damage and the target is dazed until the end of my next turn.
Minor: Sustain Mordenkainen's Sword
Attack: (1d20+18)[25] vs Reflex
Hit: (1d10+11)[12] force damage.

I included Combat Advantage from the stun into my attack rolls.

[Vox Clamantis]

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Additional Damage for the crit on Lobster 1:

(2d10)[17]

[Crucival]

Variel

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HP 100/100 AC:30 Fort: 23 Ref: 25 Will: 23 1/10 surges used

Variel turns a terrible glare on the stunned demon, and bounds forward, spreading his Aegis of Assault over the large creature, and then gathering magical energy at the tip of his sword as he stabs it twice towards the slug-fish-toad.

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Move Action: Move 5 squares straight west, to be adjacent to the demon.
Minor Action: Aegis of Assault, on the demon.
Standard action: Burning Blade, on the demon
Int vs AC (1d20+18)[4](22) for (2d8+10)[6][2](18) fire damage
(Assuming +2 for CA balances out -2 for fire attacks in water)
All subsequent attacks in this encounter do 3 bonus fire damage, regardless of whether this power hits.

AP used, for standard action: Spikes of Agony, on the demon
Int vs AC (1d20+20)[13](33) for (2d8+10)[4][6](20) force damage, with +3 fire damage. Assuming this hits, that's 23 damage total from this power.
(This roll includes CA)
If the demon moves before the start of Variel's next turn, it takes 8 additional damage.

[Tequila Sunrise]

As Varielc closes with the demon, he is stabbed by lightning (take 5 lightning damage). Variel executes his first strike too soon, but his second opens a wound on the great demon's body. The heart demon flails at Laertius, but is easily batted aside by the tiefling's staff. It is now Dolgan's turn.

Map

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Reed
Laertius
Lob2 (Stunned)
Demon (Bloodied, Slowed, CA, Stunned)
Lob1 (Stunned)
Variel
Heart3
Dolgan

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Dolgan Glanbek, Priest of Moradin

Dolgan takes a moment to consider the situation. The big demon is finally starting to look like the attacks are damaging it, clearly bleeding from several of the bigger wounds. The fact that the smaller ones are closing up, though, worries him. When Variel charges into the field, though, Dolgan quickly decides that he should remain outside - if that field laid them both low, there would be no-one to defend the wizard and the halfing from attacks. "Sacred Flame of Moradin!" he calls out, as a white fire tendril surges across the battelfield to hit the demon

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HP 72/86 Healing Surge 21 (0 used /9)
AC 29 Fort 25 Reflex 24 Will 27

Sacred Flame vs. Will; radiant damage
To Hit - (1d20+17)[5](22) (includes CA from stun)
Damage - (1d6+13)[1](14) (includes vulnerability)
If it hits, Variel gets 5 temporary HP

[Tequila Sunrise]

Moradin's light sears the great demon's flesh just as it and the lobster demons recover from Dolgan's last prayer. It is now Reed's turn.

Map

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Reed
Laertius
Lob2
Demon (Bloodied, Slowed, CA)
Lob1
Variel
Heart3
Dolgan

[NecroRebel]

Reed flips a dagger at the toad-eel, aiming for its throat, before swiftly moving to flank the last half-formed creature. Striking at the creature's uncovered heart, he hardly even pauses before continuing farther towards the chamber's far end.

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Lead off with Trickster's Blade, then move to flank Heart3 with Laertius. It should get an OA at this point. Then, use an action point, Sly Flourish the heart, then move to the square immediately right of Lob1 (Master Infiltrator grants me an extra move action when I spend an action point).

Attack vs. Demon AC - (1d20+23)[8](31) As always, no penalties for water included.
Damage vs. Demon - (2d4+9)[2][1](12)+Sneak Attack - (3d8)[6][8][6](20)
If hit, I gain +4 AC until the end of my next turn.
Attack vs. Heart AC - (1d20+23)[9](32)
Damage vs. Heart - (1d4+13)[1](14)

Current Status:

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HP 73/73 Surge 18 Used 1/6
AC 27 Fort 22 Ref 28 Will 24
AC is at +6 vs. OAs, and another +4 if Trickster's Blade landed.

[Tequila Sunrise]

...inflicts further pain upon the great demon with two spells. A lobster demon nearly hits Laertius with its extended claw, but the mage flings up a spell of shielding just in time. The other lobster demon circles Reed, avoiding the halfling's attack but is unable to land a blow itself. In a flurry of painful motion, the great demon stands up, moves toward Reed and then blasts Laertius and Dolgan with a gout of lightning from its great maw. (11 lightning damage)

Map

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Reed
Laertius
Lob2
Demon (Bloodied, Slowed, CA)
Lob1
Variel
Dolgan

[Vox Clamantis]

Laertius

Making the best of a bad situation, Laertius waves his staff through the water and commands a fierce underwater current to smash the big demon and knock it against the wall.

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Standard: Spectral Ram
Attack: (1d20+16)[32] vs Fort
Hit: (2d10+11)[24] force damage and the target is pushed 3 spaces and knocked prone.
Minor: Sustain Mordenkainen's Sword
Attack: (1d20+16)[25] vs Reflex
Hit: (1d10+11)[18] force damage

HP: 66/78 AC: 32 Fort: 26 Reflex: 28 Will: 25

[Crucival]

Variel

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HP 100/100 (5 temp hp) AC:30 Fort: 23 Ref: 25 Will: 23 1/10 surges used

Variel seems to shudder--at first, it appears with fear--and then the vibration throughout his entire body seems to gather into his blade, stirring the water around it with a hum that echoes through the cavern. He stabs the blade forward into the large beast, a crack of underwater thunder rolling outward.

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Standard Action: Booming Blade At-will Power
Int vs AC (1d20+18)[18](36) for (1d8+11)[7](18) Damage, plus 3 fire damage from the "burning blade" effect.
On hit: If the big demon moves away from being adjacent to Variel, it takes (1d6+3)[1](4) thunder damage

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Dolgan Glanbek, Priest of Moradin

Dolgan seems to take a few seconds longer than Laetius to recover from the electrical discharge, his body still shaking by the time the wizard has already attacked. However, Dolgan is not really that hurt, and a growl coming from his mouth reveals him to be angry, and getting angrier. A shake of his head clears his mind, his wounds basically forgotten and with a dwarvish battle shout, he charges at the demon, delivering an overhand axe blow.

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HP 82/86 Bloodied 43 Healing Surge 21 (1 used /9)
AC 31 Fort 27 Reflex 26 Will 29

Delay until after Laetius

Minor action: second wind

Move straight west next to the demon

Standard action: Awe Strike (Str. vs Will)
To Hit - (1d20+17)[17](34) (+2 if demon is prone)
Damage - (1d12+10)[10](20)
Critical - (2d12)[4][11](15)
On a hit, enemy is immobilized until the end of Dolgan's next turn, which I'm hoping will stop it from standing up, if it is prone

[NecroRebel]

As the lobster-beast reaches out to strike him, Reed grasps its arm, using it to pull himself away from the largest beast. As he streaks through the water, he strikes at the toad-eel in its flank.

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Move to the right of Lob1, then Sly Flourish the large demon. Both demons can take an OA against me, but my AC is 37 since Trickster's Blade's AC boost is still active. I'm not sure if I'm taking damage from the lightning aura; I assume so, but how much?

Attack vs. AC - (1d20+23)[17](40)
Damage - (1d4+13)[1](14)+Sneak Attack - (3d8)[3][7][4](14)

If the large one hits me, I'll use Second Chance to force it to reroll.

Oh, and for my own OAs, I have +16 to hit with no CA and 1d4+5 damage.

Current Status:

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HP 73/73 Surge 18 Used 1/6
AC 27 Fort 22 Ref 28 Will 24
AC is at 31 until the end of my turn, and +6 against OAs.

[Tequila Sunrise]

Variel wounds the great demon further, then Dolgan moves in and delivers the killing blow with his axe. While the beast’s eyes darken in death, the lobster demons attempt to retreat to the safety of the current above, but are cut down or knocked out. (Your choice.) The fight finished, Ms. Took immediately heads toward her seed. You have plenty of time to exterminate the proto-hearts and/or collect the treasure, which will be prepared shortly.

Oh, and you gain a level!

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Dolgan Glanbek, Priest of Moradin

Dolgan is finishing chopping up the last lobster demon down to kindling by the time his rage starts to evaporate. As his mind starts to contemplate concepts other than destruction, he looks around to take a good look at his surroundings now that they are not dominated by a demon. He is particularly interested, intellectually, in the huge ssed, but the riches around him call upon his genes strongly as well. With a sigh, he floats down to the floor, and spends some time cleaning his axe.

"Nice little fight, nice little fight," he observes at the world at general. "So, anyone in need of healing? I still have some energy left, and I like to make sure everyone is patched up before I take a break."

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I'll do my level-up this afternoon, I need my books for that and I'm at work.

In case anyone wants to use a healing surge, the first two can get a healing word, as usual:

Extra healing - (4d6+5)[16] (includes healing gloves)
Extra healing - (4d6+5)[16] (includes healing gloves)

[Vox Clamantis]

Laertius

As Laertius passes his hand over a shallow cut on his forearm, the wound closes and heals over.

Nothing I can't handle, thank you.

He looks at the seed with interest, his hands held conservatively close to his chest as he leans in.

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Arcana: (1d20+17)[36]
History: (1d20+17)[18]
Nature: (1d20+12)[31]
Religion: (1d20+12)[23]

[NecroRebel]

Reed swims to examine the scattered treasures, pausing to destroy any of the neophyte demons that may be near or among them as he does. "I will be fine once we're out of this vile place. I've always disliked doing assassinations, especially somewhere as creepy as this and doing as many as we just did."

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I'm still not certain whether or not I actually took any damage from the large demon's aura, but if so I'll spend a healing surge to recover it.

Also, skills for searching through the loots:
Perception - (1d20+11)[14](25)
Arcana - (1d20+6)[16](22)

[Crucival]

"Don't think of them as assassinations. For most of these creature's it a relief from a hateful existence and a life filled with nothing but pain, hunger, and anger. " Variel says clinically, as he travels around the room, collecting samples and investigating. A few pieces of bony protrusion, a lightning-imbued piece of the toad-eel demon, some treasure(boring!), a chunk of the resin making up the walls, maybe a piece of proto-heart. He might take a look at the seed, too, if Ms. Took is willing.

"Chaos brings them into being hateful of all life, and does its best to warp them so they know only anger and destruction. Quite masterful way to make a minion, if you have no need of nuance."

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Arcana and Perception, for examining the various demons, magic items, chaos power sources, and loot in the room.

Arcana (1d20+18)[7](25)
Perception (1d20+6)[16](22)

No surges necessary. He's only taken 5 damage.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Dolgan Glanbek, Priest of Moradin

Since his companions all seem healthy enough, Dolgan finishes his small rest and gets on his feet, carefully examining the room and the treasure, before joining Ms. Took to take a look at the seed.

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Level Up: Gained 5 HP; added Healing Sun daily power to my list (supposedly an utility, although I've seen encounter powers that hit for less damage); swapped Bless for Shield of Faith; taken the Righteous Wrath special Dying-Earth-only feat; finally, I've had mythweavers do all the math, so hopefully there are no mistakes there.

With his new modifiers, Dolgan will:
Search the room - Dungeoneering - (1d20+13)[30]
Examine the demon - Religion or Arcana - (1d20+13)[22]
Observe the seed - Nature - (1d20+11)[30]
Take a look around for anything he may have missed - Insight or Perception - (1d20+11)[12]

[Tequila Sunrise]

The pile of loot contains:

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A ring with a magical aura
A pair of boots with a magical aura
A belt with a magical aura
A shield with a magical aura
A dagger with a magical aura
A Sword Mage’s Spell Book
Coins and gems worth 8,000 gp
Many human bones
A suit of rusty plate mail, embossed with a white cross on a black field
4 rusty long swords
3 rusty shields

As Ms. Took pulls a sack out of somewhere in her dress and approaches the seed, Laertius and Variel notice that it has a magical aura surrounding it. An aura of illusion, in fact. To Dolgan, the seed looks very much as a natural seed should look.

[Crucival]

Variel

Variel scoops up the boots and the spellbook, relatively unconcerned with gold as he shoves the other treasures into his Bag of Holding for later safekeeping. As his eyes fall upon the illusion-bound seed, however, he casually, nonchalantly moves to the mouth of the cavern, blocking Ms. Took's exit.

"Fine work, everyone. Ms. Took, I must say, that's one of the better weaves of illusion I've seen in a long time. What're you really retrieving?" He says it as if it's the most simple thing in the world, one craftsman in magic talking to another. And yet his sword is still drawn and he is standing relaxed but imposing between her and the exit.

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Intimidate (1d20+13)[17](30) Go go Circlet of Authority!