[Hourglass of Zihaja D&D 4e] Heroes on a Sea of Swords IC

[ninja_penguin]

Rahman Shamis, Kobold Swordmage

Rahman stood, giving his thanks to Teshiq as he surveyed the suddenly changed scene in front oh him. He stood and advanced a step toward the fray, pulling off the ruby from the necklace around his neck and lobbing it like a grenade at the pirates in the middle of the ship.

Crunch:

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Move action: Stand
Minor action: shift to E7.
Standard action: Second wind (57/113 HP, 12/18 Surges)
Action point: Necklace of fireball attack on C14. Burst 2. (Fortified action: 12 temp HP)
"Attack" - (1d20+16)[22] vs reflex (Vertasi)
"Attack" - (1d20+16)[31] vs reflex (Pirate 3)
"Attack" - (1d20+16)[26] vs reflex (Zastraya)
Those hit: (5d6+3)[21] fire damage. Half damage on miss

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Amirah, Living Swarm

Amirah can't but admire her handiwork - her latest wave has all but cleared the deck, leaving only Vertasi and his wasp!pirate wench behind. But Amirah's attunement to magic is throwing a small wrench into the nice feeling. She concentrates, reading the auras rather than trusting her thousands of eyes. "The bad wasp!pirate wench is playing with our eyes too!" she tells the rest of the team, somewhat sulkily. "Illusions hide her. We!swarm should be able to intuit where she actually is, but you should be careful when you try to attack her."

[Shadow_Elf]

The Qius Sea - Midnight Mirage

Zastraya is slightly shocked as the longsword is magically wrenched from her grasp. Oh, that's a neat trick! I suppose there's no chance of you teaching me that? she jokes, resuming her single-weapon stance.

Meanwhile, Kihtsah recovers his khopesh from the bowcastle deck and descends on the pirate engaged with Medinah. His leaping swordstroke does not quite make its mark, however, with the pirate ducking out of the path of that deadly blade just in time.

Rahman then reenters the fight, tossing the regrowing gem from his necklace into the fray. Zastraya and Vertasi are only lightly scorched, but Alaq up in the crow's nest takes the full blast despite his cover, and screams in pain.

Finally, Teshiq makes his move. Kneel, demon, he commands, layering the divine might of Daq with his words. Vertasi laughs. Your false god has no real power, priest. It is you who shall kneel before this is done! he booms. Teshiq grimaces as he feels his limbs numb from the poison coursing through his veins. In spite of this, he gives a prayer for the hated mecha, knowing she is the best chance of saving the Captain and Amirah for now.

Crunch:

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Medinah gives herself 10 hp + 10 thp. Kihtsah miss. Rahman misses V and Z, dealing 10 damage to each, and a whopping 21 to Alaq, who is very nearly bloodied. Teshiq's Command spell missed, Medinah gets back 44 hitpoints (and Kihtsah gets 5 hitpoints) from his second Healing Word, spending a surge. He is now slowed AND weakened by the poison (save ends).

Shifting handily into a flanking position, the pirate facing down Medinah and Kihtsah attacks Medinah while she's distracted. Despite his advantage, Medinah's longsword knocks aside the clumsy blow.

Vertasi then flies back from the melee, taking parting shots from both Medinah and Figment. Both attacks hit, as Figment's displacement enchantment deepens, making it even harder to get a lock on him in the wake of the attack. Medinah's blade magic knocks Vertasi's flight astray, but he quickly rights himself. He lets out another sigh, this one far more sinister-sounding than the last. The entire party, save Figment and Amirah, is overtaken with an intense wooziness. As the Hunters shake their heads to right their dizzy vision, five more pirates surge out from belowdecks. Zastraya rushes up to the dizzied Medinah, but then turns to face Amirah. Taking her rapier in hand, Zastraya tosses it at Amirah, taking advantage of how condensed her swarm has become. The rapier surges through the swarm, wounding it quite painfully as dozens of insects fall dead from the impact. She then draws a second rapier out of her cloak and tips her hat to Amirah with a villainous cackle. Up in the crow's nest, Alaq fires a bolt at Kihtsah. The bolt finds its mark in the half-efreet's shoulder, dealing only a minor injury but injecting more of Alaq's foul poison into his system.

Crunch:

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Medinah is missed by the remaining unnamed pirate. Everyone but Amirah and Figment is dazed (save ends) by Vertasi's breath weapon attack. Amirah takes 23 damage from Zastraya's thrown rapier. New pirates appear in play. Kihtsah takes 9 damage and is slowed (poison, save ends).

Maps

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Player Status:

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Amirah (A); 97/112 HP, 8/12 Surges,
Kihtsah (K); 80/111 HP, 4/8 Surges, Menacing, dazed (save ends), slowed (poison, save ends)
Medinah (M); 93/105 HP, 8/13 Surges, +2 AC/Reflex, 10 THP, dazed (save ends)
Rahman (R); 99/113 HP, 11/18 Surges, +2 defenses UENT, dazed (save ends)
Teshiq (T); 77/103 HP, 3/8 Surges, slowed & weak (poison, save ends), dazed (save ends)
Figment (F); 49/56 HP,
Wolf (W); 0/51 HP, Dismissed
Tiger (G); 0/51 HP, Dismissed

Enemy Status:

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Female Human Pirate (P1);
Lizardfolk Pirate (P2);
Alaq, Human Mercenary (P3); Cursed (M)
Male Human Pirate (P4);
Gnoll Pirate (P5);
Gnoll Pirate (P6);
Male Human Pirate (P7);
Gnoll Pirate (P8);
Male Human Pirate (P9);
Lizardfolk Pirate (P10);
Male Human Pirate (P11);
Female Human Pirate (P12);
Qurab Benu'alas (Q);
Vertasi the Snake (V); Cursed (M), Bloodied
Zastraya (Z); Cursed (M)
Gnoll Pirate (P17);
Lizardfolk Pirate (P33 - Former);
Male Human Pirate (P28);
Female Human Pirate (P42);
Female Human Pirate (P61);
Gnoll Pirate (P57);
Gnoll Pirate (P33);
Male Human Pirate (P86);
Lizardfolk Pirate (P49);

Known Information:

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Zastraya seems to be able to swap her appearance and position with those of her allies.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Amirah, Living Swarm

Amirah looks fairly unconcerned by the rapier sticking out of her body, and even less concerned by the dead insects. The rapier is mater of factly dislodged and dropped into the magic pocket, disappearing from view, as new insects spring from the pirates body to join Amirah's swarm. "So many fleas! Why, thank you, pirates!wasps, We could be in so much trouble if you weren't carrying so many friends willing to protect Us." Amirah's voice isn't sarcastic at all, just its usual playful, but there does seem to be a slight edge to it. Then, concentrating on the auras once more, Amirah thinks she can intuit where Zastraya is hiding now. "We can see you..."

Amirah flows between the newcomers, who slash at her ineffectually even as more insects jump from their bodies into the swarm. Amirah flows right up to the pirate he suspects is actually Zastraya, and suddenly the swarm grows, filling the aft of the ship with bouncing, biting insects.

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Amirah (swarm form)
HP 97+10/112 Bloodied 56 Healing Surge 28 (4 used /12)
AC 29 Fort 27 Reflex 25 Will 28 Speed 6

Figment
HP 49/56 Bloodied 28 Healing Surge 14 (0 used /0)
AC 30 Fort 26 Reflex 30 Will 30
Aura (1): +1 all defences to all her allies, enemies grant CA to Amirah

Minor: stow the rapier if it is still "at hand" by virtue of it being stuck through my body. Otherwise, disregard this.

Move: Figment shifts to E11
Amirah uses Boots of the fencing Master to shift to E13 (+1 AC, +1Rf)

Free: Wild Shape to swarm, shift to D14, +10 THP

Standard: Poison Sting (Burst 2)
To Hit Vertasi Fortitude - (1d20+18)[29]
To Hit P57 Fortitude - (1d20+18)[21]
To Hit P33 Fortitude - (1d20+20)[37] (inc. CA from Figment)
To Hit P49 Fortitude - (1d20+18)[36]
To Hit P61 Fortitude - (1d20+18)[20]
Note: I do not believe any of them have cover, since running a LoE along a wall (or, in this case, a pole) doesn't provide cover.
Poison Damage - (1d10+10)[18]
Any hit that move before the start of my next turn also are damaged for Poison Damage - (1d10+9)[18]

Note: I may use an action point to push targets around if I hit Vertasi and/or P57 and they survive the attack. See OoC for details of my plans.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Amirah, Living Swarm

With Vertasi off-balance trying to brush or slap the bugs off his arms and face, Amirah draws on her dwindling strength to throw herself at him, pushing him up into the air towards Medinah like a big, ugly, purple balloon. The sudden move drives his mind away from squashing the bugs, giving them all the more time to get their teeth into his thick skin.

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AP: Savage Rend @ Vertasi
To Hit Reflex - (1d20+18)[33]
Damage - (1d8+10)[12], and slide him to A11-B12 1 square above the deck, causing him to take 18 damage from having moved.

[Shadow_Elf]

Mid-Player Phase Update
Amirah's Swarm cascades over the pirates; though the gnoll (who might be Zastraya, if Amirah's manyfold eyes can be trusted) and the other female pirate avoid the stinging insects handily, others are not so fortunate. The swarm forces Vertasi over Zastraya (who may simply be a gnoll), opening up further wounds from the stingers already left behind. Bleeding freely, the oni becomes even more indignant. These... insects cannot slay me! I am Sh- he roars, stopping himself halfway through a word. When you are dead, Hunters, I will revoke the hospitality I offered your captain. She shall bleed a hundred times for your every swordstroke! he promises.

Maps

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[Dacia Brabant]

Medinah

Medinah's eyes flash red at the Snake's threat, but refuses to acknowledge it otherwise. Even though his bad breath left her oddly lethargic, Medinah, with a grateful nod to Amirah, swings her sword in a wide arc in an effort to knock Vertasi over the side.

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Being dazed, her sole action is to attack Vertasi with Eldritch Strike:
(1d20+21)[32] vs. AC
(1d8+14)[17] psychic damage + (2d6)[6] curse damage + slide V to B-10/11 + usual penalties.

Saving throw: (1d20)[16] +2 if it's a charm effect.

[Reverent-One]

Kihtsah Darimil, Dervish of Adimas

Vertasi's magic threatens to overwhelm Kihtsah. Grabbing the amulet around his neck, Kihtsah shakes it off as the it's magic flows through him. He then weaves through the fray, leaping to swing at the giant, flying pirate, trying to push back the other's around them.

Minor: Periapt of Cascading Health
Move: Shift to B10
Standard: Weaving Blades on Vertasi

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Weaving blades, attack vs AC:
(1d20+18)[32]
Damage:
(2d8+9)[8][8](25)
On hit, until the end of my next turn, whenever an enemy not the target starts it's turn adjacent to me or enters a square adjacent to me, I push them and deal 5 damage. I'll be trying to push the pirates currently adjacent into the ocean.

[Shadow_Elf]

Mid-Turn Update
The gnoll behind the main mast's eyes go wide with shock as Kihtsah's mighty leap brings his khopesh up into Vertasi's chest. Illusions collapse as the gnoll is revealed to, as Amirah suspected, actually be Zastraya. Sheloq! No! she shouts.

Vertasi tries to dissolve into a fine mist, but his wounds overwhelm him. I am... finished. I left it too late... The oni collapses, falling into the ocean.

Zastraya turns to the Hunters after watching her captain tumble from the ship. Alright, fine. I was going to take the lot of you alive, like Raven asked, but I've changed my mind. You've gone and killed my pet oni. For that, I will claim each of your lives. Raven only needs your Captain delivered breathing, but he's got no real need for the rest of you, she sneers. She flourishes her rapier, letting her frilled sleeve slide back to expose the tattoo of a snake. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Vertasi the Snake, Pirate Queen of Liars. And you are all going to be shark food!

[Reverent-One]

Kihtsah Darimil, Dervish of Adimas

"Yes, yes, very nice." The half-genie says with a mocking handwave, "Forgive me for not being more impressed, but you pirate fellows tend to all blend together after awhile. None of you look much different in chains or laying at the bottom of the sea."

[Shadow_Elf]

Vertasi
Qurab assured me he could kill you. Obviously, my coin was ill-spent. Nonetheless, genieblood, I'll happily kill you myself, she sneers.

[Dacia Brabant]

Medinah

As Medinah watches "Vertasi" fall into the sea, the faintest hint of a smile appears on her illusory guise--only for it to vanish following "Zastraya's" big reveal. Turning to face the true Snake, Medinah's stone-faced glare returnes.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, had I known your true identity I would not have dismissed your offer of a duel and thus sending you to your demise before your companion rather than after."

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Amirah, Living Swarm

"Wasps are wasps. They all need to be smoked. You are no true Hive!Queen, you bear no children. You steal cargo!honey and threaten actual Hive!Queens. You also think you can hurt Us. You are silly."

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Damn, I hope that he wasn't carrying too much magical equipment. I just saw the gaping hole in my plan of pushing the boss off the ship...

[Shadow_Elf]

Teshiq
The priest tries to break Rahman out of his dizzy stupor, but has no success. Struggling against the effects afflicting his own body, Teshiq uses his own strength to fuel a prayer to Daq, relieving Rahman of the oni's magic before succumbing to it himself and toppling to the deck, unconscious.

Standard Action: First Aid @ Rahman to grant a save

Crunch

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Autosuceed first aid, Rahman fails the save. Teshiq saves vs. poison, sacrifices the benefits to give Rahman a save /w +5 vs. dazed-> sleep, Rahman succeeds and is no longer dazed. Teshiq fails his save vs. dazed, falls unconscious.

Status: slowed and weakened (poison, save ends), unconscious (save ends), disarmed, prone.

[ninja_penguin]

Rahman Shamis, Kobold Swordmage

Rahman called forth his blade back to his hand, moving forward and back into the fray, marking Vertasi and one of the pirates with the magics of his Aegis.

Crunch

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Standard action: call blade
Move action: Move to D9
Minor action: Mark P28, Z

[Shadow_Elf]

The Qius Sea - Midnight Mirage

As Teshiq collapses, Rahman gives him a quick thank-you and then is on his way. Climbing down the guardrail to the main deck, Rahman's tail grabs his sword off the ground and tosses it into his hand, and the blade comes across with an aura of magic and neatly removes a pirate's head from his shoulders.

Falling into a deeper spin, Kihtsah's lightning reflexes preclude attacks from the human man and the gnoll fighting he and Medinah, and soon the pair are tumbling lifelessly over the guard rail.

Crunch:

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I changed Rahman's turn to move to E10, pick up Voice in E10 where he dropped it, and attack the pirate there, who he kills. I felt it was a waste of a turn to run over and mark two enemies Kihtsah is going to kill anyway.

Alaq fires another poisoned quarrel, this time into the swarm. The impact of the bolt itself is of little consequence, but the poison affects the swarm negatively. This doesn't help the remaining pirate woman from trying to take a swipe at Amirah, and she manages not to hit a single bug.

Suddenly, Kihtsah lashes out at Medinah. Despite being taken by surprise, she easily parries the attack. Don't attack! shouts Vertasi, looking genuinely disoriented. She switched places with me, she, or perhaps he if it really is Kihtsah, explains. A wave of dizziness seems to overcome whoever is occupying Vertasi's space, and they close their eyes to shut out the ache.

Crunch:

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Amirah takes 9 damage, reduced to 4, which just barely chips away at her THP. She is also slowed (save ends, poison).

I'll need active, minor-action Insight checks to determine who is where. If you request such a check, I will roll it for you, so you don't base your assumptions on the quality of your roll. The map shows where what looks like Kihtsah is and where what looks like Vertasi is.

Maps

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Player Status:

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Amirah (A); 97/112 HP, 8/12 Surges, 6 THP, slowed (poison, save ends)
Kihtsah (K); 80/111 HP, 4/8 Surges, Menacing, swapped places?
Medinah (M); 93/105 HP, 8/13 Surges, +2 AC/Reflex, 10 THP
Rahman (R); 99/113 HP, 11/18 Surges,
Teshiq (T); 77/103 HP, 3/8 Surges, slowed & weak (poison, save ends), unconscious (save ends)
Figment (F); 49/56 HP,
Wolf (W); 0/51 HP, Dismissed
Tiger (G); 0/51 HP, Dismissed

Enemy Status:

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Female Human Pirate (P1);
Lizardfolk Pirate (P2);
Alaq, Human Mercenary (P3); Cursed (M)
Male Human Pirate (P4);
Gnoll Pirate (P5);
Gnoll Pirate (P6);
Male Human Pirate (P7);
Gnoll Pirate (P8);
Male Human Pirate (P9);
Lizardfolk Pirate (P10);
Male Human Pirate (P11);
Female Human Pirate (P12);
Qurab Benu'alas (Q);
Sheloq, Oni Decoy (S);
Vertasi, Pirate Queen of Liars (V); Cursed (M), swapped places?
Gnoll Pirate (P17);
Lizardfolk Pirate (P33 - Former);
Male Human Pirate (P28);
Female Human Pirate (P42);
Female Human Pirate (P61);
Gnoll Pirate (P57);
Gnoll Pirate (P33);
Male Human Pirate (P86);
Lizardfolk Pirate (P49);

Known Information:

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Zastraya seems to be able to swap her appearance and position with those of her allies. And possibly her enemies too!

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Amirah, Living Swarm

The arrow shot through Amirah clatters to the deck, but not before the swarms is infected once more with the pungent poison. "I think the auras have changed. The Vertasi!wasp has taken Kitsah's place and looks," she tells the others, although leaving out both Vertasi and Kitsah, just in case.

Moving away from the last remaining pirate, her sluggish form still manages to push through the poison and charge at what she hopes is Vertasi, what she lacks in speed being made up by the distraction of Figment.

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Amirah
HP 97+6/112 Bloodied 56 Healing Surge 28 (4 used /12)
AC 30 Fort 28 Reflex 26 Will 29 Speed 6

Figment
HP 49/56 Bloodied 28 Healing Surge 14 (0 used /0)
AC 30 Fort 26 Reflex 30 Will 30 Speed 8

Minor: Active Insight check (result: confidence that Vertasi switched with Kitsah)

Move:
Amirah: shift to C13
Figment: move to C11 (aura covers Medinah)

Standard: charge @Kitsah, by moving to B11, using savage rend
To hit reflex - (1d20+22)[35]
Damage - (1d8+12)[16] + Claw Gloves Damage - (1d10)[6]
Won't slide him/her unless someone needs me to.

And I really hope I didn't make a mistake and attacked the wrong person...

Saving Throw Amirah - (1d20)[10]

[Dacia Brabant]

Medinah

Affirmative. My senses confirm that as well, Medinah mentally replies to Amirah, then states openly, "Very well. Let us have our duel then, Vertasi."

As she says that, Medinah's protective warding expands once more, this time encompassing "Kihtsah" or rather the person she believes to be Vertasi the Snake. Her eyes suddenly flare up as she levels the point of her blade at her chosen target, attempting to fix the pirate queen in place.

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Minor action was already used on active Insight.
Move-as-minor action to mark "Kihtsah" with her aegis.
Standard action to use Eyes of the Vestige on "Kihtsah".

Con (implement) vs. Will: (1d20+18)[24]
(1d6+10)[15] psychic damage + (2d6)[7] curse damage + immobilized UEMNT per Vestige of Leraje, plus usual penalties from Protective Hex and Psychic Lock.

Oh I hope that Insight check was correct.

[ninja_penguin]

Rahman Shamis, Kobold Swordmage

Voice safely back in hand and the other pirate taken care of, Rahman spread his aegis to cover the apparent Vertasi and the human mercenary while retreating back to attempt to aid Teshiq, taking care to pay attention to what was happening on deck.

Crunch:

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Minor action: Mark ?K and P3
Move action: Move to D8
Standard action: Grant saving throw to Teshiq with heal skill.
(1d20+14)[29]

[Shadow_Elf]

The Qius Sea - Midnight Mirage

Attacking who they believe to be Vertasi, Amirah and Medinah launch devastating attacks on "Kihtsah". Meanwhile, Rahman rushes to the back of the ship and with a shake and some smelling salts from his pack, Teshiq groggily opens his eyes as his system fights back the poison. The cleric manages to smile a thanks to Rahman.

Crunch:

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Medinah and Amirah both hit. Medinah just barely. Rahman gives Teshiq a save, but I chose a different square because he doesn't have the move to reach D8 without climbing, and C7 seemed just as good. Teshiq succeeds, and then he succeeds on his other save at the end of his turn. Well done!... or was it?

The nameless female pirate lets out a guffaw as she and Vertasi - who you thought was Kihtsah - seem to switch places as the illusion wears off. In other words, Vertasi's the one laughing. Oh, if I can get you to fall for that one, this battle will be even easier than I thought! she laughs. Kihtsah groggily looks around and tries to let out a groan of pain, but no sound comes out. He shakes his head, Medinah's magic anchoring his feet and dizzying his aim. Still think all pirates are the same, Kihtsah dear? she teases. She grabs a cutlass off the deck and tosses it at Medinah. The thrown cutlass goes just wide and flies off the boat. She grumbles in frustration and moves forward along the deck. The other woman puts the main mast between her and the Hunters, clearing the way for three new arrivals on deck. One of whom is quite familiar. The pahari witch grins, as energy coalesces in her hand which she launches at Medinah. She stamps a foot in frustration as the bolt harmlessly bounces off. Alaq fires yet another envenomed bolt into the swarm. Rahman's Aegis shatters the bolt however, and the poison burns away under the magical barrier.

Crunch:

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Amirah and Medinah's combined attacks deal 44 damage to Kihtsah, who really was Kihtsah. Kihtsah is currently muted (save ends). He cannot produce sounds or communicate telepathically until he saves. He is no longer dominated.

Vertasi misses Medinah with the thrown cutlass. The pahari witch misses Medinah with her energy bolt. (I just cannot roll high today). Alaq would have hit Amirah, but the -2 from being Marked makes him miss. The nameless mooks don't do anything except organize themselves on the deck as the two new arrivals get here.

Maps

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Player Status:

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Amirah (A); 97/112 HP, 8/12 Surges, 6 THP,
Kihtsah (K); 36/111 HP, 4/8 Surges, Menacing, Bloodied, Psychic Lock next attack, Immobilized UEMNT, Aegis (Rahman)
Medinah (M); 93/105 HP, 8/13 Surges, +2 AC/Reflex, 10 THP
Rahman (R); 99/113 HP, 11/18 Surges,
Teshiq (T); 77/103 HP, 3/8 Surges
Figment (F); 49/56 HP,
Wolf (W); 0/51 HP, Dismissed
Tiger (G); 0/51 HP, Dismissed

Enemy Status:

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Female Human Pirate (P1);
Lizardfolk Pirate (P2);
Alaq, Human Mercenary (P3); Cursed (M), Aegis (Rahman)
Male Human Pirate (P4);
Gnoll Pirate (P5);
Gnoll Pirate (P6);
Male Human Pirate (P7);
Gnoll Pirate (P8);
Male Human Pirate (P9);
Lizardfolk Pirate (P10);
Male Human Pirate (P11);
Female Human Pirate (P12);
Qurab Benu'alas (Q);
Sheloq, Oni Decoy (S);
Vertasi, Pirate Queen of Liars (V); Cursed (M),
Gnoll Pirate (P17);
Lizardfolk Pirate (P33 - Former);
Male Human Pirate (P28);
Female Human Pirate (P42);
Female Human Pirate (P61);
Gnoll Pirate (P57);
Gnoll Pirate (P33);
Male Human Pirate (P86);
Lizardfolk Pirate (P49);
Gnoll Pirate (P91);
Male Human Pirate (P73);
Pahari Enchantress (PE);

Known Information:

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Zastraya seems to be able to swap her appearance and position with those of her allies. And possibly her enemies too!

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Amirah, Living Swarm

As the arrow bounces off the invisible shield, Amirah can't but feel a certain amount of annoyance at the archer, even beyond her animosity towards Vertasi. The swarm pulls back behind her allies, changing once more into the humanoid shape that allows her spells. With a few simple passes, a cold wind suddenly buffets the top of the watch post, pushing the archer towards the void around him.

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Amirah (humanoid shape)
HP 97+6/112 Bloodied 56 Healing Surge 28 (4 used /12)
AC 30 Fort 28 Reflex 26 Will 29 Speed 6

Figment
HP 49/56 Bloodied 28 Healing Surge 14 (0 used /0)
AC 30 Fort 26 Reflex 30 Will 30 Speed 8

Move:
Amirah to E9
Figment to C9 (aura +1 all defences covers both Medinah and Kitsah. By the way, Shadow Elf, wouldn't it have protected Kitsah from Medinah's attack last turn? You mentioned her attack "barely hit" and Kitsah was still an ally, even if dominated, so the aura did cover him)

Free: Wild Shape to humanoid, shift to D9, +1 Rf, +1AC, get in aura for +1 all defences, and some cover from attacks, specially full cover from archer.

Standard: Chill Wind @ square directly above P3, so that he has no cover.
To Hit Fortitude P3 - (1d20+18)[24]
Damage - (1d6+4)[8] and slide the guy off the crow's nest

Minor: Insight check

[Dacia Brabant]

Medinah

Medinah's frustration is obvious as she lets out a loud curse onto the pahari witch and another of Vertasi's crew, though her sight remains set on her true target.

"I shall make you pay for your crimes, Snake," she utters, then after as plaintive a glance as her illusionary guise can make at Kihtsah, the warforged charges hard at Vertasi, though rather than extend her warding onto the Snake she chooses the enchantress instead.

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Minor action to curse PE and P73.
Standard action to charge at V, moving to E12.

Con (weapon) vs. AC: (1d20+22)[24]
(1d8+14)[20] psychic damage + (2d6)[9] curse damage + slide 1 to G12 + usual penalties from Psychic Lock and Protective Hex.

Move-as-minor action to mark PE.

Please see my rerolled attack roll (Dark One's Own Luck) in the OOC thread.

[Reverent-One]

Kihtsah Darimil, Dervish of Adimas

As he is still unable to speak, Kihtsah let's his glare speak for him. He focuses his resolve as he strains against the magical bounds holding him in place.

Standard: Second Wind

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Just second winding this turn, and rolling a save.
(1d20)[7]

[Shadow_Elf]

The Qius Sea - Midnight Mirage

As Kihtsah closes his eyes and catches his breath, Medinah fires magic at Vertasi, the one Amirah tells her is real. The illusions fade as the real Pirate Queen grunts in pain, the vines of Medinah's magic coiling around her. Ignoring the pirate captain and the witch, Amirah instead aims for Alaq and his poisoned arrows in the crows nest. She succeeds in bashing him about some, but the rails surrounding him keep him rather solidly in place. His knuckles are a bit bloody for it, however.

Rahman steps forward and is suddenly standing amid the main deck, his blade at the ready. Extending his Aegis over the still-living gnoll and the pahari witch, he places a glamour on his blade and strikes. You've only eyes for me now, enchantress, says the alchemist with an ironic smirk, and the pahari screeches her protest.

Teshiq struggles to his feet, grabbing his bastard sword off the ground at his feet. He gives a short prayer to Daq, and a lance of grey magic launches from the triangle around his neck aimed at what not a moment ago appeared to be Vertasi. The lance strikes her in the head, and though no exterior damage is caused, she collapses, clearly dead.

Crunch:

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Medinah hits Vertasi with Eyes of the Vestige. Rahman marks P91 and PE, and hits PE with Silverlight Strike. Amirah hits Alaq, but fails to unseat him. Kihtsah second winds. Teshiq hits and kills the female pirate minion.

The witch shifts back, and with only Rahman in her line of sight, she fires a bolt of magic at him. The bolt of magic wracks his mind, and for a moment he loses control of his feet. When he comes to his senses, he stands at the base of the sterncastle stairs, having stumbled past Medinah. The two pirates there take the opportunity to assume a flanking position, making two mean cutlass attacks at the swordmagus. Both attacks land, and Rahman is wounded, though only superficially, and no old wounds reopen. Suddenly, with surprising speed, the human male whirls on Rahman again with unexpected finesse. With a flourish, Voice lands in the man's off-hand, and he spins and lodges the scimitar in Medinah's shoulder. Vertasi doesn't even try to play up the disguise as the human male cackles in a very womanly voice. Guess who? she chides, still wearing the man's appearance.

Up in the Crow's Nest, Alaq readies and fires another bolt, aiming once again to incapacitate Kihtsah. The bolt reopens a previous wound, leaching more sleep poison into the kobold's tired immune system.

Crunch:

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Rahman takes a total of 39 damage from the three attacks of the goons, and then another 26 from Vertasi. Rahman loses a surge to Energy Conservation. Medinah takes 22 damage from having Voice thrown at her. Kihtsah is critically hit by Alaq for 23 damage; for monster crits, I have taken to rolling d7's based on their level. Enemies you face will likely receive 3 or 4 crit dice. I put Vertasi where you know she is, because she isn't even trying to trick you this time. Just used the swapping power for the teleport.

Maps

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Player Status:

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Amirah (A); 97/112 HP, 8/12 Surges, 6 THP,
Kihtsah (K); 47/111 HP, 3/8 Surges, Menacing, Slowed (poison, save ends), Bloodied
Medinah (M); 81/105 HP, 8/13 Surges, +2 AC/Reflex,
Rahman (R); 34/113 HP, 10/18 Surges, Bloodied
Teshiq (T); 77/103 HP, 3/8 Surges
Figment (F); 49/56 HP,
Wolf (W); 0/51 HP, Dismissed
Tiger (G); 0/51 HP, Dismissed

Enemy Status:

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Female Human Pirate (P1);
Lizardfolk Pirate (P2);
Alaq, Human Mercenary (P3); Cursed (M), Bloodied
Male Human Pirate (P4);
Gnoll Pirate (P5);
Gnoll Pirate (P6);
Male Human Pirate (P7);
Gnoll Pirate (P8);
Male Human Pirate (P9);
Lizardfolk Pirate (P10);
Male Human Pirate (P11);
Female Human Pirate (P12);
Qurab Benu'alas (Q);
Sheloq, Oni Decoy (S);
Vertasi, Pirate Queen of Liars (V); Cursed (M),
Gnoll Pirate (P17);
Lizardfolk Pirate (P33 - Former);
Male Human Pirate (P28);
Female Human Pirate (P42);
Female Human Pirate (P61);
Gnoll Pirate (P57);
Gnoll Pirate (P33);
Male Human Pirate (P86);
Lizardfolk Pirate (P49);
Gnoll Pirate (P91); Aegis (R)
Male Human Pirate (P73);
Pahari Enchantress (PE); Cursed (M), Aegis (R)

Known Information:

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Zastraya Vertasi seems to be able to swap her appearance and position with those of her allies. And her enemies too! Active Insight checks can tell you where she really is and isn't.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Amirah, Living Swarm

The swarm hones in on Vertasi, rushing to hopefully pummel her while she is undisguised.

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Amirah (swarm shape)
HP 97+10/112 Bloodied 56 Healing Surge 28 (4 used /12)
AC 30 Fort 28 Reflex 26 Will 29 Speed 6

Figment
HP 49/56 Bloodied 28 Healing Surge 14 (0 used /0)
AC 30 Fort 26 Reflex 30 Will 30 Speed 8

free: Wild Shape to swarm: shift to C9 (+1AC, +1Ref), 10THP
Move: Figment moves to B12
Standard: Charge Vertasi with Savage Rend, moving to C12
to Hit Reflex - (1d20+22)[32]
Damage - (1d8+12)[14]+Claw Glove Damage - (1d10)[9]
if hit, slide her to C14

[Reverent-One]

Kihtsah Darimil, Dervish of Adimas

His feet free of the magical bonds, though his tongue is not, Kihtsah leaps forward towards Vertasi. Let's see how you look in chains, pirate. He thinks as his silent prayer creates glowing chains that follow his kopesh blade.

Minor: Oath of Emnity on Vertasi
Move: to C12
Standard: Chains of Censure on Vertasi

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Chains attacks vs AC:
(1d20+18)[23]
(1d20+18)[33]
Damage:
(2d7+20)[28](Rolling 1d7+1 for each weapon dice since it's brutal, also have +4 to damage since two allies are adjacent, add 2 more if figment counts as an ally)

Saving throws:
Mute-(1d20)[18]
Poison-(1d20)[10]
EDIT: Holy cow, that was close. No knockout juice for me.

[Dacia Brabant]

Medinah

Since her mental assault didn't hold Vertasi in place, Medinah switches to some good old fashioned blade magic. She sidesteps into flanking position with Rahman, cursing the human man for following such a snake as she does so, and with a gesture her sword immediately frosts over, which she slashes at Vertasi.

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Move action to shift to D-14, presuming Vertasi is now at C-14.
Minor action to curse pirate P73.
Standard action to attack Vertasi with Frigid Blade.

Int (weapon) vs. AC: (1d20+23)[31]
(1d8+11)[15] psychic damage (still using the sword's damage type) and if the target starts its turn adjacent to me it takes a -6 speed penalty until end of its next turn. Also standard psychic lock + protective hex.

[ninja_penguin]

Rahman Shamis, Kobold Swordmage

"I don't take kindly to thieves!" Rahman said, bringing his battlefist to bear in an attempt to wipe the smug smile off of Vertasi's face.

Crunch:

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Standard Action: Battlefist Smash
(1d20+22)[42] vs AC. On hit (3d8+9)[24] damage, and Vertasi grants combat advantage to all allies until the start of Rahman's next turn.

[Shadow_Elf]

The Qius Sea - Midnight Mirage

The Hunters rush in, landing blow after blow on the pirate. Finally, Rahman pushes her full in the face with his metal fist, breaking the Pirate Queen's nose. Blood runs down her face as she cackles. I'd forgotten that you had a metal hand, Sage Shamis, she laughs. She doesn't have long to savour the humour of the moment, however, as Teshiq descends and unleashes a wave of light and shadows from his holy symbol. As it rushes through his allies, they feel their will to fight returning even as the magic assaults Vertasi and what remains of her crew. The witch and the pirate near her are hit by the full force of the wave, killing the human, but Vertasi and the gnoll on the other side of the ship are unaffected.

Crunch:

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Vertasi is bloodied. Teshiq hits P73 and the Pahari Enchantress with Mantle of Glory, but misses Vertasi and P91. I had Kihtsah and Rahman spend surges and gave Medinah the Pashati's Flow healing.

There IS a status condition that will prevent Vertasi's space-swapping ability, but Medinah's attack isn't it.

The witch fires a bolt of magic at Teshiq. Rahman's Aegis flares and the bolt fizzles, and the Pahari stamps in frustration. A thin mist spreads out from her, making her a bit harder to see.

Vertasi suppresses a chuckle, and then begins to laugh uncontrollably. Haha, Lord Raven! You've arrived just in time! The Hunters all follow her line of sight, but there's nothing there. Turning their attention back to the Pirate Queen, they realize she's taken their moment's distraction to move up onto the sterncastle. She tosses her rapier at Kihtsah, but it goes wide. She's still laughing. I can't believe that worked! That has to be the oldest trick in the book! she giggles, now unarmed.

The gnoll, terrified at being the only thing between Vertasi and five angry Hunters and a displacer beast, jumps off the boat.

Crunch:

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I missed twice, so no new damage instances this round.

Maps

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The light blue square is a zone of light concealment (-2 ranged and melee attacks). You know from experience that if the witch starts her turn in a concealed space, she becomes invisible.

Player Status:

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Amirah (A); 97/112 HP, 8/12 Surges, 10 THP,
Kihtsah (K); 74/111 HP, 3/8 Surges, Menacing,
Medinah (M); 86/105 HP, 8/13 Surges, +2 AC/Reflex,
Rahman (R); 62/113 HP, 9/18 Surges, Warding Down
Teshiq (T); 77/103 HP, 3/8 Surges
Figment (F); 49/56 HP,
Wolf (W); 0/51 HP, Dismissed
Tiger (G); 0/51 HP, Dismissed

Enemy Status:

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Female Human Pirate (P1);
Lizardfolk Pirate (P2);
Alaq, Human Mercenary (P3); Cursed (M), Bloodied
Male Human Pirate (P4);
Gnoll Pirate (P5);
Gnoll Pirate (P6);
Male Human Pirate (P7);
Gnoll Pirate (P8);
Male Human Pirate (P9);
Lizardfolk Pirate (P10);
Male Human Pirate (P11);
Female Human Pirate (P12);
Qurab Benu'alas (Q);
Sheloq, Oni Decoy (S);
Vertasi, Pirate Queen of Liars (V); Cursed (M),
Gnoll Pirate (P17);
Lizardfolk Pirate (P33 - Former);
Male Human Pirate (P28);
Female Human Pirate (P42);
Female Human Pirate (P61);
Gnoll Pirate (P57);
Gnoll Pirate (P33);
Male Human Pirate (P86);
Lizardfolk Pirate (P49);
Gnoll Pirate (P91); Aegis (R) Routed
Male Human Pirate (P73);
Pahari Enchantress (PE); Cursed (M), Aegis (R), Light Concealment

Known Information:

Spoiler

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Zastraya Vertasi seems to be able to swap her appearance and position with those of her allies. And her enemies too! Active Insight checks can tell you where she really is and isn't.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

Amirah, Living Swarm

When yet another arrow pierces through the insect cloud, Amirah's shape defines, and her head swings upwards. "You are a very annoying pirate!wasp. It is time you left Our nest."

Winds rise at her words, buffeting the pirate once more. Then, she and Figment move south, boldly entering the mist and pinning the witch against the rail.

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Amirah (humanoid shape)
HP 97+10/112 Bloodied 56 Healing Surge 28 (4 used /12)
AC 30 Fort 28 Reflex 26 Will 29 Speed 6

Figment
HP 49/56 Bloodied 28 Healing Surge 14 (0 used /0)
AC 30 Fort 26 Reflex 30 Will 30 Speed 8

Free: wild shape to humanoid, shift to C14, +1Rf +1AC

Standard: Chill Wind above P3, burst 1
to Hit Fortitude - (1d20+18)[35]
Cold Damage - (1d6+10)[11] and push him out, as usual

Move: to Amirah to E14, Figment to E13