(Pathfinder) The Curse of the Crimson Throne IC

[RocketMan]

Jensi

At virtually the same time as Atavian, Jensi also cries out in alarm. "Stop!" he calls, but his voice is not normal. It is now rich and authoritative, with a deep and melodious quality. "Put down the dagger, none have to die here."

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Jensi will cast Command on the noble with the dagger, getting him to drop it. DC 17 Will Save negates.

[Leviathan]

The bedraggled, grey-bearded man wielding the dagger doesn't have time to move as Rennard's water spell strikes him full, smashing him backwards into the wall behind him. A moment later, even as he recovers from his fall, the man places his knife on the group at Jensi's command.

But then he hisses, his voice shaky and full of vitriol: "You... will never take me... alive. You may have... killed my master... but I will... kill you!"

The woman seems to come to her senses meanwhile, wide-eyed, her hands twisting and struggling behind her back. "Please, sirs, kill him, quickly! He is more powerful than he seems! Help me!"

[Blisstake]

"We'll see about that. Knock him out," Aldrin commands, while casting a spell to hopefully accomplish just that.

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Casting sleep, DC 17

[Drothmal]

Seeing the spell connect, Rennard feels a wave of relief coming from his black blade

Just in time! communicates a happy Reve telepathically

What did you do? asks the magus to the rapier in a tone that made the necromancer's ice spell seem like a fireball in comparison, for the fencer had realized that he had not been in control of his actions

The blade's cheerfulness is drained from the mental link But... we had to save her! We had no time... the last part comes out more as a plea than as a statement

It is at this point that the beautiful woman's plea interrupts the telepathic argument.

She is right states the fencer in his usual detached and logical tone He has already stated that he served the necromancer, making him part of the atrocities that have taken place here. There is a plague running rampant in the city. We have no time to spare.

Bonded!! You can't be.... begins to say a horrified Reve before Rennard cuts the telepathic communication

With determination in his steps, the magus begins to move closer to the weaponless man

We need to get rid of him now

With those cold words, Rennard shifts his weight into an en garde position and raises his weapon

[Blisstake]

"Rennard, stop!" Aldrin yells, grabbing the fencer's weapon arm. Aldrin likely wasn't strong enough to stop him if he wanting, but it was a gesture that he didn't want to resort to forcing the magus to stop using magic.

"We need to interrogate this man, especially if he has any information regarding how this plague got into the city. He may have nothing, but we are not taking any risks by killing him right now. Do you understand?" he finishes in a less than friendly tone.

[SanguinePenguin]

"No, she's right, it seems riskier to let him live to me. Tallox, kill him," Atavian commands.

The beyonder acknowledges Atavian with a sigh and approaches the man. With a backhand swing of his arm, he swings at the man with a powerful, but non-lethal blow.

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L-hand NL attack: (1d20+5)[10] NL Dam: (1d4+5)[9]

[DaedalusMkV]

Dastan takes in the scene before him, then quickly steps forwards, grabs the bound woman roughly by the arm and hauls her backwards, interposing himself between her and the knife-wielding captor. "I must agree with Aldrin. There are many questions that need answers, and this man may be able to provide them!" He takes up a defensive stance, readying himself to block any attempt by the man to reach the bound woman.

[Drothmal]

With a quick swirling motion, Rennard disengages his arm from Aldrin's grasp and turns to the sorcerer. The fencer was not intimidated, but he had seen enough of Aldrin's magical prowess to know better than to take the man's threats lightly

Unbidden, the magus' mind reviewed the information he had accumulated on Aldrin: Confident, pragmatic, self-centered moral code, prefers disabling enemies over direct damage

Best to stay within range Rennard thinks as he steps up to Aldrin

We don't have time or resources to allocate to interrogations. We still need to find the child. Killing him is the only logical solution to our situation

Seeing Tallox move toward the man, Rennard tries to block Aldrin from interfering with the beyonder

[Blisstake]

"I'm not going to fight you," Aldrin replies, with a scowl. "Though I had hoped you would put more weight into my words. My advice has never steered us wrong, but if you insist, I won't stop you. Kill a helpless man if that makes you feel better."

[RocketMan]

Jensi

"Stop!" Jensi yells frantically as his companions burst out in a cacophony of arguments. "Look, I know this isn't nice, but we have to kill him! He's evil, he was trying to hurt her, and he killed all these people!" He sounds teary as he continues. "It's - well - it's justice, right?" Jensi says in a grave voice, as he raises his crossbow and points it directly at the man's heart.

[Blisstake]

"I didn't say we couldn't kill him," Aldrin mentions as he backs away from Rennard and moves toward the half-conscious girl. "Jensi, can you see if there's anything wrong with her? She could be drugged, in pain, or... maybe affected by some magic." He quickly chants the cantrip to detect magical aura's, then attempts to ccommunicate with her.

"My companions and I are here to help you. What is your name? Do you know where Ruan is?"

[Leviathan]

The aristocratic man's head slumps forwards as Aldrin's spell hits him. His eyes drop shut and his entire body goes limp.

The woman shakily regains her footing, standing upright, holding one of the bedposts delicately for support. She fans herself with one of her hands, which is covered by a lacy white glove. "I feel faint... Thank you, gentlemen. I do not know how to properly thank you for saving me from those horrors..." She swoons for a second, staggering, then falls backwards onto the bed, fainting.

Aldrin casts his detection spell, surveying the room with it.

Aldrin

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I'm assuming you'll go through all three rounds of detection:

The woman has a faint magical aura of the divination school around her.
The sleeping man has a moderate magical aura of the enchantment school around him.
Rennard, Atavian, and Jensi all have faint, dissipating auras surrounding them.

The woman recovers, batting her eyelashes as she sits up shakily. "Sir, I think your talents would be better directed interrogating this man," she says as she watches Aldrin cast his spell. "And I am quite sure that rest of you would assist most graciously."

[Blisstake]

As Aldrin concentrates on his spell, he frowns for a moment, and looks as if he is about to say something when the woman speaks again.

"Of course, right away," he responds. He pulls out his knife, and kneels down next to the aging man, pressing the weapon painfully against his neck. "Wake up. You're going to answer a few questions."

[Leviathan]

The man looks about him, blinking unsteadily. He groans, looking around at the situation. "I... What do you want to know?" There is a strange look of resignation on his face.

[SanguinePenguin]

Since when does Aldrin listen to... well, anyone? ... Something was very wrong here... but Atavian couldn't put his finger on it. The man didn't look so threatening, yet moments before he did. The halfling moved closer to Tallox. Ever since Tallox obliterated the grub constricting him, the halfling always felt safer with the beyonder near.

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Atavian gets +2 shield bonus to AC and circumstance bonus to all saves while near Tallox due to shield ally.

[Blisstake]

"Who are you working for, what is or was your master's plan, and is there anyone else in the manor?" He enunciates slowly. "I'm only going to ask once."

[DaedalusMkV]

Dastan looks around him, seemingly confused at his allies' exchange and the strange actions of the two well-dressed strangers. "What is going on here? None of this makes any sense..." Then, a thought strikes him. If that man had intended to kill her, he had more than enough time to do so, and my companions are not acting as I would expect. He turns towards the woman who he had a few moments ago reflexively protected and gives her a whithering glare, points the tip of his sword directly at her heart then asks in a harsh tone, "Who are you?" even as he calls upon his Paladin's judging eye.

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Using Detect Evil, with the full round spent to determine the position and strength of any auras.

Also, no more cast! Whoo!

[Blisstake]

"Dastan, you're interrogating the wrong person," Aldrin says, somewhat annoyed. "Are you going to do this to Ruan, too?"

[Drothmal]

"I'm not going to fight you," Aldrin replies, with a scowl. "Though I had hoped you would put more weight into my words. My advice has never steered us wrong, but if you insist, I won't stop you. Kill a helpless man if that makes you feel better."

Aldrin's words seem to freeze Rennard in place.

Killing a helpless man? Why would I do that? That is completely illogical...

As the fencer ponders the situation, Aldrin's spell takes hold of the bearded man and the foe collapses to the ground. The threat gone, the magus suddenly begins to struggle in finding the axioms that had led to his previous certainty...

It is at this point that Aldrin has a complete attitude reversal and begins to interrogate and threaten the man he had just saved from his companion's uncharacteristic wrath

What is going on?

In the back of his mind, Rennard can feel Reve trying to communicate with him. Was this the blade's doing? Rennard knew that he hadn't been in complete control at the moment of casting the last spell, but a part of him (a part of him that he usually kept well locked with his logical mind) knew that he had not been acting against his own wishes

If you cannot trust the conclusions, you need to go back and reexamine the data. the magus tells himself

With an effort of will, Rennard clears his mind of all preconceptions and just looks at the facts from a very far, removed place. As he does so, time seems to slow down

The outlayers always seem to arise after the woman speaks... concludes the magus

And just in time, for Dastan seems to have reached similar conclusions.

Rennard remains silent: not giving away his new-found perspective might prove a tactical advantage

[Leviathan]

The bearded man grimaces, then speaks. "I am... Lord Carowyn. This is my manor. My master was the necromancer, Rolth... He promised me... immortality in return for service. He said that we could... together... please Urgathoa with the plague." He pauses, a glassy expression on his face. "The servants... fled. The guests died. I know not of anyone else here."

Then Dastan draws steel, and everything else is interrupted. The paladin looks with Iomedae's eyes upon the souls of those present.

Dastan

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The woman is radiating strong evil. The man is radiating faint evil.

Before anyone can say anything, Lord Carowyn jolts to life once more, lunging at Dastan with a roar. "You shall not... take this sacrifice from me! Marring... her beauty will please Urgathoa!"

His bony hand wraps around the paladin's wrist, clutching for Dastan's blade. His frail body is no match, however, and Dastan quickly and forcefully shakes him off.

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He tried to disarm but failed rather badly. Dastan is entitled to an AoO. Daedalus, if you'd like to take that, include it in your next post.

The woman watches with wide, green eyes as Dastan batters him back. "I mean you no harm, good paladin," she coos. "I am Selene, and I was one of the guests here. Then a strange man entered while we were dancing and people started dying. It was horrible. I am innocent; surely you see that. Please, don't let them hurt me!"

[SanguinePenguin]

Atavian stares at the beautiful woman. It made sense. No one was acting sensibly. She was clearly doing something. He watched for severe seconds, trying to see there was something about her. But when she spoke to Dastan, he catches the slightest hint of enchantment woven in her voice - the words supernaturally honeyed. That was it... his need to kill a "dangerous," unarmed, old man. Jensi's sudden desire to kill... well, anything. Aldrin's sudden obedience.

Rage stirs within the halfling. That beautiful creature before him is a monster. She may not yet have raised a finger in direct hostility toward them, but she did - is doing - something much, much worse: theft of their volition. The old man wants her as a sacrifice... whatever. Atavian just wants her destroyed.

Seemingly without warning or provocation the halfling starts screaming, "TALLOX! KILL HER! DASTAN! DON'T LISTEN TO HER!" For an instant, the beyonder looks at Atavian, as confused as when he ordered him to kill the other unarmed individual. "SHE'S BEWITCHING OUR MINDS!!! ATTACK NOW!!!" Atavian mutters an incantation and tags himself with his spell.

The party's behavior had seemed a little odd to Tallox. That heal-ly mortal never tried to kill things and Atavian certainly erred on the side of getting questions answered when possible. His course clear, the beyonder lunges forward and tries to strike the woman.

Actions:

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Full Power attack if possible... Only charge bite if not possible
Bite: (1d20+8)[13] 21 (see OOC) (+2 if charge) Damage (1d6+13)[18] 17 (if both are to be rerolled)
L Claw: (1d20+7)[13] Damage (1d6+9)[13]
R Claw: (1d20+7)[8] Damage (1d6+9)[15]

Atavian casts Resistance on himself and stays within arms reach of Tallox
+1 to saves from resistance, +2 from Tallox's shield ally and -2 from level drain...

Summary:

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Tallox
HP: 39/39. AC: 20 (-2 if charge), 12 Touch, 18 Flatfooted.
Saves: +5 Fortitude, +2 Reflex, +4 Will.

Atavian
HP: 38/38 (normal 48). AC: 18, 15 Touch, 16 Flatfooted.
Saves: +5 Fortitude, +5 Reflex, +6 Will.
Spells: 1st: 0/5 2nd: 0/3

[Leviathan]

Round 1

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As attacking has begun, we now move to round-by-round play. SanguinePenguin, since you've posted already, that'll count as your action for this round.

Map

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LC is Lord Carowyn
S is Selene

[DaedalusMkV]

As the old man grasps at his weapon, Dastan shakes him off roughly and makes a backhanded strike with the pommel of his weapon in a halfhearted attempt to subdue him, then returns his attention to Selene. His reply is at first subdued. "You... Right." He blinks, then shakes his head and continues forcefully, "No. No. Taste the wrath of the Gods, deceiver!" His eyes seem to take on the fiery hue of molten gold as he brings his weapon forwards once more, thrusting the tip of it towards the woman named Selene's chest.

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Like I said, I'm spending a Hero Point to pass that save.

I will take my AOO against Lord Cerwyn, taking a -4 penalty to deal nonlethal damage:
Attack: (1d20+5)[13]
Damage: (1d8+4)[6]

On my turn, spending two uses of Lay on Hands as a Swift action to declare Smite Evil against Selene, followed by a Standard Action attack using Power Attack. Here we go...

Attack: (1d20+11)[13]
Damage: (1d8+13)[18] (Add 5 if she's an Evil Outsider or Undead)

Summary:
HP: 52/52

AC 22, FF 22, Touch 11 (Add 4 to all against Selene)
Saves: Fort +10, Ref +6, Will +11 (+1 against Evil Outsiders)
Resistance 5 to Acid, Fire, Electricity
Immune to Fear, Allies within 10' get +4 on Saves against Fear.
Immune to Disease
Smite Evil 0/2
Lay on Hands 2/8

[RocketMan]

Jensi

Jensi blinks. "Wha- what just happened?" he asks, dazed. "Why is my crossbow in my hand? This doesn't make sense!"

What follows happens too fast for Jensi to keep up. In a blur, Dastan's sword is pointed at the lady's - Selene's - neck, and Tallox is lunging at her. The elderly man, who is apparently a lord, is confessing his guilt. Jensi doesn't understand.

"Why is everyone fighting?" he calls. "Stop, please stop! Lord Carowyn, you shouldn't hurt anybody! Don't do this!" the youth calls, frantically gesturing at the nobleman in an attempt to make him cease his attacks.

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Casting Hold Person on Lord Carowyn (Will DC 18)

[Drothmal]

It is less probably that she will target what she cannot see Rennard concludes as the others begint to act

Using the beginning of the battle as a distraction, the magus once again redirects his arcane energies into recovering one of his expended spells and quickly casts the spell that will allow him to move unseen through the battlefield

Actions

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Swift: Spell recall to recover Vanish
Standard: Cast Vanish
Move: Move behind Selene, as to flank with Dastan

If she begins to cast a spell, take AoO and try to produce non-lethal damage. Don't take action if she's not casting
spellcraft - (1d20+13)[16]

AoO - (1d20+10)[24] (non lethal, add +2 if flanking with Dastan. +2 has been added from attacking while invisible)
Damage - (1d6+3)[6]

Status

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P=34/37
AC=20 (15 touch, 16 FF)
F=+5, R=+5, W=+3
Arcane Pool=2/10

[Blisstake]

"Wait, why is everyone...?" Aldrin blinks twice, before realizing what had transpired, and why he and his companions had acted so unusually. Anger welled up in the sorcerer as he stared once again at the woman who had controlled him.

No one plays me for a fool.

Fire wraps around Aldrin's hands as him palm faces toward Selene. "Burn, bitch." The fire leaps from the sorcerer's hands, directly toward the evil woman, hopefully melting her pretty features.

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New spell time! Scorching Ray!

(1d20+4)[18] against touch AC
(4d6)[14] fire damage.

[Leviathan]

Tallox lunges forwards at Selene. The woman easily avoids his claws, but his bite manages to pierce her flesh on her shoulder. On most, it would be a fatal wound, but the woman barely even flinches, even as a trickle of blood pours from her bare shoulder. Atavian, meanwhile, wards himself against further enchantments.

Dastan strikes Lord Carowyn away with the flat of his blade, then infuses himself with righteous wrath, his golden eyes and bright blade a terrifying sight for any evildoer as he thrusts it towards Selene. The woman's elegant dress seems that it should offer little protection against such a strike, that rightly should skewer her. But it is instead deflected away as it touches her smooth skin, though she cringes slightly, the first time her beautiful face has shown any hint of imperfection.

As Lord Carowyn falls away from Dastan, Jensi's magic touches him. Instantly, he freezes in place, mid fall, his body wrapped in Shelyn's silverly power.

Rennard's arcane power of invisibility allows the magus to easily traverse the bedroom, until he is behind Selene, ready to strike.

Finally, Aldrin, furious, sends a powerful blast of fire directly at Selene, right towards her unearthly face. Rather than a scream, his attack is met by a soft, sultry laughter. The flames die away, revealing her face to be completely unharmed.

Then Selene counter-attacks. She raises her arms above her head, closing her heavily-lidded eyes. Lush lips weave a spell, and at this moment, Rennard leaps out of his invisibility, Reve pointed at her heart. The duelist's blade hits its mark, but does not even draw blood. Selene finishes her spellcasting... But nothing appears to have happened. Her face contorts in rage. "Then I shall deal with you myself... No one calls me a bitch and lives."

Round 2

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Roll any knowledge checks you've got if you'd like to try and learn more about Selene, either here or OOC.

Map

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[RocketMan]

Jensi

"Wait, huh, is she evil then?" Jensi ponders, confused. "And how did you not get burned by Aldrin's magic? This doesn't make sense!" he protests against the confusion of the situation. Still, when push comes to shove Jensi trusts his allies.

"Well, if you're going to kill there -er, deceiver? - Dastan, may Shelyn guide your hand!"

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Casting Bull's Strength on Dastan. +4 to Strength.

[Blisstake]

"She's not human." is all the sorcerer can say as the fire dances harmlessly around "Selene's" face. With all his family's dealings with devils, the only outsiders he had seen face-to-face were imps and lemures, although they were far less threatening. But there was one important thing his father told him, that came to mind.

If you want to control devils, you need to know how to fight them. They're resistant to most metals, fire, and sometimes even regular spells fail to affect them.

"You aren't the first person to tell us we're dead." Aldrin answers. "And you aren't going to be the last." Relying on his most-used incantation, Aldrin sends a bolt of sonic power straight for the creature's mind.

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Ear Piercing Scream time. (3d6)[13] damage, half on save, no daze on save. DC 17 fort.

Spell penetration (if applicable): (1d20+5)[12]

HP: 42/42, AC: 12
F: 3, R: 3, W: 4
All spells exhausted

[SanguinePenguin]

"She's a succubus. A demon. Fire, lightning - can't harm her. Sheds most strikes like they were nothing. Cold iron is supposed to. She bends minds to her will," the loathing in his voice is evident. The halfling mutters an incantation and his hand touches Dastan's back granting a protective magic shield over him.

Tallox hates other outsiders. He loathes their pompous views and their trite struggles concerning their meaningless codes. Devils and their temptations; angels and their holiness; demons and their carnage; axiomites and their rules. Even slaads and other creatures of pure chaos adhered, rather paradoxically, to their code of insanity. Even most of his own kind followed the path of sloth... Tallox had learned one thing that he shared with mortals in his time with Atavian - mostly, they write their own codes.

His swings strike at the woman. Powerful. Intense. Reckless. For once, he was just happy to sense that Atavian wanted her destruction as much as he did. His massive jaw curls back on itself and in one instant, like a snake, his head lunges at the woman to deliver a powerful bite.

Actions:

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Full Power attack
Bite: (1d20+8)[12] Damage (1d6+13)[19]
L Claw: (1d20+7)[10] Damage (1d6+9)[15]
R Claw: (1d20+7)[14] Damage (1d6+9)[11]

Atavian casts Resistance on Dastan and stays within arms reach of Tallox. I believe that the untyped Divine Grace bonus stacks with the resistance bonus. If this isn't true, he'll cast it on Tallox instead.

Summary:

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Tallox
HP: 39/39. AC: 20, 12 Touch, 18 Flatfooted.
Saves: +5 Fortitude, +2 Reflex, +4 Will.

Atavian
HP: 38/38 (normal 48). AC: 18, 15 Touch, 16 Flatfooted.
Saves: +5 Fortitude, +5 Reflex, +6 Will.
Spells: 1st: 0/5 2nd: 0/3