Shadows of Anmer IC

[PersonMan]

Selia smiles a bit at the image of Otrino, an old man, waking up like an overzealous student after a night of studying. As he starts talking, she stays silent, more intent on seeing the words' effect on Melchia than on listening to them.

As Otrino turns to leave, Selia clears her throat, the sparkling energy at her fingertips glowing as if in response. "Otrino, Melchia, if the two of you would like a quick magical freshening up, now is a good time," She doesn't mention that the smell of old injuries and sweat was...not exactly pleasant.

[CockroachTeaParty]

After accepting Selia's prestidigitations, and feeling somewhat refreshed, Melchia sets off to do some shopping with the gold he has acquired. He purchases replacements for the crossbow bolts he expended the previous day.

As luck would have it, he finds a seller in possession of a dorje, or psionic wand. The slender crystal is partially filled with latent psionic energy. When Melchia expressed his interest in purchasing it, the seller was at first intent on making an extremely large profit... but the psion managed to persuade them to sell at market price in short order.

Returning to the group, everyone can see a slender, green-tinted crystal tucked into the psion's belt.
"Well, I am as ready for further adventures as I'll ever be. If we expect fighting more undead, it should go without saying that we should prepare ourselves for fighting such foes as best we can."

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Melchia spends 20 pp on the dorje, 3 sp on 3 crossbow bolts, and 25 gp on a flask of holy water.

..and three power points on the dorje seller...

[Overlord Rion]

"In a nutshell, send me in, sword swinging and shield bashing, and you three make sure I don't hit the dirt."

[PersonMan]

"So, then, let's make a decision - anyone particularly against going after this necromancer master?" Selia asks, clasping her hands together to get the attention of the assembled party. As nobody opposes the plan, she smiles and nods. "Well, then, it looks like that's where we're going,"

Unless anyone finds some business they need to wrap up in the town suddenly, Selia will have the group leave immediately, stopping only to mention to the guards that they will be heading off to attack the lair of the necromancer that has plagued them.

OOC:

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While Melchia shops, Selia preps spells. I'll do that tomorrow.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Melchia seems resigned to his fate.
"Do we have any leads as to where this necromancer or necromancers are located? Or are we to follow their trail through the marsh? I am no tracker..."

[zimmerwald1915]

"Tracking will not be a problem, if it comes to that," says Otrino, closing his tome and putting it away. He looks confident and energetic, like he's just made a great discovery. In a way, he supposes, he has. It's one thing to figure out a new magic formula, quite another to hold it in your mind and body for the first time. "And it might not. Unless whatever you did to him works differently, he'll have fled to safety in a straight line away from the gate for a fair distance."

Before they leave, Otrino finds the archer. "Thank you," he says, "For your help yesterday and your hospitality. We should return from the marsh in a few days – quicker if we knew just where we were going. I don't suppose anyone knows where the necromancers and undead lair?"

[mucco]

The archer takes out a dusty scroll from a counter. "I have a map. They gave it to us, a long ago. It might be outdated now. Take a look." The large scroll unfolds on the table before your eyes, coming to a size of about one square yard. It depicts the town of Icmud in the center and details the surroundings up to a couple dozen miles. In the east, a few tiny settlements are detailed among the low hills of the deepest marsh. "This is what we used to know about those guys. Some of them live here and some of them there", he says pointing to the two nearest marks on the map. "It's just a couple huts for them to sleep in. I suppose they get some supplies, and I think those come from further East, but I'm not sure."

[mucco]

You pick up the map, thank the archer and his family and exit his house, headed for the necromancer settlements.

It takes you a couple hours of tiring walking through the swampy areas until you reach an interesting location. The water goes up to your knees when you proceed in the lowlands, and the small hills lying all around are made of very soft ground and it's hard to keep your balance. A putrid stench fills the area, as if under the water there were hundreds of rotting bodies.

When you climb on a slightly bigger hill, you can see the two "settlements": one has three small huts, the other has two. They are about half a mile from each other, and you are in the middle. You can spot one creature outside each hut, and they don't look like skeletons, or ghouls. They might be zombies, but you are a bit too far to say with certainty.

You don't see the necromancer.

[CockroachTeaParty]

Melchia has been quiet and taciturn most of the journey. He has the air of a man marching to his doom. As the group finally approaches the unpleasant-looking hovels, he gives an exasperated sigh.
"Well... any preference? Slightly larger swamp-hill, or slightly smaller swamp-hill. Do you think they'll assume we're hostile?"

[PersonMan]

Selia wonders if she's perhaps made a mistake - maybe the true test of strength wouldn't be killing the necromancer, but getting there. Why anyone would made a settlement here was unknown to her.

"Let's go for the two for now. If they're hostile, it'll be easier to fight off two than three," Selia says. She looks at the others and, if nobody objects, starts to walk again, going towards the two-hut "settlement".

[mucco]

As the you walk down the hill, toward the smaller encampment, the two creatures catch sight of you. They knock on the doors, and two more people come out. As you come closer you can see that the creatures outside are giants, and Rubido instantly recalls that they are ogres. The two people coming out of the hut, instead, seem to be humans. One picks up a bow and arrows, the other one starts talking to the ogres and gesturing toward you.

As the archer starts nocking his first arrow, and one of the ogres prepares to charge you, you know you are in for a fight.

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Map

Darker green is difficult terrain, due to the slope and the swampy ground. Movement costs double.

Initiative
20 Selia <- UP NOW
19 Melchia <- UP NOW
17 Archer
14 Rubido
7 Otrino
4 Other enemies

[CockroachTeaParty]

Melchia curses inwardly, his crossbow in hand. He takes aim at the archer, and fires.
"Looks like they're not interested in talking."

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Melchia will fire his light crossbow at the archer. He takes a -2 penalty from the range; if Selia's activated Inspire Courage, add +1 to the attack roll and damage roll.
Attack: (1d20+2)[9]
Damage: (1d8)[7]

Melchia will then move to G-7
Edit: that should have been 1d20+1 on the attack roll, but it looks like a miss either way.

[PersonMan]

Selia frowns, readying her own weapon. It was annoying that they would potentially just end up fighting these people..."Let's try communicating once they get a bit closer. If it doesn't work, we'll use the distance to our advantage," She says.

Actions:

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Taking out my Heavy Crossbow and preparing it to fire.

[mucco]

The archer lets loose two arrows, and one hits Rubido in the knee leg. Rubido feels a great cold damage his muscles where the arrow hit.

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Map

Darker green is difficult terrain, due to the slope and the swampy ground. Movement costs double.

Initiative
20 Selia
19 Melchia
17 Archer
14 Rubido - 8 damage <- UP NOW
7 Otrino <- UP NOW
4 Other enemies

[Overlord Rion]

Shaking off the arrow to the leg, Rubido slowly moves forward and lets a bolt fly towards one of the enemies. Hopefully he could weaken them before anything could get too personal.

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Rubido is going to move to G6, drawing my light crossbow and firing at the closest enemy.

Attack Roll: (1d20+7)[24]

Damage: (1d8)[7]

[mucco]

Melchia's bolt was wide, but Rubido's one hits the nearest ogre in the arm, making him scream and charge at you. Meanwhile, Otrino casts a defensive buff and moves away from the party, in anticipation of any area spell that might come.

One ogre, the wounded one, tries to close the distance with his club in his hands. The other one takes the other one's place and attempts to shield the two others from arrows and bolts. The human starts chanting, trying to cast a spell.

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Map

The enemy is casting Summon Undead I. I had Otrino cast Mage Armor.

Archer and caster have soft cover, thanks to the ogre. They benefit of a +4 AC bonus against ranged attacks.

Initiative
20 Selia <- UP NOW
19 Melchia <- UP NOW
17 Archer
14 Rubido
7 Otrino
4 Other enemies

[CockroachTeaParty]

Melchia pauses in his advance to reload his crossbow. At the same time he concentrates, altering his metabolism to strengthen his physical frame.

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Move action to reload.
Standard action to manifest Vigor, spending 4 power points to give Melchia 20 temporary hit points.

Also, Melchia should be at space G-6 since he moved last round.

[mucco]

The archer moves away from the group, trying to find a better position to shoot from. After he has moved, he tries to hit Rubido with an arrow but the projectile harmlessly flies wide.

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Map

The enemy is casting Summon Undead I. I had Otrino cast Mage Armor.

The caster has soft cover, thanks to the ogre. He benefits of a +4 AC bonus against ranged attacks.

Initiative
19 Melchia
17 Archer
14 Rubido <- UP NOW
7 Otrino <- UP NOW
4 Other enemies

Delaying: Selia - please prepare your spells

[PersonMan]

Selia, deciding to prepare for the worst although she still hopes to avoid a lethal conflict, shifts her crossbow to one hand, raising one as she draws upon her inner power. Feeling the energy flowing through her, she begins to speak. Starting with a quick recap of the group's earlier success, Selia implores them to quickly end this battle and triumph yet another group of foes. The supernatural energy imbuing her voice spreads through the air, quickly settling into the bodies and minds of her allies.

Actions:

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Inspire Courage! +1 on weapon attack and damage rolls. Of doom.

[zimmerwald1915]

Otrino's mouth drops open in surprise as he realizes what spell the necromancer behind the far ogre is casting. No wonder it had seemed so familiar. It is difficult to make out their features, but it strikes Otrino that if this was the same necromancer that had led the attack on Icmud, his plan would be deliciously ironic. Without having to look down, he pulls a scroll from his pack and finishes the incantation inscribed upon it. It flashes a dull purple for a moment, and the text disappears. Above and behind the ogre, a veritable cloud of rocks, from pebbles to cobbles to what barely qualify as boulders¹ appears in the air and after a moment when they do not seem to notice gravity, begin to pelt toward the earth.

Prometeo pokes his head out of Otrino's collar and clacks at the ogre, as if to warn Otrino of what he had just angered with his clever plan.

¹Seriously, the technical definition of a boulder starts surprisingly small.

Actions:

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Move action to ready my scroll of Hail of Stone. Standard action to activate it.

Damage (4d4)[5], on both the far ogre and on H. I checked, the range is long enough. No save. And unless H makes his concentration check, no soup undead for you.

[mucco]

Ogre and human take some damage, but the spellcaster manages to not break his concentration despite the rocks falling on his head.

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Map

The caster has soft cover, thanks to the ogre. He benefits of a +4 AC bonus against ranged attacks.

Initiative
19 Melchia
17 Archer
14 Rubido <- UP NOW
13 Selia
7 Otrino
4 Other enemies

[Overlord Rion]

Rubido ducks down and to the side, trying to attack the caster.

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Moving to H4 and taking a shot at the caster, his +4 AC be damned.

(1d20+8)[13]

(1d8+4)[9]Spent an inspiration point for extra damage

[mucco]

The bolt flies to the side of the caster and ends up in a pool of mud.

The ogre closes the distance, and reaches melee with Rubido and Melchia. The spellcaster summons a skeleton that also starts climbing the hill you're descending, and fires a ray at Rubido. The elf, however, is able to dodge the attack. Spellcaster and ogre advance to close the distance. In the meanwhile, the archer waits for your move to act.

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Map

The caster has soft cover, thanks to the ogre. He benefits of a +4 AC bonus against ranged attacks.

Initiative
19 Melchia <- UP NOW
14 Rubido <- UP NOW
13 Selia <- UP NOW
7 Otrino <- UP NOW
4 Enemies

I had the archer delay, to not interrupt your turns.

This campaign is weird. It goes silent for a long time then people resume posting.

[CockroachTeaParty]

The marsh hadn't slowed the ogre down as Melchia had hoped, and now the stinking, hulking brute was right on top of him and Rubdio. Melchia gives Rubido a sideways glance, before turning a cold gaze at the ogre before him. Silently, he unleashes a mental assault unlike anything he's unleashed before, overloading sensory pathways and burning out neurons.

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Expending psionic focus to take 15 on a Concentration check to manifest Mind Thrust defensively, automatically succeeding.

Augmenting by 3, the Ogre is entitled to a DC 16 Will save or he takes (4d10)[16] damage.

[mucco]

The ogre shakes his head in pain, but is able to resist the Psion's attack effectively.

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Map

The caster has soft cover, thanks to the ogre. He benefits of a +4 AC bonus against ranged attacks.

Initiative
19 Melchia
14 Rubido <- UP NOW
13 Selia <- UP NOW
7 Otrino <- UP NOW
4 Enemies

[Overlord Rion]

With the Ogre well within range of his sword arm, Rubido drops his crossbow and steps to the side, drawing his sword as he does so. Back to basics, slash until they die.

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Going to step to G5, or H5, whichever I can. Can I five-foot step? If not, I'll take the AoO.

Attack Roll: (1d20+9)[22]

Damage: (1d8+6)[10] + (1d6)[6]

[zimmerwald1915]

Otrino takes a few steps forward to get a better look at the ground around the skeleton. It looks mostly like broken shingle, though there are a few large pieces of shale one which a fighter might find good footing. One of them is fairly close to the skeleton itself, and would make a good place for something to impede its progress. That will have to wait, however. The skeleton's far enough a way as to not be an immediate threat, and as its very presence demonstrates, the necromancer and ogre skulking in the rear represent a serious threat of their own. Otrino therefore points at a spot just a bit above them in the air, and in a colorful burst a cloud of glimmering golden specks appears and drifts down on the duo.

Actions

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Standard to cast Glitterdust, hitting H and his meatshield. DC 18 Will saves or they're both blinded for four rounds.

[mucco]

Rubido takes a hit from the ogre's greatclub, as he moves into position and slashes the enemy's lower body. Otrino's spell is partly effective, rendering the other ogre blind but sparing the spellcaster.

Said spellcaster resumes summoning more help, while the ogre in melee tries again to hit the elf - failing, thanks to Rubido's armor. The archer leans to the side of the building nocking an arrow and aiming accurately, without firing. The blind ogre is mildly worried but the spellcaster tells him to stay put; the summoned skeleton reaches Melchia, and tries to kill him with his scimitar. He opens a wound in the psion's chest.

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Map

The caster has soft cover, thanks to the ogre. He benefits of a +4 AC bonus against ranged attacks. He is casting Summon Undead I.

Initiative
19 Melchia <- UP NOW (7 damage)
14 Rubido <- UP NOW (15 damage)
7 Otrino <- UP NOW
4 Enemies

Delaying: Selia

[CockroachTeaParty]

The skeleton's slash reseals instantly, not even spilling any blood, doing more cosmetic damage to Melchia's armor than anything else.
Interesting, the psion notes. He would have to give the psychometabolism discipline more examination in the future.
In the meantime, there was still the hulking ogre bearing down on him.
"Finish him off, Rubido!"

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I'm going to delay until after Rubido.

[Overlord Rion]

"Doing what I can! Art can't be rushed!" It was at this point Rubido had to ditch the art portion of his swordsmanship. He searches through the Ogre's defense, looking for a weak spot.

There.

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Okay, since I did not take out my shield, I got two hands free. I'm going to two hand and power attack for full on the ogre. Not sure if that means I get the 2-for-1 deal with that, but we'll see if I hit first.

Concentration Check (1d20+10)[14]

Attack Roll Against Touch AC: (1d20+9)[19] Spending another inspiration point.

Damage: (1d8+10)[13] + (1d6)[4] + (1d6)[2] If I get the 2-for-1, add another +3