The Black Mages of Corneria (IC)

[Irish Musician]

Thina, Bard of Blue

Thina, seeing the horses trying to get away, thinks, Not so fast you little buggers! and unleashes a change in her arcane music, tones and notes seeming to attack the horses minds.

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Actions
Standard - Cutting Words (1d20+11)[9](20) VS Will
Damage - (1d8+7)[3](10), psychic damage, and you pull the target 2 squares, to T15
Move - to Q10

[Irish Musician]

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Post for error

[Surrealistik]

Shadows seem to lilt and flicker about the fourth horse, culminating into ribbons of darkness that gather unto the steed, wrapped about its legs and flank. The unusual display prefaces no harm to the beast however; perhaps it was but a misdirection, for the belly of the second is abruptly sheared as the silhouette of the strange man momentarily flickers into existence, handiwork spraying riotous gouts of blood where his unseen blade scores into flesh.

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Minor Action: Horse 4 is Cursed.

Move Action: (1d20+19)[37] Stealth during first move. Nihilus gains Concealment until the end of his next turn due to Shadow Walk.

Standard Action, Charge: Charge to R13 and attack Horse 2 with an MBA:
Attack: (1d20+15)[22] vs AC (+1 from Charge, +2 from CA)
(On a non-natural 1 miss, use Heroic Effort for +4 to the attack roll)

Total Damage: 25 (see OOC).


Free Action: Shift 2 squares with Boots of Adept Charging and Risky Shift to U9. Nihilus grants CA until the start of his next turn. Stealth check: (1d20+19)[21]

Opportunity Action: Nihilus will take his opportunity attacks as normal, including if an enemy attempts to enter his space.

Immediate Action: If a creature attempts to target Nihilus with an attack while he's not hidden to that creature, or that creature is using a burst or blast attack, he will use Timely Dodge as an immediate interrupt to negate the attack and shift 4 to Q8.

[Gillric]

Ezekial

Seeing the horses all bleeding, Ezekial keeps working on the closest ones.

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Standard: Charm of Misplaced Wrath on Horse 3
(1d20+14)[1](15) vs Will
Hit: Slide horse 3 to U17 and hores 3 and is dazed UEMNT
Effect: Horse 3 makes a free MBA against Horse 2 with +2 power bonus to the damage roll. If I missed, the MBA is against Horse 4 instead

Ezekial's Status:

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HP 36/42 Bloodied 21 Healing Surge 10 (2 used /7)
AC 21 Fort 17 Reflex 21 Will 20 Speed 6

THP 0

EFFECTS

ENCOUNTERS SINCE LAST EXTENDED REST 0

ACTION POINTS 1

At-Will Powers
Arc Lightning
Beguiling Strands
Hypnotism
Magic Missile
Light
Mage Hand

Encounter Powers
Color Orb
Charm of Misplaced Wrath
Glorious Presence NOT PREPARED
Colour Spray
Fire Shroud NOT PREPARED
Chameleon’s Mask
Shield
Force Ladder NOT PREPARED

Action Point
Second Wind

Daily Powers
Fountain of Flame
Sleep NOT PREPARED
Fireball NOT PREPARED
Tasha’s Forcible Conscription
Feather Fall NOT PREPARED
Spectral Hound

Item Powers
Accurate Orb of Supplementary Force
Shadowdance Cloth Armor
Accurate Orb of Mental Dominion
Amulet of Life

[DiscipleofBob]

Malreth suddenly falls to the ground, twitching, blood spurting from the nose. His condition is unclear.

The dark stranger swings by one of the horses and in one swift movement knicks an artery of the horse before vanishing back into the shadows.

Thina's arcane magic makes the horse flee in the wrong direction, back towards the group.

Raiden's lightning arcs wide and hits a tree.

Ezekial's charm fizzles on casting. (Natural 1 Penalty: The MBA fizzles too.)

The horses, back in a pack formation, charge their visible targets.

21 VS Thina's AC; 14 damage.
23 VS Thina's AC; 7 damage.
16 VS Ezekial's AC; 7 damage.

No opportunity attacks.

Top of the round.

[Irish Musician]

Thina, Bard of Blue

Thina, after pulling the horse back towards her, gets knocked in the head by one. She stumbles back a little, spits up some blood, and looks at the horse in front of her. Her eyes flash, and she voice booms out of her throat, engulfing her in, what seems like water, but upon careful inspection is, in fact, arcane powers flowing around her. The powers seem to create a bubble around her and her wounds heal. Thina's voice then stops, she lifts her wand, and it sends out a green arcane bolt to the horse diagonal from her.

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Actions
Minor - Revitalizing Incantation on Myself, I take a healing surge and gain 13 THP's
Minor - Saved for Later
Standard - Wand Power - Eyebite on Horse 4 VS Will, (1d20+11)[18](29)
Damage - (1d6+7)[3](10), psychic damage, and you are invisible to the target until the start of your next turn.

[Great Dane]

Raiden peers out from the foliage, plants his feet firmly, and fires a bolt of lightning before retreating further into the woods.

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Standard: Lightning Strike on the most bloodied one (I don't know who that is but I have the range to hit any of the three)
[roll]1d20+11[roll] or +2 if Nihilus happens to be flanking the enemy at the time I shoot. Damage will be (1d8+11)[14], with 3 damage dealt to the next-bloodiest enemy.
Move: to O14 (difficult terrain)

[DiscipleofBob]

Just PMed Nihilus for the 24-hour notice.

[Surrealistik]

The mysterious figure is again prefaced with a flash of his blade, yielding a swath of crimson and severed arteries about the fallen steed's legs before he again vanishes, suddenly appearing adjacent to the fourth foe as though commuted by some preternatural force. The latter fairs little better, wounds of the first and second horses echoed upon its body, muscle and sinew severed clean at the fall of the shrouded man's weapon even as the shadows excise him from sight.

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Minor Action: Low Slash
Attack: (1d20+14)[20] vs AC (On a non-natural 1 miss, use Heroic Effort for +4 to the attack roll)
Damage: (1d8+6)[11] + (2d6)[6] (Sneak Attack damage)
Hit Effect: Horse 2 is slid 1 square and is slowed until the end of Nihilus' next turn.

Move Action: Shift 2 squares to T11 with Risky Shift. Nihilus grants CA until the start of his next turn. Stealth to hide: (1d20+19)[21]

Standard Action, Charge: Charge to S13 and attack Horse 4 with an MBA:
Attack: (1d20+15)[21] vs AC (+1 from Charge, +2 from CA)
(On a non-natural 1 miss, use Heroic Effort for +4 to the attack roll)
Damage: (3d8+6)[20] + (2d6)[5] (Curse and Horned Helm)
Total Damage: 25.

Free Action: Shift 2 squares with Boots of Adept Charging and Risky Shift to S15. Stealth check to hide: (1d20+19)[36]

Opportunity Action: Nihilus will take his opportunity attacks as normal, including if an enemy attempts to enter his space.

Immediate Action: If a creature attempts to target Nihilus with an attack while he's not hidden to that creature, or that creature is using a burst or blast attack, he will use Timely Dodge as an immediate interrupt to negate the attack and shift 4 to P18.

[Gillric]

Ezekial

Ezekial steps back away from the horses and blasts of lightning streak from the orb in his hand.

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Move: Shift to U9
Standard: Arc Lightning on the 2 bloodied horses or the 2 that are left if one is now dead
Target 1: (1d20+12)[7](19) vs Ref
Target 2: (1d20+12)[10](22) vs Ref
Hit: (1d6+7)[6](13) lightning damage

Ezekial's Status:

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HP 36/42 Bloodied 21 Healing Surge 10 (2 used /7)
AC 21 Fort 17 Reflex 21 Will 20 Speed 6

THP 0

EFFECTS

ENCOUNTERS SINCE LAST EXTENDED REST 0

ACTION POINTS 1

At-Will Powers
Arc Lightning
Beguiling Strands
Hypnotism
Magic Missile
Light
Mage Hand

Encounter Powers
Color Orb
Charm of Misplaced Wrath
Glorious Presence NOT PREPARED
Colour Spray
Fire Shroud NOT PREPARED
Chameleon’s Mask
Shield
Force Ladder NOT PREPARED

Action Point
Second Wind

Daily Powers
Fountain of Flame
Sleep NOT PREPARED
Fireball NOT PREPARED
Tasha’s Forcible Conscription
Feather Fall NOT PREPARED
Spectral Hound

Item Powers
Accurate Orb of Supplementary Force (Daily)
Shadowdance Cloth Armor (Daily)
Accurate Orb of Mental Dominion (Daily)
Amulet of Life (Encounter)
Gauntlets of Remote Action (Daily)
Gauntlets of Remote Action (At-Will)

[DiscipleofBob]

The horses endure the barrage of attacks until Ezekial's Arc Lightning spell finally causes one to collapse.

(Horse 2 is killed by Ezekial's spell. All horses are now bloodied.)

The two remaining horses try to trample the small group, though one of the horses conspicuously avoids Thina, as if it couldn't see her.

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All VS AC.

Horse 3's attacks: 16 VS Ezekial (14 damage on a hit), 25 VS Thina (14 damage on a hit) before penalties for attacking an invisible target, the only reason she gets attacked at all is because she was in the direct path of the trample to begin with.


Horse 4's attacks: 22 VS Ezekial (7 damage on a hit), 18 VS Thina (13 damage on a hit)

Both horses trigger opportunity attacks from Ezekial and Thina in no particular order.

Current Initiative: Nihilus, Raiden, Thina, Ezekial, [expletive] Horses.

[Great Dane]

Raiden continues to pump lightning at the horses left standing from his vantage point in the woods. His sweat begins to run into his eyes and his breathing labors.

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Standard: Lightning Strike against Horse 4, (1d20+9)[16], +2 if it's flanked when I attack, verses reflex. Damage: (1d8+11)[19] and 3 damage to the other standing horse.

[Surrealistik]

As the fourth horse presses its attack, its aggression is met with a blurred stroke from their unseen assailant, the latter's form briefly wavering into view as the shroud about him partially lifts with the opportunistic strike. An observer might plainly notice shades roiling and clinging to his form, portions of his body flickering in and out of sight as though one's eyes were themselves uncertain about the existence of this phantasm.

When the tramp of hooves has fallen to silence, so to, does the stalking figure, fading with his footfalls until he is no more... until his blade finds sudden purchase in the flank of his harried opponent, seeming to erupt from thin air. As before, black tendrils devour him in the wake of aggression, whilst he tumbles away to nothingness.

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Opportunity Attack: MBA

Attack: (1d20+14)[16] (+2 from CA) vs Horse 4
Damage: (2d8+6)[11]

Move Action: Move 2 squares to V12. Stealth to hide: (1d20+19)[34]

Standard Action, Charge: Charge to W9 and attack Horse 4 with an MBA:
Attack: (1d20+15)[17] vs AC (+1 from Charge, +2 from CA)
(Heroic Effort used for +4 to the attack roll.)
Damage: (3d8+6)[11] + (1d6)[3]
Total Damage: 25.

Free Action: Shift 2 squares with Boots of Adept Charging and Risky Shift to U11. Stealth check to hide: (1d20+19)[30]

Opportunity Action: Nihilus will take his opportunity attacks as normal, including if an enemy attempts to enter his space.

Immediate Action: If a creature attempts to target Nihilus with an attack while he's not hidden to that creature, or that creature is using a burst or blast attack, he will use Timely Dodge as an immediate interrupt to negate the attack and shift 4 to R15.

[Irish Musician]

Thina, Bard of Blue

Thina, coming back from her journey to the invisible world, takes a step back after the horses stop their trample, and she then kicks her voice back on and sings a furious song at one of them.

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Actions
Move - Shift to T11
Standard - VS Will on Horse 3, (1d20+11)[1](12)
Damage - (1d6+7)[1](8), psychic damage, and the target takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls until the end of your next turn.

[Gillric]

Ezekial

Ezekial moves to give himself room before attempting to blast the remaining horse(s).

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Move: shift to T9
Standard: If two horses remain: Arc Lightning
Horse 3: (1d20+12)[9](21) vs Ref
Horse 4: (1d20+12)[6](18) vs Ref
Hit: (1d6+7)[4](11) lightning damage

Standard: If only one horse remains: Magic Missile for 9 damage

Ezekial's status:

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HP 36/42 Bloodied 21 Healing Surge 10 (2 used /7)
AC 21 Fort 17 Reflex 21 Will 20 Speed 6

THP 0

EFFECTS

ENCOUNTERS SINCE LAST EXTENDED REST 0

ACTION POINTS 1

At-Will Powers
Arc Lightning
Beguiling Strands
Hypnotism
Magic Missile
Light
Mage Hand

Encounter Powers
Color Orb
Charm of Misplaced Wrath
Glorious Presence NOT PREPARED
Colour Spray
Fire Shroud NOT PREPARED
Chameleon’s Mask
Shield
Force Ladder NOT PREPARED

Action Point
Second Wind

Daily Powers
Fountain of Flame
Sleep NOT PREPARED
Fireball NOT PREPARED
Tasha’s Forcible Conscription
Feather Fall NOT PREPARED
Spectral Hound

Item Powers
Accurate Orb of Supplementary Force (Daily)
Shadowdance Cloth Armor (Daily)
Accurate Orb of Mental Dominion (Daily)
Amulet of Life (Encounter)
Gauntlets of Remote Action (Daily)
Gauntlets of Remote Action (At-Will)

[DiscipleofBob]

One of the pair of horses collapses in a fit of seizures as it's blasted with lightning. The remaining horse, severely wounded, with no pack to follow, blindly tries to retreat.

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The last horse double-moves to the south. Anyone in general vicinity can make an opportunity attack.

If you kill the horse, it's dead. If you somehow stop its movement, I'll assume you kill it next turn anyway. If it escapes, it's a horse. It's unlikely to call for reinforcements.

Consider this a victory!

[Great Dane]

Raiden breathes a sigh of relief. It's about time...those suckers wouldn't go down!

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Short rest here with my allies followed by a quick trek inside the woods after something sparkly I found...then back to the group to and taking a look at the bodies of the goblins/horses. Strikethrough because I misread DoB's original description.

[Irish Musician]

Thina, Bard of Blue

Thina, standing up straight and ready for the next attack, goes to one knee and lets out a long sigh after the horse runs off into the woods. While she is resting, she looks over to the sneaky, mysterious, robed figure, "I can only assume that you are here to help us, and not kill us, otherwise this fight would have gone very differently. Thank you for your help. I am Thina, what is your name?" Thina then starts a very calm and relaxing melody and she waits for his response, that seems to help everyone heal their wound, and not seem so fatigued by the battle.

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Do my Song of Rest as we are taking a 5 mins rest
Song of Rest:

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When you play an instrument or sing during a short rest, you and each ally who can hear you are affected by your Song of Rest. When an affected character spends healing surges at the end of the rest, that character regains additional hit points equal to your Charisma modifier (5) with each healing surge. A character can be affected by only one Song of Rest at a time.

Search the bodies! (1d20+12)[3](15)

[Gillric]

Ezekial

As the horse runs towards the woods, Ezekial hurls a parting blast of arcane energy after it before joining the others to take a rest and treat his wounds as best as possible.

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9 damage as the horse takes off (Magic Missile)

[Great Dane]

Raiden says, I can't quite put my finger on it, but I sense something magical deep within the woods. Care to join me for a look? My interest is piqued...but if we're going too far, we can always turn around back to the path. We should still reach Corneria by sundown regardless.

[Gillric]

Ezekial

Ezekial stands, Sure, lets go take a look.

[DiscipleofBob]

The goblins have nothing of considerable value. Their leader has a black cloak and an ornate scythe, but they appear to be non-magical, just pretty. One of the goblins is covered in rusted old armor that wouldn't be worth the trouble of hauling it for scrap. The other two are unclothed.

The remaining horse hobbles off into the forest, but leaves a clear trail to follow. You wouldn't have thought to investigate this way otherwise. You follow the trail to a small camp with four small huts and a pile of rotting bones and bodies. A small pile of clothes and other loot is separated from the bodies nearby. The horse has finally bled out and died.

[Gillric]

Ezekial

Well, maybe this won't be a total loss. Ezekail says as he moves to inspect the clothes and loot.

[Surrealistik]

The shrouded man does not seem initially responsive to Thina's overtures, flitting intangibly from one shadow to the next as the remainder goes about their business, searching the fallen and looting various trinkets. The forest is silent but for their activity and the various scamperings of its fauna, leaving no discernible trace of movements. With the passage of several minutes, the bleak figure seems satisfied with his surveillance of the group, fading into sight near the inquiring bard. The air itself wavers strangely, seeming to part in admission of his presence.

"Malus. Likewise, your assistance was appreciated. If you seek Corneria I shall escort you in reciprocity; my work is done here."

[Irish Musician]

Thina, Bard of Blue

Thina nods at Malus' comment in thanks. She then follows her companions into the woods and sees the sad little camp, with the odd pile of loot next to some bodies. It is an odd camp for odd little monsters, but she looks through the camp anyway, just in case there is anything important.

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Perception for the camp (1d20+12)[19](31)

[Surrealistik]

He nods, stepping backwards as he fades from view, reclaimed by the darkness from whence he came.

"I will be alongside."

Seizing his opportunity, Malus likewise rummages through the bodies, clipping bits of each horse as evidence of their demise.

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Perception: Search the bodies (1d20+10)[11]

[DiscipleofBob]

After searching the camp thoroughly, among the bodies and random loot, you find a pair of blood-encrusted gloves that could be magical that the goblins skipped over, as well as a pair of goggles still attached to the rotting skull of one of the victims. There's even still an eyeball smashed in one of the lens. Searching for anything else of value, you find roughly 176 gold pieces and about 332 gold pieces worth of other sellable material.

These roads are definitely a little safer now...

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That's pretty much it for the forest unless you make other random skill checks. But otherwise feel free to roleplay until you get to Corneria.

[Great Dane]

Aah, these are nice! Raiden says as he slips the gloves on. They tingle with excitement; the electricity coursing through his hands seems amplified as the gloves appear to want to target a foe. Hey bookworm, these seem perfect for you, he says as he flips the goggles over to Ezekial. Good thing we caught these goblins before they went to the marketplace -- they've got quite a bit of gold and sellables in their camp. Let me divvy this up real quick. New guy gets a cut, too.

Speaking of, as he directs his attention toward Malus, Thanks for the escort to Corneria. It's been a tough journey and we've lost our big guys. Can't say I blame them; the roads are dangerous, and I'd just assume stay back at the Academy...if I knew I wouldn't be bored in about four hours.

So what brings you out to this lovely forest, anyway? You seem pretty tough but I don't think you could have handled the entire goblin camp. The three of us would have had a difficult time ourselves. Should we chalk it up to "dumb luck" that both groups arrived at once?

Dusting his robes off, he suggests, Let's head back to the road so we can get to Corneria before nightfall. I'd like to pick up a little something before the shops close.

[Gillric]

Ezekial

Moving out of the way and allowing the goggles to fall back to the ground, Ezekial proceeds to dislodge the debris from inside them with his foot. Having completed this he picks them up and wipes them out further on a scrap of cloth. These should do quite nicely.

[Gillric]

Ezekial

Having inspected and tried on the goggles, Ezekial follows Raiden back out to the path. Yes, lets try to arrive at Corneria before dark.