In Search of Sanity [IC, Group #2]

[lostsole31]

R4T8: With the Gray now at point blank range, Zarinda can let loose with her best shot, and that's just what she is going to do. As she does so, the thing lashes out at her and catches into her armor with its claw - not enough to hurt her, but with just enough force to throw her aim into having the projectile do no more than lightly skip off of its hide.

End Round 4, Begin Round 5 ...

R5T19: The Gray slashes at Haru, and despite incredible reflexes and some phenomenal type of spinning defensive style with the strange weapon, its claw just manages to get the scarred man along his left upper arm for a whalloping 12 (max)! A cracking sound is heard as the man's arm must be broken and his brachial artery was cut into and he falls, but that sound is nearly eclipsed by Haru's pitched scream of pain before he is out cold. [Repeat, Haru is down.] With its left claw, the thing slashes down and gets her from the forehead and down a little for 6. For her, the force of the blow was felt more than the slicing of its claws, and in one stroke she is already feeling whatever panic she might otherwise feel.

"Haru is down!" shouts the ashen-faced man.

R5T18: The pooch instantly bolts into the room atop Haru. It stops barking and does the same baying-lick of Haru's wounds as before and Haru receives 10 healing, a little shy of being fully healed.

R5T9.1: Haru, I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that while your arm still hurts a little, you are awake. The bad news is that the dog is on top of you/ in your square. Oh, yes, almost forgot. Because you got KO'd, you dropped your nunchaku.

Spoiler

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So, double-whammy ... if you do anything other than lay there, you instantly evoke all of the pain of sharing a space with another creature. Remember, Bishop is Small, but there are no partial gimmees or reduced penalties for Medium+Small in the same square compared to a Medium+Medium. However, if you lay there "like an object" rather than as an active participant you do not count against Bishop.

Also, doesn't matter how you do it, picking up a weapon provokes an AOO.

Zarinda on deck, Gray in the hole, everyone else is delaying ... so anyone else delaying can do something.

[stack]

Eric tries to step back, pushing against the gray with his mind.

Spoiler

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5' step if possible, can't tell without a map. Otherwise move and eat the AOO. hostile lift w/ burning lore + overcharge (1d100)[42] backlash, low bad, + exhausted

Will DC17

slam it into the ceiling, attack (1d20+6)[19] for (1d6+5)[6] damage

[lostsole31]

Spoiler: stack

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Unless you are in the room, you can't target/ see the Gray He is around the corner from the entrance and 10' in.

You are still on delay ...

Haru, before you act, Knuckles has been delaying. She is right at the entrance. "Haru, I am going to pull you out."

Haru, do you let her (doesn't take an action on your part)?

Spoiler: Haru

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In this case, allowing you to pull you out when you are not under your own power or active puts you in the category of "object" and not "creature" for the purposes of interactions, just like an unconscious body. This means she would not cause you to provoke an AOO by being passively moved in this regard ... as long as you remain completely "inert." If you do anything of any kind before/during the pullout - if you even go for it - you forfeit being ... object-ified.

[meemaas]

Haru will allow Knuckles to pull him out without resisting. He's smart enough to know where getting back up to fight right away will get him.

[lostsole31]

Knuckles pulls out Haru, releases him, and steps out of the way so he can stand freely.

Haru, you are prone, but safe. What do you do?

[digiman619]

Flair offers Haru a hand up

[lostsole31]

R5T10: Flair helps Haru to his feet. Since he is outside the battlezone, I will put Haru in a delay status.

Spoiler: Flair, Haru

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Instead of Haru getting up, I will assume this is an "assisted lift." This way Flair's action is useful, and Haru is now in a delay status since he can't get into the room.

R5T8: Zarinda, so it's you and Bishop! You are dealing with a stout wound (see sheet). What do you do?

Gray on deck, Bishop in the hole ... Eric, Haru, and 601 delaying ...

[MikelaC1]

The only way to deal with her wound is for Zarinda to eliminate the source of the problem and so, she fires once again

Spoiler: Arrow

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(1d20+7)[27] attack & (1d6+1)[2] damage

[MikelaC1]

crit confirm

Spoiler: Critical

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(1d20+7)[27] confirm & (2d6+2)[8] extra damage

Critical critically confirmed. Too bad LS doesn't use that extra table.

[lostsole31]

R5T8: The only way to deal with her wound is for Zarinda to eliminate the source of the problem and so, she tries to fire again but the Gray is once again ready for this and slashes Zarinda and hits her for 9 ... and she gives out a cry of pain and falls unconscious, dropping her nocked bow and arrow.

R5T5: Patient 601, you've been delaying when Zarinda drops do to an AOO. Do you enter? If so, it will be before the Gray's turn - and consequently before it recovers its AOO. This is important because if you do go in to engage you have to pass through Bishop's square.

Eric or Haru - who have been delaying, can go as well. First to post gets it.

[meemaas]

Seeing as how Haru can't make it into the room, he will instead focus on how powerless he was, needing to be rescued, and try to figure out what to do next time.

Spoiler

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As a result, he will "accidentally" cast an Aegis on himself.
Spending a Spell Point to gain a +3 armor bonus. Lets see the Wild magic!!!

[lostsole31]

Around the corner as he is and with no one saying that Zarinda is actually down, the ashen-faced man delays ...

End Round 5, Begin Round 6 ...

R6T19: The Gray turns its hatred towards the little dog. Both claws just graze along the outside of its coat, but it is fine.

R6T18: Bishop bites at the Gray, but the result is not seen (miss).

R6T17: Eric, you have been delaying. Now Zarinda is down but getting to her might be dangerous. What do you do?

Spoiler: Battle Map

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Note that the spot where Flair is happens to be a little "pinched" ... something I can't show on a basic grid map. The square of rubble is too full to travel through/on, but doesn't impede attacks/ threatening/ LOS across.

Knuckles on deck, Flair in the hole, Haru/ 601 delaying ...

[lostsole31]

R6T17: Eric pushes against the gray with his mind, shouting from the extreme effort. The Gray is suddenly jerked upward into the ceiling for 6, and it falls down, just managing to roll with the fall to keep from getting hurt but still landing prone. Eric's head is faint, and there is a ticklishness at his upper lip. Quickly brushing there he sees that he has a nosebleed (no bleed damage). He suddenly feels weighed down some by his gear.

Spoiler: Eric

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You are exhausted, you suffered 1 CON burn, and now you are carrying a Medium load (-3 ACP), in addition to ability/ speed penalties.

R6T10: Flair, you can see what is happening. The gray is prone, Zarinda is down. Eric is behind you looking really woozy with a bloody nose. What do you do?

Haru (delaying) on deck, gray in the hole ... Patient 601 delaying ...

[digiman619]

Spoiler

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A prone opponent and not a lot of room to move? IT'S ELBOW DROP TIME!

Flair slams the grey before getting out of the way.

Spoiler: OOC

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Standard: Using Morituri Te Salutante on an unarmed strike. I'm going pretend it's an elbow drop.
Attack: (1d20+3)[9]
Damage: (1d6+1)[6] + (1d6)[5]
Move: Get out of Dodge. Acrobatics check if needed: (1d20+6)[24]

[lostsole31]

R6T10: Flair moves into the room to where Zarinda lies so he can reach the Gray and goes to do an elbow drop. Even though the Gray is on the ground, its gangly arms are just fine to attack. Instead of going for the man's legs the Gray must be overconfident in thinking it can drop Flair again and it waste time going high to cut his chest open ... only to be blocked by Flair's lamellar cuirass. Flair gets to where Zarinda was and goes for an elbow drop but simply smacks hard against the gray's very firm hide.

Spoiler: Flair

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You had to use your MA at the start to get into position. You don't have 10' reach, and you can't stay in the same square as Bishop. So, you are now where Zarinda's bleeding form lays.

R6T9: Haru, Flair just vacated a spot at the entryway, so if you want to move forward there and take potshots at the Gray, that's fine. Alternately, you could reach into Bishop's square and pick up your nunchaku without worry of an AOO. What do you do?

Zarinda on deck (literally), P601 in the whole ...

[stack]

(Eric can concentrate of the effect, though it gets a new save each round, so it should be hovering at the ceiling, not prone on the floor. Can still attack normally and suffer no AC penalties, just can't move under its own power.)

[pfm1995]

Hot-stepping around Haru, the man in the turban reaches the door and cuts down at the Gray with a wicked overhand chop. As he does so, all the world save the Grey and what he can see of himself shifts slightly out of focus.

Spoiler: OOC

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Moving to where Flair was.
Spending two mental focus to use Sudden Insight for a +1 to my attack roll.
Attack: (1d20+4)[19]
Damage: (1d6+4)[8] (Two-handed attack)
The Gray's benefit from cover and penalty from being prone (assuming it's not hovering on the ceiling) should balance out. Also, quick reminder that it's at a -2 to all saves.

[lostsole31]

601 has nowhere to go but the entrance ... out of range of the Gray, but he now takes up the space at the entrance unless he backs out in favor of someone with ranged attacks.

[meemaas]

Seeing as Haru can't get back to the fight, he simply waits for a chance from his current vantage point.

[lostsole31]

R6T9.5: Hot-stepping around Haru, the man in the turban reaches the door and cuts down at the Gray with a wicked overhand chop. It holds up its hand instinctively to bat the sword away but gets cut in its upper right arm for 8. All the world save the Grey and what 601 can see of himself shifts slightly out of focus.

R6T9: Seeing as Haru can't get back to the fight, he simply waits for a chance from his current vantage point.

End Round 6, Begin Round 7 ...

R7T19: The gray attempts to stand, provoking the expected AOOs: Bishop bites hard but his small mouth can't penetrate the gray's hide. After his elbow drop, Flair did a roll backwards into a plank position and had calculated the timing to spin on his hands on the ground like a gymnast on a "horse" and kicks the gray's right hand as both rise up - Flair landing in a back somersault on his feet, and his target taking 6 from the momentum of a less experienced but smarter fighter. Once it is almost balanced, 601 catches a piece of it across its belly for 7. Blood now streaming from multiple wounds and contusions on the enemy, it looks at what may well be the last three creatures it will ever get to see with its unfathomable eyes. Instead of attacking one of the two men (or the annoying dog), the creature instead swipes towards Flair ... and past him towards his feet, slashing across Zarinda's left lower arm for 6, and blood flowing out of her veins.

R7T18: Bishop bites hard onto the gray's arm as it retracts from that sadistic attack for 5.

R7T17: Eric, you no longer have TK over the Gray (see OOC). It is on its feet and obviously badly wounded. Zarinda is down and had just taken another cheap shot, but you cannot physically get to her, and you don't know if she is alive or dead. What do you do?

Knuckles on deck (she will have to delay), Flair in the hole ...

[lostsole31]

Flair, what do you do?

Patient 601 on deck, Haru in the hole ...

[digiman619]

Spoiler

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*tunes up band*

SWEET CHIN MUSIC!

Flair kicks the grey in the chin before backing out of the room.

Spoiler: OOC

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Standard Action: Unarmed Strike Attack: (1d20+3)[23] Damage: (1d6+1)[4]
Move Action: Getting the @#$% out of Dodge. I mean it this time!

[digiman619]

Critical confirmation: (1d20+3)[7]

EDIT: Dang it. Was hoping the kick would decapitate it.

[pfm1995]

Stepping forward to let Flair pass, the ashen-faced man cuts at the squirming thing again.

Spoiler: Rolls

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Attack: (1d20+3)[8]
Damage: (1d6+4)[5]

[lostsole31]

R7T10: Flair kicks the grey in the chin for a mighty 15 as its head snaps back, it lifts up and does a somersault and then lands on the ground oddly ... and slightly twitching. Mighty as that was in dropping the bad guy, the chin kick was part of Flair's movement in getting out of the room.

R7T9: Stepping forward to let Flair pass, the ashen-faced man cuts at the slightly twitching thing and only just barely cutting into its skull for 5 ... enough so that it is no longer even twitching.

Eric and Haru (only) ... you were delaying. Do you do anything? Eric sees that the thing is dropped, Haru does not. No verbal report was given for the rest of the group.

[stack]

"Its down. Let me check Zarinda." Eric says, pushing his way forward.

Spoiler

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check for life, 1 SP for cure (1d8+1)[6]

[meemaas]

Haru, having heard that the thing is down, turns back to where they came from and starts off that way to allow more room for everyone else to get out of the cramped space. "Then let us bring that body back to those others."

[lostsole31]

Eric has to move to Zarinda, and then he checks for signs of life so he doesn't waste the magic if she is already dead. ... she has the barest hint of life in her.

Spoiler

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Sorry, that was two actions.

Spoiler: DM Rolls for all to see

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And here it is for all to see, Eric got to Zarinda and checked her just as she was 1 hit point from shuffling off the mortal coil.
If she rolls a natural '20', she stabilizes and Eric can heal her. If not ... (1d20)[7]

EDIT: But the time it took to check on her was the critical time lost. Zarinda gives a death rattle as Eric holds her in his arms, too late even for his magic.

[digiman619]

Flair's smile drop as soon as he sees Zarinda's prone form. He then rushes to Eric's side and asks "Is she...?"

[pfm1995]

The ashen-faced man steps up to the Gray. "*It*. It is dead, yes." While he examines its body, his bird hops forward and pecks forlornly at Zarinda.