Arena Tournament, Round 13 Finals: Blaize vs. Marge

[Morbius]

Ref Morbius

Maurkov

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You can't see or hear anything of out of the ordinary

[Darius]

ooc: Just checking in...let me know when it is my turn.

[Maurkov]

@refs

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So no empathic signal from the hawk? No sounds of fighting? If that's really the case, she'll shout, "Have you lost track of him?" if not, "are you near him?" and if so, "make some noise."

Marge Round 5c

Marge attempts something that will force an opposed STR check with the spider:
(1d20+2)[10]

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Marge will attempt to withdraw from the spider, and so snap the thread that binds them together. She withdraws to L4-N5, though if she spots Blaize before she gets there, she might revise.

Marge's reactive sense checks for the round were Spot 16 and listen 9.

Refcheck, please

[Morbius]

Ref Morbius


Maurkov

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I am sorry you hawk was supposed to send you any empathic signal? I must have missed that in the constant nonsense being discussed here regularly What was it?

And BTW I don't think that the sound of a hawk using it's claws at someone is enough to be considered battle sound. Your "make some noise" order however is another question

[Darius]

ooc:

for refs:

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It has been established that...

An entangled creature takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls and a –4 penalty on Dexterity, can move at only half speed, and cannot charge or run. If you control the trailing rope by succeeding on an opposed Strength check while holding it, the entangled creature can move only within the limits that the rope allows. If the entangled creature attempts to cast a spell, it must make a DC 15 Concentration check or be unable to cast the spell.

An entangled creature can escape with a DC 13 Escape Artist check (a standard action). The web has 12 hit points and can be burst with a DC 17 Strength check (also a standard action).

Since Marge's action is an opposed STR check, I am going to assume that she is moving away. I don't know if she is Tumbling or not, but it doesn't appear that she is trying to bust the web since it is an opposed check. She could be withdrawing, too (that is a full-round action with no 5' step). Either way...

Also, I want to remind you that the spider reeled in the rope as it approached to be right next to Marge...so even if she succeeds on the STR check, the spider will be dragged right along with her.

Opposed STR check for spider (1d20+2)[21]

I am assuming that you are moving, then. So, I will make the AoO as well.

AoO - (1d20+4)[13]
Damage - (1d8+3)[4] if hit (Fort DC or STR - (1d6)[4] poison drain)

for refs again

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I want to remind the refs that Marge's AC is 4 worse than before...(-1 size, -1 DEX from size, and -2 for entagled Dex penalty)

Spider Stats:
Large Monstrous Spider: 8 rounds
Current Location: last seen D11/E12

22 HP (minus whatever the damage that was done)
14 AC (touch 12, flat 11)
Base Attack/Grapple +3/+9
Bite +4 (1d8+3 plus Fort DC 13 or 1d6 STR)
Web (6 left), tremorsense, vermin, darkvision
Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +1
Str 15, Dex 17, Con 12, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2

[Maurkov]

Marge didn't do anything that would trigger an AoO. She tried to leave a threatened square, but failed. Your turn.

[Darius]

Blaize 6a

Immediately before the start of round 6, Blaize gauges the distance between his position and where he figures Marge to be located behind the wall. He holds out his hand and blows on a jade chip that flares to life with a green flame. Suddenly, a 5' radius cylinder of stones rains down, centered on b9/c9 and b10/c10. The hail of stones does damage - (4d4)[7] to all in that area (no save).

Not done.

ooc:
I hope my game of Battleship is on the mark. I figure that Marge tumbled and ran to either a8 or a9/b9 (60' of move total from c19) based on the spider's position before it was stabbed, but I could be wrong. To have been stabbed - Marge would have to be in either b10 or c10, so this should hit both possibilities without hitting the spider' last position.

Stat Block

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Current Location: T14 with scroll (exp. retreat) in hand (other hand free for casting)
dagger dropped in T14

Spells:
0-level: acid splash(c), resistance, ghost sound, detect magic, daze
1st-level: hail of stone(c), color spray, color spray, hail of stone, shield

5 abrupt jaunts
6/8 HP, AC 21
Note: hit by drow spider poison...new save needed in 9 rounds

Spells active: mage armor (1 hourish), shield (16 rounds)
1 more use of arcanist's gloves


Also, the spider was apparently hit, but this is the stats for it:

Spider Stats:
Large Monstrous Spider: 7 rounds
Current Location: last seen D11/E12

22 HP (minus whatever the damage that was done)
14 AC (touch 12, flat 11)
Base Attack/Grapple +3/+9
Bite +4 (1d8+3 plus Fort DC 13 or 1d6 STR)
Web (6 left), tremorsense, vermin, darkvision
Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +1
Str 15, Dex 17, Con 12, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2

[Darius]

Spider round 6b

The Large Monstrous spider then presses the advantage and bites at Marge.

Attack - (1d20+4)[11]
Damage - (1d8+3)[4] + Fort DC 13 or STR - (1d6)[3] drain

Not done

Spider Stats:
Large Monstrous Spider: 7 rounds
Current Location: last seen D11/E12

22 HP (minus whatever the damage that was done)
14 AC (touch 12, flat 11)
Base Attack/Grapple +3/+9
Bite +4 (1d8+3 plus Fort DC 13 or 1d6 STR)
Web (6 left), tremorsense, vermin, darkvision
Fort +5, Ref +4, Will +1
Str 15, Dex 17, Con 12, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2

[Darius]

Blaize 6c

Blaize Listens - (1d20+5)[11] for any give-away sounds that would indicate he hit his mark and/or if Marge fell (crowd noise/applause/cheers).

ooc: I am not sure if the hail of stones hit, but if they did, the spider bite would have put Marge into negatives since Marge's height dropped her AC 2 (-1 for size, -1 for DEX drop) and the web dropped it another 2 (-4 DEX for entangled) - giving her an AC of 11.

[Maurkov]

I'm not familiar with the spell, so a ref will have to adjudicate whether you have line of effect and if there's anything that might prevent it from leaving Marge staggered. The spider's attack is a hit. save:(1d20+2)[14]

Edit: I should have had a ref roll the spider's str check, the results of which were ooc knowledge.

[Darius]

Pages 108-109 from Spell Compendium:

Hail of Stone
Conjuration (Creation)[Earth]
Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 1
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 round
Range: Medium (100 ft. + 10ft/lvl)
Area: Cylinder (5-ft. radius, 40 ft high)
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

You hold the jade chip before you and blow on it as you end the spell. The chip flares with a green flame and vanishes as rocks begin to fall on your pursuers.

You create a rain of stones that deals 1d4 points of damage per caster level (maximum 5d4) to creatures and objects within the area.

Material Component: A piece of jade worth at least 5 gp.


Since the Area is a Cylinder, LoE to the point of origin (the top of the cylinder) is sufficient.

From SRD:

You must have a clear line of effect to the point of origin of any spell you cast. A burst, cone, cylinder, or emanation spell affects only an area, creatures, or objects to which it has line of effect from its origin (a spherical burst’s center point, a cone-shaped burst’s starting point, a cylinder’s circle, or an emanation’s point of origin).

So, since Blaize's current position allows him to see a point 40' above those squares, it should work.


FYI: Blaize used his Arcanist's gloves to boost the spell up 2 caster levels (reason for the 4d4 instead of 2d4).

[Maurkov]

I believe the rock pillars go floor to ceiling.

Edit: My mistake. Did I mention I hate this map?

[Darius]

I believe the rock pillars go floor to ceiling.

Nope...15' (it is in the Map section of the Waiting Room)

Edit to add Copied Text:

The Arena walls for this map are 30 ft high, with a Climb DC of 30. The pillars are 15 feet tall with a Climb DC of 15.

Edit #2

Edit: My mistake. Did I mention I hate this map?

I have only played on this one and one other thus far. My first match was in the Parthenon or whatever that one is. The rest have been in here. I have grown to like it only because it is the only map I know.


Edit #3

I put in another call for a ref, FYI.

[Darius]

Edit: I should have had a ref roll the spider's str check, the results of which were ooc knowledge.

I was committed to the spell regardless since it was a full round action, so it wouldn't matter too much, I don't think.


Edit: I am beginning to think I should change my Character Profile to "Skip".

[Bigmac]

Looks like the match is over, but I did have on question. I'm not sure how targeting a spell 40ft off the floor works (well in this case I can see how the hail stones would fall to the ground, but in general). If someone can point (or repoint if they already posted it) showing me how that all works, I'll be glad to call this match. We'll now have 3 lvl3 characters waiting for the first 3rd level round.

[Darius]

It would work like this (as posted above):

Since the Area is a Cylinder, LoE to the point of origin (the top of the cylinder) is sufficient.

From SRD:

:
You must have a clear line of effect to the point of origin of any spell you cast. A burst, cone, cylinder, or emanation spell affects only an area, creatures, or objects to which it has line of effect from its origin (a spherical burst’s center point, a cone-shaped burst’s starting point, a cylinder’s circle, or an emanation’s point of origin).

So, since Blaize's current position allows him to see a point 40' above those squares, it should work.

Below is a side-view of the arena to show to help explain:

M=Marge
W=Wall
B=Blaize
*=Point of Origin


-*
-
-.......W
-M.....W
_M___W_______________________________B_______

As you can see, Blaize can see that point (*) above Marge and uses that to be the point of origin for his spell, dropping the stones on Marge.

[Maurkov]

Yes, the targetting works. Darius should have quoted the next para:

"When casting a cylinder-shaped spell, you select the spell’s point of origin. This point is the center of a horizontal circle, and the spell shoots down from the circle, filling a cylinder."

I'm going to crack open the spoilers to see if there's any salvation there.

Edit: I don't see any bad calls, just plenty of bad luck. gg.

[Darius]

Since it looks done, I will wait for confirmation before I look in the spoilers (just in case). However, I take it that Marge was in the area of the spell? Looking at my own graph paper map of the arena, I put Marge in b9/b10 or b9/c10 or c9/c10 or c9/d10 <--as a maybe. I wanted to see if I was on the mark or not.

The big part of the match for me was getting those listen rolls early on when Marge enlarged. I knew I had to press the attack then. Last time we met, Marge hadn't enlarged, so I was pretty fortunate. 20' reach for the win vs. color spray = victory.

That poison had me, too. I thought Marge had put the poison on her spear and not her familiar. That was an awesome play, and my save was very lucky. One roll here or there and the result would have been Marge at the top tier, not Blaize. I totally blew the familiar off as an after thought, but then soon found out that it was tougher than Blaize was (much to my chagrin).

Great game. I do NOT look forward to our next match, for I fear my luck will soon run out. My hat is off to your build and great play.

[theterran]

Ref Terran

Blaize is declared the winner and gains the spoils