Seven of Fates: Chapter I (IC)

[TheShadowSage]

Your characters are headed to Sylbem, a major city in the Holy Empire of Khitahn with a small caravan, your reasons for traveling with the caravan can be anything from wanting to make some extra money as a guard, or just for some company for the road. Either way, you're there.

The first night, you all had a strange "dream". (For out Warforged friend it was more like a vision) In it, an angelic figure came to you, and explained that you have some tests before you. Tests to measure your worthiness. If you were to prove yourself virtuous and good, you would be bestowed a great honor and be rewarded by God.

When you woke up, things were completely normal, was the dream real? However, it wasn't long after the caravan got moving, that there was a commotion up front. That is where this story begins.

OOC:

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Sorry for the lame opening. I have trouble starting games for just that reason. It gets better, I swear.

[Awesomologist]

Jonias looks around at his fellow travelers while scratching the stubble on his face. His gaze lingers in study at the mechanical wonder to his right traveling with the Tiefling. He had heard of the Warforged before, studied them in books, but he had never seen one up close!
Gathering his thoughts over the dream from the night before he ponders it's meaning to himself, only interrupted by his thoughts on the Warforged. That is until the commotion started. Being in the middle he looks towards the activity trying to see more...

OOC:

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I'm assuming Jonias has a clear view of what's happening in front of them. Is the caravan heading south? If so is the commotion in front of them or behind? If he cannot see or hear more he will move forward a few squares until he can.

[Shular]

Brock

Brock finishes checking on his cask of ale, his mind only partly on ensuring it is secure. The dream weighed on his mind, and he wonderd if this was a part of his elemental pact, and where his future would consist of nebulous tasks.

At the sound of the commotion, he leans over to look beyond the wagon. Seeing the fallen guards and the swordsmen standing over them, he realizes what's happing in a flash.

"Ambush!" he shouts, privately regretting he hadn't taken a quick drink from the cask while he'd had the chance.

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I'm assuming the guards were taken out during the surprise round, so...

Initiative: (1d20+1)[8]

[Silverkiss]

Julius Holyshield

The tall dragonborn was pleased that he joined this caravan; he had found some strange people indeed, and his natural curiosity made him be even a little indelicate, staring sometimes at the warforged and the tiefling.

When the angel came to Julius' dream, he was certain of his path. He packed his things as soon as he awakened, got on his horse and followed the caravan slowly, meditating. When he heard the commotion, Julius suddenly snaped back to reality, and rushed with his horse to the front of the caravan, unsheating his trusted blade.

"Halt, swordsmen ! Stop your vile actions ! Drop your weapons, and you will be spared. Fail to do so and taste the wrath of my holy fire !"

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Initiative - (1d20)[4]
Intimidate - (1d20+6)[15]

[Myshlaevsky]

Faith

On-duty at the back of the caravan, the Warforged didn't notice the unfolding commotion until it was well underway. His mind was weighted with the earlier vision - not on the understanding of it, but the reality. The meaning was clear - he'd be given tests. The messenger was direct, and the message abrupt. But... An angel of God?! Just thinking about it sent ice through his bones. How could I - so insignificant, so... mechanical - how could I be picked out especially by the Lord?

Faith grabbed the railing tight, shuddering at the thought, and chastised himself for his questions. The event was not to be worried over - It was a sign from the Lord! - but to be accepted. The awaiting trials would be completed. Looking up, he noticed something happening further up the caravan, and turned to the tiefling beside him. They hadn't talked much since greeting each other this morning - something seemed different, somehow. Pointing forward, speaking in a deep whisper, he said,"I request your assistance, Rieta - there appears to be an incident that needs stopping." He unclasped the hammer on his back and strode forward, full of purpose.

[Pinnacle]

Rieta

That was a strange dream, certainly, and one that weighed on Rieta's mind. She wasn't sure it really was a dream, exactly, but she certainly wasn't sure that it was truly a message either. She had thought about telling Faith, but had decided against it. He didn't dream, after all, and she wasn't sure if anyone had ever explained to him what dreaming was; she didn't think talking about it was worth trying to deal with that first.

She heard the noise, then the warforged announced that he wanted to go help out and several other people seemed to be doing the same. Fair enough.
"That shouldn't be like that, should it?" she says with a nod at Faith, "I guess someone has to fix it." She starts to move quickly forward, making sure her shield was readied as she went.

And she couldn't help thinking that this might be a "test."

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Rieta will try to get in front of Jonias and anyone else that seems less well armed and armored than herself. She tries to get a clear look at what's going on so she can make a plan.
(1d20+2)[20] Initiative and (1d20)[20] Perception, if needed.
All allies within 10 squares of her also gain +2 to initiative.

[Awesomologist]

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Initiative: d20+8 [roll0]
Perception: (if needed) d20+3 [roll1]

Sorry for not posting this before, if we need to do rolls or checks could you post it in the spoiler?

[Awesomologist]

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The dice bot doesn't seem to be working for me...
Initiative: (d20+8)[22]
Perception: (if needed) (d20+3)[18]

[Myshlaevsky]

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Initiative:(1d20+5)[20]
Perception:(1d20+2)[3]

I meant to ask this before, but - where did the swordsmen come from? Has there been a post I've missed somewhere? Got it - silly of me.

[TheShadowSage]

"Would that we could, mate." says the man in the rear to Julius' threat, "but we got specific orders to stop this caravan. Sorry." he ends with a snide tone.

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I updated the map to represent your positions after you've approached the commotion a bit. I'm also posting the init order.

An explanation: I found it hard to put height of the land on the map, but the road sort of has edges to it, sort of dirt that goes up and clearly defines the road, and the land slopes down on the opposite side of that, so it's basically like little bumpers on the side of the road, they came over the edge. Also, sorry for not being clear on the init roll, I was sort of planning it for whenever you guys struck into action, but the men were gonna stand around and taunt the merchants for a bit before anyone got close. I'm just rolling with it here. >.>

Also; Init order:

Jonias: (22)
Faith: (20+, higher dex)
Rieta: (20-, lower dex)
Men with swords: (16)
Brock: (8)
Julius: (4)

Enemies detected. Engaging forward weapons systems. Engaging shields. Targeting system online. All systems nominal. Waiting for your command.

Edit:

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That would be because I failed. >_<

I'll post their stuff and calculate after after my finals. Sorry.

[Pinnacle]

Rieta

"You're going to fail those orders one way or another," Rieta says angrily, seeing the fallen guards.
She throws her hand forward, her fingers splayed, as she mutters a few odd syllables; a quick burst of flame explodes around several of the thugs and the tiefling smiles.

Glad that worked; finishing this the old fashioned way should be easy enough now, between me and Faith.. Rieta thinks as she strides toward the fight, her hand settling around the comfortable handle of her hammer.

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Scorching burst, centered on the guy in the back, should hit all of them except the one to the side and not hit any guards. (1d20+3)[13], (1d20+3)[7], (1d20+3)[15], and (1d20+3)[16] for attacks (vs Reflex), (1d6+3)[4] fire damage to all it hits.

[Myshlaevsky]

Faith

Faith looks at the downed guards around the swordsmen. Not bothering with words, the warforged gives an inhuman scream that sets the metal of his plates juddering together. He charges towards the man opposite him, hefting his hammer high above his head.

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Moving into combat with the enemy directly across from me, using Passing Attack and shifting to hit the nearest enemy. If the second attack hits, I will use my Item Daily.

First attack:
(1d20+9)[13]
(2d6+9)[14]

Secondary Attack:
(1d20+11)[31]
(2d6+9)[13]
Plus(1d8)[4] and slowed.

Both targets are marked.

EDIT: I'll assume that's a miss. Ah well, what a waste, especially considering the second was a damn critical. That means only the first target is marked, and that my Item Daily is not expended.

EDIT2: It's only plus 7 damage, not 9, not that it matters.

[Awesomologist]

Jonias

Jonias looks around at his traveling companions and can't help but to feel embolden by their presence.
"I wonder if these brigands know that they may have chosen the wrong caravan to attack today", says Jonias to the dwarf next to him as he raises his staff horizontally with one arm extended ahead himself. He places his left hand, clenched in a fist, atop his right hand holding the staff while muttering a few unintelligible words. upon opening his left hand a blue orb of force unleashes itself at the sword bearer directly ahead of him.

[OOC]

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If I'm not mistaken I'm going first since I rolled a 22 for initiative. But I don't see Jonias on the list

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Force Orb targeting the sword bearer directly ahead of Jonias.
Attack: (1d20+6)[17] vs Reflex
Damage: (2d8+5)[7]

If it hits, the following are the attack rolls for the sword bearers to the right, left, and behind the original target.
Secondary Attacks: Target 1 (1d20+6)[15], Target 2 (1d20+6)[16], Target 3 (1d20+6)[20] vs Reflex
Damage: (1d10+5)[11]

[Silverkiss]

Action down in my next post

---

* post roll count doesn't match database

[TheShadowSage]

The one in the back nods in the direction of Faith, then Julius. Then, the one on the left shifts, hits Faith with a forceful blow, dazing him and shifting again up. The next one moves to take his place and strikes with his mace.

The one in the front and to the right rush toward Julius. One strikes with the same force that dazed Faith and manages to hit, while the other one's swing is off-target.

The last man, the one from the back, charges forward and attacks Jonias, hitting him with his mace.

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First off, I'm not even sure Warforged CAN be dazed, but it says nothing against it in the PDF. >.> I've labeled the enemies a-e, hopefully that will help with identification.

A: Shift, Dazing Strike on Faith (8 Damage, Dazed until the end of A's next turn, Shift up).
B: Moves and attacks (2 Damage).
C: Moves to Julius and uses Dazing Strike (2 Damage, Dazed until end of C's next turn, shift up).
D: Moves to Julius and misses.
E: Moves, charges, and hits (6 Damage)

Silverkiss, you'll want to edit your post.

[Silverkiss]

Julius Holyblade

Recovering from the swordsman's blow, Julius holds his trusted blade with both hands, and it suddenly starts to shine with the Holy Light of God. With an inhuman scream, Julius strikes at his agressor.

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Attack on C

(1d20+9)[17] - Holy Strike (vs AC) attack
(2d4+5)[11] - Holy Strike damage

[Myshlaevsky]

Faith

Faith fights against the aching blow throbbing through his head. He grips his maul tightly in both hands and tries to swing it past both his attackers.

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Yeah, Warforged aren't immune to anything.

Minor Action:
Warforged Resolve (1d20)[10] and gain 8 temporary hit points.

Standard Action:
Cleave (1d20+9)[27]
(2d6+7)[10] and 5 damage to adjacent enemy.

Move Action: Shift 1 square down.

Depending on the results of these attacks/saves I may consider other actions. Namely, using my Item Daily or Action Point.

EDIT: That saves, right? I'm going to activate my Item Daily on the hit, dealing 1d8 damage and slowing the target. Roll in the OOC.

[Shular]

Brock

Unwilling to leave the wizard in melee, Brock hefts his hammer, shouts "get back, wiz" to Jonias, and "feel my wrath" <curse> at the adjacent enemy, and swings his hammer.

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Curse human e (minor action)
Attack: (1d20+7)[25] vs AC
Damage: (1d10+4)[8] plus curse (1d6)[6]

If foe drops (unlikely) transfer curse to all foes I can see, and move 3 down to be above human c.

[Awesomologist]

Jonias

Jonias winces as he gets cut by the sword. Taking advantage of the dwarf's attack he shifts back a bit, points his staff at the swordsman and lets loose a magical missile of force.

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Shift back one space
Cast Magic Missile
Attack: (1d20+6)[24] vs. Reflex
Damage: (2d4+5)[10]

Condition
If Jonias gets attacked again he will cast:
Shield an Immediate Interupt if Jonias is hit. Add +4 AC and Reflex until the end of my next turn.

[Pinnacle]

Rieta advances on the human that attacked the warforged.

She swings her own hammer hard, hoping to bring him down--and if that fails, hoping to leave openings for Faith to exploit.

"Faith! I think you can end this quickly if you strike now!"

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Rieta moves into flanking position against human a (move) and attacks with Warlord's Favor.
(1d20+9)[16]
If that hits, (2d10+4)[9] damage and Faith gains a +4 power bonus on attacks against him.