The Savage Tide [IC]

[Tacitus]

Darrius waits for a moment for any sign of the creature and then turns to the others to gesture them closer. Though the sounds of the unfortunate souls still echo in the halls (I think?) he tries to keep his voice down anyhow, "Some sort of two legged beast, claws talons, and probably a wicked bite. I think it could smell me." If he got a good look at the room he'll describe it a bit and where he saw the creature in the room, though he's somewhat sure it'll be waiting for them now.

[lostsole31]

Without seeing it, and from the bizarre description, neither Korian nor the rabbi (nor Celiss or Ka'Xet) have any idea of what such a creature might be.

[Tacitus]

Darrius looks back the way he scouted, trying in vain to listen for any movement despite the noise, and turns back to the others, "If we go in there, we need a plan or to prepare, because it looked damn vicious. So, how shall we tackle this beast?"

Spoiler

And thats pretty much it for me until monday. The Ren Fair is here in town so I'll be out tomorrow through sunday. Like, not even at home, because I'll be staying far closer to it than where I am now.

If possible, I'd like to be NPCd as necessary until the end of the weekend. I left some details in my previous spoiler for non-combat if we go a different way or something, but for combat unless something crazy happens like resistances or immunity he's going to keep on with the shock therapy and trying to flank.

[PersonMan]

Celiss considers the description she received. I'm not sure about how we should go at this. I only have a few spells left, which I'd like to save, if possible... The mage says, half to herself.

[lostsole31]

Korian says, "Might as well go in with fists, claws, sparkly swords, and zappy gloves flying. Surround it, and bring it down with as much speed as possible."

[PersonMan]

Celiss nods. If it turns out to be stronger than we thought, I can cast one of my stronger spells during the combat. She decides. Well, then, let's go.

[lostsole31]

"Very well, then," says Lazer. "We overwhelm it with a dedicated assault."

Marching order .....

Spoiler

Korian
Lazer
Celiss
Ka'Xet
Darrius ... but order does not mean delay on initiative.

The party moves towards that room, but Korian says, "Let's creep there until we spot the blighter. That way I can also bring my nose and senses to bear."

As he gets to the entrance, the slow movement ends and he whispers, "He's right around the corner, but sure as you're born he smells me as well."

R1T26: As if to answer Korian with blinding speed, the creature bursts from around the corner ... leaving the party trapped in a line formation and unable to pass around. It jumps up and slashes with its feet, Korian's instincts saving him from a crit, and the talons gut the swordsage for 10 damage. A foreclaw hits him in the chest for 5 damage, but the next one crits him for 9 damage. In this split-second, Korian only has a chance to mount a defense to block the final bite.

R1T16: Celiss, because the party got caught in a line with this thing blocking, you are not up front and once again without a missile weapon. Delay?

[PersonMan]

Celiss calls Switch with me, I'll try and get to the front. to Korian and Lazer, ready to move forwards through them as soon as an opportunity presents itself.

Actions:

Spoiler

Free: blah blah
Standard: Ready to move to or close to Korian's spot if Lazer/Korian moves to switch with me.

[lostsole31]

R1T16: Celiss calls to Korian and Lazer, "Switch with me; I'll try and get to the front."

She readies to move forwards through them as soon as an opportunity presents itself.

R1T12: Surely, Celiss must realize that with such a heavy, bloodletting volley that Korian would be fully in the throes of his blood-curse ... but somehow, and amazingly, he holds firm. His focus gets better with every combat.

"Now!" he yells to Celiss, withdrawing to her point as she moves up to where he was.

R1T11.9: Ka'Xet, what do you do?

[lostsole31]

R1T11.9: Ka'Xet is pretty sure that this creature reminds him of some type of bipedal animal, but with all the bizarre deformations, he can't be sure and he fires his bow, hitting the thing squarely in the head for 6 mod damage. It is a fine hit, but Ka'Xet knows that his bow should've done so much better ... better than even his mindblade could normally do ... and he realizes that this thing, too, might be more surely damaged with his mindblade on following attacks.

R11T7: The rabbi calls, "Everyone, make a fighting withdrawal into the chamber where the cook and his cronies started. That way we can surround this thing!"

He then casts CMW on Korian for 20 healing, and then he backs out of this cramped pwy as he recommended. Nobody knew his healing magic was that powerful ... well exceeding what Darrius and Celiss believe he would otherwise be able to do.

R16: Darrius, you are 20' from this thing, and you are currently HiS (hiding in shadows). Ka'Xet is in front of you, then Korian, then a gap, then Celiss. What do you do?

[lostsole31]

R16: Unseen by the others, Darrius moves into the galley chamber to get ready to 'welcome' the critter.

End Round 1, Begin Round 2 ...

R2T26: With Celiss standing right in front of this thing, there is only one target. The thing jumps, slashing with its razor-sharp talons, but Celiss jumps up high enough to dodge. As she comes down, however, a foreclaw catches her in her right foot for 4 damage. She lands, ducking the other foreclaw, but the thing bites her in the chest from above, across her clavicle. Only her reflexes just help her to keep it from beign a crit as she takes 7 damage.

R2T12.1: Celiss, you are toe-to-talon with this thing that already has put a hurting on you. Do you take Lazer's advice and strike-tumble out of there into the galley chamber so the rest of the party can surround it?

[PersonMan]

Celiss finds that, despite a surge of anger flowing through her, she feels no urge to stay in single combat with the beast. She shifts her weight slightly, balling one fist before suddenly extending her sword arm, hoping to cut into the beast's chest, before retreating to join her comrades.


Actions:

Spoiler

At-tack!
(1d20+6)[25]
Damage:
(1d6+3)[6]

Aaand I'll Tumble away. Acrobatics, although my bonuses are the same either way...
(1d20+8)[22]

Also, I've been working in some 'fiendish influence' stuff, as you've probably noticed, surrounding the times she uses her SLAs.

[PersonMan]

The sudden movement of her blade, as well as the wave of anger that seems to only sharpen her senses, brings Celiss' blade close to what could be vital organs!

Crit Confirm:

Spoiler

(1d20+6)[18]

[lostsole31]

R2T12.1: Celiss finds that, despite a surge of anger flowing through her, she feels no urge to stay in single combat with the beast. She shifts her weight slightly, balling one fist before suddenly extending her sword arm, hoping to cut into the beast's chest. The sudden movement of her blade, as well as the wave of anger that seems to only sharpen her senses, brings Celiss' blade close to what could be vital organs! But its hide is just barely tough enough to keep the short sword from striking its heart. Her short sword only does 1 mod damage. Celiss then retreats to join her comrades.

R2T12: Korian tumbles into the chamber.

R2T11.9: Ka'Xet, you are 15' from this thing, and the rest of the party is in the chamber behind you. What do you do?

[lostsole31]

R2T11.9: Ka'Xet knows that he is the most vulnerable member of the group when it comes to armor-vs-speed. He fires an arrow at it for good measure, but it doesn't quite cut through the creature's hide. He then falls back at a (for him) stunning 40' move to be well into the room.

R2T7: Lazer makes sure to move next to Celiss, and casts CLW on her to bring her to full.

R2T6: Darrius, you are closest to the entrance from the hallway, where the creature would end up being surrounded by you and your comrades. Do you ready an action to attack 'from the darkness' once it passes and gets into the kill-circle?

[Tacitus]

Darrius tries to dissolve into the shadows as best he can as he waits and hopes for the creature to take the bait.

Spoiler

MTA: (1d20+4)[13] (+2 if flanking, potentially vs FF?)
Elec: (3d6)[8]

SnA?: (1d6)[3]

[lostsole31]

R2T6: Darrius tries to dissolve into the shadows as best he can as he waits and hopes for the creature to take the bait.

End Round 2, Begin Round 3 ...

R3T26: The strange creature tears around the corner right into the net of tasty morsels waiting for it. It faces to the right (Lazer and Celiss stand by each other), and tries to bite at the dwarf but Lazer is too agile for the clumsy bite.

R3T23: Darrius erupts from darkness to attack from behind, flanking with Ka'Xet (on the far side, inmost of the group). He touches the thing on the bizarre, wriggly-suckered back at a point he thinks would be a good target, but to his dismay, Darrius only does 8 electricity damage. It seems that even flanking, he wasn't able to distract the thing enough to get a 'sweet spot' on the monster.

R3T12.1: Celiss, you are flanking the monster with Korian. What do you do?

[PersonMan]

Celiss considers simply pummeling the creature with her fists and elbows, but decides that doing so would be insufficient to truly damage it...at least, without some magical enhancement.

Clearing her mind, Celiss adopts a more defensive stance, carefully dividing her attention between the intricate arcane intonations, the accompanying hand movements and keeping her defenses up.

As Celiss finishes the spell, she feels new power fill her, magically buttressing the already present muscles in her form.

Actions:

Spoiler

Standard: Defensively Casting Bull's Strength.
Concentration: (1d20+9)[27] vs DC 16.

[lostsole31]

R3T12.1: Celiss considers simply pummeling the creature with her fists and elbows, but decides that doing so would be insufficient to truly damage it...at least, without some magical enhancement. Clearing her mind, Celiss adopts a more defensive stance, carefully dividing her attention between the intricate arcane intonations, the accompanying hand movements and keeping her defenses up. As Celiss finishes the spell, she feels new power fill her, magically buttressing the already present muscles in her form.

R3T12: Korian, seeing Darrius' strike, grunts out, "Immune to precision strikes and blows to vital organs, I think. We have to take these savaged creatures with pure, sustained brute force."

His stance is no longer so feral, becoming much more enigmatic as frost swirls around him, partially concealing his form. Despite his claim that precise strikes do not good, he still focuses the cold energy surrounding him so it goes into his blade for a single, dedicated strike that hits the thing in the left elbow for a weak 4 damage and nothing else.

R3T11.9: Ka'Xet, you are flanking with Darrius, and you are the one furthest into this chamber. Your bow is in hand (which would be bad to use in melee unless you stepped back 5' (and thus deny Darrius flanking), and your mindblade is not manifested. What do you do?

[srgonzo]

Drop the bow, manifest the mindblade and attack.

ATK:

(1d20+7)[15]

DAM

(1d6+3)[5]

[lostsole31]

R3T11.9: Ka'Xet drops his bow, manifests his mindblade, and attacks, but the creature's bizarre hide deflects the blow.

R3T7: Lazer attacks with his warhammer and misses.

R3T6: Darrius attacks with his lightning gauntlet, but the creature seems to be wary and dodges.

End Round 3, Begin Round 4 ....

R4T26: The monster goes into a whirling fury at its surrounding attackers. It jumps to slash Celiss with its talons, but her shield spell saves her from harm. It slashes at her with its foreclaws but she deflects and dodges both. It then reaches over to bite Ka'Xet in his right thigh for 10 damage.

R4T12.1: Celiss?

[srgonzo]

Oedipus Rex!

Spoiler

Translation: MotherF***ER!!!

[PersonMan]

Celiss, feeling the strength given by her spell rush through her as she moves, strikes at the beast twice, once with a spell-strengthened punch and then with a kick from below, hoping to exploit even the smallest weakness in the beast's defense.

Rolls:

Spoiler

Flurry time.
Attack:
1: (1d20+8)[20]
2: (1d20+8)[15]
Damage:
(1d6+5)[8]
(1d6+5)[9]

[lostsole31]

With the vicious bite to his thigh, Ka'Xet tries to curse, but his voicebox is injured.

R4T12.1: [Celiss, feeling the strength given by her spell rush through her as she moves, strikes at the beast twice, once with a spell-strengthened punch and then with a kick from below, hoping to exploit even the smallest weakness in the beast's defense. The first strike just barely gets through the thing's hide, thanks to the distraction provided by Darrius on the other side, doing 3 mod damage. The second strike cannot penetrate, however.

R4T12: Korian, still partially hidden in trails of frost, is able to coat his rapier, teeth, and claw with ice again. His rapier hits the thing in the right upper chest for 4 weapon and 8 cold damage. As the rapier goes high, his left claw swipes down at the thing's right foot. The claw sticks in just a little - not enough to do any weapon damage - but enough for the ice to do 8 cold as his jaws snap threateningly and the ice on the weapons breaks or slides off.

R4T11.9: Ka'Xet? You are flanking with Korian. What do you do?

[srgonzo]

ATK

(1d20+7)[11]

DAM
(1d6+3)[4]

[lostsole31]

R4T11.9: Ka'Xet stabs and misses.

R4T7: A surprise hit scored by the feisty rabbi for 5 damage with his warhammer, plus 2 fire.

R4T6: Darrius, you are currently flanking with Celiss and Lazer. What do you do?

[lostsole31]

R4T6: Darrius touches the right talon of the creature with his lightning gauntlet for 6 electricity.

End Round 4, Begin Round 5 ...

R5T26: The monster leaps at Rabbi Eliezer with its talons, scoring a crit on his right shoulder for a horrifying 22 damage, showing an exposed rotator cuff and the dwarf fares very badly. A foreclaw swipe at Celiss is deflected by her shield, but the second slashes across her right thigh for 6 damage. It then bites at Darrius, and only his scales save him from harm.

R5T12.1: Celiss, what do you do?

[PersonMan]

Celiss determines that, as she lacks healing powers and trying to use her newly-discovered inner reserves of arcane energy would be both difficult and all but useless, she will simply continue to hammer the creature, hoping to kill it before it can do more damage. Celiss considers using her potion for a moment before discarding the idea - unless this thing landed another devastating hit, it would probably be better to save it. As such, she moves for another kick, followed by an elbow jab. Her kick, however, lacks much of the power that her elbow jab has.

Actions:

Spoiler

Flurrying.
Attacks: (forgot the +2 flanking bonus, so 12 and 24)
(1d20+6)[10]
(1d20+6)[22]
Damage:
(1d6+5)[9]
(1d6+5)[6]

[lostsole31]

R5T12.1: Celiss determines that, as she lacks healing powers and trying to use her newly-discovered inner reserves of arcane energy would be both difficult and all but useless, she will simply continue to hammer the creature, hoping to kill it before it can do more damage. Celiss considers using her potion for a moment before discarding the idea - unless this thing landed another devastating hit, it would probably be better to save it. As such, she moves for another kick, followed by an elbow jab. Her kick, however, lacks much of the power that her elbow jab has, the latter doing a mere 1 mod damage to its right forearm. At this point, however, every little bit helps, and it is badly, badly wounded.

R5T12: His rapier only manages to hit home courtesy of the spell and flanking, stabbing through its left forearm to also strike into its side for 5 damage. This thing surely has to go down in the next hit or two. His claw slashes across the thing's head but does no damage. His bite misses. "Well, I've run out of tricks," says Korian disappointedly.

R5T11.9: Ka'Xet? Time to redeem yourself. What do you do? Be sure to add +2 to attack rolls for flanking.

[lostsole31]

R5T11.9: Ka'Xet gives a wicked thrust to the thing's very low back/tailbone for 7 damage. Impossible as it seems, this thing still stands.

R5T7: Darrius?