trollthumper Posted July 1, 2011 Author Posted July 1, 2011 All right. When it comes to forms of magical energy, you see a whole rainbow of schools and forms of magic dancing off of it - fire magic, kinetic energy, infernal magic, necromancy, glamour, healing, plant control, and so forth. Whereas normally the magic would be restrained, it looks like it's unfurling and going everywhere, forming solid strands that stretch through the library. As for the text, it's much like the converted children's book - a mixture of Latin, Aramaic, Enochian, and other dead languages, with margin notes in Italian. The book, however, appears open to a section on the summoning and binding of elementals, and one of the notes reads "Sycorax's accomplishment." That should ring a bell - Sycorax was an infernalist, exiled from Tunis for her unclean arts and immortalized in literature in the pages of The Tempest.
Ecalsneerg Posted July 6, 2011 Posted July 6, 2011 I'll just treat freezing it as a Snare. In case it tries to fly at us and eat our face.
trollthumper Posted July 8, 2011 Author Posted July 8, 2011 Fight scene! For those of you who haven't met our villains, they are Caliban and Ariel. Yes, those Caliban and Ariel. They are as written. The ghosts, four of them, will be portrayed by AA's Ghost template, beefed up to PL12. That means Attack +8 (+12 Melee), Defense +12 (+4 flat-footed), Toughness +12, Fortitude +9, Reflex +9, Will +9, and powers adjusted to match caps. Caliban goes on 9. Ariel goes on 5. The Ghosts go on 23, 14, 8, and 7. Nick goes on 20.
Aoiroo Posted July 8, 2011 Posted July 8, 2011 Changeling takes ten arcane lore to get 20 to know who these two are.
trollthumper Posted July 8, 2011 Author Posted July 8, 2011 All right, then: Caliban and Ariel are two entities who appear as characters in Shakespeare's The Tempest. Caliban is the son of the sorcerer Sycorax and a demon named Setebos. He was left abandoned on a desert island after his mother strode into Hell with her patron; when the mage Prospero and his daughter Amanda came to the island, he aided them, but after he tried to rape Miranda, he was bound into Prospero's service with a geas. Ariel, meanwhile, was an air elemental, summoned by Sycorax herself and bound into a tree, meant to provide knowledge to the sorceress. He was freed from the tree by Prospero, and served him somewhat willingly, though he kept asking after his freedom. He was finally granted it when Prospero left the isle to reclaim his dukedom in Naples. Fun fact: at the end of the play, Prospero said he would "drown his book." The book that seems to be leaking magic looks like it's sustained some water damage... And with that, Initiative. Ghost 1: 23, Unharmed, 0 HP Nick Cimitiere: 20, Unharmed, 4 HP Gaian Knight: 16, Unharmed, 2 HP Ghost 2: 14, Unharmed, 0 HP Changeling: 12, Unharmed, 1 HP Caliban: 9, Unharmed, 0 HP Ghost 3: 8, Unharmed, 0 HP Ghost 4: 7, Unharmed, 0 HP Equinox: 6, Bruised x1, 3 HP Ariel: 5, Unharmed, 0 HP Ghost 1 goes first, swooping out towards Nick. He misses horribly. Nick gets a Hero Point because his Binders of the Dead, Beware Complication has been invoked, and to reflect that, he's going right the hell after Caliban and Ariel rather than, y'know, the ghosts he'd be mostly in a position to banish. He attempts to use Ignis Fatuus on Caliban. It hits, necessitating a DC24 Will save. Which he makes. Gaian Knight is up next.
Fox Posted July 8, 2011 Posted July 8, 2011 Ranged Attack Roll vs. Caliban (snare; Power Attack -2/+2) (1d20 + 12 - 2=21) Hooray for flat-footed enemies at the start of combat. DC22 (base) + 2 (power attack) = DC24 Reflex save for the big guy. Fail is entangled and anchored, fail by 5+ is bound helpless, anchored, and fully sense-obscured.
trollthumper Posted July 8, 2011 Author Posted July 8, 2011 And Caliban gets Entangled. Ghost 1: 23, Unharmed, 0 HP Nick Cimitiere: 20, Unharmed, 4 HP Gaian Knight: 16, Unharmed, 2 HP Ghost 2: 14, Unharmed, 0 HP Changeling: 12, Unharmed, 1 HP Caliban: 9, Unharmed, Entangled, 0 HP Ghost 3: 8, Unharmed, 0 HP Ghost 4: 7, Unharmed, 0 HP Equinox: 6, Bruised x1, 3 HP Ariel: 5, Unharmed, 0 HP As he can still direct the ghosts, however, one of them goes flying towards Nick. The ghost hits, necessitating a DC27 Toughness save on his part. He makes it ably. Changeling is up next.
Aoiroo Posted July 8, 2011 Posted July 8, 2011 Changeling strikes Caliban, 22, I think that hits, DC 29 will save.
trollthumper Posted July 8, 2011 Author Posted July 8, 2011 That most certainly hits, and Caliban is... knocked on his ass. This will likely piss Ariel off, but zhe hasn't acted yet. Ghost 1: 23, Unharmed, 0 HP Nick Cimitiere: 20, Unharmed, 4 HP Gaian Knight: 16, Unharmed, 2 HP Ghost 2: 14, Unharmed, 0 HP Changeling: 12, Unharmed, 1 HP Ghost 3: 8, Unharmed, 0 HP Ghost 4: 7, Unharmed, 0 HP Equinox: 6, Bruised x1, 3 HP Ariel: 5, Unharmed, 0 HP So the Ghosts act. One goes after Gaian Knight, one goes after Changeling. Both hit, necessitating a DC27 Toughness save. Equinox is up next.
Aoiroo Posted July 8, 2011 Posted July 8, 2011 20, so Changeling is bruised and stunned, okay not the worse thing since she keeps her defense bonus.
Fox Posted July 8, 2011 Posted July 8, 2011 Toughness Save vs. Ghost's Attack, DC27 (1d20 + 15=17) Pff, no. Toughness Save REROLL vs. Ghost's Attack, DC27 (1d20 + 15=33) Much better.
Ecalsneerg Posted July 8, 2011 Posted July 8, 2011 OK, let's go Ghostbusting. Standard Action: Use Blast 11, which has Affects Insubstantial 2 thanks to her wand applying it to the entire array. All-out Attack for 2, against the ghost which attacked Nick. Blast; DC26 (1d20+13=17) Hero Point Re-roll! Will it hit? (1d20+13=22) Well, seeing as I have to add 10 to get 32 to hit, very very likely yes. Free Action: Activate Impervious Toughness 11 Move Action: DC21 to maintain her Impervious as a free action. (1d20+16=32). Success!
trollthumper Posted July 9, 2011 Author Posted July 9, 2011 Okay, Ghost 2 takes a Bruise. Ghost 1: 23, Unharmed, 0 HP Nick Cimitiere: 20, Unharmed, 4 HP Gaian Knight: 16, Unharmed, 2 HP Ghost 2: 14, Bruised x1, 0 HP Changeling: 12, Bruised x1, Stunned (Ghost 4's Action), 1 HP Ghost 3: 8, Unharmed, 0 HP Ghost 4: 7, Unharmed, 0 HP Equinox: 6, Bruised x1, 2 HP Ariel: 5, Unharmed, 0 HP It's now Ariel's move. Zhe floats up to the top of the room as a Move action, and launches a lightning blast at Equinox. It just hits, necessitating a DC27 Toughness save. We're now in Round 2, and it's Ghost 1's turn. It goes for Changeling, and misses wildly even though she's Stunned. Then it's Nick's turn. As he's still somewhat pissed off at the people in charge here, he decides to take it out on Ariel, launching Ignis Fatuus at her. It just misses. Gaian Knight is up next.
Fox Posted July 9, 2011 Posted July 9, 2011 Bookkeeping: GK's down to 1HP, since he had to reroll a toughness save. Well, not much he can do about those ghosts! Ariel, then. Ranged Attack Roll vs. Ariel (autofire blast) (1d20 + 12=26) DC27 (base) + 1 (autofire bonus) = DC28 Toughness Save.
trollthumper Posted July 10, 2011 Author Posted July 10, 2011 The blast hits Ariel... but goes right through hir, as all the descriptors on the Blast are physical, and zhe has Insubstantial 2. Ghost 2 sweeps at Nick, and misses. Changeling's up, and while she's Stunned, she could spend an HP to drop the condition and act.
Aoiroo Posted July 10, 2011 Posted July 10, 2011 Sure, spend an HP, she attacks a ghost 3, 26, that's a hit I believe, DC 29 Will save, and her attacks affect insubstancial normally.
trollthumper Posted July 11, 2011 Author Posted July 11, 2011 As it's a mental attack, that will hit. And the ghost is now Stunned and Staggered. Ghost 1: 23, Unharmed, 0 HP Nick Cimitiere: 20, Unharmed, 4 HP Gaian Knight: 16, Unharmed, 2 HP Ghost 2: 14, Bruised x1, 0 HP Changeling: 12, Bruised x1, 0 HP Ghost 3: 8, Stunned (Changeling's Action), Staggered, 0 HP Ghost 4: 7, Unharmed, 0 HP Equinox: 6, Bruised x1, 2 HP Ariel: 5, Unharmed, 0 HP Ghost 4 acts, and takes a swing at Equinox. It hits, necessitating a DC27 Toughness save. Equinox is up next.
Ecalsneerg Posted July 14, 2011 Posted July 14, 2011 DC27 Toughness save (1d20+11=28) Noxy apparently ain't afraid of no ghosts. Next action... Standard Action: Make things go all fiery and what-not. All-out Power Attacking for 2... DC28 fire Blast against Ariel (1d20+11=27) Well, that hits. Sadly, Equinox is now at Defence 19 for this round, but eeeeeeh. Move Action: Maintain Impervious Toughness: DC21 Concentration roll (1d20+16=30) Easily. This has been a round for good rolls, apparently.
trollthumper Posted July 15, 2011 Author Posted July 15, 2011 And Ariel takes a Bruise. Ghost 1: 23, Unharmed, 0 HP Nick Cimitiere: 20, Unharmed, 4 HP Gaian Knight: 16, Unharmed, 2 HP Ghost 2: 14, Bruised x1, 0 HP Changeling: 12, Bruised x1, 0 HP Ghost 3: 8, Stunned (Changeling's Action), Staggered, 0 HP Ghost 4: 7, Unharmed, 0 HP Equinox: 6, Bruised x1, 2 HP Ariel: 5, Bruised x1, 0 HP Zhe responds by dropping lightning again, aiming for Nick this time. Zhe misses. Ghost 1 decides to follow up by attacking Nick again. He does not miss. Nick must make a DC27 Toughness save... and he does. Nick uses the Homing property on the Ignis Fatuus that missed last turn to try again. It hits. (Got the Ranged Attack modifier wrong last time, but I'm letting that result stand.) Zhe needs to make a DC24 Will save... and gets Stunned and Staggered. He responds with another gout of Ignis Fatuus, this time using All-Out Attack to -2 DEF/+2 ATT. It hits, and... zhe saves. Ah well. Now, Ariel's Insubstantial is Continuous, so it's staying up even though zhe's Stunned. Hir Force Field, however, requires a Concentration check. And it's down, reducing hir effective Toughness to +1 until zhe can get it back up. Ghost 1: 23, Unharmed, 0 HP Nick Cimitiere: 20, Unharmed, 4 HP Gaian Knight: 16, Unharmed, 2 HP Ghost 2: 14, Bruised x1, 0 HP Changeling: 12, Bruised x1, 0 HP Ghost 3: 8, Stunned (Changeling's Action), Staggered, 0 HP Ghost 4: 7, Unharmed, 0 HP Equinox: 6, Bruised x1, 2 HP Ariel: 5, Bruised x1, Stunned (Nick's Action), Staggered, Force Field Down, 0 HP Gaian Knight is up next.
Fox Posted July 15, 2011 Posted July 15, 2011 Well, in the interests of not having GK sit on his hands for the fight (and in the interests of moving things along!), let's push his descriptors a bit. Yay, magic! Extra-effort stunt, based on the mythology of Jasper, said to drive away evil spirits: Blast 12 (Extras: Autofire 2 [+1 per 1 over DC, max +5], Flaws: Limited [spirits], Feats: Affects Insubstantial 2, Variable Descriptor [bludgeoning, Piercing, Slashing]) [39/40pp] GK spends an HP to waive his fatigue. Ranged Attack Roll vs. Ghost 3 (stunted autofire blast; Power Attack -2/+2) (1d20 + 12 - 2=14) If I recall, ghosts have +4 defense when flat-footed; a stunned ghost should have +2. 14-2= 2. DC27 (base) + 2 (power attack) + 2 (autofire bonus) = DC31 Toughness save for Ghost 3.
trollthumper Posted July 15, 2011 Author Posted July 15, 2011 That will most certainly hit. Ghost 3 takes a Bruise and refreshes its Stun. Ghost 1: 23, Unharmed, 0 HP Nick Cimitiere: 20, Unharmed, 4 HP Gaian Knight: 16, Unharmed, 1 HP Ghost 2: 14, Bruised x1, 0 HP Changeling: 12, Bruised x1, 0 HP Ghost 3: 8, Bruised x1, Stunned (Gaian Knight's Action), Staggered, 0 HP Ghost 4: 7, Unharmed, 0 HP Equinox: 6, Bruised x1, 2 HP Ariel: 5, Bruised x1, Stunned (Nick's Action), Staggered, Force Field Down, 0 HP Ghost 2 goes swinging for GK. It misses. Changeling is up next.
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