Dungeon Master Forum

I take it you didn't read Raixel's post fully, then?


Deephold doesn't understand what is said before the globe of fire strikes him and blasting him backwards. There is a flash of light and a dwarven yell of pain.

The twin Deepholds make silent winces too, and then melt into their natural forms once more. One looks up and sights the origin of the fireball. It rushes forwards to leap up towards the pixie, although perhaps realises the distance to the fluttering creature is too great.

Meanwhile, the second one moved with determination towards Hyanuus, ready to strike the half-orc as he moved towards Deephold. Holding a holy symbol in his hands did not seem to be aiding Haynuus's case.


Stupid 3.5 combat rules....just realised I can't actually attack this turn. Oh well, the two grak-graks are rushing at you lot, one trying to jump up at Petal, the other about to put holes in Haynuus. They aren't frenzying, so you can use intelligent tactics to goad and redirect them. Especially applicable for Petal and Ameena, both of whom are more manoeuverable and can use that to good effect while the fighters try to get some strikes in. For the moment, your various attacks on each other mean the grak-graks aren't imitating anyone. Which is a good and a bad thing, of course

The corridor is roughly a ten foot wide ten foot high place. The one grak-grak will bypass where Ameena is still hidden to attack Deephold/Haynuus's position. I imagine Petal on the other side of the corridor.

Ameena watches with a growing sensation of shocked astonishment as Petal conjures up fire and hurls it at Deephold! She has little time to truly react to this as both grak-graks then shift shape and revert to their natural, rather bizarre-looking forms. As the creatures start to rush forward, Ameena realises that since they're in their natural forms, that must mean that she has no risk of accidentally hurting one of her friends. She knows these creatures are hard to damage, at least for her, but that all she needs to do is provide enough of a distraction that her friends will be able to get in some strong strikes.
As she manoeuvres herself into a position where she can attempt to attack one of them, she has a thought - if healing a friend hurts the grak-grak if that grak-graks is in the shape of the one who was healed, what happens if you just throw a healing potion directly onto the grak-grak? Dare she try it? Well, she thinks, these creatures aren't too badly damaged so far - she won't be doing too much harm if she accidentally restores them...will she?
She decides to give it a go, and quickly reaches into a pouch to pull out a potion. Not really wanting to lose the flask bu smashing it on the creature's hide, she has another idea and instead dribbles it over the blade of her knife, which she then attempts to plunge into the creature.

OOC - Hmm, this being combat I think I should probably have rolled Initiative by now, so...15 (12+3). I don't know how much of the aforementioned action Ameena can carry out in just one turn, but she is attempting the following - get into a flanking position of either of the grak-grals (doesn't matter which - whichever is nearest), get out a potion (it'll be the one Deephold gave her, so an Um-Vi, 3d6 healing), pour said potion onto the blade of her knife, then try to stab the grak-grak with said knife. So, attack roll = bugger. A 1 is still an auto-miss in 3.5, yes? Otherwise that'd be 11 (1+8+2). Damage would be 3, plus (or minus) anything from the healing potion on the blade. And no Sneak Attack damage, I know, because these buggers are undead. I wonder what'd happen if she tried that trick on a living opponent - the knife does damage and then heals it straight awya, perhaps?
And again it tried to eat my post, but I wad ready for it that time .

OOC - You were completely right, Beo. I missed Petal's ball of fire in my rush to hit my pillow. Ghaaahhh! Assume that I posted it BEFORE Petal then

Haynuus was both horrified and satisfied that Deephold was englufed in a ball of fire. He just wasn't expecting Petal to be so aggressive and take out the grak-grak's at all cost. He hoped that the dwarf would not misinterpret her action. "Quick use your holy word now! I'll look after your flank." He had just notice Ameena hop out of the shadows and attempt to attack one of them with flask and blade in hand. It wouldn't be as effective as a big frickin' sword to the head, he thought.

He whirled and chopped at the one standing in front of him. (1d20+13=17, 2d6+4=13, 1d20+8=12, 2d6+4=11) For the butterfly!

Ha. I knew the flinging of fire would get some results! Mostly horrified, but hey.

Petal smiles as the horrid beings shift out of the form of her dwarvish friend. "So! Know you that know we how to hurt you!" she yells at the creatures. Well, it sounded better in Sylvan anyway... she thinks to herself as she attempts to dodge the creatures attack. Dodge on the one thats after Petal She furiously backwings, trying to get out of the range of the beings grasping claws.

"Hey! " she calls to no one in particular. "Hit it now, can we? Not anyone causing pain to? Oh, Deephold. Sorry I am, to hit you!" She hopes the dwarf wont be too angry at her. And she hopes she understood what Ameena was saying to her. Really, really hopes she got it right.

With the half-orc still trying to come to terms with dopplegangers in his mind he replied to Petal somewhat desperately "Yes please Miss Picky!"

He was more concerned with Deephold's reaction to finding himself in a column of fire caused by an ally than the grak-grak in front of him.

Deephold shifted away from the pixie, and it seemed he was dazed for a moment. It was not clear what had and had not gotten through to him in terms of words, however the sight of the undead charging towards the two galvanised the dwarf.

He hefted his mace and held it infront of him, screaming a petition to Larethian. The dwarf's voice cracked from the residual pain of his wounds, and it was probbaly more surprise than the power of faith that stopped the grak-grak. Still, the grak-grak did stop from its swing, shifting from foe to foe with a strange popping hiss from its mouth. The blow against the half-orc did not land, but the grakj-grak's sudden threw off Haynuus's swings, and then stopped short of the target, easily shifted away from.

Ameena had been caught short by the speed of the creatures, and in the rush to put the potion on the blade, she had no chance to actually stab the creature. Still, the remnants of the healing potion glinted on the blade showing it was still viable. Ameena shifted into flanking position, ready to make a new strike...


Meanwhile, the second grak-grak took more swings at the retreating pixie - the thing had far geater reach with its long arms, talons and legs. And was far swifter than the shambling forms Petal had possessed the misfortune to encounter previously.


Ok, assuming the 1 I rolled for the Haynuus attack and the 1 for Ameena's attack are aborted swings instead of actual misses narratively. Deephold didn't really manage to pull together a turning there, not surprising given he'd just been nuked!

Raixel, the grak-grak was right beside Petal, and the corridor is only ten feet tall, so if Petal wants to move backwards, I'll need an acrobatics check to avoid an attack of opportunity. DC 15 as normal, and if you fail Petal takes 15 damage! Also, the grak-grak hasn't finished its move yet (it still gets an attack if you are in range after you backwards movement) so let me know how far she is retreated!

Edit: I'll do a simple map later for everyone to figure stuff out on. As I said before, moving from non-combat spacing where people are allowed to be sensibly spaced, to suddeny being in a combat map where mystically it is a bad thing if you are more than five feet close is a little annoying at times!

Though her attempted strike misses by quite some way, Ameena simply attempts to focus better on her target and try again, slashing out at the undead creature with her potion-coated blade and hoping as she does so that it will have the kind of effect she thinks it might.

OOC - Fairly obviously, another attempted attack...woot that's batter . Attack roll = 29 (19+8+2). Damage = 3 .

Im assuming acrobatics is dex based, neh? Dodgy! (1d20+4=17)

Petal attempts to dodge back out of the range of the swinging claws of the grak grak. Lets say 10 feet or so Once she has retreated to a safe distance, she narrows her opaline eyes at the monstrosity. She was angry. Very angry. It seemed since she had taken her Test, a time of a pixie's life that was supposed to herald a coming of age and entrance into the community as a young adult, her life had been nothing but pain instead of celebration. And these digusting monstrosities were trying to hurt her and her new friends. She had to destroy them, before they took another person's form. She opens her mouth and sings to the ambient mana, a song of rage and pain. The air around her quivers and becomes statically charged. Small sparks of electricity are seen crackling through her hair and arcing between her two pairs of wings.

She has learned much since setting off on her journey, and she feels the song of life resopnding to her pain. She places her hands in the UM position as she had learned all those years ago, but stops for a briefest second and instead fully extends her index fingers and thumbs, touching the tips to their opposite while leaving the other fingers of both hands spread outward in a fan shape. As she places her hands in the runic position for EE, the electricity she has called into the air begins to crackle to a point in the center of the rune-shape.

"EEOHKATHRA" she sings out, her voice crackling like a thousand sparks of static electricity. A bolt of purplish blue lightining arcs out from her hands to strike the grak-grak. Lightning bolt (4d3+4=11). She smiles with satisfaction at being able to be in touch with the natural world to summon that level of spell. But, she did feel drained. She doubted that she would be able to Sing that much mana again without rest.


Edited due to screwy BBCode tags making half the post bold.

This post is just to resolve Petal's round, so Ameena doens't need to post again. Though of course I'm waiting for Ian to post and Raixel can post a reaction.

The grak-grak gave a snicking noise at the retreat of the pixie. What its reaction to the lightning bolt directly to the face was was lost in the crack and dull boom of the spell itself.

There was the unpleasant mixture of ozone and mana scent in the air, and then the equally unpleasant sight of blood as the grak-grak rushed forward and tore into Petals side with a swipe of its burned claw. Its black eyes bored into ther pixie, as if trying to work out the strange small creature. Absently, it waved a bloody talon under where its nose should be, and its face wrinkled as if scenting the air.

Deephold noticed the danger to Petal, but hesitated. "Haynuus, mind the pixie!" he shouted, while drawing himself up to deal with their own temporarily halted grak-grak one way or another.


Why is Petal casting an EE lvel lightning bolt? Natively she can only cast ON level spells. I'm afraid the grak-grak does 12 damage there. Anyway, hopefully one of the two tankier people can draw agro away from you next turn! Remember to move more than 5 feet you'll need another dexterity check.

I'll post the map soon, though basically everyone is right beside a grak-grak right now.

Here you go. Each square is 10 foot, the corridor runs crooked so it can become as wide as 15 foot. Each majopr bend is a choke point where the ceiling gets slightly lower (this was how Petal hid).

As I said, I much prefer keeping things abstract as really to make it combat interesting the corridor needs to be about 20 foot wide! I think 10 - 15 foot is a good compromise, gives you guys a chance to move around but still keeps you close and the corridor dimensions sane.

The half-orc immediately moves to aid of the Pixie, leaving the half-pinted cleric to his luck. From facing the grak-grak who had obviously suffered something from the Dwarf's please to his god he had turned 180º to the pixie. He didn't know if his initial opponent was stunned or just going to whack him when his back was turned.

No matter. Haynuus charged at the back of Petal's opponent (1d20+15=34, 2d6+4=10) making as much noise about it as possible!

Edit: Shit, just seen the map. No charge from the +2 above!

At level, Petal got 1 4th level spell. 4th = EE i assume?

Petal gasps as the grak-grak's claw nails her, digging a deep furrow in her side. She beats her wings frantically, trying to keep herself from thwacking into the wall nearby from the force of the blow.
After slowing her momentum she digs in her satchel for the UMVI potion she placed right on top Since it was the last thing she pulled out of there to offer it to Haynuus. Her senses feel the VI mana contained in the bottle, bubbling away. The wounded pixie gratefully grasps the bottle in numbed fingers and brings it to her mouth, her muscles screaming in protest.

UMVI (2d6=5)

Almost magically our half-orc gets to pommel the thing on the head (1d20+8=22, 2d6+4=12) as he sweeps much closer to the grak-grak now.

Seeing the poor pixie suffer so much at the hands of the the undead fiend he not only chops and hacks his way through the thing but applies a technique he learnt while in a dwarvern bar as a way to start a fight, and thereby draw it's attention away from the petite humanoid.

"You spilt my beer!"

Petal will get a standard action which can be rolled into raixel's next turn, but I will update for everyone's stuff. Then probably should go to bed!


With Petal in danger, Haynuus had charged to her aid. While Petal moved out of the way to gain magical recovery, the half orc swung to take advantage of the grak-grak's distraction and the scorched areas of damage. The blows landed with a satisfying reaction, the airy blade of Haynuus opening deep gashes in the thick skin of the creature.

The grak-grak hissed and spun around, and Haynuus could feel smug that the creature actually looked the worse for wear - worse than any other Haynuus had seen before - had the creature not found a gap in Haynuus's armour with its talons. Blood flowed freely as the claws dug deeply into his shoulder, and the grak grak widened its mouth as if threatening to bit its foe.


Nice wounds. If this were fourth edition, your opponent would be bloody right now. Of course, you've just taken 13 hot points damage in return! Still, you and Petal can perhaps take heart. Well, except for...


Ameena's blow struck true, and although it seemed like a pin-prick in the thick trunk of the grotesque creature she was facing, the grak-grak hissed and spun around, the wound hissing too. Deephold moved to both take advantage of the distraction but also defend Ameena, holding his mace aloft and again calling down the power and grace of Corelleon Larethian.

For a moment the power worked, and the grak-grak was shocked. However, Deephold winced from his burns, and the predicament of the other grak-grak seemed to focus its fellow. With a dismissive punch in the gut the grak-grak shifted forwards to attack

Under its feet, Deephold was lying unmoving on the ground, a pool of blood forming beside the hideous tear in the dwarf's banded mail. The dwarf's mace lay by his side, the blood slowly obscuring the crescent moon engraving.


So Ameena, the poisoning thing seemed to have had some form of effect! IF I didn't say before, you should still have 2d6 worth of potion left to either use to heal, or use to further wet the blade. Unlike normal thick poison that would stick to the blade, a potion will only stay for a few rounds or one wound.

Anyway, so Deephold is down - perhaps out? Yet one of the grak-grak's is already starting to show some cracks in the previously impervius armour these things possessed. Excited yet?

Map:

I thought we agreed to use the wizards spell progression to make up for the fact that we decided not to use the 'elemental' thing. And because we arent using the 'spells known' chart. At least thats what it says it my notes. Ive been going off the wiz spell prog the entire game so far. I can switch it if you want tho.

Petal flies back quickly a few feet and gulps down the potion. The silvery blood leaking out of her side and staining her dress begins to clot, leaving a thick grey scab. The wound is still very much in evidence in the way the pixie wincingly moves her arms out in front of her and begins to cast another spell. She moves her fingers into the ''UM' position while looking at Haynuus. She focuses on the mana of the half-orc, how his very aura seems to glow with strength. His sword cuts through the air as he swings at the Grak-grak and Petal can hear the strike echo with a resounding 'KU, KU, KU' in her mind. The sorceress sings OH to the air around her, asking the air to carry her spell and provide the strength of the half-orc to her allies. She crooks her arm in the runic symbol EW, and the KU mana echoing from Haynuus' strike begins to swirl around to her eyes and take shape.

She thrusts her hands high over head and calls 'UMOHEWKU', willing the strength to flow into the arms of her friends and aid them in this fight.

K, beo, youre gonna have to help me in this one as I dont remember exactly how it works and I cant find it in my notes or the posted list. I think it was 1pt/lev in a 10 ft radius, but I want to try and center it on Haynuus. If not, thats cool i will then move so it hits him. Everything after this is my next move so I dont have to post twice

As the shimmering yellow radiance of the spell takes effect Petal realizes Deephold has gone down. A look of incredibly pained guilt crosses her features for a second. Was it her fault? Perhaps he could have survived if she hadnt thrown that fireball. But then the grak-graks might still be in the form of her allies. She hovers there, face twisting with indecision. What if she was responsible for his death? She has to help him, somehow. But there is a grak-grak standing right near his bleeding body. And its obvious from the wound she was just dealt these creatures could easily crush her like an annoying insect. It would be suicide for her to rush over there. But, maybe, just maybe...

Hissing in pain as she again moves her body in mystical patterns, she whispers a song to the air around her while arcing her arm out and clenching her fist as if she is attempting to grab Deephold from far away. She brings her mind on a time shortly after her first flight when her father asked her to use the family's rope-pulley to haul up a load of firewood for winter. She remembers the feeling of pulling, focusing on the burn of her muscles as she works the large hemp rope of the pulley. She Sings a wordless song to the mana, telling it the story and shaping it by moving her fingers into the runic symbol ON.

"ONOHKATHROS" she shouts, willing Deepholds body to slide across the ground to her, away from the danger of the Grak graks and where she can aid him properly. PULL (1d20+3=16) If the spell is sucessful, she will move to him. If not she will move 1 square left

OOC - Ooh, I had assumed that she'd used the whole potion on the blade - well that's cool then . From the look of the map, her grak-grak is moving in on Haynuus now, not her, so...

BIC - Ameena sees that her attack has had some effect, but she also then sees Deephold go down and the grak-grak immediately move off toward Haynuus. From all the glowing and flickering of light from beyond both the half-orc and the grak-graks, she figures Petal is alright and still hurling magic at the undead creatures.
Ameena moves forward, pulling out the remains of the potion and, since friends always have priority to a murafu, pours it over Deephold's most recent wound, hoping it will be enough but unable to spare him further attention for now. Then she continues toward the grak-grak, pulling out her second potion as she does so and applying some to her knife in the same way as before, having already returned the empty flask to its pouch.
As before, she moves into a flanking position and then strikes.

OOC - Based on the appearance of the map, hopfully Ameena can get away with this though I realise her attempts at healing Deephold might draw an AoO judging by the fact it looks like that grak-grak is more or less standing on him. So, the remaining 2d6 of that first potion goes to Deephold, so assuming it's me who rolls that because it's my potion, he gets 9hp back (6+3) . Well, as long as he's still alive, that is . Meanwhile Ameena moves to flank the grak-grak (the one that she and Deephold have already attacked) between herself and Haynuus...Attack roll = 20 (10+8+2), damage = 2.

OOC - Oh yeah, you know, I completely wasn't thinking in terms of DnD mechanics when I wrote that post - I know that people can't move twice but it just completely slipped my mind in the narrative of writing the post, lol. And if Haynuus moves so I'm no longer flanking, I'll just move again to regain it next time - after all, if I lose the flank, so does Haynuus, and as these are undead (therefore no backstab), he's gonna be doing considerably more damage than me (unless this healing potion idea is actually working in some way) .

The half-orc is buoyed by magic and ready to strike once more the opponent closest to Petal. Even being out-flanked it was now or never!

With a strength he had never felt before he hastily swept his sword up and then down once more on the hideous grak-grak. (1d20+13=30, 2d6+4=11, 1d20+8=28, 2d6+4=15) For Deephold, he sadly thought.

OOC - Not included any strength bonus to the attacks from UMOHEWKU. -> Apologies for the delay!

Oh, and Raixel, no problem with the wizard progression. That was probably why I nerfed the 0 level effects, because we just kept you with less spell slots. So damage is 11! I've posted the aura rules in the OOC (sorry, I missed posting them I guess). They centre on Petal, so she'll need to five foot step beside Haynuus. Unless the grak-grak moves, you won't need to spend the 0-level effect to rule it out of the aura.


The fight moved swiftly. Petal shifting and invoked her magic just as Haynuus moved in for the kill, bouyed by the unaccustomed weakness showed by the fearsome creature. The magic surrounding Haynuus - the OH blade, Petal's aura and the whispers of the circlet - combined perfectly to unlock Haynuus's natural talent for destruction.


You snuck that natural 20 in there Ian! Though the max damage is not much more than you already rolled! That's sad, if you had done a few points less my little grak-grak would be able to hide in Haynuus's form for some interesting inversion of its normal tactics. Instead...


The OH blade sliced cleanly left and right. The creature stood upright, hissing at Haynuus even as its fellow was charging forwards... and then the head slipped sideways, coming away cleanly from its body. The head oozed black fluid as it slowly decomposed, the body falling awkwardly on backwards-facing knees, stuck in a subservient pose.


My GRAAAAAAAAAAK GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK! You killed it dead :'( :'( :'( :'(


Ameena meanwhile had rushed forwards to try and help Deephold. Despite the cloying smell of blood She managed the task of dexterously tipping the healing potion onto her fallen comrade, whilst stabbing again with the temporarily holy blade. With a hissing sound at the water touching his wounds Deephold's eyes, thankfully, shot open. The grak-grak standing over the dwarf also hissed as Ameena's blow punctured its skin and sizzled into another wound.

The grak-grak snarled madly, slicing Ameena's back open with its terrible claws. However, the hesitation had allowed Haynuus to slay its comrade. It seemed shocked that its fellow was dead. There was a gargled clicking sound, as if it were chocking on something. It smashed its fists into Haynuus's armour, and Ameena's blood was splashed on the front chest plate. However, its talons did not get passed Haynuus's banded mail, and such a winding would not register for a few moments thanks to adrenaline.


Ameena, you take a nasty 16 damage there. Still, you've saved Deephold, and taken a nasty roll that would have got through Haynuus's AC, so it's all good, right?


Meanwhile, Petal acted fast, invoking powerful magic to pull the dwarf free from the grak-grak's reach while the thing was distracted. Deephold's eyes widened as he was pulled, perhaps thinking the creature was the one pulling him.

Deephold focused on Petal, and then his eyes darted around. He staggered up, face in agony at his barely closed stomach wound. However, with a quick flick of his head in thanks to the pixie, he already shuffled over to Haynuus's side. From his belt, Deephold withdrew a small silver dagger. With only a small glance to his mace, Deephold focused on the foe before him.

"Larethian will see your end!" said the dwarf with a weak but determined voice, pointing the dagger accusingly.

The grak-grak gave a gargling noise again, shifting sideways away.


Wow, and there we have it. I really though the decent AC and damage level of the grak-graks would force you guys to retreat. Still, the fight is by no means over yet...

Map:


The map distancs are maybe getting a little bit messed up... shh, don't tell anyone.

OOC - Woo, nice one Haynuus . And I'm down to 10hp in one hit there, ouch .

BIC - Ameena gives a squeal of pain as the grak-grak's vicious claws slice through her fur and flesh, and she feels blood coursing down all over her. Frantically, she slashes out with the knife again, not thinking to put any more of the health potion on it or particularly to aim it at a specific point, just in the general direction of the grak-grak.

OOC - Narratively-panicked attack at the grak-grak, attack roll = 22 (14+8, I'm presuming no flanking bonus any more, judging by the map), damage = 1 .

I guess that means I dont need to burn a 0 lev to keep the grak grak outta the range of the spell now

The pixie sighs with relief when she sees Deephold get to his feet, although he is a bit shaky. Without wasting any time, she calls upon her mana again, focusing her will on the empty flask that once belonged to Wuuf. Petal gingerly touches the bloodstained side of her dress, and her fingers come away wet with silvery blood. She holds her wet fingers above the mouth of the flask and intones the song of VI. The water in the blood seperates and drips into the flask where it begins to grow. Bereft of any moisture the remains of the blood staining the pixies fingers turns into a fine grey powder and flakes away to drift to the ground like ash.

OWhen the flask is half full, the sorceress puts her hands into the runic ON positionwhile holding the flask between them.
"ONVI" she Sings, as the liquid in the flask begins to turn blue and bubble. The slight glow fades as the healing energy stablizes within the flask. Petal flies over to Deephold and offers him the flask, a sorrowful look in her eyes. "Deephold, for you this is. Drink it, please do." she tells him, hoping that he isnt too angry at her.