Chapter 2: Playing With Fire

Ancient and powerful, the rulers of the Calabim posses a dark secret. Through fell ritual their lives can be prolonged at the expense of others, and by this act Alexis and Flauros have created a decadent vampiric aristocracy. Their battlefield success comes at a price they are only too happy to pay -- the blood of their human thralls, kept in miserable conditions to serve as little more than cattle. This secret would surely incense all honorable nations of Patria, but could even the strongest compare to the might of a vampire lord? Perhaps their enemies are willing to dismiss the ugly rumors as just that, to avoid the danger of sharing the fate of the sad Calabim humans.

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Re: Chapter 2: Playing With Fire

Post by ManWithDoor » Tue Jan 07, 2020 1:41 am

The barbarian sneers at such markings. "A real warrior marks himself with his deeds ... and maybe some scars. He does not need such pretend things to be strong and proud."
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

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Re: Chapter 2: Playing With Fire

Post by Grimbold » Tue Jan 07, 2020 5:27 pm

"Let's look around for more information, soulhearts." Eyris says.

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Grimdale: Center of Town

Post by Vardaen » Wed Jan 08, 2020 7:25 pm

Either option seems plausible about the band around the hand.

You press forward into the town, some of the buildings you pass are smoldering or still on fire. You find more corpses, some burned to death as they are piled up on the wrong side of a barricaded door as the building burned down around them. Others are shot in the back, or stabbed in the stomach. There is death all around you. You make your way into the center of the town, and things don't get any better. There in the center of the town you find a man, his hand cut off at the wrist, dangling from a gallows. He's been stripped down to his underclothing, and obviously whipped so many times you can't easily count the number of lashings. Yet he's dead from the noose around his neck, his face purple and his eye bloodshot. Crows take off from the gallow-post as you arrive squawking as they go.

The smell is terrible, death and burnt flesh, mingled with the smoke and ash in the air makes the whole thing a terribly experience. Up to this point you haven't seen anyone. That's when you spot a figure in a nearby structure reach up from the soot and ashes. You can't make out its words as he moans for help.
"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

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Re: Chapter 2: Playing With Fire

Post by Grimbold » Wed Jan 08, 2020 8:39 pm

Eyris, scimitar in hand, runs to the figure and examines him/her.

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Re: Chapter 2: Playing With Fire

Post by ManWithDoor » Tue Jan 14, 2020 5:28 am

Mongo is hot on Eyris' heels, running to help as well. He can't do anything about the dead man, but he can try to aid the living.
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."

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Re: Chapter 2: Playing With Fire

Post by Othniel » Tue Jan 14, 2020 11:06 pm

Morwen follows as well, though she is less hasty. Instead, she keeps her eyes open for threats.

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Grimdale Burns: Round 1

Post by Vardaen » Wed Jan 15, 2020 9:15 pm

Eyris and Mongo run off to try and aid the fallen who groups for help. Morwen is far less altruistic and moves with care. Poor Tolan, he's forgotten among the company, as he is tending to the horses on the edge of town. Morwen is perhaps less naive because her caution is well founded. As Eyris reaches the fallen man he lunges up and scratches her with his nails. He turns his head and she can see he's nothing but a burnt husk of a man, most of his face is gone, all but one eye --- one eye that glows with a foul arcane magic as the undead claws its self to its feet. All around the area other burnt corpses rise, moaning, with glowing sick eyes filled with malice. Then one by one hey BURST INTO FLAMES!
Giving Morwen +3 Initiative for her caution
Round 1 Morwen 23, Eyris 15, Burning Skeletons 13, Mongo 11, Tolan 7
Morwen and Eyris...
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"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

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Re: Chapter 2: Playing With Fire

Post by Othniel » Thu Jan 16, 2020 1:39 am

"Damn it, I had a bad feeling about this!" Morwen shouts to the others. Quickly weaving a spell of illusion about herself, she readies for the onslaught. "Try and group them together for me!"
Going to cast Mirror Image on self.

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Re: Chapter 2: Playing With Fire

Post by Grimbold » Wed Jan 22, 2020 3:55 pm

Eyris glares at the skeletons for a second, frowning, then she hacks at the one next to her. "Fedj! Fedj! Fedj! What are these things?"
Study target, then attack with scimitar.

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Re: Chapter 2: Playing With Fire

Post by Vardaen » Wed Jan 22, 2020 6:41 pm

Round 1 Morwen 23, Eyris 15, Burning Skeletons 13, Mongo 11, Tolan 7

Round 2 Morwen 23, Eyris 15, Burning Skeletons 13, Mongo 11, Tolan 7

Morwen summons a protection around herself, and four blurry images of the wizard appear. They all shimmer and shuffle around, there no no way to know which one is the real Morwen.

Eyris swings that scimitar into the neck of the burning skeleton hacking the head off and sending the ashen body crumbling to the dirt. As it its the ground the entire body explodes in a ball of fire. Eyris ducks clear only being heated, not burnt by the blast, but that's going to be a problem.

That's when the rest of the field lights up, a dozen or more skeletons all rise and burst into fire. Some of men, some women, and a few even are children. They leap with great alacrity at our heroes, driven by flame. Quickly you are each surrounded and the heat becomes difficult to bear. Mongo is struck several times being raked by bony claws and burnt as well.

Morwen manages to avoid being hit directly as several of her magical images are struck and they poof away like so much smoke.

Tolan is quickly overwhelmed, he's surrounded and hit over and over, badly burned as his flesh is rent and scorched. He cries out, "Ahhhh ahhhh help me!"

But who can aid him as Eyris is also attacked and hit by a burning foe's strike. No one escapes the fire and the wounding for long.

Mongo and Tolan, both being cooked by the proximity of the burning foes counter...
Combat Round 1
Morwen: Mirror Image: 4+1 = 5 Images
Eyris: Study Target (Move) Attack "19" (Crit: 25) Critical Hit for 16 - DR 5/B = 11 Dmg = DEAD Explosion on Death: Ref Save 16 Success 1 Dmg
All Skeleton's Burn (starting your turn adjacent to a skeleton means you suffer burn damage now)
#2, #3, #12: Move / Attack Mongo: 12 Miss, 19 Hit for 5 + 2 Fire, 16 Hit for 4+1 Fire
#4, #5: Move, Move
#6, #7, #11, #13: Move Attack Morwen (Mirror Image): 6 Miss, 2 Miss, 18 Hit (Random Target: 2 Figment Destroyed) 14 Miss (Near Miss Figment Destryoed)
#8, #9, #10: Move Attack Tolan: 18 Hit for 4+4, 19 Hit for 2+4, 8 Miss (14 Total)
#14, #15, #16 Move Attack Eyris: 13 Miss, 19 Hit for 3 +1 Fire, 7 Miss
Mongo (Start Turn Near Fire: 1 Fire)
Tolan (Start Turn Near Fire: 2 Fire)
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"He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom." - Gandalf
J.R.R. Tolkien, Council of Elrond, The Fellowship of the Ring

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