" but it might be a chance or misunderstanding....." Seras words trace off as Merkas attack making any negotiations impossible.
She did not want to attack if it was a better way...as Barkley use its firebreath. Sera suspecting they not be bothered much since they live in this heated land.
As Hastos bring his bow and arrow to the ready, he watches Merkas launch his attack. Fire erupts all around the goblins and as Merkas casts his spell, they all vanish. “Uhh, Orr? What just happened?” He says as he scans the field waiting for a goblin to send an arrow to.
Six of them block your path and are charging in with ravenous hunger and vicious intent!
“Don’t think they care to talk Sera” (Int check at dis for the stat block: 13, Med Check at dis for hp: 10, Insight check for hints on combat at dis: 11) “And we really can’t stay and chat gotta keep moving..urp!” Merkas nearly looses his composure but manages to hold his water down before he leans forward to Barkly, “Clear a path for us bud”
Barkly into an affirmation and spits a fire burst at the goblinoid third from the right. The flaming projectile leaving a tracer through the air before striking and creating an explosion that engulfs 5 of the 6 of the creatures. “Hooyah, that’s my girl!”
Merkas aims off towards the group as well. The colours of the fire burst flashing brilliantly bright as they move towards the attackers. And suddenly the whole group disappears in front of Hastos and Orr including the hostile creatures.
(Fire burst at Goblinoid green, 10’ radius to encompass all but blue, DC12 Dec save. 13 dmg on fail half on success, Cast Colour Spray when in range 15’ cone directly in front of them for DC16 con save or be blinded, Wild Surge kicks off for using spell first time since the decision was made: 69 - Each creature within 30 feet of you becomes invisible for the next minute. The invisibility ends on a creature when it attacks or casts a spell. , With Sera’s post that puts her beside us so Merkas, Barkly, Buckeran, Sera, and the goblinoids would all go invisible)
Fire erupts over the creatures, roiling like dragon's fire! Creature Green, Teal, and Red dissipate into a cloud of dust! The sand glows with a fiery heat as it reforms. Their sand is smoldering like ash, but reform whole, looking more injured than Merkas expected after a successful dodge!
DEX Save 20: Creature Green takes 13 damage even though it succeeded. Creature Green, Teal, Black, and Red are... Bloodied? There's no blood, but they definitely look hurt.
Creature Purple is a bit slow to react, and catches the blast fully to the chest! Screeching in pain, its form turns to cinders and hardens, before exploding into ash and grit! The smoldering spray erupts from every angle in a 5' range before settling onto the ground. Then, you see a small rock, no bigger than a child's fist plop onto the sand where the creature once hovered.
Creature Purple is... dead?
A brilliant cone of shimmering light spearheads towards the creatures!
Rolled for affected HP: 41 Creature Green, Red, Teal, and Black are Blinded.
Blue avoids the spell entirely, but raises their arm in response to the rainbow blast of glittering color!
Then, Barkly, Buckeran, Merkas, Sera, and the remaining creatures vanish from site! You can hear the creatures sounds of suprise, gradually replaced by amusement.
My turn...
A wave of dizziness pours over Sera, Merkas, Buckeran, and Barkly, making your limbs heavy and your eyelids droop. Buckerans's grasp on Merkas loosens, and he slumps... sliding off Barkly.
Creature Green casts Sleep.
Hrothbert_Neruca please make a DEX check (DC 8) to catch Buckeran before he falls off Barkly, as well as a Charisma Check (DC 10) for Barkly. Buckeran is Unconscious. Hrothbert_Neruca and Larskolstad please roll Charisma checks to avoid the effects of Sleep.
Orr the Unseen, unblinking, turns their head to Hastos. "Chaos... chaos is happening."
Though you cannot see them, you can hear the movement of the cretures, and feel the wind blow hot, gritty sans onto your face as they sweep past you. Orr the Unseen twitches, and turns their head to the left. "Move!" they shout to Hastos, and ducks out of the way. You sense and feel nothing, but Orr the Unseen seems genuinely concerned for perhaps the first time this whole mission. Orr charges towards Hastos before their eyes dim, and they fall face first into the dirt!
Creature Red Casts Sleep Orr the Unseen is Unconscious.
The sand is vaguely disturbed as the invisible threats glide past the front guard, seeming to generally be closing in on the uncoscious form of Orr the Unseen!
The creatures were able to guess the front guard's approximate location and avoided AoOs by creating a wide berth around your bodies.
Creature Blue Casts Sleep on Hastos!
Hastos begins to feel his head get light, and his limbs heavy, but your intrinsic immunity to magical sleep resists the sensation, and you shake it off quickly as the creatues approach!
No Map needed, because all the creatures and half the party is invisible. But Orr the Unseen has moved 5 feet before falling unconscious, and is laying in front of Hastos, who is approximately 60' from the last known location of the rest of the party. By the way the sand is being distured, Hastos can tell that most of the creatures are about 20' east of your current location and closing in fast!
The things take a turn for the worst. Orr passes out and Hastos can see the effects of the oncoming Horde. He switches to his great axe. He retreats back slightly and tosses a handful of caltrops across the sand between him and the creatures and lobs a firebolt in their direction, hoping to disrupt their formation. (Hit:9, dsmange, 6).
The world blinked out of sight in a pulse of Merkas’ wild magic—monsters, mounts, adventurers—everything swallowed in sudden invisibility. Sera staggered a step, trying not to scream in frustration.
“At least it’s to our advantage…” she muttered.
Or so she hoped.
Then the wave hit.
A soft, cloying pulse of magic spread through the air—sleep. Heavy, warm, seductive in its pull. Sera felt her knees wobble, her eyelids droop. A bed—any bed—felt like paradise for half a heartbeat.“No… no you don’t…”
She grit her teeth and shook her head violently, forcing the magic off her like water from a dog’s coat.
( roll 15. Sera not sleepy)
But Orr wasn’t so lucky.
Buckeran slumped over behind Merkas, unconscious before he even realized what spell hit him.
“Damn.”
This was turning bad, fast.
Sera surged forward a few more steps, boots crunching through rubble, and tore a tiny scroll from inside her armor. She whispered the activation words, letting the holy symbols burn into her mind.
( move another 30 feet up to them)
Light erupted around her.
Spirit Guardians spiraled up into the air—winged shapes of radiant gold, miniature paladins forged of pure light. They swarmed around her in a tightening sphere, their glow cutting through the poison haze. Wherever they passed, the invisible forms of the enemy warped in the shine, revealing silhouettes being burned, scorched, driven back by the holy presence.
( 12 radiant damage to all enemies within 15 feet. Save for half)
Sera set her stance, eyes blazing with purpose.
“Come then,” she growled. “Let Paladine judge you.”
Bucky starts slipping and Merkas takes his eyes off the direction of travel in an attempt to grab the invisible kender. “Damns it Yvonne, why you gotta be such troublemaker” Not seeing makes the attempt that much worse and the older treasure hunter slips away to the dirt. (Dex: 5)
“Barkly Stop! We los…zzzz” Merkas’ gasp pulls in the noxious fumes as and his head is fogged before falling asleep as well and sliding from the striders back. (Cha: 6)
Barkly stops as soon as she feels the kenders slide off, she turns back looking for the invisible riders. Not seeing them she just figures that Merkas will be right back like before. Taking a defensive position she waits for instruction. (Cha: 16)
Light warps, and a dust cloud emerges 10 feet from Sera, and you can see a goblin-like creature emerge from the swirling chaos, grinning it's awful grin as it cautiously approaches.
A similiar effect happens 15 feet from Hastos, revealing Creature Red, who is moving to descend upon the sleeping form of Orr the Unseen!
The things take a turn for the worst. Orr passes out and Hastos can see the effects of the oncoming Horde. He switches to his great axe. He retreats back slightly and tosses a handful of caltrops across the sand between him and the creatures and lobs a firebolt in their direction, hoping to disrupt their formation. (Hit:9, dsmange, 6).
Hastos's caltrops plop onto the sand before the creatures, but their feet seem to not be touching the ground. The swiling dust seems to be more a biproduct of their exisitance, than a foot trail! The fireball whooshes through the air towards Creature Red, but it only scatters into sand again to let it pass, before reforming into the leering shape it seems to prefer.
Fireball misses. Caltrops occupy the bold square on the map and deal 1 Piercing damage to anyone who walks onto that square, and reduces their movement to 0 (DC 10) to avoid.
The world blinked out of sight in a pulse of Merkas’ wild magic—monsters, mounts, adventurers—everything swallowed in sudden invisibility. Sera staggered a step, trying not to scream in frustration.
“At least it’s to our advantage…” she muttered.
Or so she hoped.
Then the wave hit.
A soft, cloying pulse of magic spread through the air—sleep. Heavy, warm, seductive in its pull. Sera felt her knees wobble, her eyelids droop. A bed—any bed—felt like paradise for half a heartbeat.“No… no you don’t…”
She grit her teeth and shook her head violently, forcing the magic off her like water from a dog’s coat.
( roll 15. Sera not sleepy)
But Orr wasn’t so lucky.
Buckeran slumped over behind Merkas, unconscious before he even realized what spell hit him.
“Damn.”
This was turning bad, fast.
Sera surged forward a few more steps, boots crunching through rubble, and tore a tiny scroll from inside her armor. She whispered the activation words, letting the holy symbols burn into her mind.
( move another 30 feet up to them)
Light erupted around her.
Spirit Guardians spiraled up into the air—winged shapes of radiant gold, miniature paladins forged of pure light. They swarmed around her in a tightening sphere, their glow cutting through the poison haze. Wherever they passed, the invisible forms of the enemy warped in the shine, revealing silhouettes being burned, scorched, driven back by the holy presence.
( 12 radiant damage to all enemies within 15 feet. Save for half)
Sera set her stance, eyes blazing with purpose.
“Come then,” she growled. “Let Paladine judge you.”
As Sera advances into the desert, she shifts course when she sees Creature Green suddenly reappear! (DM control to make your movements make sense with the new information). Pivoting hard into the sand, she rips scroll out before her to cast the spell just within reach of the only visible creature near her! The guardians descend upon the creature with their full righteous fury, ripping the creature to shreds with radiant light and biting swords! The creature screams in pain, surprised by the sudden attack, and explodes in a shower of sand and dust! As before, a small rock plops onto the ground where Creature Green once floated.
Creature Green is dead. Sera is Visible again.
Taking control of Barkly since Merkas is unconscious...
Barkly reacts to the sudden loss of her passengers with noted confusion and worry, then hears the plop, plop, as her riders slump into the loose sand. Looking down, and sniffing the air with her keen senses, her beak grazes against Merkas's cheek. She snakes out her red tongue and gives you a searing lick.
Merkas takes 1 HP of Fire Damage. Merkas is awake... with tongue induced blisters on his nose and forehead. You can have Barkly back. Barkly uses Action to "attack" Merkas with her tongue.
Though you can't see him, the dusty outline of where Buckeran lands indicates that Buckeran has fallen dangerously close to the toxic field! The dust is suddenly disturbed by violent convulsions, and the sand near the outline turn wet with mucousy foam!
Not an attack or a spell, so Buckeran remains invisible and you don't know how much damage he's taken. But it is obvious from the surrounding evidence that he's in serious condition.
A minor disturbance of the searing sand is the only indication that Creature Teal seems to not have noticed Sera's return to the battlefield as it flies towards Orr the Unseen's unconcious body.
Red is the first to the target, and slows the flapping of its wings to descend on Orr the Unseen. Gently grabbing them by the legs, they begin to drag Orr away, while the other's remain unseen, presumably (by the disturbance of the sand under them) to post defensive positions.
Hastos hears a heavy sighing sound in front of him and a cone of dust erupts towards him!
Creature Blue uses Blinding Breath (DEX Save DC 10 to avoid the Blinded Condition)!
Then the creature, with it's maw opened unnaturally wide comes into view!
Creature Blue is visible.
Creature Black wastes no time and swoops in with blinding speed at Hastos, raking at him with long, dirty claws!
Attack (Adv): 9, Miss.
Invisible claws rake against Hastos's armor ineffectively, and the creature comes into view, with glaring, beady eyes and a long, pointy nose!
Burns on his face jolt him awake and looking at Barkly, he can see Barkly! Looking down at his hands he swears, remembering the last time it happened and Barkly couldn’t hear him. He yells at Hastos and Sera hoping it’s not the same effect. “They’re Dust Mephits, they hate fire and usually work for a bigger devil of some sort, or demon, I can never keep them two straight! They explode when you hit em hard enough and it hurts so watch out.”Seeing the impression of Bucky nearby Merkas says to Barkly “Get Bucky away from that stuff, it can’t be good for him, Oh,Orr!”
Merkas scrambles towards the Mephit dragging Orr away, he haphazardly throws a dart at it trying to get it to move away from the drowzy dancer. (To hit: 10 Dmg: 7)
Watching as the elemental winds that hold the mephit together knock the dart off course he tries to get a running shove against the creature, like Ororana and him had practiced, to get it away from his companion, but the sudden reappearance of his body trips him up as he runs towards the pair. (Half movement to get up from prone, movement and bonus action Dash to get to Orr, Attempt Charger feat on way over to shove the mephit away somehow: 17 and Nat 1 at disadvantage for the ability check)
Barkly, realizing this invisible Merkas isn’t the same as the last time, does as his caretaker requests and heads over to Buckeran and grabs onto him to pull him back from the toxic fumes, carefully picking up the elder kender she heads over to Sera. They may not like each other but there is an understanding that the knightly woman is safer than the creatures attacking them currently. (Fire Burst Recharge:6 success, she now has another burst of AOE flame to spit at something)
One of the mephits let out a shrill, crackling screech as Sera’s holy aura touched it. The radiant guardians tore it apart, shredding wings and sinew until it burst in a violent pop of elemental force. The blast rippled across the stones— —but Sera was already out of range, throwing an arm up against the shockwave.
She barely had time to breathe before she realized the others weren’t so lucky.
Through the haze of gas and dust she spotted shapes—thin, winged, chittering—slipping past her under the shroud of invisibility Merkas’ spell had cast. They were moving back toward her friends.
“Oh for the flaming, moon-cursed, dragon-damned ass of Sargonnas—!” The words tore out of her before she could stop them.
Somewhere to her south she saw Barkley —dragging someone, probably Merkas, toward her. But she couldn’t look. Couldn’t spare even a heartbeat.
The creatures were dangerous. Too dangerous.
And they were trying to finish off the ones who had fallen asleep.
Sera sprinted—armor hissing as it flexed—racing back toward the cluster of allies and attackers. She saw a mephit crouched over Orr, needle-like claws ready to strike. Sera yanked her dagger free mid-dash, twisting her grip, and slashed—
—only for the weapon to fly out of her hand, slipping from her grip as if greased by chaos itself.
( bonus action attack as i pass the one feeding on Orr. nat 1 on that attack. it gets a aot as Sera pass it)
“By the ten thousand hemorrhoids of Hiddukel, SERIOUSLY?!” Her dagger clattered somewhere into the poison haze.
Fine. She didn’t need it.
She skidded to a stop exactly where she needed to be—placing herself so that every remaining mephit was inside the deadly swirl of her Spirit Guardians.
( Sera dash and end up northeast of blue mephit getting every Mephit within 15 feet. Red , blue, teal and black mephit takes 18 radiant damage. Save for half))
The angelic forms immediately dove toward the lurking shapes, their light flaring brighter as they struck.
Sera raised her shield, breath sharp. “Sorry—!” she shouted to her friends. “—they explode when they die!”
Burns on his face jolt him awake and looking at Barkly, he can see Barkly! Looking down at his hands he swears, remembering the last time it happened and Barkly couldn’t hear him. He yells at Hastos and Sera hoping it’s not the same effect. “They’re Dust Mephits, they hate fire and usually work for a bigger devil of some sort, or demon, I can never keep them two straight! They explode when you hit em hard enough and it hurts so watch out.”Seeing the impression of Bucky nearby Merkas says to Barkly “Get Bucky away from that stuff, it can’t be good for him, Oh,Orr!”
Merkas scrambles towards the Mephit dragging Orr away, he haphazardly throws a dart at it trying to get it to move away from the drowzy dancer. (To hit: 10 Dmg: 7)
Watching as the elemental winds that hold the mephit together knock the dart off course he tries to get a running shove against the creature, like Ororana and him had practiced, to get it away from his companion, but the sudden reappearance of his body trips him up as he runs towards the pair. (Half movement to get up from prone, movement and bonus action Dash to get to Orr, Attempt Charger feat on way over to shove the mephit away somehow: 17 and Nat 1 at disadvantage for the ability check)
Barkly, realizing this invisible Merkas isn’t the same as the last time, does as his caretaker requests and heads over to Buckeran and grabs onto him to pull him back from the toxic fumes, carefully picking up the elder kender she heads over to Sera. They may not like each other but there is an understanding that the knightly woman is safer than the creatures attacking them currently. (Fire Burst Recharge:6 success, she now has another burst of AOE flame to spit at something)
Sand trails make a canal as the invisible form of Buckeran is dragged unceremoniously away from the toxic area, and the Bag of Holding slips off his face, turning visible as it is left behind. Sweat and foamy drool moistens the cracked earth. Although you can't see Buckeran, it's clear he's in serious trouble.
One of the mephits let out a shrill, crackling screech as Sera’s holy aura touched it. The radiant guardians tore it apart, shredding wings and sinew until it burst in a violent pop of elemental force. The blast rippled across the stones— —but Sera was already out of range, throwing an arm up against the shockwave.
She barely had time to breathe before she realized the others weren’t so lucky.
Through the haze of gas and dust she spotted shapes—thin, winged, chittering—slipping past her under the shroud of invisibility Merkas’ spell had cast. They were moving back toward her friends.
“Oh for the flaming, moon-cursed, dragon-damned ass of Sargonnas—!” The words tore out of her before she could stop them.
Somewhere to her south she saw Barkley —dragging someone, probably Merkas, toward her. But she couldn’t look. Couldn’t spare even a heartbeat.
The creatures were dangerous. Too dangerous.
And they were trying to finish off the ones who had fallen asleep.
Sera sprinted—armor hissing as it flexed—racing back toward the cluster of allies and attackers. She saw a mephit crouched over Orr, needle-like claws ready to strike. Sera yanked her dagger free mid-dash, twisting her grip, and slashed—
—only for the weapon to fly out of her hand, slipping from her grip as if greased by chaos itself.
( bonus action attack as i pass the one feeding on Orr. nat 1 on that attack. it gets a aot as Sera pass it)
“By the ten thousand hemorrhoids of Hiddukel, SERIOUSLY?!” Her dagger clattered somewhere into the poison haze.
Fine. She didn’t need it.
She skidded to a stop exactly where she needed to be—placing herself so that every remaining mephit was inside the deadly swirl of her Spirit Guardians.
( Sera dash and end up northeast of blue mephit getting every Mephit within 15 feet. Red , blue, teal and black mephit takes 18 radiant damage. Save for half))
The angelic forms immediately dove toward the lurking shapes, their light flaring brighter as they struck.
Sera raised her shield, breath sharp. “Sorry—!” she shouted to her friends. “—they explode when they die!”
And she let Paladine’s wrath fall.
As Sera careens past Dust Mephit Red, it risks taking a swipe at her! You feel a faint pressure as the claws rake against your Living Armor near your rib cage, and the armor reponds in kind, hardening in that spot to dull the impact of the blow, and aside from a faint scuff that can be polished off, Sera remains unharmed. When the Dust Mephit is behind you, the armor softens again, allowing you your freedom of movement. As if to reassure you, the armor sends you a subtle wave of sensation, indicating that it is unharmed. Is the armor... hugging you?
Then, Sera's full fury descends on the Dust Mephits!
Dust Mephit Blue rolls WIS Save: 9 Fail. Dust Mephit Blue takes 18 Damage, Dead.
Dust Mephit Black rolls WIS Save: 7 Fail. Dust Mephit Black takes 18 Damage, Dead. Dust Mephit Black uses Death Burst (DC 10 DEX): 5 Damage (Bludgeoning Damage on Fail, Half on successful save)
The Dust Mephits within range explode in a violent boom like tan fireworks all around you! But only Dust Mephit Blacks eruption is within range of a target. Grains of hot sand spew towards Hastos!
MrUncleTio, please make a DEX roll (DC 10) to reduce the damage (5, Bludgeoning)
After the dust settles, only one Dust Mephit remains. The others leave fist-sized rocks on the dirt where they exploded. Seeing failure as immenent, Dust Mephit Red drops its intended meal, and begins a hasty retreat, swooping towards the safety of the poisonous swirling fumes!
Dust Mephit Red Disengages.
As it considers its situation, it fails to notice a boulder careening towards it! The rock slams into the Dust Mephic with enough force to scatter its form, which quickly erupts, dropping another rock into the toxic puddle! Behind it, you see an ogre approaching with an expression of dissapointment and frustration on its face. Following her are two mutated-looking dog-like creatues that sniff out the air as she approaches.
"My rocks! You no take! My rocks!" She screams as she hoists a javelin at you threateningly. "Aww... one fall into stink puddle. Little squishies can have stinky rock."
One of the mutated dog-like creatures starts to snarl at Dawnbound. And the Ogre barks a command at it in what you assume to be Giant speak, and the creature backs down, but its spike-like hackles remain stiff.
Dog-like creatures in question:
This encounter is over. You each gain 1200 XP Buckeran and Orr the Unseen are still Unconscious. Treasure: 1 rock per dead Mephit (Total 6), if you think you can safely claim it.
The Ogre seems to be willing to avoid a fight, for now. I'll update the map if you decide to attack her, or are forced into a fight. But for now, she is standing 10' south of the poison puddle, on the same horizontal grid as Buckeran and Barkly.
Hastos raises a hand in an attempt for a peaceful greeting. “I am Hastos. We have wounded.” Hastos walks over to Orr and flicks his ear with his index finger in an attempt o wake him up without doing any damage.
looking back at the Orc, “What rocks? These?” He points to the rocks left by the creatures. “Maybe we can help each other.”
Orr the Unseen twitches and rolls over on their side.
Sleep spells run deep. You'll have to shake the shit out of Orr or damage them to awaken them.
The Ogre tilts her head and scratches her armpit. "Wounded die out here. Leave 'em. Sumpin'll eat em up for you." She sees you point at the little stone left behind by the Dust Mephit, and half raises her javelin. "MY RO-" and then hears you talk about help. "Help each other?" She seems amused by the concept that little "squishies" could help her, but her curiosity gets the better of her. "How're little half dead squishees gonna help Tana?" Either her tone is pejorative, or that's just the way she sounds. But she seems to be talking to you the way people tend to talk to puppies.
Roll Deception or Persuasion (DC 7). The DC is lowered because she thinks you're adorable.
" but it might be a chance or misunderstanding....." Seras words trace off as Merkas attack making any negotiations impossible.
She did not want to attack if it was a better way...as Barkley use its firebreath. Sera suspecting they not be bothered much since they live in this heated land.
The flashy colorspray might work.
She suddenly becomes invisible..." huh?"
As Hastos bring his bow and arrow to the ready, he watches Merkas launch his attack. Fire erupts all around the goblins and as Merkas casts his spell, they all vanish.
“Uhh, Orr? What just happened?” He says as he scans the field waiting for a goblin to send an arrow to.
Character: Hastos, Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread
Fire erupts over the creatures, roiling like dragon's fire! Creature Green, Teal, and Red dissipate into a cloud of dust! The sand glows with a fiery heat as it reforms. Their sand is smoldering like ash, but reform whole, looking more injured than Merkas expected after a successful dodge!
DEX Save 20: Creature Green takes 13 damage even though it succeeded.
Creature Green, Teal, Black, and Red are... Bloodied? There's no blood, but they definitely look hurt.
Creature Purple is a bit slow to react, and catches the blast fully to the chest! Screeching in pain, its form turns to cinders and hardens, before exploding into ash and grit! The smoldering spray erupts from every angle in a 5' range before settling onto the ground. Then, you see a small rock, no bigger than a child's fist plop onto the sand where the creature once hovered.
Creature Purple is... dead?
A brilliant cone of shimmering light spearheads towards the creatures!
Rolled for affected HP: 41
Creature Green, Red, Teal, and Black are Blinded.
Blue avoids the spell entirely, but raises their arm in response to the rainbow blast of glittering color!
Then, Barkly, Buckeran, Merkas, Sera, and the remaining creatures vanish from site! You can hear the creatures sounds of suprise, gradually replaced by amusement.
My turn...
A wave of dizziness pours over Sera, Merkas, Buckeran, and Barkly, making your limbs heavy and your eyelids droop. Buckerans's grasp on Merkas loosens, and he slumps... sliding off Barkly.
Creature Green casts Sleep.
Hrothbert_Neruca please make a DEX check (DC 8) to catch Buckeran before he falls off Barkly, as well as a Charisma Check (DC 10) for Barkly.
Buckeran is Unconscious.
Hrothbert_Neruca and Larskolstad please roll Charisma checks to avoid the effects of Sleep.
Orr the Unseen, unblinking, turns their head to Hastos. "Chaos... chaos is happening."
Though you cannot see them, you can hear the movement of the cretures, and feel the wind blow hot, gritty sans onto your face as they sweep past you. Orr the Unseen twitches, and turns their head to the left. "Move!" they shout to Hastos, and ducks out of the way. You sense and feel nothing, but Orr the Unseen seems genuinely concerned for perhaps the first time this whole mission. Orr charges towards Hastos before their eyes dim, and they fall face first into the dirt!
Creature Red Casts Sleep
Orr the Unseen is Unconscious.
The sand is vaguely disturbed as the invisible threats glide past the front guard, seeming to generally be closing in on the uncoscious form of Orr the Unseen!
The creatures were able to guess the front guard's approximate location and avoided AoOs by creating a wide berth around your bodies.
Creature Blue Casts Sleep on Hastos!
Hastos begins to feel his head get light, and his limbs heavy, but your intrinsic immunity to magical sleep resists the sensation, and you shake it off quickly as the creatues approach!
No Map needed, because all the creatures and half the party is invisible. But Orr the Unseen has moved 5 feet before falling unconscious, and is laying in front of Hastos, who is approximately 60' from the last known location of the rest of the party. By the way the sand is being distured, Hastos can tell that most of the creatures are about 20' east of your current location and closing in fast!
She/her, DM and Player.
My DM Registry
My Campaigns:
Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP); Secrets of the Island (On Discord)
My Characters:
Krik-tul, Thri-kreen monk
“I noticed!” Hastos replies to Orr.
The things take a turn for the worst. Orr passes out and Hastos can see the effects of the oncoming Horde. He switches to his great axe. He retreats back slightly and tosses a handful of caltrops across the sand between him and the creatures and lobs a firebolt in their direction, hoping to disrupt their formation. (Hit:9, dsmange, 6).
Character: Hastos, Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread
The world blinked out of sight in a pulse of Merkas’ wild magic—monsters, mounts, adventurers—everything swallowed in sudden invisibility. Sera staggered a step, trying not to scream in frustration.
“At least it’s to our advantage…” she muttered.
Or so she hoped.
Then the wave hit.
A soft, cloying pulse of magic spread through the air—sleep. Heavy, warm, seductive in its pull. Sera felt her knees wobble, her eyelids droop. A bed—any bed—felt like paradise for half a heartbeat.“No… no you don’t…”
She grit her teeth and shook her head violently, forcing the magic off her like water from a dog’s coat.
( roll 15. Sera not sleepy)
But Orr wasn’t so lucky.
Buckeran slumped over behind Merkas, unconscious before he even realized what spell hit him.
“Damn.”
This was turning bad, fast.
Sera surged forward a few more steps, boots crunching through rubble, and tore a tiny scroll from inside her armor. She whispered the activation words, letting the holy symbols burn into her mind.
( move another 30 feet up to them)
Light erupted around her.
Spirit Guardians spiraled up into the air—winged shapes of radiant gold, miniature paladins forged of pure light. They swarmed around her in a tightening sphere, their glow cutting through the poison haze. Wherever they passed, the invisible forms of the enemy warped in the shine, revealing silhouettes being burned, scorched, driven back by the holy presence.
( 12 radiant damage to all enemies within 15 feet. Save for half)
Sera set her stance, eyes blazing with purpose.
“Come then,” she growled.
“Let Paladine judge you.”
Bucky starts slipping and Merkas takes his eyes off the direction of travel in an attempt to grab the invisible kender. “Damns it Yvonne, why you gotta be such troublemaker” Not seeing makes the attempt that much worse and the older treasure hunter slips away to the dirt. (Dex: 5)
“Barkly Stop! We los…zzzz” Merkas’ gasp pulls in the noxious fumes as and his head is fogged before falling asleep as well and sliding from the striders back. (Cha: 6)
Barkly stops as soon as she feels the kenders slide off, she turns back looking for the invisible riders. Not seeing them she just figures that Merkas will be right back like before. Taking a defensive position she waits for instruction. (Cha: 16)
Loyalty Begets Honour
Creature Green and Creature Red are visible.
Light warps, and a dust cloud emerges 10 feet from Sera, and you can see a goblin-like creature emerge from the swirling chaos, grinning it's awful grin as it cautiously approaches.
A similiar effect happens 15 feet from Hastos, revealing Creature Red, who is moving to descend upon the sleeping form of Orr the Unseen!
Hastos's caltrops plop onto the sand before the creatures, but their feet seem to not be touching the ground. The swiling dust seems to be more a biproduct of their exisitance, than a foot trail! The fireball whooshes through the air towards Creature Red, but it only scatters into sand again to let it pass, before reforming into the leering shape it seems to prefer.
Fireball misses.
Caltrops occupy the bold square on the map and deal 1 Piercing damage to anyone who walks onto that square, and reduces their movement to 0 (DC 10) to avoid.
As Sera advances into the desert, she shifts course when she sees Creature Green suddenly reappear! (DM control to make your movements make sense with the new information). Pivoting hard into the sand, she rips scroll out before her to cast the spell just within reach of the only visible creature near her! The guardians descend upon the creature with their full righteous fury, ripping the creature to shreds with radiant light and biting swords! The creature screams in pain, surprised by the sudden attack, and explodes in a shower of sand and dust! As before, a small rock plops onto the ground where Creature Green once floated.
Creature Green is dead.
Sera is Visible again.
Taking control of Barkly since Merkas is unconscious...
Barkly reacts to the sudden loss of her passengers with noted confusion and worry, then hears the plop, plop, as her riders slump into the loose sand. Looking down, and sniffing the air with her keen senses, her beak grazes against Merkas's cheek. She snakes out her red tongue and gives you a searing lick.
Merkas takes 1 HP of Fire Damage.
Merkas is awake... with tongue induced blisters on his nose and forehead. You can have Barkly back.
Barkly uses Action to "attack" Merkas with her tongue.
Though you can't see him, the dusty outline of where Buckeran lands indicates that Buckeran has fallen dangerously close to the toxic field! The dust is suddenly disturbed by violent convulsions, and the sand near the outline turn wet with mucousy foam!
Not an attack or a spell, so Buckeran remains invisible and you don't know how much damage he's taken. But it is obvious from the surrounding evidence that he's in serious condition.
A minor disturbance of the searing sand is the only indication that Creature Teal seems to not have noticed Sera's return to the battlefield as it flies towards Orr the Unseen's unconcious body.
Red is the first to the target, and slows the flapping of its wings to descend on Orr the Unseen. Gently grabbing them by the legs, they begin to drag Orr away, while the other's remain unseen, presumably (by the disturbance of the sand under them) to post defensive positions.
Hastos hears a heavy sighing sound in front of him and a cone of dust erupts towards him!
Creature Blue uses Blinding Breath (DEX Save DC 10 to avoid the Blinded Condition)!
Then the creature, with it's maw opened unnaturally wide comes into view!
Creature Blue is visible.
Creature Black wastes no time and swoops in with blinding speed at Hastos, raking at him with long, dirty claws!
Attack (Adv): 9, Miss.
Invisible claws rake against Hastos's armor ineffectively, and the creature comes into view, with glaring, beady eyes and a long, pointy nose!
Creature Black is visible.
She/her, DM and Player.
My DM Registry
My Campaigns:
Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP); Secrets of the Island (On Discord)
My Characters:
Krik-tul, Thri-kreen monk
Burns on his face jolt him awake and looking at Barkly, he can see Barkly! Looking down at his hands he swears, remembering the last time it happened and Barkly couldn’t hear him. He yells at Hastos and Sera hoping it’s not the same effect. “They’re Dust Mephits, they hate fire and usually work for a bigger devil of some sort, or demon, I can never keep them two straight! They explode when you hit em hard enough and it hurts so watch out.” Seeing the impression of Bucky nearby Merkas says to Barkly “Get Bucky away from that stuff, it can’t be good for him, Oh,Orr!”
Merkas scrambles towards the Mephit dragging Orr away, he haphazardly throws a dart at it trying to get it to move away from the drowzy dancer. (To hit: 10 Dmg: 7)
Watching as the elemental winds that hold the mephit together knock the dart off course he tries to get a running shove against the creature, like Ororana and him had practiced, to get it away from his companion, but the sudden reappearance of his body trips him up as he runs towards the pair. (Half movement to get up from prone, movement and bonus action Dash to get to Orr, Attempt Charger feat on way over to shove the mephit away somehow: 17 and Nat 1 at disadvantage for the ability check)
Barkly, realizing this invisible Merkas isn’t the same as the last time, does as his caretaker requests and heads over to Buckeran and grabs onto him to pull him back from the toxic fumes, carefully picking up the elder kender she heads over to Sera. They may not like each other but there is an understanding that the knightly woman is safer than the creatures attacking them currently. (Fire Burst Recharge:6 success, she now has another burst of AOE flame to spit at something)
Loyalty Begets Honour
One of the mephits let out a shrill, crackling screech as Sera’s holy aura touched it. The radiant guardians tore it apart, shredding wings and sinew until it burst in a violent pop of elemental force. The blast rippled across the stones—
—but Sera was already out of range, throwing an arm up against the shockwave.
She barely had time to breathe before she realized the others weren’t so lucky.
Through the haze of gas and dust she spotted shapes—thin, winged, chittering—slipping past her under the shroud of invisibility Merkas’ spell had cast. They were moving back toward her friends.
“Oh for the flaming, moon-cursed, dragon-damned ass of Sargonnas—!”
The words tore out of her before she could stop them.
Somewhere to her south she saw Barkley —dragging someone, probably Merkas, toward her. But she couldn’t look. Couldn’t spare even a heartbeat.
The creatures were dangerous. Too dangerous.
And they were trying to finish off the ones who had fallen asleep.
Sera sprinted—armor hissing as it flexed—racing back toward the cluster of allies and attackers. She saw a mephit crouched over Orr, needle-like claws ready to strike. Sera yanked her dagger free mid-dash, twisting her grip, and slashed—
—only for the weapon to fly out of her hand, slipping from her grip as if greased by chaos itself.
( bonus action attack as i pass the one feeding on Orr. nat 1 on that attack. it gets a aot as Sera pass it)
“By the ten thousand hemorrhoids of Hiddukel, SERIOUSLY?!”
Her dagger clattered somewhere into the poison haze.
Fine.
She didn’t need it.
She skidded to a stop exactly where she needed to be—placing herself so that every remaining mephit was inside the deadly swirl of her Spirit Guardians.
( Sera dash and end up northeast of blue mephit getting every Mephit within 15 feet. Red , blue, teal and black mephit takes 18 radiant damage. Save for half))
The angelic forms immediately dove toward the lurking shapes, their light flaring brighter as they struck.
Sera raised her shield, breath sharp.
“Sorry—!” she shouted to her friends.
“—they explode when they die!”
And she let Paladine’s wrath fall.
Sand trails make a canal as the invisible form of Buckeran is dragged unceremoniously away from the toxic area, and the Bag of Holding slips off his face, turning visible as it is left behind. Sweat and foamy drool moistens the cracked earth. Although you can't see Buckeran, it's clear he's in serious trouble.
As Sera careens past Dust Mephit Red, it risks taking a swipe at her! You feel a faint pressure as the claws rake against your Living Armor near your rib cage, and the armor reponds in kind, hardening in that spot to dull the impact of the blow, and aside from a faint scuff that can be polished off, Sera remains unharmed. When the Dust Mephit is behind you, the armor softens again, allowing you your freedom of movement. As if to reassure you, the armor sends you a subtle wave of sensation, indicating that it is unharmed. Is the armor... hugging you?
Then, Sera's full fury descends on the Dust Mephits!
Dust Mephit Blue rolls WIS Save: 9 Fail.
Dust Mephit Blue takes 18 Damage, Dead.
Dust Mephit Teal rolls WIS Save: 6 Fail
Dust Mephit Teal takes 18 Damage, Dead.
Dust Mephit Black rolls WIS Save: 7 Fail.
Dust Mephit Black takes 18 Damage, Dead.
Dust Mephit Black uses Death Burst (DC 10 DEX): 5 Damage (Bludgeoning Damage on Fail, Half on successful save)
The Dust Mephits within range explode in a violent boom like tan fireworks all around you! But only Dust Mephit Blacks eruption is within range of a target. Grains of hot sand spew towards Hastos!
MrUncleTio, please make a DEX roll (DC 10) to reduce the damage (5, Bludgeoning)
After the dust settles, only one Dust Mephit remains. The others leave fist-sized rocks on the dirt where they exploded. Seeing failure as immenent, Dust Mephit Red drops its intended meal, and begins a hasty retreat, swooping towards the safety of the poisonous swirling fumes!
Dust Mephit Red Disengages.
As it considers its situation, it fails to notice a boulder careening towards it! The rock slams into the Dust Mephic with enough force to scatter its form, which quickly erupts, dropping another rock into the toxic puddle! Behind it, you see an ogre approaching with an expression of dissapointment and frustration on its face. Following her are two mutated-looking dog-like creatues that sniff out the air as she approaches.
"My rocks! You no take! My rocks!" She screams as she hoists a javelin at you threateningly. "Aww... one fall into stink puddle. Little squishies can have stinky rock."
One of the mutated dog-like creatures starts to snarl at Dawnbound. And the Ogre barks a command at it in what you assume to be Giant speak, and the creature backs down, but its spike-like hackles remain stiff.
Dog-like creatures in question:
This encounter is over. You each gain 1200 XP
Buckeran and Orr the Unseen are still Unconscious.
Treasure: 1 rock per dead Mephit (Total 6), if you think you can safely claim it.
The Ogre seems to be willing to avoid a fight, for now. I'll update the map if you decide to attack her, or are forced into a fight. But for now, she is standing 10' south of the poison puddle, on the same horizontal grid as Buckeran and Barkly.
She/her, DM and Player.
My DM Registry
My Campaigns:
Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP); Secrets of the Island (On Discord)
My Characters:
Krik-tul, Thri-kreen monk
Hastos raises a hand in an attempt for a peaceful greeting. “I am Hastos. We have wounded.” Hastos walks over to Orr and flicks his ear with his index finger in an attempt o wake him up without doing any damage.
looking back at the Orc, “What rocks? These?” He points to the rocks left by the creatures. “Maybe we can help each other.”
Character: Hastos, Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread
Orr the Unseen twitches and rolls over on their side.
Sleep spells run deep. You'll have to shake the shit out of Orr or damage them to awaken them.
The Ogre tilts her head and scratches her armpit. "Wounded die out here. Leave 'em. Sumpin'll eat em up for you." She sees you point at the little stone left behind by the Dust Mephit, and half raises her javelin. "MY RO-" and then hears you talk about help. "Help each other?" She seems amused by the concept that little "squishies" could help her, but her curiosity gets the better of her. "How're little half dead squishees gonna help Tana?" Either her tone is pejorative, or that's just the way she sounds. But she seems to be talking to you the way people tend to talk to puppies.
Roll Deception or Persuasion (DC 7). The DC is lowered because she thinks you're adorable.
She/her, DM and Player.
My DM Registry
My Campaigns:
Ibahalii Vriwhulth, the Reaper of Glory v2: IC Thread (PbP); Secrets of the Island (On Discord)
My Characters:
Krik-tul, Thri-kreen monk