Pizazz's Ravenloft and Beyond

Mordekai shrugs to the Abbott, "Well, there were 4 of them...Now, please, if you are the hero you claim to be, just help us fight him."

Initiative: 16

Mordekai wastes no time, moving Hex on to Strahd, for all the good Necrotic damage might do (affecting CHA- based ability checks) and firing his Eldritch Blasts. 

Attack: 16 Damage: 15+4 Hex

Attack: 23 Damage: 11+5 Hex

Ezz:  15 

Meepo initiative?

Samanthan, you can go before Strahd, since he's taking his sweet ass time looking around. 

Mordekai's two viscious blasts strike Strahd causing him to stumble backwards.  

[ Round 32:  Mordekai : 22, Samanthan: 17,  Strahd : 16, Ezz : 15, Abbott: 13,  Ulthan : 7, Bride: 5, Ketch : 4, Meepo : ? ]

Samanthan stepped forward (in fact, very much forward, for all 30 ft) and raised up The Holy Symbol of Ravenkind, that burst with the impossibly bright light (Sunlight activation)

 "You will fight me, fiend!" The dwarf did not strike the vampire but obviously hoped that vampire will come himself Compelled Duel (Wis save DC15, hope now in the sunlight he will roll with disadvantage)

(I did some digging, and it seems Saving throws are not "ability checks", and his vampire sensitivity to sunlight reads:  "and he has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks."   So he doesn't suffer disadvantage on his saving throws.)

Wisdom Save: 23.  (But, that dunna seem to matter here!) 

Strahd turns to face Lionel/Samanathan....the sunlight eating away at his face and skin, which seems to simultaneously heal the burning....even though that shouldn't be.  He seems in discomfort, but it isn't causing him to burn up before your eyes.   His hands extend to either side, his razor sharp claws moving....as he looks to Lionel.... "Very well dwarf...let me end this charade once and for all....." 

(Waiting on Meepo's init roll and possible turn, then Strahd's turn....)

(I don't know what is wrong with me - I swear I read the description every time sunlight comes to play, even understand the text! And yet insist on save's disadvantage. Guess I just want Strahd to fail that badly.)

((some things just refuse to make sense in our brains, it seems.  For me it's the whole two spells in one turn thing.  I've read it often enough that I get the concept of "a cantrip that takes a turn to cast, and a spell that is a BA" but when it comes time to actually put into practice my brain just fizzles...))

Meepo initiative: 21

Meepo sends five magical missiles striking at the vampire... Force damage: 15

Meepo sends magic missiles thudding into Strahd....and then Samanthan / Lionel steps forward, challenging him to a duel....which he appears to accept....his skin simultaneously burning in the sunlight, and healing at the same rate, is strange to behold.  He attempts to cast a spell..... Meepo, if you want to identify it, or the level, in an attempt to counterspell, let me know.  (and roll Arcana)

Meepo would try to identify the spell to counterspell if it seemed needing countering...

Arcana: 16

He's casting an up-cast fireball at 5th level.  

Meepo casts a 4th-level counterspell then...Arcana check: 13

Not sure upcasting counterspell does anything though, is there a lowering of the check DC for upcasting? The spell does not say anything on this...

Strahd unleashes a fireball, it tears through Lionel / Samanthan, and : 

(Rolls lower than 11 are caught in the fireball, higher are outside it....) 

Meepo: 4

Ketch: 9

Skeleton 1: 19

Skeleton 2: 15

Skeleton 3 : 1

Ezz: 18

Meepo, Skeleton 1, and Lionel/Samanthan, DC 18 Dex save.  63  32 fire damage, save for half.

Ezz watches Strahd and Lionel/Samanthan facing off....and is just out of the way as the ball of fire erupts.  She circles around Strahd to get between him and the front door....casting a spell that cause three illusions of her to appear around her...

Strahd, in a strange blur steps forward and is now standing right in front of Lionel.

The Abbott, glances about, "Wait...no....."  he stops speaking...watching as the group prepares to battle Strahd.  Something...something glimmers in his eye...and it's like a glass vase shattering on the floor. A sudden realization...a falling away of madness.  "What...what have I done...."  And with that...his poor Abbott disguise is shed like a jacket revealing a gleaming angel with large feathery wings.  A massive golden glowing mace is held effortlessly in one hand, white blank eyes stare about the space...his pale white skin sheaths a body rippling with muscles. 

Strahd glances his way, a sneer on his face, but only briefly, before turning once again back to Lionel/Samanthan....and he swings his claw at Lionel: Attack: 16 Damage: 8 + 15 necrotic damage, but rather than clawing her, he grabs a hold of her arm with a vice like grip.  (only take the necrotic damage, and you are now grappled)

Ulthan's, Ketch, Mordekai, and Meepo can all go (not Lionel yet). 

[ Round 32/33:  Mordekai : 22, Meepo: 18, Samanthan: 17,  Strahd : 16, Ezz : 15, Abbott: 13,  Ulthan : 7, Bride: 5, Ketch : 4 ]

(Reminder, squares are 10ft x 10ft squares)

Meepo save: 16
skeleton1: 16
Skeleton2 9

Meepo save: 17
skeleton1: 5
Skeleton2 22

Meepo sends 6 magical darts rocketing towards the vampire...

Force damage: 22

His three remaining skeletons (skeleton 1 is gone,) all shoot at the vampire...

S2 Attack: 9 Damage: 11
S3 Attack: 24 Damage: 8
S4 Attack: 23 Damage: 6

     “Is this who you are looking for?” Ketch calls out to Strahd, in his left hand he carries his shield and in the right his battle axe.  But as ketch lifts his axe well above his head, dangling below is the head of the pale elf.  Ketch has wrapped the hair around the handle of his axe do he can hold both at the same time and with each swing of the axe, the elf’s head will crash forward at Strahd as well...

     with that, Ketch runs forward, all movement and action spent rushing into melee with the bloodsucker.

Lionel/Samanthan, Dex save 7

Mordekai's eyes narrow as he focuses his anger at Strahd. With none of the tricks he likes to keep up his sleeve, he reverts to his old faithful Eldritch Blasts. 

Attack: 22 Damage: 14 plus 2 Necrotic from Hex. 

Attack: 13 Damage: 11 plus 3 Necrotic from Hex. 

Then Mordekai will move closer, to within about 30ft of Strahd, moving away from the Abbott, whose motivations Mordekai is unsure of just now. (So, somewhere in the direction of Meepo and Ulthan on the map, possibly between the two)