"You're welcome to have a taste, bud... after I get a taste of those sweetbreads!"
They keep playing their song, slowly turning in place until they're facing it again. "C'mon, snake! Let's rattle!" They seem to be having fun with this.
"I'm afraid that won't be happening- the Barley King will be leaving with me. Alive." It hisses in response, not seeming to care for their performance in the least. The god-eater continues to stare them down, twitching with an anticipatory hunger that impatiently waits to devour their very life essence. "I'll let you make the first move- with how you helped me back then, you deserve to have a fighting chance."
They sigh. "Well, if that's how you wanna play it." They open their missing left eye and pull out some of the dark energy, forming it into a tiny pepper. "So, what's up with this while 'keeping it alive' thing? It's not like it's gonna do anyone any good." They crush it up and blow it toward Helianth as a aerosolized spray of burning chemicals.
Make a DC 25 CON save with disadvantage or take 45 acid damage and be blinded for one minute.
"What use do you have for it?" They flick two fingers upward, causing a geyser of what seems to be butter to burst up from beneath Helianth.
A 10ft sphere in the center of the dome is now difficult terrain and deals 28 necrotic damage to anyone touching it at the start of each round. In addition, creatures in the area have to make DC25 DEX saves or fall prone. If a creature is prone in the butter, the necrotic damage increases by 12.
"I really do want to know."
Finally, they dash past Helianth, striking at one of its flower heads with their palm. Attack: 22 Damage: 10 necrotic damage, and it cannot regain HP until the end of Atticus' next turn.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
May each word that I speak be backed by each of my teeth.
"You're welcome to have a taste, bud... after I get a taste of those sweetbreads!"
They keep playing their song, slowly turning in place until they're facing it again. "C'mon, snake! Let's rattle!" They seem to be having fun with this.
"I'm afraid that won't be happening- the Barley King will be leaving with me. Alive." It hisses in response, not seeming to care for their performance in the least. The god-eater continues to stare them down, twitching with an anticipatory hunger that impatiently waits to devour their very life essence. "I'll let you make the first move- with how you helped me back then, you deserve to have a fighting chance."
They sigh. "Well, if that's how you wanna play it." They open their missing left eye and pull out some of the dark energy, forming it into a tiny pepper. "So, what's up with this while 'keeping it alive' thing? It's not like it's gonna do anyone any good." They crush it up and blow it toward Helianth as a aerosolized spray of burning chemicals.
Make a DC 25 CON save with disadvantage or take 45 acid damage and be blinded for one minute.
"What use do you have for it?" They flick two fingers upward, causing a geyser of what seems to be butter to burst up from beneath Helianth.
A 10ft sphere in the center of the dome is now difficult terrain and deals 28 necrotic damage to anyone touching it at the start of each round. In addition, creatures in the area have to make DC25 DEX saves or fall prone. If a creature is prone in the butter, the necrotic damage increases by 12.
"I really do want to know."
Finally, they dash past Helianth, striking at one of its flower heads with their palm. Attack: 22 Damage: 10 necrotic damage, and it cannot regain HP until the end of Atticus' next turn.
Helianth's Con save: 30 I'm not bothering with the Dex save, as they'd need a Nat 20 to succeed. Also, Atticus takes 10 fire damage from the Fire Shield when they attack it with their palm.
The necrotic damage from the butter and from Atticus' strike seems to hit the crooked scourge much harder than it first anticipated- and it grows worried when the decaying wounds don't immediately regenerate. "If the Barley King is not sacrificed, the seasons will change once more. Winter will come, and the Autumn Court will finally wither away. If you stop trying to kill me and help me with my mission, you could rule this realm once he's dead." It stands up from the pool of flesh-eating butter- right now, its focus is on getting to the Barley King, and getting out of here. It knows it could perish should it continue to fight Atticus like this. It needs to flee.
"It's been lovely seeing you again, but I believe this is where we must part ways- I have a god to save." If it can, it casts a Quickened Dimension Door to appear on the other side of the deep-fried barrier Atticus conjured around them, and Dashes away. If it can't, it rushes at Atticus and swings its roots at them in an attempt to grapple them and stop them from using more magical trickery (25 to hit, DC 18 Strength save to escape the grapple). Regardless of if the grapple succeeds, it then casts a Quickened Incendiary Cloud around them both (DC 20 Dexterity save (with disadvantage if they're grappled), 46 fire damage), followed by another use of Kill the Lights. (DC 26 Constitution save, 12 cold damage plus 19 necrotic damage.)
Helianth's Con save: 30 I'm not bothering with the Dex save, as they'd need a Nat 20 to succeed. Also, Atticus takes 10 fire damage from the Fire Shield when they attack it with their palm.
The necrotic damage from the butter and from Atticus' strike seems to hit the crooked scourge much harder than it first anticipated- and it grows worried when the decaying wounds don't immediately regenerate. "If the Barley King is not sacrificed, the seasons will change once more. Winter will come, and the Autumn Court will finally wither away. If you stop trying to kill me and help me with my mission, you could rule this realm once he's dead." It stands up from the pool of flesh-eating butter- right now, its focus is on getting to the Barley King, and getting out of here. It knows it could perish should it continue to fight Atticus like this. It needs to flee.
"It's been lovely seeing you again, but I believe this is where we must part ways- I have a god to save." If it can, it casts a Quickened Dimension Door to appear on the other side of the deep-fried barrier Atticus conjured around them, and Dashes away. If it can't, it rushes at Atticus and swings its roots at them in an attempt to grapple them and stop them from using more magical trickery (25 to hit, DC 18 Strength save to escape the grapple). Regardless of if the grapple succeeds, it then casts a Quickened Incendiary Cloud around them both (DC 20 Dexterity save (with disadvantage if they're grappled), 46 fire damage), followed by another use of Kill the Lights. (DC 26 Constitution save, 12 cold damage plus 19 necrotic damage.) Assuming that its own spells have lit several fires across the arena, it siphons the light from them, regaining a tiny portion of its health.
They counter the Dimension Door... which leads to them being utterly ravaged by Helianth, unable to avoid the grapple. However, Helianth still takes half damage from the pepper spray, and it still can't regain HP from the flames due to the Chill Touch DEX: 16 CON: 18
They grin through the smoke and chill, barely injured even in the likely event that they fail both saves. They teleport just outside of its roots, dealing 22 Necrotic damage to it. "Why would you want to destroy such a wonderful land? More sun? Surely your stomach is full... or it will be after...." The grin becomes a leer as they open their left eye once more. "Inverted Curse: Divine Hunger."
DC 25 CON save or suffer from Food Fatigue. While it suffers from Food Fatigue, it is vulnerable to Piercing damage and can't use reactions. In addition, whenever Helianth would use a bonus action or the Dash action, it must make the save again or fall prone instead.
Lastly, they enact another Chill Touch. Attack: 26 Damage: 15 Necrotic, you know the effects well at this point.
"You're doing good." If Helianth drops to 0 HP, it instead drops to 1 and is Incapacitated so it can carry on a conversation despite losing.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
May each word that I speak be backed by each of my teeth.
*I really expected Atticus to be absolutely destroyed by this fight. He's almost at 50% HP, but otherwise he's doing great against this literal divine entity.*
*I gave him three actions, but he has no bonus actions or legendary actions. Also, he can still only cast one leveled spell per turn.*
*Also, funnily enough, he has less raw spellcasting endurance than your average 20th level wizard, but he's a lot more flexible with his spells. He's nearly halfway out of Mana, however.*
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
May each word that I speak be backed by each of my teeth.
Helianth's Con save: 30 I'm not bothering with the Dex save, as they'd need a Nat 20 to succeed. Also, Atticus takes 10 fire damage from the Fire Shield when they attack it with their palm.
The necrotic damage from the butter and from Atticus' strike seems to hit the crooked scourge much harder than it first anticipated- and it grows worried when the decaying wounds don't immediately regenerate. "If the Barley King is not sacrificed, the seasons will change once more. Winter will come, and the Autumn Court will finally wither away. If you stop trying to kill me and help me with my mission, you could rule this realm once he's dead." It stands up from the pool of flesh-eating butter- right now, its focus is on getting to the Barley King, and getting out of here. It knows it could perish should it continue to fight Atticus like this. It needs to flee.
"It's been lovely seeing you again, but I believe this is where we must part ways- I have a god to save." If it can, it casts a Quickened Dimension Door to appear on the other side of the deep-fried barrier Atticus conjured around them, and Dashes away. If it can't, it rushes at Atticus and swings its roots at them in an attempt to grapple them and stop them from using more magical trickery (25 to hit, DC 18 Strength save to escape the grapple). Regardless of if the grapple succeeds, it then casts a Quickened Incendiary Cloud around them both (DC 20 Dexterity save (with disadvantage if they're grappled), 46 fire damage), followed by another use of Kill the Lights. (DC 26 Constitution save, 12 cold damage plus 19 necrotic damage.) Assuming that its own spells have lit several fires across the arena, it siphons the light from them, regaining a tiny portion of its health.
They counter the Dimension Door... which leads to them being utterly ravaged by Helianth, unable to avoid the grapple. However, Helianth still takes half damage from the pepper spray, and it still can't regain HP from the flames due to the Chill Touch DEX: 16 CON: 18
They grin through the smoke and chill, barely injured even in the likely event that they fail both saves. They teleport just outside of its roots, dealing 22 Necrotic damage to it. "Why would you want to destroy such a wonderful land? More sun? Surely your stomach is full... or it will be after...." The grin becomes a leer as they open their left eye once more. "Inverted Curse: Divine Hunger."
DC 25 CON save or suffer from Food Fatigue. While it suffers from Food Fatigue, it is vulnerable to Piercing damage and can't use reactions. In addition, whenever Helianth would use a bonus action or the Dash action, it must make the save again or fall prone instead.
Lastly, they enact another Chill Touch. Attack: 26 Damage: 15 Necrotic, you know the effects well at this point.
"You're doing good." If Helianth drops to 0 HP, it instead drops to 1 and is Incapacitated so it can carry on a conversation despite losing.
Helianth's CON save to avoid the curse: 28. CON save to avoid losing concentration on Incendiary Cloud, which if it remains, Atticus will need to make another Dexterity save to avoid it: 13 (35 fire damage, if the cloud persists)
If it succeeds its saving throw against the Divine Curse, it dispels the Chill Touch with a Counterspell (Cast at 6th level to reduce the likelihood of Atticus counter-counterspelling) so it can regenerate. Either way, it lashes out with a Fire Storm (Quickened if it avoids the curse), golden infernos spewing forth from its flower heads like dragon's breath (DC 20 Dexterity save, 46 fire damage), before unleashing a Fire Bolt (again, only if it succeeds and avoids the curse: 25 to hit, 22 fire damage).
"This land is a land of decay, of stagnation- it only exists to whet the appetite of vultures like the Autumn King and his Court. That doesn't sound 'wonderful' to me- it's about time something new came about. Something that would allow new life to grow."
Kill the Lights. Same DC 26 save, same 15 cold damage plus 14 necrotic damage. If it succeeded in dispelling the Chill Touch (an unlikely scenario, but somewhat possible), it siphons the flames its spells have ignited across the arena, regaining some of its strength.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
*I really expected Atticus to be absolutely destroyed by this fight. He's almost at 50% HP, but otherwise he's doing great against this literal divine entity.*
*I gave him three actions, but he has no bonus actions or legendary actions. Also, he can still only cast one leveled spell per turn.*
*Also, funnily enough, he has less raw spellcasting endurance than your average 20th level wizard, but he's a lot more flexible with his spells. He's nearly halfway out of Mana, however.*
*Yeah, Atticus is doing pretty great, all things considered. I didn't expect him to stand as much a chance as he is, but he's kinda got Helianth on the ropes- they were worryingly close to being knocked out last round.*
*Helianth's action economy mostly depends on its Sorcery Points to Quicken spells- without those, it'd be much less of a threat. I think if that Divine Curse had hit, it would have been curtains for the crooked god-eater.*
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
They counter the Dimension Door... which leads to them being utterly ravaged by Helianth, unable to avoid the grapple. However, Helianth still takes half damage from the pepper spray, and it still can't regain HP from the flames due to the Chill Touch DEX: 16 CON: 18
They grin through the smoke and chill, barely injured even in the likely event that they fail both saves. They teleport just outside of its roots, dealing 22 Necrotic damage to it. "Why would you want to destroy such a wonderful land? More sun? Surely your stomach is full... or it will be after...." The grin becomes a leer as they open their left eye once more. "Inverted Curse: Divine Hunger."
DC 25 CON save or suffer from Food Fatigue. While it suffers from Food Fatigue, it is vulnerable to Piercing damage and can't use reactions. In addition, whenever Helianth would use a bonus action or the Dash action, it must make the save again or fall prone instead.
Lastly, they enact another Chill Touch. Attack: 26 Damage: 15 Necrotic, you know the effects well at this point.
"You're doing good." If Helianth drops to 0 HP, it instead drops to 1 and is Incapacitated so it can carry on a conversation despite losing.
Helianth's CON save to avoid the curse: 28. CON save to avoid losing concentration on Incendiary Cloud, which if it remains, Atticus will need to make another Dexterity save to avoid it: 13 (35 fire damage, if the cloud persists)
If it succeeds its saving throw against the Divine Curse, it dispels the Chill Touch with a Counterspell (Cast at 6th level to reduce the likelihood of Atticus counter-counterspelling) so it can regenerate. Either way, it lashes out with a Fire Storm (Quickened if it avoids the curse), golden infernos spewing forth from its flower heads like dragon's breath (DC 20 Dexterity save, 46 fire damage), before unleashing a Fire Bolt (again, only if it succeeds and avoids the curse: 25 to hit, 22 fire damage).
"This land is a land of decay, of stagnation- it only exists to whet the appetite of vultures like the Autumn King and his Court. That doesn't sound 'wonderful' to me- it's about time something new came about. Something that would allow new life to grow."
Kill the Lights. Same DC 26 save, same 15 cold damage plus 14 necrotic damage. If it succeeded in dispelling the Chill Touch (an unlikely scenario, but somewhat possible), it siphons the flames its spells have ignited across the arena, regaining some of its strength.
Counter-counterspell. DEX: 16 CON: 33
"What you're looking for is just as dead as this place. Have you noticed the plants? The apples, the pumpkins, the pears? If you remove Autumn from here, you'll be removing Autumn full stop. No harvest season. Starvation for millions across the planes. Funny how things work out, right?"
They slowly stand after being knocked around by all the explosions, examining the situation closely. Then they grin again. They flap open their duster, and hundreds and hundreds of knives fly out from it, scooping up the butter from the ground before forming a vortex around Helianth, slashing and carving brutally.
DC 25 DEX save or take 90 necrotic.
Their leer falters slightly. They make two more Chill Touch attacks.
Attack: 34 Damage: 25 Attack: 35 Damage: 29
Afterward, they shake off their claw. "I'm running out of power here. You're good though, right?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
May each word that I speak be backed by each of my teeth.
*I really expected Atticus to be absolutely destroyed by this fight. He's almost at 50% HP, but otherwise he's doing great against this literal divine entity.*
*I gave him three actions, but he has no bonus actions or legendary actions. Also, he can still only cast one leveled spell per turn.*
*Also, funnily enough, he has less raw spellcasting endurance than your average 20th level wizard, but he's a lot more flexible with his spells. He's nearly halfway out of Mana, however.*
*Yeah, Atticus is doing pretty great, all things considered. I didn't expect him to stand as much a chance as he is, but he's kinda got Helianth on the ropes- they were worryingly close to being knocked out last round.*
*Helianth's action economy mostly depends on its Sorcery Points to Quicken spells- without those, it'd be much less of a threat. I think if that Divine Curse had hit, it would have been curtains for the crooked god-eater.*
*Atticus is pulling out all the stops right now. These two are just ripping into each other like there's no tomorrow.*
*By the way, that divine curse? 3rd level spell. I just thought it would have more resonance if I tied it to their relationship.*
*He's still not even bloodied, which is a massive shock.*
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
May each word that I speak be backed by each of my teeth.
Helianth's CON save to avoid the curse: 28. CON save to avoid losing concentration on Incendiary Cloud, which if it remains, Atticus will need to make another Dexterity save to avoid it: 13 (35 fire damage, if the cloud persists)
If it succeeds its saving throw against the Divine Curse, it dispels the Chill Touch with a Counterspell (Cast at 6th level to reduce the likelihood of Atticus counter-counterspelling) so it can regenerate. Either way, it lashes out with a Fire Storm (Quickened if it avoids the curse), golden infernos spewing forth from its flower heads like dragon's breath (DC 20 Dexterity save, 46 fire damage), before unleashing a Fire Bolt (again, only if it succeeds and avoids the curse: 25 to hit, 22 fire damage).
"This land is a land of decay, of stagnation- it only exists to whet the appetite of vultures like the Autumn King and his Court. That doesn't sound 'wonderful' to me- it's about time something new came about. Something that would allow new life to grow."
Kill the Lights. Same DC 26 save, same 15 cold damage plus 14 necrotic damage. If it succeeded in dispelling the Chill Touch (an unlikely scenario, but somewhat possible), it siphons the flames its spells have ignited across the arena, regaining some of its strength.
Counter-counterspell. DEX: 21 CON: 19
"What you're looking for is just as dead as this place. Have you noticed the plants? The apples, the pumpkins, the pears? If you remove Autumn from here, you'll be removing Autumn full stop. No harvest season. Starvation for millions across the planes. Funny how things work out, right?"
They slowly stand after being knocked around by all the explosions, examining the situation closely. Then they grin again. They flap open their duster, and hundreds and hundreds of knives fly out from it, scooping up the butter from the ground before forming a vortex around Helianth, slashing and carving brutally.
DC 25 DEX save or take 80 necrotic.
Their leer falters slightly. They make two more Chill Touch attacks.
Attack: 30 Damage: 28 Attack: 31 Damage: 23
Afterward, they shake off their claw. "I'm running out of power here. You're good though, right?"
Assuming the effect with the whirlwind of necrotic daggers is a magical effect, it attempts to cast Counterspell again- at 9th level. No more holding back. If that somehow doesn't work, here's Helianth's Dexterity save (it'll need a Nat 20 to succeed, though maybe it'll work): 6
If the dagger storm does hit, Helianth will be knocked down, battered and unable to regenerate, defeated. "...Better to get the suffering over with than prolong it for eternity, I'd say."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
"What you're looking for is just as dead as this place. Have you noticed the plants? The apples, the pumpkins, the pears? If you remove Autumn from here, you'll be removing Autumn full stop. No harvest season. Starvation for millions across the planes. Funny how things work out, right?"
They slowly stand after being knocked around by all the explosions, examining the situation closely. Then they grin again. They flap open their duster, and hundreds and hundreds of knives fly out from it, scooping up the butter from the ground before forming a vortex around Helianth, slashing and carving brutally.
DC 25 DEX save or take 80 necrotic.
Their leer falters slightly. They make two more Chill Touch attacks.
Attack: 30 Damage: 28 Attack: 31 Damage: 23
Afterward, they shake off their claw. "I'm running out of power here. You're good though, right?"
Assuming the effect with the whirlwind of necrotic daggers is a magical effect, it attempts to cast Counterspell again- at 9th level. No more holding back. If that somehow doesn't work, here's Helianth's Dexterity save (it'll need a Nat 20 to succeed, though maybe it'll work): 15
If the dagger storm does hit, Helianth will be knocked down, battered and unable to regenerate, defeated. "...Better to get the suffering over with than prolong it for eternity, I'd say."
Counter-counterspell.
Atticus is kneeling, gasping for breath at the power needed to counter Helianth. "Damn... I'm spent." They flop down beside it. "You're a coward. You'd rather millions face death than you face a future where you don't have absolute control. Someone had to put you in your place. Be glad it was me and not the King himself."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
May each word that I speak be backed by each of my teeth.
Assuming the effect with the whirlwind of necrotic daggers is a magical effect, it attempts to cast Counterspell again- at 9th level. No more holding back. If that somehow doesn't work, here's Helianth's Dexterity save (it'll need a Nat 20 to succeed, though maybe it'll work): 15
If the dagger storm does hit, Helianth will be knocked down, battered and unable to regenerate, defeated. "...Better to get the suffering over with than prolong it for eternity, I'd say."
Counter-counterspell.
Atticus is kneeling, gasping for breath at the power needed to counter Helianth. "Damn... I'm spent." They flop down beside it. "You're a coward. You'd rather millions face death than you face a future where you don't have absolute control. Someone had to put you in your place. Be glad it was me and not the King himself."
It tries to stand, to escape to avoid its death, but collapses, its arm crumbling to ash as its flames begin to dim. "You... you may have won this battle... but I'm not dying... just yet." It looks down into the charred soil below them, and makes a quiet and desperate plea to its greatest ally in this realm.
"Queen Amina... the Barley King lies somewhere within this forest. I am too wounded to continue the search by myself. Please, I beg of you, send your children here, and save me from this fate... so we may continue our mission... Autumn will end..."
Atticus is kneeling, gasping for breath at the power needed to counter Helianth. "Damn... I'm spent." They flop down beside it. "You're a coward. You'd rather millions face death than you face a future where you don't have absolute control. Someone had to put you in your place. Be glad it was me and not the King himself."
It tries to stand, to escape to avoid its death, but collapses, its arm crumbling to ash as its flames begin to dim. "You... you may have won this battle... but I'm not dying... just yet." It looks down into the charred soil below them, and makes a quiet and desperate plea to its greatest ally in this realm.
"Queen Amina... the Barley King lies somewhere within this forest. I am too wounded to continue the search by myself. Please, I beg of you, send your children here, and save me from this fate... so we may continue our mission... Autumn will end..."
They stand suddenly. "You (GP)." They growl. "I could have killed you in an instant if I brought friends. Weak, weak, WEAK!" They rip out the Uzumaki Scrapple from their left eye socket. "I'll send your pathetic ghouls running and hiding like I did every tyrant and usurper before them."
(Permission to capture?)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
May each word that I speak be backed by each of my teeth.
Atticus is kneeling, gasping for breath at the power needed to counter Helianth. "Damn... I'm spent." They flop down beside it. "You're a coward. You'd rather millions face death than you face a future where you don't have absolute control. Someone had to put you in your place. Be glad it was me and not the King himself."
It tries to stand, to escape to avoid its death, but collapses, its arm crumbling to ash as its flames begin to dim. "You... you may have won this battle... but I'm not dying... just yet." It looks down into the charred soil below them, and makes a quiet and desperate plea to its greatest ally in this realm.
"Queen Amina... the Barley King lies somewhere within this forest. I am too wounded to continue the search by myself. Please, I beg of you, send your children here, and save me from this fate... so we may continue our mission... Autumn will end..."
They stand suddenly. "You (GP)." They growl. "I could have killed you in an instant if I brought friends. Weak, weak, WEAK!" They rip out the Uzumaki Scrapple from their left eye socket. "I'll send your pathetic ghouls running and hiding like I did every tyrant and usurper before them."
(Permission to capture?)
(Permission granted.)
It looks up at them, trying to cast another spell to possibly stop them, but in its wounded and broken state, it can only cough up a few measly embers. It's still trying to drag itself away from them. "...I will become... more powerful... than you can ever conceive... My end... is not here... it cannot be here..."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
They stand suddenly. "You (GP)." They growl. "I could have killed you in an instant if I brought friends. Weak, weak, WEAK!" They rip out the Uzumaki Scrapple from their left eye socket. "I'll send your pathetic ghouls running and hiding like I did every tyrant and usurper before them."
(Permission to capture?)
(Permission granted.)
It looks up at them, trying to cast another spell to possibly stop them, but in its wounded and broken state, it can only cough up a few measly embers. It's still trying to drag itself away from them. "...I will become... more powerful... than you can ever conceive... My end... is not here... it cannot be here..."
The flames, it's core, all the power it has consumed, they are all sucked up into the black maelstrom. "You are right. But right now... class is in session, and you're gonna learn."
Inside the Uzumaki is a hellscape not unlike the Beach, but if it were all alive and completely lightless. Thousands of evil spirits, curses, and demons run and cower as abominations made of food and hatred and whatever else Atticus could find roam, the masters of this horrifying demiplane. A massive eye watches from above. Atticus' missing one. He watches every moment, every movement, every mourning. Helianth, despite being captured so brutally, feels powerful, no longer held down by the twisted form it had created for itself. A being of pure light and power and thought given form.
It can hear Atticus' voice echoing from the walls. The entire place is only about the size of a large football stadium.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
May each word that I speak be backed by each of my teeth.
They stand suddenly. "You (GP)." They growl. "I could have killed you in an instant if I brought friends. Weak, weak, WEAK!" They rip out the Uzumaki Scrapple from their left eye socket. "I'll send your pathetic ghouls running and hiding like I did every tyrant and usurper before them."
(Permission to capture?)
(Permission granted.)
It looks up at them, trying to cast another spell to possibly stop them, but in its wounded and broken state, it can only cough up a few measly embers. It's still trying to drag itself away from them. "...I will become... more powerful... than you can ever conceive... My end... is not here... it cannot be here..."
The flames, it's core, all the power it has consumed, they are all sucked up into the black maelstrom. "You are right. But right now... class is in session, and you're gonna learn."
Inside the Uzumaki is a hellscape not unlike the Beach, but if it were all alive and completely lightless. Thousands of evil spirits, curses, and demons run and cower as abominations made of food and hatred and whatever else Atticus could find roam, the masters of this horrifying demiplane. A massive eye watches from above. Atticus' missing one. He watches every moment, every movement, every mourning. Helianth, despite being captured so brutally, feels powerful, no longer held down by the twisted form it had created for itself. A being of pure light and power and thought given form.
It can hear Atticus' voice echoing from the walls. The entire place is only about the size of a large football stadium.
At first, the Elder Evil is terrified- reasonably so, given how it's been transported into a lightless hellscape of eternal torment packed into a far-too-small space. However, that fear quickly subsides as another... far more familiar feeling creeps in. Or rather, two far more familiar feelings.
The first is strength. Here, the god eater is a being of pure captive radiance- a blazing star of destruction, a black hole, immolation and annihilation given thought and form.
The second... it recognizes immediately. It feels like shaking hands with an old friend, it's so natural to the scourge. The gnawing. The writhing. The burning. It looks at the destruction around it in this pocket prison, and feels no fear. It doesn't feel much of any emotion, really- those all easily fall to the side in the wake of that oh-so-familiar presence. Desire. Want. Greed. Gluttony. Hunger. Hunger.HUNGER.
It only hesitates for the briefest of moments before it throws itself into the fray, gorging itself on all it can kill.
*Shadow Helianth is gonna be Atticus' favorite summon...*
*Also, Felix is going to hate this man.*
*Helianth is going to be an absolute monster to behold... and it's going to try and get out and kill Atticus as many times as it takes...*
*I mean, there's lots of monsters in Atticus' little prison- thousands, as you said... I could hardly think of a better source of XP...*
*Hmmm... I'll need to think of an interesting way to develop this further other than the inevitable "Helianth gets out and kills Atticus," since that's probably going to be happening regardless.*
*See, the Uzumaki Scrapple is his biggest source of power, giving him the energy to keep throwing out those crazy spells. It also holds all his demons and summons and such, and is literally made of them. But he's a curse expert, a master of controlling maladictive forces. So if Helianth were to consume everything in there, it would be free, but it would also be subject to his control due to it being filled with the aforementioned forces. It would be a clash of wills between the two, and I'm not sure who would come out on top.*
*What do you think?*
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Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
May each word that I speak be backed by each of my teeth.
*Shadow Helianth is gonna be Atticus' favorite summon...*
*Also, Felix is going to hate this man.*
*Helianth is going to be an absolute monster to behold... and it's going to try and get out and kill Atticus as many times as it takes...*
*I mean, there's lots of monsters in Atticus' little prison- thousands, as you said... I could hardly think of a better source of XP...*
*Hmmm... I'll need to think of an interesting way to develop this further other than the inevitable "Helianth gets out and kills Atticus," since that's probably going to be happening regardless.*
*See, the Uzumaki Scrapple is his biggest source of power, giving him the energy to keep throwing out those crazy spells. It also holds all his demons and summons and such, and is literally made of them. But he's a curse expert, a master of controlling maladictive forces. So if Helianth were to consume everything in there, it would be free, but it would also be subject to his control due to it being filled with the aforementioned forces. It would be a clash of wills between the two, and I'm not sure who would come out on top.*
*What do you think?*
*I think that once it eats its way through the Scrapple, there'd be a real chance that it could be at least temporarily controlled by Atticus... but the key word there is temporarily. Because as it kills things, it gets stronger- assuming it continues to find fresh prey of supernatural origin, it would eventually grow strong enough to break free... but it has its hunger back. It would never be satisfied- I don't think it ever has been, or even is capable of such a thing...*
*Whatever happens, Atticus has just added fuel to its fire- and you know what happens when a black hole eats? It gets bigger.*
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
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They sigh. "Well, if that's how you wanna play it." They open their missing left eye and pull out some of the dark energy, forming it into a tiny pepper. "So, what's up with this while 'keeping it alive' thing? It's not like it's gonna do anyone any good." They crush it up and blow it toward Helianth as a aerosolized spray of burning chemicals.
Make a DC 25 CON save with disadvantage or take 45 acid damage and be blinded for one minute.
"What use do you have for it?" They flick two fingers upward, causing a geyser of what seems to be butter to burst up from beneath Helianth.
A 10ft sphere in the center of the dome is now difficult terrain and deals 28 necrotic damage to anyone touching it at the start of each round. In addition, creatures in the area have to make DC25 DEX saves or fall prone. If a creature is prone in the butter, the necrotic damage increases by 12.
"I really do want to know."
Finally, they dash past Helianth, striking at one of its flower heads with their palm. Attack: 22 Damage: 10 necrotic damage, and it cannot regain HP until the end of Atticus' next turn.
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
May each word that I speak be backed by each of my teeth.
Helianth's Con save: 30 I'm not bothering with the Dex save, as they'd need a Nat 20 to succeed. Also, Atticus takes 10 fire damage from the Fire Shield when they attack it with their palm.
The necrotic damage from the butter and from Atticus' strike seems to hit the crooked scourge much harder than it first anticipated- and it grows worried when the decaying wounds don't immediately regenerate. "If the Barley King is not sacrificed, the seasons will change once more. Winter will come, and the Autumn Court will finally wither away. If you stop trying to kill me and help me with my mission, you could rule this realm once he's dead." It stands up from the pool of flesh-eating butter- right now, its focus is on getting to the Barley King, and getting out of here. It knows it could perish should it continue to fight Atticus like this. It needs to flee.
"It's been lovely seeing you again, but I believe this is where we must part ways- I have a god to save." If it can, it casts a Quickened Dimension Door to appear on the other side of the deep-fried barrier Atticus conjured around them, and Dashes away. If it can't, it rushes at Atticus and swings its roots at them in an attempt to grapple them and stop them from using more magical trickery (25 to hit, DC 18 Strength save to escape the grapple). Regardless of if the grapple succeeds, it then casts a Quickened Incendiary Cloud around them both (DC 20 Dexterity save (with disadvantage if they're grappled), 46 fire damage), followed by another use of Kill the Lights. (DC 26 Constitution save, 12 cold damage plus 19 necrotic damage.)
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
They counter the Dimension Door... which leads to them being utterly ravaged by Helianth, unable to avoid the grapple. However, Helianth still takes half damage from the pepper spray, and it still can't regain HP from the flames due to the Chill Touch
DEX: 16
CON: 18
They grin through the smoke and chill, barely injured even in the likely event that they fail both saves. They teleport just outside of its roots, dealing 22 Necrotic damage to it. "Why would you want to destroy such a wonderful land? More sun? Surely your stomach is full... or it will be after...." The grin becomes a leer as they open their left eye once more. "Inverted Curse: Divine Hunger."
DC 25 CON save or suffer from Food Fatigue. While it suffers from Food Fatigue, it is vulnerable to Piercing damage and can't use reactions. In addition, whenever Helianth would use a bonus action or the Dash action, it must make the save again or fall prone instead.
Lastly, they enact another Chill Touch. Attack: 26 Damage: 15 Necrotic, you know the effects well at this point.
"You're doing good." If Helianth drops to 0 HP, it instead drops to 1 and is Incapacitated so it can carry on a conversation despite losing.
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
May each word that I speak be backed by each of my teeth.
*I really expected Atticus to be absolutely destroyed by this fight. He's almost at 50% HP, but otherwise he's doing great against this literal divine entity.*
*I gave him three actions, but he has no bonus actions or legendary actions. Also, he can still only cast one leveled spell per turn.*
*Also, funnily enough, he has less raw spellcasting endurance than your average 20th level wizard, but he's a lot more flexible with his spells. He's nearly halfway out of Mana, however.*
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
May each word that I speak be backed by each of my teeth.
Helianth's CON save to avoid the curse: 28. CON save to avoid losing concentration on Incendiary Cloud, which if it remains, Atticus will need to make another Dexterity save to avoid it: 13 (35 fire damage, if the cloud persists)
If it succeeds its saving throw against the Divine Curse, it dispels the Chill Touch with a Counterspell (Cast at 6th level to reduce the likelihood of Atticus counter-counterspelling) so it can regenerate. Either way, it lashes out with a Fire Storm (Quickened if it avoids the curse), golden infernos spewing forth from its flower heads like dragon's breath (DC 20 Dexterity save, 46 fire damage), before unleashing a Fire Bolt (again, only if it succeeds and avoids the curse: 25 to hit, 22 fire damage).
"This land is a land of decay, of stagnation- it only exists to whet the appetite of vultures like the Autumn King and his Court. That doesn't sound 'wonderful' to me- it's about time something new came about. Something that would allow new life to grow."
Kill the Lights. Same DC 26 save, same 15 cold damage plus 14 necrotic damage. If it succeeded in dispelling the Chill Touch (an unlikely scenario, but somewhat possible), it siphons the flames its spells have ignited across the arena, regaining some of its strength.
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
*Yeah, Atticus is doing pretty great, all things considered. I didn't expect him to stand as much a chance as he is, but he's kinda got Helianth on the ropes- they were worryingly close to being knocked out last round.*
*Helianth's action economy mostly depends on its Sorcery Points to Quicken spells- without those, it'd be much less of a threat. I think if that Divine Curse had hit, it would have been curtains for the crooked god-eater.*
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
Counter-counterspell.
DEX: 16
CON: 33
"What you're looking for is just as dead as this place. Have you noticed the plants? The apples, the pumpkins, the pears? If you remove Autumn from here, you'll be removing Autumn full stop. No harvest season. Starvation for millions across the planes. Funny how things work out, right?"
They slowly stand after being knocked around by all the explosions, examining the situation closely. Then they grin again. They flap open their duster, and hundreds and hundreds of knives fly out from it, scooping up the butter from the ground before forming a vortex around Helianth, slashing and carving brutally.
DC 25 DEX save or take 90 necrotic.
Their leer falters slightly. They make two more Chill Touch attacks.
Attack: 34 Damage: 25
Attack: 35 Damage: 29
Afterward, they shake off their claw. "I'm running out of power here. You're good though, right?"
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
May each word that I speak be backed by each of my teeth.
*Atticus is pulling out all the stops right now. These two are just ripping into each other like there's no tomorrow.*
*By the way, that divine curse? 3rd level spell. I just thought it would have more resonance if I tied it to their relationship.*
*He's still not even bloodied, which is a massive shock.*
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
May each word that I speak be backed by each of my teeth.
Assuming the effect with the whirlwind of necrotic daggers is a magical effect, it attempts to cast Counterspell again- at 9th level. No more holding back. If that somehow doesn't work, here's Helianth's Dexterity save (it'll need a Nat 20 to succeed, though maybe it'll work): 6
If the dagger storm does hit, Helianth will be knocked down, battered and unable to regenerate, defeated. "...Better to get the suffering over with than prolong it for eternity, I'd say."
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
Counter-counterspell.
Atticus is kneeling, gasping for breath at the power needed to counter Helianth. "Damn... I'm spent." They flop down beside it. "You're a coward. You'd rather millions face death than you face a future where you don't have absolute control. Someone had to put you in your place. Be glad it was me and not the King himself."
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
May each word that I speak be backed by each of my teeth.
It tries to stand, to escape to avoid its death, but collapses, its arm crumbling to ash as its flames begin to dim. "You... you may have won this battle... but I'm not dying... just yet." It looks down into the charred soil below them, and makes a quiet and desperate plea to its greatest ally in this realm.
"Queen Amina... the Barley King lies somewhere within this forest. I am too wounded to continue the search by myself. Please, I beg of you, send your children here, and save me from this fate... so we may continue our mission... Autumn will end..."
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
They stand suddenly. "You (GP)." They growl. "I could have killed you in an instant if I brought friends. Weak, weak, WEAK!" They rip out the Uzumaki Scrapple from their left eye socket. "I'll send your pathetic ghouls running and hiding like I did every tyrant and usurper before them."
(Permission to capture?)
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
May each word that I speak be backed by each of my teeth.
(Permission granted.)
It looks up at them, trying to cast another spell to possibly stop them, but in its wounded and broken state, it can only cough up a few measly embers. It's still trying to drag itself away from them. "...I will become... more powerful... than you can ever conceive... My end... is not here... it cannot be here..."
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
The flames, it's core, all the power it has consumed, they are all sucked up into the black maelstrom. "You are right. But right now... class is in session, and you're gonna learn."
Inside the Uzumaki is a hellscape not unlike the Beach, but if it were all alive and completely lightless. Thousands of evil spirits, curses, and demons run and cower as abominations made of food and hatred and whatever else Atticus could find roam, the masters of this horrifying demiplane. A massive eye watches from above. Atticus' missing one. He watches every moment, every movement, every mourning. Helianth, despite being captured so brutally, feels powerful, no longer held down by the twisted form it had created for itself. A being of pure light and power and thought given form.
It can hear Atticus' voice echoing from the walls. The entire place is only about the size of a large football stadium.
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
May each word that I speak be backed by each of my teeth.
*Helianth is now a Pokemon.*
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
May each word that I speak be backed by each of my teeth.
At first, the Elder Evil is terrified- reasonably so, given how it's been transported into a lightless hellscape of eternal torment packed into a far-too-small space. However, that fear quickly subsides as another... far more familiar feeling creeps in. Or rather, two far more familiar feelings.
The first is strength. Here, the god eater is a being of pure captive radiance- a blazing star of destruction, a black hole, immolation and annihilation given thought and form.
The second... it recognizes immediately. It feels like shaking hands with an old friend, it's so natural to the scourge. The gnawing. The writhing. The burning. It looks at the destruction around it in this pocket prison, and feels no fear. It doesn't feel much of any emotion, really- those all easily fall to the side in the wake of that oh-so-familiar presence. Desire. Want. Greed. Gluttony. Hunger. Hunger. HUNGER.
It only hesitates for the briefest of moments before it throws itself into the fray, gorging itself on all it can kill.
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
*Shadow Helianth is gonna be Atticus' favorite summon...*
*Also, Felix is going to hate this man.*
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
May each word that I speak be backed by each of my teeth.
*Helianth is going to be an absolute monster to behold... and it's going to try and get out and kill Atticus as many times as it takes...*
*I mean, there's lots of monsters in Atticus' little prison- thousands, as you said... I could hardly think of a better source of XP...*
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
*Hmmm... I'll need to think of an interesting way to develop this further other than the inevitable "Helianth gets out and kills Atticus," since that's probably going to be happening regardless.*
*See, the Uzumaki Scrapple is his biggest source of power, giving him the energy to keep throwing out those crazy spells. It also holds all his demons and summons and such, and is literally made of them. But he's a curse expert, a master of controlling maladictive forces. So if Helianth were to consume everything in there, it would be free, but it would also be subject to his control due to it being filled with the aforementioned forces. It would be a clash of wills between the two, and I'm not sure who would come out on top.*
*What do you think?*
Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.
May each word that I speak be backed by each of my teeth.
*I think that once it eats its way through the Scrapple, there'd be a real chance that it could be at least temporarily controlled by Atticus... but the key word there is temporarily. Because as it kills things, it gets stronger- assuming it continues to find fresh prey of supernatural origin, it would eventually grow strong enough to break free... but it has its hunger back. It would never be satisfied- I don't think it ever has been, or even is capable of such a thing...*
*Whatever happens, Atticus has just added fuel to its fire- and you know what happens when a black hole eats? It gets bigger.*
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)