Encounter 5: Hide and Seek with Demons

[PhaedrusXY]

As the weapons assail Marlowe, Ris-Janna spots a large demonic bird beginning to take flight from the top of the broken wall of the rubble next to him.

[spoiler]I'll get a better map up later, with gridlines. But here is something crude just so you have a general idea of what the area looks like. R-J and Marlowe are 60 feet apart, and Marlowe is about 30 feet from the base of the rubble where the Vrock was perched. The squares are mostly intact buildings in the area, all at least 3 stories high. The rubble has one wall that still reaches to about 50 feet in the air, and that's where the Vrock was sitting. The pile of rubble around that wall itself is nearly 30 feet deep and about as wide.[/spoiler]



[spoiler]DC 20 Knowledge (Planes) to ID it as a Vrock, or DC 10 if you're native to the abyss.

Initiative Order:
Ris-Janna 33
Oggug 32
Cade 29
Erlking 28
Xuuvosic 26
Uvorix 26
Oaxool 23
Kaemarah 24
Vrock 22
Marlowe 22
Raoul 21
Hannavrah 16
Siphsis 15
Shlurshech 12[/spoiler]

[HeadofVecna]

[spoiler]Init rolls

Xuuvosic 26
Oggug 32
Uvorix 26
Oaxool 23
Kaemarah 24
Hannavrah 16
Shlurshech 12
Erlking 28
Siphsis 15

Xuuvosic Know: Planes check (1d20+4=14). I'm not sure what the DC is since he's from the next plane over from the Abyss.[/spoiler]

[Bozwevial]

[spoiler]Preemptive roll for when (or if) I actually do see the vrock: Knowledge (the planes) (1d20+20=32)[/spoiler]

[PhaedrusXY]

[spoiler]

Xuuvosic Know: Planes check (1d20+4=14). I'm not sure what the DC is since he's from the next plane over from the Abyss.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Close enough, so it would be 10. It's not like they stay in the abyss... They especially are fairly common on planes right next door, heh.

The only one who has seen it yet is RJ right now, though.[/spoiler]

[VennDygrem]

[spoiler]Pre-emptive rolls:

Initiative: 1d20(19)+10=29
Knowledge (The Planes): 1d20(11)+9=20[/spoiler]

[Agita]

Silently moving closer to the pile of rubble, Ris-Janna attempts to gauge the border of the dead magic zone Marlowe has stumbled into before dropping the party's hiding hole onto the ground and opening it. Then, she fixates on the perched vrock, trying to move closer to it through the shadows, but wouldn#t be surprised if she fails.

[spoiler]Move: Move as close as possible to the rubble with a single move action. Try to keep a bit of distance from Marlowe and remain hidden.

Swift: Open Pit.

Standard: Attempt Shadow Jaunt as close to the Vrock as possible (since it's so high off the ground, there's a possibility that the vrock itself is outside the DMZ, but RJ might be too far away to make that count). If it doesn't work, I assume that wastes the action? If it doesn't, she'll continue to move closer and try to map out the border of the DMZ.
[/spoiler]

[PhaedrusXY]

Ris-Janna finds that the spells on her fail only after a few more steps. She takes a step back, drops and opens the pit, and then teleports up next to the unsuspecting vrock.

The vrock squawks and turns to look in her direction, evidently hearing her, but she deftly maneuvers herself around it and avoids its field of vision. It then vanishes and reappears high in the air at the edge of her magically enhanced vision. She sees it pull a wand out of a belt, and then finds herself covered in glowing motes of dust.

[spoiler]Will save DC 13 to avoid being blinded. You now have a -40 penalty to hide. BTW, Glitterdust is SR: No.

Vrock is 120 feet above Ris-Janna. [/spoiler]

Then the vrock crows with laughter, a gem glows on the creature's belt, and Ris-Janna finds herself assailed with all manor of random weapons from the ancient battlefield, just as Marlowe was earlier.

[spoiler]1d20+15; 1d6 ? [7,15] = (22)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [3] = (3)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [20,15] = (35)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [6] = (6)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [14,15] = (29)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [2] = (2)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [14,15] = (29)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [6] = (6)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [15,15] = (30)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [2] = (2)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [16,15] = (31)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [2] = (2)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [10,15] = (25)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [6] = (6)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [10,15] = (25)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [2] = (2)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [14,15] = (29)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [6] = (6)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [5,15] = (20)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [3] = (3)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [4,15] = (19)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [6] = (6)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [13,15] = (28)
1d20+15; 1d6 ? [2] = (2)

Confirmation for possible crit:
1d20+15=29, 1d6=4

Looks like only 2 hits, for 8 damage. How pathetic... [/spoiler]Seeing the ineffectiveness of its attacks, the vrock begins calling out a warning in abyssal.

[Bozwevial]

Marlowe curses fluently under his breath in Abyssal, dashing back out of the field and trying to conceal himself. Poking his head out from cover, he squints around for the vrock, his suit stained with blood in several places.

[spoiler]Moving back to just outside the field. That should be where Ris-Janna is marked on the map, so it should take both my move actions.

If I need new checks, here they are:

Hide and MS (1d20+28=46, 1d20+26=27)

...although I'm hoping that they won't be necessary with the buffs back in place. That's a *really* bad roll.[/spoiler]

[VennDygrem]

Cade begins getting restless, hearing what's going on outside. He spends his time climbing out of the pit, and resuming his normal size and form, and taking the Lazy Turtle Stance.

[PhaedrusXY]

Marlowe can see his assailant after he leaves the dead magic zone. It is high in the air directly above Ris-Janna, who is perched on top of the wall of the ruins adjacent to Marlowe.[spoiler]The vrock is 170 feet up.Are Cade and Marlowe both on the ground? If you're not on the ground, let me know. You both heard the vrock's cry seemingly come from far above the ground. I don't know if Cade has See Invis or just True Seeing. The vrock is out of range of True Seeing.[/spoiler]

[Bozwevial]

[spoiler]I thought we did. We have Cloud Wings, but not Fly?[/spoiler]

[HeadofVecna]

Clinging with foot-suckers to the wall of the pit, just below the lip, Xuuvosic peers out, and stifles his usual stream of invective upon seeing nothing. Telepathically he sends, I don't see shit. Shurshech, Siphsis, check it out, but but don't leave your heads where they're likely to get chopped off.

[spoiler]Xuuvosic hide 40, Xuuvosic MS 20, Siphsis listen 44[/spoiler]

[PhaedrusXY]

[spoiler]None of your minions, nor you, can detect the vrock, HoV, unless you have See Invisible, or get within 120 feet of it. And right now, you don't know where it is to move towards it, unless RJ or Marlowe tells you.[/spoiler]

[Bozwevial]

If the psurlon's outside the pit and I can send a message to Xuuvosic (and assuming his message could reach me):
[spoiler]<There's a vrock above the ruins where Ris-Janna is. Magic doesn't seem to function nearby, though.> [/spoiler]

[PhaedrusXY]

If the psurlon's outside the pit and I can send a message to Xuuvosic (and assuming his message could reach me):
[spoiler]<There's a vrock above the ruins where Ris-Janna is. Magic doesn't seem to function nearby, though.> [/spoiler]

If you guys have Mind Blank like you said here, then none of you can communicate (telepathically) with the Psurlon, nor show up on his "radar".

[Bozwevial]

If the psurlon's outside the pit and I can send a message to Xuuvosic (and assuming his message could reach me):
[spoiler]<There's a vrock above the ruins where Ris-Janna is. Magic doesn't seem to function nearby, though.> [/spoiler]

If you guys have Mind Blank like you said here, then none of you can communicate (telepathically) with the Psurlon, nor show up on his "radar".

Right. I keep forgetting how all our buffs interact.

[Kuroimaken]

[spoiler]And initiative! (1d20+4=21)

Son of a BITCH! I guess that means I should do something.
[/spoiler]

Raoul peeks his head outside to get a feel for the situation. Ready to Fireball whatever seems to be the source of trouble.

[VennDygrem]

[spoiler]What's the initiative order now? And/or are we still getting an updated map, or do you think this will be over too soon to matter?[/spoiler]

[PhaedrusXY]

[spoiler]What's the initiative order now? And/or are we still getting an updated map, or do you think this will be over too soon to matter?[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Well... since it is going to involve a 3rd dimension heavily, I don't know how much good a map is going to do us, anyway...

I'll update the initiative order, but it is still the 1st round, unless you guys are done.[/spoiler]

[Bozwevial]

[spoiler]I think that's everyone and everything.[/spoiler]