Anauroch - The Great Desert

[Thistledown Thurbertaut]

From within the crumbled remains of the Keep, a sound blasted through the cavern, sounding like a foghorn, or perhaps it is of a massive weight scraping metal upon stone.  The mountain of rubble starts to shift and move, and a small avalanche ensues as a towering form raises itself from where it had lain buried for age upon age.

It is humanoid in shape, at first appearing like an armored giant...but the proportions are all wrong.  The body is roughly spherical, like a massive iron kettle.  Two smaller spheres jut out at high angles forming pauldron-like shoulders.  Comparitively tiny, twig-like armatures extend below these, connecting into massive cylindrical foreamrs and huge metal hands. A skirt of overlapping armored segments extends from it's articulated waist, covering the top of the creature's piston-like legs, each taller than a man. On it's back, two more cylindrical cannisters jut out. From the top of the massive body, a small domed head is sunk in like a turret, a metal grating covering the lower half of it's face, and only the angry yelow glow of it's eyes can be seen.

Two circles, which had been scarcely noticable before, sink into the chest of the metal monster and disappear while some kind of lenses shift forward and twin beams of white light flood the chamber, washing out the orange of the flickering torches.

The spotlights swivel downward, illuminating the grisly scene below.  The towering behomth roars, it's voice echoing deep and hollow from from within it's torso with the sound of crackling electricity and the gravelly grating of grinding metal....

"MAUG..."

The Behemoth reachs out one arm.  A bolt of purple lightning crackles down into the pile of stone and another form breaks through, sending even more of the ruined keep tumbling across the cave.  It is a massive, ornately decorated tower shield, as tall as three men.  As it levitates upward the others can see that it is animated by discs affixed to it's bottom and sides that crackle with the same violet arcs and small thrusters that spit flames, adjusting its attitude so it stays floating to the front of the ancient war machine.

OOC:

Yay! I'm in! Tell me what to do now boss...do I roll initiative?

[Brainpiercing]

[ooc]

The trouble is that you only get to act in the "effective" round 1 of the battle, while the others could roll initiative in the effective round -2. Which means we have to wait for at least one or two others to act before you can get going. BUT you can still roll for init, just to see when you get to join.
Initiative is not strictly followed though, in PbP, it's mostly an indicator, and we have to use it to find out when someone is flat-footed.

For everyone else: even though there is only one opponent I might make a battle-plan and pass it around by email.

[Thistledown Thurbertaut]

OOC

Initiative: 15. http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2602402/

[Snizor]

Unfamiliar with the sight of a battlefield, Daelric viewed the ruins from his position behind the rest of the group with a sense of morbid fascination as the group passed through.

His morbid fascination turned instantly to panic as Agnak's roar reverberated through the ruins. Survivors, but from which side...

Having no desire to be disemboweled by whomever (or whatever) it was that Agnak was roaring about, Daelric weaved his arcane magic, fading from sight [OOC: casts Invisibility, 8 min duration].

Seeing the THING that had so efficiently murdered Agnak, Daelric prayed to the goddess that it couldn't see through his invisibility [Hide:52, Move Silently: 21. Initiative: 8]


OOC:

Hide: 52 (with invisibility bonus)
Move Silently: 21
Know: Arcana- 33 (to try and learn about the giant mechanical thing we're encountering)

[Brainpiercing]

[Private for Daelric]

The merely large stony construct on rollers had been described as a Maug, a intelligent warrior construct which was usually employed on the wartorn plane of Acheron. Occasionally, mercenaries of same type had been witnessed throughout Faerun, and on other planes.

The other, huge construct that had burst through the rubble was the stuff of legends - ancient tomes told of humanlike warmachines constructed aeons ago, who were both machine and organism, alive and construct. Usually though, once they were this large, the living part was largely eliminated.

Since only the first one was present in the beginning, it seemed clear that the stony construct had vanquished Agnak.

[Omen of Peace]

[OOC]

Init 15 (using 4 luck points, 12 left)

BP, I never re-did his actions after our OOC back-and-forth, so here they are. This replaces my earlier post (only the last paragraph is different).

You can sing with me "Brave sir Mael ran away..."

Mael progressively filled with dread as they advanced down the tunnel. This was not the world he knew, of humanoids and their petty self-delusions. A massive war had been waged here, its outcome hard to decipher.
Mael had never had much use for history, but at this moment he regretted it: not knowing the past made the present scarier.

Don was trotting at an even pace, having just whined twice at the strange smells permeating the place. But then Mael had chosen him and bred him for steadfastness and indifference to the world at large.

As they heard the thunder of the clash nearby, Mael decided that he better forearm himself. A few mutterings and a pass of his hand help him put Lady Luck on his side. [OOC: cast Improvisation (SC) - 8 rounds, 16pts]

Suddenly, before he had even reached the large cavern, the diminutive halfling drew Don's reins back sharply. Then he began to turn Don around, wordlessly putting some distance between whatever awaited and himself.

[Surreal]

OOC (stats)

init = 12
know: arcana: 12
know: dungeon: 12 (ok, that's just weird...)
hide = 48 (w/invisibility)
m.silent = 30
****************

Upon hearing the noise up ahead, Maglu'glath instinctively hunched down to all three. "$%&#, that lummox DID run into a trap... everyone try to stay close." Mag muttered something to himself, and suddenly an aura extended out from him. Those nearby disappeared from sight (invisibility sphere).

OOC:

Not sure how many actions I'm allowed here... will append more if allowed

[Brainpiercing]

[ooc]

You can roll init after hearing Agnak roar. Then you get two rounds of actions before Agnak is defeated. You have to cover about 150ft of distance to the entrance, unless you can pass through the wall. So the idea is to give you a prep round while letting see the scene basically in round 1.

I know this is a bit constructed, forgive me. I don't normally like to do cutscene-like scenes, but it's actually quite hard to time such things otherwise - to allow you to catch the culprit with the bloodied knife, so to speak. What I SHOULD have done is made a map earlier and gone to combat rounds as soon as you guys hear Agnak roar. Well... we live and learn.

I'll go make a battle-map now. Thistle, I need your email-adress so I can send you the map as well.

With invisibiliy covering them, everyone (who was so inclined) reached the doorway unnoticed, and could see the scene that unfolded in front of them.

[Omen of Peace]

Mael was quite impressed by the flawless glamer cast or brought forth by his companions. He'd have gotten closer to Mag, except for the forewarning his intuition afforded him.

[OOC]

Mael's Init is greater than Mag's, so the Sphere is not there during his 1st turn and he turns tail during the 2nd.
Just making it clear so that Mag can spit verbal venom at Mael.

[Brainpiercing]

[ooc]

Duh, I also still need email addresses from Snizor and Omen, I think... at least I can't find those in my PMs.

In the interim, I'll try to upload this to my webspace for you to download.

Alright, try this:

www.brainpiercing.net/Battlegrid_TheDeathofAgnak_round1.pdf
www.brainpiercing.net/Battlegrid_TheDeathofAgnak_round1.xls

Please tell me where you want to be at the start of the fight (round 1 effective) using only the BLACK sidebar coordinates.

[Brainpiercing]

Alright, here goes.

The stony construct who had introduced himself to Agnak as Jaslach stared in contemptuous wonder at the huge figure that had burst from the rubble.
'You? I thought we were done with you. This is a really bad time for you to return. Well... just means I have to kill you again.'

Rolling back just five feet he opened up with all his weapons... a staccato of sharp pops rang through the cavern, with bullets whizzing everywhere - but most just deflected off the huge shield and the thick armour plates of his huge opponent. Only one found a mark, gliding in between two overlapping plates.

Lots of misses on your modified AC of 33, one hit at AC hit 37, 13 damage. Don't feel too comfortable yet - luck is a bitch

[Omen of Peace]

Mael directed Don to head farther down the circular tunnel, but he stopped next to the wall, hunting for telepathic impressions that would give him a clue of what was happening.

[OOC: double-move to AB-43]

[For BP only]

Sizing the creature up, Azur could tell that it possessed vast power. Nonetheless, he had often witnessed a small rock tripping up a giant.

He flew closer then willed his essence to merge with the construct's.
Let's see who will win this contest of wills.

He was betting on the creature being forthright about who had beaten who... but he could always target the other construct should this one prove either too strong or too feeble a tool.

[OOC]

Aura: 11 vs 15
Move: move adjacent (AC-35).
Standard: Possession (Will save DC 26 - it gets a -2 penalty if it's Evil or engaged in an evil act) - expect further actions if he succeeds

[Thistledown Thurbertaut]

From the back of the behemoth, the two large cylinders move with the sound of metal on metal.  They shift outward slightly, spread apart, and a seam splits in the middle of each.  Panels slide back and nozels extend from the bottoms, before igniting with a tremendous blast of fire and smoke as the huge construct lifts airborne from the top of the ruined keep, it's massive shield still hovering a few feet away and crackling with lightning and spurts of fire. 

It's war cry echoes through the cavern at a deafening volume as the metal monstrosity hurls itself through the air towards it's stony nemesis.

MAAAAAUUUGGGG!!!!

Hopefully I get this all correct... Free action to activate Overdrive.  UMD to activate True Strike: Natural 20!  http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2608024/

Flyby attack to initiate Grapple: 10+20+7+10+8 = 55 to attack (if the attack of opportunity the Maug gets misses of course...)  http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2608012/

[Brainpiercing]

[ooc]

Activating true strike is a standard action, and flyby attack takes a move and a standard - and you no longer have both.

[PRIVATE for Mael]

While the stony construct certainly wasn't - normally - immune to Azur's influence, it's magical protection from good also protected it from being posessed. Azur could not penetrate his aura - at least not right now.

[ooc]
These amulets or other charms are really far too cheap... Sorry, the guy really couldn't make the save if he tried, so... I have to protect my toys. BUT... perhaps I could give you something to play with sooner or later, depending on your wishes.

[Thistledown Thurbertaut]

Then let's activate the wand during the first round when it first appears and yells Maug before Jaslach shoots. Would that be acceptable? Everyone else got a free round

[Brainpiercing]

I guess.... that could work. Walk me through your attack bonus calculation again, please, will you? In my book you should have 13+20+1d20, unless you want to charge, in which case it's 17+20.

AND I don't even think you need true strike to initiate a grapple. You make a touch attack first, then a grapple check. But, your call.

[Thistledown Thurbertaut]

Well I looked it up on SRD and it said step 1. attack roll, step 2, touch attack.  If I am wrong please correct me, I am newish to 3.5  Attack math: roll (10) + true strike (20) + BaB (7) + Strength bonus (10) + size bonus (8).  The SRD said attack roll+attack bonus+size modifier.

[Omen of Peace]

[OOC @Thistledown]
It's 1) Touch attack, 2) Grapple check ; they're mostly the same (roll + BAB + Str + size), but big sizes bring a negative modifier to an attack roll and a positive one to the grapple check.

[For BP only]

[OOC]
Boohoohoo, how undignified. The only reason for a construct to have it is to thwart me since they're immune to all the mind-affecting stuff already.

That said, I expected it but... can I suggest having more than one enemy in most instances? Azur already has a permanent toy, but the point of his ability is to make use of temporary ones as well: I don't want to ruin your encounter but I don't want to sit it out either.
(I don't want to make into a nuke race, hence why I didn't give Dispel to Mael to disable the horrid items.)

Azur has other possibilities which he'll make use of shortly...
Let's start making new mechanics then: since he can animate the rocky rubble around the construct, can he use it to hinder the thing by, I don't know, entangling and/or grappling and/or tripping it?
edit: I reread the text of the ability ; using the stats of Animated Objects works out fine for tripping & grappling. We can still develop additional options for what could essentially become a moving carpet or even a cloud of rocks.

[Brainpiercing]

[The grapple rules straight from the SRD]

Starting a Grapple

To start a grapple, you need to grab and hold your target. Starting a grapple requires a successful melee attack roll. If you get multiple attacks, you can attempt to start a grapple multiple times (at successively lower base attack bonuses).

Step 1: Attack of Opportunity. You provoke an attack of opportunity from the target you are trying to grapple. If the attack of opportunity deals damage, the grapple attempt fails. (Certain monsters do not provoke attacks of opportunity when they attempt to grapple, nor do characters with the Improved Grapple feat.) If the attack of opportunity misses or fails to deal damage, proceed to Step 2.

Step 2: Grab. You make a melee touch attack to grab the target. If you fail to hit the target, the grapple attempt fails. If you succeed, proceed to Step 3.

Step 3: Hold. Make an opposed grapple check as a free action. If you succeed, you and your target are now grappling, and you deal damage to the target as if with an unarmed strike.

If you lose, you fail to start the grapple. You automatically lose an attempt to hold if the target is two or more size categories larger than you are.

In case of a tie, the combatant with the higher grapple check modifier wins. If this is a tie, roll again to break the tie.

Step 4: Maintain Grapple. To maintain the grapple for later rounds, you must move into the target’s space. (This movement is free and doesn’t count as part of your movement in the round.) Moving, as normal, provokes attacks of opportunity from threatening opponents, but not from your target.

If you can’t move into your target’s space, you can’t maintain the grapple and must immediately let go of the target. To grapple again, you must begin at Step 1.
Grappling Consequences

While you’re grappling, your ability to attack others and defend yourself is limited.

No Threatened Squares: You don’t threaten any squares while grappling.

No Dexterity Bonus: You lose your Dexterity bonus to AC (if you have one) against opponents you aren’t grappling. (You can still use it against opponents you are grappling.)

No Movement: You can’t move normally while grappling. You may, however, make an opposed grapple check (see below) to move while grappling.

[For Thistledown]

If you rolled a 10 your touch-attack hits AC 41 while using True Strike, which is plenty. (13 melee attack bonus+20-2 (Tower Shield)+10(roll)).
You can now make a Grapple check to start grappling. Your grapple mod is +23, True strike has already been used up.
Jaslach's AoO: AC hit 26 (miss unless you charged)
Jaslach's counter-grapple-check: 33

You said you wanted to use fly-by attack to grapple, which means you actually have to lift the guy up, or else you can't continue flying. If you win the grapple that now requires a Str check to lift your medium load into the air - Jaslach should weight between 2500 and 3000lbs. The check should be fairly easy, DC 15 or so.

As the huge warmachine hurled itself at Jaslach, the 20-foot glaive jerked upwards again, but was deflected by the Tower Shield. Then the two titanic forced collided, and a flurry of activity began as arms and hands interlocked, evaded and relocked in the effort of getting a grip - or avoiding one.

[PRIVATE for Mael]

[ooc]
Yes, boo is correct. Now the trouble is: This enemy was tuned to fight the new guy (and kill Agnak, I admit). So... while I understand your disappointment, I hope you will forgive me.

Now, you CAN animate the surrounding rubble into an animated object of basically your choice. However, in order to get the stats of an animated object it will have to be a contiguous thing, not a cloud, so even if bits of rubble get animated as one object, they should stick together to form one single body. A colossal animated object could give you a ton of options - it is at this level still quite a relevant threat, especially due to its high to hit bonus. The combat options you can use are Blind, Constrict and Trample.

I'm not sure what to do with clouds of rubble. Technically this works, but the effect could only duplicate spell effects, for instance, a (solid) fog spell. I don't think a cloud could grapple someone, for instance. You could perhaps use the stats of a Living Spell Solid Fog... or whatever material you are animating. That seems to be the closest analogy. (I have to look at these again, I am at present not aware of their stats.)

We might also find you a critter to posess, soon. There is enough running around in the desert at the moment. For example some big magical beast with a crappy will save, or any lonely BSF . We could also give Don a few HD or the odd template, or you could buy a different Warbeast mount. Essentially, there are a lot of options.

[Thistledown Thurbertaut]

41?  Sweet Jesus!  Well we have ways of dealing with that, but let's ramp up the action in stages shall we? :cracks knuckles: 

Grapple Check: 40  http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2609101/

Strength Check: 16 http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2609100/

Damage: 27 http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2609102/

Fast Healing/2 down a net total of 11 HP. 9 rounds Overdrive remaining. True Strike charge expended and noted on sheet.

The impact sent a shockwave through the underground fortress, nearly sucking the air from the lungs of the invisible eavesdroppers. The rocketing armored giant slammed into the evil construct with the force of 10 battlerams, lifting its opponent bodily from the ground and into the air. Once it had a solid grip, dozens of smaller ports opened across it's body from which gleaming adamantine spikes clacked into place...and impaling the Maug upon their cruel number...