The Visitor (Spring 1235)

Play by Post Campaigns Ars Magica 5th Edition: Light of Andorra
541

Die, surface scum!
This is all the warning Roberto gets, as Attumah leaps from his mount, landing right before him! A swift swing, and King Triton's bladed trident closes on Roberto's head!
The crowd goes wild! Everyone is cheering for Attumah!

And worse comes to worst, for the great beast also rushes towards our hero!

Initiative:
Attumah: 28 (Yeah, rolled exploders there :open_mouth: Better on this than on the attack...)
Wirth: 3 (How come all my great rolls went to the bad guys?)
Samil (the giant crab): 2 (yeah, he's slow)

Faithful to his reputation, Attumah's attack is quite brutal, with a total of 17... while his defense is not so great, with a simple 10.

Attumah is too blindingly fast for Wirth, who just has to hope Roberto can handle what was supposed to be a dual. But what can he do against the crab? Going giant and wrestling him is an option, but this would give him away... Given all the luck he's had with spells, he's loathe to cast again, but his friend is in grave danger... He'll try to put the beast to sleep, boosting the Call to Slumber to Sight range so as to temporarily stop his rampage, and then... we'll see.
This gives... +18-15+8+4 = 15 + Pen 4 = 19... Yes!
This should have worked, the spell did penetrate... but the crab doesn't fall down (And yes, this is me surprising myself). Maybe it has cunning instead of intelligence, or is immune to sleep.

At Init 8, Roberto distinctly feels his Parma repelling a mystical effect.

Roberto? Acutus?

542

Roberto puts his shield up between them and takes the full impact with a grin and a grunt.
Initiative!
Initiative: 1D10+3 = [9]+3 = 12
Have at the! And let God guide my hand!
Defense!
Defense roll: 1D10+22 = [6]+22 = 28
:mrgreen: Chump
Attack!
Attack roll: 1D10+15 = [3]+15 = 18
Advantage 8 plus Damage 11 equals 19 points of Damage to be soaked!

543

Acutus immediately recognizes his role in the upcoming battle and swims over to challenge the giant crab and attempt to get in the first blow against the creature as he bites at the creature.

[hr][/hr]

Initiative: -5+3 = -2
Attack Total: 11 + 8 = 19
Damage Total: 16 + Attack Advantage
Defense Total: 3 + 4 = 7 (will use confidence if necessary, and he can use 2, he really doesn't want to get hit this round)
Soak: +9

Combat Stats:
Large Teeth: Init -4 (-5), Attack +11, Defense +4 (+3), Damage +12 (+16)
Soak: +6 (+9)
Fatigue Levels: OK, OK, 0, -1, -3, -5, Unconscious
Wound Penalties: -1 (1-9), -3 (10-17), -5 (18-25), Incapacitated (26-33), Dead (34+)

Active Spells - Already factored in above in parentheses:
Form of the Phlegmatic Heartbeast (+2 Str) – Penetration 12
Gift of the Bear’s Fortitude (+3 Soak) – Penetration 20
Heartbeast of Outlandish Size (+2 Str, -1 Qui, Wounds damage range +1) – Penetration 24+

544

AWESOME!!!

The trident falls on your shield with a reasonning CLANG! that releases waves from the point of impact. Attumah's strenght is terrible, almost breaking your arm, yet you manage to hold your own. Better to deflect the blow next time, though: You're not sure you'll be able to take this kind of impact twice in a row.
Attumah looks at you, quite surprised that your still standing, and that's when you sword pierce his guard... And slip on his hide without piercing his skin.

The giant smiles wickedly
No paltry human blows can harm one born in the sea, wizard. Now, fall! Fall before your better!
Attack 19, followed by defense 05...

And, yet again, you feel a mystical attack trying to pierce your Parma.

Hum...
Acutus is swift, darting right above the crowd, and rushing towards the crab monster, who, recognizing his opponent, turns towards him instead of Charging Roberto. It is surprisingly fast for its size*, his giant pincer going right at Acutus with terrifying accuracy. You manage to dodge it, but barely**.

However, it overextanded itself, leaving an opening for you to strike, your jaws almost crushing its arm*** The monster bellows its pain and rage, and the crowd recoils, frightened.
It tries to seize you with its other pincer, or rather to cut you in 2... ****

Seeing that Acutus is battling the monster, Wirth recoils. This is exactly the kind of fight you don't want to be in the middle of.
He'd strike at Attumah, but Roberto's victory needs to be complete for him to break the monster's hold over the citizens. He's seen Roberto's sword blow, and there's no way he can match that anyway. He also doubts to be able to penetrate the resistance of one powerful enough to defeat King Triton... So physical or magical attacks are out. What can he do?
He'll cast his Eyes of the Cat spell: The goal is, should attumah strike Roberto down, plunge the place into darkness, take his friend and flee.*****

  • I'm re-rolling his Init, coming up with a 0, slower than before, but still faster than Acutus.
    ** Attack total 13, meaning Acutus had to use 2 confidence points to dodge it.
    *** Defense total 15 (I rolled an exploder), meaning attack advantage 04, and base damage 20, for a Medium wound (-3). I was quite afraid for you here, but luckily, your high damage total saved the day.
    **** Attack 11, defense 0. Go for it!!!
    ***** Not only did he manage not to botch, I rolled a 18... Great...
545

Acutus deftly dodges the crabs pincer and violently bites down on the creature's shell.

On phone, so can't post all combat stats.

Attack total: 11 (0 no botch on roll)
Damage total: 27 (16 + 11 and 0 defense )
Defense total: 12 (die Roll of 6 + 1 confidence)

http://www.coyotecode.net/roll/lookup.php?rollname=Acutus

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

546

So, the second turn:

Init 28: Attumah attacks Roberto with a 19 (waiting for marko)
Init 12: Roberto attacks Attumah, who defends with a 05.
Init 08: Roberto's parma pings, although he's the only one conscious of that.
Init 00: Samil strikes at Acutus with a 11, defense is 12. A nice dodge, indeed :smiley:
Init -2: Acutus strikes back! And his ferocious jaws tear through the beast's shell, inflicting a Heavy wound on top on the Medium one. The first turn was a very close call, but for all its might, it seems that Attumah's fearful mount was no match for the great shark.

Waiting for Marko before we attack round 03

547

Roberto pushes back with his shield and raises his sword to try and deflect the blow...
Defense roll: 1D10+22 = [1]+22 = 23
Exploder!
exploder: 1D10 = [2] = 2
grrrr....
Defense of 26
Then Roberto lunges, trying to impale the enemy's throat on the point of his sword.
Attack roll: 1D10+15 = [3]+15 = 18
versus a Defense of 5 equals Attack Advantage 13, with Damage +11, equals a +24 coming at you for soak :smiley:

548

Yeah!

Roberto masterfully deflects the trident, while his blade plunges towards Attumah's exposed throat. It misses, instead ripping ineffectively on his arm. Attumah smirks, until a thin trail of blood appears.
Impossible...

Turn resume:
Init 28: Attumah attacks Roberto with a 19, and is masterfully parried with a 26!
Init 12: Roberto attacks Attumah, inflicting a Light wound on his ennemy!
Init 08: Roberto's parma pings, although he's the only one conscious of that.
Init 00: Samil strikes at Acutus with a 11, defense is 12. A nice dodge, indeed :smiley:
Init -2: Acutus strikes back! And his ferocious jaws tear through the beast's shell, inflicting a Heavy wound on top on the Medium one. The first turn was a very close call, but for all its might, it seems that Attumah's fearful mount was no match for the great shark.

And we enter Turn 3!

You'll pay for this!/color] shouts Attumah as he swings his trident wildly (Attack 16, defense 05)

549

Defense roll: 1D10+22 = [0]+22 = 22
shit...
Botch Check: 1D10 = [6] = 6
whew!
With his left arm, Roberto swings his shield outward to wildly deflect Attuma's trident.
Following the momentum of his body, Roberto exerts his energy (spends a Fatigue level) and comes down with his right and an overhand swing of his blade, down towards the left.
Attack roll, spending Fatigue: 1D10+15+6 = [2]+15+6 = 23
Really? What is this crap? I roll a quintuple exploder when it does not matter, and I get low numbers when it really counts!!!!
Attack Advantage 18, with +11 from his sharp sword, that equals +29 damage to be soaked. Based on previous results, that should be at least a Light Wound. Maybe Medium. Not sure of this guy's size or soak.
Spending Fatigue puts Roberto back to Winded -0. There is no opportunity to catch his breath here, and if he does it again (he prolly will) then he goes to Weary -1.
Monster! You will pay for what you have done! I shall avenge King Triton! And I will place Soteria as Queen on the throne you usurped! May the Lord blast your soul, for I shall gut you where you stand you pig!!!

Roberto is fully aware of something systematically pinging against his Parma with regular frequency. But he has no idea what to do about it nor the time to deal with it now. It may be an attack, it may be assistance. Who knows? But ain't nobody got time for that.

550

All around the two fighters, the crowd roars at each blow, screaming Attumah's name, although all these cries are strangely devoid of life.

And once again, Roberto's sword strikes true, actually slicing Attumah's chest, although the wound doesn't look very deep.

For the first time, Roberto sees doubt in Attumah's eyes. And is that a tint of fear?

Grunting heavily, the giant goes all-out for another heavy blow, striking with a 21!
Once again, though, he overextends himself, and his defense pales, being only a 05.

And this turn, nothing pings on Roberto's Parma.

Wirth pondered his options, but he can do little against the brute. All he can do is get ready to plunge the place into darkness.

551

Stab the guy in the back! Roberto is no knight. He is a dirty low down Almogavar. Honor is of no use to the dead :slight_smile:

That means the effect penetrated, or the caster ceased efforts. Bookmarked for latter investigation.
But for now...
Hearing the howl of the weapon bearing down on him, Roberto raised his shield up quickly, barely in time to intercede between him and the tines of the trident...
Defense roll: 1D10+22 = [2]+22 = 24
Intellego is a combat Art!
And again, he will spend Fatigue in an attempt to drive the point of his sword through Attuma's chest.
Attack roll, spending Fatigue: 1D10+15+6 = [5]+15+6 = 26
Minus Defense 5 equals 21, +11 equals 32 points of damage for the soaking.
I am guessing that is a Medium wound at least, if not worse.
Roberto is now Weary, -1 to future rolls until he recovers (or gets worse). But with injury penalties, I am guessing Attuma is probably worse off.
Next round he might try a magic trick :wink:
Maybe...

552

Well, thing is, he knows Roberto's fighting abilities, and he's seen Attumah resist his strike. He knows he doesn't have that kind of firepower, by far.
Maybe, now that Attumah is weakened, he could manage to wound him, but the more time passes, the less useful this becomes. And he prefers to stay altert.

:laughing:
And that spell is, IMO, a little overpowered compared to Invisibility. Legacy ^^

Giving it his all, Roberto feints, gets on the side of his opponent, and, using his ennemy's own strength and momentum against him, profundly slices his left thigh, blood following his sword in a crimson arc. Attumah can't refrain a grunt of pain and shock, his leg weakening under him.

You... You've asked for this. You're a worthy opponent, but even you will fall under the might of the sea!
The waters around him darken and swirl, seemingly tightening in his grasp, as he raises his left hand towards you
Baneful Maelstrom!

His init was 28, it falls to 17, should you wish to fast-cast something (Info: I've just calculated it, and with the Aura's boost, he penetrates).
And of course, I had to roll good for his defense... He gets a 07, despite his wounds.

Aaaaargh! Wirth delayed his action, but I don't think this counts as a valid trigger for an Interrupt. Saving my post, I'll check at home.
Hum... No, unless I missed something (I looked in a hurry), I misremembered, you don't need a trigger, just a really, really good roll, since he needs to beat Attumah's init. But that's about all he can do, so he'll try it.
Fuck yes. 1, 1, 7 = Init 32. I don't believe it.
Now, not to fuck up his spellcasting for once... Yes! 5

Attumah was calling the darkest sea to him, ready to unleash its power on Roberto, but Wirth released the spell he'd been holding since the beginning of the fight, plunging the entire area into darkness. Unable to locate his target (this is a fight, you keep moving, so Roberto ain't a standing target), Attumah must try to release it by sound, with a Per + Awareness + die total of 04 vs Roberto's stress roll + 08.

So, to recap:
Attumah tries to release his effect
32: Wirth plunges the aera into darkness
17: The effect is released, and strikes Roberto is attumah manages to locate him (beat a 04 with stress die + 08 to avoid that)
12: Roberto's normal init, attumah has a defense of 07. I suppose the bonuses to attack and defense cancel each other, so he's got +3 for a total of 10, unless you can cancel through the dark somehow (in which case, his total drops to 01).

Behind the scenes: I almost had him unleash this last turn, when the power went badly for him, but he was too proud for this. Now, he's enraged and fearful enough. I didn't know if it could penetrate until calculating, and it managed only due to the aura. And I didn't think at all wirth could be helpful to Roberto, especially given Attumah's high init, so this is really a great stroke of luck for Roberto.

553

Is the giant crab doing anything, or is he basically out of the fight with the medium and heavy wounds?

554

Acutus needs to get some Ignem spells and a big vat of melted butter. :slight_smile:

555

You nailed it anyways, but it works differently. If you are holding a Delayed Reaction over from the previous Round, you get to Interrupt and make a contested roll for Action Priority Total. Even if the guy had a really really high score. You force a new roll off. (LoM, page 119)

Awesome move! Wirth is totally Batman 8)

Not sure what that all means, but here goes...
Saving Throw: 1D10 = [9] = 9
?

Roberto touches the blood of Attuma on his blade, his foe kissed by Kindness. As an Arcane Connection, I do believe this counts as being able to perceive his target. It is also going to serve as a Multiplier to Penetration :smiling_imp:

Attuma! Defiler! Usurper! Be thou Boiled! CREO IGNEM!!!!!!
Multicast Pilium of Fire.
-1 Weary, +1 Stamina, Creo 6+3, Ignem 12+3, Loud Words +1, No Gestures -5, Mastery 4; Casting Base +24
Penetration Bonus: Base 24 minus level 20 - 4, plus ((Penetration 2 (Creo) + Penetration Mastery 4) = 7, multiplied by 5 (base 1, +3 Blood, +1 Name/Nickname) = 35) = 39 + a Stress Die

five Multi Pof with precalulated Penetration figured in: 1D10+35 = [3]+35 = 38
1D10+35 = [0*]+35 = 35
1D10+35 = [8]+35 = 43
1D10+35 = [6]+35 = 41
1D10+35 = [3]+35 = 38
One botch check. Taken in stride...
Five Botch Dice: 1D10 = [6] = 6
1D10 = [7] = 7
1D10 = [7] = 7
1D10 = [5] = 5
1D10 = [6] = 6
fuck yeah!!!

Now, I know this guy has a massive Soak when being hit by a sword. I hope that is some sort of soak ward versus steel and not just sheer bulk. Otherwise I am screwed.
Let us hope for an Exploder...
Fire Damage: 1D10 + 15 - 5 = [10]+15-5 = 20
1D10 + 15 - 5 = [9]+15-5 = 19
1D10 + 15 - 5 = [2]+15-5 = 12
1D10 + 15 - 5 = [2]+15-5 = 12
1D10 + 15 - 5 = [3]+15-5 = 13
:frowning:
I gotta check for a damage botch?
Botch Check: 1D10 = [5] = 5

556

Wouldn't you need to boost the range of the fire spells to R:Arc to use the AC to target him?
But it certainly should assist Pen, just spread the PoF around and bit where he was!

557

That I need Fixer to check on. I figured that, since I can here his voice and he can here mine, it would work and the AC is just for perception. However, I do not mind taking a "do over" on my action since the rolls sucked hard.

558

Pretty much out.
It is thoroughly mauled, and bleeding enough to try to crawl back to whatever hellish depths spawned it.

Yes, that's why I had him make his roll for interrupt, hoping for a high enough total and getting that insane die roll as a result :smiley:
Ah, but yes, I forgot I needed a roll for Attumah instead of needing to beat his roll. Just in case... 4... Yeah, that's what I thought :smiley:

Let me explain.
He was gonna unleash a massive effect on you, when Wirth plunged the zone into darkness. Since you were all moving instead of being ducks, he doesn't know where you are at the right moment, and need to perceive you, likely based on sound or water movement. You get a small bonus due to the darkness.

So... Suddenly, the darkness engulfs Roberto and his opponent, making them almost invisible to each other. And right on time. Just as Roberto was trying to flak attumah, he is buffeted by a massive, whirling column of almost solid water, which throws him even more on the side.

That's a good question. I don't think so: You aren't using AC range, just using a connection to boost your penetration. I'll save this, and try to check at home...
Yes, I was right. See p84: AC allow you to cast a spell on something you're not currently sensing... however the spell must have an AC range. So you would have had to make a Per + Awareness roll vs 11.

However, let's say his shout right before you gave him away.

Roberto's flame lances erupt once again, instantly boiling away the water, briefly piercing the shadows.
For a moment, you see Attumah's form, his body pierced by a lance of superheated vapor*, before the last flames are drowned out. Attumah cries out in pain, a bellowing sound that echoes through the place. And then, darkness.

What do you do?
(Wirth casts his "eyes of the Cat" spell and manages not to botch)

  • I botched the second soak roll there... Unbelievable. Between wirth's roll and this, you're lucky, lucky, lucky. I went back and forth between the rolls without thinking to copy-paste the roll, but I swear to you I fumbled honestly. Unbelievable.

(Edit: Fixed broken link)

559

Wait! What just happened? Someone turn on the lights!

Roberto's senses are hyper alert, expecting Attumah to come at him from any direction.

560

Confusion erupts in the darkened place, the mermen calling for their lord, asking what happened...

Shut up! Casting on you!

And roberto feels wirth's hand catching his arm, yanking him on the side.
Suddenly, his vision clears, as if a veil had been lifted from his eyes.
He can see townsfolkd panicking, and Attumah fleeing, slowly carried away by some water cushion.
Some of the guards were walking tentatively towards him, spears raised, and a few of them seem to have noticed his outburst. They're all but blind, though, only going forward due to their devotion to Attumah. You should be able to avoid them relatively easily, should you wish so.

  • 9 + 23 = 32 - 05 = 27 + Pen 4 = 31 vs Corpus Parma 25. Cast silently, of course.