Post by Zyraen on Jan 7, 2014 15:00:29 GMT 8
21.0 The Bad, the Good, and the Beautiful
05-Jan-14[/b]
Session Gameplay Notes
- At the start of the Session, everyone is treated as having a Revival from the Bloodcrystal Raven Skull available. This does not require them to input any surges.
- To even out differences, each Hero starts with 4 AP. Once per Encounter, an AP returns them a surge.
- Heroes deal half-damage to Each Other
- There is no Short Rest between Encounters, and All Dailies end after each Encounter. After each Encounter, Heroes can choose to regain an Encounter Power or 1 Surge.
- Positive Energy Plane: Heroes only gain THP from healing powers. They only regain HP when they Second Wind, or spend a Surge from a natural 20 DST. They also gain 15 THP when they regain HP in this way.
Final Session Log
The Heroes travelled in their Ziggurat through the Positive Energy Plane in the core beneath the Astral Sea, passing through a ruined bastion then an archway, all showing signs of fairly recent devastation. They found a demiplane of positive energy within the area, where they beheld the same colossal Red Dragon they faced earlier (see 20.4), in the process of siphoning souls from the Bastion to strengthen himself.
The following confrontation was fierce and brutal, with the Dragon's whirling Cyclone dazing many of the Heroes and interfering with attacks, while his huge breath attack bathed them repeatedly in flames. When they finally gained some momentum and the Dragon seemed to be getting Critically injured, he suddenly melted into a burst of flames, and a bloodied Balor emerging from the inferno to face the Heroes. Fortunately, one of them had forewarned about this, and they managed to destroy the Balor in mere seconds, although the ensuing explosion was painful. In its place now was the Dragon, still reeling and not recovered from its injuries, and the Hero who had been slain by the Dragon earlier (see 20.4) gleefully pounded him into oblivion before he could act. The Dragon could only roar with defiance before exploding into one last burst of flames.
With its death, from the centre of the demiplane below where the Dragon was initially, rose a nimbus of radiance, a bloodied Angel emerging from its imprisonment. However its emergence triggered some contingent trap, and a fiery web suddenly materialized and tightened around it, burning it into nothingness in an instant. The demiplane started to collapse inwards, the edges falling away, as the main section plummetted through space, and above all fiery strands fell like a burning cage on all sides, preventing the Heroes from summoning a portal to leave.
Then another radiant pillar came from on high, descending down and filling the centre of the demiplane now, the entire place tingling with positive energy. Four ghostly but radiant angels formed in the corners of the small space, and a booming warning was heard, that all intruders into the Bastion must be destroyed. The Heroes had scant chance to recover as the positive energy that had stood them in such good stead against the Dragon instead choked them and ignited, burning their lifeforce away, and one of the Angels moved, attacking each Hero in its path with a radiant sword, and in the aftermath even more positive energy - now cause for concern - settled on them.
Fortunately, a Hero had the presence of mind to set up a Fire Wall, allowing them to burn away the positive energy before it could hurt them, and they set about dispatching the ghostly angels. They discerned that the Angels were being directed by something else, and after some attempts, they realized Pelor himself had been drawn into this place, but he seemed to be discorporated even before arriving, and hence having to use angelic proxies to deal with intruders while his will was concentrated in the pillar of light. He did not respond to attempts to talk, and the Heroes had to choose between sitting out a few more rounds in the fiery web or trying to subdue Pelor, and they chose the latter. A Hero trying to attack Pelor got stunned, then they realized they had but to burn away all the positive energy to be able to attack him with impunity, they damaged, bloodied, and knocked Pelor out, leaving only a comatose seemingly ethereal form lying at their feet, while the angels vanished and the positive energy ceased accumulating.
As the Heroes contemplated their options, Sylvannas, the long-time Healer of the party and bearer of the Orb of Kradgar, suddenly killed the unconscious Pelor, while tapping into the energy of the Bastion to bolster her powers. The flow of souls from the Bastion gathered around her into an incandescent armor, even as a field of radiance formed about the Heroes, and the Orb flickered to open a Portal at one side as the fiery cage faded away. Sylvannas did not seem eager to fight her former comrades, offering a way out, even as the Bloodcrystal Raven Skull shattered to pieces, but they chose to stay and deal with her, for it seemed she intended to seize the Bastion's power for her own.
Even as they elected to fight on, two other party members came under summons by the true Master of the Orb. One - the only healer other than Sylvannas - had been saved by the will of Kradgar previously (see 16.0), and was asked to repay the goodwill by aiding Sylvannas, but he refused even though he knew the consequences, and immediately died, his life withdrawn just as it had been previously given. Another had previously donned a circlet of power provided by Kistarra (see 17.1 and Info Log), and he instantly fell under complete sway of the enemy. But there was yet hope, for the one who had died to remain true to his companions drew back his life force from within his guardian, and returned, albeit bloodied and destroying his totem. The dominated one often had his mentor's will drive him when he would otherwise have succumbed to wounds, but in the hour of darkness she informed him that he had surpassed her in her past life, and his survival was necessary for their Order to carry on. Thus she bore the Domination away and separated from his mind and body, manifesting as but a watchful ghost, unable to change the outcome any further.
What followed was a bloody battle between the Heroes and the revitalized Sylvannas, who surrounded by her incandescent armor could almost ignore melee attacks, and her deadly Field of Radiance dealt grievious harm to all in it. Her attacks could slide enemies into the field, her heals kept her going, and she had speed that allowed her to act twice per round. Perhaps somewhere deep down, the real Sylvannas realized something was not right, for she did not target the Hero's sole healer excessively. With the heals and boosts to their attacks, they were able to hold on long enough and pierce her considerable defenses to defeat her not once but twice, for she revived after her first defeat, and with boosts from the healer, they managed to defeat their former comrade amidst her bid for power.
As the Heroes strike the final blow, Sylvannas' form collapses and shatters into motes of light, and joins up with the souls flowing from the bastion. The orb shatters as well, and where its shards hit the surface of the Bastion, chunks of it falls away down into nothingness. With few options left, the Heroes retreat from the Bastion through the Portal that Sylvannas had opened for them back to their Ziggurat outside the demiplane. Whether she would be remembered as a traitor or mourned as an unwilling pawn lost to powers greater than her own, who knows?
Characters (Players)
Level Up! - Varius (Jeth) : 0.5 / 4 XP 30+1 - Revived by Epic Revival
Level Up! - Quinn (Yi Jeng): 0.5 / 4 XP 30+1 - Revived by Epic Revival
Level Up! - Argon (Alex Kong) : 2 / 4 XP 30
Level Up! - Hadarai (Rubern) : 1.5 / 4 XP 30 - Revived by Loss of Astral Warwing
Level Up! - Jit Babo (Andy): 0 / 4 XP 30
AFK / Level Up! - Sylvannas (Merlvyn) : 2.5 / 4 XP 30+1 - Defeated by the Party. Botted by Andy for first 2 Encounters.
AFK - Alex (Alex Liang) : 2.5 / 4 XP 29
New Char XP : 2.5 / 4 XP 29
All Other Notes : N/A
This is the last Session of the Campaign
Thanks for playing!
05-Jan-14[/b]
Session Gameplay Notes
- At the start of the Session, everyone is treated as having a Revival from the Bloodcrystal Raven Skull available. This does not require them to input any surges.
- To even out differences, each Hero starts with 4 AP. Once per Encounter, an AP returns them a surge.
- Heroes deal half-damage to Each Other
- There is no Short Rest between Encounters, and All Dailies end after each Encounter. After each Encounter, Heroes can choose to regain an Encounter Power or 1 Surge.
- Positive Energy Plane: Heroes only gain THP from healing powers. They only regain HP when they Second Wind, or spend a Surge from a natural 20 DST. They also gain 15 THP when they regain HP in this way.
Final Session Log
The Heroes travelled in their Ziggurat through the Positive Energy Plane in the core beneath the Astral Sea, passing through a ruined bastion then an archway, all showing signs of fairly recent devastation. They found a demiplane of positive energy within the area, where they beheld the same colossal Red Dragon they faced earlier (see 20.4), in the process of siphoning souls from the Bastion to strengthen himself.
The following confrontation was fierce and brutal, with the Dragon's whirling Cyclone dazing many of the Heroes and interfering with attacks, while his huge breath attack bathed them repeatedly in flames. When they finally gained some momentum and the Dragon seemed to be getting Critically injured, he suddenly melted into a burst of flames, and a bloodied Balor emerging from the inferno to face the Heroes. Fortunately, one of them had forewarned about this, and they managed to destroy the Balor in mere seconds, although the ensuing explosion was painful. In its place now was the Dragon, still reeling and not recovered from its injuries, and the Hero who had been slain by the Dragon earlier (see 20.4) gleefully pounded him into oblivion before he could act. The Dragon could only roar with defiance before exploding into one last burst of flames.
With its death, from the centre of the demiplane below where the Dragon was initially, rose a nimbus of radiance, a bloodied Angel emerging from its imprisonment. However its emergence triggered some contingent trap, and a fiery web suddenly materialized and tightened around it, burning it into nothingness in an instant. The demiplane started to collapse inwards, the edges falling away, as the main section plummetted through space, and above all fiery strands fell like a burning cage on all sides, preventing the Heroes from summoning a portal to leave.
Then another radiant pillar came from on high, descending down and filling the centre of the demiplane now, the entire place tingling with positive energy. Four ghostly but radiant angels formed in the corners of the small space, and a booming warning was heard, that all intruders into the Bastion must be destroyed. The Heroes had scant chance to recover as the positive energy that had stood them in such good stead against the Dragon instead choked them and ignited, burning their lifeforce away, and one of the Angels moved, attacking each Hero in its path with a radiant sword, and in the aftermath even more positive energy - now cause for concern - settled on them.
Fortunately, a Hero had the presence of mind to set up a Fire Wall, allowing them to burn away the positive energy before it could hurt them, and they set about dispatching the ghostly angels. They discerned that the Angels were being directed by something else, and after some attempts, they realized Pelor himself had been drawn into this place, but he seemed to be discorporated even before arriving, and hence having to use angelic proxies to deal with intruders while his will was concentrated in the pillar of light. He did not respond to attempts to talk, and the Heroes had to choose between sitting out a few more rounds in the fiery web or trying to subdue Pelor, and they chose the latter. A Hero trying to attack Pelor got stunned, then they realized they had but to burn away all the positive energy to be able to attack him with impunity, they damaged, bloodied, and knocked Pelor out, leaving only a comatose seemingly ethereal form lying at their feet, while the angels vanished and the positive energy ceased accumulating.
As the Heroes contemplated their options, Sylvannas, the long-time Healer of the party and bearer of the Orb of Kradgar, suddenly killed the unconscious Pelor, while tapping into the energy of the Bastion to bolster her powers. The flow of souls from the Bastion gathered around her into an incandescent armor, even as a field of radiance formed about the Heroes, and the Orb flickered to open a Portal at one side as the fiery cage faded away. Sylvannas did not seem eager to fight her former comrades, offering a way out, even as the Bloodcrystal Raven Skull shattered to pieces, but they chose to stay and deal with her, for it seemed she intended to seize the Bastion's power for her own.
Even as they elected to fight on, two other party members came under summons by the true Master of the Orb. One - the only healer other than Sylvannas - had been saved by the will of Kradgar previously (see 16.0), and was asked to repay the goodwill by aiding Sylvannas, but he refused even though he knew the consequences, and immediately died, his life withdrawn just as it had been previously given. Another had previously donned a circlet of power provided by Kistarra (see 17.1 and Info Log), and he instantly fell under complete sway of the enemy. But there was yet hope, for the one who had died to remain true to his companions drew back his life force from within his guardian, and returned, albeit bloodied and destroying his totem. The dominated one often had his mentor's will drive him when he would otherwise have succumbed to wounds, but in the hour of darkness she informed him that he had surpassed her in her past life, and his survival was necessary for their Order to carry on. Thus she bore the Domination away and separated from his mind and body, manifesting as but a watchful ghost, unable to change the outcome any further.
What followed was a bloody battle between the Heroes and the revitalized Sylvannas, who surrounded by her incandescent armor could almost ignore melee attacks, and her deadly Field of Radiance dealt grievious harm to all in it. Her attacks could slide enemies into the field, her heals kept her going, and she had speed that allowed her to act twice per round. Perhaps somewhere deep down, the real Sylvannas realized something was not right, for she did not target the Hero's sole healer excessively. With the heals and boosts to their attacks, they were able to hold on long enough and pierce her considerable defenses to defeat her not once but twice, for she revived after her first defeat, and with boosts from the healer, they managed to defeat their former comrade amidst her bid for power.
As the Heroes strike the final blow, Sylvannas' form collapses and shatters into motes of light, and joins up with the souls flowing from the bastion. The orb shatters as well, and where its shards hit the surface of the Bastion, chunks of it falls away down into nothingness. With few options left, the Heroes retreat from the Bastion through the Portal that Sylvannas had opened for them back to their Ziggurat outside the demiplane. Whether she would be remembered as a traitor or mourned as an unwilling pawn lost to powers greater than her own, who knows?
Characters (Players)
Level Up! - Varius (Jeth) : 0.5 / 4 XP 30+1 - Revived by Epic Revival
Level Up! - Quinn (Yi Jeng): 0.5 / 4 XP 30+1 - Revived by Epic Revival
Level Up! - Argon (Alex Kong) : 2 / 4 XP 30
Level Up! - Hadarai (Rubern) : 1.5 / 4 XP 30 - Revived by Loss of Astral Warwing
Level Up! - Jit Babo (Andy): 0 / 4 XP 30
AFK / Level Up! - Sylvannas (Merlvyn) : 2.5 / 4 XP 30+1 - Defeated by the Party. Botted by Andy for first 2 Encounters.
AFK - Alex (Alex Liang) : 2.5 / 4 XP 29
New Char XP : 2.5 / 4 XP 29
All Other Notes : N/A
This is the last Session of the Campaign
Thanks for playing!