Scales of War Campaign Log - CLOSED

[Zyraen]

4.1 Vault the Bridge to Heaven
20-Mar-13[/b]
Exploring beyond the audience chamber where the Throne of Bahamut was, the Heroes disarmed a radiant gem trap set upon a huge statue of Bahamut and gained access to his personal Vault. Entering the place they found none other than Dispater, Lord of the Second Hell, along with two infernal devil bodyguards wreathed in auras of flame, with five treasure safes around him open. Fearing that he might escape with a lot of powerful artifacts, a Hero caused the statue to slam shut, effectively trapping themselves in with the Archdevil, and the chamber was protected by a powerful Forbiddance preventing anyone from teleporting in and out.
Fortunately for them, Dispater kept his cool and negotiated for a way out, and the Heroes realised that if even if they dealt with him, there was almost no chance they could escape the Vault in time to prevent Drakanad from seizing Amyria while they were trapped. They also realised that Dispater had been himself tricked, and most of the better items from the Vault had already been looted. As a gesture of goodwill, Dispater put aside one of the treasures* he recovered, and then offered to help them get the statue open. Perhaps by divine providence, with his help they managed to escape the Vault quickly enough and as promised Dispater left peacefully with his henchmen. Before leaving, he gave friendly advice that the Heroes should be strategic and tactical in their dealings, and to bring the girl along when seeking Drakanad out at the Bridge of Al-Sihal, which they could access via the gates next to Chronias, the citadel of gold floating in the heavens above the highest peak of Celestia.

Arriving at Chronias and entering the great golden gates outside, the Heroes found visible to them now, a wide but thin pillar of radiant light leading straight up to the heavens, and as they moved towards it they could step on it as if gravity now came from the radiant bridge and not from the land. Moving along they saw traces of battle, of remnants of devils, possibly against angelic guardians that were no longer around. As they came to the end of the bridge, they beheld a Curtain of Radiance guarded by a splendid figure of gold, a mighty seeming Archangel who bade them not to pass for they were not worthy. A Hero who tried to discern its nature determined that it was likely mightier and even more ancient than most Solars, and though it spoke with a weak voice there were no visible injuries of any sort on it.
It managed to give them a vague caution, joined by a warning from the Healer before a huge Mithral Dragon, Drakanad himself, appeared out of nothingness, stunning most of the Heroes into fearful submission and ravaging them with deadly spells and his radiant breath. The first rounds looked bleak for the heroes, even as Drakanad bade them surrender Amyria to him, but the battle turned just as suddenly, with Archangel watching impassively as Drakanad was bloodied but still going strong.
Incredibly, a tiny Hero managed to intimidate the injured Dragon, and when Drakanad realised that he was bloodied yet no closer to his goals, he surrendered the Creation Spark to the Heroes, wishing them good luck against the Archangel and noting they were not the only ones here, before teleporting away. The Healer remarked that this was probably not the last they saw of him, even as the Heroes, many still bloodied, contemplated when and how to tackle the Archangel.

* - Special Party Loot : Any Level 29 Item. Those present can vote who to give it to.

Characters (Players)
BM Lock (Jeth) Lv 27 : 8 / 5
Sleeping Dragon (Andy) Lv 27 : 6 / 5
Mozzy Sparkles (Clement) Lv 26 : 4 / 5 - Achievement : Successfully Intimidated a Campaign BBEG!
"Accurate Thief" (Liu Jun) Lv 26 : 2 / 5

AFK - Vim (Rubern) Lv 26 : 2 / 5
AFK - Alvyn (Merlvyn) Lv 26 : 1 / 5
AFK - Erulisse (Grace) Lv 26 : 0 / 5

Campaign Level 27
Approx Progress to Level 28 : 75%

Note : For easy XP tracking, I am tracking the number of sessions each Player has attended. The "/" indicates the Progress of Sessions to reach the next Level for each Player.

[Zyraen]

Sleeping Dragon's History Check on the Archangel

Before the Gods organised the masses of Angels during the Dawn War, and distinguished them by power and ranked the mightiest of them as Solars, there were Angels in the service of an ancient God, whose name has been forgotten. The two mightiest of his Angels were formidable, and they were placed in the service of the good Gods, and given the following duties. These duties they upheld even after the destruction of their original master.

- One was the Guardian, standing over the gateway to the Heavens, the path to a Higher Existence. With him were a legion of shields, that he might not falter in his duty. He was a ceaseless guardian, and his duty stood above all else, even against the commands of the Gods. Only those found truly worthy would be allowed to pass.

- One was the Conqueror, who would go forth and destroy the evil demons of the Abyss. With him were a legion of swords, to destroy the enemies where they could be found. His duty he did and performed ceaselessly, only pausing to enforce the rulings of the Gods upon rebellious mortals, and to calm those who had become wary of him, by any means necessary.

You are familiar enough with the History of the Multiverse to recognise the name of the latter Angel, who is fairly well known today, but by a different name : Asmodeus, Lord of Nessus and Ruler of Baator (Hell), now a God in his own right.

In distant whispered tales, barely recorded but occasionally referenced, you manage to recall the name of the Archangel you now face : Zachariel, He who did Not Fall.

That reference might be comparing him and Asmodeus, but now you wonder if it also refers to something else...

[Zyraen]

4.2 The Ceaseless Guardian
03-Apr-13[/b]
Zachariel "I am the Ceaseless Guardian, I do not choose my Foes."

Uncertain of how to get past the Archangel Zachariel, the Heroes approached cautiously at first, especially seeing how the area around him appeared to be glimmering with tiny motes of radiant energy. However, one of them rushed into the area, only to be set upon by tiny cutting radiant shields, that attacked him without the Archangel having to even draw his sword. The same Hero obligingly attacked the Archangel, who responded by unleashing his sword in a flurry of blazing swings, and banishing trouble-makers into a demiplane. He also shattered his blade into countless small hovering radiant shields that reinforced the motes of light around him, slashing those within and preventing anyone from moving past.
After many initially fruitless attacks against his golden shield, the Heroes made progress by breaking down the protection over Zachariel, only to find him raising more Shields, effortlessly plucking them out of the countless shields to protect himself. However, the Hero with the Arrow of Fate found he could severely weaken the shield with just one blow, and even Zachariel himself seemed very susceptible to the Arrow. Yet he was still an implacable foe to face, easily bloodying party members one after another, and raising shield after radiant shield to protect himself.

Seizing the moment, Dispater suddenly appeared, dominating the Hero with the Creation Spark who was within Zachariel's aura, then disheartening the Heroes and protecting himself effectively with a burning iron walls that writhed to his will. However one among the party managed to rush forward and steal the Creation Spark from his dominated ally, preventing Dispater from getting hold of it as he teleported away, following which another Hero cunningly slid Dispater into the Archangel's glimmering radiant aura.
It was with seeming relief and delight that Zachariel set upon the horrified Archdevil, and the Heroes got out of his radiant shield aura to watch the good show only to be set upon by none other than Drakanad, taking advantage of their clustered and bloodied states to try and take them out in a flurry of claws, wing buffets and breath attacks. However, setting upon him without distraction from Zachariel or Dispater, the Heroes quickly beat down the already weakened Dragon, who teleported far below the radiant bridge to flee, only to have two Heroes drop off the edge of the golden bridge, falling down through the air to fire at the Mithral Dragon, this time killing him for good.
Meantime, Dispater struggled desperately, ensnared in Zachariel's aura and powers that kept him trapped with his back to the curtain of radiance. Once the Heroes joined in after defeating Drakanad, the Archdevil could only curse his fate as the attacks of the Heroes quickly whittled away what remaining life he had, before the radiant hovering blades of the implacable, merciless Archangel ripped his body into shreds.

Characters (Players) - Group Achievement : Full Attendance!
BM Lock (Jeth) Lv 27 : 9 / 5
Sleeping Dragon (Andy) Lv 27 : 7 / 5
Level Up! - Mozzy Sparkles (Clement) Lv 27 : 5 / 5
"Accurate Thief" (Liu Jun) Lv 26 : 3 / 5
Vim (Rubern) Lv 26 : 3 / 5
Alvyn (Merlvyn) Lv 26 : 2 / 5
Erulisse (Grace) Lv 26 : 1 / 5

Campaign Level 27
Approx Progress to Level 28 : 95%

Note : For easy XP tracking, I am tracking the number of sessions each Player has attended. The "/" indicates the Progress of Sessions to reach the next Level for each Player.

Note : Special Party Loot from previous session has yet to be handed out.

[Zyraen]

4.3 The End of the Light is a New Beginning
10-Apr-13[/b]
The Heroes regrouped away from the Archangel Zachariel and checked that Amyria could walk, before asking Zachariel to let Amyria through, to which the guardian replied "Why should I?" Seeing no other choice, the Heroes continued their attacks against Zachariel, this time bloodying him. It seemed a curious and new experience for Zachariel, but he soon turned more serious as the battle turned against him. Though his Shields kept absorbing damage, they shattered rapidly under the onslaught of the Arrow of Fate. Eventually the Heroes' efforts whittled away at his energy, and the Archangel could only look dumbfounded before shattering into motes of radiant light, the bridge shattering away with him into nothingness and gravity returning to normal.

Fortunately most of the Heroes could fly, as they stared up at the curtain of radiance, now above them as an entrance into the clouds. Using Pixie Dust on Amyria, they let her with the Creation Spark into the radiant curtain, and soon Bahamut was reborn, emerging in all his silvery glow and suitably indebted and grateful to the Heroes, as such a lawful deity might be.

Interestingly, some of the Heroes seemed more concerned with Zachariel's eventual fate, and wondered if he was gone or might be brought back. Fortunately, it seemed some time would pass, but eventually the Ceaseless Guardian would return to guard the Bridge of Al-Sihal, and in fact they seemed to be one and the same.

Characters (Players)
Level Up! - BM Lock (Jeth) Lv 28 : 8 / 5
Level Up! - Sleeping Dragon (Andy) Lv 28 : 6 / 5
Mozzy Sparkles (Clement) Lv 27 : 4 / 5
Level Up! - Alvyn (Merlvyn) Lv 27 : 0 / 5
Level Up! - Erulisse (Grace) Lv 27 : 0 / 5

Level Up! / AFK - "Accurate Thief" (Liu Jun) Lv 27 : 0 / 5
Level Up! / AFK - Vim (Rubern) Lv 27 : 0 / 5

Campaign Level 28
Approx Progress to Level 29 : 0%

Loot : Artifact, Rod of Dispater

Note : For easy XP tracking, I am tracking the number of sessions each Player has attended. The "/" indicates the Progress of Sessions to reach the next Level for each Player.

Note
- Special Party Loot ( Any Level 29 Item) from previous session has yet to be handed out.
- Reward from Bahamut : Everyone gets an extra Level 28 item.
- Boon of Bahamut OR Scales of Bahamut: The Party gets to decide on one Lv 28 Boon that everyone can get. Alternatively, they may all choose to gain the following power.

Scales of Bahamut (Immediate Interrupt, Encounter Utility 22)
Trigger : You are hit by an Attack
Effect : Choose one of the following effects
a) You make a Basic Attack against the Target as a Free Action.
b) You gain a bonus to Defense equal to your Second Highest Stat
c) You shift 2 squares as a Free Action.
d) You take 15 less damage from the Attack and ignore ongoing damage from that Attack. You can expend a Daily Power and gain Resistance 15 until End of Encounter against one of the types of damage in the Triggering Attack, excluding Untyped.

[Zyraen]

ROD OF DISPATER
Enhancement Bonus : +6
Critical Damage : +6d10 for Crit

Property : +6 item bonus to damage.
The Rod functions as +6 Heavy Mace as well as an Implement.
(Note that it is not considered a Rod Implement, and can be used by any Implement user)

Psychic Probe (Free Action, At Will)
(Psychic)
Use this power when you hit with an unaugmented At Will Attack or Basic Attack that has the Psychic Keyword.
Target takes -2 to its next Attack and loses all Resistances against one attack of your choice until End of your Next Turn. This effect does not stack with Psychic Lock.
You cannot use this Power with Diabolic Presence.

Diabolic Awe (Free Action, Encounter)
(Fear)
Trigger: You or an Ally you can see within 20 squares of you makes a Critical Hit against an Enemy
Effect : The Enemy takes 10 psychic damage and is weakened (SE)

=====================

Whoever holds the Rod of Dispater may pass it to another wielder outside of an Encounter.
Every time this happens, its Concordance resets to 5 or lower, if it was already less than 5.

Concordance
Owner gains a Level : +1d10
Owner or Party kills (not defeats) an Angel or Devil : +2
Owner or Party defeats an Angel or Devil without eventually killing it : -2
Owner knowingly aids any Angel or Devil : -2

All of the Above would normally not apply to any Devil aligned with Dispater, but since Dispater is dead, this no longer applies to any immortal whatsoever.

=====================

SATISFIED (12-15)

New Ability
Diabolic Presence (Free Action, At Will)
(Fear, Psychic)
Use this power when you hit with an At Will Melee Attack or Melee Basic Attack. Target is pushed 2 squares and dazed until End of your Next Turn. You cannot use this power with Psychic Probe.

New Ability
Sear the Mind (Standard, At Will)
( Implement, Psychic, Acid )
Ranged 20, highest Stat vs Will.
Hit : 2d8 + highest Stat Psychic, Acid damage and Target grants CA until End of Next Turn.

=====================

PLEASED (16-20)

Improvement
Psychic Probe (Free Action, At Will)
(Psychic)
Use this power when you hit with an unaugmented At Will Attack or Basic Attack that has the Psychic Keyword.
Target takes -2 to Attacks and loses all Resistances until ENT. This effect does not stack with Psychic Lock.
You cannot use this Power with Diabolic Presence.

Improvement
Diabolic Presence (Free Action, At Will)
(Fear)
Use this power when you hit with an At Will Melee Attack or Melee Basic Attack. Target is pushed 2 squares and dazed (SE)
You cannot use this power with Psychic Probe.

New Ability
Diabolic Control (Free Action, Encounter)
(Charm, Psychic)
Use this when an enemy is reduced to 0 HP by Sear the Mind.
The Enemy does not fall unconscious / gets killed, but instead becomes dominated (SE).
It remains this way until it Saves, gets hit 3 times, or until the wielder of the Rod is reduced to under 1 HP.
After that it becomes unconscious or gets killed, depending on the wielder of the Rod.

====================

Since everyone levelled up after Dispater died, whoever gains the Rod will get a +1d10 concordance bonus.
Defeating Zachariel (who could not be knocked unconscious) also adds a +2, and presumably everyone (even AFKs) were present.

Note that the artifact gives off an aura of dark corruption. This aura is very limited when it is used normally, but if any of the powers here are used, this aura would expand and increase in intensity.

This has no mechanical effect, it is just fluff.

[Zyraen]

Interlude : Bahamut Returns

In the wake of Bahamut's death, the Dragon Queen's conceit, pride and greed was such that she stretched her resources and armies far and wide, conquering and plundering freely. This is also due to less organised resistance from Bahamut's demoralised forces, who have been retreating to defensible havens with less items of value and treasure, thus doing their best to conserve their strength and letting her forces spread themselves thin.

Against this backdrop, Bahamut's return from the grave was unexpected, even among the months-long council of Gods. Bahamut downplayed his return initially, showing himself only to his forces at Celestia, which so far have been hardly assailed by Tiamat's forces. Not even Tiamat would be aware that he had returned until some time later.

Meantime, his Exarchs that remained went out to secretly survey the forces across the Multiverse, and prepare an order for the advancement before Tiamat could regroup her scattered minions who were each seeking their own greedy ends. With a plan of advancement established, the Platinum Dragon moved out swiftly, rallying his people and quickly destroying pockets of the scattered armies of Tiamat, one manageable portion at a time, and the evil that was emboldened became dismayed in the face of his majesty and fell.

By the time Tiamat could sense his presence and started to pull together a plan, just under a third of her forces had been wiped out, but even then her total forces outnumbered those of Bahamut, who had less than half his troops from before his death. Pelor, Kord and Moradin, staunch allies of Bahamut, lent some of their followers to his cause as well, though they did not always coordinate directly, and they served against Tiamat within the Astral Sea.

The dismayed Dragon Queen decided to rally her forces in two key places. From the various worlds and planes, she gathers the rest of her forces to Tytherion, but it is slow and cautious with Bahamut's forces and their allies harrassing them. Within the City of Brass in the Elemental Chaos, where she had an alliance with the Efreets, the numbers were strengthened and her forces from the lower planes swiftly gathered around, and here was a place where the influence of the other Gods were relatively limited.

Before Tiamat can gather all her forces and amass her full military might, Bahamut's representatives have contacted the forces at the Ninth Bastion in the Elemental Chaos and established a foothold from there, commencing an engagement with the City of Brass.

This will develop into an all-out siege once Bahamut arrives there himself, but time is not on Platinum Dragon's side. If the forces amassed at Tytherion have gathered in sufficient numbers and encircle the besieging forces before the City of Brass is taken, the Platinum Dragon's forces would have to contend with superior numbers attacking from two sides, and would likely be wiped out.

The alternative is to simply hold back and let Tiamat's forces regroup, but this would return the long term advantage squarely in her hands.

[Zyraen]

5.0 The Keening Delve
21-Jun-13[/b]
Bahamut's efforts to take the City of Brass had proved fruitless so far, and so he sought the Heroes' aid to enter the city to get in touch with other factions in the city. The City of Brass had always been ruled by Efreet nobles, with Estimishu being the city's current ruler and allied with Tiamat, but not all the other Efreet nobles were pleased with this arrangement. If the Heroes could infiltrate and get in touch with an Efreet lord called Bashamgurda, who was one of the contenders for the leadership of the City of Brass, perhaps they could forge an alliance of convenience to remove Estimishu and end the alliance between the Efreets and Tiamat.

The way into the city was said by Bashamgurda's contact to lie within the Keening Delve, a series of labyrinthine caves in the Elemental Chaos, with a portal chamber lying within the upper levels. After the Heroes had entered the Keening Delve, they came upon an elemental rift of ice and fire with strange ragestorm and icefire elementals that stood in their way, but vanquished them before continuing their exploration in search of the chambers.

Characters (Players)
BM Lock (Jeth) Lv 28 : 9 / 5
Sleeping Dragon (Andy) Lv 28 : 7 / 5
Vim (Rubern) Lv 27 : 1 / 5
AFK - Mozzy Sparkles (Clement) Lv 27 : 4 / 5
AFK - Erulisse (Grace) Lv 27 : 0 / 5

Campaign Level 28
Approx Progress to Level 29 : 25%

Loot : Artifact, Rod of Dispater

Note : For easy XP tracking, I am tracking the number of sessions each Player has attended. The "/" indicates the Progress of Sessions to reach the next Level for each Player.

Note
Clarification : the party has decided to go for the Scales of Bahamut. This is counted as a Lv 22 Utility Power from your class, so you have to swap out a corresponding Lv 22 or higher Utility Power to gain and use the power.

[Zyraen]

5.1 Portal of Demons
28-Jun-13[/b]
Exploring further into the Keening Delve, the Heroes found a chamber of portals with a pair of lava pits, where they were surprised by a pair of Nycademons, followed by an Abyssal Rotlord that called upon a cloud of darkness to enshroud them. Just as things were looking up, their enemies were joined by a Balor that entered through the portal.

Fortunately, the Heroes kept their cool and wisely decided to eliminate the Rotlord first, clearing the darkness so they could effectively destroy the rest of their foes. Though the Balor was ferocious in battle, it was sufficiently contained by the efforts of the Defender, whose stubbornness almost got him killed as when the Balor exploded into flames.

After resting, the Heroes managed to attune the portal back to its original objective, likely into the City of Brass, and whatever awaits them on the other side.

Characters (Players)
Jayce (Jeth) Lv 28 : 10 / 5
Erulisse (Grace) Lv 27 : 1 / 5
Vim (Rubern) Lv 27 : 2 / 5
AFK - Sleeping Dragon (Andy) Lv 28 : 7 / 5
AFK - Mozzy Sparkles (Clement) Lv 27 : 4 / 5

Campaign Level 28
Approx Progress to Level 29 : 60%

Loot : Artifact, Rod of Dispater

[Zyraen]

5.2 Welcome to the City of Brass
12-Jul-13[/b]
Entering the City of Brass, they met up with the Genasi contact expecting them, who brought them to the Northern Halls of the Crucible, where the Heroes met with an Efreet council. Presumably one of them was Bashamgurda. They were told they were to earn their trust in a show of strength, and the Heroes chose to stick together. This made the ensuing battle with the Efreets remarkably easy, and one of the Efreets, presumably Bashamgurda, applauded their victory. He informed them that he was the next Efreet in line behind the current ruler Estimishu, who had allied the city and its forces with Tiamat. To open the gates to the city, they would have to seize Estimishu's sceptre, who he held in his Barracks in the South side of the city. The Heroes also received guidance that the Northern half of the city was more lightly guarded than the Southern side, and if they were to take an extended rest, they should find a place near the fiery Canals that cut the city into the North and South halves.

Departing the council of Efreets, the Heroes scoured the canals for a place to cross, and decided upon a place that looked relatively lightly guarded, only by a few flaming Archons. However, as they crossed the canals to engage them a huge Red Dragonspawn burst out from the lava of the canal, narrowly missing the Hero that first crossed, and they were further engaged by smokey Genasi wielding fiery poison that prevented their wounds from recovering. None of that however, was sufficient to stop the Heroes as they wiped out the guards swiftly, hopefully without raising the alarm.

Characters (Players)
Level Up! - Jayce (Jeth) Lv 29 : 7 / 4
Level Up! - Sleeping Dragon (Andy) Lv 29 : 4 / 4
Level Up! - Erulisse (Grace) Lv 28 : 0 / 4
Level Up! - Psych (Chien Hsiang) Lv 28 : 0 / 4
Level Up! - Thief (Zhi Yong) Lv 28 : 0 / 4
Level Up! / AFK - Mozzy Sparkles (Clement) Lv 28 : 2 / 4

Campaign Level 29
Approx Progress to Level 30 : 0%

[Zyraen]

5.3 Nightmare Dragon
19-Jul-13[/b]
As the Heroes rested, a wave of billowing dark clouds seething with psychic energy swept low over and through the buildings, before a few shimmering spectral serpents appeared next to the Heroes to attack them. They soon realized the serpents kept reappearing, likely from a source within the cloud, and within they found a reality-distorting nightmare zone that bombarded their psyche and altered their footing, centred on Cyan Bloodbane, an ancient Green Dragon that attacked with impunity from within while sending out his psychic spectral serpents to hound his enemies.

After a few exchanges that depleted most of the Heroes' healing resources but also locked down the Dragon's fearsome attacks, the Heroes managed to bloody their enemy. Unused to being so stymied and apparently not that loyal to the forces of Tiamat within the city, Cyan decided to retreat, perhaps waiting for a more opportune time to return, or perhaps not.

Characters (Players)
Jayce (Jeth) Lv 29 : 8 / 4
Psych (Chien Hsiang) Lv 28 : 1 / 4
AFK - Sleeping Dragon (Andy) Lv 29 : 4 / 4
AFK - Erulisse (Grace) Lv 28 : 0 / 4
AFK - Mozzy Sparkles (Clement) Lv 28 : 2 / 4

Campaign Level 29
Approx Progress to Level 30 : 30%

[Zyraen]

Due to lack of interest, this Campaign has been closed.

I have spent a while to arrange the information from the Campaign Forum into a single thread, placed here, so the Log is interspersed with other data.

This thread is put here for those who would like to reread past exploits, or for others who were not aware of the campaign, perhaps it might be of some inspiration.

This topic is not locked so players can post to this topic if they so wish, with comments etc.