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Post by kooshster on May 17, 2014 12:53:37 GMT
Psychlis gathers the other members of his group for a quick huddle. "Any ideas? I can certainly use invisibility and try and sneak in through a window if I can get some help with a distraction - Leath, Hans? - but that's only the barest bones of a plan. I'll need backup."
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Post by Admin on May 17, 2014 21:52:18 GMT
"Perhaps you could see if you can find the head cultist or open a door?" Jiao suggests. "That way, Hans could try sniping him, or we could at least give the city guards a clean entrance."
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Post by henwen88 on May 18, 2014 2:43:25 GMT
"If this were not such a magnificent building, I'd suggest starting a fire or bringing the structure down on top of them," Leath says, eyeing the church. "But even I can respect the grandeur of this creation. I can summon a small animal and send it inside to scout for us, so you wouldn't have to put yourself at risk."
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Post by Admin on May 18, 2014 4:48:42 GMT
[Taking Hans for now, until original player returns. If other players would prefer to control him, contact me.]
"Yes, that's prudent," Jiao comments. "Psychlis, can you take position beside me? I'm going to wait by the main entrance behind Erik's Varangians. I'll heal them and you, while you cover them with your magic."
"I'll stay back with my rifle," Hans loads the weapon. "And shoot the cultist if I see him."
"Aye, a good plan," Erik says. "The front doors will bottleneck the enemies within, but the disgusting cur will use magical trickery."
"Let us worry about magical wards or defenses," one of the mages says. "There's an open window there. The druid can send a flying creature in."
Leath sees an opening above one of the windows, a small slit that would probably fit and eagle, but easily fit a bat or smaller flying creature.
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Post by Admin on May 20, 2014 0:16:26 GMT
Suddenly, the ground jerks beneath them. Loud growling echoes from within Hagia Sophia. The doors in the front buckle forwards, as if something massive inside was testing them.
"Soldiers, get ready!" Erik orders. "Pikemen up front, the rest behind!"
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Post by henwen88 on May 20, 2014 2:19:38 GMT
Leath summons a sparrow and speaks quietly with it, then sends it through the window to report. [Cast Summon Minor Ally and Speak with Animals.] He draws his scimitar in case anything comes through the doorway.
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Post by kooshster on May 21, 2014 1:14:24 GMT
(Do I still have the flame thrower? If so, I'll prepare that for use. Should hit the organic targets and not do too much to the hagia sophia stonework.)
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Post by Admin on May 21, 2014 1:20:03 GMT
The sparrow sees a fearsome creature bashing against the door: a fiendish ogre, wreathed in arcane energy. Towards the center of the church is a man standing amidst a cluster of corpses, chanting to himself while holding a bloody knife. Behind the ogre are skeletons armed with crossbows and muskets. The sparrow could continue searching for other entry points, or return.
[1 round before door is breached.]
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Post by Admin on May 22, 2014 2:30:13 GMT
Jiao takes position behind the pikemen, who are gathered around the door. He ensures his shotgun and revolver are loaded before preparing to channel positive energy.
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Post by henwen88 on May 22, 2014 13:39:35 GMT
The sparrow tweets its findings to Leath, who responds that the bird should keep looking for a way for the party to get in. "We've got an ogre ready to burst through the doors," he tells the party, "backed by skeletons with ranged weapons. Get ready. There's also some kind of cultist in there on a heap of dead bodies performing some kind of arcane ritual. Possibly summoning?"
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Post by Admin on May 23, 2014 2:00:47 GMT
"Ranged weapons?" Erik says. "Men, arrange yourselves alongside the door, lest you be cut down in the first volley. I want mages and ranged troops behind the pikemen for defense. Swordsmen and axemen, on the flanks. Cleric, you take the center of my formation to heal. Once the ogre falls, we'll storm in and kill that cultist."
Jiao follows Erik into a block of infantry. Erik grins as he says, "Those Italians are fond of pike and shot. We will do the same thing, only more effectively."
---
The friendly troops form two solid formations on the right hand and left hand sides, leaving a narrow opening where the doors of Hagia Sophia are. They are arrayed on either side, as to avoid stray fire coming directly from the doors.
Hans is stuck behind Jiao as the infantry rearrange on the left block of troops. Psychlis still has his flamethrower and is located nearest the left block. Leath is located closer to the right-hand formation, but not yet positioned behind the troops. Flan is off in the distance, but Leath estimates his companion can arrive before the door bursts if necessary.
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Post by kooshster on May 23, 2014 12:18:40 GMT
(As per discussion with admin, playing for Hans).
Hans jostles for position, needing a clear avenue to fire his sniper shot. "Jiao, would it be a terrible bother if I used your shoulder as a mount to steady my sniper rifle?"
Psychlis prepares his flamethrower for combat, urging the Pikemen to give him a corridor just wide enough for them not to be caught in its blast radius.
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Post by Admin on May 24, 2014 1:24:09 GMT
"Why not ask the guy in full plate?" Jiao points to a nearby armored knight with a massive shield guarding the flank. "Brace the weapon on his tower shield. It will give you stability and partial cover behind it." --- The doors fly open as the demonic ogre roars. Spittle flies everywhere as insane lights flash within the perverted cathedral. The skeletons raise their weapons, preparing to unleash a volley. There are two dozen skeletons, each in a firing squad. Between them is the ogre, and behind all of them is the cultist, with red energy gathering in his palms. "Stranger still is Lost Carcosa!" the cultist sings to himself. "Songs the Hyades shall sing, where flap the tatters of the King!" [Initiative: Skeletal Crossbowmen, Skeletal Musketeers, Ogre, Right Flank Squad, Left Flank Squad (contains PCs, but has a separate HP by itself), Jiao, Hans, Psychlis, Leath, cultist.] The skeletal crossbowmen unload a volley of bolts directly out the front door. [Attack roll=8] Fortunately, the city guard has cleared the way and the few lucky bolts bounce off armor and embed themselves in shields. --- The skeletal musketeers act smarter, arranging themselves in a semi-circle before discharging their weapons. [Attack roll=16. Left flank takes 10 damage. Right flank takes 24 damage. Hans, Leath, Jiao, and Psychlis unaffected.] While the party has gotten used to gunfire, the sound of a volley of muskets discharging is still very intimidating. The morale of the city guard starts dropping as an acrid smoke fills the area. Formations waiver, and the screams of the wounded make it a surreal, nightmarish environment to those not deafened. The right flank fared far worse, with three guards fallen dead or wounded on the ground. The left flank, however, took only minor wounds and had one man fall wounded in the front. --- The ogre then charges out of the cloud of gunsmoke like a monster out of hell. It crashes into the wounded right flank, sensing their weakness and moving in for the kill. It charges through limply held pikes, going right for the commander.
---
The right flank begins to fight back, wounded by ready. With pikes, bolts, and arrows, they unload everything they have at the monster.
[Attack roll: 17, deal 9 damage to ogre.]
The monster is wounded and bloodied, but still active.
---
"Advance and target the skeletons before they reload! The ogre's just a distraction!" Erik orders. The left flank squad fires a volley of arrows and bolts at the skeletons.
[Attack roll: 12, 4 damage to ogre]
Due to being piercing weapons, the skeletons are able to ignore most of the arrows. Magic, divine energy, and firearms may be a perfect solution to that, however.
---
Jiao blasts both barrels of his shotgun at the skeletal musketeers (the closest ones to the party). His weapon thunders like an angry dragon, spewing lead pellets.
[Attack roll: 14, deals 13 damage to skeletons.]
Three skeletons fall down, and a fourth seems to have caught a few pellets on the chest, dealing superficial damage.
---
[Now: Hans, Psychlis, Leath, cultist]
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Post by kooshster on May 25, 2014 0:56:06 GMT
Hans grunts in reply. "All right, all right, no need to be such a snoot about it," he grumbles and taps one of the nearest soldiers on the shoulder, lining up his sniping rifle and taking direct aim at the cultist, who he suspects to be behind the main assault. He aims and fires with his rifle.
Psychlis sees a chance to knock out the ogre for good. He's nearby, so he should be easy pickings. He shouts to create an avenue between the pikeman and the ogre and lets loose with his flamethrower.
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Post by Admin on May 25, 2014 1:27:20 GMT
Hans' shot goes wild, ricocheting away harmlessly within the vast interior of Hagia Sophia.
[Attack roll: 7]
---
A jet of flame targets the fiendish ogre, who is enveloped within it.
[Attack roll: 13, hits. 16 fire damage dealt. Reflex save=15, fails. The ogre fails to leap out of the way, and will remain on fire for the following round.]
The ogre screams an unnatural shriek. An unlucky soldier from the right flank also catches part of the flame jet on his shield, and drops it away as it smolders. The skeletons, however, all shift their gazes towards Psychlis, targeting the half elf as they prepare for another volley.
---
[Leath's turn, then cultist.]
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