Quinlan, out of potent spells and not being able to find enough gaps in the armor contends with firing off a minor spell before heading east and hiding behind cover.

Round 9:
  [Free]
  [Move]Move to C11, after casting, hiding (15)
  [Standard]Cast Ray of frost (hit touch AC22), Damage (1)

Status:
  Initiative: 11
  AC (Touch AC): 22 (15)

  Damage Taken: 0
  Damage Dealt: 1, 6 to STR

Effects:
+1 AC from tattoo applied before the start of the match
+2 natural AC 10 min
+10 bonus to move silently, 10 mins
+1 attack & save vs fear, 3 min


Final position: C11

Please roll a spot check against DC15

ooc: Wow, +14 to attack? At bab +4? Do you mind if I ask where you get the other +10?

oh and: If Aerin manages to escape the grapple, I don't know if you can keep up with her, Gwendol.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:54, Mon 30 Nov 2009.

OOC: I hope I added things up correctly. Regular to hit bonus is +9 (STR+weapon focus+MW weapon). Added to this is +1 magic weapon, +2 divine luck, +1 Bless. I spot an error though: enlarge person also incurs a -1 penalty to attack rolls from size, which counterbalance the +2 STR bonus to the attack roll. Thus the corrected attack roll should be 29, which is still a hit. Total attack bonus is +13, but the damage should be correct (2d6+9).
Edit: spotted one more error in that magic weapon doesn't stack with MW weapon for attack rolls. Final corrected attack roll is 28.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:20, Mon 30 Nov 2009.

Magic Weapon gives a +1 Enhancement bonus to attack rolls, which is the same bonus given by a Masterwork weapon.  Therefore, the two do not stack - a +1 weapon has the same bonus to attack as a Masterwork weapon.

ooc: Gwendol, I know this is painful, but Aerin's claiming cover from the wall's edge. Cover grants +4 to AC. Thus you would have to hit AC 31 this round.

But then: Aerin hasn't taken her move action yet...
This message was last edited by the player at 13:35, Mon 30 Nov 2009.

OOC:

Aerin - your post mentioned that your action depends on the outcome of the grapple check.  Please see below.

Garath Darkstar rolled 29 using 1d20+11. Skippy - OGC to maintain grapple.

Do you read the grapple rules to give you multiple grapple attempts as a standard action, rather than a full-round action?  I.e. you get as many grapple attempts as your BaB permits, and then also a move action?

OOC: I'm sorry, I don't understand?

OOC:

Aerin, "Any creature with a space larger than 5 feet (1 square) determines cover against melee attacks slightly differently than smaller creatures do. Such a creature can choose any square that it occupies to determine if an opponent has cover against its melee attacks. Similarly, when making a melee attack against such a creature, you can pick any of the squares it occupies to determine if it has cover against you."

So Gwendol doesn't have to be subject to cover obstruction, I think, he just needs to select E6 as the square he is attacking from.

OOC: That is my understanding as well.

@Gwendol: Since the dice roller betrayed me once again and I'm still grappled by skippy, you can make your attack. Aerin claims cover and your attack misses. Sorry, but Aerin has a reputation to lose :P

@Garath: Well, Aerin wasn't initiating a grapple but she was making a grapple check to escape the grapple, which shouldn't be a full round action.

Now go ahead and kill her! - You've been shooting and beating her up for 7 rounds now without her being able to fight back and she's still there.

Ha! I've been trying to reach her but she's been trapped in webs, concealed, etc. 1st round of being in striking distance is now.

OOC:  Aerin, you are saying that after making the OGC against Skippy during your turn (as a free action, roll of 17), you then get to make as many OGCs during your turn as your BaB permits, also as a free action?  I.e. you still get your move action, which is all you have available during the round in question, on top of the OGC rolls?

Not that this matters for purposes of the match, but I don't read the rules the same way.  Let's add this one to the list of questions for which DM input would be helpful for future reference.

(To the DMs who have been driven to distraction by the various rules questions and have given up trying to track all of them:  At the end of the match I'll compile the questions into one post for everyone's convenience.)

Well that wasn't Aerin's fault, you go and have a word with Garath about it. Aerin sure could have done without all that foul magics...

@Garath: My eyes skipped the line when looking at the map. In my head Gwendol's upper right hand square was F06 not E06. So my bad, no objection to him attacking Aerin.

You may go ahead and make your turn Garath...

I know, and I will. No problem re: position, I know it's hard.

The Wheloonite flings another toothed spell at Aerin, and retreats to a safe distance.

Round 9:
  [Standard] Cast spell - Manyjaws
  [Move] Move
  [Free]

Aerin:
-->  Take 23 damage from Manyjaws (Reflex save for half, DC 19)

Status:
  Initiative: 9
  AC (Touch AC): 25 (13)

  Damage Taken:   13
  Damage Dealt:   44 plus 23 or 11

Effects:
Alter Self - ends round 498
Shield - ends round 49
Mage Armor - ends round 3598

Final position:  (Impossible Listen check)

Skippy:
The scorpion continues to wrestle with the airborne dragonkin.

Round 9:
  [Move] + [Standard] Full attack: 1 grapple (for damage) with claw, 1 attack with claw, 1 sting with tail
  [Free]

Grapple - Claw 1 - OGC - 15
   IF this succeeds:
          Claw 1 - grapple damage - 7
          Claw 1 - constrict damage - 9
Attack - Claw 2 - miss
Attack - Tail - miss

Status:
  Initiative: 9
  AC (Touch AC): 16 (9)

  Damage Taken:   0
  Damage Dealt:   14 plus - maybe - 16

Final position:  E-F/8-9

Finally. Aerin fails her reflex save (no surprise there) and dies a heroic death (is below -10HPs).

Thank you all for your patience. :)

Heroic indeed! You truly did the best under the (dire) circumstances.

My own fault really, or better two faults, but alas such is life.

Gwendol catches Aerin as she falls, stabilizing and healing her before laying down her body at his feet.

There is no stabilizing, Garath's and the scorpio's attack put her WELL below -10 HPs.

The little mage peers out from behind a wall just in time to see Gwendol catch the falling witch warrior.  Dismissing the scorpion, he zips over to land beside Aerin and makes a gesture of respect for the dragonkin champion.

OOC:  Terrific fight - thank you, Aerin.

Terrific fight *snort* You ain't seen nothing yet! She couldn't show off anything while you held her captive :(

OOC:

To summarize, here's a list of rules questions presented:

*  At the beginning of Round 1 in any arena battle, are the combatants flat-footed?  Casting prep spells ahead of a battle does not necessarily count (in a campaign) as actions "during combat", but the arena may have different rules given that the combatants are very aware of each other's presence.

*  If the effect of Bracers of the Entangling Blast is applied to a duration-damage spell, does the entangling effect get renewed each time a target is hit by the spell, or - for any particular target - is the effect only activated the first time the target is hit by the spell?  (Some non-RoA guidance suggests the latter is correct)

*  If a spellcaster has line of sight and effect to a target, does partial concealment or partial cover have any effect on a targeted damage spell that does not require an attack roll?  (Some non-RoA guidance suggests that there would be no effect on such a spell)

*  Normally, igniting an object (e.g. a torch) is a full-round action, or a standard action with a tindertwig.  Is dropping it into an area of partial flames (alchemist's fire remnants, burning web strands) sufficient to ignite it normally - i.e. to "activate" it for its full normal effect?  Preliminary DM guidance is that this could be a valid move, but no final answer has been determined yet.  It is possible that too much fire damage to the item might destroy it rather than activating it normally.

*  Normally, to conclude a grapple maneuver the attacker, if it does not have the Improved Grab ability, moves into the defender's space, unless there is some obstruction.  What happens if the defender is flying?  Does the defender get to stay in its original airborne square (or cube), or does it get pulled down into the attacker's space, or does something else happen?

*  The third step of a grapple sequence provides "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 the attacker has natural weapons and the Constrict ability, what damage is dealt as part of the initial grapple sequence (i.e. setting aside any later OGC checks to damage the opponent)?  One natural weapon damage?  Double natural weapon damage?  One "unarmed" damage (per critter size and strength bonus) plus one natural weapon damage?  Something else?

*  Once a person is successfully grappled, what type of action (free, move, standard...) is it to attempt a single OGC to escape?  What type of action is it to attempt as many OGCs to escape as the number of attacks permitted by that person's BaB?


Thank you, everyone!

IC:

The wizard, now back in human form, takes a bow and returns to the main seating and discussion area.

First off: Higher ECL PCs earn less xp in a fight. I've made a typo when I wrote down the result of this fight. Gwendol and Garath earn 250xp rather than 200.

The rest I'll take to the DM Lounge.

Thanks!