The pale-faced priest impassively watches his quarry attack the monstrous scorpion.  While Hekyll scores a hit on the arthropod, Lyssander uses the opportunity to call upon his divine patron, to blast the ground under the hobgoblin's feet with a layer of slippery rime.

Round 3:
  [Free]
  [Standard] Cast:  Ice slick, G-J/8-11 (Frostburn p. 100) DC 14, make successful Balance check or fall
  [Move] [to be determined]



Status:
  Initiative: 19
  AC (Touch AC): 18 (12) (+1 vs. Hekyll)

  Damage Taken: 0
  Damage Dealt: 10 (5 resisted)


Effects:
Bull's Strength: +4 Strength (30 rounds)
Alter Self (Protectar): flight 60' (30 minutes)

Final(?) Position: H10, 5' up

Scorpion actions to be determined

Balance 6 :(
Please tell me the scorpion suffers the same?

Suddenly Hekyll's booted feet found no purchase upon the iced-over glass floor. He went head over heels and hit the floor with a crash.


Hekyll prone
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:10, Fri 01 July 2011.

The giant scorpion twitches slightly as the ground in front of it freezes over - but the effect falls just short of the arthropod's own position, and it quickly recovers and goes on the attack again.

[OOC:  Hekyll loses dex bonus to AC, which I gather is 4; also has -4 to AC vs melee attacks due to being prone, effective AC is now 13]

Scorpion:
  [Free]
  [Move] [full attack]
  [Standard] [full attack - see below]
     Claw 1 - 13, HIT, dmg 7, OGC 22, constrict dmg 7 (if succeed on OGC)
     Claw 2 - 25, HIT, crit confirm 8, no crit, dmg 7, OGC 12, constrict dmg 3 (if succeed on OGC)
     Stinger - 3, miss

Since Hekyll is on ice, the scorpion drags him easily into its space, rather than moving onto Hekyll's space (makes more sense that way, and Hekyll is in no position to resist, unless he beats the OGC checks).

Lyssander's remaining move action is TBD - if the scorpion drags Hekyll in, then Lyssander adjusts his position by 5' eastward to stay within chain's range of the hobgoblin.

OOC: Wait, why's he supposed to be losing Dex to AC?

If it's the grappling, he'd only lose Dex to AC to other opponents, not to the grappler. So Claw #1 should miss.

I'll let you drag him, but he won't be squeezed any more.

OOC:  He's flailing around on a slippery surface without 5 ranks in balance, hence loses dex bonus to AC - I think?  Can't get good traction on the ground to heave himself out of the way...

EDIT:  And I didn't factor in the squeezing, either, because I wasn't sure it would be applicable.  If it is, add another -4 to the AC, and claw 2 just barely missed confirming a crit ;)
This message was last edited by the player at 05:34, Fri 01 July 2011.

OOC: That's not part of the spell description, you're assigning extra effects. This is in effect the same as a grease spell: reduced movement, and fail a check or fall over. No additional penalties are listed or required.

Squeezing shouldn't really be an issue either, as the altar isn't really space-filling.


Hekyll rolled around on the floor, dodging claw and stinger, but couldn't avoid the second claw that grabbed him and dragged him in.


Claw 2 hits, grapple succeeds
  Opposed Grapple Check: 9, fail

  Damage Taken:  10

Final Position: K10
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:39, Fri 01 July 2011.

OOC:  I wasn't basing it on the spell, but on the description of the Balance skill.

SRD - "You are considered flat-footed while balancing, since you can’t move to avoid a blow, and thus you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC (if any). If you have 5 or more ranks in Balance, you aren’t considered flat-footed while balancing."

While the SRD text seems geared to a biped trying to stay upright, the reasoning ("can’t move to avoid a blow") seems equally applicable to a prone combatant.  I wasn't making this up...

OOC: The act of balancing is to attempt to stay upright. If a character fails their Balance check, then they are of course no longer balancing, but falling or fallen over. Ergo, they no longer need to balance and can move freely in whatever they're new state is.

OOC:  Fair enough.  Okay, so to recap positions:

Scorpion stays put, K/L-9/10, grappling
Hek prone in K10, grappled
Lyssander 5' up in I10

Btw you listed Hek as having taken 15 damage - should that be 10?  (7 base damage, plus 3 constrict)

OOC: I copied an old Jekyll line by mistake, ta.

Tristram doesn't want to risk having to drop his weapon again, and tries to finish off the mage. With his reduced strength however, the weapon moves too slowly to pose a threat to the able hobgoblin.
Lyssander! I have the mage boxed in: now finish him off!

Round 3:
  [Free]
  [Move]
  [Standard] Attack (16) miss

Status:
  Initiative: 5
  AC (Touch AC): 18 (13)

  Damage Taken: 0
  Damage Dealt: 0

Effects: Bulwark of defence (threatened squares treated as difficult terrain)
Knight's challenge: +1 attack & damage vs Jekyll, 4 rounds

Final position: J16

OOC: BTW, if you want to place the ice slick just where it won't get the scorpion, then drag Hekyll into its space, then Hekyll is no longer in the ice.


This was really bloody annoying, Hekyll decided as he brawled with a giant scorpion standing above him. He tried to draw his dagger to shove in its eye, but the claw trapped his arm against his waist. So he settled for punching it in the face instead.

Round 3:
  [Move] Draw dagger: GC 16 vs scorpion OGC 28 (20) fail
  [Stan] Damage opponent: GC 23 vs scorpion OGC 18, success, damage 5


Status:
  Initiative: 5
  AC (Touch AC): 21 (14) -8 for those outside grapple

  Damage Taken:  10
  Damage Dealt:  13 to Scorpion

Effects:
  cat's grace: +4 Dexterity

Final Position: K10
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:18, Fri 01 July 2011.

19:25, Today: DM BadCatMan, on behalf of Tristram, rolled 25 using 1d20+6. aoo.
19:26, Today: DM BadCatMan, on behalf of Tristram, rolled 6 using 2d4+3. dmg.



Jekyll tried for another spell, anything to be rid of this accursed human scum. But barely had he got the words when the chain lashed him again, and hard.

That was it, he could barely stand and had few spells left, not one of which would do him any good. He'd heard this one had "honour", it was time to test it.

Suddenly he threw his staff to the floor and placed his hands on his head. "This is no battle, this is a farce." he spat in contempt. "I surrender. I have no desire to continue embarrassing myself for your personal glory."


Round 2:
  [Stan] cast whatever, AoOed, Concentration 10, lost
  [Free] Drop staff, surrender, flat-footed

Status:
  Initiative: 5
  AC (Touch AC): 19 (12)

  Damage Taken:  37
  Damage Dealt:   0

Effects:
  false life: bonus hp
  shield: +4 shield AC

Final Position: I18

At Tristram's prompting, Lyssander glances south to see how his comrade is faring against the mage; it does not look like the priest's assistance is needed finishing off the hobgoblin mage, so he focuses on the enemy in front of him.

Round 4:


Scorpion:
  [Free]
  [Move] [grapple?]
  [Standard] [grapple?]
Grapple check: 15, dmg 7 (base) + 4 (constrict) if successful
Can the scorpion make any additional attacks (e.g., attack with its remaining natural weapons at -4 penalty, or grapple with the other claw?)

Status:
  Initiative: 19
  AC (Touch AC): 16 (9)

  Damage Taken: 13
  Damage Dealt: 10 + 11?

Final Position: K/L-9/10


Lyssander:
  [Free]
  [Standard] Attack 13, hit, damage 10, steal spell:  ray of enfeeblement
  [Move] [to be determined]



Status:
  Initiative: 19
  AC (Touch AC): 18 (12) (+1 vs. Hekyll)

  Damage Taken: 0
  Damage Dealt: Jekyll - 10 (5 resisted); Hekyll 10


Effects:
Bull's Strength: +4 Strength (30 rounds)
Alter Self (Protectar): flight 60' (30 minutes)

Final(?) Position: I10, 5' up

OOC: Yes, you can. Unfortunately.
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20050308a

Hekyll: OGC 24 - claw #1 avoided, at least

  Damage Taken:  20

Scorpion's remaining attacks:

Claw 2 - 21, hit, crit confirm 16, miss (barely), base dmg 2, auto-grapple, OGC 14, if successful then inflict constrict dmg 7.
Sting - 15, miss

Hekyll GC 10, fail. Knocked unconscious.


This battle was over before it began. Now it really is. Sigh.

Wow, looks like the mage had a lot more hp than the duskblade.  Interesting.  What were the hobgoblins' stats btw?  I mean, in terms of class levels...  4th level wizard and 4th level duskblade?

Duskblade 3 (CR 3) and some kind of custom-build called a Warcaster (CR 4), both from Monster Manual V. Though now seeing this Warcaster is a Wizard with full BAB and high HP, he might have been better off just hitting Tristram with his staff instead.

I noticed you two were built to thwart spellcasters, so I thought I'd try these tough spell-using opponents to let you use your abilities. Of course, I didn't realize how good you'd be at it and forgot you were both demons in combat, so this quickly became a frustrating lock-down.

Honestly, being locked down for a slow death of failures is one of the worst feelings in D&D. This is why people don't like to play with you. :p

(Me? Sour? Well, yeah.)
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:44, Fri 01 July 2011.

Duskblade 3?  Huh.  I had pegged him at 4 based on the fact that I didn't see checks for arcane spell failure, even though - based on high AC and 20' speed (I think), it seemed like he was wearing medium armor - standard Duskblades don't get to ignore arcane spell failure from medium armor until level 4.  But you could have been using secret rolls for that, for all I know, or maybe the MM-V Duskblade is different.

But anyway - good fight!  It may seem frustrating, but a fight in which I bring out Skippy is a fight in which my characters feel seriously threatened, so that's actually a sort of kudo to my opponent.

(Tristram - using the snow gambit on you was an even higher kudo ;P)

No, +1 chain shirt, +1 light steel shield, and Dex 18 after cat's grace gave him that AC. He didn't risk any ASF.

I didn't even get a chance to use the fun stuff. :|

"Fun stuff"?  Heh - I'm curious :)  Color spray would have been effective on low-HD weenies like Tristram and Lys...  Though ray of enfeeblement was pretty effective, I must say.

On Lys' part, it was useful to see the scorpio + flanking + ice slick combo in action - a creature with multiple, not-terribly-high-BAB attacks, like Skippy, really benefits from the sudden drop in the foes' AC, plus of course the flanking.  Also interesting to observe that in order to get flanking, Lys has to stay 5' above ground, 10' would be too high - and this puts him in weapon-range of normal weapons from the ground.  Something to think about.  Good learning in this fight.

Tristram bows slightly to the mage, acknowledging his plea for quarter.


OOC: loosing initiative against a lock-down fighter like Tristram is never a good start.

These hobgoblins had some interesting stuff for working together and some buffs. Unfortunately they never got close enough to use them before it was too late to do anything.

Snow gambit?

I suppose you two want XP for this travesty? :p

In all fairness Tristram had some lucky rolls disrupting the spellcasting like that.

XP...? Well, yes! :-)

You got to hone your encounter tailoring skills after all, and we should get paid for our services ;-)