Yellow: Hekyll, Hobgoblin Warrior
Green: Jekyll, Hobgoblin Mage

Red: Lyssander
Blue: Tristram

Hekyll:

Resplendent in shining chain shirt armour and a steel shield inscribed with arcane sigils, Hekyll marched out into the arena to the cheering of the hobgoblin audience. He was firm and resolute, ready to show these puny human pigs what a hobgoblin could do!

After drinking down a potion to make him limber and quick, he raised his sword in salute to his brother at the far end of the crude elven glass labyrinth.


Prep Round 1 & 2:
  Drink potion of cat's grace

Status:
  Initiative: 5
  AC (Touch AC): 21 (14)

  Damage Taken:   0
  Damage Dealt:   0

Effects:
  cat's grace: +4 Dexterity

Final Position: J2

Jekyll:

Jekyll nodded in understanding to his brother across the hall, but they'd prepared their tactics earlier. Indeed, they'd trained to fight together their whole life. The hobgoblin mage in his blood-red robes tapped his staff against the glass floor then weaved his spells of defense.


Prep Round 1 & 2:
  Cast false life, shield

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

  Damage Taken:   0
  Damage Dealt:   0

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

Final Position: I17
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:11, Tue 28 June 2011.

The priest materializes in the western end of the arena, scroll in hand.  He waves to his team-mate on the other side of the arena - dimly visible through the glass - and then focuses on the scroll, chanting a prayer, and replacing the scroll at his side when done.

Prep Round 1:
  [Free]
  [Standard] Cast Bull's Strength from scroll (3 Min)
  [Move] Restore scroll to belt

Prep Round 2:
  [Standard] Activate armband - Alter Self (protectar)
  [Free] Declare opponent for Dodge feat:  Jekyll
  [Move] Draw spiked chain

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

  Damage Taken: 0
  Damage Dealt: 0


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

Final Position: B10

OOC:  What's the init order?  Hek rolled 3 and goes last, presumably; Jek rolled 5, but Tristram has higher dex modifier, does Tristram go first?

OOC: Initiative order is:
19 - Lyssander
 5 - Tristram
 5 - Jekyll
 3 - Hekyll

However, Hekyll's Dex increased +4, so maybe he could go to 5 with a +4 bonus and go before Tristram. Is a Dex increase retroactive on initiative? I've heard it around, but need to research.

SRD says:
Initiative Checks
At the start of a battle, each combatant makes an initiative check. An initiative check is a Dexterity check. Each character applies his or her Dexterity modifier to the roll. Characters act in order, counting down from highest result to lowest. In every round that follows, the characters act in the same order (unless a character takes an action that results in his or her initiative changing; see Special Initiative Actions).

I don't think drinking a potion is a Special Initiative Action - and indeed, having to recalculate initiative each time someone gets stuck in a web would be quite the chore - so I think initiative sticks once you calculate it, unless a character uses Delay, or Ready Action.

OOC: I had it right all along. Great! Thanks! :) Of course, here in the Arena, do participants roll Init before or after the prep round? Screw it. It's always rolled before anyway.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:30, Tue 28 June 2011.

Pale of skin but dark of wing, the death-priest swiftly flies through the library, ending within reach of the enemy mage - hovering menacingly above his foe.  He snaps out with his cruelly spiked chain...

Round 1:
  [Free]
  [Move] Move (fly) to I15, 10' up
  [Standard] Attack (attack roll 21, damage 10)



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

  Damage Taken: 0
  Damage Dealt: 0 (10?)


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

Final Position: I15, 10' up

Tristram appears in the arena immediately prepares for battle. Flexing his well-toned body he tries a few practice swings with the chain, leaving the greatsword in its scabbard for now.
This is not going to be an easy fight, of that he's sure as his experience in the gladiator ring has tought him how dangerous the well-diciplined and well trained hobgoblins can be.

Prep Round 1:
  [Free]
  [Move]
  [Standard]

Prep Round 2:
  [Free] Knight's challenge: assign Jekyll
  [Move]
  [Standard] ready chain

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, 7 rounds

Using his superior training in armor, Tristram sets off at high speed through the glass maze, stopping only when next to the mage.

Round 2:
  [Free] Test of Mettle: Will DC 14 or target Tristram above others
  [Move] Double move to J16
  [Standard]

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, 7 rounds

Final position: J16

Test of Mettle: Jekyll fail, Hekyll fail


Lyssander's chain lashed out, but the hobgoblin mage took it with surprising resistance, barely rocked. [Jekyll resists 5 damage]

Jekyll cursed that he'd become so quickly trapped in the narrow passage between two chain-wielders. There was no way past, and spellcasting was difficult. There was nothing else for it.

Standing back, he quickly conjured a spell to return the favour...


Round 1:
  [Free] 5ft step to I18
  [Stan] cast web
         Concentration 20 to avoid spell failure if attacked, beats DC 20 (8 dmg)
         AoO: do 9+ dmg to disrupt

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

  Damage Taken:   5
  Damage Dealt:   0

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

Final Position: I18


>>> Tristram: due to your Mage Slayer feat, Jekyll can't cast defensively. You're in range to AoO him, do 9+ damage to disrupt the spell.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:10, Wed 29 June 2011.

OOC:  Jek's beginning and destination squares (for the 5' step) are both within Tristram's bulwark of defense area - treated as difficult terrain.  Does Jek have something that lets him take a 5' step in difficult terrain?

OOC: Ah, missed that. Okay, Tristram may also AoO him for moving out of a threatened square, though that doesn't affect the spellcasting action. I assume you'll take both AoOs here?

(This battle has gotten off to a poor start in the first round.)

OOC:  Yes, it's a safe bet that we'll both take AoOs for moving out of a threatened square...  I'll wait for Tristram's AoO to resolve first (he has higher dex modifier) since he may attempt a trip, which may affect Lyssander's AoO.

I don't think the battle has gotten off to a poor start :)

Tristram's well honed reflexes and scholarly training serves him well. As the hobgoblin tries to put some distance between him and the knight, Tristram tries to sweep the feet off under him, but the hobgoblin seemed to anticipate the move and easily skipped over the rattling chain. The weapon nearly entangled Tristram instead but he was able to rebalance the awkward weapon in time for a second strike as the mage had to let his guard down to weave a spell. This time the knight did what he does best: strike hard and decisively and thus disrupting the spellcasting.

OOC:
AoO 1 (trip) rolled a 1 so miss
AoO 2 PA -2/+4 21, damage 16

Attack roll bonus: +8 +1 (fighting challenge) +2 (bracers of opportunity) -2 PA
forgot to add +1 from fighting challenge in dice roller

Damage roll bonus: +5 +1 (fighting challenge) +4 PA

OOC: Damn, I shouldn't tell you what damage you need to roll before hand... :(


The barbed end smacked the mage across his hands, ruining his attempts at a spell.


Jekyll:
  Damage Taken:  21


>>> Lyssander's AoO, then Hekyll's turn

Well, even without PA the damage would be enough to disrupt spellcasting.

Lyssander's chain slices through the air in a creditable attack, but the hobgoblin mage's arcane protections manage to deflect the blow.

(AoO attack roll:  17, miss)

OOC: Sorry, I didn't get a chance to post last night, then left my stats home. So Hekyll will have to wait until this afternoon.

Outraged at the assault upon his elder brother, Hekyll roared and surged down the length of the library. Stopping halfway, he raised his sword to point at the stinking human, and a grey shot from the tip to strike him in the back.


Round 1:
  [Swif] cast swift expeditious retreat
  [Move] move to J10
  [Stan] cast ray of enfeeblement @ Tristram
         ranged touch attack 15, hits
         Tristram: suffer -3 Strength

Status:
  Initiative: 5
  AC (Touch AC): 21 (14)

  Damage Taken:   0
  Damage Dealt:   0

Effects:
  cat's grace: +4 Dexterity
  expeditious retreat, +30ft

Final Position: J10
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:11, Fri 01 July 2011.

Lyssander reconsiders his tactics in light of the new threat.  He had expected a mage / warrior combination, but this - a wizard and a duskblade, two capable arcane spellslingers - is a more dangerous pairing than he had initially thought, especially since he and his team-mate could not marshal a similar array of magicks.  But there are other resources to be marshalled, to be sure...

"Deal with the mage," he tersely advises Tristram.  "I shall delay the other."  Attacking Hekyll would snap the younger hobgoblin from the gladiator's knightly challenge, but Lyssander does not wish to afford him the opportunity to sap Tristram's strength any further.

A rustling of wing feathers behind Tristram accompanies the priest's departure, and his move toward the central area of the arena.  Hekyll watches warily as Lyssander takes up a position across the altar from him, but the more immediate threat to the impetuous hobgoblin is behind him, as a dark shape congeals into a massive scorpion...

[OOC - Hekyll is now squeezed between the scorpion and the low altar, consider whether he takes the penalty for being in a squeezed space.  This will not affect the results of the rolls below.]

Round 2:
  [Free] Assign dodge bonus to Hekyll
  [Move] Move (fly) to H10, 5' up
  [Standard] Activate amber-bound Large Scorpion, K/L-9/10, flanking position



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:
  [Free]
  [Move] [full attack]
  [Standard] [full attack - rolls 16, 11, 15, all miss]

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

  Damage Taken: 0
  Damage Dealt: 0


Effects:


Final Position: K/L-9/10

Tristram tries to bring the mage off his feet, but the chain feels heavy in his hands and he is unable to muster strength enough to really threaten the hobgoblin.

Round 2:
  [Free]
  [Move]
  [Standard] Touch attack (17), STR DC 3 or fall prone

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, 5 rounds

Final position: J16

The chain slapped weakly against the mage's leg. Suddenly the battle-mage stamped on the trailing end and quickly dragged it away, trying to forcibly yank it out of the knight's weakened hands. But Tristram held tight despite it.




  Strength check 17, trip resisted
  Counter trip! Strength check 13
I rolled your Strength check for you: success.
10:10, Today: DM BadCatMan, on behalf of Tristram, rolled 14 using 1d20+1. strength.

Jekyll delays.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:24, Fri 01 July 2011.

With a roar of frustration at the sudden new opponent hemming him in, claws and pointed stabbing around him, Hekyll weaved a spell to weaken his foe. Then he plunged his sword into the scorpion's head and released the withering magic.


Round 2:
  [Stan] Attack Scorpion
         Combat Casting: Concentration 31, success
         Channel Spell: ray of enfeeblement
         Attack 19 (messed up diceroller, should be +7), damage 8
         Strength penalty: -6

Status:
  Initiative: 5
  AC (Touch AC): 21 (14)

  Damage Taken:   0
  Damage Dealt:   8 to Scorpion

Effects:
  cat's grace: +4 Dexterity

Final Position: J10

OOC: I took the liberty of rolling Tristram's AoO to save time:
11:09, Today: DM BadCatMan rolled 10 using 2d4+3. dmg
11:07, Today: DM BadCatMan rolled 21 using 1d20+5. Tristram AoO
Disregard the Will save, it wasn't required


Jekyll had to disable this stupid chain-wielder further, else he'd never get anything done. Disregarding the flashing chain, he cast a spell to thwart the other, if only for a moment. Too late, the chain got him again and broke both the spell his arm.


Round 2:
  [Stan] cast daze, provoke AoO, hit, Concentration 16, fail

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

  Damage Taken:  31
  Damage Dealt:   0

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

Final Position: I18


New Initiative Order
19 - Lyssander, Scorpion
 5 - Tristram
 3 - Hekyll
 3 - Jekyll