Saliq gave an annoyed glance at the ranger, privately wondering if anyone paid attention to him.

The illusionist half closed his eyes and began speaking strange shadowy words that lingered uneasily on the ear. He held up one hand and - still speaking in the same eerie language - drew an imaginary circle around the group. In the wake of his gesture flames suddenly erupted, a waist high blazing circle of fire surrounding the adventurers. The crackle and hiss of the fires broke the silence...

---

OOC: Saliq casts Improved Phantasmal Force

Rath puts on a satisfied smirk. He knows what's coming when Saliq begins his spell,  and he trusts that Inas and the new henchmen will be suitably impressed.

A ring of fire leaps up around the party, adding to the desolate landscape's already menacing appearance.

It's hard to say what effect Saliq's magic has on the unknown hounds, which have thus far remained heard, but largely unseen. One thing's for certain, they are longer howling or growling and nobody has laid eyes on them just yet.

Maybe they were scared off?

"Or maybe we scared off some lightning bugs, who knows..."

Ben's rhetorical query is interrupted as four beastly forms become visible through the steam, seemingly drawn to the palisade of fire now encircling the heroes. The beasts crouch low as they move in from either side of the heroes, their rusty red bodies now visible: large hounds of a form which none of the party members have ever laid eyes upon.

These powerfully built hounds have an otherworldly appearance, their fiery eyes glow red with all the intensity of a blacksmith's furnace. The beasts begin to circle around the group in a stalking fashion, at a distance of about 25 feet, just beyond the magic ring of fire.

The hounds then race forward in unison with blinding speed, closing to within 10 feet of the party, perhaps even inside the rolling flames, when they breathe their own jet of scorching flames, aimed straight at the clustered heroes!

Specifically, the flames are aimed at Bruno, Inas, Norion and Rath. Fortunately, Bruno lifts his shield just in time to deflect most of the blast which was aimed at him. Perhaps the others will be as fortunate.

OOC: The hounds will automatically win initiative: I rolled a 9!

Inas, Norion, and Rath please roll a Save vs Dragon Breath.

The hounds are about 10 feet distant from the heroes at the start of this combat.

Fell Hounds of Tartarus
AC: 4, Size: Medium
HP: 24/29, 27/27, 19/26, 21/21

PC       AC    HP    AP  0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10   Notes
Ben      7   26/26   2   19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10  9   Init +2
Eagle    6   30/30   4   18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8
Inas     5   36/43   1   17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7
Norion   3   48/54   2   16 15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6
Rath     3   35/41   2   16 15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6
Saliq    7   17/17   3   20 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11   Init +2

NPCs
Bruno    6   06/09   6   20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10   (R) Hum Ftr1
Monvo    6   10/10   6   20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10   (R) Hum Ftr1


Stage 1: Hounds
Stage 2: PCs

OOC: PCs are UP!!!
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:32, Sun 22 Sept 2013.

"... or not..."

Ben swiftly places a bullet into his sling, gives it swift couple of twirls over his head, then lets lose!!!

A hit!!!

But did the creature seem to take any damage from it?



[Private to GM: 01:01, Today: Ben Scristos rolled 22 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 20. sling bullet.
01:04, Today: Ben Scristos rolled 5 using 1d4+1 with rolls of 4. damage of small or man sized.
8 points of damage if larger then man-sized, I think.

Thought for just a second about using my potion of dog control, but I am guessing these wouldn't qualify... ]

Inas braced himself as the strange, monstrous hounds descended upon them. Their fiery breath spilled forth towards him and he did his best to avoid it.

17:09, Today: Inas Eoinsson rolled 4 using 1d20 with rolls of 4. Save v Dragonbreath, UNMODIFIED. Not sure what adjustments or targets need to be applied. GM please help!

He then fired his arrow at the third hound, before snatching another arrow and firing again at the same target. The first merely clipped the rampaging beast, while the second delivered a far more satisfying thud as it bit deep into flesh. As soon as the second arrow was loosed he dropped his bow and quickly reached for his mighty sword.

17:20, Today: Inas Eoinsson rolled 7 using 2d6 with rolls of 6,1. Damage from 2 arrows.
17:20, Today: Inas Eoinsson rolled 16 using 1d20 with rolls of 16. Arrow attack 2 v Hound 3.
17:19, Today: Inas Eoinsson rolled 18 using 1d20 with rolls of 18. Arrow attack 1 v hound 3.
17:18, Today: Inas Eoinsson rolled 3 using 1d4 with rolls of 3. Target selection.

Well that was unlucky... Saliq thought in irritation as the foe revealed itself a master of flame.

He slid the Jambiya Moonblade out of his belt and awaited the attack.

Rath takes the brunt of the blast of flames, and thrusts wildly with Devilsbane. The hound easily evades, but Rath stares it down with a cocky smirk. "Nice kitty." He levels his trident, regaining his balance, and hopes the thing can't belch fire twice.



Failed Save. Missed attack. Avandra is on the Fell Hounds team this round, I think.

20:21, Today: Aldo Rathmus rolled 2 using 1d20+1 with rolls of 1. attack dog with trident.  20:20, Today: Aldo Rathmus rolled 7 using 1d20 with rolls of 7. save vs breath - target=13.

Inas and Rath fail to get out of the blast zone of the fell hounds' scorching blast of fire. As a result, both suffer minor burns. Not enough to put them down for the count, but enough to singe the ol' eyebrows!

OOC: Inas takes 7 damage and Rath takes 6.

Bruno and Monvo are not too keen on charging outside the safety provided by superior numbers, and each fumble for a javelin to attack from distance. Both hurl their weapons at a hound, but neither has much skill with the weapon and both whiz harmlessly through the air.

22:45, Today: DM Storm rolled 6,1,3,3 using d20,d6,d20,d6 with rolls of 6,1,3,3. attacks.

Norion moves forward to fight these dogs, sheild and battle axe in hand.  He is too slow in reacting to their firebreathe, he wasn't expecting that and consequently, his axe swings to high and misses as well.  He braces for the battle.

ooc: failed save, missed hit

Norion takes the full brunt of the fell hound's scorching jet and a substantial proportion of his formerly respectable beard goes up in flames! A few moments later, naught is left behind but a puff of pungent smoke.

At least dwarves are renowned for their facility in growing facial hair in a relatively short period of time. Still, hopefully he would not encounter any competition in the near term.

OOC: Norion takes 6 fire damage.

Eagle fumbles with the new sling he picked up in Stormhaven. Unfortunately he still hasn't got the hang of it yet, and the sling bullet flies harmlessly wide.

09:21, Today: Eagle rolled 9 using 1d20 with rolls of 9. sling attack.

Norion and Rath break the tight defensive formation and race forward to engage a fell hound, apiece.

The rust-colored hounds are skillful skirmishers and edge out of harm's way at the last moment, only to pounce forward at the first possible chance.

This engagement catches the attention of the other two hounds, and they too race around for an opportunity to sink their black fangs into dwarf or man, with no real preference either way. These are soulless, black-hearted killers with a taste for living flesh in all its iterations.

Both Rath and Norion end up on the losing side of two such attacks, as dark jaws penetrate through defenses and armor, as four hounds scrap with the two companions



OOC: Rath takes 3 points of damage. Norion takes 9. Rath/Norion are about 10 feet distant from the rest of the companions and each has two fell hounds presently engaged with them.


Fell Hounds of Tartarus
AC: 4, Size: Medium
HP: #1: 15/29 (N), #2: 12/27 (N), #3: 12/26 (R), #4: 18/21 (R)

PC       AC    HP    AP  0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10   Notes
Ben      7   26/26   2   19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10  9   Init +2
Eagle    6   30/30   4   18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8
Inas     5   36/43   1   17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7
Norion   3   39/54   2   16 15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6
Rath     3   32/41   2   16 15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6
Saliq    7   17/17   3   20 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11   Init +2

NPCs
Bruno    6   06/09   6   20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10   (R) Hum Ftr1
Monvo    6   10/10   6   20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10   (R) Hum Ftr1


Stage 1: Hounds
Stage 2: PCs

OOC: PCs are UP!!!
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:39, Tue 24 Sept 2013.

Bruno and Monvo launch another salvo of javelins, their last--one hundred gold doesn't go very far!

Bruno's throw goes wide left; however Monvo's flies true and strikes on of the hounds in his rear hindquarter. The fell hound doesn't seem to take notice of the attack, for it is too intent on bringing Rath down as quickly as possible.

OOC: Monvo hit Hound #4 for 3 points of damage.
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:44, Mon 23 Sept 2013.

Rath feints a thrust as one hound dives away, then he drives his fork forward as the second lunges. Rath doesn't rip its guts out, as he intended, but the does leave a gouge in one flank.



Attack Hound #3, Hit AC12 for 5 damage. DM, please add 2 damage if the hounds are lawful evil.

05:11, Today: Aldo Rathmus rolled 12 using 1d20+01 with rolls of 11. Attack hound #3.
05:13, Today: Aldo Rathmus rolled 5 using 1d6+3 with rolls of 2. Damage.

Saliq looked very pale, aware his lack of armour or weapons training would make him easy prey for the ravening hell beasts attacking Rath and Norion. He looked uncertainly down at his enchanted dagger.

"Stick close to me." He hissed to the others. "I'll even the odds a little..."

His voice took on eerie quality as spoke strange words and shimmered away from sight... along with those of the group who had stuck close to him.

"Stay close," Saliq hissed from seemingly nowhere. "We'll help the Dwarf first."

---

OOC: Saliq casts Invisibility 10 ft Radius on himself (and any of the group within 10 feet.)

Eagle tees up another stone in his sling and flings it at one of the hounds. Unfortunately his timing is still out, and the stone gets caught in the sling, and plops harmlessly at his feet. Hearing Saliq's instruction he decides invisibility is a far better approach, and steps close to the illusionist's voice, intending to draw his scikle and launch a surprise attack next round.

Inas drew his bastard sword and surged forward to help Norion. "Protect the mages!" he hissed at Bruno and Monvo, hoping that the inexperienced fighters wouldn't get in the way and get themselves killed.

He rushed at the first fell hound. "Claíomh na Fírinne!" he bellowed, intoning the name of his magic weapon as he struck forward. His sword bit deep into the foul creature, its magically sharpened blade slicing through fur and hide.

He then immediately followed up with another swing, but this time put too much into the back swing and missed the beast by mere inches.

15:51, Today: Inas Eoinsson rolled 11 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 8. Attack2 v hound1, tgt 13.
15:51, Today: Inas Eoinsson rolled 9 using 2d4+5 with rolls of 3,1. Damage.
15:51, Today: Inas Eoinsson rolled 13 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 10. Attack v hound 1, target 13.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:58, Mon 23 Sept 2013.

Norion is burning, and not just from the fumes coming off his beard, that hurt and he grinds his teeth as he steps forwards swinging his battle axe with two strokes the first a good solid hit, the second even better.  "Back ta' hell with ya!"


Max Damage on attack 2 for natural 20,  10pts damage.  5 Pts. damage for attack 1
12:03, Today: Norion Ironaxe rolled 5 using 1d8+2 with rolls of 3. damage w attack 1.
12:00, Today: Norion Ironaxe rolled 21 using 1d20+1 with rolls of 20. attack 2.
12:00, Today: Norion Ironaxe rolled 15 using 1d20+1 with rolls of 14. attack 1.

Having never been invisible before, and probably  unaware that he is invisible now, Ben will unleash another sling stone, which flies almost straight up in the air as panic takes hold of his innards...

"What the hell, where did everyone go? Where's my pony?"

[Private to GM: Just checking, but Ben wouldn't know the rules of invisibility, or even what had just happened, would he?


07:49, Today: Ben Scristos rolled 4 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 2. sling . ]

Though the party has had some success wounding the fell hounds, the devilish beasts show no sign of relenting. They zealously fight on, their black jaws snapping at anything they can sink their teeth into.

Though Rath is now cloaked in invisibility, Inas is not, so the two hounds which had been engaged with Rath, naturally turn their attentions to the ranger...

The Norion and Rath each get bitten by a fell hound. To make matters worse, they also both get sprayed with a jet of flames, courtesy of the other hound.

OOC: Norion takes two points of damage and must make a Saving Throw vs Breath Weapon (Success = +4 damage. Failure = +7 damage). Inas takes 7 points of damage and must make a Saving Throw vs Breath Weapon (Success = +3 damage. Failure = +6 damage)


Fell Hounds of Tartarus
AC: 4, Size: Medium
HP: #1: 3/29 (N/B/S), #2: 12/27 (N/B), #3: 1/26 (R/I), #4: 18/21 (R/I)

PC       AC    HP    AP  0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10   Notes
Ben      7   26/26   1   19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10  9   Init +2
Eagle    6   30/30   4   18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8
Inas     5   23/43   1   17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7
Norion   3   30/54   2   16 15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6
Rath     3   32/41   2   16 15 14 13 12 11 10  9  8  7  6   Invisible
Saliq    7   17/17   3   20 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11   Init +2

NPCs
Bruno    6   06/09   6   20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10   (R) Hum Ftr1, Invisible
Monvo    6   10/10   6   20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10   (R) Hum Ftr1, Invisible


Stage 1: Hounds
Stage 2: PCs

OOC: PCs are UP!!!
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:04, Thu 26 Sept 2013.

Bruno and Monvo each draw a short, but both hold their positions for the moment, perhaps heeding Inas' command...or maybe just reluctant to act?

OOC: Defensive stance, guarding against a possible advance by the fell hounds.

Confused thoughts flash thru Ben's mind, what manners of beast's are these? Why would they attack an armed body of men... are they hungry? Or are they drawn to something we possess...

With a wry smile he wonders if they are drawn to silver tipped weapons, but a more drastic action crosses his mind - slay the pony!

Perhaps the food would draw off the animals!

Spinning around and drawing his blade, he finds...

no pony?

What the heck, no pony, no Saliq, no hirelings? How did they all take off so quickly?

Sword in hand, he ponders fleeing, for just a moment, then spins and attacks the right most bad-doggy, hoping that a flanking attacker might cause it concern...

In another world, Ben would have missed the damned beast... even the gods themselves seem to vie against him.

But Ben managed to find it within himself to forcefully change the course of the blow and strike true!

Little men cannot greatly go against the will of the gods however, and his blade fails to bite deep.

Somewhere an evil cube shaped demon cackled in glee...

OOC:
00:13, Today: Ben Scristos rolled 14 using 1d20 with rolls of 14. swing long sword (THAC4 = 15).
00:15, Today: Ben Scristos rolled 1 using 1d6 with rolls of 1. heroes luck.

00:17, Today: Ben Scristos rolled 2 using 1d8 with rolls of 2. damage (please!!!).