With damage rolling in from multiple directions, Elm surveys his situation. His eye movements are a blur to Sypher before the Vampire Lord raises his off hand and says "Summone sanguines aero". Three dire vampire bats materialize and each locks on to one of the giant eagles, racing off to do battle. Elm smirks in satisfaction.

Sypher: Attack of opportunity on Elm

Elmo's casting prompts a quick swing from Sypher, but the blade doesn't connect much less distract the vampire.

[Rolled a 2 + 13.]

Round 4 turn order
Rebort
Sypher
Beloc & Eagles 1, 2, and 3
Shiaran

Elm [97 DMG - 10 HP Naturally healed]
Dire Bats 1, 2, and 3

DM Note: As the summoned monsters are dealt damage, I will peel them off from the clustered listing and place them directly under their respective owner while displaying damage. This will not alter turn order, it will just be done for uniformity as ease of reading

As the flood of bats rises from Elm's position, R.E.B.O.R.T. quickly trains his sights on them. He concentrates fire on one at a time to ensure to thin their numbers more effectively. The first four shots pepper the first bat before finally going down [37 dmg]. The last two shots badly wound the second but aren't enough to shoot it out of the sky [25 dmg].

Several empty clicks come from R.E.B.O.R.T's weapons, indicating it's time to reload.

21:21, Today: R.E.B.O.R.T. rolled 10,10,9,8,14,11.  Incremental damage on bats.
21:16, Today: R.E.B.O.R.T. rolled 30,19,9,30,28,20.  Crit checks vs. bats.

Sypher continues to watch Elm, doing his best to maneuver in between the vampire and those he might target.  The monk does not attack.  Instead, he keeps his sword in a defensive angle a forearm's length from his body.

"Elm, why are you focusing on birds?  I'm the one you want.  The heir to the throne should the King and his family die.  In all your vaunted power, can you not strike me down?"  His words are calm, matter-of-fact.  There is no derision or condescension in the tone.  Sypher might as well be asking Elm how to solve an engineering problem over some fort.  Perhaps the simplicity of the tone will be seen less as a ploy and more as a serious challenge.

[Sypher is fighting defensively.  +4AC/No attacks.
23:06, Today: Sypher Whiteraven rolled 20 using 1d20+3 ((17)).]

As the two remaining bats continue their pursuit of the eagles, one eagle breaks off to intercept the wounded bat. A mightly claw to the throat [16 dmg] sends a spray of blood through the air and a snap of the beak [7 dmg] sends the would-be assailant to the ground.

Two eagles converge on the remaining bat. In a fury of talons and beaks, the eagles tear the bat to ribbons and it's leathery body plummets to the ground [39 damage collectively].

Finally, the last eagle circles back for another attack on Elm. It enters a dive, talons extended, looking to land a critical blow on the exposed vampire. The eagle shrieks a battle cry as it approaches, but as the attack draws nearer the shriek of an eagle slowly morphs into a more humanoid sounding yell. The talons meld together into what looks like a massive silvery blade gripped by the wooden clad arms of the Glen Warden. Feathers transform back into armor mere moments before reaching his target. The mighty blade strikes Elm in unison with Beloc touching down on the ground. The sheer force of the impact almost buckles the elf's knee [13 impact damage], but he manages to stay upright while landing a grievous blow on Elm [115 damage].


Too many die rolls to dump here, visit the dice roller to check history :/
Beloc uses Heedless Charge from the Shock Trooper feat; -10 penalty to AC for the rest of the turn.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:26, Tue 02 Apr 2019.

Shiaran watches Beloc's amazing aerial combat and transformation.  The moment after he lands, he looks a bit vulnerable.  With practiced ease, she reaches into the appropriate pouch and pulls out some gum arabic.  A single eyelash is mashed within as she darts over to the elfin warrior to touch his shoulder.  Her voice whispers in clear, rapid succession the words needed to inact the spell.  "Kanina mati den mopey na me Fri na kinetic eh na energeso an den keno kinese enantia den Beloc."

[Shiaran casts Invisibility on Beloc.]

The last attack from Beloc slices Elm wide open, exposing his ribs and organs through his back. The vampire lord grunts, but nothing more. His wounds which would have instantly killed a mortal man begin to seep dark purple energies. It starts as a slow leak, before suddenly erupting outward, blasting everyone within a 30 foot radius¹. The force of the blast pushes hard against those it hits, and gives a sensation of absolute dread and sadness to those touched.

Within seconds of the blast, his physical form begins the change. Dark, sinewy muscles cover his form, turning him into hulking creature. His clothing tears away and his sword drops as he grows twice as tall and three times as wide as his previous form. Wide, leathery wings sweep out from his arms as a thick and shaggy mane covers his back and neck. His face is contorted and skewed, with two sets of pointy ears sprouting up from the sides of Elm's head. Fangs and claws like daggers replace teeth and nails.

He lifts his drooping head up, sneering at those around him. His voice booms and echoes, sounding as if it achieves multiple pitches and octaves at once.

"Well then.. I suppose you are the lucky ones. Not many get to see me as I truly am. Prepare yourselves..".  He springs from his position, jetting up high and past the eagles above. His flight speed is blindingly fast, as he momentarily vanishes from sight. A chittering sound reverberates and bounces off the stone floor and stalagmites surrounding the floating chunk of land you all stand on.

¹Negative energy Blast (5d6 Negative Energy Damage) - DC 22 Reflex Save for half damage [you may roll your own damage if you choose]. Knock back 1d10+5 feet (half damage gives half knock back distance; rounded up)

Photo of Elm's new form, for reference: https://www.dandwiki.com/w/ima...9c743edf068dfdca.jpg

He is now considered Large for his size category
This message was last updated by the player at 15:30, Sat 13 Apr 2019.

Beloc's elven grace kicks in and miraculously manages to avoid the brunt of the blast [11 dmg] despite how close he was standing to ground zero. The force, however, pushes his invisible body back just a few feet.

19:31, Today: Beloc S'Viscus rolled 22,6 using 5d6,1d10+5.  Explosive purpley stuff, plus knock back.
19:18, Today: Beloc S'Viscus rolled 22 using 1d20+6.  Reflex save.

This message was last edited by the player at 13:37, Wed 03 Apr 2019.

Sypher sees the blast wave head for him and the transformation of Elm begin.  His senses alert him to what is happening subconsciously.  In reflex, he stands up straight and holds up one hand, palm forward as if to say 'stop'.  His sword is held behind him in a relaxed position.  When the wave passes around him, there is a white shimmer of energy that prevents the darkness from touching him.

Shiaran reacts with reflexes enhanced by the haste spell.  With a contemptuous raising of her coldfire sword at the dark wave of energy, she divides the energy around her like the parting of some otherworldly sea.  Her smirk of disdain is evident to all who can see her face.  "Oh goody.  His 'true' form.  Sy, this guy is almost not worth fighting.  I was expecting a lot more.  So far, all the awesomeness has come from Beloc and Rebort."

She turns to her two companions.  "Great job, guys!  Keeping me from dying of boredom here."  Shiaran fakes a yawn which she covers with the back of her other hand still holding her pistol.

Sypher follows Shiaran's words with his own.  "Lesser demon.  You've gone from mildly annoying to somewhat laughable.  You have no power over us as our faith protects us as you have just witnessed.  Iehovah is almighty.  What little you can do will be mild, temporary, and soon forgotten.  You should have stayed hidden.  You have shown us your true form.  Now...witness a small fraction of Iehovah's power."

A low rumble resounds somewhere overhead. It rapidly picks up volume.

Sypher & Beloc - Reflex Save

Sypher braces himself while Beloc scrambles as a sound wave so heavy it's visible crashes down on the pair's location. The frequency is too low to actually hear, save for the surrounding air rumbling out of the way. It painfully rattles and reverberates to the bone. Though he can't be seen, Beloc is forced down to a kneel before collapsing under the sheer pressure of the blast [14 DMG] and being knocked prone, while Sypher's supernatural senses allow him to position himself just right and shrug off the brunt of the sonic attack.

The dark figure of Elm's demonic bat form swoops down, hovering within earshot overhead. "Lesser demon? You speak as if you've fought off the legions of the damned singlehandedly, Whiteraven. How presumptuous. I hold entire nations in the palm of my hand, end lineages with the snap of a finger, command and manipulate armies against one another, simply for my own amusement. The only lesser "thing" in existence here is your fighting prowess, weakling".
This message was last edited by the player at 15:30, Sat 13 Apr 2019.

Round 5 turn order

Rebort
Sypher
Beloc [25 DMG] & Eagles 1, 2, and 3
Shiaran

Elm [?? DMG]
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:49, Sun 07 Apr 2019.

Shiaran yawns in exaggerated fashion.  "And yet, here we Whiteravens stand.  Untouched.  Sy, I think he's right.  He's not a lesser demon.  He doesn't rate that high. Maybe wannabe demon?"

Sypher nods in agreement and starts a pacing style of walk.  His intention is to keep himself between Elm and Shiaran without being overly obvious about it.  He keeps his sword at the ready, his eyes focused on Elm's demonic eyes.  The paladin has no fear of the thing before him.  He holds up one palm face up, then bends his fingers in a 'come at me' kind of motion.

[Sypher continues to fight Total Defense.  No attack, -4 AC.]

It looks as though R.E.B.O.R.T. is about to say something, but just then, his ammo finishes reloading for another hail of positively charged bullets.

His barrels start lighting up with what looks like holy fire as the bullets speed towards Elm. Every shot lands [56 damage total], and with each comes crimson gouts of blood that bubbles up as it spatters on the ground. It's as if the rounds were actually attracted to the demon, but what's unexpected is the sonic reverberation that fires back at R.E.B.O.R.T. While he manages to evade a number of them, a few strike true on the warforged [3 dmg].

"Notice: Despite being trapped in a pocket dimension on the negative energy plane, no undead signatures can be detected. Reactive force field detected."


18:40, Today: R.E.B.O.R.T. rolled 3 using 2d4.  Sonic damage.
18:38, Today: R.E.B.O.R.T. rolled 9,15,15,13,9,27 using d20+8,d20+8,d20+8,d20+8,d20+8,d20+8.  reflex saves.
18:32, Today: R.E.B.O.R.T. rolled 13,10,6,6,10,11 using 4d4+1,4d4+1,2d4+1,2d4+1,4d4+1,4d4+1.  Damage vs new Elm.
18:26, Today: R.E.B.O.R.T. rolled 26,21,11,15,22,23 using d20+12,d20+12,d20+7,d20+12,d20+12,d20+7.  Crit checks vs. new Elm.

The impression of a single handprint is the only clue as to Beloc's whereabouts as he picks his invisible form off the ground.

He chuckles slowly. "The party tricks are nice, but I think it's about time we put this sorry excuse for a demon on ice", he says, hoping to lace his taunt with a subtle message to the rest of the group.

Now with his feet firmly beneath him, his elven grace takes over and he moves across the battlefield so that his voice does not betray his location. The flurry of attacks from the birds overhead help to distract Elm from pinpointing where he moves. They appear clearly spooked at the sudden transformation and none land a hit, but they achieve their goal in keeping Elm occupied.

All sub 10 rolls for the eagles... nothing comes close to hitting.

Shiaran narrows her eyes and looks about at the battlefield.  Stalemate she thinks to herself.  Then a telltale smirk grows on her face.  She digs in her pouch and pulls out an empty cocoon.  "Gia mia stigmí epitrépste mou na eímai aftó pou den eímai allá prépei na eímai."  The cocoon disappears in a twinkling mist that surrounds and infuses Shiaran.

What happens next happens rapidly, a count of no more than three.

Shiaran's hair turns lighter, auburn and metallic.  Then her face elongates as do her fingers and feet as her clothing fades into her body to be replaced by shimmering, copper scales.  She drops down to all fours as muscles bulge and dark claws grow where finger and toenails once were.  Her hair flows behind her then solidifies into two powerful, back-swept horns and two narrow cheek ridges below them, though they retain the slightly auburn color to them.  From her back, a pair of powerful wings burst out into full display, catching the wind as Shiaran leaps into the air.  Her voice is deeper, richer as she addresses the demon.  "A bat is just a mouse with wings.  Let's play some cat and mouse little demon."

[Sharan casts polymorph on herself and becomes a Copper Dragon.]

As Elm's demonic blood festers and fizzles on the ground, 6 imps crawl up out of the caustic masses - one for each gout that fell. The imps looks around rapidly, sneering at potential targets for their mayhem. Four of the imps converge on Sypher. With the Paladin fighting a defensive battle though, none of their strikes ring true this round. The remaining 2 make a bee line for Rebort, reaching just 10 foot from the warforged before he can react.

Elm on the other hand vanishes from sight before reappearing in front of Shiaran's copper dragon form. He lashes forwards to talon tipped feet, trying to latch on to her neck.

Elm attempts to grapple Shiaran. Provokes attack of opportunity. If AoO fails to hit, notify DM for next phase of grappling. If AoO succeeds, combat will resume as grapple round has resolved
This message was last updated by the player at 15:30, Sat 13 Apr 2019.

AoO

As the vampire-demon-thing tries to grapple Shiaran, her head whips forward and her teeth chomp down hard on a bicep.  With her teeth dug into the vile flesh and the tang of acidic blood in her mouth, Shiaran laughs merrily through the mild sonic attack that washes back over her.  She lets go and darts away through the air.  "That'll teach you to get grabby!"

[21:09, Today: Shiaran Whiteraven rolled 27 using 1d20+13.  AoO Bite vs Elm .
21:11, Today: Shiaran Whiteraven rolled 14 using 1d8+6.  Damage vs Elm.
12:16, Today: Shiaran Whiteraven rolled 3 using 1d4.  Sonic damage.]
This message was last edited by the player at 17:18, Fri 12 Apr 2019.

Round 6 turn order

Rebort
Sypher
Beloc [24 DMG] & Eagles 1, 2, and 3
Shiaran [4 DMG]

Elm [?? DMG]
6 Imps
1 pool of caustic blood.

As Shiaran damages Elm, another sonic blast releases, striking her for [4 DMG]. In her current form she is unphased by the hit, as it provides little more than an annoyance.

For a moment, it looks like R.E.B.O.R.T. was making a move towards one of his secret compartments, but the oncoming imps override his self-preservation protocols. He trains his weapons on the two bearing down on him. The first two rounds bore massive holes in the first unsuspecting imp and it skitters to the ground in a black bloody mess [14 dmg, 12 dmg]. The second imp doesn't appear to be phased at all by the demise of his companion and retains focus on R.E.B.O.R.T., who buries the next two rounds squarely in its chest [12 dmg, 8 dmg]. It flops to the ground, dead at his feet.

The warforged quickly adjusts and fires his last two rounds at one of the imps harassing Sypher. The first lands right in the middle of its back [12 dmg], but the last lands a killing blow [8 dmg].

His weapons whine as the clips run empty again. "Impending threat neutralized. Resuming primary objective."

08:30, Today: R.E.B.O.R.T. rolled 7(14),6(12),6(12),8,6(12),8 using 2d4+1,2d4+1,2d4+1,2d4+1,2d4+1,2d4+1.  Damage vs. Imps (crits not accounted for).
22:01, Yesterday: R.E.B.O.R.T. rolled 31,25,18,13,24,9 using d20+12,d20+12,d20+7,d20+12,d20+12,d20+7.  Crit checks vs. imps.

Sypher continues his dance in and among the imps, drawing their attention with false openings for attack, and by positioning himself so that Rebort has a better shot without concern for hitting him either in front of or behind the imps.  "The lesser demon who spawned you couldn't harm me.  What makes you think that his offal has a chance?"

[Sypher continues to fight defensively.]
This message was last edited by the player at 01:12, Mon 15 Apr 2019.

The three eagles converge on the remain imps, swooping in an attempt to carry them away. Two of the imps manage to bat the would-be attackers away, however, the third manages to lock on and lift the tiny demon off the ground and 40 feet into the air.

Beloc doesn't take any chances and steps into the clean up what's remaining in front of Sypher. He swings his blade, aiming to cleave the imp in twain, and does just that. The pent up combat adrenaline from the last round explodes into action in a massive power attack [26 dmg]. The force of the blow carries through to the next target, cleaving it in two as well [30 dmg].

"Any time, Rebort!"

In the distance, the screech of an eagle can be heard as it carries its prize off.

22:21, Today: Beloc S'Viscus rolled 30 using 2d4+22.  Damage on imp 2.
22:19, Today: Beloc S'Viscus rolled 26 using 2d4+22.  Damage on imp 1.