Episode 6: The Hopeless Void

[ArcaneStomper]

Leslie is becoming more experienced in magic and between her own earlier manipulations of this labyrinth as well as the surrounding magical essence she can sense that there is a mixture of things at play here. The space is warped, but the scions perceptions are also being manipulated to make it harder to tell the difference between what is real and what is not. With some concentration she is able to start untying the spell and help her fellows see the "reality" of their situation.

Delcroix is the first to take advantage of this. With sharp eyes and her own still running tracking spell she is able to quickly navigate through the now much shorter, though still warped, doorframe and emerge in what can only be described as a void. Before her is a sprawling tangle of branches and bridges connecting over and under each other. She can vaguely sense that these are the school corridors she was traveling through, and in fact when she turns her head just right she can see through them to the inside of those corridors like an overlay of what is actually there.

Those aren't the only thing in this void however. Red and black shapes twist and turn in the distance like afterimages from looking at a too bright light. The longer Delcroix stares at them the more they seem to make an actual pattern, and then the shapes of hands, arms, and eyes. Eyes that are starting to look at her. Even though it's form is ever shifting she is certain this is the rampant that is responsible for all this, and she has one chance to do something about it before it fully notes her presence.

Unfortunately it turns out that one of the actual real things about the warped door frame was that the scions weren't actually all in the same place. So the other scions arrive one by one even as the Rampant turns its attention to them.

 

OOC

The initiative order is like this. Delcroix gets to go first and can make a surprise attack. Then Anna can go, but her attack will not be a surprise. Then the Rampant then everyone else.

Turn 1
Delcroix
Anna
Rampant
Suzume
Leslie
Kalina
Morgan

 

[Abalon]

---

The Black Fixer

"Welcome to Scion life! You're overworked, you risk your life every two seconds and your plushy administrator hide whatever they think is irrelevant! And what that means is anyone's guess, really!" she hollers back at Suzume's lament, noticing the notches she's making into the walls

"Huh. Quick thinker. Hopefully she's not the only one"

"Well, as bad as it is, at least we don't have to stop the entire Air Force like last time! Hehehe...hehe...he..."

Delcroix's chuckle goes quiet as visions flash in her mind. The unending tide of monsters, the blood and screaming, her armor torn to shreds. She reflexively looks down to see her hand gripping at her chest as thought to keep it closed, but there are no holes, or anything pouring out. So absorbed she is she doesn't immediately notice she's walking straight into the Rampant's lair, only when she sees a corridor under her feet, abruptly bringing her back from her reverie

"Ah! Well, that was stupid. Looks like I'm the first into the breach, so I'd better make it count"

Weaving her inner magic into a pair of twirling maces, she leaps towards the creatures eyes and strikes before retreating shortly afterwards

---

OOC

Standard action for a +2 All-Out Power Attack with the Maces (counting the vulnerability bonus), DC 28 vs Toughness, DC 23 vs Fortitude

Move action to then return to the entrance of the room

[ArcaneStomper]

The shifting mass is apparently not quite prepared for an attack yet. It recoils as Delcroix smashes into it with her maces before dashing away. However it looks like that won't stop it for long as three long slithering hands manifest out of the darkness and head towards the platform where the scions are standing. Delcroix recognizes them from her fight at the pool.

 

OOC

Toughness

Fortitude

 

Dazed

Toughness -1

[Yuno_]

Crossing past the threshold, to reveal the dark expanse of void filled with the shifting, roiling mass of Rampant was a surprise, but not such an unexpected one, after what Anna had experienced with the Rampant's shadowy servitor. Which meant there the natural reaction to the distorted form felt obvious to her.

 

Attack.

 

To charge in, with both blades drawn and her wings in orbit about her as the Scion went on the offensive, aware that seemingly alone and in the presence of the Rampant's monstrous mass, the only clear way to rejoin with the others would be through carving a path in the hope the thing would start to try and pull back from them all whilst they regrouped.

Mechanics

Standard Action: (Energy Sabers) Roll Close Range Damage 11 (DC 26), Multiattack, Penetrating 9, Accurate 1, Enhanced Advantage: Close Attack 1, Improved Critical 2 (18-20) (Magic, Heat, Light, Slashing, Energy)

 

[Niven81]

 Scion Morgan

Morgan is at this point is a tired. She was done with this ship, she'd almost almost died and had for months thought every Scion she thought with was dead. Now here she stood in this twisted carnival house of a nightmare school - somehow even worse than real school - facing rampart after rampart ... "Flock this Ship!" She screams, darting forward through the air, crackles of green energy dying like embers behind her."BALTIMORE BLAST!"Baltimore Blast!: Burst Area Damage 11 (DC 26; Burst Area: 30 feet radius sphere, DC 21)

Mechanics

Roll

 

[Snicker]

Drama Queen | Sheet | Page | Toughness: +8Defensive roll +8
Active defense | Dodge: +14 | Parry: +14 | Fortitude: +11 | Will: +11 | SensesInsight +21
Perception +12
Mental sense: Emotion (Accurate, Acute, Danger sense, Radius, Ranged)
Mental sense: Magic (Awareness, Radius, Ranged)

---

"The queen is in playeee-eek!" Leslie flinches back as she comes face to eyes, hands, and arms with the rampant. Not only is its appearance disturbing in its own right, but Leslie is suddenly extremely conscious of her own vulnerability. She relies on stealth in her scion duties, and she is all too aware that the rampant is all too aware of her.

Nothing to do for it now. She can only weaken its defenses and hope the other scions can handle it. She ducks out of the way, one hand coming up to pluck at invisible strings.

"You tried so hard to keep us out!" she announces. "It almost made us feel unwelcome! But it was all for nothing, anyway."

Attack information

Distress, Will DC 21
Emotion-based; inflicts impaired and vulnerable, or disabled and defenseless with two degrees of failure; degrees of failure are cumulative across multiple rounds; usable on any target within perception without an attack roll; DC 20 to notice attack being made or its effects

 

[ArcaneStomper]

The onslaught of the scions is quick, but not decisive. Unfortunately the rampant itself is a far stronger foe than the minions they had encountered so far. Anna comes the closest to damaging it, but her blades are turned away by coils of shadow that deflect and resist her strikes. Meanwhile Morgan's bat hammers down, but a half sphere of darkness springs up at the impact site to bear the brunt of the blow.

And its mental defenses are no weaker. Leslie can feel it's stand like an unassailable fortress to her assault of whispers and contempt. It's pride is a bastion and there is no room for self doubt. Not while it still stands strong against the scions.

 

 

OOC

Toughness vs Anna

Toughness vs Morgan

Will vs Leslie

Dazed

Toughness -1

 

 

[ArcaneStomper]

The boiling mass of the Rampant is an ever shifting morass of hands, eyes, limbs, and teeth, but out of the chaos the three pallid fists dart out with disturbing quickness. Each one goes for a scion and their fingers unfurl like the limbs of a disturbing sea creature before smashing back in to grab the scions in a fleshy grip.

OOC

Grab vs Anna

Grab vs Delcroix

Grab vs Morgan

 

@Yuno_@Niven81@AbalonAnna, Morgan, and Delcroix need to make resistance checks against DC20 using either strength or dodge. If they fail they are at restrained at one degree of failure or bound at two degrees or more.

 

[Abalon]

---

The Black Fixer

Delcroix looks at the result of the short assault and notices with a certain annoyance that while she had first blood, she was the only one who did drew blood or... whatever the Rampant equivalent of blood is. And while the Rampant had defences, it had to shift their attention to use them, which could reveal an opportunity. Before she could ruminate on how best to take action, she first had to avoid a repeat of the pool situation

Dodge vs Grab

"Not this time!"

Delcroix jumps out of harm's way right before the hand closes in on her. For a moment, she considers all of her options, and quickly settles on a support role. For now at least. With that in mind, she pulls out her crystalline gauntlets and starts wailing on the hand in front of her, before remembering something, which she hollers to everyone as she backs off

"Careful about these things, they also have poisoned gas!"

---

OOC

Attack with the Shattering Cestuses, Weaken Toughness DC 22 vs FortitudeI think you said these don't have Fortitude, but I might be wrong. Anyways, in the case they in fact don't, then that would be a pure roll with no bonuses (thanks Affects Objects), Affects Insubstantial 2, Affects Objects, Incurable

Move action to go somewhere that won't be sarin gassed next turn

Edited October 23, 2023 by Abalon (see edit history)

[Snicker]

Drama Queen | Sheet | Page | DefensesActive Defenses
Toughness +8
Dodge +14
Parry +14

Passive Defenses
Fortitude +11
Will +11

Miscellaneous
Danger Sense (Mental: Emotional) | SensesInsight +21
Perception +12
Mental sense: Emotion (Accurate, Acute, Danger sense, Radius, Ranged)
Mental sense: Magic (Awareness, Radius, Ranged)

---

"Poison gas?" Leslie doesn't have any way to deal with poison gas. She glances about the area, wondering how she would escape such an attack. She doesn't see any obvious way.

"I should have known!" she says, looking back at the rampant. "The common rabble are so noxious. You're offensive to all the senses! But it won't matter. We'll clean up this mess soon enough. We always do."

Attack information

Distress, Will DC 21
Emotion-based; inflicts impaired and vulnerable, or disabled and defenseless with two degrees of failure; degrees of failure are cumulative across multiple rounds; usable on any target within perception without an attack roll; DC 20 to notice attack being made or its effects

[Yuno_]

:: Anna, Princess of Knights ::

 

『Dodge 7 』『Parry 7 』『Tough 15』『Fort 11』『Will 11』

 

Condition(s):
Equipped Armament: Energy Sabers
Notes: Scion Tranformation Active, Thicket of Blades AE active

 

In spite of her best efforts to evade the fleshy grasp, Anna finds herself caught and slashing to squirm free as she turns her blades down onto the Rampant's 'hastily' offered bodypart.

(Dodge vs. Grab

"Poison?" Of course they had something else to be wary of, but the added advice wasn't going to do her too much good if she couldn't force the monster's hand to recede for now...

Attack

Standard Action: [Energy Sabers Close Range Damage 11 (DC 26), Multiattack, Penetrating 9, Accurate 1, Enhanced Advantage: Close Attack 1, Improved Critical 2 (18-20) (Magic, Heat, Light, Slashing, Energy)

[Niven81]

 Scion Morgan

Morgan does her best to evade the creeping insanity inducing appendages of the Rampant, her slightly glowing form zipping around both on the ground and in the air. "This is really gross!" She yells out as a particular set of hands brush by her. "Can we please kill it now!"

Toughness

OOC: Toughness and dodge are the same modifier. Apologies for using the wrong name.

Edited October 30, 2023 by Niven81 (see edit history)

[ArcaneStomper]

The giant hand seems to whither under Delcroix's strikes, but unfortunately Anna's blades just bounce off the one that is holding her. Meanwhile the Rampant's many eyes turn and look right at Leslie. It's multi faceted stare bores into her before words seems to slither out of the aether and into each of the Rampant's ears.

"Silly little things. Playing in my garden not knowing what you do. Why don't we play a little more."

As Delcroix predicted poisonous vapors start pouring out of nodules on each of the hands. Though fortunately only Anna is close enough to be affected.

 

OOC

Delcroix Hand

Rampant vs Leslie

Anna Hand

 

@Yuno_Make a Fortitude check at DC20. A failure of one degree is dazed, 2 degrees is stunned, and 3 degrees is incapacitated.

Rampant

Toughness -1

 

Delcroix Hand

Toughness -5 (Returns 1 per round)

 

[Abalon]

---

The Black Fixer

"About time those became useful" she thought as the acidic magic starts to eat away at the hand's form. Summoning both revolvers, she starts quickly unloading both of them into the weakened target, keeping her distance from the Rampant. She might not be tough, but she knows how to deal damage

---

OOC

All-out Power attack +3 with Revolvers on the weakened hand, DC 25, Homing, Multi-attack, Incurable

-3 to defenses this turn

Edited November 8, 2023 by Abalon (see edit history)

[Snicker]

Drama Queen | Sheet | Page | DefensesActive Defenses
Toughness +8
Dodge +14
Parry +14

Passive Defenses
Fortitude +11
Will +11

Miscellaneous
Danger Sense (Mental: Emotional) | SensesInsight +21
Perception +12
Mental sense: Emotion (Accurate, Acute, Danger sense, Radius, Ranged)
Mental sense: Magic (Awareness, Radius, Ranged)

---

This isn't working, Leslie thinks with increasing desperation. The rampant's mental defenses are stronger than anything she's fought before. She feels like a prisoner trying to dig through a cement wall with a spoon. Between the fists and the gas, she and the others will be dead and their souls devoured by the time she can break its will.

She tries to fight down the rising panic and looks around. I'm the queen, dammit! The queen! She remembers something she'd read - that chessmasters think three steps ahead. Or something like that; she'd never actually been that good at chess. Still, she feels a plan forming in her mind.

More than once now, she'd reshaped the rampant's world to her liking. It had noticed her actions then, but the other scions are fighting it directly now. She looked at the rampant and spread her arms, imagining puppet strings extending from her fingers, but this time they weren't trying to pierce the rampant's mind. This time, they extended outward, pulling at the formless matter of the rampant's pocket dimension and forming a precarious structure of razor edges and looming weight, just waiting for a careless nudge to bring it crashing down.

Mechanics

Leslie attempts to use her Expertise: Magic skill to reshape the world and set up something that could collapse on the rampant, setting up a Trick (as in, the use of the Deception skill).