Angels with Broken Wings

Raphael watched another wound heal that he had just caused. It had been a good blow, but the cuts on the other Dragonborn's body seemed to close faster than he could open them. He could feel his powers weaken. The battle seemed to have lasted forever.
In a quick pause he dared to look over his shoulder. It was just in time to see the body of Gabriel hit the ground. With terror he could see the grinning face of that horned bastard. He looked further to the right where he could spot Uriel. The look on the Warden's face told him what he already knew. Only Bahamut himself could turn this battle now. Without Michael's Runepriest magic and minotaur strength and the unwithering, unstoppable power of a fanatic like Gabriel, it was only a question of time until the non-believers would wear them down.

Raphael's muscles tensioned as his mind slowly realised their situation. The sword slowly sinking towards the ground, he reflected on the last few minutes. What had happened? They were used to fight fanatic fighters who would rush towards them, but these combatants withdrew to re-organise. Usually their opponents deserved to die and fought for their lives, but these fought to find out who is the better team. They had used cunning instead of desperate last stands, they had fought together instead of trying to just save their own lives.

Michael looked up to the sky. They didn't know how to fight such fights! That was not what they had trained for. He searched the sky for a sign to find out whether Bahamut would forgive them? He slowly looked at Uriel who understood and with his head lowered to his chest, nodded. Rapahel's head turned and he could see the Dragonborn's sword being raised for another attack and the archeress' bow being prepared for another shot. He lowered his sword and raised his left hand to signal his opponent to stop.
"In Bahamut's name, we yield."

[I bow my head to Kirk who was able to stop my winning spree!]

Ouchity!

As a little bit of work avoidance, I just worked out approximately how much damage the Revengers were forced to heal from the vicious assaults of team Manus Arcangelus... Including THP boosts but not including Belial's regeneration or the Healing spirit's major contribution, the Revengers' were forced to heal loads... Porkins: 9HPs (Totally ignored by the angels as he was only able to take one action per round). Belial: 33HPs (Not enough to fell him as he was surprisingly ignored by the angels on the most part). Twinkle: 86HPs (Easily enough to have knocked her out). Rip: 206HPs! (I guess I did rather put him in harms way). Total damage healed (excluding the regeneration and Spirit of healing) was: 334! And this doesn't even account for the fact that the Revengers had Resist: 5 ALL damage. Even more in regard to fire (13 resistance) in Belial's case!

One out of three ain't bad

Regardless of the Revenger’s victory, this ‘Epic battle’ was much closer than I’d care to admit. This can be shown by the length of the battle (Approximately fifteen rounds) and by the pitiful level of reserves the Revengers had left. I can’t speak for Manus Arcangelus but all four of my combatants were down to just At-wills. I’d even used one of my ‘Second winds’ and was out of all but one (heavily restricted magical item) healing power. What sealed the victory for me though, was surprisingly Porkins, my cleric. 'Moment of Glory' gave everyone in my team 5 resistance and the 'Spirit of healing' repaired any damage that got through. Both awesome cleric powers and almost certainly both 'broken' and overpowered. So Sven and I finished this battle tied at 'one game each' and the single draw. A pretty fair overall result, as I sacrificed several of my remaining brain cells creating the team AND trying to keep track of what they could do round to round. Playing a group of four identical Tiefling warlocks was MUCH easier! :S Also in regard to how much damage Sven did to my team... Belial used his 'Armour of Agathys' which granted him 14 THPs, regenerated 2HPs per round and used a potion of healing. Twinkle used her ‘Healing herbs’ and her potion of healing. Rip used his ‘Second wind’, his 4 (Devoted Paladin) Lay on hands on himself and Twinkle, his Dwarven plate free healing surge, his ‘Virtue’ power that granted him 16THPs AND ‘Righteous smite’ which gave everyone an additional 9THPs! Porkins (my pacifist healer) used ‘Healer’s mercy’ on Rip and Twinkle, 2 ‘Healing words’ on Rip, ‘Barronar’s salve’ on Twinkle and kept the ‘Spirit of healing’ going at a cost of a constant sustain. All in all (excluding the regeneration and constant flow of healing from the ‘Spirit of healing’) My team went through 17ish healing surge powers, averaging a use of more than one healing power per combat round! Ultimately though (as Sven said to me) I can finally claim a victory over our overseas german friend! :P

When Angels fall

Furious from the loss of their leader, the remaining angels rush forward to get revenge the resilient Dragon-born Revenger. More blows rain down upon him and although wounded again and again, his dwarven cleric’s divine magic keeps him from unconsciousness. Porkins can do little but move to support his Paladin teammate but the tiefling Belial blasts Eldritch flame at the Dragon-born angel: Raphael. Even the Elf Twinkle finishes fleeing north and turns and fires several arrows into the fray at her oath enemy: Gabriel. The combat is thick and fast but at the epicenter or all of this is the healing spirit conjured by the cleric Porkins at the very beginning of the encounter. The almost constantly bloodied Rip, heaves himself to his feet. His scales torn and stained red from his own blood. Still, he’s fulfilled his purpose; he’s kept his teammates safe and he’s willing to die to allow them victory. Using the last of his holy might, he lashes out at the flaming angel beside him while simultaneously lending holy protection to Belial and Porkins. He hits and hurts the angel and so the spirit of healing magically binds his leaking wounds. Spurred on by this wave of rapture, Rip releases his flaming breath at Raphael and Uriel. Both hit and Rip is restored still further. It’s then when Belial notes the fear in the remaining angels faces. They’ve allowed themselves to be drawn into Porkins' zone. As long as the Revengers can attack, they will be miraculously and constantly healed. Still though, team Manus Arcangelus press their attack. It’s only when the Deva Gabriel is felled by one of Twinkle’s arrows and quickly finished off by the dancing Belial, that the remaining four angels finally admit defeat.

Locking horns with the devil

The Angelic Dragon-born Raphael slashes his exact opponent to the bone. It would have been a finishing blow if not for Porkins’ divine magic reducing Raphael’s strength and bolstering Rip’s resistance. Frustrated but wise, Raphael looks to see two of his teammates wounded. Considering the look on Belial’s demonic face, the Paladin decides that Gabriel is in the greatest danger and risks a blow from the shaken Rip as he rushes to her aid. Unsurprisingly, the heavily bloodied Rip misses by a good yard. Laying his holy hands on his beautiful associate, Gabriel smiles benignly up at him. Belial spits. He’d wanted to kill the angelic bitch since he’d first laid his eyes on her. Should he still attack her? It would feel soooo good… He licks his lips… But that was the mistake he’d made before. Better think smarter… Glancing around Belial spies the Minotaur Michael. The wounded Minotaur Michael. From his protected position, Belial sends a burst of Eldritch energy, bolstered by his warlock’s curse AND the black wraith of hell, at the cocky quadruped. For the second time in this battle, the Minotaur falls and Belial can feel the dark powers engulf him. They could carry him in any direction but Belial feels his hatred pull him to the Minotaur’s side. Despite Gabriel being his desired prize, it’s too good an opportunity to miss. Jamming his magical rod into the unconscious creatures side, Belial administers a powerful coup de grace. Belial smiles as the stench of death emanates from Michael’s massive carcass. Porkins, although surprised by this sudden turn-around, takes the opportunity to heal Twinkle and Rip. Neither are fully restored though; Rip is still bloodied and badly wounded, but they are both able to continue the fight. Gabriel though seems enraged. She targets the hapless Rip again and wounds him terribly. Somehow though he remains on his feet. Rip has never loved anyone aside from his elven bride as much as he loves the dwarf Porkins right now. Twinkle knows nothing of this though from her prone position within the stone ruin. Still badly injured, she rolls to her feet and rushes north, hopefully out of danger. Her fingers pulling her sole potion of healing from her belt pouch. Uriel, also outraged by Michael’s death and Rip’s unwillingness to fall down, sends his flaming angel to finish him off. The divine creature does as he’s ordered perfectly. The critical blow sublime… The stubborn dragon-born Rip finally goes down. Raphael senses the battle shift his way again and gambles that the dwarf cleric is out of healing powers. He rushes the laughing Belial and injures him despite the weakness inflicted upon him and the protections placed on Belial. It’s not enough to drop him though. Belial responds like the brave hero he is and teleports away, leaving a zone of immobilizing cold in his wake. Both Raphael and Uriel are caught within it. Appearing instantly beside the fretting Porkins and the downed Rip, Belial looks to the dwarf for help and the cleric does not let him down. Raphael was wrong, Porkins has one last ‘regular’ healing spell to use and he uses it to seal the worst of Rip’s wounds. Blinking through the brimstone, Rip shakes his head and roars.

Closing in for the thrill

Forced back onto the retreat, the revengers took yet more unanswered damage.
The Angels are relentless and press forward contantly.
The almost constantly bloodied Dragon-born: Rip has been caught again and subjected to yet more critical blows.
Frankly, it’s only pride holding him up.
In his eagerness to take down Twinkle, Uriel let his ‘cross of health’ fall so that he could summon another celestial creature to attack the already wounded elf.
Only the dwarf Porkins and the laughing Belial seem to still be OK.
As for the Angels…
They’re suffering from a few ‘inconveniences’, but that’s all they seem to be to them.
The Revengers are nearly boxed in.
Is there any chance of a last gasp, daring escape?

Six sessions along and STILL all the combatants are alive. In fact Team Manus Arcangelus actually have gained two new team-mates thanks to Uriel’s summoning powers.
The Angels have used all their Action points but no second winds.
The Revengers have only used two Action points and a second wind.

Session seven will hopefully be on Monday the 24th at 9pm.

The map shows everyone including uriel’s two summoned creatures.
Uriel’s position might be a bit off. (I’m guessing from Twinkle’s memory.)

Don’t call it a comeback

After taking a prolonged kicking from the various shaped feet of the angels, the Revengers staged a fight back…
Of sorts.
Rip stubbornly refused to fall down and although unable to land a blow against his tormentors, he did manage to escape their clutches and break for cover.
Then a well co-ordinated attack from Belial and Twinkle finally got the Minotaur Michael down…
For a couple of seconds.
Despite being quickly healed by his team-mates though, Michael was still unable to sustain his protective zone.

So five sessions in and all the combatants are amazingly still alive.
From Manus Arcangelus: Gabriel, Uriel and Raphael have used their Action points.
From the Revengers: Twinkle and Rip also have. Rip has also used his Second wind.
The real differnce though, is that the Angels have used their extra actions aggressively and the Revengers have used theirs to flee.
Aside from the various Marks, Buffs and Debuffs though, the only predicament worth mentioning is that the Minotaur Michael is Dazed and prone.

Session six will start tonight at 9pm.

The map shows everyone visible to both teams. Rip and Belial are somewhere South of their own team-mates.

Feel free to join us over maptools or (for Sven only) Skype.

Working out all the Angels

The combat has become much more brutal.
The elf Twinkle was finally brought down by Gabriel only to be instantly healed by the distant Porkins.
Rather than stand and fight though, she fled back to the protection offered by the stubborn dwarf.
The cowardly tiefling Belial also chose to blast and run, hurting the Minotaur Michael, but only glancingly.
The other three ‘Angels’ concentrated their divine fire on the dragon-born paladin: Rip.
Blow after blow rained down on him, leaving him bloodied, reeling and blinded.
Somewhat heroically though, he managed to stay on his feet
So, four sessions in and all the combatants are still on their feet (if one of them, just barely).
Twinkle, Gabriel and Raphael have used their Action points and poor Rip has used his Second wind!
Next session: Monday the 2nd of April. 9pm.

Holy Cow!

The first round was a cautious draw.
The second round went comfortably to the Revengers.
The third round?
Despite how the map makes it look, the Revengers spent the whole session on the defensive and several healing powers down.
Any damage team Manus Archangelus took previously was healed up and the Rune priest Minotaur: Michael created several powerful and scary zones to bolster the angels further.
Will the Revengers be able to escape?
Will team Manus Archangelus pursue them out of their ‘safety zone’?

After the psalm comes the storm

After a slow, tactical first session, Manus Archangelus found the Revengers close to the centre of the battlefield.
Gabriel was first to appear and so she was the one hit by both the waiting Belial and Twinkle.
She was hurt but not badly and quickly disappeared from view.
Then the minotaur Michael followed.
He was also hurt and hobbled by one of Twinkle’s arrows. A powerful shot but not powerful enough to drop him.
In Twinkle’s eagerness to score some extra damage though, she left herself open to Uriel and Raphael’s counter.
They moved in formation towards her and Uriel summoned an angelic creature beside her, while freezing her in place!
The other Revengers were also hit by blankets of Uriel’s flaming power.
Porkins and Rip managed to avoid it but the demonic Belial was hit full on.
Fortunately, his hell-born origins gave him a certain resistance to fire.

Higher plains

Taking things to another level, Sven created a new map to better challenge our new teams.
After all, eight, sixth level characters need a little more room to roam.
The Revengers started on the north-west circle and team Archangelus started on the south-east one.
I haven't included the positions because, after losing sight of each other in round two, neither of us know where the other's characters are...
Ooer!
:S

Manus Archangelus won’t play bull

Round one: From the Revengers perspective.

Looking southeast toward their mutual enemies, the Revengers held their breath. This wasn’t going to be an easy battle. Their opponents were unknown and appeared powerful.
An eerie gong signaled the beginning.
As expected, Twinkle, the elven archer, was quickest to respond. Choosing the odd, quadrupedic Minotaur as her quarry, she notched an arrow in her bow and danced forward.
Belial, Crossbow in hand, followed her at a run, as did the slower Dragon-born and Dwarf.
Unfortunately, the Archangelus team elected to run north from their position to be out of sight. Hidden behind some ancient ruins.
Only Twinkle was able to get a couple of shots off and even then, at a distance and through heavy cover.
She was lucky to even score the glancing blow she got.
The Dragon-born Paladin: Rip, whispers an oath to his god and summons up his protective powers.
The Dwarven Cleric bellows a few bolstering prayers and summons a spirit of light.
Belial can do little but wait.
While standing there though, he seems to swell and darken. His horns, hooves and teeth seem to thicken and lengthen to a measure that threatens to overshadow even the Minotaur: Michael’s!

It’s all about to click off!

Epic battle.
Black vs. White.
The Revengers vs. Manus Archangelus.
Thursday.
The 15th of March.
9pm.

Come watch if you’d like. I’m sure Sven’ll provide spectator passes…

Scenes from a celestial changing room

Gabriel was the first to materialise. Bahamut had granted them any desired form they deem appropriate to defeat HIS enemies in the arena. Gabriel didn't understand why she should change. She had never felt the urge to change through the millenia that she had spent fighting for her god. The body that she had chosen when her spirit became flesh, had served her well in the countless fights and would do so, when she would bring done the new challengers.

A sudden smell of forest and moss made her turn around just to look into a face made of bark and plant-like matter, surrounded by dark red leaves.

"So you have chosen the forms of your ancestors, Uriel. You haven't embraced your origins in quite a while!"

"Well, after all these years, it's still the form I'm most comfortable in, and furthermore, the fight will take place in a natural environment. So what could be better than to become what I once was: One of the original protectors of the Feywild!"

"Well, look at you two: A fragile female and a tree! Hardly the comrades I usually long for in battle". Raphael burst into laughter and ducked below the swinging branch-like arm that was aiming for his face. His perfectly polished armour gleamed as it reflected the reddish light from the braziers.

Gabriel walked over to him with a played seductive smile "Well, if you want to convince fragile women, you should have perhaps chosen a form with,.... how should I put that,....... less scales?" She knocked a finger against his exposed arm and smiled at the hollow sound.

Uriel chuckled "And don't forget his bad breath!"

Pointing his massive sword towards Uriel, Raphael replied with a smile "Careful or I use my sword for decortication! So only our fearless leader is missing? I wonder in what form he will greet us when his two legs bring him here!"

A sound made them all turn....and burst out in laughter in unison. Gabriel put his hand on Raphael's shoulder, already tears running down her eyes "Did you say 'two' legs?".

Michael looked at the three creatures bellowing with laughter in front of him and started to get annoyed "Hardly the greeting I had expected!"

Raphael managed to look up "Come on Michael, what's with the long face?"

Had the guts, got the glory!

The light of the many braziers was reflected by the white marble of the four statues. Three of the statues showed fighters wearing animal skulls or skins: Ram, lion, and Boar. They were arranged in a triangle facing inwards, around a statue depicting a beautiful female, wearing, what seemed to be only branches of poison ivy. Everybody knew their names:

Death,

Famine,

War,

and graceful Pestilence.

They were taken to the highest realm after winning the epic battle series of the Gods. Their battles were sung by the most famous bards at the courts of kings and queens and every child had heard how they crushed the hell spawn in an easy battle.

Now there was rumour that the Gods recruited teams for a new series!

In a magnificent great hall, Uriel looked at the statue of Death in awe. Gabriel approached him from behind, also looking up at the impressive sidplay "Isn't it incredible how fighters that were fed by primal energy could achieve such victory?"

"Yes, sister! They defeated the forces of evil by brute force. We've trained all our lives fighting evil, it should be a walk in the park for us!" a voice from behind the statue of Pestilence declared. Gabriel looked around and saw Raphael in an armour so shiny that she had to squint when he approached one of the braziers.

The three looked around. "So if we three were summoned, surely Michael should be here as well?"

"And of course he is. Who else should lead you three slobs into battle?" With a big grin the fourth fighter stepped into the triangle. "But make no mistake, the battles ain't gonna be easy. Whatever hell sends out this time might have learned from the failures of their predecessors. But Raphael is right: We exist to fight evil and did so all our lives. Nobody is better suited to beat whatever the 9 hells spits out!"

They looked down the long ancient hall of the Gods towards the four stone bases already waiting. Uriel winked at Gabriel and gestured towards them "Already thought about how your statue should look like?"