conversations: human
conversations:  PId6 vs. Nefele  
  
  A towering figure in a dark robe enters the room where you have been milling around sizing up the competition. His face is completely obscured by his hood. He raises both hands to get your attention and speaks in a deep voice.
   Whirling-Myriad-of-Death, Moira. You have been chosen to fight. Prepare yourselves!  With that he brings his hands down and the two of you find yourself transported to the  arena 
    OOC:  
  You've got time for one swift action and one standard action before you get transported in case you need to adopt a stance or activate an item.
  
  On the map, green is open terrain, yellow is difficult terrain, red/brown is the cliffs (10ft, Climb DC20, blocks LoS). Arena has a 60 foot ceiling.
  
  Opening post should have an initiative roll, anything you said after he called your name and what, if anything you did with the 'surprise round' before being transported. After that, start fighting in initiative order.
  
   Nefele 
  H20
  
   PId6 
  AB28
conversations: nefele:
conversations: human
conversations:  "Lavaasitlyxilvval!"  WMD says in Thri-kreen before the match begun.
  
  Preparation:
   
   Spoiler 
   Standard:  Activate Celestial Armor for Fly.
   Swift:  Activate Scout's Headband for See Invisibility.
   
  
    Initiative  - (1d20+15)[ 18 ] 
  
  Stats:
   
   Spoiler 
  HP: 147/147
  Active Stance: Blood in the Water
  Current Effects: Fly, See Invisibility
   
conversations: PId6:
conversations: human
conversations:  PREP ROUND 
  
  Moira bows respectfully to the Thri-kreen.
   "Good luck to you, too, Whirling-Myriad-of-Death-san"  (😛)
  
  She initiates a stance and prepares for battle.
  Initiative:  (1d20+33)[ 36 ] 
   
   Spoiler 
  swift: Child of Shadow stance
   
conversations: nefele:
conversations: human
conversations:  I think you go first.
conversations: PId6:
conversations: human
conversations:  OOC: no LoS, as far as I can tell. Also, since I have Martial Lore 18+, please inform me if you initiate a maneuver within sight. 
   ROUND 1 
  
  Moira looks around, fails to spot the insect, and rises 20 ft in the air. She can see it from up there, so she flies towards it, but she doesn't go very far.
  
   Come, then! , she beckons.
  
   position: M23, 20 ft up
  concealment 20% miss chance 
   
   Spoiler 
  
  Designate the thri-keen as my Dodge target
  move action: move 20 ft up and 40 ft SE, to M-23.
  Swift Action: Law Devotion(+7) to AC, lasts 10 rounds.
  Standard Action: total defence (+6 dodge to AC for the round)
  
  STATS
  AC 70
  Touch AC 66
  Flat-footed AC 70
  
  hp 140/140
  Law Devotion rounds left: 10
   
conversations: nefele:
conversations: human
conversations:  ROUND 1
  
  WMD leaps into the air and prepares for battle. Propelled by celestial wings, he searches for his prey and, upon spotting it, moves closer for the kill.
  
  Actions:
   
   Spoiler 
  Move to P26 30 ft in the air. Set Moira as dodge target.
  
   Knowledge Devotion:    Knowledge: Nature  - (1d20+24)[ 25 ] 
  
  Ready action:
   
   Spoiler 
  Upon seeing her start attacking, Tumble backward 20 ft to avoid hit.
   
  
   
  
  Current location: P26 30 ft up
  
  Stats:
   
   Spoiler 
  HP: 147/147, AC: 39
  Active Stance: Blood in the Water
  Current Effects: Fly, See Invisibility
   
conversations: PId6:
conversations: human
conversations:  ROUND 2 
   "You are fast" , Moira says, approvingly, and dashes upwards to meet the insect. She draws her short sword at the last possible moment and strikes once with a martial maneuver.
  
   IAIIII!! 
  
  She then keeps flying south for another 10 ft, before she's finally spent.
  
  Attack:  (1d20+44)[ 53 ]  Vs your flat-footed AC
  Damage:  (5d6+18)[ 38 ]  + 11 fire + IF damage
  Iaijutsu Focus check:  (1d20+31)[ 45 ] 
   move, tumbling, 10 ft up, then SE to O25, strike and keep moving to Q-25
  concealment 20% miss chance 
   
   Spoiler 
  
  free action: allocate Law Devotion to attack
  flyby attack, tumbling (automatic success)
  immediately before attacking, free action: 1 inspiration point, +6 competence to attack
  
  strike with Death from Above, DC 20 jump check (automatic success) makes foe flat-footed.
  
  attack bonus: +4 (slippers of battledancing, because I've moved 10 ft before the attack) + 2 (shadow hand stance, weapon property) +7 (Law Devotion) + 6 (cunning insight)= +19
  Damage bonus: +7 (Shadow Blade) + 11 (slippers) + 4d6 (Death from above) + IF damage
  
  
   STATS 
  AC 56
  Touch 52
  Flat-footed 56
  
  hp 140/140
  Law Devotion rounds left: 9
  Inspiration points left: 2
   
  
  
  If it hits, to be continued...
conversations: nefele:
conversations: human
conversations:  If it hits, Iaijutsu Focus extra damage is... a lot.
  
   (8d6+88)[ 116 ] 
  
  The question then, is:  did  it hit?
conversations: nefele:
conversations: human
conversations:  Oh wait, you have a Cloak of Displacement. Remind me these things, I forget. High hits, low misses:
  
   (1d100)[ 40 ] 
conversations: nefele:
conversations: human
conversations:  Readied action, I tumble 20 ft back as you start attacking. Check my last post. Oh, and natural 1... grrr.
conversations: PId6:
conversations: human
conversations:  As I start attacking, that means when I'm right next to you?
  
  I have a swift action left this round. That would mean I can activate Belt of Battle, right?
  
   
   Spoiler 
  STATS
  AC 57
  Touch 53
  Flat-footed 57 (I forgot Dodge)
  
  hp 140/140
  Law Devotion rounds left: 9
  Inspiration points left: 2
   
conversations: nefele:
conversations: human
conversations:  Yeah, that would work. Come on, roll low!
conversations: PId6:
conversations: human
conversations:  Basically, I have a question with readied actions. You interrupt me while I'm in the middle of a move action, right? Can I then continue my move action (since nothing prevents me from doing so), or did my move action just end, and I have to use whatever actions I have left from now on??
  
  It's important. 🙂
conversations: nefele:
conversations: human
conversations:  Well the readied action is worded as "when you start attacking" which implies that you've already begun your standard action. Since you have Flyby Attack though, I guess you still have the remainder of your move action left.
conversations: PId6:
conversations: human
conversations:  Actually, since you can full attack me now, I'm pretty sure I lose. Probably should have just attacked back there. Oh well.
conversations: PId6:
conversations: human
conversations:  Oh, all right. In that case, I continue my move action to reach you (+20 ft) movement, and I believe that IF doesn't apply for the short sword, because I didn't draw it  immediately  before attacking.
  
  Swift action, as I reach you: belt of Battle, 2 charges for a standard action. This is the standard action of the flyby attack. I'll strike as before, except that I need to roll real high, because I'm drawing the dagger as a free action instead.
  
  [Though if your standard action was a readied action and not total defence or fighting defensively, I can hope for a somewhat less than full AC - unless you  deviously  used your own Belt of Battle for this purpose. 🙂]
  
  Attack:  (1d20+40)[ 46 ] 
  miss chance:  (1d100)[ 23 ] 
  Damage:  (1d4+18)[ 21 ]  +  (4d6)[ 15 ]  + 11 fire + IF
  IF check:  (1d20+31)[ 41 ] 
   position 10 ft away from you (I think I have enough movement for that, check if you like)
  concealment 20 % miss chance 
   
   Spoiler 
  free action: 2nd inspiration point to attack
  
  total attack bonus for the +1 dagger: 23 + 4(slippers) +7 (Law devotion) + 6 (cunning insight) = +40
  
  total damage bonus: 1d4+11 fire + 4d6 (death from above) + 7 (shadow Blade) + 11 (slippers)
  
  STATS:
  AC 57
  Touch 53
  Flat-footed 57
  
  hp 140/140
  Inspiration points left: 1
  Law Devotion left: 9
  Belt of Battle charges left: 1
   
conversations: nefele:
conversations: human
conversations:  If that hit, Iaijutsu Focus damage is  (8d6+88)[ 105 ] .
  
  Did it???
conversations: nefele:
conversations: human
conversations:  The insect watches in horror as the tiny dagger pierces his carapace, somehow disemboweling him with such a light hit. He falls from the sky and lands upon the ground with a heavy thud, dead.
  
  Though I'm curious, why not full attack?
conversations: PId6:
conversations: human
conversations:  Awww...
  
  That was cool, let's do it again sometime. 🙂 The horror of your full attack is strangely appealing to me, and I masochistically want to feel it. Yes...
  
  As for Iaijutsu Focus, yeah, it's a killer, BUT!
  It needs a certain set-up to work, and the more mobile the opponent is, the more difficult it gets to do it. I have  some  resources to deal with fast and smart folks like your Dervish, but not many. If I run out, it's a toe-to-toe fight.
  
  Good game! 🙂
  
  EDIT- Why not full attack?
  
  Iaijutsu works only if you draw a blade and  immediately  attack. But I already had one blade in hand, because you interrupted my 1st attack, and unlike you, I only have 2 hands. Best case scenario is drawing two blades in one round, but no more. So using maneuvers instead of full attacks suits me fine.
  
  EDIT 2 - Besides, without a maneuver, you wouldn't be flat-footed, and again Iaijutsu wouldn't work. All praise ToB!
conversations: nefele:
conversations: human
conversations:  I could have attacked on the first turn with Belt of Battle but I wanted to save it for a proper 40+ attacks in one round. Big mistake. 😛
  
  Yeah, DMW's way too fragile. If I can attack first, I should be fine, but if I don't... *splat*.
  
  Right, I forgot you had to make them flat-footed somehow. Any way to flat-foot someone for an entire round? An Iaijutsu-breaking Master Thrower Factotum would just be cool, though "lose initiative and lose" kinda ruins the idea.
conversations: PId6:
conversations: human
conversations:  Master Thrower doesn't work, because it has to be a melee attack. Bloodstorm Blade on the other hand.... with a thri-keen... (shudders).
  
  Still, I believe that this humble build (with the amazing Gloom Razor feat, and a few maneuvers to make foes flat-footed) is a bit more versatile.
  
  EDIT- Flat-footed for an entire round only happens:
  1) On the first round of combat if you lose initiative (for large arenas like that, where LoS is not a given, it's not too reliable).
  2) When you climb or balance (without 5 ranks in Balance).
  
  All the other methods I'm aware of apply to the 1st attack only.
conversations: nefele:
conversations: human
conversations:  Ah well, good game. Definitely want a rematch some time. Until then...
  
   The insect, miraculously coming back to life, grabs the tattered remains of his dignity and burrows into the earth, never to be seen again until his next arena match. 
conversations: PId6: