[D&D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer
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				Title: <strong>[D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>kongming</strong> on <strong>06-08-2009, 12:31:19</strong>
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				Each of the heroes, well-known for their deeds and abilities, had received the message. A parchment, with a wax seal <em>and</em> the personalised arcane mark of Belial, and meticulously written flowing script, detailing his desire to meet them, along with where and when. All that was said other than that, was "I have a proposition for you", and a promise not to harm them.<br><br>Devils are, of course, liars above all else.<br><br>So likely everyone was wary about it, and scouted the location beforehand. But there seemed to be no ambush, no traps, no tricks of any kind. The place was indeed just a small clearing, out of the way, the perfect environment for a secluded fight to the death, or for a deal...<br><br>It was then, at the scheduled time, that the apparition... appeared. A flickering, transparent image of Belial hovered in the air, gazing at each member of the team, one at a time.<br><br><strong>"Good, you took me seriously. Listen, I have an offer, and it's one I doubt you can refuse. Would any of you be interested in protecting an entire world from harm and becoming rich and powerful in the process?"</strong>
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				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darkforged Dove</strong> on <strong>06-08-2009, 20:38:56</strong>
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				It had happened three weeks and two days ago.<br><br>A squad of devils from the 7th layer had shown up on Merhault's doorstep. They rapped on the front door, and that had gotten his attention.<br><br>He looked up from his bench when he heard the dull knocking on the hatch to his drifting workshop. This was Modron piss. <br><br>He'd find and kill the Wizard who put up the wards on his workshop in the Astral Plane. He had been <em>found</em>. Dark metal teeth ground like millstones in his head at the thought of who might be at his door. He strapped on his armour, reached for a bundle of scrolls and shoved a pair of jet black crystal shards into the bracers of his spiked black armour.<br><br>He had left his workshop via an <em>alternate</em> method, and sat on the roof of his 'porch' for five hours before he was sure to let them in. The only thing that he knew was that they weren't an assassination squad. No killing thoughts, just evil ones, in their heads.<br><br>He glanced down at the demon axe he had been grinding down into a single shard of blood-stained bronze, and the glowing white angel-skin that he was planning on using to wrap the handle with. So much for making this weapon. <br><br>At least he had weeks to gather the supplies and equipment that he needed for this "meeting". His father would probably give him some scraps from his impossible tower, and he had been right. He was glad about the stocks that he had; enough to deal with whatever a Lord of the Nine might want. Whatever that might be, and if not, able to escape to somewhere safe.<br><br>Hopefully, what he would be asked to do would be nothing that would actually <em>change</em> the current set of Devil Lords. That would cause no end of trouble for himself in the long run, and that's what he had learned to care about. The Long Run.<br><br>He entered the meeting place with the silence of stone, his body was almost not there, shrouded in blurs and seemingly walking between sight, and not-sight.<br><br>When he saw the others, he looked them over like a butcher eying a gutted hog. Looking for weakpoints, trying to determine their role in all of this. He assumed they'd do the same. Hopefully they were doing no more than that. <br><br>It was a Wednesday, and if his reckoning was right, it also meant that it had been about a month since he'd have had to kill anything, or deal in the killing of things. One could always hope to not have to kill, but one had to be prepared. He briefly wondered what the Fiend Lord would be like in a fight. Easier than a god, but probably harder than most dragons. He looked over at the dragon at that though. It looked young. He didn't know if he should weep or laugh at how many dragons he'd met; and killed, or fought alongside.<br><br>He looked at the image of the Devil Lord with eyes that gave off small blue flames. When he opened his mouth he spoke with a voice like boulders grinding the petitioners too slow or weak to escape their fates on the lower planes. He glowered the whole time. Everything was still too unsaid, far too dangerous for his liking. One didn't live as long as he did without a massive amount of caution.<br><br>"<span style="font-family: veranda;" class="bbc_font">What do you want, fiend? What is the pay? Finally, will you tell me what the benefit for <em>you </em>would be in saving a world? We're no friends, and you of all creatures should know what will happen if you are placed in my hands.</span>"<br><br>And all this while juggling a strange assortment of items. A belt purse, a silver key, a gold ring, a pair of dice, a copper coin, and a set of lock picks.<br><br>After a few moments, he seemed to get bored, dropping each item onto a pouch on his belt, one at a time, as he caught them. The last thing left in his hands was the set of lock picks. The pouch however seemed like it was carrying a lot of other things besides what had been placed into it.<br><br>When he finished talking to the Hell Lord, he squatted on his haunches and began to pick his teeth with a lock pick like a lighting bolt, a piece of metal that jagged back and forth.<br><br>He looked at the other people with half lidded eyes and pulled a small clear orb that seemed to crackle with white light on the inside, he paid more attention to it than to anything else.
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				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Bayushi</strong> on <strong>06-08-2009, 21:18:08</strong>
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				<table class="bbc_table"><tbody><tr><td>(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/8/89/Alystin.jpg)</td><td>A nearly nude drowess with brilliant purple eyes, glowing faintly red in the dimly lit clearing, stared at the image and stepped forward.<br><br>"Details, demon. If you do know anything about me, like your letter claims you do, then you know I don't like being jerked around. So your best bet is to get on with it already, so we can go protect this 'entire world', right?" Alystin looked somewhat annoyed, her glowing eyes narrowed in suspicion. She ignored the other who'd spoken, as she wasn't interested in its pithy demand to know about their pay. She'd save a world without pay, because that would be as the Lady desired.<br><br>The tiny elfin woman had charcoal grey-black skin, evident through the nearly transparent purple silk garments she wore, through which one could literally see everything. A veil of the same material graced her delicate features, covering everything under the bridge of her nose. Small purple silk slippers with their toes curled graced her tiny feet, completing the ensemble that very much made the drow appear a black skinned harem girl. Except for the twin longswords that crossed each other over her back, their hilts at her hips instead of up over her shoulders.<br><br>Alystin, as was her name, glanced over her shoulder at the others who'd shown up to hear this offer. It appeared she'd been placed with quite the motley bunch of bashers here. Reaching up to the small silver sword pendant hanging from the front of the gold slave collar she wore(wore willingly, as she was no slave). She hoped that the goddess would not be angry that she'd be working at the behest of a Ba'atezu such as this Belial.<br><br>Alystin knew the goddess, Eilistraee, has smiled upon her so far her entire life, given the circumstances of her birth and rise in power. Alystin knew that she was more than a drow, given her heightened physical power and speed. There had yet to be another drow who could match her peerless beauty, which rivaled or exceeded that of the gods' own celestial servitors. She knew that few could match her physical perfection, those few being the gods themselves.<br><br>Sadly, this lead to a lonely life; and as such, the small drowess took jobs from just about anyone, provided the job(s) did not violate her personal ethos.</td></tr></tbody></table>
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				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>07-08-2009, 04:40:54</strong>
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				<em>I vow to do take no action against the liberty of another sentient being, save when not acting would be worse.</em><br><br>The vow of long ago echoes through Oren's mind as the scene lays out before him. Oh sure, all the other Paladins of Freedom he'd ever met, which wasn't as many as the stuffy "honor and duty" type, said it a little differently. Some made it stuffier, some cussed like longshoremen, and still others added random sounds to it- but in the end that's what a Paladin of Freedom believes in. It's probably the only vow he'd never consider breaking- and it's probably the reason he's still in the conversation.<br><br>Sure there was the young dragon, and someone who obviously took himself way too seriously, but his attention was almost evenly split two ways.<br><br>The first way was to the drowess, by the gods she was gorgeous. He had to remind himself not to stare and was doing a passable job. Well, passable may have been a bit generous but he wasn't staring and drooling like a fool. The satyr in him wants to throw any ideas of having a serious meeting to the wind and just produce his pipes- seeing if she wants to dance. The almost-transparent clothing she was almost-wearing made things a bit obvious and left nothing to the imagination, something in the minus column in Oren's experience- but by the gods everything else was impossibly perfect. Even the way she snapped at the Belial was endearing. <br><br>She had to be cheating with her looks somehow, had to be. A little deity in the family line perhaps, some illusions or glamors going? She had to be cheating somehow. Because technically Oren was cheating with having a Satyr for a father- a being considered in some religions as minor spirits of male fertility and sexuality. He was considered so handsome it entered the realm of the supernatural because of having a touch of fey blood in the family tree- and even she may have been out of his league. The inner satyr screams to give her the lust-glare, but Oren quickly decides that it's too much like mind control for comfort. In the end all he has is his handsome face and his principles, he planned to cling to both.<br><br><br>However, the other way his attention was split kept him in the meeting, a feeling of raw hate boiling over. Belial, the devil lord. Oppression and the evils of law and order given a mockery of flesh and blood. Or in this case a projection of one. Same deal. It was the reason he came to the meeting dressed to the nines in his well kept and dashing looking leather armor, his goatee immaculately groomed, and holding out his sword- a legendary Holy Liberator. The freedom loving cousin of the Holy Avenger the other kind of Paladins drooled over.<br><br>"<strong>You're going to have to do better then that Belial,</strong>" he begins, "<strong>Personally, I've heard about what happens to beings who make deals with devils.</strong>"<br><br>Looking over the Holy Liberator and looking contemplative, he takes a step closer to the projection.<br><br>"<strong>Frankly, I came hoping you'd show up and I could show you where to stick this, and I wouldn't trust a cup of water from you- but I'm curious as what you could possibly mean by protecting the world. I'm still listening, for now.</strong>"
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				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Mindhazingsquid</strong> on <strong>07-08-2009, 05:30:14</strong>
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				Crepusculous was happy to sit and let the others talk for the time.&nbsp; Her kind, being creatures of the shadows, tended to guard their words as much as their Hoards.&nbsp; Her intrest was peaked though, the danger of trusting a devil, the posibility of saving a world and thus having them indebted to her, and a promise of power.<br><br>She thought about things she might do to the young man who spoke and looked and felt like a paladin or cleric for threatening Belial.&nbsp; It was a stupid and ultimatly futile thing to do, but then mortals tended to do stupid and futile things so the dragon watched and listened.
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				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>kongming</strong> on <strong>07-08-2009, 09:22:10</strong>
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				The apparition smirked at the comments.<br><br><strong>"Indeed there is a good reason why I am not appearing in person. It would be... wasteful to have a fight, as I know many of you are already tensing for. No, fighting would not achieve anything for any of us. My goals are far more selfish than that - and this is why I feel I can trust you to help me."</strong><br><br>The image started to pace as he explained his goal, almost delighting in the opportunity to listen to the sound of his own voice.<br><br><strong>"As you all know, I rule over one layer of Hell, and I have done so for quite some time now. I have been ruling alongside my beloved daughter, Fierna, and training her in the ways so that she too can exert influence... and perhaps be used as a puppet, to some extent. I cannot pretend to have ever had full control over her, but still, we saw eye to eye.<br><br>"...And then that Asmodeus decided to place his brat, Glasya, in charge of a layer, and Fierna has elected to spend a great deal of time with her, learning her ways... that bitch has been poisoning my Fierna's mind, turning my daughter slowly against me. She is distancing herself, exerting more control over her forces, beginning to keep secrets, and I know it is only a matter of time before we must fight one another in some way, if this is not stopped."</strong><br><br>He paused, watching to see if his audience was listening.<br><br><strong>"And so, I have a large army formed. A legion of devils, all too ready to be sent directly against one of the material planes, to ravage and destroy and murder and rape and burn... and they will succeed, and enjoy it. It was something I generally intended on doing, to increase my own standing, however!<br><br>If you agree to assist me, I will instead direct this army to the Blood War, where they will inevitably die in combat against Demons. Their sacrifices will ultimately be for nought, and yet I will still be praised for my contributions. So there is the basic thrust of the offer: by performing a task, you will cause me to be obligated to uphold my end and waste this legion, keeping a material plane free of harm."</strong><br><br>He then turned to the others, those who seemed more interested in monetary rewards.<br><br><strong>"I have a few kilograms of pure Hope, sitting there with nothing to do. I will also pay each of you half a kilo of Hope - and provide access to someone who can turn it into something you want - if you successfully complete the testing and agree to the mission. I can pay you more after completion.<br><br>Do I have your interest so far?"<br></strong><br>(Note: to him, "Do this or I'll kill X" is a deal and not a threat, and for the record, 1kg of Hope ~= 100,000 gold pieces. It can indeed be used to get expensive items.)
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				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>07-08-2009, 21:28:55</strong>
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				Oren's former rage and perhaps a bit of arrogance immediately evaporates, the reaction to sudden to hide it from his features.<br><br><em>By the gods. . .</em><br><br>The words in his thoughts almost broadcast the numb horror at the thoughts and images that accompany. A Devil Legion let loose on the mortal realm. Well-armed, well-armored, well-trained, well-planned, and sent to the mortal world solely to murder, rape, and pillage anything they saw. These legions were usually sent against the demons of the Abyss for a reason, whatever the mortal realm Belail would choose it wouldn't stand a chance.<br><br>The words taste like a caustic acid when they come from his lips, and his grip against the Holy Liberator becomes even tighter. So much so that his knuckles begin to turn white.<br><br>"<strong>So when you asked if we were to protect the world, you meant "from me". I should have guessed.</strong>"<br><br>The offer of pure Hope doesn't enter into the thought processes in his head, he just thinks of the populations that will be utterly destroyed if he says otherwise.<br><br>"<strong>What are the tasks in this testing?</strong>" he asks, finding it difficult to imagine something that could be worse then what Belail would do if he flat out says no.
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				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darkforged Dove</strong> on <strong>07-08-2009, 22:13:08</strong>
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				This is, pretty long. It's... over 2k words. Sorry for the length, I had a lot of material to cover, and didn't want to give it a light treatment.<br>=======<br><br>Merhault snickered, and smiled at the image. This was sort of funny. He tended to avoid direct contact with his own offsrping, aside from giving them direction, advice and as many magical trinkets as he could give them without gathering attention. Most of them were pretty content to live fairly mundane lives, and that didn't really bother him, if anything, it had given him descendents that he could visit hundreds of years after meeting their parent; female, or male. <br><br>This however was hilarious. A Devil Lord whose own lack of foresight left him with a child who didn't actually return any sort of affection. Of course, Merhault had been brought up differently than any Devil. They spent all of their time scheming for <em>personal</em> power, instead of increasing the power of everyone they met. In the long run, that sort of mentality only weakened all but the most powerful Planar Lords. Even Odin and Zeus fathered children that they granted boons to, even if for them there were other motives, such as paranoia or lust involved.<br><br>"<span style="font-family: verdana;" class="bbc_font">Hmmmmm. Hope is a fair price. But I know where and how you probably got your hands on it, Lord of Confusion and Lust. I'm a <em>lot</em> harder to be swayed by your beautiful phrases than you think, Hell-Lord. They don't call me "fiendslayer" because of my comedies, even <em>if</em> The Iron Duke attended my performance of "<em>The shattering of the box</em>" on Acheron a few centuries ago, and thought my portayal of the Lord of Gnolls was hilarious parody [1]. You know full well why the Lords of Celestia gave me that title.<br><br>I want something that is a lot safer, and has probably harmed a lot less beings than your proably stolen and tainted; 'Hope'. <br><br>I want an equal value in souls of Celestials that you have <em>bound</em> or <em>imprisoned</em>. Their families would want them back, and the Seven Mounting Heavens are a place that I'm not unfamilar with. <br><br>That.... or we can have a bit of a 'sparring match'. Strictly non-lethal, and strictly a test of martial ability.<br><br>I have no desires to claim your realm or your title, and my father taught me how to tell the laws of reality to sit down and obey my demands. I don't really care about which of us is able to come up with better combinations of spells, since it would only take away from combat.<br><br>All I'd ask is just a test of martial skill between myself, and yourself. Facing a Devil Lord would be a fair enough payment for your "test". <br><br>Win or lose, I'll be testing myself agaist one of the Hell's best, and it will only further my reputation as a Fiendslayer.</span>"<br><br>He grinned at the image. He <em>knew</em> the only way that a Fiend would be able to offer anything aside from raw Pain or Fear or Souls would be completely evil. Thousands, and thousands, of years fighting, slaying and interrogating fiends while in the pay of Gods or Celestials had given him much insight into the workings of the economies of the Planar Circle. <br><br>Facing and losing to, or potentially embarrasing, a Devil Lord in personal combat;&nbsp; was better payment than 'Hope' that was probably tainted with murder and betrayal. At the very least, the removing the <em>Bound</em> souls of Celestials from eternal torture, was better than staining his hands and soul with a Planar Currency whose history he was dubious of. He inwardly shudderd to think of who from, and how, Belial had attained the Raw Hope he was offering them.<br><br>The "acheivement" of saving 'a' Material Plane was good, but in the long run Merhault knew that it wouldn't matter. It would only create thousands of new heroes to face the threat; and creatures from across the Planar Circle would flock to face and kill Belial's legions. <br><br>Merhault had to look at the much <em>larger</em> picture than just a single Material Plane or his own personal wealth. Saving Angels from torture, or bringing down the reputation of someone that was a symbol of the forces of Evil were two things that would matter a thousand years from now, even if the cost would take nearly half a millenia to drive back a whole legion of fiends from a Material Plane.<br><br>Of course acheiving any of those three goals would be a good acheivement. He just wished that he would be able to do more than just a single act of good in all of this.<br><br>Merhault looked at the others and wondered if they knew anything of the enormity of the evil of the offered payment. They all looked like whelps to him, not a single one past their first half millenia on the Planar Circle. He felt no right to tell them the truth, he <em>should</em>, but the Extraplanar Enforcers would hound him till the ends of his days for breaking the unspoken laws of silence about where and how Planar Currencies were found and harvested. Every Inevitable, Celestial and Fiend would be warned to <em>imprison</em> his soul for telling a mortal what he knew. He didn't want that to happen to him again. He had been lucky the last time, and didn't want to chance it a second time.<br><br>When he looked at her carefully, the Drowess looked like a goddess, or god in mortal form. His body and mind trembled at the thought of sparring with her, and his thoughts raced at the prospect of finding out who she really was. Her secret was like a intricate puzzle that he wanted to solve; but could not bring himself to do. If she really was a diety trying to go incognito, she would be feign to let others know who she really was, and he didn't want to upset such a creature. Even if she wouldn't tell him who she really was, he would be willing to go to great lengths to have them (her, or him, as the case might be) be a co-parent for one of Merhault's children. Even if she didn't want to be the mother, that wasn't a really big deal; he still had the belts that could "get around" that problem, and it wouldn't have been the first time Merhault had been a mother; nor the second time. It probably wouldn't be the last time either.<br><br>He had given up such simple ideas as "sex" when he was not even a hundred years old and met a half-elf who had been butchered by her father and cursed by arch-mages to never bear young. Being able to spit in the eyes of the people who did that to the half-elf was his gift to her. His cursed belts had helped them bypass the curse, as it had never taken into account the idea that the half-elf would try to beget a child, instead of bear a child. The experience had given him a very different outlook on nearly everything; in some ways making him much more vicious and cruel when those smaller or younger than himself were endangered.<br><br>The paladin was a very lightly armoured in his opinion, it probably didn't matter, but in some ways, it really made him feel a bit... <em>overdressed</em>. Here he was covered in an Adamantine Carapace, covered in razors and spines; while his companions were a barely dressed Drowess, a scaled Dragon, and a Satyr wearing leathers. <br><br>Merhault wondered if the part-Satyr knew of the conspiracy on who the most powerful agents of the Gods really were. They weren't clerics, or paladins, but rather rogues. A fact that he had stumbled upon when he realized that a particular champion of Corellon Larethian was not only a powerful Cleric, but also wielded a Holy Liberator, and was the best person to deal with a particularlily <em>nasty</em> vault that cultists of Gruumsh has constructed in Acheron. The rogue had sworn him to secrecy, and Merhault had agreed. After all, he didn't want to have a whole Pantheon of Elvish gods upset with him, and he had been welcomed at Arborea like a long-lost son for his efforts in the Acheronian vault; holding off a horde of fiendish orcs and their warmachines, while the rogue had slipped inside and defeated an Avatar of Gruumsh in single combat.<br><br>Spoiling this secret would probably earn him a severe reprimand, and letting the cat out of the bag was something that he wasn't about to do. Maybe when he got a better feel for what the half-Satyr was capable of would he drop a hint. On the other hand, he knew how obtuse a paladin could be. Too many of them put themselves under restrictions that were much more than they needed to. Hopefully a Satyr Paladin was no where near as self-depriving.<br><br>Merhault smiled and grinned at the Satyr-Elf; he doubted that his own history with Fey would mean anything to the elf with Fey ancestry, but it was always good to help the mortals that would one day join the courts of Arborea [2]. He was ashamed to admit it, but he actually had been trying to not be out-wrestled by the Nymphs the first time he had visited Arborea. His skin was now forever smelling like flowers in full bloom due to those events; and now he didn't really mind being being pinned down by the overeager Fey of the Extraplanar forests. At least not when he was travelling in Arvandor.<br><br>The dragon....no, Dragoness, the shape of her eyes and aural discs were just the right size and shape for a female shadow dragon. He looked right through the Dragon, looking into its soul and felt the palpable sensation of fractured evil seemed to flow off of her. It wasn't able to hide it's alignment, or it's dismissing thoughts of the rest of them [3]. Merhault thought the creature's hubris was hilarious. Of course, saying so would tip his hand. A thing that someone who faced Fiends on a regular basis would be foolish to do.<br><br>In exactly the same way that he felt the Dragon's fractured evil, he felt the soft white light of pure good that came off of the Drowess, and strong waves of fractured, changing, light came off of the Piper, and his sword. Inwardly, he sighed and hoped that he wouldn't have to face the Dragon, and was refreshed to be around Good creatures. Knowing where their alignments were brought him a great deal of ease, even if he wouldn't immediately admit it. <br><br>He didn't feel inclined to pry into the thoughts of these two. Even though the temptation to browse their current thoughts was extremely tantalizing; he reigned in his greed for knowledge, and left them to the privacy of their own thoughts.<br><br>Merhault had decided long ago to leave the minds of good creatures unobserved, unless he had asked and been given permission; or he felt that something was very wrong about a creature and he felt compelled to help them. He felt no guilt about peeling back the thoughts and desires of Evil creatures, and perusing them for his own goals. They had probably harmed others for personal gain, and felt no qualms, for Merhault, <em>intentions</em> alone were what he cared about.<br><br>Fortunatley, his own mind was a void, inperceptible, and unseeable to most others. One could hide the body's sounds and form from others, but to hide one's mind was reserved for those who were truly Stealthy [4].<br><br><br>[edit]<br><br>The Paladin's questions were very <em>good</em> ones. He seemed to understand the enormity of the situation. Once one reached a certain level of power, their goals entirely changed to deal with the new scope of problems that they had to face.<br><br>He didn't really concern himself with what the "test" was, it would no doubt further Belial's agenda in some manner; and Merhault hoped to subvert the Devil Lord's goals, while still accomplishing the "letter" of the assigned task.<br><br>A Fiend could be devious and trap mortals in countless webs and snares; he just needed to be <em>more devious</em> than a Fiend. He just hoped in his heart that he would be able to do so and not risk his soul.<br><br><br><br>==========<br>[1]: Planar Travel, and perform and craft [Comedy] checks of 56 (perform) and 35 (craft). Before any special stuff, like spells or equipment that would improve this even further.<br><br>[2]:Note: Merhault is <em>Fey</em> as far as Fey are concerned, even if he looks straight human. I know that Oren is an [augmented humanoid] Elf, but I'd rather give The Villain the benefit of the doubt.<br><br>[3]:Natural Empath, Crepusculous has no ranks in Bluff, and Merhault has a Sense Motive modifier of +39; on opposed checks, he wins by 20 points and gains the 3rd round effect of <em>Detect Thoughts (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/detectThoughts.htm)</em>, reading Crepusculous' thoughts without her knowing about it. As well as knowing her alignment, and comparative levels of power to his own. <br><br>Sorry about the prying Mind Hazing Squid.... it's just that your PC shows up as Chaotic Evil, and that's frankly a <em>dangerous</em> prospect when you're at high level play. I'm not worried about your character attacking, since that would be telegraphed as soon as your character thinks it. However, knowing what an Evil creature with little/no self-restraint is thinking about is a good way to know how much they can be trusted. <br><br>Akiko and The Villain, I'll probably have my character never pry into either of your character's thoughts, unless something happens that makes Merhault believe that he should. Mostly because you're both playing good characters. <br><br>Alystin obviously doesn't care about material rewards (either she's an ascetic, or she's a goddess and above that), and Oren's an obvious Paladin with a Chaotic bent, there's no reason to worry about someone like that once you can identify the magic on their weapon (due to Arcane Sight and spellcraft checks); as well as sense an Overwhelming (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/detectEvil.htm) sensation of both Good and Chaos.<br><br>[4]: <em>Nondetection (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/nondetection.htm)</em> Caster level checks of higher than 38 to use any Divination spell on Merhault; this includes any <em>Scrying</em> and the entire line of <em>Detect</em> spells. This can be lowered, but of course Oren would have to ask Merhault to do so.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Mindhazingsquid</strong> on <strong>08-08-2009, 00:10:01</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				(That's okay Dark.&nbsp; Does Hope have a use other than for money?&nbsp; Can it be made into something?)<br>~~~~~~~~~~~~<br><br>Crepusculous was selfish and haughty, but she wasn't stupid.&nbsp; She was not above sharing.&nbsp; Sure she'd -rather- have the prize herself but sometimes to get things you have to give things.<br><br>Something was bothering her though.&nbsp; Her voice is quiet compared to the others but it carries well and no one has any trouble hearing her question, "If I understand this correctly, you want use to raise your status on this world.&nbsp; Presumably through some series of tasks?"&nbsp; She paused to look at the group, while she couldn't be absolutly certain about the drow he felt fairly certain she was probably outcast, no doubt seeking to make peace with the surface.&nbsp; She grew amused by the presence of the Paladin/Cleric, and the one calling himself Fiendslayer.&nbsp; This devil had a wicked sense of humour, "To raise YOUR status, these cannot be what one might call Good Acts, yes?" One could actually hear the capital letters in the way she spoke and she was almost hooked.&nbsp; She really wanted the three to accept so she could watch them struggle to turn things Right.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Muse</strong> on <strong>08-08-2009, 02:24:14</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Tell us the rest, dark one," called the golden bell voice of a beauty surpassed only by Alysten as she stepped from a tree.&nbsp; Hers was the shapely body of a mother goddess who took up arms regularly to gaurd hearth and home, tight in the waist, round in the hips, with pert bossom so full it's outer curve was visible from behind bedecked in a copper plate bikini and outfit of gauzy rainbow scarves.&nbsp; Hair of burning coppe watter falled down the nymphs back to the backs of her calves, vericollored wings were tucked up casualy behind her with matchingplumes braided into her hair invarious places.&nbsp; Barefoot, the grass caressed her beringed oes, growing greener whee she stepped, and flowers bloomed behind her.&nbsp; 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darkforged Dove</strong> on <strong>08-08-2009, 04:54:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				((Hope, like Raw Chaos, Souls, uh... and a few other things are the <em>only</em> way that we can buy magical items whose value is worth <strong>over</strong> 15,000 gp. So, try to blow the Hope all in one shot on a single 100k item. Otherwise you're actually cheapening the value of what you got. An other option is to <em>save up</em> the Hope.<br><br>Actual "gold" is worthless to buy magical items worth 15,0001 and more gp. In my own games, Dragons have massive hoards of millions of copper, silver, gold and platinum. The players only bother with the gems, or "real" magical items, even if no one can use said items.)))<br><br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Bayushi</strong> on <strong>08-08-2009, 08:09:49</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<table class="bbc_table"><tbody><tr><td>(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/8/89/Alystin.jpg)</td><td>Alystin shook her head with a disbelief, her long lustrous white hair swirling back and forth behind her.<br><br>"You want us to do your dirty work for you, demon?" she growled, before muttering, "Lazy damned demons."<br><br>"It'll cost you more than Hope. I have little need for riches. Give me souls you've captured, as I, like this gentlemen here, have a higher price than you desire to pay. Hope itself is worth little to me," she glanced over at the leather bound fae-touched. "I'd also think twice about double-crossing me, which in turn would imply your not double-crossing these folks. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry. If possible, the souls of drow whom have been captured by your minions would do splendidly."<br><br>"Think of it as a win-win, Belial," Alystin smiled wickedly. "I, and my goddess, both win by bringing the souls of the lost Dark Elves to the light. You win by sending Lloth's followers, Lloth who plots her poison in the bedamned Abyss, with me to her mortal enemies. So we both get something we want."<br><br>"Now tell us, sir, what it is you desire of us, regarding your daughter?" Alystin shrugged, looking bored. "The sooner we get started, the sooner we complete the task. Right?"</td></tr></tbody></table>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darkforged Dove</strong> on <strong>11-08-2009, 04:44:54</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Merhault leaned back, and sat on the ground, his legs out in front of him; he pulled out a few more clear orbs full of different flowing, and glowing, substances. Like the lighting-filled orb, one had flame that danced, an other seemed to have swishing green fluid, and and other seemd to be solid white, frosted, unlike the other three orbs.<br><br>He began to juggle the four orbs while watching the others out of the corners of his eyes. The Drowess was a champion, and of a godess... he furrowed his brows, and tried to think of what god..ess was patron to drow, and not the Spider bitch from the abyss....or spider whore. He'd fought some of the more tenacious of Lloth's avatars when trying to, he stopped, and tried to think on the problem he had started thinking about. He had figured it out. The same place where some relatively 'new' upstart Drow had spawned what some scholars considered to be a massive shift in Drow philosophy and culture, compared to the previous few thousand years.<br><br><span style="font-family: verdana;" class="bbc_font"><em>The Oerthian one. Damnation, do I </em>hate<em> that world. If it's not one thing, it's an other.</em></span><br><br>He grinned, the drowess wasn't a cleric, she'd be dressed differently, and wouldn't carry a pair of blades either. She was either a Fighter, a Ranger or a Rogue; or something close in there. She didn't have the scars of a barbarian, and she probably took great pains to remove any she had recieved. Something he tended to avoid doing. He kept his scars, even if there was no obvious point. He used them to remember what had happened to him. He could feel his right thigh twitching underneath the solid, black, plate armour as he thought about crossing blades with the drow; she looked fast, <em>very</em> fast. He knew he was doing it again, sizing up everyone around him, even if there was no need. His bald head had stopped trying to re-grow hair from all the stress and scars it was subject to, and even then he still hadn't learned.<br><br>On the other hand. He was <em>still alive</em>. He'd seen adventurers rise to power, challenge gods, kill them, become them, and be deposed themselves in his lifespan, and yet <em>he</em> was the one still alive. So perhaps the nearly constant state of living on the edge of a razor, crawling over it, back and forth, sleeping on it, being nurtured and sliced by it; all had its benefits. He'd very respectfully given his dues to the Great Reaper of Carceri, Nerull, to see if there was a problem with him remaining. The Reaper's response had been.... chilling.<br><br>"<span style="font-family: andale mono;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 2em;" class="bbc_size">Don't stop on <em>my</em> behalf, or do you want me to collect you?</span></span>"<br><br>Merhault certainly hadn't. It was a sould-shuddering prospect. Being asked by a death god if you wanted to be.... "collected". It had also convinced him to stop doing jobs that he had questions about the morality of. He killed enough as it was, and would doubtlessly kill much, <em>much</em> more before he finally let the planes squabble over where he got sent. <em>THAT</em> was his own joke to the gods. He'd fought for enough of them, that even he wasn't sure where he'd go. Just as long as he went <em>somewhere</em>. The only thing he didn't want was to be a Vestige. Pactbinders were alright, but he didn't want them to be his only company for eternity.<br><br>Other people seemed to talk, he seemed intent on the juggling of the orbs; every few seconds adding a new one from one of four different pouches; until he had worked his way to about six of each; twenty-four orbs in total. The soft light from them lighting up his face. Even as he stared at the stream of clear, strangely-filled, orbs, he wondered in the back of his head if he should just end it all and drop the orbs all over himself. The others were far enough away, and they wouldn't catch any of the effect; if he tensed himself, and moved quickly enough, he'd be able to dodge every last one of the orbs, or throw them up in the air, and use them to break each other, one at a time. He calculated that it would take at least twenty seconds to break all of the orbs that way. That might be useful for later, he thought.<br><br>He looked away from what he was doing, and saw the new girl who showed up. Someone very curvy. Barefooted....her effect on the ground was... interesting. Her apperance more so. She had a body shape he recognized many times in .... <em>Arborea</em>, and the overly-coloured feathers of a half-bred Coatl, not the soft slightly shimmering white, barely hiding a rainbow that the great sage-serpents were covered in. He wondered if anyone else here realized what she was, or even if anyone here knew a thing about the Planes beyond a few suppositions or rumors.<br><br>Well, they all seemed to 'get' the fact that this was a deal with the devil. Only this time, they'd be paying the price of the reward ahead of time. That suited him better than trying to avoid having to pay for a 'favour' from a Fiend.<br><br>===<br><br>OOC:<br>Knowledge (The Planes) check (http://dicebot.php?r=10441)<br>Perform (Juggle) check (http://dicebot.php?r=10443)<br>Know (the Planes) (http://dicebot.php?r=10444)<br>Know (Nature) (http://dicebot.php?r=10445)
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>kongming</strong> on <strong>14-08-2009, 11:59:08</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<strong>"Of course you want different forms of payment, people never agree up-front to anything..."</strong><br><br>The image gave a dramatic sigh, but nothing more.<br><br><strong>"Very well, I can pay in the types of soul specified, yes. I hate to do it, but if it furthers my goals, I may as well. Yes, here is how it works:<br><br>I will test your abilities in a series of small challenges, to ensure you are indeed capable, and after that, I will pay you. Then, it is a simple matter: I will summon that daughter of mine, and you will fight her, as a group. Not to the permanent death, so if you have such abilities, they will be forbidden, but anything a True Resurrection can fix is fine. I will do this so that he is humiliated by her defeat - feel free to take liberties and enhance the humiliation.<br><br>Then, I will explain to her that it was a lesson - that she is still weak and needs protection. You will all be assigned as bodyguards, though your true purpose will be to work as spies. I will also pay you well for this job, as you continue to perform it."</strong><br><br>He then thrust his hands out.<br><br><strong>"So there is the complete offer. You may say no, and I will not prevent you from seeking out the plane and defending it from the devils I send, of course, though it would be a shame. Do you accept?"</strong>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darkforged Dove</strong> on <strong>14-08-2009, 21:49:34</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				When he heard the offer, he couldn't believe it. He grinned like a jackal, and his eyes light up like hellpits consuming otherwise useless petitioners.<br><br>Also, he nearly dropped the orbs of elements on himself. Nearly.[1]<br><br>"Well, you never told me <em>what</em> you were paying in. I would have given you the same answer then, as I did now. At current trade rates, you'd only have to hand over the soul of an above average Avoral [2], I hardly think that's so hard to find."<br><br>He began to catch the orbs, and return them to their respective pouches.<br><br>"Humiliation of a Deviless. Yes. That sounds like <em>fun</em>. So long as she's not permantly destroyed, we can do anything we want. Correct?"<br><br>The look on his scarred face was sinister to say the least. Not supremely frightening, only very frightening [3]. He sighed, and smiled at the others.<br><br>"Alright then Belial. How's the testing going to go, and I'm assuming typical precautions will be taken, like amputations for ressurections? I don't fancy being a Barghest's or Annihilation Sphere's permanent meal. I mean. It's not like I haven't had to deal with them before."<br><br>Herose from the ground in a single action, pulled off the spiked and plated gauntlet from his left hand, and stuck out his left pinkie finger. From the other gauntlet, at the index finger, a single blade of white energy sprang out from the fingertip. He gripped the tip of his small finger in his dark metal teeth, and carefully placed the white finger-blade just under the first knuckle. The joint had a permanent scar around the joint, testament to thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of amputations done to the joint. The tip of his nose kept the perilious blade from being driven into his face, and he angled his wrist down, and the fingertip came off.<br><br>The white energy-blade vanished, dismissed once it's purpose done, and he pulled a wand from his boot to stop the bleeding [4]. The stump closed over, and he took the amputated finger from his teeth, and did the same to the slowly bleeding fingertip [5].<br><br>"Right. That's squared away then. I'm going to send this to my father. Unless you, Devil, are willing to <em>Ressurect</em> me if something.... <em>untoward</em> happens? I'd be willing to give your tests a second go, if you'll let me."<br><br>He looked over at the rest of them.<br><br>"I'm guessing you'll all want the same? Or are you able to get Over-dieties to bring you back from the dead no matter what happens to you? Or are you all Liches, and mortal concerns like 'having a body' don't really matter?"<br><br>This was neither an accusation, nor interrogation; he asked the question just as easily as a farrier would ask a stable-master which horses needed to be reshod.<br><br>======<br>[1]:Perform Check = 62 (http://dicebot.php?r=10465)<br>[2]: CR 10 anything, Avorals are normal CR 9<br>[3]: ]Intimidate Check (http://dicebot.php?r=10466) = 37<br>[4,5]: UMD Checks: 53 for all (Combat Looting; +43 modifier)<br><br>I'm just bored, and making skill checks b/c I can. Seriously.<br><br>Also, Spheres of Annihilation, Barghests, and a few other abilities are fairly.... annoying. Unless you're a Lich.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>15-08-2009, 01:50:46</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"<strong>Whoa, whoa, whoa.</strong>" Oren begins, "<strong>Define <em>Humiliate</em>.</strong>"<br><br>Maybe he was being a bit paranoid, but when the bad guy referred to a sentient female being and ordered people to "humiliate her", the list of interpretations was pretty short, none of them pleasant. Heck, the whole reason he took a stand with the Phoenicians in the War of the Black Star was that the other guys had camps dedicated entirely to "humiliating" the women with the unfortunate luck to get in the way of the army.<br><br>"<strong>Look, buddy. I don't want that army in the mortal realms so I'll help bring her down and toe the line, but if you two mean what I have seen other people mean when they say 'humiliate' then there's not doing any 'humiliating' unless she literally asks for it.<br><br>And long term employment is not my thing, even with the good guys- and definitely not with devils. I'll kick her behind, make her cry home to daddy, and if she asks me too I consider sticking around- but my principles are not for sale. Ka-pesh?</strong>"<br><br>And a little stray thought enters his head that makes a small part of him giggle, though that part doesn't reach his face.<br><br>For years Oren was famous for two things, saving the day as a champion of freedom- and how many women he'd take to bed in the process. Being as his father was a satyr this really surprised nobody. But then, being a male crossbreed between satyr and elf, he had what had been called "The Malady of the Betwixt". Put simply "The Malady" was that crossbreeds had a strong tendency to be unable to conceive children unless assisted by even stronger magic. Oren had been taking advantage of this throughout his career as an adventurer, leaving behind a long string of bedroom playmates without even a single bastard as a consequence.<br><br>However, that had changed recently. Beliel's moral and philosophical opposite, the god of passion Aaluran, had blessed him- giving Oren gifts including curing him of the Malady and giving him the power to excite passion with but a glance. Separately, Oren was not a fan of either gift- but together. . .Was this why? To wreck havoc on the realm of devils by impregnating the daughter of one of it's most powerful tyrants with a child of passion and freedom?<br><br>An oddly enjoyable, if morally questionable, thought.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Mindhazingsquid</strong> on <strong>18-08-2009, 22:17:47</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Crepusculous took in what the devil said.&nbsp; Her mind glassing over the testing part and jumping straight to the fighting a devil to humiliate her.&nbsp; Such a thing was difficult to pass up.&nbsp; Money, power, influence these things mattered greatly to the dragoness, taking a devil down a peg was a sweet deal.&nbsp; Then becoming said devil's bodyguard, she wasn't sure about, though it would give access to all kinds of new untapped resources.<br><br>She waited for a few others to reply, it wouldn't do to seem TOO eager especially not with so many mortal types around.<br><br>"I will pass your test, I will humiliate your daughter," the dragoness smirks, "these acts I will do with pleasure but, were are these things going to be taking place?&nbsp; And when?"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darkforged Dove</strong> on <strong>19-08-2009, 03:40:43</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Outwit, outplan, outifght, out-do in terms of cruelty, torture, violence and the like. <br><br>I figure; once she's beaten, that flaying her alive, amputating her, <em>Regenerating</em> her removed parts. Would be an adequate prelude to real torture.<br><br>A mix of physical torture, magical healing, magical damage, and mental attacks should be more than enough. Breaking the fingers of a hand is bad, doing it more than once in a row is usually more than most creatures can stand. The same applies to most physical torture.<br><br>The creatures that enjoy physical pain inflicted on them are few; and even then, are much easier to deal with. For those, you merely turn their <em>Flesh to Stone</em>, then reverse the situation, and repeat. Over and over, forcing them to feel their bodies grow numb and deaden over, and over; teased with the sensation of being alive, and denied the experience each time. Drowing slowly also works. The amount of willpower needed to drown yourself is very high."<br><br>Fiends really were <em>easy</em> to torture when it came right down to it. Specifically because there <em>were</em> no moral qualms about doing so.<br><br>They were the living embodiments the souls of creatures who had been both evil, and successfully evil enough to be elevated to the status of Immortal, instead of being a mere Petitioner, or worse yet, <em>food</em> for true Fiends. They had been souls who had committed enough evil by Fiendish standards to be admitted to that level of power.<br><br>When your victim has no redeeming qualities at all, and you know that them <em>existing</em> means that somewhere, at some time, others had suffered greatly; made it almost easy to have deaf ears to the cries and pleas of a suffering Fiend. It wasn't about how much you wanted to hurt an other creature, but how killing and making examples of Fiends, encouraged mortals to avoid commiting evil acts.<br><br>Letting a fiend off 'easy' was only a sign for other creatures to believe that the route of Evil was just as good as the route of Neutrality, or Good. Merhault wasn't 'good'; or didn't feel he was anyway, but he certainly had seen the non-stop horrors commited by mortal creatures wishing to gain favour with Evil powers to secure themselves a pleasant afterlife.<br><br>Sahaugin would capture, ravage, torture to death, and even eat other Aquatic races in the name of their Demon-Shark patron. Mass-Murderers were rewarded by Death Gods with an eternity of 'forced' retirement, served food and drink by nude deamonettes and louged on ghoulish reclining couches made of humanoid bones, and still-living petitioners.<br><br>Recalling those sights made him narrow his eyes into slits. Killing hundreds such 'rewarded' souls was satisfying; but didn't solve the problem. Bringing down the most prominent members of the Lower Planes was the way to go. A way that had kept him in a very shadowey and grey area in terms of Morality.<br><br>"You need to be really creative with Fiends. I mean, they torture, and watch torture, for eternity. Sometimes just good, honest, clean, hatred and ill-will is what you need. If you have to remove their memories of who they are with <em>Amnesia</em> and <em>Mind Rape</em> it also helps. I might be too lazy to deal with the Sahuagins that have conquered almost every world, from Oerth to Toril, to Eberron and Cygnus. However, with Fiends; I like to be thorough.<br><br>They've had forever to perfect torture, I've only had&nbsp; a few dozen millenia to hone my version to use on them. It's a real challenge actually.<br><br>I think that showing her that there's no escape, that 'mortals' can defeat her over and over, ought to hammer in the fact that she can't do anything to <em>this</em> Mortal that will stop her from suffering should break her. That's what's really the embarrasing thing for any Immortal. Being defeated by "<em>mere mortals</em>." <br><br>I think I know what you think there Piper, but honestly, I can't do that. I would never do that with a person, unless I'm willing to raise their children. A Fiend will just want to wrench your heart and use would use any child as a torture-pawn to harm or control you. I don't very much fancy having my offspring collared by a Fiend.<br><br>I've seen <em>that</em> happen before, and the parent using the child as a pawn wasn't even a Fiend, just a very cruel, intelligent, constructed creature that had conquered whole planes. Her heartlessness was impressive, as was her armada of Sky-Orbs. A true Fiend would do worse than just kill their child to spite their former lover.<br><br>Something like making the torture unapparent, only to reveal it after decades of damage were already done to your child. Something that would break more than flesh or bone. Something that would break your heart."<br><br>Part sermon, part history, part revelation, part rambling. By the end of his words, his eyes looked groundward, and he was still; as if remembering something he had forgotten. Metal ground, and sparks came out of his mouth.<br><br>"Alright Lie-master. Let's do the deeds for your devilish tests, and then we'll whip your wayward whelp. If a handful of heroes can prevent five centuries of fighting on a Material Plane, then so be it. I'm sure none of us will break under the yoke we'll have to wear."<br><br>He stood up tall. Checking his blades, bags, baubles and belts. Everything seemed to be in place. <br><br>He reached into the small pack strapped to his back and pulled out a scroll, and mumbled the words on it, activating it [0*]. Shadowy lines flew off the page and flew at his flesh, making him go pale and translucent for a moment, his bones briefely becoming visible; then the flush of pink returning to his skin [1]. He used the scroll again; shells of crackling lighting, lurid green liquid, flame and white frost surrounded him for a moment, then sank into his skin and disappeared [2]. He used the scroll once more and a ghostly circle of chainlinks haloed his head, then was distented and the circle of links shattered before vanishing [3].<br><br>"Alright. I'm ready for the next few hours. Does anyone here need any sort of magical wards or boons?"<br><br>He looked at the other people in the group, they'd all be relying on each other for the next little while. He just wasn't sure if he should be looking forward to having an <em>exciting</em> or <em>boring</em> time.<br><br>===========<br>Actions:<br>[0*]-UMD checks (All are 53) and Bluff Checks to Hide Spells cast<br>[1]-Veil of Undead (Gain UD immunities, resistances, etc.) [Bluff 58]<br>[2]-Omni Elemental Resistance (Just like the lower level version, only all four elements at once) [Bluff 55]<br>[3]-Freedom of Movement [Bluff 64]<br><br>Also, yeah, most of the "background" stuff that I'm describing is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what the Planar Circle in D&amp;D is like. If anything, it's probably worse, and better. Since we're dealing with ultimate good, and ultimate evil; and their rewards and punishments.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>19-08-2009, 05:52:32</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"<strong>It's not about just making her have a kid,</strong>" he corrects, a bit of rage in his voice.<br><br>"<strong>I mean, you want to argue that she deserves it- I'll agree completely. Completely.</strong>" he starts. He never was really good at speeches. At least not ones where he wasn't expecting some hanky-panky afterwards.<br><br>"<strong>It's about the difference between good and evil. I'm supposed to be a good guy, someone who treats other sentient beings with some level of respect- or at least has boundaries if I can't manage that. Rape and Torture are definitely beyond those boundaries. I'll do what it takes to take her down a couple pegs and send her crying home to daddy, I'll discuss long term employment afterwards, all in the interest of keeping that army of devils away from innocent people.<br><br>But there are things I don't do. It's that simple.</strong>"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>kongming</strong> on <strong>19-08-2009, 11:52:18</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Belial - or at least his image - snorted derisively.<br><br>"<strong>I said to feel free to take liberties, and I mean it. I have an inkling of an idea how the minds of mortals work: sex sex sex sex food sex sex. Am I close to the mark? Honestly, it would likely be embarrassing enough to lose to mortals, and if you make it look trivial, even better. But as long as she looks back on the day with anger and shame, and realises she needs your protection, I really don't mind.<br><br>If you don't want to do it that way, you don't have to. Like I said, just make it a decisive victory and perhaps add a few snide remarks. I leave the details to you.</strong>"<br><br>He listened to the terms and nodded.<br><br>"<strong>There will be no real risk to you. If you die, you will be granted a true resurrection. Souls will not be destroyed, you will not be entombed beneath the earth and so on. It is a test, not an actual attempt on your lives - if I wanted to do that, I would have set an ambush here... though I am already led to believe most of you would have found it. I'm impressed with the alertness some of you show.</strong>"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Mindhazingsquid</strong> on <strong>27-08-2009, 14:27:05</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The dragoness looked at the assembled group.&nbsp; She said nothing, she was ready already, she'd had no intention of visiting a devil without preparations and was quite anxious to get started.&nbsp; She flicked her tongue, tasting the air, the wiped it across her face.<br><br>She was acting bored, and maybe she was, but she remained alert, watchful.&nbsp; Who's to say the ambush had to come at the start?
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darkforged Dove</strong> on <strong>27-08-2009, 16:13:26</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"Anyone calling themselves a "good" guy, or anything else. Probably is not. Have you witnessed Fierna's hands in the slaughter and torture of infants?<br><br>She's <em>done</em> that. It's not even for her to gain more power. She dupes people into killing babies for her personal <em>enjoyment</em>, because she loves to watch mortals <em>suffer</em>.<br><br>You have <strong>no</strong> idea of the kettle of fish you are getting into pup. Fiends murder and kill mortals because they are nourished by <em>eating</em> and <em>destroying</em> mortal souls. A whale in the sea is worth the same as a wise and just ruler to them. It's just souls, and food. I'd have thought that a Paladin would put the preservation of freedom, and the overturning of the opression of Law and the cruelty of Evil over a fuck, but I guess that you're not all up on being a Paladin of Freedom. <br><br>Remember, she's not a tyrant, or a mortal; she's an immortal monster that loves to torture 'lesser beings'. Gutting her like a fish from hips to jaw, and smashing her face in with a Silver Sledge is the <em>least</em> you could do to punish her. Maybe when you've learned what a <em>Devil</em> is compared to a <strong>Demon</strong>, <strong>Yugoloth</strong> or <strong>Demodand</strong>, you'll change your mind. Maybe when you've lost loved ones by the score to Fiends, and realized that they not only want to hurt mortals; but do it with supreme callousness, that you'll think differently about them.<br><br>Anyway, we've got a job to do, and we're pack-mates for now, our quarry if a Fiend. If we're to be a pack of wolves, we might as well act the part. I've got just the thing. Afterall, a pack works best when its members can communicate without sound, or motion."<br><br>He opened a pouch at his shoulder and pulled out a handful of dull metal badges with gems in them with a ring-clasp at one end. Each one was shaped like a wolf's head, and a clear diamond was set in the metal as the eye. He went to each person and offered them one, when he was done, he returned the remainders, save one, to the pouch. He pulled out his right earlobe with his left hand and stuck his right thumbtip behind the half-circle of flesh. A needle-thin blade of white light cut out through the earlobe, piercing it. He then stuck the earring in the newly pierced hole in his earlobe.<br><br>"They're pure platinum, so they won't rot your ear, or cut you if you're a Lycanthrope. We get about a mile or so of talking distance, but typical <em>Scrying</em> and <em>Divination</em> blocks will apply; so no jumping into mountains on your lonesome, or we won't be able to hear you. This batch of Wolf-Crests are all tuned to each other, so we won't have to worry about interlopers on our 'conversations'.<br><br>In any case. I'm ready. I doubt anyone else here has more to say. Lie-Master. Show us your tests."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>28-08-2009, 05:07:27</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"<strong>Oh fuck you. This never was about what she deserves and you damn well know it.</strong>" the Paladin starts, barely keeping his rage in check enough to keep his sword sheathed.<br><br>"<strong>This is about good and evil, and what separates the two. I know she deserves anything we can think of to do to her- I know that. But Good knows that there are lines that just aren't crossed, not if it wants to be something worth fighting for. I slay devils because it helps people, not some sick desire to things sadist only dream about then write it off as 'okay' just because they deserved it. You're just trying to bury those of us that disagree with you under words and speeches- to hide that you are just a sociopath whose found a niche, well we aren't having it buddy.</strong>"<br><br>He pauses, takes a breath, then continues calmer.<br><br>"<strong>And for them, I'll work with you. But you kill anything that wouldn't make a decent try at killing you first, and you're next on my list.</strong>"
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>kongming</strong> on <strong>30-08-2009, 07:39:06</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The apparition snorts derisively.<br><br>"I'm almost enjoying this little play enough to just sit and watch it... but no, I suppose we may as well start the action. Oh, and while I recommend working together, by all means feel free to entertain me with betrayal. I shall be eating baked potatoes while I watch this."<br><br>With that, the image disappears, and something happens. To those who can be bothered making a DC 24 Spellcraft check, it's the Gate spell (portal version, not summon-without-save version).<br><br>Four iron spikes, ten feet tall, shoot up from the ground, creating a vague square. Lightning begins to crackle between them, and they each seem to be pulling the earth towards them, sand piling up until the very ground in the centre splits open. A pillar of flame erupts into the sky, leaving behind a glowing, rippling rift in space.<br><br><em>"Feel free to enter, when you're ready to begin the test..."</em>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Mindhazingsquid</strong> on <strong>01-09-2009, 00:43:47</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Crepusculous sets herself to fight when the portal is summoned but calms as she realises what it actually is.&nbsp; Instead she reads a scroll (greater magic fang) and readies a spell.&nbsp; As eager as she might be she has no intention of entering the portal first.&nbsp; Instead she sits on her haunches, her form and colour rippling until she looks exactly like a gold dragon.<br><hr>DC 26 spellcraft for the portal
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darkforged Dove</strong> on <strong>01-09-2009, 07:20:57</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Merhault grinned "Then, you have no idea why I really came here for. I'm sure the Lie-Master knows why I came here."<br><br>His eyes flitted for a moment at the hovering image of Belial's bone-ridged and horn and spine-studded facial features; then looked back at the horned and hoofed man.<br><br>"I came here for my pound of flesh. I've lost more than enough to fiends over the millenia, and speficically to the Lie-Master, his daughter, and her minions. I may not be able to <em>kill</em> a Fiend-Lord, but I, and my warhammer, will make them pay for what I and those I cared for have lost.<br><br>Your accusation of <em>Sociopathy</em> is hilarious. <br><br>I have had to plan decades and centuries of my life in advance. My father is even older than me, and taught me the sights I had to set on existence when I was a youth in his tower.<br><br>I have loved thousands of times, and each one different than the others. I have, and have had, progeny, I love them all, and am proud of most of them; I have been there to raise each and every one of them, and fought any who would harm my former lovers or any children we had; and got the scars and visits to Valhalla to prove it. <br><br>I am no great, or excellent, person, <em>everyone</em> fails, mortals immortals and gods all <em>fail</em> at least once, if not many time. <br><br>I hate to shed blood, and do so because that is the Law of the Wheel, to impose their beliefs Celestials and Fiends <em>must</em> do battle. Like I said before, I am quick to anger, but slow to draw steel.<br><br>I have honoured each and every of my contracts, and owe no outstanding debts to any mortal, immortal or god.<br><br>There is no rationalizing, no reason for what I do, save vengeance, and my own long war against those who've killed my loves and destroyed my children. There is nothing good or righteous about what I do, but Celestials believe they can redeem me, and always take me under their wing when they gather my shattered remains at the gates of Celestia.<br><br>I am Merhault Fiendslayer, and I'm going to humiliate the deviless that's taken a great deal away from me."<br><br>He pulled out a folded over Portable Hole, spread it on the ground, and reached inside to pull out a pair of warhammers that were on a shelf near the top. He squatted on the balls of his feet, and placed the hammers into his belt. He folded up the portable Hole, then pulled out an other scroll from the bag, casting more enchantments on his equipment; his two hammers, his long hooked Nightwalker's horn, and carved Nightwalker's fang, the row upon row of spikes on his armour; and finally on the armour itself. He took his time, and didn't rush. <br><br>He followed with a few other spells, and then took a long breathe. He began to shimmer, and his skin went grey as granite. Then other spells affected him. He wasn't going to take any chances if it was possible.<br><br>The last spells he cast sent out energy that targeted the rest of the group (Haste), before casting an other spell, and affecting himself, and anyone that stands still long enough for him to touch them "I don't think any of you fancies drowing, I know I don't" (Water Breathing). Then finishing with one last spell "we can speak with the earrings, and having the element of Surprise is very hand I find. I'm going to make us Invisible" (Mass Invis).<br><br>When he finished, he straightened his legs as he dug out a crown of black metal covered in spines. It was shaped to look like a single metal ring, but the spines went in all directions, both inside, and outside. He put it on his head, and carefully pulled it so that it held onto the crown of his bald and scarred head. He tightened the spiked collar made of some unidentifiable creature's skin on his neck, and then pulled out the hammers he had stuck into his belt. He checked his bag to make sure that a scroll was easy to pull out<br><br>"Alright then. To you all, I wish you the best. You all have your own preparations to make, so I'll let you do them before taking the plunge. Give me.... 6 seconds. If I don't come back, I'm either already dead, or I our pay-master has decided to send us somewhere very hard to leave."<br><br>There was little trust in him for their employer, one would have to be mad, or a servant of the Lie-Master, to trust anything that was going on. <br><br>He waited for them to do what they needed, then began to make a running leap for the centre of the gate. Who knew what was on the other side, on that first step. Probably the mouth of a Volcano. He figured it would serve him right.<br><br>=====<br><br>Spells: GMW on all the weapons, to bring them to a +5 modifier, MV to bring the armour to a +5<br><br>Other Buffs: Mirror Image, Stoneskin,<br><br>For Group Buffs: ignore, or accept the ones you want.<br><br>I make the Spellcraft check on a roll of 1, so that's a pass.<br><br>I'm going to assume that people either have 24 hour buffs, or will cast their long duration buffs before entering the portal. Typical level 7 Scry and Die tactics. I guess it's Kong's post next, to see if my character bites the dust, or not.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>01-09-2009, 08:33:37</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"<strong>And let the hopes of the Free walk with you when you do.</strong>" Oren adds in a quiet prayer for the whole group. Drawing his sword and checking the buckler- he readies himself to venture in as well.<br><br>"<strong>I'll follow immediately after him,</strong>" he adds, "<strong>I can heal a bit, and fight a little too.</strong>"<br><br>He considers letting that go a bit, before continuing, "<strong>And I won't betray you, not with this many people on the line.</strong>"<br><br><em>First</em> he adds in his head.<br><br>[Actions: Cast Prayer]
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Bayushi</strong> on <strong>01-09-2009, 20:22:20</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<table class="bbc_table"><tbody><tr><td>(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/8/89/Alystin.jpg)</td><td>Alystin sighed. So quick to fight these people always were.<br><br>Looking from one companion to another, Alystin gripped a single charm on a bracelet and spoke their name in a hushed tone. That complete, she looked to the next person and gripped a second charm, and again spoke their name. She did this for each person, using a different charm for each.<br><br>Reaching to her back, she drew out one of her two long blades, which fluoresced with a faint flicker of white, and nonchalantly walked through the portal after the man who calls himself a fiendslayer, chuckling at his hubris.</td></tr></tbody></table>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Mindhazingsquid</strong> on <strong>01-09-2009, 22:54:22</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Crepusculous releases her spell as the two males charge through.&nbsp; Not feeling rushed to be maimed, mangled and or mutilated she waits the proposed six seconds and ,after creating mirror images of herself (special abilities, 10 images), steps through, following the others and removing a rod from her pouch.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>kongming</strong> on <strong>02-09-2009, 06:53:21</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				The two men rush in, with an audible pop as the air rushes in to fill the void where they once stood. Each feels a very brief sensation of suddenly being dragged through a tunnel, before practically being spat out, landing on their feet with just a little momentum inside a large, stone room.<br><br>The room is about 50' long and 20' wide, with an obscenely sculpted gold statue at either end, faintly pulsing with energy. Beside the statues stand human-appearing figures - two per statue. They are unarmed and wearing ordinary clothes, but that needn't mean anything.<br><br>More importantly, about 15' away from the newcomers - one to the left, one to the right - are two Malebranches. These huge devils glisten with oil, their muscles rippling beneath leathery hides as their wings and tails twitch, pitchforks held at the ready.<br><br>Well gee, I guess that sounds like time for Initiative.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darkforged Dove</strong> on <strong>02-09-2009, 09:48:31</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He entered the room with a grin, and when he landed, he looked around the room, feeling the killing thoughts coming from each of the creatures in the room; that part he was alright with, he came in with drawn weapons for a reason. Then he saw the Piper in right behind him.<br><br>He saw the Piper in right behind him.<br><br>He saw the Piper.<br><br>Saw the Piper.<br><br>Saw.<br><br>Saw.<br><br>Not invisible anymore.<br><br>There was only one thing he could think of that moment.<br><br><em>....shit</em><br><br>The invisibility had been purged. Secondly, the Piper had followed him. The first he figured would happen pretty soon anyway. The second... well, he wasn't about to let it stop him; all of the creatures were well within the reach of the glowing auras of white mental energy that encased, and expanded his weapons.<br><br>He leaned to one side and slammed the hammer's leading edge into the creature's mass. He roared at it "Surrender or Perish under the might of The Fiendslayer" moved throught the room hitting each of the creatures with his hammers and either slamming his head into something soft, or jabbing a knee, or swinging out with a shin hit each of the six creatures in the room three times. <br><br>When he finished, he was only a bit in front of the gate, and his eyes flitted from side to side to see what the people he had struck would do. He wondered if they would go after him, entering the squares that he threatened. Of course, he <em>wanted</em> that to happen, but making it known would mean that it wouldn't happen.<br><br>His skin had gone ashen, and he choughed out a faint spray of blood, and looked at the hammers, and smiled. He looked over at the Piper only a few feet away that had followed him in, and slowly spoke.<br><br>"Alright Paladin, let's see you earn your bread. Anyone should be able to drop them now." If Merhault could, he would have breathed slowly, catching his breath from the damage being done to his lungs from getting worse. He didn't breathe though. He wasn't tired, he didn't feel anything, except what his mind allowed him to feel.<br>==<br><br>I'm not posting to-hit, or damage, Kong already knows them.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Bayushi</strong> on <strong>02-09-2009, 11:27:11</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<table class="bbc_table"><tbody><tr><td>(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/8/89/Alystin.jpg)</td><td><span style="font-family: impact;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 2em;" class="bbc_size"><strong>Alystin</strong></span></span><br><hr>Alystin suddenly popped into existance in the strange room behind the piper, and was glad she already had her blade at the ready.<br><br>Seeing the one who called himself a Fiendslayer already engaged in combat, she sighed. Damned crazy-ass humans.<br><br>Seeing that he was attacking Malebranches, Alystin herself leapt into the fray, not wanting to lose a companion just yet.<br><br>(Initiative: At 2009-09-02 04:04:21, Akiko (uid: 34) rolls: 1d20a12 Result: 24 (http://dicebot.php?r=10689))<br><br>Throwing a hand out before her, she brought her Holy Longsword around at the Hulking Devil.<br><br>(<strong>Attack Roll:</strong> At 2009-09-02 04:16:14, Akiko (uid: 34) rolls: 1d20a45 Result: 59 (http://dicebot.php?r=10690))<br><br>(Holy weapons bypass Malebranche's DR, so full damage, providing a 59 hits(if a 59 doesn't hit, we're toast), while damage from a Holy weapon does not get regenerated by the Malebranche, as per MM2, pp69)<br><br>(<strong>Damage Roll:</strong> At 2009-09-02 04:19:07, Akiko (uid: 34) rolls: 1d8a38 Result: 40 (http://dicebot.php?r=10691))<br><br>Alystin squealed, particularly erotically, as the blade sank into the Malebranche's flesh, leaving a deep gouge as her blade completed its journey through it.<br><br>((Also note that the Malebranche's have a -2 to their Initiatives and Attack Rolls while I am within their sight, as per the Body to Die For feat; see character sheet for details))</td></tr></tbody></table>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darkforged Dove</strong> on <strong>02-09-2009, 16:17:52</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				He watched the Drowess came in and hit the Malebranch, it keeled over, into unconciousness [1]. Merhault began to slowly clap, the heavy leather gloves with tiny steel scales echoed softly in the room.<br><br>"Bravo Alystin. You knocked one out. More than I could do. Don't actually kill them, let them sleep it off. Oren, you should go back and tell the rest of the group that it's fine to come in. There's no hellfire, oceans of acid, infinite falling, or the like, on this side. I'm sure that between me and Alystin, this room is full of going to be full of beaten foes. Tell the rest of them to bring in a picnic basket. I tend to work up a powerful appetite when I fight."<br><br><br><br><br>The Dragoness came through and hit the other Malebranch; biting into it. The chill of &lt;Dragon-Fear&gt; washed over him like water off the back of a duck. He smiled at the creature; it was kind of cute to watch as it ripped into the fiend with it's jaws and fangs. Like watching a ten-foot tall scaled cat ripping into a larger basalt-skinned humanoid with tusks from it's lower lips, and horns from its forehead.<br><br>====<br>Note: <br>-[1] That single hit drops the first Malebranch; <br>-Merhault hits the "damage cap" on single targets if he ever attacks anything twice in a round. The third attack is "just for show" and to make sure that he's always exceeding the damage cap. It's a matter of the rest of the group mopping up at this point. Can you guys deal at least 40 damage to the other Malebranch? That's how much Alystin needed to work through.<br><br>I had... left my compy before updating my last post. Kong will confirm the damages later 'today'. There's one left, and you're chomping it.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Mindhazingsquid</strong> on <strong>02-09-2009, 22:24:38</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				As the dragoness appears and sees what's happening she charges the free or least damaged Malebranch (causing fear DC 29 in 180 radius), roaring and taking a chomp out of it.<br><br><br><hr>initiative (20), attack (44 to hit, 22 damage, don't think it's holy)
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>03-09-2009, 08:41:42</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				"<strong>Was there really a need to hit the others sitting near the statues?</strong>" the Paladin shoots back, knowing the dragon made all four of them, "<strong>They were unarmed and not aggressive. For all you knew they were trapped her against their will.</strong>"<br><br>With that the Paladin steps forward to take a closer look at the others, trusting that the Malebranches were taken care of by the others. Truth is, for all he knew the Fiendslayer was right to attack them- but he didn't know was the point.<br><br>[OOC: There are only four of us now, right?]
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darkforged Dove</strong> on <strong>03-09-2009, 15:32:03</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Merhault glanced over at the Piper, and grinned.<br><br>"If you can't tell people who want to kill you as soon as they are in a room with you, and as soon as they get those thoughts; then you should trust the person who can tell if a pack of Cryo-Pyro-Half-Fiend-Hydras is about to ambush you out of an Abyssal Acid Swamp. Even if you don't see the half-dozen hydras that are hiding under the flesh-searing swamp water.<br><br>Besides. <em>Un</em>-armed means nothing. I don't wield hammers because I <em>want</em> to. I wield weapons so that people know I'm wielding weapons, a warrior should be able to crush their foes with, or without, a stick."<br><br>Merhault pointed at the Malebranch still standing. It had been pummeled twice by hammers, kicked in the shins by adamantine boots, and bitten by a Shadow Dragon. A couple more swings and it would fall over he reckoned, the rest of this group were adequate enough combatants by his standards. They'd be able to mop up or soften anything they would face. Hopefully they'd learn a trick or two.<br><br>"Also, that Malebranch on your left. You should give him a whack. He probably doesn't like you ignoring him. They're strong and powerful Hell-Guards, Champions and Mounts; but when it comes down to it, they're just big bullies and grovel before those who can pummel them. They were probably bullies when they were mortals too."<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Bayushi</strong> on <strong>03-09-2009, 22:53:43</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<table class="bbc_table"><tbody><tr><td>(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/8/89/Alystin.jpg)</td><td><span style="font-family: impact;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 2em;" class="bbc_size"><strong>Alystin</strong></span></span><br><hr><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote"><a href="https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=43816.msg2195558#msg2195558">Quote from: Darkforged Dove on 02-09-2009, 16:17:52</a></div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"Bravo Alystin. You knocked one out. More than I could do. Don't actually kill them, let them sleep it off. Oren, you should go back and tell the rest of the group that it's fine to come in. There's no hellfire, oceans of acid, infinite falling, or the like, on this side. I'm sure that between me and Alystin, this room is full of going to be full of beaten foes. Tell the rest of them to bring in a picnic basket. I tend to work up a powerful appetite when I fight."</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br>Alystin shrugged at the mocking 'human', "What does it matter? We're in Hell, it's not like there's a shortage of fiends available."<br><br>Nevertheless, she didn't finish the fiend off, but turned and trotted over to help the Dragoness with the last fiend. When she had the chance, she swung her blade ferociously.<br>At 2009-09-03 15:15:39, Akiko (uid: 34) rolls: 1d20a45 Result: 47 (http://dicebot.php?r=10736)<br><br>Again, the tiny Dark Elf squealed erotically as the blade bit into the Malebranche's flesh.<br>At 2009-09-03 15:17:24, Akiko (uid: 34) rolls: 1d20a38 Result: 48 (http://dicebot.php?r=10737)<br><br>Yawning afterwards, little Alystin stretched towards the sky, knowing she was putting her lithe little form on open display, and not really caring. On the contrary, she stretched like this when she knew she was being watched... it tended to distract those watching her. And she knew Devils had a taste for Dark Elves... having been chased by some as a girl growing up in the Abyss, during a raid in the midst of the Blood War.</td></tr></tbody></table>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darkforged Dove</strong> on <strong>04-09-2009, 02:41:08</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				((OOC: Akiko, if your 1st attack dealt as much as your last one did; that Malebranch is KO'd (unconsious) as well.<br><br>The Abyss is infinite in layers. Populated by Demons. <br><br>Hades is Seven Layers, Populated by Devils. <br><br>There's also Gehenna (Yugoloths) and Carceri (Demodands); but they don't matter for now. <br><br>Alystin has no ranks in Know (The Planes), but she could very well know basic (DC 10) information about that. You can figure out how you want to RP it.<br><br>Also... I guess this is round 2?))<br><br>=========<br><br>Either they would come towards the middle; where he was waiting, or he would move again; strike them down, and then tie and <em>Dimensional Anchor</em> the knocked out prisoners.<br><br>"Nope. There is no shortage of Fiends available. Try to avoid cutting them up too badly. You can't claim a moral victory on foes if you kill them before defeating them."<br><br>He waited for the four remaining people to come towards them. (If/When) they stood still, he walked across the room, each step covering more space than it should. He pulled out his hammers as he walked to one end of the room, and struck out with both hammers at the two men, then spinning to kick them both.<br><br>He walked back across to the other side of the room, and did the same with the other two humanoids. Swingining out with the hammers at an distance that no ordinary man could swing out to; they could have been holding Longspears and he still would have been out of reach of their attacks, so great was his prowess and speed of strike, and motion while figthing. [1]<br><br>He walked back to the middle of the room, and the whole process only took as much time as it would take to count to six. He didn't even bother to see if he had knocked them down. As it was, he didn't need to attack more than a few times. He knew he wasn't being paid nearly enough, and was holding back.<br><br>He went over to the Drowess, placed the handles of his hammers back into steel loops at his belt, and sat down. He looked up at the Elf while keeping an eye out at the men by the statues. "You know. You've got the cutest little squeal when you get into spilling blood. That's a good thing, don't lose that. <br><br>A warrior that loses their fighting lust is an unimaginative and inhibited one. I mean.... look at me.[/navy]"<br><br>====<br>Any of the Humanoids that approach within 15' get an AoO for each 5' step <em>into</em> my threatened squares, and again when <em>leaving</em> threatened squares. I've got 13 AoOs total.<br>Attack Roll: 56 [that's the automatically hit AC]<br>Damage: <br>Hammer 1: 1d8[not used]+&nbsp; 9d6+75 = 113[url]<br>Hammer 2: 1d8[not used]+&nbsp; 9d6+75 = lowest is 85 <br>Kick: 1d8 + 75 = 76<br><br>113+85+76 =~ 200 [the damage cap]<br><br>The last four all take 200 Subdual damage (hammers are merciful, slam attack can be lethal or subdual; opting for subdual); or 400 Subdual by this round. <br><br>Movement: My speed is 60; and reach is 15' in medium size (Fighter 11; Mental Weaponry). It's a 10' walk one way, swing out the last 15'; then a 20' walk the other way, swing out 15'; then a 20' walk back to the middle. Leaving me with 10' of movement left. Sit down beside Alystin, and Oren, and the Dragoness. rar.<br>&nbsp;(http://dicebot.php?r=10738)
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>kongming</strong> on <strong>30-11-2009, 18:43:06</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				First, there is a whirl as the Fiendslayer almost dances from one foe to the next. The guardians at the edges are more than a little surprised as they drop, dead, to the ground. The malebranches also didn't like it in the slightest, but were not slain, though blood sprayed out all over the floor like a sacrificial offering. It didn't even smell too bad, for blood.<br><br>It is only then that those in the room realise there was a flash of energy... two, in fact. Once when he went to one side of the room, and once at the other. Two symbols had been triggered, but the magical effect was unable to do a thing to the heroes. It bounced off pathetically.<br><br>(Symbol of Pain, Symbol of Stunning)<br><br>Alystin then skewered one, and its body crumbled to dust, dissolving and fading from reality. Enormous fangs tore into the other, filling Crepusculous' mouth with strong-tasting blood. The following thrust of Alystin's blade then finished it off.<br><br><strong>"You all fail!" a voice echoed out. "I wanted you to smash the statues without harming anybody!<br><br>Just joking. You were to slay the guards without harming the statues - or reassembling them if you did. Well done."</strong><br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>03-12-2009, 03:31:37</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Oren frowns. Bad enough he was working with someone who seemed completely indifferent to possible victims of tyranny. He was getting jokes cracked on him by a devil lord as well.<br><br>"<strong>I thought jokes and lies were a Chaos thing? You're supposed to be a lord of Order. Sounds like to me the right answer was something you could choose after-the-fact. As long as you liked what you saw we'd pass- or fail- either way.</strong>" he grumples, wondering what the devil lord had next.<br><br>Still, so far so good.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darkforged Dove</strong> on <strong>04-12-2009, 08:55:07</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				Merhault sat, lounging on the ground while the rest of the group dropped the remaining Malebranches. They were definitely some of the <em>largest</em> specimens that he had seen of the fiends that many people thought of as being "classic" fiends.<br><br>The other three dropped the two Malebranches to the stone tiled floor, and he could smell the sulfurous smell of the fiend's blood.<br><br>He looked up at the apparition of the Devil Lord as he was reaching for a metal flask. As the monster talked, he continued his&nbsp; with opening it, and started to drink the fine, fine, Elven moonshine he had stored inside.[1]<br><br>His eyes closed part-way as he heard the exchange, and kept taking swigs from the flask. [2]<br><br>"He's a <em>devil</em> young Faun. They make a deal with you, then re-neg, or fail to mention loopholes or caveats that they had previously established. Their goals are <em>souls</em> and the damning of them. Not giving mortal things of value. The only reason he won't really cheat us, is because he needs us more than we need him. <br>"<br><br>He made an evil grin at the floating fiend's face.<br><br>"That, and he knows what I might try to do if he cuts me loose from this contract. Especially after telling me what the situation is."<br><br><br><br>====<br>1 &amp; 2; drinking.<br><br>Go, go, stat damage.<br>[-4 Wis, -4 Dex; b/c you know what? I don't really mind]<br><br>Malebranches, just in case anyone is curious as to what they just fought.<br><br>Normally... they're 7' tall; we fought some very much advanced ones. They were a whole size category larger. Some days, it just pays to have your knowledge checks.<br>(http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/alumni_amnizu_MM2.jpg)<br><br>(http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/360_Gallery/dragon360_13.jpg)<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>TheVillain</strong> on <strong>04-12-2009, 09:26:56</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				[OOC: Let me know if this is right.]<br><br>"<strong>I understand that part, all the worst things about law and order- the hidden loopholes and all that.</strong>" Oren responds, completely honest. Oh, he got that part alright.<br><br>"<strong>But he told a joke. Since when does the embodiment of the evils of law and order <em>tell a joke</em>?</strong>"<br><br>Letting that sink in, he runs his fair through his head for a moment as he considers his next move.<br><br>"<strong>Also, not a Faun. A Faun is sort of like the Moon Elf to the Satyr's Wood Elf. I'm a Piper. I'm what happens when a Satyr and an Elf let nature take it's course,</strong>" he adds with a smile. What was he so worried about again? Bah, his attention span was always on the short side.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Bayushi</strong> on <strong>04-12-2009, 09:58:39</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<table class="bbc_table"><tbody><tr><td>(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/8/89/Alystin.jpg)</td><td><span style="font-family: impact;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 2em;" class="bbc_size"><strong>Alystin</strong></span></span><br><hr><div class="quoteheader"><div class="topslice_quote"><a href="https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=43816.msg2515360#msg2515360">Quote from: TheVillain on 04-12-2009, 09:26:56</a></div></div><blockquote class="bbc_standard_quote">"<strong>I understand that part, all the worst things about law and order- the hidden loopholes and all that.</strong>" Oren responds, completely honest. Oh, he got that part alright.<br><br>"<strong>But he told a joke. Since when does the embodiment of the evils of law and order <em>tell a joke</em>?</strong>"</blockquote><div class="quotefooter"><div class="botslice_quote"></div></div><br>"It's just a joke," Alystin sighed. "Even demons and devils have senses of humour, even if they are rather twisted. I spent a good part of my life on one of the upper levels of the Abyss, so I guess you could say I've had plenty of opportunities to learn about demons, who also taught me about devils, their enemies."<br><br>"Fiends are hardly the embodiment of evil. No no, those would be the gods themselves, at least the type that resides in places like this. We really shouldn't spend too much time in one place, to be honest." Again, the lithe little Dark Elf stretched bodily, putting her 'assets' on open display as she looked to the ceiling, fair eyes closing as she enjoyed the sensation of her muscles pulling into place, "If you all are ready to get a move on, so am I."</td></tr></tbody></table>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [D&amp;D 3.5] Contract Work: Belial's Offer</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Darkforged Dove</strong> on <strong>04-12-2009, 17:40:54</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				OOC: I forgot I had Veil of Undeath active. I can't actually <em>get</em> drunk. So, no stat damage.<br><br><br>======<br><br>Merhault smiled, and bowed his head slightly at the Piper.<br><br>"I know what you are. Was I not the first to call you a Piper when we were gathered here? I know of your kind, and what they are like. I've met many in Arborea in my time. They tend to come in three main types, but my favorite are the ones that try to be themselves, not try to be like one parent or an other. They don't seem as forced in their living.
			</dd>
		</dl>
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