[IC] A Blatant Challenge: Round 1

[Lance]

The challenge had come yesterday and while the guild hall was chaotic then, things have finally calmed down. Relatively. Given the ceaseless yelling and arguing over who among them would be the first participate, it was a surprise that any progress was made at all.

Finally, though it had taken them a day, the first two participants had been decided: First came the young girl known as Branwen and once she had made her interest known, none challenged her. Next came the fighter Ryine, and though he may not be the brightest individual, no one questioned his skill with the blade.

As the duel was scheduled at a late time, there was really nothing to do other than to pass time either preparing or idling away. And so, time passed in a flash.

Night has come, the arena has been prepared, and already Faus stands ready in the center of the arena.



Gazing at his opponents, Faus spoke.

[spoiler]http://www.youtube.com/v/gAFxnsxVZIw&autoplay=1

"Only two?"[/spoiler]

"No matter."

The armored man briefly made another glance to the right, where a young girl emerged to do battle with him, before settling his gaze firmly on the left.

Faus smiled.

EDIT: Not initiating Duel of Wills as the range is too great (I probably should have paid more attention to the arena before I posted it xD)

As a reminder:

• This duel is held at night, the arena is lit with torches along the arena walls, however they only provide a limited light across the arena (20 ft). Areas outside this range are considered as under dim light (concealment 20%).
• Anything goes. There are no limitations on what you can't use, whether they are spells, swords, or anything else. Use your imagination.
• An fallen Ally may be brought back as often as you like (via spell, item, or other means). However, once there are no longer any members capable of continuing the fight in either side of the conflict, that side immediately loses.

As a Duel of Wills is an underplayed and often overlooked skill, I've copy/pasted the info in the spoiler below

[spoiler]INTIMIDATE (CHA)
You can use this skill to participate in a duel of wills before a fight begins.

Duel of Wills: You can confront a potential enemy in the moments before a fight breaks out and attempt to crush his will, while he does the same to you. Immediately before initiative is rolled for either side, you can instigate a duel of wills by selecting a single enemy you are aware of within 30 feet. Only characters with Intelligence scores of 3 or higher can engage in a duel of wills, and the participants must be able to see one another. You can?t attempt to instigate more than one duel of wills per encounter.

When you instigate the duel (usually by fixing a cold, steely stare on your opponent), your adversary can respond in one of three ways.
Submit: The opponent takes a ?2 penalty on its initiative check and a ?1 penalty on attack rolls against you on the firstround of combat.
Ignore the Challenge: If your opponent ignores your challenge to engage in a contest of wills, make a DC 15 Intimidate check. If you succeed, you gain a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls against that opponent for 1 round.
Participate: Both you and your chosen foe must make an Intimidate check. The character with the higher result gains a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls and damage rolls against the loser, and the loser takes a ?1 penalty on attack rolls and damage rolls against the winner. If the result is a tie, neither
character gains any benefit. These bonuses and penalties last for the duration of the encounter.
Action: None. Instigating a duel of wills requires no action and occurs before initiative is rolled.
Try Again: No, but you can instigate a second duel of wills with the same target after 24 hours have passed.
Special: If you have the Unnerving Calm feat, you can use your Concentration skill in place of your Intimidate skill when engaging in a duel of wills.[/spoiler]

[Oath]

"I cannot stand down from a challenge such as this." I make my best attempt at intimidating the challenger, Faus.

[spoiler]{intimidate check}[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+3 : 4 + 3, total 7[/blockquote][/spoiler]

[Lance]

Faus' grin only grew wider, as he readied himself for the coming battle.

Initiative: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+4 : 7 + 4, total 11[/blockquote]

[Eireleen]

Branwen stood quietly at the entrance to the arena, with an ever-present frown across her face. Truly, she had no desire to bother with idiotic games such as this. But for the past three days, her goings about had been inundated with an unending barrage of this man's foolish posters. Just this morning, seven had been slid under her door, thirteen had been left in her inbox, and twenty-seven more had been given to her throughout the day. It seemed that she now had more in her possession that had been plastered across the Guild's many walls.

She assumed that people were giving them to her because they wanted her to attend. Apparently, she had somewhat of a reputation amongst the Guild as being a somewhat scary individual. For some reason, they seemed to want to pit her against the oaf before her. She had no real reason to bother, but the storm of flyers only grew more severe with each passing day. All she wanted was to go about her business without being pushed and pulled by the whims of the masses.

Watching both idiotic men stare at each other in a display of meaningless bravado, she could only think that this was nothing more than a complete and utter waste of her time. Hopefully it ended soon so that she could simply go home.

[Oath]

Upon realizing that my enemy is too far way for any sort of physical intimidation to work, I decide that it is best to approach Branwen so that Faus cannot just single one of us out.

[spoiler]{Initiative}[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+3 : 8 + 3, total 11[/blockquote]

Whenever this round starts, I move 4 tiles west along the wall towards Branwen.[/spoiler]

[Eireleen]

The black girl raised an eyebrow as the man who apparently served as her ally in this engagement merely slinked towards her. But she had no intention of babysitting a swordsman. "So comforting to know that a paragon of courage stands at my side." She berates him sarcastically, looking back to their common enemy. "If you insist on helping, make like a good human shield and get in front of me." She tells him without a hint of hesitation or sympathy.

[spoiler]Initiative roll if we need one: [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+4 : 12 + 4, total 16[/blockquote][/spoiler]

[Lance]

[spoiler]Round 1
Turn Order: Branwen --> Faus --> Ryine

Status
Branwen
HP: 9/9
Faus
HP: 13/13
Ryine
HP: 13/13[/spoiler]

[Eireleen]

Branwen initially seemed to give no notice of the starting signal. But after a few moments, she began walking casually further into the arena. She disliked torches. In fact, she disliked light in general. What more did she need than the moon? The crackle and pop of the flames grated on her ears as she walked not towards her opponent, but merely away from the edge of the pit.

Her form seemed to fade into the darkness. In fact, it was more like the darkness itself welcomed her, embraced her as she entered it. With her black clothing, black hair, and dead, black eyes, the girl was almost indistinguishable from the shadow itself. The further she left the light of the torch, the more difficult it became to make out her figure in the moonlit night.

Before long, both of her fellow combatants realized that they could not see her. She had truly faded into the shadow, leaving no trace of her presence.

[spoiler]Branwen moves 30 feet northeast (4 squares diagonally) and uses Night Hunter, becoming invisible.[/spoiler]

[Lance]

Though difficult to make out in the gloom of the arena's center, the smile had never left Faus' face. He had shifted his attention to the girl clad in black attire, who know bravely approached. The armored man's smile reached its peak then, showing his approval. Then the girl disappeared and with it, Faus' smile.

He shrugged, knowing the girl would have to appear sooner or later, and once again placed the majority of his attention on the only target in sight-the fighter.

"Come then," Faus roared, raising his sword to the sky.

"I'll have you remember the name Faus Kaldon!"

[spoiler]To determine what maneuvers will be given I will roll in these 3 posts.

• Crusader's Strike
• Crusader's Strike
• Crusader's Strike
• Stone Bones
• Charging Minotaur

1st Maneuver: [blockquote]Rolled 1d5 : 1, total 1[/blockquote]
[/list][/spoiler]

[Lance]

[spoiler][blockquote]2nd maneuver 1d4 : 2, total 2[/blockquote]
[blockquote]3rd maneuver 1d3 : 1, total 1[/blockquote][/spoiler]

[Lance]

[spoiler]Maneuver's Granted
Crusader's Strike
Crusader's Strike
Crusader's Strike[/spoiler]

[Oath]

"Or you can stealth, that works too I suppose. I just wanted to protect you!" I am slightly confused, but also amused by Branwen's actions, she is either extremely brave, or extremely foolish.

[spoiler] I move 3 square diagnally to the north-west [/spoiler]

[Eireleen]

For a few moments, the sounds of battle were dominated by that of the shouts of the two men. The girl had all but disappeared into the night. But then, just as suddenly as she had disappeared, she reappeared again, as though out of thin air, right in front of Faus. And with her arrival brought torment unending upon the foolish mortal who dared to challenge Hades itself.

The air froze. As though time itself had stopped, the flow of wind suddenly ceased, the crying of cicadas hushed, and the shouts of the two men were stifled. The world stopped, as though reality itself was quivering in fear. The gentle light of the moon faded into nothing. The fragile illumination of the torches faded into nothing. The cheering of the crowd was suddenly gone, replaced with an eerie silence that left only the ringing of one's ears.

She alone stood at the center of the world of cessation. With nary a step, nary a sound, the darkness warped and coiled around her. The still air became cold, the heat drawn out of the atmosphere by nothing more than her silent gaze.

A wave of pure malevolence washed over the arena. A flood of feeling so powerful that it felt as though the very concept of joy had been struck away from the universe, from the human condition. A horribly lucid dread exuded from the girl's small form, choking and drowning any form of light or hope.

Then, in an instant, dread became horror. An abject, primal fear, a cold hand that cruelly gripped Faus's heart. Pure, unbridled terror overwhelmed the pit like water from a burst dam, with no hope of solace or comfort. Every anxiety and every doubt was gathered to the forefront, threatening to tear apart his very sanity.

Pure madness. Every balance and every rule lie broken at the girl's feet. The world itself slowly fell apart, the thin veil of order stripped away to reveal an underdark of malice and abberation. In an instant, the dueling grounds had been torn asunder, and replaced with a pandemonium of anarchy and chaos of the highest order, where there were no heroes and there were no saviors.

All that remained was an unending darkness.

[spoiler]Move action: Branwen moves northeast one square, and east two squares, ending 25 feet due south of Faus.

Standard action: Branwen casts Cause Fear (Will partial)

On a failed Will Save, Faus becomes Frightened for [blockquote]Rolled 1d4 : 2, total 2[/blockquote] rounds

On a successful Will Save, Faus becomes Shaken for 1 round.[/spoiler]

[Lance]

[spoiler]Round 2[/u]
Status
Branwen
HP: 9/9
Faus
HP: 13/13
Ryine
HP: 13/13[/spoiler]



Granted Maneuver:
[spoiler]

• 1. Stone Bones
• 2. Charging Minotaur

[blockquote]Rolled 1d2 : 2, total 2[/blockquote][/spoiler]

Will Save:
[spoiler][blockquote]Rolled 1d20+1 : 20 + 1, total 21[/blockquote][/spoiler]

[Lance]

Faus laughed greatly, if not a bit unsteadily. It seemed he was enjoying this.

"Not bad, girl"

"However..."

[spoiler]Charging Minotaur (Branwen): [blockquote]Rolled 1d20+3 : 9 + 3, total 12[/blockquote]
Damage (if successful): [blockquote]Rolled 2d6+3 : 6, 6 + 3, total 15[/blockquote][/spoiler]