76 - The Assault
Cozy had just renewed her light spell again when the warehouse came into view.
Lex breathed a sigh of relief at the sight, trying to keep the others from hearing it. Although it meant that he was going to need to make a difficult choice about whether to ask for the princesses' help or not, at least he’d be able to get these four someplace safe. That, and he’d be back by Sonata again.
Just the thought made him feel better. Although they’d only been separated for a few hours, the time apart had been far more stressful than he’d anticipated, and the thought of seeing her again…of touching her, of hearing her beautiful voice…was enough to ease the tension in his chest.
I should talk to her, before I make a decision, he thought to himself. He still remembered how she’d persuaded him, back on Everglow, to change his mind about conquering Equestria by force…to negotiate for a limited rule, rather than putting his life at risk by attempting to overthrow the princesses. The idea had made him bristle at the time, but she’d eventually convinced him to warm to it. Maybe she’d be able to do the same now.
Picking up his pace, Lex nodded his head towards the warehouse. “That’s it,” he announced to the others.
“What, that old warehouse?” asked Cozy, and Lex could hear the surprise in her voice.
“That’s the shelter?” Cloudbank echoed, unable to keep the disbelief off of her face. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, but she’d been expecting more than this!
“The shelter is inside the warehouse,” replied Lex. Normally he’d have snapped at them for their implied criticism, but the prospect of seeing his beloved again was enough to make him overlook it. “There’s an interior room where the ponies that I brought with me are gathered. You’ll be safe there.”
“I don’t see a door,” offered Aisle. They were still a few blocks away, but the brightness of Cozy’s light, along with the soft glow of the moon and stars were just barely enough to illuminate their surroundings. “Should we circle around?”
Lex shook his head. “The door is straight ahead. The entrances are concealed as part of the warding I cast to defend against intruders.”
“You can do that t- whoa!” yelled Drafty, almost skidding to a stop.
The others halted as they looked back her. She was gawking at the sky, causing the rest of them to direct their gazes where she was looking, only to turn them back to her when they didn’t see anything there. “Drafty?” asked Cloudbank, brow furrowing in confusion.
“I saw something!” hissed Drafty, pointing upward. “It flew in front of the moon!”
“Maybe it was another pegasus?” ventured Cozy. “Another survivor like us?”
“Another survivor would have joined us,” frowned Lex. “Or at least-”
“Maybe we should stop standing around wondering what it was and get inside the freaking shelter!” interrupted Aisle, his voice a controlled scream. Looking around as though everypony else had lost their minds, he spoke again. “Like, right now!” Nopony contradicted him, and the five of them broke back into a run towards the warehouse.
They were within a block of it when everything descended into chaos.
To his left, Lex saw something out of the edge of his periphery. It was a small light, shedding a soft orange glow as it streaked…right towards them! Instantly recognizing what was about to happen, Lex didn’t have any time to think. He simply acted. A liturgy to the Night Mare flew from his lips even as he lunged, pressing a hoof against each of the ponies around him. With that done, he had just enough time to lay a hoof against himself when the pea-sized bead of light reached them, exploding into flames as it did.
The others screamed, as much from shock as from fear as fire washed over them…and had no effect. For a moment a curtain of flames filled their vision, and a rush of warm air ran along their bodies, and then it was gone, as though it had been an illusion.
Cloudbank stumbled to a stop, her jaw working soundlessly for a moment as she struggled to process what had just happened. “Wh-what just…?!”
Aisle wasn’t much better off. “That…we were…” He looked behind him, wondering if maybe it really had been an illusion. But looking down showed a massive scorch mark on the ground, and around them there were still glowing embers. The fire had been real. So why hadn’t they been hurt?
“Don’t stop!” roared Lex, causing the four of them to look at him. “We’re under attack! Don’t stop moving!” He immediately started to move towards the warehouse, looking behind him as he did so. To his relief, that seemed to galvanize the others, and they began to follow him, their faces blanching in fear as they processed what he'd said.
When he was within twenty feet of the warehouse, Lex reached out with his telekinesis, a roiling purple aura surrounding his horn as he did so. A moment later, a section of the warehouse wall was surrounded in a matching aura, and the sliding door seamlessly opened, revealing an entrance where there hadn’t been one before. “Inside, now!” he hissed, standing to one side as the other four moved through the doorway.
The others were less than ten feet away now, but even as he waited for them to cross the threshold Lex was already processing what had happened. That fireball spell was Everglow magic; it was one of the more popular attack spells there. That he’d been able to save them from it had been nothing short of miraculous. Although he had a spell to protect against damaging energy – he’d used it on himself before he’d fought the dragon, having set it to fire then as well, albeit mistakenly – it could only ward a single individual.
The Night Mare, however, had given him a variant of the spell that could protect multiple people at once. Even then, he’d only had enough divine magic left to cast that because he’d used the energy in his circlet when he’d used the disease-removing spell on Drafty, thinking that he’d use it to conjure more food later. If not for that…Lex’s eyes drifted to the smoldering cobblestones, knowing what would have happened otherwise.
Moments later the other ponies passed into the warehouse. First Drafty crossed the threshold, followed by Cloudbank. Then Aisle ran in, his face twisted in fear. Finally Cozy ran inside, and Lex moved to follow them. Once they were in there, they’d have a modicum of cover, and he could lead them to the interior room before mounting a counterattack on whatever had cast that spell…
But even as Lex turned and started towards the door, he saw something – this time from his right – come racing around the corner at the end of the block. As he turned to look at it, he thought that it was another of those fish creatures that he’d fought on the ship. But an instant later he realized that was wrong. Those creatures had been a dark green in color, with bodies that were muscled, claws at the end of their finned limbs, and thick tails.
This creature lacked those features. Its pale, scaly body was rounded, giving it a pudgy appearance. Heightening that impression was how thin and willowy its four limbs were, and had no claws at the ends of them. Its head was oddest of all, being entirely fishlike in its appearance, complete with perfectly round, bulging eyes. Lex’s first impression of the thing was that it wasn’t so much grotesque as it was ridiculous.
His second impression was that it was coming at him very, very fast.
The thing wasn’t moving its limbs like it was running. Rather, they slid over the ground in a smooth gliding motion, and Lex realized that it was skating towards him, though he couldn’t imagine how that was possible. More than that, it was going to be there in a few seconds.
Lex was standing just in front of the door, less than five feet from the threshold, whereas the…whatever it was, was still several dozen feet from him, and although it was closing fast, Lex knew that he’d be able to make it inside before it could reach him. He took a step forward, still holding the door open in his telekinetic grip…and the fish-thing suddenly accelerated even more, streaking towards him to quickly that its form seemed to blur. Lex tried to throw himself forward, to get inside before it got there, but compared to the incoming creature he was moving in slow motion. He had just enough time to lock eyes with the four ponies already inside the building, looking back at him in a mixture of confusion and alarm, and then it collided with him.
One webbed limb lashed out as it did, hitting Lex dead-center with a kick that, with so much force behind it, sent him flying. Worse, the transfer of momentum meant that the thing came to a stop right in front of the open door, in front of the four horrified ponies.
But with Lex’s concentration broken, he was no longer telekinetically holding the door open, and the wards that he’d laid on the building immediately kicked back in. Instantly, the door tried to snap shut, but the creature reached a limb out with lightning speed, catching hold of it and holding it ajar mere inches before it could finish closing. The sight caused Drafty to shriek, and Aisle and Cozy backed away in horror, shaking their heads in denial of what was happening. Cloudbank was similarly paralyzed, realizing that the thing was going to get inside. And after what it had just done to Lex, there was no doubt that it was probably going to do even worse to them.
But instead of wrenching the door open, the creature’s finned extremity shook with visible strain, and the door slid open only a few inches before it came to a halt. Even as Cloudbank watched, the door seemed to push back, regaining almost an inch of ground before stopping again. It’s trying to close on its own, she realized. But why…?
Lex shook his head. “The door is straight ahead. The entrances are concealed as part of the warding I cast to defend against intruders.”
Lex’s wards! That had to be it! Whatever magic he’d used realized that monster was an intruder and was trying to shut it out! They were going to be okay! But even as she felt her spirits rise, she saw another of the creature’s finned limbs work its way into the gap, bracing against the opposite side of the doorjamb. Slowly, the door started to open again, and this time it didn’t stop…
The urge to run was overwhelming. The thing would be inside any moment, and Cloudbank was certain that their only chance was to run away. Maybe they could lose it in the warehouse, or find someplace to hunker down and wait until it went away, just like they had back in that apartment. Just like…like…
Just like when she’d been helpless to do anything except watch Drafty get sicker and sicker, dying by degrees. Just like she hadn’t been able to escape with her when Lex first showed up. Just like how she hadn’t been able to defend her when those undead ponies had attacked.
Just like every other time she’d let Drafty down.
Cloudbank was barely aware of what she was doing as she flew towards where the monster was struggling with the door. She only distantly heard herself scream as she slammed her hooves on the end of its finned limbs. Each blow came down with as much force as she could muster, driven by anger and shame and jealousy that she’d needed to rely on someone else to protect the pony most important to her.
Again and again she punched the thin strip of scaled flesh that was curled inside the doorjamb, glaring at it hatefully as she hit it over and over. And then, suddenly, it was gone. An instant later, she heard a loud clunk, and it took her a moment to realize it was the sound of the door closing.
She had done it. They were safe.
For a moment, Cloudbank just stood there, staring blankly at the door as she tried to register what had just happened. Slowly, she started to shake all over, and let out a shuddering breath, struggling to keep it together. She had almost succeeded when she felt a hoof on her side. Looking over, she found herself staring into Drafty’s eyes, which were filled with concern. “Cloudy, are you okay?”
Cloudbank wanted to give her a slick answer, to tell her that she was better than okay, she was going to take care of everything and that it was all going to be alright from now on. But her throat suddenly closed, and she felt her eyes starting to tear up, the last of her composure crumbling. A choked sob ran through her, and suddenly Drafty was hugging her, and Cloudbank buried her face in the other mare’s mane as she started to cry, everything that she’d been trying to push down ever since this had all began suddenly bubbling up, unstoppable. Drafty hugged her tighter, and a moment later Cloudbank felt Aisle and Cozy embrace her as well. It was only after her tears had run out that she softened her grip on Drafty, and the others stepped back as the embrace ended.
“You alright now?” asked Drafty. Her eyes were watery as well, but she was smiling as she did, and the sight was enough to make Cloudbank smile too, nodding even as she sniffled.
She wasn’t the only one, Aisle giving her a grin as he rubbed his eyes. “That was really amazing, Cloudbank. You stomped that thing good.”
“Heh, you know it. It’s just lucky that door closed, or I’d have really clobbered it.” Her boast brought a round of chuckling from the others, but it was good-natured, and made her grin wider.
The moment of camaraderie was broken as Cozy looked towards the door, her smile fading. “We should get moving. The shelter’s supposed to be in here somewhere, right?”
Drafty nodded, but glanced at the door again, a worried look crossing her face. “But what about Lex? He’s still out there.”
An uncomfortable silence fell, before Cozy spoke up again. “I don’t think there’s anything we can do. Even if we went back out there, my guess is that we’d just make him need to protect us again.”
“That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try!” insisted Drafty.
Cloudbank shook her head. “The door tried to close as soon as he let go of it. I don’t think we could open it even if we wanted to.”
“So, there’s nothing we can do, right?” asked Aisle, his voice hopeful. “It’s not like we’re abandoning him or anything, there’s just no way we can go help.”
Cozy nodded. “He’s powerful enough that he doesn’t need our help. The best thing now is for us to find the other ponies in here and tell them what’s going on.”
“Okay,” nodded Cloudbank, by now having fully recovered her poise. Looking towards the interior of the warehouse, she pointed a hoof. “In that case, I’ll lead the way.” Heading forward, the others followed after her. Drafty was the last to leave, looking back towards the door for a moment.
Silently, she wished Lex luck. Somehow she suspected that he was going to need it.
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At least Lex managed to bring them to safety...though they'll have to contend with the wards that he previously set up inside the warehouse and if Sonata and those inside the shelter hear the fighting outside, they might assume Aisle and the others to be intruders. And with Lex leaving Severance to protect them any and all threats...
Granted, that's a worst case scenario that requires quite a number of circumstances to even happen. Either way, I anticipate to see what happens to them as they're beset by Lex's wards while Lex himself contend with the Monitor, the Crippled and Sahuagin...all on his own and his currently dwindled magic.
Not good odds for Lex or Aisle and the others here. Though it would make for an exciting scenario for a roleplay session.(Provided I play that is
)
I suspect with Lex current situation, all along and spell useage, that shadow merge would be his best bet, assuming that the naga? Lamia? doesnt have direct light based attacks and dark based attacks dont interact with Lex Shadow form as much?
Then again, not many shadows in the open with Fireball.
Huh... Lex is actually in a really unfavorable position there: Assuming they come from Everglow, they'll rightfully assume he's a Fey and target him with such effects. Not only that, but they also got to observe him, possibly with a load of detect spells to know any buffs he's got going on, meaning the next move they'll pull (if Lex has buffs active) will probably be a targeted dispel. Even worse, if they know Lex to be a primary spellcaster (and depending on their information, they might), there's nothing stopping them from readying actions to counterspell.
And they know they can't be overconfident because they are aware that he's powerful. Honestly, Eldritch Weapon: Ghost Touch Fey-Bane is a level 2 effect and they will be expecting to fight hordes of ponies and Lex went incorporeal during the ship-fight, so I wouldn't be surprised if all of them have it. It'll probably be Cold Iron too, but I don't think that matters against Lex.
If they really wanted to, they could also sunder his horn. This wouldn't rob him of magic, but it would get rid of the relic and the associated Witchcraft. Maybe they could use Aboleth's Lung (technically a Gillman spell, but they are the aquatic baddies of the situation) via a spectral hand to drown Lex while he's grappled and focus on the building, but that would require them to beat the shadow form, which is hard work. There is a reason why few use Allips at their regular CR...
Maybe a Bestow Curse could work to crash his casting stat, but it would require two castings to get both magic types and they might not have more than one prepared (if they have one prepared).
Edit: Actually, Explosive Runes deal Force damage and they (the squad) are considered to be expendable. If there are two casters, a good one and a dabbler, the good one could have prepared a book full of them and the have the one with the weaker CL detonate it like a bomb. If they chuck it on Lex, Shadow Form be damned because it's force damage.
7962291 You're right that the four ponies in the warehouse are going to need to navigate the remaining wards to actually get the shelter. Luckily, we know that those are designed for deterrence and privacy rather than actually fighting off intruders. So they'll probably have a hard time of it, but shouldn't be in any danger in doing so.
Of course, what kind of reception they receive is totally up in the air. Ideally, they'll be recognized and welcomed in, but how much of what's happened so far has been ideal?
As for Lex, he's in a bad spot, as you noted. Hopefully he can turn it around...
7962642 Okay, I went back in and added a notation that Monitor had "four" limbs, since that part doesn't seem to be getting across.
With that said, however, it's time that I pulled back the curtain on what Monitor is, since we have a physical description now: it's a kuo-toa. You can find racial stats over here (though I can't seem to locate a monster stat block for 3.5 online).
For some further background: When I initially decided to use a kuo-toa, I forgot that such monsters had never been added to the SRD, meaning that there was no Pathfinder version of them. In hindsight, this was something of a mistake, but overall a very minor one. As for Monitor's name, that comes from the fact that unarmed kuo-toa fighters are called "monitors," the same way their priests are called "whips." In the sahuagin culture I made up for this story, non-sahuagin have descriptions rather than names, so they've simply called it "Monitor" because that's what it is.
7963202 Some very good analysis here, and I wanted to go over each of these point-by-point:
For the most part, but I feel like there's a caveat as to how much deep sea-dwellers would know about ponies per se. It's not much of a Knowledge (nature) check, to be sure, but it's worth mentioning. Of course, that assumes that they have such effects to begin with.
Insofar as buffs go, Lex didn't have any active when the attack began, save for his usual always-active spells (via Innate Enchantment) that - if brought down - he can reactive as a free action on his turn. So they don't have any information on what he's got to defend himself, which is good...but on the other hand, that's because he has no additional defenses up at the moment, which is bad.
For warlocks...I'll give a spoiler and say that there aren't any warlocks here.
No, he didn't. He did briefly when attacked on the dock, but he killed those sahuagin. When he used dimension door to get to the ship, he stayed corporeal the entire time.
I don't think that matters against most ponies, insofar as Ponyfinder goes.
That would be a devastating tactic insofar as cutting him off from one of his major magical resources, but the problem with this is that it relies upon knowledge that it's unlikely that they'd have. Everglow unicorns don't require their horn to use magic; moreover, natives of Everglow wouldn't know about King Sombra or have any reason to recognize his horn. It's ambiguous if it would register to detect magic, and if I recall correctly the rules for things like fiendish grafts is that they don't.
Precisely; that's what makes it such a major aspect of Lex's approach to combat. Although he hasn't used it very often, that's because he hasn't had to. Once things get serious, it's simply too useful not to use.
Actually, Lex is using Intelligence for his Witchcraft, thanks to Finesse. But bestow curse requires a saving throw anyway, and Will is one of his good saves, plus he has Luck on saving throws (albeit only versus magical effects) five times a day.
Between Monitor, Lirtkra, and the Cripple, I question if it seems like there are more than one spellcaster. Moreover, it's pretty clear that there are major fault lines between at least two of them, so it's highly questionable if someone would jump on a proverbial grenade in order to help someone else get an attack in.
7963725 Thanks for the reply^^
I assumed they would know because ponykind was supposed to be a major civilization in Everglow. And they were able to identify ponies on sight and didn't seem too surprised (even if outraged) that ponies can use Everglow-magic. Of course, I didn't account for them only learning of ponies after the bleeds occured, but it would be weird for them not to notice the biggest land-nation in their homeworld for millenia only to notice it after they swapped worlds for a few years.
Well, they know he can survive a fireball, but if they didn't use spellcraft, they might not know that he cast a spell to do so...
Oh, I actually meant the spell from The Practical Enchanter that gives a weapon (spell level) abilities. That is good to know though, because it clearly eliminates the possibility of a Darkhidden-Devilsight-combo.
Ah, ok. I got confused there for a bit. I thought he floated back in Shadow Form. That eliminates them knowing of his abilities, which gives him a 50% miss chance to defend himself with, which is a big bonus.
It wouldn't register. I checked Eclipse and it says on page 23 that all abilities which don't mention magic are extraordinary, and while relics get called a lot of things, magical isn't one of them. Though now it does make me wonder: When did they encounter ponies? I mean, if it was back in Everglow, they'd know he's a Fey, but if they encountered them here first, it would be more dangerous, because they would know to cut off the horn first if that's the case.
And indeed he does. I guess I should have checked over at Intelligence Check first, because I thought he had Finesse for Divine Magic instead of having it for Witchcraft and using Conversion instead^^°
Fair point... I was just running out of gimmicks, so I thought I bring up the possibility^^°
7964592
Not at all; I'm glad to receive comments, since like most authors here I yearn for feedback, so giving it an in-depth response was only appropriate.
At this point it's unclear either way; I'm simply pointing out that both scenarios are plausible. Right now, the sahuagin on Equestria are relatively close to the shoreline, but that doesn't necessarily mean that was the case on Everglow. It's entirely possible that they came from an area that was in the middle of the ocean, far (potentially hundreds or even thousands of miles) from any land above sea level. Or, alternatively, they were near a coastline there as well - it's unclear. But either one could have been the case. That's particularly true since Everglow's sea ponies are a devastated people, with comparatively few left (as I understand it).
Well, the idea was that they were observing him before they attacked. But insofar as casting a spell goes, it's supposed to be obvious to anyone in the surrounding vicinity; they might not know what spell you're casting if they fail the Spellcraft check, but they know that you're casting something (unless they have no idea what spellcasting is, but that doesn't seem like the case here).
Whoops, well that's an embarrassing mistake on my part.
Don't forget though; each version of eldritch weapon is a different spell, so one that was ghost touch fey-bane would have to be a specific spell that was only that.
Only against non-damaging effects; he's incorporeal, rather than having concealment. Unless it meets one of the few exceptions for dealing full damage to incorporeal creatures, magic attacks that cause hit point damage or enchanted weapons will deal half damage on a successful hit.
Hm, I can see an argument either way, at least when the relic is granting magical powers (which is what Witchcraft is, even if it's technically classified as low-level psychic abilities).
I want to caution against making too many assumptions, both with regards to characters recognizing (the effects of) type-based categorizations and even against particular physical quirks. The sahuagin on display here have been shown to have a xenophobic culture that embraces class-based religious fanaticism. It's questionable to what degree they'd go "we've determined that fey-bane weapons prove most effective" versus "kill them and eat them all!"
For what it's worth, I have to go back and check a lot of things in Lex's (and now Sonata's) stat block when writing these chapters, and I made those stat blocks!
Heh, you power-gamer you.
7966229
Things like these need overkill, just to make sure they are all dead.
7966197
I know that feeling. Don't worry, I will try to keep reading this, it is a good story.
7966176
I guess that makes sense. Looks like Lex isn't in as much trouble as I originally thought. They do still have an advantage in numbers, but it looks like a lot of cheap tricks can't be pulled by them.
So... would they have noticed them or wouldn't they? I'm confused now...
Eh, it happens to everyone.
You know, when I wrote this, I actually thought that tricksters like Fey would have a lot of incorporeal creatures among them, what with them being pranksters and all that... Not a single one is incorporeal apparently. So yeah, this combination would actually be weird.
Oops... You're right about that. Sorry, got 3.5 and Pathfinder mixed up again^^°
Hmm... I mean, I figured they would make an effort if they encoutered each other frequently, but it's as you've said, we don't know if that was the case. So yeah, I can see where you're coming from.
Talking about powergaming and eldritch weapon, what kind of bluff-roll would Severance need to convince Lex that transfering 3 of his CP to Emptiness for a new Inherent Spell (Specialized and Corrupted for increased effect: With Severence only): SFX Eldritch Weapon: Alicornbane Alicorndread couldn't possibly ever backfire at him? :3
7970478
He might very well still be in trouble, but it's less likely to be because of them being able to whip out specialized combos that are designed to negate his strengths and maximize his weaknesses.
The kicker is that what you're saying isn't wrong, it's just that it's not likely to come into play in this particular scenario with these particular enemies. Foes who don't make use of a lot of mid-to-high level spells or similar magical effects and/or don't put a premium on gathering information and tailoring their weapons (which include magic) to match their foes aren't going to be in a position to pull combos like that off most of the time. That's part-and-parcel of how most scenarios play out when not facing off against foes that have a lot of resources...or have the means, motive, or opportunity to bring those resources to bear.
That tends to change as you face higher-level foes, because having those resources tends to be so advantageous that high-level characters/organizations start having them simply by virtue of darwinism in action; when you have the best tools available, and know how to use them, you're far more likely to survive in a much deadlier playing field. Characters that can make use of speak with dead and resurrection to talk to fallen allies, will use divination or contact other plane to ask for more information, make sure to use scrying and have protections against such effects, aren't afraid of burning resources to tailor their abilities/items/etc. to the current situation (e.g. using that limited wish when it would be helpful), and even making sure to leverage less-intensive resources to their advantage (e.g. having allied bards make lore checks, hiring mercenary spellcasters to prepare custom magic items, etc.) or do something like cutting deals for short-term gain (e.g. contact a succubus and get a Profane Gift) can, overall, make preparations that can put a serious crimp on someone else before you ever even meet them.
Moreover, this tends to become more obvious when the enemies are higher-level, because power tends to be famous as a general rule; unless special measures have been taken, or there are unusual circumstances, people are going to know who the power-players in a given area are, which means that anyone interested in fighting them will then have a basis to start looking into them.
This works both ways, however, and that's how things start to develop in political detente situations, when you realize that your enemies have tailored their weapons and defenses against you the same way you have against them. At that point, it's easy to see how fears of "rocket tag" start to become rule, and the potential losses begin to eclipse the potential gains, reducing things to a Cold War-style situation where everyone is trying to tilt the situation in their favor without having to expend their resources or expose their hand in doing so.
Will that happen with Lex? Well, that's hard to say. It can't happen right now (that is, with the sahuagin) unless there are some very unusual circumstances involved, simply because both parties are too new on the scene to know much about each other, along with issues of what resources they really have to expend (or are willing to do in that regard). In wider Equestria, it's hard to see who this could happen with, since there are no other major power-players there, the Princesses being the notable exceptions (along with Discord, and possibly certain defeated villains, if they're still around)...though that starts to get into issues of what magical resources are available, since d20/3.x/Pathfinder magic is so powerful, and variable, at the higher levels.
In terms of his shrugging off that fireball, I suspect that they know he used a spell to do so; that's simply the most reasonable explanation, particularly since they knew they were going up against a "maa-jik poh-nee" to begin with. Other than him having evasion, there's no real major explanation for his having done so. That and he was openly casting a spell with verbal and somatic components, even if nobody made a Spellcraft check.
Yeah, I thought that seemed like an unusual combination to have. I'm glad it wasn't just me being addled again.
Yeah, it's another one of those little things that's easy to forget.
To be fair, this is something that could in theory be addressed via various methods, but there are a slew of reasons why none of those have been/could be implemented.
Nuts to Bluff, you'd need a charm Game Master spell to pull something like that off.
7970680
Lex IS one of the most competent ponies in Equestria. And given that this is the Ponyfinder-Verse Equestria, that means something. I'd say if it happens to someone, Lex would be one of the ponies it's most likely to happen to.
How comes?
It seems to be within the rules, it has a narrow window of application (the spell is basically wasted unless you fight an Alicorn), isn't under the players control (Lex is specifically stated to have no control of Emptiness unless he invests massive amounts of CP in it) and requires a Major Intelligent Artifact to cooperate (which isn't too unlikely, but it can still be taken away). It's really not the most broken thing you could use 6 CP for... And it would be funny if Severance bonked into an Alicorn by accident and it just explodes because Emptiness used it's SLA "just in case"
7971128
I think so too, though that's largely due to his ambition, but he's not quite there yet, as he's still solidifying his power-base. Lex is determined to be a power-player in Equestria, and has shown no inclination that he'll be satisfied until he's made Celestia and Luna (and the other princesses) acknowledge his authority over them. Even then, it's uncertain if that would be enough for him. As such, he's going to run into these sorts of challenges head-on; he purports that he's ready, but that's the sort of thing that has to be demonstrated, rather than simply stated.
As the current chapter demonstrates, he's starting to find out the hard way that doing it all by himself might not be the most conducive method for accomplishing what he wants, no matter how badly he wishes that he was strong enough to go it completely alone.
The major problem is that spell would be at least 8th level (since the base spell level of eldritch weapon is equal to the plusses it grants, and bane is +1 while dread is +7), and the listing for Inherent Spell says that it generally requires that the character's level be [(spell level x 2) -1], which would be 15th level in this case, and that's higher than Lex's ECL; there's a reason why Emptiness' strongest Inherent Spell is 6th-level, and Lex is ECL 11. Hence why I said you'd need to "charm" the GM to get that approved, particularly since the only recommended exceptions are for "very low-level characters and/or non-combat inherent spells."
Now, I get that the use of specialization and corruption is meant to keep it effectively a 3rd-level spell to bypass that restriction, but I personally wouldn't allow that for exactly that reason. That's notwithstanding the narrative restriction on Lex exhibiting any sort of control over Emptiness - until he buys off the specialization on both the Companion ability and Emptiness's template he can't do something like modify it via favorable abilities; that's sort of the point. That and he doesn't want to kill the alicorns anyway; he wants to conquer them.
The typos have gotten better concealment. I can't see them anywhere!
Poor Lex. Have to fight right after being hit, hard. And he is mostly out of magic. Enjoy!
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Yay!
Well, he didn't use too much fighting those ghouls, so he should be relatively alright on that front, even if he did use one of his strongest spells to crush them, and is outnumbered now, and doesn't have Severance...okay, yeah, he might be in trouble.