Tandem the Spoony's Next Adventure [F/SN x CM(D&D)]

Throwing out some other facts: You also have your djinn ring and five 3rd Level spells you can still cast, of which Dispel Magic falls into.

Also, because of your Combat Reflexes feat; you get 6 attacks of opportunity if you can get Lancer off-guard and are in range to hit him.

 

I thought we burned our Dispel Magic, and I thought the Djinn ring falls under the same geas lock that Summon Monster would. I guess Dispel magic is on the table then, although it's a shame to burn that much and maybe even Dimension Door.

Maybe Project Image is we still have it to double our workload? Work on dispel while we attack Lancer?

 

You burned through Greater Dispel Magic; hence not having any 5th level spells. I totally forgot about the no summoning geas though, my bad.

 

Okay then, so Dispel is on the table Good to know.

 

...Kinda wanna do an update in about an hour or so; but there doesn't really seem to be much of a plan here, or much discussion. I can wait longer if that's what you guys need, and if there's anything you're uncertain about I'll answer and clarify to the best of my abilities.

I do realize that you're kinda in a tight spot here, and I can already say it's not gonna get much better...

 

So, is the major thing is we wanna get the fuck out of the way.
The question is how.
Shall we brainstorm?

 

Right, can we interrupt his spell by Dimension Dooring next to him and hitting him 6 times?


Edit:
Basically right now our options seem to be the following:

1. Get out of there
- Pros: We're guaranteed safety
- Cons: Rider's toast

2. Stop the spell
- Pros: Both we and Rider are safe
- Cons: How the fuck is this supposed to work?

3. Get over to Rider and get out of there with her
- Pros: Both we and Rider are safe
- Cons: Unlikely to make it in time

4. Get over to Rider and shield her
- Pros: Rider survives, we probably too
- Cons: Unless we can weaken the attack greatly, both of us will be seriously wounded

5. Use our NP
- Pros: Guaranteed win
- Cons: Needs to colldown afterwards

6. Use that Wish item
- Pros: We get out of this
- Cons: if we word right (we won't) and if we don't suffer the consequences, potentially on top of the attack that wasn't dealt with.


Ways to weaken/stop the spell:
- NP
- Wish
- Force Lancer to stop casting
- Cast Dispel Magic
- Vacuum Blast
- MR

Things to note:
- Lancer is likely immune to most of our Spells that target him (Lullaby, Charm Person, Sleep, Glitterdust, Suggestion, Dominate Person and possibly Geas/Quest (Level 6, so it might get through; not sure on what this spell actually does)
- We have no Level 5 spells
- We didn't cast our own buff spells (I think)
- No summoning of any kind
- We can probably only do 2-3 things before we are hit

Questions:
How many actions can we get done before we are hit?
Is it even possible to interrupt Lancer's spell and, if so, would it just fizzle out or would we be hit by a diminished version?
Which of our spells is Lancer's MR likely to stop?
Would grease even do something to a fighter of his level?
What does Geas/Quest do?
Would a double from Project Image still get its spells off before Lancer's spell hits?
Woudl the double have it Level 5 spells?


Unless the answers to these questions offer a viable alternative to this (like interrupting that spell), I'd say, Dimension Door in front of Rider and Vacuum Slash to give us cover aside from our MR.
Maybe a Dispel Magic before that, if we have the time.

 

Two actions at most, and that's really pushing it.

Most likely the latter, but the former may happen if you're really lucky.

Most of them really; the Glitterdust working was Luck more than anything else, anything lower than 4th Level is worthless.

Again, it depends on how you use it, when, and on how much the dice like you; but your odds aren't the best right now...

It curses the target to fulfill a task you order them to do, or follow a limitation you give them; if they don't, they are hurt and weakened by the Geas until they stop defying it. However, against a Servant like Lancer; they may be able to defy the Geas you set on them.

If it's fast enough; it'd be pushing what little time you have, but you're odds aren't too bad. Maybe aroudn 80% likely to get off in time for a second action to stop the fireball.

No, it has access to all the spells you currently have; since you blew through all your 5th Level spells, it can't use them.

 

Are you willing to give an opinion on the Dimension Door next to him and hit him six times in the face plan and would Rider be capable of surviving the diminished blast?


On the other stuff, the double would allow us and our double to get 1 spell each off, while we could do 2 ourselves without getting it, so that's out.
I'd also have thought Geas would have thematic resonance with Lancer, but meh.

Right now my favourites are 6 hits to the face and protecting Rider with out body and a vacuum blast.

 

It'll definitely get him off-guard; but the spell's already cast and will hit unless you do something about it. I'm not commenting on Rider's chance of survival because you can't tell IC; other than it's probably not good. At all.

 

Seriously? She can tear her throat out and summon her Pegasus to charge Excalibur, but not for this thing? I mean, yeah she had a better idea of expecting Excalibur but...

Well, if you say so. I mean IC Spoony has no reason to think Rider isn't utterly fucked without action from him, but still.

Could we try overcharging the Third level Dispel Magic like we did against Herk? Or combining spells?

 

This is one of those things were IC and OOC logic clash; along with the overall hesitance all Servants have with pulling out the Noble Phantasms unless they have to. Add in Magic Resistance B and Agility B, and what Rider should do isn't necessarily what she will do.

You can; it'd take up a 4th Level spell slot though, same for combining spells. Unless they're the same spell, in which case you get what you did with Blood Fort Andromeda.

 

Fair enough, and she doesn't have Instinct/Eye of the Mind either

Yes, THAT is what I would want to do. I wasn't sure you'd let us pull it off, but if we can chain multiple Dispels and supercharge them with EX Mana, that's probably the best chance we have.

Well, my ideal strategy would be some combination of Dimension Door and Project Image that ports Tandem by Lancer while the Image fires off the spells to try and have it both ways, but I doubt it would work quite that well. We still can't know whether super Dispel would work here, it isn't an NP but it is invoking godly power.

 

Your Mana stat doesn't do anything to your spells, other than make them viable on the Servant-tier. You draw power from the Weave, or from whatever serves as it's equivalent in whatever plane you're in. Overpowering a spell is you modifying and tampering with the spell's workings on your end instead of solely drawing on more power by force of will. The sort of tinkering and modifications you've done is more akin to someone overclocking or modding a computer rather than increasing the output of a generator.

That being said; the plan seems to be along the lines of DD to Rider and Dispel Magic the fiery death, have a double do it while you bum-rush Lancer if possible. I'm also gonna point out that Dispel Magic has a cap to the boost Caster Level can give it, which is about half that of it's greater counterpart.

 

Tch, damn. I wasn't thinking of it in terms of increasing the output of a generator though, I just assumed that the spells that prana for fuel and that we had enough prana to be able to spare extra juice for the improved spell. Still, good to know.

...Huh. Well. Damn. Okay, then I guess there's a pretty good chance this won't be enough to inconvenience this attack enough.

Although if we have time to Dimension Door to Rider and still cast Dispel, why couldn't we cast Dimension Door a second time to get Rider out of the way entirely? I remember you saying the odds of us getting off a second Dimension Door being questionable, so I assumed that we only have time for one certain spell. Is this still the case?

 

It's more like you'd be casting both at the same time; the moment you'd arrive you'd thrust your your hand and then Dispel Magic happens. Whereas with DD, you'd have to grab Rider and beam out at a distance far enough to get out of the fire's range; I'm ruling that that envisioning a location far enough to do that will take longer than doing a Dispel Magic, mostly because of unfamiliarity with the area and the high stress situation you're in.

...So, if there's not much else to discuss; I'll start writing in an hour or so.

 

Can we think with portals and use DD to redirect a blast or is it less a portal and more of a teleport?

 

The latter; I compared it to Blink of WC3 fame, another example would probably be...the sorta teleport thing I hear you can do in Dishonored.

 

That doesn't sound too hard. Dimension Door somewhere high in the sky as far as we can go. I get that the blast radius is big, but it can't be terribly so without Lancer being caught in the blast radius.

Hell, say we teleport by Lancer. If one on one fight prohibits him knowingly targeting people not us, perfect. If not, maybe he'll be confused by how we're bringing what appears to be reinforcements when we should be bound not to do so and score some hits. We might even have enough time to chastise him for his actions, neatly explaining ourselves as battle banter. And hope he doesn't do it on purpose again, but I doubt he will. Not his style.

Of course, if our Image does take a hit or we just toss out an illusion of us and Rider, our scorched and battered corpses might be a good time killing measure while Lancer gloats. Make like a rogue and stab him in the back.

 

Lancer has countermeasures to handle the AoE that would normally kill him; in part the flames themself drawing power from both the gods invoked and his conviction for burninating whatever he's trying to kill. So long as his will is iron and unyielding, the flames cannot hurt him. I got the spell from a thread on SB, so one's it's not down I can post it here.

So whatever you think the blast radius is, you should assume it's bigger than that by a fair margin.

 

"So long as his will is iron and unyielding, the flames cannot hurt him."
Guys? We need a find a way to break his will.

 

Alright then, point taken. I would imagine that going as high in the sky as we can would at least go a good ways towards negating damage, but I suppose you can argue that the lack of obstacles would hinder it.

Don't want to use Teleport Boots lightly, but I imagine those would definitely get us out of range if we went high enough. And attack from above under Greater Invisibility, Celestial Armor, and our rapier could be fun. Or lead with Mislead and have him commit to a strike of our illusion while Tandem follows just behind to parry and secure a kill.

And crash into the ground at potentially high velocity, but it's not not like any blow not magical hurts a Servant. Gravity is powerless over us! Sorta.

This could go wrong in a lot of ways, especially if Lancer decides to burn everything or biiiiig area of effect to catch us even while flying. Or Gae Bolg, maybe. Be cool though.



MrGazzer, that ain't happening. He hates us. He truly hates us. We are not breaking Lancer's will to see us dead. He is a very sore loser too and will fight to his last breath to see us bleed.

Only feasible thing I see stopping him at this point is Bazett, and we don't know that relation. Just happening to drop her name and description, or worse bring Lancer near the squishy Masters, is cheating the meta a bit much. Although bitching about not having any more spells because we had to save a one armed woman/chick in a suit/et cetera might be feasible.

A Command Seal would be useful, but it's not like Shirou can see....

....

I AM A FUCKING MORON.

A COMPLETE FUCKING MORON.

Message. It's a goddamn level zero spell, a cantrip I think? We can order Shirou to use a command seal to have us save Rider and we'll get super-oomph to make it happen.

Costly, but it's an option that might work.

Or we can use it on Rider to tell her to do something.

 

...I can run with this; if nobody objects I'll have you use Message for a Command Seal boost to save Rider, that's the more productive of the two proposed plans here.

 

I certainly don't have a better plan that's not, "Use Defiance of Fate." We can theoretically use it more than Command Seals, but we don't know how it'll shake out, it's kind of cheap, and we should probably hold it in reserve in case Herk or someone else shows up. Or Lancer looks like he might actually win.

 

Question how did Lancer get EX levels of Prana from Old Reformed Priest? And enough stat boosts in 1 hour to deal with EX Levels of Speed Strength Mana and Endurance? Not to mention EX Luck? I am finding it hard to follow with that.

Unless Spoony is Cursed like that.

 

Luck isn't EX Rank, but he managed to make armor to go over his jumpsuit; and having all of them bestow a double rank-up to his parameters. Then he used runes to create a sympathetic effect between them all so that they boost each other exponentially rather than linearly. Then, he took on several geas to ensure that you're gonna die.

Basically, he's either going to kill you; or die trying. And no force on heaven or hell is going to delay him.

 

Oh wow. I mean I should have seen the geas part coming but still. Wow. Yeah, saving Bazett won't stop him from trying. Might take the edge off of his anger. Maybe he'll even feel a little bit guilty about killing us, or admit we weren't all bad. Just mostly.

Still gonna murderize our ass and won't even have the courtesy to wait for us to drop the soap.

 

You immediately spring into action; you cast Message and contact Shirou, "Command Seal. Save Rider. Powerful. Now."

Immediately you hear Shirou's voice say, "Tandem, no matter what happens or what you have to face; SAVE RIDER FROM LANCER!"

Then, power flows through you; an absolute order imposing its will and empowering you to ensure you fulfill the duty you have been tasked to uphold. Normally, you would be pissed off about being given an order like this; but since you asked for it, you're grateful for it's benefits. Immediately you cast Dimension Door and immediately teleport over to where Rider is. Then, with all your might; you thrust your rapier forward while simultaneously casting Dispel Magic. Normally, this wouldn't be enough to hold off a firestorm of this magnitude; but the Command Seal was taking effect: it was enhancing your strike with strength beyond what you currently had and your magic with power impossible for it to manifest.

It still wasn't enough to douse the flames for good, but it created a vacuum. A gap within that was a safe haven for you and Rider; a single patch of land unmarred by the flames of gods. Rider stared at you in awe; as you held off the flames with a mere spell and continuous thrust of your hand. It was something many would believe impossible, even for Heroic Spirits; much less one of your stature and legend.

But you were Tandem the Spoony; this is what you do, defying the odds and doing the impossible. Eventually, the flames abate and you can finally see more than the divine fires that surrounded you. However, any relief you might've had is short-lived; as you look to the skies and see a rain of javelins come down at you.

Your sword arm springs into action and parries the first spear heading at you, only for it to explode in lightning the moment your rapier strikes at it. This sets you stumbling off balance; but you quickly recover and continue parrying each spear, shrapnel and electricity flying all around the battlefield. Rider manages to avoid the spears as well, managing to keep balance despite the explosions they leave in their wake.

Over and over you parry and dodge; each spear shattering with enough force to blow away a lesser Servant, until you and Rider stood victorious against the assault. Lancer, who was in the air throwing all those spears; finally falls back to the ground. The moment he lands, he looks at you with a manic grin and snaps his fingers.

And like that, did all the shrapnel; the broken splinters of these spears, spring forth with renewed force and vigor. Like a sea of thorns they come at both of you; surrounding you, leaving no room to escape and as numerous as the dust in the wind. You were caged in, and even your swordsmanship, great as it was, would just barely ensure your survival.

But not Rider's.

Again, the Command activated; and you sprang into action. You constantly parried all the thorns heading at you, for if a single one passed it would kill your companion. Your strikes were as swift as the wind, parrying each and every thorn in a way to ensure that they flew into each other, doing your job for you.

But this was half of what you needed to do; and you simply couldn't move fast enough to parry the rest heading Rider's way. Even now, the chances of her successfully being able to take advantage of the opening you just made wasn't enough to fulfill the task of the Command. You had to do something to make sure she was safe.

So you did; on pure instinct and fueled by Command, you pulled Rider away and endured the thorns in her place. It was only by sheer luck that you weren't struck badly enough in any vital areas like the heart or head to kill you. You were in pain; immense, horrible pain; but you were alive. And you can still fight; that's all that mattered.

All of this occurred in a matter of seconds.

However, in the chaos of all this, a stray thorn managed to get past you and struck at Rider. She dodged, but it managed to cut her blindfold; cutting it in two. As it dropped; you saw her looking at you in shock, and you could only notice her eyes.

Grinning, and with blood coming out of your mouth, you cough out,"Heh, you know; you have beautiful eyes. You should show them more often; it's a real shame you hide them away under that blindfold."

Before she could even respond to your inopprotune compliment; the Red Spear of Barbed Death impales you in the shoulder. Thorns grow and infect the wound, rendering your right shoulder useless. The second you feel Lancer grab the spear, you twist and lash out at him with a kick, sending him flying and removing the spear from your body all at once.

You couldn't help but smirk and jeer at Lancer, "What, I even stood still for you and you still couldn't hit the right spot. Anyways, my turn."

You make yourself invisible and call forth three illusory copies of yourself and send them rushing at Lancer. As they dodge his attacks and act as realistically as possible to maintain the illusion, you cast a lesser healing spell to deal with the lingering pain of the thorns and blink right behind Lancer, right as he just dispatches the last illusion.

First, you activate the two puncturing blows your rapier allows; taking out his Achilles' tendons. Then, you follow it up with a flurry of blows; all drawing upon the icy enchantment of your blade to it's fullest effect. You don't let up, blow after blow strikes the Irish dog; shredding muscles and shattering bones. Against any other foe this would be overkill; they'd be dead by the first strike of your rapier.

But this isn't any other foe; this was Cu Chulainn, who fought against an army single-handedly and fought on even on the brink of death. No wound, no matter how fatal, would slow him down. And even as horribly maimed and frozen as he was now he could still fight back. With a mighty heave he pushes you back with one arm. He follows it up with another deathblow from his accursed spear, which you dodge.

Only to see an open arm covered in runes gathering flames right at your face. This time, you wouldn't be able to dodge fast enough; and there was no Command Seal to help you here.

As the flames gather and are about to engulf you; something rams into Lancer and sends him flying and you tumbling to the ground. It protects against what flames he had managed to send your was as well. You look up and see a pristine steed, with a flowing mane, coat whiter than snow, and wings outstretched; you behold a creature you have only rarely seen in your lifetime, and none as...mighty and noble as the one before you.

A pegasus; and a damn powerful one at that, probably on par with a dragon. As you begin to get up, the noble steed lowers its head; as if to help you, and you notice the exquisite saddle on its back. Did...did it want you to ride it? How? Why? And where did it come fro-?

Rider. This must be her Noble Phantasm, and she's giving it to you to help you win against Lancer. And given how this fight was going; you definitely needed it. You manage to hop onto the saddle and grab the reigns; once you're comfortably set and in control, you snap the reigns once and the pegasus takes off to the skies.

You direct it above Lancer, and yell at your foe, "Hey, you willing to see if you can actually throw your damn spear; or does the puppy still need his training wheels to do it for him?"

While you're still a fair distance away, you can notice that you've managed to get his attention as he swings his spear around and makes ready to lob it at you. It's beginning to glow and shake, and you can tell it's doing something different than the regular 'heart-seeking insta-kill' that it usually does.

Well, you gave a challenge; might as well answer it, "Hyah!" You snap the reigns and the pegasus rears back and neighs, before rushing in a headlong charge with all it's might to crush Lancer. Lancer in turn lets loose his spear and throws it; the red lance vibrating and shaking, as if there are multiples of it being thrown at once, all with the force to blow down armies. In a clash between steed and spear; it's unclear which would win.

Fortunately, you were a cheating bastard willing to use dirty tricks to win; so you used your Boots of Teleportation to teleport away from the spear right before it hits you, and just behind Lancer. You can just imagine the shocked look on his face as he misses yet again; oh hey, he's just turned his back and just saw what you did.

Unfortunately for the son of Lugh, it was too little too late; you ram into him and with all the force and power of a beast descended from the gods strike him down. The force of the impact was enough to shake the entire graveyard; it was as if a miniature earthquake was taking place, crypts and tombstones were shaking uncontrollably, even the church was trembling from the blow.

But now...it was over; upon your borrowed stallion, you were gazing upon the tattered and wrecked body of Cu Chulainn. Missing his entire lower torso and barely distinguishable from ground beef, he was by all means defeated.

What do you do from here?
[X] Head to Rider, return her steed
[X] Check the body, just to be safe
[X] Contact Shirou, see if he's ok
[X] Write-in

 

[X] Check the body, just to be safe

Voting for anything other than this is just asking to fight him again.