2024/25 Stage 3 Slytherin vs Hufflepuff: Match 1

"Aw, man," Haven said, watching her spell veer off course. "I thought I had it for sure that time." She kicked the ground a little sadly. Apparently remembering her wand counted for nothing to it, it must be mad she nearly forgot. It seemed that during these duels, her wand was even more temperamental than Marcus! The pygmy puff, not the head of house. Speaking of...
Haven turned to the observers, waving to the scruffy purple ball of fluff. "Hi Marcus, I love you!" she yelled to him. She should have gotten him a little yellow bow tie to show his house pride for the duel. Next time, she told herself. Next time.

Failing one's spell was always a way to start a duel- while the plan had been set in place and executed by her teammates, Lea failed in the support as she looked to keep Ruby tripped up and preoccupied rather than able to dodge the other Hufflepuffs' spells. Instead, none of the spells found their intended target as the Fifth Year found her own legs failing her. And with two spells headed in her direction, there was little she could do. Her bit of luck took form in Ruby's split casting as she minimized the direct gust hitting her. Astrea's Impediment Jinx hit full force, finding that the tripping sensation wouldn't leave quick yet as the new spell took over the position. The injuries weren't too bad yet, but this just felt like the preparation and Lea was not excited to find out what was next in store.

While a theatrically quick duel would have impressed all involved, such efficiency did not make for a satisfying success. Their last duel at Hogwarts, as consideration waxed and waned in significance, deserved something greater than brute strength alone.

It was difficult to take a first exchange’s impressions as more than omen, especially considering the radical lack of resistance Astrea faced while breaching Hufflepuff’s defences. How close did one need to be to a staff member to call out adoringly into the crowd? Did such favouritism prevent against acknowledging Slytherin’s imminent danger? Her underclassmens’ sound judgement seemed threatened by the minute. If such a bold appeal served as an intimidation tactic, Hufflepuff’s unenviable first magical impression completely contradicted it.

Whether Astrea had been considered too dangerous of a target to immediately antagonise or too little of a payoff, no retaliatory spell would match their trifecta of punishing debilitations. Her stumbling target, hindered by a timely yet no doubt frustrating backfire, certainly could not. If vying for weakness appeared harsh when the wind-swept smoke of exchanged confringos still lingered, they had their reasons. With advantage still hung aloft, even greatness needed to counterbalance ego— ego, for nothing but greatness would follow their cultivated expertise, and counterbalancing through adaptive skill. Astrea luckily found herself in great quantities of both aspects amid a new show of duelling prowess.

Action: Doing as strategised.

Ruby dodged the Conjunctivitis Curse without much effort, and she was glad she did, because that would have been awfully unpleasant. The Blasting Curse that came her way was dodged equally as easily, although the nature of the spell meant that she was still caught by some annoying chips. The youngest Hufflepuff tried to send a Trip Jinx Ruby’s way as well, but must’ve not been paying enough attention because it ended up backfiring. It turned out to be the only thing that made Ruby’s Ventus hit her. Oh, that was just too perfect. Ruby couldn’t help but laugh, her satisfaction compounded by squarely hitting the other one of her split Ventus targets as well. Bridget and Astrea had similar success, and if Ruby’s cockiness confidence hadn’t been more than enough to begin with, it certainly was now.

Doing as strategised

Round 2

Astrea vs Lea

Reducio

Astrea Soleil Neptune spell spreads Confringo at Lea Hirsch and Lindsey Springhall
Wisdom DC: 17 + 2 [SS] = 19
Wisdom Check: [d20: 1] + 16 = > 19 → Crit. Fail
Self Damage: 150 + 10 ARC × 15 = 300

Bridget vs Lea

Reducio

Bridget Collins cast Ventus at Lea Hirsch
Wisdom DC: 11
Wisdom Check: [d20: 5] + 17 = > 11 → Success
Split Check: [d20: 20] < 19 → No split
Split Target: [d2: 1] → Haven (1: Haven, 2: Lindsey)
Auto-miss Check 1: [d20: 9] < 19 → No auto-miss
Accuracy Check 1: [d20: 16] + 17 = 33
Lea Evasion Check: [d20: 15] + 17 -5 - 2 = 25
33 > 25 → Hit
Damage: (50 + 10 ARC × 15) * .9[TP] = 180
Duration: [d3: ] split → 1 round
Effect: –4 Evasion for the duration
Auto-miss Check 2: [d20: 20] > 19 → Auto-miss

Ruby vs Lea

Reducio

Ruby Cazares casts Ventus at Lea Hirsch
Wisdom DC: 11 + 2 [LC] = 13
Wisdom Check: [d20: 16] + 17 = > 13 → Success
Auto-split Check: [d20: 4] < 19 → No auto-split
Accuracy Check: [d20: 2] + 17 =
Evasion Check: [d20: 18] + 17 - 5 - 2 = 28
19 < 28 → Miss

Haven and Lea

Reducio

Haven Bohannon cast Finite Incantatem at Lea Hirsch
Wisdom DC: 9 + 2 [LC] = 11
Wisdom Check: [d20: 14] + 11 = 25 > 11 → Success
Effect: Cancels the effects of Impedimenta

Lea vs Astrea and Ruby

Reducio

Lea Hirsch cast nebulus at Ruby Cazares
Wisdom DC: 12+ 2 [LC] = 14
Wisdom Check: [d20: 4] + 12 = 16 > 14 → Success
Duration: [d5: 1] → 2 rounds (1d5, 1-3: 2 rounds, 4-5: 3 rounds)
Effect: - The affected players receive –5 ACC and –5 EVA
- If a player aims at the player under the Nebulus effect, the attacker's ACC is lowered by 4

Lindsey vs Ruby

Reducio

Lindsey Springhall cast Nec Divinos Crepitus at Ruby Cazares
Wisdom DC: 12
Wisdom Check: [d20: 18] + 14 = > 12 → Success
Blowback Check: [d20: 19] = 19 → Blowback
Damage: (20+ 12 ARC× 8 ) * .9+[TP] = 104.4
Duration: 1 round (2+targets)
Effect: -3 WIS for duration
Accuracy Check: [d20: 15] +14 = 29
Evasion Check: [d20: 20] + 14 = 34
29 < 34 → Miss
Astrea Evasion Check: [d20: 14] + 20 = 34
29 < 34 → Miss
Bridget Auto-dodge Check: [d20: 2] < 19 → No auto-dodge
Bridget Evasion Check: [d20: 19] + 15 = 34
29 < 34 → Miss

10:30 on Saturday the 3rd, May 2025...

While the match may have started with an early favorite, Merlin could just as easily flip that favor into ire.

The Vipers took the offensive. Astrea lead the charge with a hopeful split confringo, while Bridget and Ruby looked to cover the flanks with a double dose of ventus. The Badgers meanwhile looked to right the wrongs done against them while still applying some pressure. Haven would cure Lea's bout of Impedimenta. Lea would covered those who had offended her, Astrea and Ruby, in a nice thick blanket of fog. And Lindsey would carry the burning badger torch and fire a cracker jinx at our green friends. All sound moves, with sound strategy.

The execution would not be so sound for some. Imminently upon casting, Astrea's confringo would explode point blank. She would not be alone in her self-inflicted explosive suffering though. While Lindsey would manage to actually cast the cracker jinx, one would pop much too early and catch her in one of it's mini explosions. It must have thrown her aim off, as all three snakes were able to dodge the incoming crackers with synchronized ease. Ruby would escape the fates of self-indicted injury, but it would come at the cost of dealing any damage to Lea. Bridget would be the only duelist to land an offensive hit with her ventus. In proper ventus uncontrollable fashion it would split wildly, a stream of wind veering off towards a badger before turning strait into the ground. It seemed that Bridget hadn't quite expected to be aiming a split at this moment. Her original aim was true though, and Lea would find herself caught in a full ventus this time around.

As the explosions died, the fog rolled in and Lea's movement would come back to her. Galton truly had no idea what to expect next. And that was the beauty of dueling.

Information

1. You have 96 hours from now to write your posts. A minimum word count of 50 is needed per post.
2. In the same time period, send me (Galton Lansdale) your team's actions per owl. Do not hint at your actions in your post.
3. Unless asked not to, if all actions have been submitted and posts made, I will (hopefully) be moderating before the deadline
4. If you don't post in the allotted time frame, your action is void.
5. Your Stats, Abilities, and Spells have been locked to what they are now for the duration of this duel.
6. Please owl or message me if you have any questions or concerns!
7. Best of luck, let's have some fun!

The spectator thread for this duel can be found here.
Come cheer for your House and friends!

Oh, she just loved it. Startled by the sudden explosion blowing up back at her, Lindsey hastily tried to make her escape sidewards, but blasts of crackers still caught her in. Her wrist flicked; her aim missed. As the explosions finally died out, a very disgruntled Lindsey would reappear in the ashes, rubbing her face and grumbling under her breath.

Thankfully, her teammates were achieving something. Two of the Slytherins were now wrapped in a smokescreen, courtesy of Lea, while Haven had freed her of the Impediment Jinx. Lindsey gave a thumbs-up to her teammates, wishfully tucking the fallen strand of hair behind her ears.

Credit to Prat Pass

Bridget switched her attention to Lea, caught in the joint attention of Astrea and Ruby's prior spells. As she incanted Ventus, she was accompanied by her teammates aiming in synchrony... or should have been. Ruby just missed, Lea was quick even with the magic slowing her down, but Astrea had a much more devastating hiccup. The full force of Confringo exploded directly in her face, and if Lea tripping herself was rough, it at least wasn't so painful.

Bridget's spell split, too. That had been a much nicer surprise in the moment, though she was still blindsided enough that she didn't really try to do anything with it, just aimed it generally in the direction of their opponents while focusing on the first strand. She'd tried over the years to match her teammates' skill at spreading their magic, so by now she knew her concentration was much better suited in one direction at a time.

Crackers crossed the stage to add to the explosive action--Lindsey got a milder treatment of the same in-face explosions--and Lea added a blanket of fog to the mix, though none of it came near Bridget. That was pretty typical this year; she'd escaped her last two duels mostly unscathed. It might be good for Astrea to be concealed for a bit, anyway, just long enough to regain her footing after that backfire.

Action: Doing as strategized

"See Marcus?? Look, look! I am cool, and I can cast spells, so take that! You're getting a bath tonight!" As much as she loved the scruffy little guy, sometimes he doubted her, and for once, she got the opportunity to prove herself, especially since her professors were like "no Haven, you can't take your pygmy puff to class" and "I think he has mange" and "it's a distraction to your education" and blah blah blah. But Haven had never considered herself a very accomplished witch, and typically struggled with spells unless she was put under pressure, and even then... So, it was not every day that Marcus got to see Haven finally succeeding at something (for once).

Filled with an invigorated sense of pride, Haven caught a bubble of air in her cheeks and took her battle stance again. "ALRIGHT HUFFLEPUFF WE CAN DO THIS I LOVE YOU ALL WE HAVE FRIENDSHIP ON OUR SIDE AND WELL THEY PROBABLY DO TOO BUT OUR SIDE IS YELLOWER WHICH IS PRETTY COOL SO LET'S DO THIS!"

Really, who in their right mind let Haven duel?

It was Lea that had let Haven duel- and had even encouraged it. She- had mixed opinions on the matter but her roommate had helped her out significantly so the Fifth Year couldn't be too upset about the erratic behavior. This round had gone better, her spell succeeding as the fog engulfed Astrea and Ruby while avoiding one of the spells directed her way. The other gust still hit - wind was a pain to determine its direction and keep away - but this was better. Hopefully they could keep up this trend, just one round at a time.

Perhaps Astrea had become too complacent with success in the past few years, for while her incantation and intended targeting remained as routine as ever, the formation of Confringo itself was not nearly as untroubled. It was infinitely strange to level one’s wand elsewhere and yet realise the danger of ambition right as it crested over the hill of dreadful clarity. By the time Astrea had realised the imminent danger she had put herself in, though by no apparent difference from other casts of the same spell, explosive energy had pooled too quickly and crudely at the tip of her wand. Let free from its physical bounds and without the patience of proper conjuration as its foundation, it was no small wonder that Astrea’s Confringo chose to literally blow up in her face.

She took the damage point-blank in a cacophony of noise, the purity of honed skill cast sharp with a dreadfully self-aware clarity. Astrea had never envied their solidly defeated opponents— she had her fair shares of backfires, though none so mortifying as to define her last duel at Hogwarts—, yet she could feel no greater sympathy than when her magic decided to betray her. Was she a cautionary tale or simply the subject of a cruel joke? Thrown momentarily off-kilter by the consequences of her own hubris, she felt rather than truly saw the familiar chill of a conjured smokescreen as it draped over their side of the piste, thankfully blocking Astrea from further humiliation.

Swiping a sleeve over her stinging eyes, expression severe with cold disapproval, she could but comfort herself with the knowledge that this was not the end. An obvious fact this early in the duel, but an important reminder nonetheless. One terrible setback could not guarantee long-term success, especially considering the independent successes of all other duellists upon the piste. There was still time to redeem herself, as if redemption could feasibly compete with a looming incentive of andvantage itself.

Action: Doing as strategised.