Round 4
Subject Round 4
Salix shudders at the unnatural glow, now fading, in the creature's eyes. With one creature remaining and far too many blades poised to strike to entertain the thought this will last much longer, Salix looks for an opening that will allow him to move further into the room. He will look into the are from which the creatures came, in case there is another door, or something else hiding in the far shadows.
From: Kevin
Subject Round 4
Harp feels a shiver as the bird creature hits his leg. It does not amount to much, but the feeling is disconcerting any way. Gods - to be frozen like stone - it is beyond Harp's comprehension. He must finish this now. Taking advantage of their superior numbers, Harp steps slightly to his right and attacks again (5ft step to the right for a flanking bonus from Ran, normal attack).
From: Randy
Subject Round 4
Ranthir, not wanting to let his guard down, continues to work with Harp to flank the final foe.
From: Porter
Subject Round 4
DontBitMeUchdorfsDontBitMeUchdorfsDontBitMeUchdorfsDontBitMeUchdorfsDontBitMeUchdorfs is what keeps going through Mund's mind as, terrified, he steps forward to slay this last monster.
From: Derek
Subject Round 4
Allistair is a little relieved to see that only one of those creatures is still alive, (the other's might still be moving even with thier heads cut off, who knows) and that he was able be of some help in a combat situation. With only one left now, it would be wastefull for Allistair to use any more magic on this combat, so he steps back and waits for the others to slay the last cockatrice.
Mund kind of looks like he's freaking out though, he probably doesn't have a lot of experience fighting magical creatures such as this, and magic in general seems to give him the heebie-jeebies. Well, even if the worst happens, hopefully brother Ragnar or Salix has a blessing from thier respective diety that would allow them to cure such a magical malady.
From: Ashley
Subject Round 4
Surin continues hanging back, ready to attack anything that moves his way. The space in front of him seems pretty well taken care of, from the sounds he hears. None of his friends are screaming in pain, so he figures the sounds of falling flesh must be coming from the enemy. A bit relieved not to have to be involved in the fighting, Surin keeps his ears open. It *would* just be perfect if they all got caught from behind while the proper fighters were all stuck in the next room.
From: Mark
Subject Round 4
Initiative: Kal (24), Harp (24), Surin (24), Salix (21), Birds (19), Allistair (18), Mund (16), Ragnar (8), Ranthir (4)
Kal almost shouts his frustration at his ineffectual attack. He takes a quick step forward al the while calming his emotions. He re-centers himself and attacks again (AC14, 2+10=12, miss). For a second time his rapier skids off the thick hide of the cockatrice and a shiver of fear goes through the elf as the beast turns its head and gives him a baleful stare.
Harp moves another step to his right, trying to keep the beast between him and Ranthir so that it would have to worry about attackers on all sides. His thrust finds it way true (AC14, 13+12=25, hit, damage 11) and he almost cuts off one of the wings.
Surin keeps a sharp eye out on the door that they came through; sure that something will be attacking them from behind.
Salix sees that the fight is getting a bit crowded and decides to see if there is anything else in the room that they should be worried about. Moving along the west wall he moves down to the corner of the room and turns to survey it. As far as he can see the room is empty other than the party and the birds.
The remaining bird looks at Harp with what the 1/2 orc would swear was hatred. Again it head darts out almost faster than Harp can see, but the 1/2 orc has gotten the creatures attack pattern down. Just as the head darts in he swings his shield and the beak crashes into it (AC21, 11+9=20, miss). Harp grins in satisfaction.
Out in the other room Allistair nods in satisfaction that he was able to help, but realizes that with only one creature left that his talents and skills would be wasted on just one of the creatures. He turns and keeps an eye out with Surin.
When the bird turns to attack Harp Mund moves just outside of the birds reach until he is opposite of Ragnar. Then he takes a step in. and takes advantage of the bird's distraction with the 1/2 orc. He swings with his axe again (AC14, 13+14=27, hit, damage 6) and chops off the bird's scaly tail.
Ragnar's sword flashes in the dim light and (AC14, 17+9=26, hit, damage 11) his sword passes through the beast neck and the head falls to the floor. The party stands there looking at the dead bodies and hoping that the magical beast will stay that way.
OODM: Do any RP you want I will write up what they find tomorrow probably.
Taking a break and experience points
Subject Taking a break
Now that the immediate danger is passed, Mund's hindbrain usurps total control. He drops his weapon and shield where he is and strips off his pants to get full access to the deadly bite he got from the magical monster. It looks bad. Could it be that the bite has a delayed effect?
Almost in tears, Mund shoves the wound in Salix's face and starts begging him to fix it up so that Mund won't get turned into nothin' unnatural.
From: Kevin
Subject Taking a break
Harps' chest heaves, both from the exertion of fighting the birds and from the fear that had gripped him when he had felt the slight shiver of cold try to run up his leg. The feeling that he could have been turned into stone was one he did not want to contemplate any more deeply.
Looking around, he sees that all of the other party members seem relatively unhurt. Grunting in satisfaction, Harp starts "Well, that was less fun than I thought it would be. Poison from those scorpions I can understand, but these things give me the shakes.
Let's search the room and hope we find that damn key this time."
OOC: Mark, we entered the testing grounds at morning. Approximately what time is it now? Most of these things have not taken that long - I am guessing around noon?
Guys, I think we are going to have to camp in a room eventually. Maybe clear a couple more rooms, heal up, bed down for the night.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving.
From: Karl
Subject Taking a break
Salix will just continue searching the room.
(OOC - Salix doesn't really have anything to say at this point, but he'll respond if directly spoken to, or if something interesting happens. )
From: Kevin
Subject Taking a break
OOC: Harp will sneak up behind Salix while he is walking (in full plate mail of course) and try to trip his foot and then stick out his tounge and say "nanny-nanny boo-boo".
If Mund suggests roasting these things and giving thanks for having survived so far, he and Harp may have to have another grapple.
From: Ashley
Subject Taking a break
:lol:
Surin sees people relaxing and poking around, and figures the fight is at an end. "The least you coulda done is save somethin' for me" he says genially, trying to break the tension. He lowers his axe but does not put it away, and he backs into the room to give the area one last look. He takes a look at the dead critters on the floor, and his genial attitude fades a bit. Shaking the feeling away, he find Salix's light source and searches the room for the key or, god forbid, another door.
From: Karl
Subject Taking a break
Salix, of course, will oblige. (Cure Minor Wounds). Remembering that Mund can have a quick and fierce temper, he does all he can to hide his bemusement. "That should fix you up," he says. "In my experience, if the bite were going to be a danger to you, it would have already done its worst."
(OOC - Salix has a Cure Light Wounds, too. Use whichever is sufficient to heal the wound in question. Also, I'm unclear as to what, if anything, Salix knows about cockatrices. If nothing, then you can scratch that last sentence above.)
From: Porter
Subject Taking a break
Mund thanks Salix, but isn't completely convinced. He goes around to everybody except Kal looking for a second, third, fourt, etc. opinion.
"What do you know about these monsters? Look at this -- this is where I was bit. Salix healed me, but it still doesn't look quite right, doncha think? If feels too hard. It looks kinda grey. It feels too heavy. He says it's completely healed, but I don't think it is."
All the while, he's completely unaware that he's running around without any pants on.
From: Mark
Subject Taking a break
He would have heard of them, at least in passing in the class about creatures that can kill you with a look. :) I think the CMW would be enough.
From: Karl
Subjec: Taking a break
(OOC - if anyone notices Salix taking an undue interest in Mund's al fresco attire, don't blame him. Blame his controller. ;-)
From: Mark
Subject Taking a break
Find that man a cod piece.
From: Ashley
Subject Taking a break
*literally ROFL-ing* :D
From: Josh
Subject Taking a break
OOC: I'm gone until friday. Mark can take over for me if you guys want. Kal will be conserving his magic until it's needed. (If we get up against something real big, he probably wants to cast the strength spell and then go in as a fighter.)
Kal is hardly noticed by the rest of the group once the melee ends. He cleans his sword, kneels over the fallen birds and says a quick prayer. When he rises he begins to systematically search the room for anything of interest. After he's finished with that, he'll wait for Harp to get everyone moving. If there's time he'll run a whetstone across his blade quickly.
From: Kevin
Subject Taking a break
OOC: Harp wants to know why Mund would want to wear a piece of fish instead of normal clothes?
From: Mark
Subject Taking a break
The battle over the party starts to clean up the mess and inspect the room. Salix is almost accosted by Mund asking the druid to take a look at the small wound the cockatrice had caused, the barbarian acting like his leg had been bit off. Biting back the small chuckle he felt, Salix was glad that Mund was so out of sorts, otherwise he might notice the looks and grins from the other party members and challenge them to a fight, or worse. It took him a while to find the wound itself, but Mund seem to take that as his being very careful and judicious with his inspection. In the end Salix says one of the most basic of prayers and the small bruised area disappears.
However, Mund is not so easily mollified. Moving among the party member, in particular the healers, Mund makes a little bit of a pest of himself. Some of the others are almost tempted to laugh until they realize how close several of them were to being turned to stone. Harp especially feels for the barbarian. He did not know of the healing graces that the battle god could give to his followers.
The room is quickly searched. Salix's glowing scorpion foot goes out during the search, but that just slows them down a bit. There is nothing of value in the room, however, Salix does find a single key made out of Electrum in one corner. He takes it over to Harp and says "Here, add this to your collection." A reasonably long time is spent inspecting the walls for secret doors and passage ways and hidden chambers and other things. Over an hour and a half is spent and nothing is found.
Harp calls for everyones attention. "Do we all agree that this room is now empty? If so I say we head back to the main room and enter the next room. What say you all?"
OODM: Ok any role play. I have attached a new map of the dungeon. I am going to take tomorrow and probably Friday off. The family and I and Kevin and his boy are going to Indianapolis to see the LOTR exhibit.
From: Mark
Subject Experience points
I have just updated everyones experience for the first three encounter in the testing grounds. I have already added it to your totals on Sakeriver.
Everyone got 1000xp
Map?
Subject Map
Mark you forgot the map.
The peanut gallery gets restless
Subject The next room
Salix is ready for the next room.
From: Josh
Subject The next room
Kal's ready.
OOC: Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone.
From: Randy
Subject The next room
Ranthir is ready too.
OOC: Randy is jealous that you guys get a 4 day weekend. The only time we get one of those up here is at Christmas. But then, Boxing Day isn't a holiday for you guys is it?
Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving Weekend.
From: Jason
Subject The next room
Ragnar's ready.
ooc: 4 day weekend? Half my classmates left town by tuesday. Its one of the weird math tricks they teach us freshman year... 4 day weekend = 5-7 days out of school.
From: Porter
Subject The next room
Mund's ready to go.
From: Ashley
Subject The next room
Surin is ready to blow this mother up. :)
From: Derek
Subject The next room
Ready here too.
From: Mark
Subject The next room
Ok guys I just got back a few hours ago from an all day trip to Indy to see the LOTR movie exhibit. We are preparing for the inlaws coming over tomorrow for a belated Thanksgiving, the first one where my wife and I are making all the food. Lunch is at noon becuase we take the kids to see Riverdance at 2.
So since everyone is ready I should be able to do a turn midmorning tomorrow.
The peanut gallery is still restless
Subject The peanut gallery gets restless
After collecting the key of the room the party makes its way back to the room with all the doors. They have now acquired 3 of the keys they need. While the rest of the party finishes catching its breath, and Mund puts his breaches back on, Surin starts to investigate the next door. First he checks for traps, not really expecting any at this point. Once that is done he listens to see if he can hear anything. He has to hush the rest of the part a couple of times but eventually he is fairly sure that there is nothing to hear on the other side. After reporting his findings to Harp, he moves off to the side, waiting to be needed again.
The party uses their standard procedure for opening doors, although with this one they are fairly sure that they will encounter a hall way. They are not disappointed. This hallway goes north into the distance. Again there is no light. The party cautiously advances down the new hallway, Harp and Ragnar in the lead by about 30 feet, with Mund, Ran and Kal supplying light for those who need it. When they have gone 140 feet they see a door on the left hand side. Harp motions the rest of the party to with in 20 feet and then signals them to stop.
The 1/2 orc then points at Surin and gestures him forward. The halfling gets the idea and joins Ragnar and Harp at the new door. First he make a thorough inspection of the door but does not see anything out of the ordinary. When he listens at the door however, he hears something this time (Listen check, DC?, 12+10=22) His ear pressed against the cold wood, the halfling tries to make sense of what he is hearing.
After a few minutes he signals to Harp that he is done listen. Harp signals the rest of the party and they return to the main room. There Surin fills them in on what he heard.
OODM: I will let Ashley report.
From: Ashley
Subject The peanut gallery gets restless
"Whatever it is that's behind those doors is definetely bigger than me, and bigger than just about everyone here save maybe Harp." Surin says as he gives a nod to their fearless leader. "Even that I ain't too sure about." Clearing his throat a bit, he continues, giving a nod toward Salix as he does so. "There's at least two of them, but I didn't hear any voices, just sounds of them moving around and the like. My guess is, considering all we've been through so far, it's not anything friendly." He stands there awkwardly for a moment, then his dagger appears again, giving his hands something to do.
"So, what's the plan?"
From: Karl
Subject The peanut gallery gets restless
"Of course we should act with caution and in our own best interests as long as the nature of the creatures is unknown," Salix responds to Surin's nod. "However, given the rashness some of us are wont to display in the heat of things, I feel I must reiterate that we should take any opportunities of parley *if* they present themselves." Salix glances briefly at Kal. Did he roll his eyes? Salix isn't sure.
"I'm not suggesting we give up any element of surprise, given what we've encountered so far. I mean, simply, if we enter the room and find ourselves faced with something sentient and aren't immediately under attack, we should consider alternatives that do not lead to unnecessary bloodshed."
He folds his arms and nods to Harp, indicating that he's said his piece. However Harp decides to proceed, Salix will support him, knowing he's at least spoken for the side of rational discourse where possible.
A plan for Room 5
Subject Room 5
Uncharacteristically, Kal doesn't respond to Salix's comment. He only gives a look to Surin and Harp.
From: Porter
Subject Room 5
"Let's go in and see what we're facing."
From: Kevin
Subject Room 5
OOC: Hi folks. Just got back from the Bengals Ravens game. Have to take care of some family business first then I will write up a turn for Harp.
Should be done by 8 pm EDT or so.
From: Kevin
Subject Room 5
Harp thinks for a bit, listening to the comments of the others. After a few minutes, he decides what to do.
"Since there is no light in this hallway, I want to keep using that to our advantage if possible. Ragnar and I will go forward, open the door, and see what we can inside of the room. Those of you with light will stay back 60 ft or so. I do not plan on entering the room, just taking a quick look inside to get an idea of what it in there.
Brother Ragnar, let's go."
With that Harp and Ragnar will head to the door.
OOC: Mark, this is just going to be a pop the door open, scan around, then close the door.
From: Ashley
Subject Room 5
which way would the door open?
A peek in room 5, Time and doors
Subject The plan for room 5
While Harp lays out his plan, Ragnar thinks to himself that anyone inside the room will probably see in the dark as well as he or Harp can. He is about to say so when Harp ends abruptly with "Brother Ragnar, let's go." Startled, he hustles to catch up and then keeps pace with the much taller half-orc. He decides to keep his doubts to himself.
From: Kevin
Subject The plan for room 5
OOC: Got a chance to read the turn, but am too busy at work to write up a good turn. I will work on it tonight.
Any comments? Harp and Ragnar will likely head back to the group to see if anyone, especially Salix, knows what these two things are and if there are any special things they have to worry about.
From: Mark
Subject Room 5
After listening to Surin's report Harp makes his decision. "Since there is no light in this hallway, I want to keep using that to our advantage if possible. Ragnar and I will go forward, open the door, and see what we can inside of the room. Those of you with light will stay back 60 ft or so. I do not plan on entering the room, just taking a quick look inside to get an idea of what it in there.
Brother Ragnar, let's go."
Ragnar, who looked about ready to say something, says nothing and follows the 1/2 orc down the hallway. The others, still in Mund's light, stay back about 65 feet. Ran, Salix and Kal are able to see the two, but Mund, Surin and Allistair are not. As the two creep down the hallway, they see the door in the dark ahead of them, just before the hallway dead-ends.
Harp puts a hand on the door latch and signals for Ragnar to get ready to look into the room. He motions "One, two, and three" and quickly pushes the door open. They both look in quickly and glance around the room. The room is long and narrow, or so it seems. It seems to go off into the darkness towards the west further than they can see. It also seems to go south from the door some. Off to the west, just at the limit of their vision the two can see a large beetle like creature. It is only a few feet high, but easily 8-9 feet across. At the sound of the door, the creature turns and starts to scuttle towards them. They quickly close the door and move back towards the party.
OODM: I will let Kevin and Jason take it from here.
I will send out a map tonight.
From: Jason
Subject The plan for room 5
Ragnar murmurs to Harp "It seemed pretty clearly aggressive to me. Do you think we could lure it out into the main room where our entire party could surround it like we did the ogre?"
ooc:And by "we", I mean anyone other than the dwarf wearing full plate armor.
From: Porter
Subject The plan for room 5
"From the description, it sounds like they are too big to come through the door, which could be a big thing."
"Depending on how far away, one or two people could harass them with arrows until they come too close. Then we could come back here into the room and we can kill them at our leisure, as long as they stay close to the doorway."
From: Mark
Subject The plan for room 5
Mund is correct. Unless the things show some ability to squeeze, there is no way they are getting through the door.
From: Jason
Subject The plan for room 5
ooc: Is this door about 8' wide like the others have been? If so...
ic: "They were big enough all right, but I suspect they'll be able to come through the door if we give them enough time. On the other hand, that might be the right idea anyhow; if we put one or two people in the doorway, I doubt that the thing could get through the doorway with them hacking at it, and it would probably be severely impeded in its efforts to attack them. And if they back away, you shoot them full of arrows."
From: Porter
Subject The plan for room 5
OOC: Have any of the other doors been this big? That's a freaking huge door. I've imagined them as more like 3-4 feet wide.
From: Derek
Subject The plan for room 5
Allistair has been keeping quiet while the warriors check the next room and then come back to report about the giant beetle. As discussion of tactics turns to harrying it from a distance, Allistair speaks up.
"I have some magic that could be beneficial. If you want to just hurt it from a distance because it cannot go through the door, I could easy throw a fireball or two at it. I don't know how well that thick carapace might protect it from such an explosion, but it would probably be faster than shooting arrows at it for a few hours."
From: Porter
Subject The plan for room 5
I stand corrected.
From: Porter
Subject Time
"You know, this brings up a question that has been bothering me for a while. How long do we have to complete our quest? Just until our food runs out?"
"We have been really careful so far with our resources, as though we were behind enemy lines and had to be ready to fight at a moment's notice."
"Of course, to do this, we have to put ourselves at risk. We are going into battle without our full strength."
"Is there any reason to do this? Is there any reason why we shouldn't rest up after each battle and hit everything we fight with our full strength?"
From: Mark
Subject Doors
All of the doors are very large, compared to a house, but are "normal" sized for a dungeon, 8-9 feet wide, heavy oaken doors with steel bindings and hinges.
From: Jason
Subject Time and doors
OOC: Have any of the other doors been this big? That's a freaking huge door. I've imagined them as more like 3-4 feet wide.
Yeah, it is a freaking huge door. But when I sent out the first map of the main room with all the doors, Mark corrected my drawing saying that the doors were 8 feet wide. Pretty imposing stuff.
IC: "I've wondered the same thing. From what I understand of magical portals, it is entirely possible that time is not passing for us at the same rate it does for the rest of the world. However, I feel that the most logical answer is that we should probably leave before the week is up. If the portal moves while we are in here, the best case scenario is that we leave the testing grounds completely lost, much farther from home than when we started. We entered the portal on the morning of the fifth day after the portal was found, which means I suggest that we should leave by the end of the day after tomorrow."
ooc: Speaking of which... on 10/5/05 Mark sent around an email saying it was the third day. We entered the portal the next morning. However I believe that was incorrect; 9/27/05 said that the portal was found on the evening of the third day, and then we spent the next day getting to the top / resting up. I could be mistaken.
The other question is, does anyone have any method of telling how much time is passing?
From: Mark
subject: Time
I will have to check the time line, but the party did show up a day early at the site.
That assumes you can leave the way you came. (evil grin)
From: Kevin
Subject The plan for room 5
OOC: Ok, from what I have been able to glean from the earlier discussions, on initial viewing, this thing (or things) seem like they would have a tough time squeezing through the door. They would probably make it, but it would be like Harp trying to fit through a trap door - it will take some time. Unless there is magic involved, in which case we are SOL.
IC: Harp and Ragnar return to where the group is. They both describe what they have seen, trying to best describe the creatures, hoping Salix would be able to help identify it and what type of a threat it may be. "Salix, this thing was huge - almost 10 feet across and as tall as Surin here. And the mouth on that thing looked like it could do some real damage. It looked like some type of large bug - sort of like the scorpions looked like large crawdad, as Mund said. What can we expect of this thing, and do you have any suggestions on how to best fight it. And remember, Surin thought he heard at least 2 of these things in there."
OOC: I am not sure what type of discussion has been going on within the group about how long we should take to complete this. Obviously, it has turned out that we will not complete this in one day. My impression from the start is that while we will not want to dally, we will have some time to complete. I think if we can complete this room, then rest to re-spell and regroup, we will be OK. I expect these challenges to get harder and the designer of the place will have taken that into account (I hope).
From: Jason
Subject The plan for room 5
ooc: Ragnar still has all his higher level spells, and I think the same holds for Allistair and Salix as well. We ought to be able to finish a few more doors. If there are 11 keys plus whatever happens at the end, we'll want to plan accordingly, keeping in mind the first few are probably easier so our first day we'll want to get at least half done.
From: Mark
Subject Map
Here is the updated map.
Room 5 plan, time and potions
Subject Keeping on
OOC:
Porter says we we ought to keep going until we need to stop because we don't have any offensive magic left and we can't heal everybody from the last encounter.
From: Josh
Subject Keeping on
OOC: Kal's still at 100%. I've been conserving magic. How's everyone else looking HP/Magic wise?
From: Kevin
Subject Keeping on
OOC: Harp has taken some hp damage, but has not used his spells yet. That may change with these things if he decides a Bulls Strength may be useful.
I would like to see if anyone has any ideas of how to beat these critters with minimal exposure.
From: Jason
Subject Keeping on
I like the idea of having Harp and Ragnar or Harp and Mund stand in front of the door and having Mund, Salix, and anyone else who can shoot arrows at them, and possibly Kal & Allistair casting at them.. Then hopefully we can fight them one at a time in a position they can't move very well.
From: Karl
Subject Keeping on
Salix has used CMW and Light. He's still got all his more powerful spells, including Call Lightening, and Flame Sphere. Also, he has the ability to trade any 1-3rd lvl spells for the equivalent "Summon Nature's Ally" spell. (allowing him up to 4 1st lvl, 3 2nd lvl, 2 3rd lvl SNA spells, none of which have been used yet.)
From: Kevin
Subject Room 5 plan
OOC: I like that idea to, but I am concerned at how crowed it may get. If you look at the map, the door is at the very end of a dead end hallway, on the right hand side. Granted we should be able to place 4 people there, but having one of them shoot through melee will generate some negatives. In addition, I am concerned with how much damage these things can do - I hate "giant" "large" "humongous" things - that generally turns into multiple dice of damage. And if there is more than one of them, we could run out of spells quickly.
Nonetheless, using a 4 person rotation might be worthwhile. Start with Harp and Mund in the first 2 squares, Kal and Allistair behind them, Ran and Ragnar adjacent to Harp and Mund up the hallway. Harp and Mund melee, Kal and Allistair cast spells. As Harp and Mund take damage, Kal and Allistair rotate up the hallway, Harp and Mund move to the back and Ran and Ragnar rotate in the front. Harp can cast some healing on he and Mund, Kal can move up to the side of Ran and Rangar, etc. Keep healthy people at the front, rotating those who have been injured to the back or side where they can get healed. Sort of like a volley ball team rotation.
Does that make any sense. It is too early in the morning for me to think like this.
From: Kevin
Subject Correction
Edit that. Door is on the left hand side.
Told you it was too early.
If someone has a simpler plan (not hard to do), give it up.
From: Porter
Subject Room 5 plan
Did you see my IC post earlier? Mund had an idea.
From: Porter
Subject Room 5 plan
Mund's idea was to avoid melee completely. Why don't we do that?
From: Josh
Subject Room 5 plan
OOC: Kevin: We can use our move actions to just rotate us around. We're not worried about AOO's, so we can get an assembly line of ranged attackers going around.
I suggest that the melee units stay back, and let the casters and inbetweens handle this one. If things get rough we can drop back behind you guys and regroup there.
From: Karl
Subject What are they?
(OOC: Can either of our fearless investigators provide any information to tell us exactly what these things are? Giant beetles? Do we know what kind? Are we sure there are just two of them? Sorry if I missed an email where this was made explicit.)
From: Mark
Subject What are they?
It was never made explicit exactly how many there were. Surin thought there were at least two from his listening at the door.
I will do a knowledge check for Salix when I get back from lunch to see if he can figure out what these things are from the description.
From: Kevin
Subject What are they?
OOC: Mark, how about it - a knowledge check for Harp and Ragnar, and then one for Salix after they describe the creature to him?
Following Porter's suggestion, we cycle ranged attackers (both natural and magical) along the back side of the hallway through the open door, keeping a couple of non-ranged attackers (given their bonuses, Harp and Ragnar) close to the door in case the thing gets through. Sound like a plan to every one? Surin will probably want to stay out of the way since his ranged weapons do so little damage; maybe he can keep an eye on the hallway behind us.
Toss a torch into the room to provide us some light, or just hold it by the door?
From: Porter
Subject Room 5 plan
If we're gonna toss in a torch, le'ts make it Mund's everburning torch, since it won't go out.
Also, did anybody ever come up with a brilliant idea for how Mund can attach his torch to his shield?
Karl, can Salix cast a wood-shaping spell?
From: Karl
Subject Room 5 plan
Right now, Salix has only prepared "Warp Wood". I'm not sure that would be very useful for that purpose. Also, we don't know exactly what these things are. I'd advise against throwing in Mund's torch. If these turn out to be something acid spitting or the like, we might lose the torch entirely. Much less of an issue with a disposable torch. Maybe after next rest, Salix will prepare more than one instance of Light. Then he could just cast it on the creature itself or on just about any object to be tossed into such a room. (Yeah, that doesn't help us now).
From: Derek
Subject Room 5 plan
Also my fireball could damage the torch. Does anyone have some oil we could douse on these beetles before I fireball them for a bit of extra fire damage?
From: Mark
Subject What are they?
When the two get back to the party they describe what they saw. Most of the party has no idea what the creatures are and neither do Harp or Ragnar (Knowledge Nature, DC15, 12+0=12, Harp fail, 13+0=13, Ragnar fail). Salix listens to what the two have to say and then asks them some questions. "Did it have a large horn type thing on top in the front?" Harp nods. "What color were they?" Both Harp and Ragnar give the same response "We couldn't tell. Our vision is only black and white when there is no light." Salix thinks some more before responding.
"I think that they are giant stag beetles (DC15 KNowledge Nature, 7+9=16, success). They are simple vermin with no intelligence to speak of. However, they are fairly well armored, for beetles, and can take a fair amount of punishment before dying. They also have a vicious bite and in the open can trample people. I would not take one lightly and if there are two this would be our hardest challenge yet."
OODM: OK next?
From: Ashley
Subject Room 5 plan
I just realized Surin has a bullseye lantern, but I don't know if it has oil in it. If so, he'll either give any oil in it to Allistair as per his fireball plan (so long as Harp approves), or just light it and be able to actually see his pretty little fingers in front of him.
From: Ashley
Subject Room 5 plan
Or, you know, not do anything if the lantern turns out to be empty. :)
From: Josh
Subject Room 5 plan
OOC: Pshh. Everyone's always ready to give Kal's ideas away to someone else. ;-)
From: Porter
Subject Room 5 plan
Did nobody see Mund's suggestion?
From: Josh
Subject Room 5 plan
OOC: I got the email, but I must not have read it. I just saw it now. I agree this is the best plan of action. We harass them from a distance until they get through the door, and then fall back behind the melee units once they get through.
Kal suggets we position Mund, Harp and Ragnar in the back. He also suggests that he and the others who are able to attack from a distance come to the front. We'll hit them until the charge us, and then the weakest of us (Allistar and Surin, I believe) will be the first ones to fall back behind the Mund/Harp/Ragnar meat shield. Salix Rand, and I will be able to hold the beatles for a turn as they make that retreat. Once they're too safety, we'll fall back to the meat shield, which will close in in front of us. If there's any gaps one of us 3 semi-melee people can drop in and fill in the gap.
Sound good?
From: Mark
Subject Room 5 plan
10 foot wide hallways. Only two people across.
From: Josh
Subject Room 5 plan
OOC: My plan is assuming that these hallways can fit 2 across, is that true?
From: Porter
Subject Space
What happens if we stand closer together than that?
From: Josh
Subject; Space
That's fine. The meat shield is just staggered. Harp standing on a square, Mund standing a sqaure behind and to the right of him. Ragnar behind Mund.
If we can't move through that diagonal, just move Harp up one square.
(Mund would be a chess knight's move behind and to the right of harp, with Ragnar behind him. Once all the ranged characters are through, they can use their 5 foot step to seal up.
Or we could build the meat shield back in the main room
From: Porter
Subject Room 5 plan
Mund says that the only reason why we should go into the room at all is to lure them toward the door where we can cowardly kill them from afar.
From: Josh
Subject Room 5 plan
Yea, Kal's agreeing with that. Hopefully we'll be able to kill these things off without ever having to engage them in melee. If they do manage to break through the door however, we should have a contingency plan. (The meat shield)
From: Porter
Subject Room 5 plan
"I agree with the elf -- that does make sense."
From: Mark
Subject Room 5 plan
And hell freezes over. Quick get the druid. :)
From: Kevin
Subject Room 5 plan
OOC: So let it be written, so let it be done.
IC: Harp nods his head, surprised at the agreement between Kal and Mund.
"All right, let get lined up. Remember, we are to try and avoid hand to *mouth* combat. If this thing starts to get through the door, you guys up front start to fall back and let us in the armor slow it down until you can get reset. I have seen the mouth of this thing, and it will put a hurting on you."
From: Kevin
Subject Healing potions
OOC: How many CLW potions is Ragnar carrying? Would it make sense to give one to each member of the party before we start this? Just so no one HAS to rely on Ragnar getting to him in the middle of a combat? Remember how useful those were when we fought those yellow skinned creatures after rescuing Rochelle? Kal especially had a tough time with his guy - hit him, he heals, hit him again, he heals, hit him again, he heals.
Just a thoght.
From: Josh
Subject Healing potions
OOC: Great Idea.
From: Jason
Subject Healing potions
ooc: I noticed Porter's email. Ragnar even agreed, except that I suggested adding two people in front of the door. Despite what our DM said, I have little doubt that an 8.5 foot beetle could squeeze his way through an 8 foot doorway if people were shooting arrows at him through it. Much harder if there are people with armor in front of it however.
Ragnar is carrying 10 potions. He's certainly willing to share, but the idea would have to come from someone else because he won't bring it up.
From: Josh
Subject Room 5 plan
Well whoever came up with it first, Kal thinks it's a good idea.
From: Randy
Subject Room 5 plan
Ranthir begins to take up his position, his back to the wall opposite the door, crossbow at the ready.
OOC: I think that is the position Ranthir is meant to be in, if not, adjust accordingly.
From: Kevin
Subject Healing Potions
Harp goes over to Ragnar. "Ragnar, I know you have been carrying our healing supplies this whole trip, and I am grateful for that. I think it may be time to let each of the members carry at least one of the healing potions. As we have found from our earlier experience, they can be a great asset in the middle of a fight. I would hate to loose someone because you or I were unable to get to them in time in the middle of a fight. You and I and Salix can take care of ouselves, but Mund, Ran, and Kal may very well bear the brunt of this and would be hard pressed if they were seperated from us. Why don't you give 2 each to those three, and one each to Allistair and Surin and keep the rest as a back up."
OOC: Cool??
From: Jason
Subject Healing potions
ooc:
Well that leads me to an interesting question. Is Ragnar still carrying his backpack? He certainly would have brought it into the portal, but would wearing his backpack hinder him in combat? It seems somewhat realistic that he would have left his pack in the main room. On the other hand, he would definitely have followed the others' leads if they kept carrying their packs. Not that it will make too much difference, except in RP
From: Porter
Subject Gear
Mund's saddlebags are back in the main room, as is his original shield.
From: Kevin
Subject Healing potions
OOC: Had not really thought about it (still new to this RP stuff). The main room is only 140 ft. away, even Ragnar can make that distance in a few minutes. I think the rest of the group will wait for the healing potions to be brought up.
From: Jason
Subject Healing potions
ooc: Well I was only asking because I was about to write out a bit IC where he went back to the main room, and I realized I didn't know where he was keeping his stuff.
IC: Ragnar stares blankly at Harp for a moment, then shakes his head slightly and says "Of course, that's a good idea. I should probably have been carrying one anyway." He walks quickly to the corner where he had dropped his pack and begins to rumage through it. "Mund" he calls, "could you give me a hand?" He pulls out four of his potions and hands them to the barbarian, saying "Keep two of them for yourself, and take two to Ran if you would." He pulls out four more, then digs deeper and pulls out a scroll as well. Carefully holding the scroll and potions delicately in his armored hands, he takes the other potions and hands them out as Harp suggested, keeping the scroll for himself. "Don't be using these lightly now" he admonishes. "If you're badly wounded, I can heal you quite a bit more effectively than one of these potions. They're best used if for some reason you're cut off from Harp and myself."
ooc: Salix can only cast cure spells if he prepares them ahead of time, right? Does he generally prepare any? Just curious. Ragnar will also look for some convenient way to carry that scroll. He has a belt pouch, but that would be under his armor and pretty inconvenient probably, right? He should probably be able to wrap it around whatever sheathes his sword though, or if not he does have some thread to tie it on with.
Getting ready for room 5
Subject Getting ready
You are unable to fight any closer than that. Each person takes up a 5 foot square. Now if you were really small that might change.
From: Mark
Subject Getting ready
There is no discussion about backpack hindering people in combat, as long as the weight does not go over the max the person can carry. In fact getting into and things out of a back pack while in combat are mentioned.
So you can leave your back pack back in the main room. Since the party is not in combat it does not matter. Ragnar, if he wants to run, can move 80 feet in a 6 second time period, so he can be back to the main room in 2 seconds, spend 6 seconds grabbing the back pack and another 12 seconds running back to the party.
From: Karl
Subject What are they?
Did Salix ever get his knowledge check about what, exactly, these things are? I didn't see an email.
From: Mark
Subject What are they?
Yes Here is what I wrote. It is up in the Nov 29 archives.
When the two get back to the party they describe what they saw. Most of the party has no idea what the creatures are and neither do Harp or Ragnar (Knowledge Nature, DC15, 12+0=12, Harp fail, 13+0=13, Ragnar fail). Salix listens to what the two have to say and then asks them some questions. "Did it have a large horn type thing on top in the front?" Harp nods. "What color were they?" Both Harp and Ragnar give the same response "We couldn't tell. Our vision is only black and white when there is no light." Salix thinks some more before responding.
"I think that they are giant stag beetles (DC15 KNowledge Nature, 7+9=16, success). They are simple vermin with no intelligence to speak of. However, they are fairly well armored, for beetles, and can take a fair amount of punishment before dying. They also have a vicious bite and in the open can trample people. I would not take one lightly and if there are two this would be our hardest challenge yet."
From: Mark
Subject Turn
Ok I will try and get a turn out at lunch today.
I just want to be clear. Harp and Ragnar will be on either side of the door incase the thing(s) get through the door. Mund and Ran will stand back 10 feet from the door, on the opposite wall, and shoot bolts and arrows at the creatures. Allistair will shot magic missles at them and maybe, if it works out, a fireball. Kal will be ready to trade places in the retreat up the hallway if needed. Surin is keeping an eye out for anything maybe trying to sneak up on them. Salix is the reserve.
Is this off any?
From: Kevin
Subject Getting ready
OOC: If my understanding is we have 4 squares to work with in front of the door, *I* would prefer that Ran and Mund stand in the 2 closer to the door, and have Allistair and Salix behind them. Allistair and Salix can cast spells over/through/around/ the guys up front. If we can put Ragnar and Harp on either side great. Kal can be waiting just to the side to help out either the fighter types or the magic types, depending on what happens.
Do those controlling the characters agree? If you envision something else, nows the time to speak up.
From: Porter
Subject Getting ready
I really don't know what you're saying. Are you abandoning the idea of avoiding melee at all?
A map with the plan would help.
From: Mark
Subject Map
Ok I have attached an Excel file with a detail of the door. I hope it comes out. Place yourselves where you want to be.
From: Randy
Subject Getting ready
OOC: Based on this map, we only have one square in front of the door but in the excel file you sent it looks like we have two. So is the hallway 10 or 20 feet across?
If 10, then Ran will want his back against the wall, directly opposite the door, otherwise he will go along with Harps suggestion and position himself on one knee in front of the spellcasters.
From: Mark
Subject Getting ready
Since this is a combat map squares are 5 feet across. The usual full dungeon map is 10 feet/square.
Remember all of this was designed back in 1st edition. I did not have the 5 foot stuff to worry about then. :)
From: Kevin
Subject Getting ready
OOC: My thought was to have Ran and Mund in A1 and A2 - supposedly the creature cannot easily fit thorugh the door, so these two should be able to fire at almost point blank range. Salix and Allistair in B1 and B2, throwing spells over/around/through the guys in A1/A2. The question is will the creature be able to hit the guys in A1/A2. I was going to have Harp and Ragnar is A3/A4 and Kal in B3.
Mark, if the creature can hit A1 and A2, then I agree with Porter on having Mund and Ran in the B squares and occaisionally moving Allistair/Kal/Salix in to throw a spell.
Sorry guys, I forgot that the creature, while not being able to get through the door, might still be able to attack those 2 spaces right by the door.
Lets see what Mark says.
From: Mark
Subject Getting ready
All creatures have a reach of some sort. For M sized creatures it is 5 feet. Most L sized creatures are a 10 foot reach, however, some L creatures, such as some large vermin such as scorpions and other insect like creatures, only have a 5 foot reach.
From: Porter
Subject Getting ready
First of all -- which direction does the door open, and which side is the hinge on?
Second -- I think that B1 and B2 still might be close enought that the creatures might be able to reach us. If we can get away with it, we can put a lone person at B4 and have him fire ate the critter.
Actually, we can have a lot more than that, having each person do a free 5-foot step before and after they fire.
Several of us can be in 5A or 5B (while we can't fight while in such close quarters, we *can* squeeze in there).
From: Ashley
Subject Getting ready
Was Surin able to light his bullseye lamp? If so he'll hold it in his off hand aimed at the doorway.
From: Mark
Subject Getting ready
Sure he can light his lamp.
From: Karl
Subject Getting ready
Salix will stand wherever Harp wants him. He will cast Call Lightening to attack the beetles.
From: Kevin
Subject Getting ready
Ok Guys, executive decision time.
IC: Harp looks at the group as the edge closer to the door. As he surveys the hallway, he realizes that there is a small gap in his plan - the folks that he was going to have stand by the door would most likely be able to get hit by the beetle, and they were trying to avoid that.
"Change of plans. Ran, you and Mund stand with your backs to the wall. Ragnar and I will stand on this side of the door in case it breaks through (OOC:Mark, A3 and A4). Fire at will. If you start to run low on ammunition, let us know and we can hand you some from our stores or we can let Allistair or Salix step up. Kal, will you take Mund's torch,and keep next to Ragnar in case we need to move in. Surin, stay with your plan to keep an eye on the hallway using your lantern."
OOC: Mark, Ran and Mund in B1 and B2, Harp and Ragnar as above ready for an AOO if one presents it self, Salix and Allistair in B3 and B4 with Kal close by, Surin 1 square away, shining his lantern down the way we came.
This OK everyone?
From: Porter
Subject Getting ready
"If those things can reach us even with our backs to the wall, do you want us to back off or press forward?"
From: Josh
Subject Getting ready
Yup.
From: Karl
Subject Getting ready
Sounds good to me.
From: Kevin
Subject Getting ready
IC: "I don't want to fight them on their terms. I would drop you bow, get your axe, and start dropping back. We have enough of us that we can swap out front line fighters while withdrawing back up the hallway. Then your brother will have a fun time using his magic on this thing"
From: Porter
Subject Getting ready
It's not possible to move before and after your turn?
Well, it doesn't really matter. So it takes longer. We still might be able to pick it off from 4B with minimal risk to us.
Bear in mind that while this would take more time IRL, and it would take more combat time, combat time is pretty inconsequential compared to everything else we've been doing. In this entire campaign, there has not been a single battle that lasted even two minutes. The vast majority have been less than one minute. Even if the combat took ten times as long, that's not going to really make a difference in game time with how long it takes us to finish this entire dungeon.
From: Jason
Subject Getting ready
Ragnar's fine with that.
From: Mark
Subject Door
Per the door, it opens to the north.
From: Randy
Subject Getting ready
Ranthir takes his position, waiting for the moment someone opens the door. He will fire as soon as the Beetles are in sight.
From: Ashley
Subject Getting ready
Great! Surin will set it against the far wall (or, if that won't work, farther down the wall at an angle) so that it will illuminate the entire doorway, hopefully facilitating sneak attacks. Hopefully. :)
From: Mark
Subject Getting ready
The doors open into the room.
You can not take two "free" 5 foot steps in one round. You can either take a standard action which does not include any movement or you can take a 5 foot step. The 5 foot step is basically a way to show the small manuevering even an involved fighter can do. However, if you do any move action you can not also take a 5 foot step.
So you can take a 5 foot step and shoot, OR shoot and take a 5 foot step, but not take a 5 foot step, shot and take another 5 foot step, all in the same round.
From: Porter
Subject Getting ready
That actually seems to be fighting them on their own terms, but whatever."
From: Ashley
Subject Getting ready
I changed my mind about holding the lantern--I'm gonna set it down on the floor at the best angle to light the doorway and immediate area without being blocked or knocked down by people. Hopefully such a place exists, even if it has to be placed at an angle a few feet away from the formation. If this works Rand might not need the torch, so people can keep their hands free.
From: Mark
Subject Turn
I will write up a turn tonight after I get home from running some errands.
From: Josh
Subject Getting ready
If it looks like the things are gonna get free (that is, we're under time pressure to kill them), Kal's gonna cast Scorching Ray at them. If we're not under time pressure, he'll just hang back and let the rest of the party handle it.
OOC: I've updated my sheet Mark. I put my BaB and my saves under "misc" modifiers. All the totals are correct.