Chapter 1: At The End of All Things

[OGRE MAGE]

Folco leaps up onto the rock behind the troll and jumps as high as he can towards the monster.

He stabs his blade into the huge monsters back, using his full weight as momentum. Once there, he tries to scale the mountainous beast so he can get near its head and poke out its eyes next.

Backstab w/ Shortsword [1d20+4] = 17+4 = 21 Damage s/m [1d6] = 6 l [1d8] = 2

Dex check (18) [1d20] = 7 only if possible, of course

[hedgeknight]

Gilly sees the huge stone hammer coming for her and dives to the side as its impact shakes the ground. She rolls to her feet and rushes back in, but this time, perhaps somewhat fearful of being squashed like a bug, her attack bounces off the troll's thick hide.
Footman's Pick: [1d20] = 9 Damage: [2d4+1] = 3+1 = 4

Red doesn't have any luck either as he nips and barks at the troll, trying to keep it distracted.
Red attacks: [1d20] = 6 Damage [2d4] = 6

[rredmond]

Naruthirdor isn't sure what the greatest threat is, but he knows that the troll looks to be the biggest. "Mayhap I can get two birds with one stone," he murmurs to himself. He will move southward, further from the worgs (not wanting to be their first course), but also to allow him better range, then he will call to mind the magic words to throw his voice, trying to remember how the orc commanders sounded in battle, he will say in the same orc commander voice, and in orcish, "what are you idiots doing? Stand down, stop attacking those are friends!" He wants the voice to come from the smoke just northeast of the Orc 4 and 5 but near enough to be heard by at least the orcs and troll.

Casting Ventriloquism, if I am able.

[dmw71]

Pockets wonders where Folco is. And the troll. He's heard of wargs before, and knows that they're not to be trifled with. He hears Gilwennen yell to remain behind her, so he obliges. Pockets will remain hidden in place, behind the rock, waiting to see if the warg has spotted them, and how it will respond if it has. Just the same, he begins fishing for another adequate stone to feed into his sling, should the warg be aggressive towards the group.

[Inferno]

The Elven King's Halls, Mirkwood Forest, Rhovanion, Middle Earth
Night. March 19, Year One of the Fourth Age
Wet, rainy, cold




Cruel, wicked orcs emerge from smoke and flame. An evil, violent race only happy in the throes of chaos and war and suffering, they are right at home here. Their people had been Elves once. Taken by the Dark Powers, they were tortured and mutilated into a ruined and terrible form of life. Now they harbored a burning hatred of everyone and everything, most of all themselves.

They grin malevolently, showing sharpened teeth as they lunge forward with sword and spear, slashing and stabbing without mercy or chivalry at the backs of Gilly and Elbenarin! One insidious villain gashes the dwarf with an ugly orc blade! (-1hp)

To the west, out of sight of the company's vanguard, gigantic slavering wargs eye the young heroes and lick black lips in anticipation of the feasting to come.



They pounce, barking and biting Tinuwen and Gilwennen with fangs like hungry knives! (-5hp, -7hp respectively!) Both maidens almost fall! Grievously wounded, Gilwennen misses with her elf spear and Tinuwen joins Therone in loosing more arrows, smiting the larger of the two enormous curs (W1) dead!

To the east, the vast troll brings his immense stone hammer down upon Elbenwin who dodges just in time to avoid certain death! Another deep crashing boom sets the earth to tremble! The troll roars in frustration and then its inhuman bellow suddenly turns to one of pain and hate!



Folco the hobbit had quietly scampered atop a boulder behind the troll and stabbed the center of its broad back with his shortsword, driving the little blade in to the hilt! The colossal monster staggers a step.

The choking smoke burns the other heroes' eyes and scorches their lungs. No other on the eastern front can land a blow in the infernal environs of fume and flame!

Then Naruthirdor the elf murmurs to himself and suddenly, from out of the swirling black clouds just behind Folco comes disdainful cursing in the degenerate tongue of Orcs! "What are you idiots doing?! Stand down! Stop attacking! Those are friends!"

It's unclear whether the troll heard the words over the sound of its own murderous roars, but the two craven orcs look in the direction of the snarling commands and hesitate for just a moment...


Actions?!


Map:

One square = 10 feet.
Circle of light on the right marks 30' visibility in the smoke.
PCs on the west (left) half of the map cannot see PCs on the east (right) half of the map, and vice versa.


Non-required Reading (rolls and rulings):

Initiative: Good: [1d6] = 3, Evil: [1d6] = 4 Evil wins initiative.
W1, W2 charge Tinuwen and Gilwennen: [1d20+2] = 18+2 = 20, [1d20+2] = 15+2 = 17, damage: [2d4] = 5, [2d4] = 7 Both wargs hit, for 5 and 7 damage respectively.
Troll attacks Elbenwin: [1d20] = 2, damage: [1d10] = 10 Troll misses.
O4, O5 charge Gilly and Elbenarin: [1d20+2] = 12+2 = 14, [1d20+2] = 9+2 = 11, damage: [1d8] = 1, [1d6] = 6 Gilly is hit from behind for 1 damage.
Because W1 closed this round, the elven archers aren't firing missiles into a melee. But next round they would be.

PC Status:

• Elbenarin: Male Dunedain Ranger 2: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 30/30, played by ravenn4544
  Elbenwin: Male Dunedain Ranger 2: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 30/30, played by wolfpack
  Folco Boffin: Male Hobbit Thief 3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 21/21, played by Ogre Mage
  Gilda 'Gilly' Ironfoot: Female Dwarf Fighter 2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 27/28, played by hedgeknight
  Glasik Ironfoot: Male Dwarf Fighter 2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 24/24, played by Scott308
  Gilwennen: Female Elven Fighter/Magic-User 1/1: Move: 9", AC: -1, HP: 1/8, Spells: 1/1 1st lvl, played by ChubbyPixie
  Naruthirdor Nowe: Male Elven Magic-User 2: Move: 12", AC: 10, HP: 8/8, Spells: 2/4 1st lvl, played by rredmond
  Perrin 'Pockets' Hilltopple: Male Hobbit Fighter/Thief 1/2: Move: 9", AC: 8, HP: 14/14, played by dmw71
  Therone: Female Elven Fighter 2: Move: 9", AC: -1, HP: 22/22, played by Urson
  Tinuwen: Female Elven Fighter/Magic-User 1/1: Move: 9", AC: -1, HP: 2/7, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, played SocraticLawyer

PC Magic:

• Ventriloquism (Naruthirdor): Duration: 3 rounds.

Player Resources:

• In Darkness and In Doubt (the story so far)
  Before The Fall (realms and maps of Middle Earth)
  The Fear and The Shadow (the story so far in images)
  History Became Legend. Legend Became Myth (clues and player notes)

[Scott308]

Glasik Ironfoot

Knowing the troll represents the biggest threat, Glasik chooses to ignore the orc for the moment. Concentrating on the troll, he tries to get its attention as he swings his axe. Hey, ugly! Pick on me, you big lump of horse manure!

Battle Axe (17): [1d20] = 13; Damage: [1d8+4] = 2+4 = 6

[SocraticLawyer]

Tinuwen
Not wanting to risk friendly fire, Tinuwen stows her bow and draws her longsword, attacking the remaining warg.

Attack with longsword [1d20+1] = 11+1 = 12

Reeling from her wounds, the elf maiden swings wide.

[wolfpack]

Elbenwin continues to attack the troll

We take the troll down and we can make quick work of the rest

[1d20] = 5

[Urson]

Therone
Therone mutters something impolite, and moves forward to engage the warg hand-to-hand.

[1d20] = 19+4
[1d6] = 1

[OGRE MAGE]

Folco continues his attack from behind the huge beast.

Attack w/ Shortsword [1d20] = 10 Damage s/m [1d6] = 5 L [1d8] = 7

[hedgeknight]

Feeling the blade bite her flesh makes Gilly angry.
"Fragging back-stabbing pigs!" she growls, wheeling around, bringing her pick with her in an attempt to crush her newest foe.

Footman's Pick: [1d20] = 13 Damage: [2d4+1] = 4+1 = 5

[ravenn4544]

Elbenarin attempts to strike the troll...

Long Sword Attack [1d20] = 12 (THACO=19)
Long Sword Damage = S/M: [1d8] = 6 / L: [1d12] = 3

[rredmond]

Naruthirdor moves north to stay away from the melee, but takes out one of his daggers because it's need is inevitable. He will try the throwing his voice ruse again, hoping to ensnare at least the troll (likely the least intelligent), "I need all warriors here! We have the elf king and queen surrounded!" Having the "orc commander" voice coming from around the same area.

[Urson]

Therone Re-rolled

[1d8] = 7

[dmw71]

Pockets eyes widen as he witnessed the worgs pounce and sink their fangs into Tinuwen and Gilwennen. He brandishes Point, the name he gave his trusted short sword, and springs out from behind the rock he had been hiding behind.

Just as he had been instructed, and practiced more times than he can count on the straw training dummy, he forces the sharp end of his sword through the fur of the beast and drives it deep into its flesh.


Rolls
Short Sword (SM|L): [1d20] = 20, [1d6+1] = 3+1 = 4|[1d8+1] = 5+1 = 6 -- natural 20!

[Inferno]

The Elven King's Halls, Mirkwood Forest, Rhovanion, Middle Earth
Night. March 19, Year One of the Fourth Age
Wet, rainy, cold




As the burning trees rage overhead, evil wargs sow chaos among the company's rear flank with fang and with claw!

Elf sisters Gilwennen and Tinuwen falter before the savage onslaught and their fellow elf maiden Therone rushes to their aid! She draws her sword and catches the terrible attention of the last surviving wolf creature! It lunges over Gilwennen at Therone, trying to eat her alive!



Therone evades its deadly snapping jaws and counterstrikes with her elf sword, slashing deep into the evil beast's shoulder!

Bloodied and beaten, Gilwennen and Tinuwen cannot strike true! But suddenly, Pockets the hobbit scurries out from his hiding place and stabs the vicious warg with Point, his trusty shortsword, drawing blood and a yelp of pain! But the vile wolf monster does not fall!

To the east, at the will of Naruthirdor the elf, the hateful snarling Orc voice barks again through the roiling wall of smoke! "I need all warriors here! We have the elf king and queen surrounded!"

The voice is so real and so close to Folco, that it spoils his aim!

The depraved orcs and evil troll hesitate, confused. "W-we are under attack! Filthy elves and dwarves!" one shouts haltingly.



In that moment of uncertainty, the company seize the advantage!

The twin blades of the rangers clash against the monolithic hammer of the evil troll!

Perhaps to protect his sister, Glasik bellows a challenge and smites the troll with his dwarf ax, landing a mighty blow! The gigantic leviathan succumbs to its many wounds and falls to the ground like a felled tree! Its great stone hammer falls from its open lifeless hand.

Glasik's sister Gilly whirls upon an insidious orc (O4) and slays it with one stroke of her pick!

The last orc cries cravenly, "Help! We are under attack!" as it frantically stabs at Elbenarin's back with its orc spear! But fear ruins its aim.

To the east, a commotion of guttural orc voices starts to swell!


Actions?!


Map:

One square = 10 feet.
Circle of light on the right marks 30' visibility in the smoke.
PCs on the west (left) half of the map cannot see PCs on the east (right) half of the map, and vice versa.


Non-required Reading (rolls and rulings):

The orcs and troll are confused by Naruthirdor's spell and lose initiative, I will rule.
Initiative: Party: [1d6] = 2, Warg: [1d6] = 3 But the warg wins.
Warg 2 attacks Therone: [1d20] = 4, damage: [2d4] = 2 Misses.
Gilwennen attacks Warg 2: [1d20] = 9, damage: [1d10] = 6 Misses.
Re: Pockets' natural 20: There are no critical hits or fumbles in this game.
O5 attacks Elbenarin's back: [1d20] = 2, damage: [1d6] = 5 Misses.

PC Status:

• Elbenarin: Male Dunedain Ranger 2: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 30/30, played by ravenn4544
  Elbenwin: Male Dunedain Ranger 2: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 30/30, played by wolfpack
  Folco Boffin: Male Hobbit Thief 3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 21/21, played by Ogre Mage
  Gilda 'Gilly' Ironfoot: Female Dwarf Fighter 2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 27/28, played by hedgeknight
  Glasik Ironfoot: Male Dwarf Fighter 2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 24/24, played by Scott308
  Gilwennen: Female Elven Fighter/Magic-User 1/1: Move: 9", AC: -1, HP: 1/8, Spells: 1/1 1st lvl, played by ChubbyPixie
  Naruthirdor Nowe: Male Elven Magic-User 2: Move: 12", AC: 10, HP: 8/8, Spells: 2/4 1st lvl, played by rredmond
  Perrin 'Pockets' Hilltopple: Male Hobbit Fighter/Thief 1/2: Move: 9", AC: 8, HP: 14/14, played by dmw71
  Therone: Female Elven Fighter 2: Move: 9", AC: -1, HP: 22/22, played by Urson
  Tinuwen: Female Elven Fighter/Magic-User 1/1: Move: 9", AC: -1, HP: 2/7, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl, played SocraticLawyer

PC Magic:

• Ventriloquism (Naruthirdor): Duration: 2 rounds.

Player Resources:

• In Darkness and In Doubt (the story so far)
  Before The Fall (realms and maps of Middle Earth)
  The Fear and The Shadow (the story so far in images)
  History Became Legend. Legend Became Myth (clues and player notes)

[ravenn4544]

Elbenarin, caught unawares by the Orc at his back, looses his focus and his strike goes wide.

Long Sword Attack [1d20] = 6 (THACO=19)

[dmw71]

With only minimal effort, Pockets muscles Point from the hindquarter of the worg, then forcefully repeats his effort after the beast did not fall.

"Just. Go. Down." he says flatly, pushing the tip of his blade into the thick hide of the cur.


Rolls
Short Sword (SM|L): [1d20] = 15, [1d6+1] = 4+1 = 5|[1d8+1] = 3+1 = 4

[wolfpack]

Elbenwin whirls and attacks the last orc

[1d20] = 11
[1d8] = 3

[Scott308]

Glasik Ironfoot

Pulling his axe from the corpse of the troll, the dwarven orc-hunter zeroes in on their final adversary, hoping to put an end to it.

Battle Axe (17): [1d20] = 13; Damage: [1d8+4] = 6+4 = 10