Chapter 2a: Ruena - The Farm Path

[AleBelly]

Elsie, Sam, and Dilton

Elsie, Sam, and Dilton make their way towards the farm fields in the hopes of finding villagers in need of help and to avoid the worst of the attack.

Dilton surmises that with the fields already alight, they may avoid the invaders. He leads the way, his profession as a hunter giving him the most familiarity with the smoke-shrouded fields. With a third of a mile to cover, Dilton and Sam crouch as they make their way through the wheat fields, choking back coughs as the soot fills their mouths and nostrils. Elsie needs not crouch to gain the cover of the crops.

As they come to a clearing where the paths intersect, about halfway to their goal, they hear a young man's wailing and high pitched snickering. Through the smoke the trio sees a young villager, laying on the ground face up. He is surrounded by three small humanoids with the heads of dogs, bleeding from a light wound. One of the dogmen holds a spear inches from his neck while another stabs at him with a short sword, stopping just before inflicting a wound. They are toying with the unfortunate villager, whose identity you can't discern. The third looks about, standing guard but looking over its shoulder to enjoy the spectacle.

The PCs think they may be able to sneak past the scene and continue on their way without being detected will need to make an agility check with DC 8.

For those with bows, please roll a d6 to see how many arrows your PC has.

Actions?

[Samwell Turleton]

Samuel Root
Sam has never been known to step lightly or walk with grace through his life. He thinks a prayer that he will tread lightly past this horrifying scene as he bends to be lower than the wheat. The acrid smoke blows past and he holds his breath. He even remembers to hold his sword so that it doesn't rustle the stalks too much as he sneaks through the field.

Agility Check [1d20]=17 with a -2 modifier to a result of 15

Elsie Hornblatt
Elsie is revolted by her glimpse of the humanoids playfully piercing the young villager. She averts her eyes to it as she follows behind Sam. She always took care to be quiet around her precious mushrooms and is able to sneak carefully behind Samuel as he picks his way through the tall wheat.

Agility Check [1d20]=16 with a -1 modifier to a result of 15

[ybn1197]

Astonished by the other two leaving the young villager to be tortured, Dilton pauses a moment before realizing it is better to stay with the others than take the creatures on by himself. Creeping forward he continues to look towards the poor villager and in doing so misses seeing the dry brittle tree limp in the path before him.

[ybn1197]

[AleBelly]

Sickened by the sight of the torture, the trio attempt to sneak by the scene. Dilton, distracted by the sight, steps firmly on a dry branch partially hidden by some of the wheat. He winces as it cracks loudly. In his everyday life, this would mean his prey escaping. But the consequences here could be more severe.

Upon hearing the sharp noise, the kobold standing guard whips his head towards our adventurers. It calls to its companions in its foul native language as it readies its spear. The one with the short sword straightens up immediately, looks towards the party, and growls. The two ready fighting stances, preparing to come at the trio.

The third remains with the subdued villager.

The kobolds are between the PCs and the path towards the wagon. Actions? To those new to DCC, initiative is rolled just once (d20) at the beginning of an encounter. Feel free to include your initiative with any other roll...I'll roll in the absence of one.

[ybn1197]

Cursing his luck, Dilton takes a deep breath of air and commits himself to the task at hand. Alone or with the others, he can't bear the torture of the villager by these monstrosities.
He knocks an arrow, lets out the air he had been holding and fires at the closest kobold.

[Samwell Turleton]

Elsie Hornblatt
Elsie pauses and remains still momentarily at the sound of the branch breaking. She holds her breath and freezes in place until she realizes the creatures are aware of them in the wheat field. Aware that she must fight she raises her shovel blade, keeping it below the tops of the wheat, and creeps over to a patch of thicker growth so she can try to leap out and clobber the first kobold that approaches them.

Initiative [1d20-1]=16-1=15
Clobber with a Shovel [1d20+2]=2+2=4

[Samwell Turleton]

Samuel Root
Samuel draws his longsword and crouches in the wheat. He watches Dilton knock an arrow and fire it at the advancing kobold. Samuel waits until the creatures are in striking range and he will thrust his sword out at a kobold as it gets near.

Initiative [1d20-2]=19-2=17
Longsword Attack [1d20-1]=4-1=3

[AleBelly]

Cursing his luck, Dilton takes a deep breath of air and commits himself to the task at hand. Alone or with the others, he can't bear the torture of the villager by these monstrosities.
He knocks an arrow, lets out the air he had been holding and fires at the closest kobold.

One of the DCC rule quirks is that initiative for two-handed weapons is d16, not d20. We'll keep this roll since it came in at 16 or under, just something to keep in mind.

[AleBelly]

Kobold initiatives [1d20+1]=9+1=10, [1d20+1]=20+1=21, [1d20+1]=10+1=11

There was an error in rolling for Elsie's damage (1d20 instead of 1d4)...she's strong, but not THAT strong. Since the roll fell within the normal 1d4 range, we'll keep that for this round.

Two of the kobolds rush the party. The first attacks Sam with his short sword...

Kobold attacks Sam [1d20-1]=10-1=9 damage [1d6-1]=4-1=3

but the mercenary has enough combat experience to just dodge the attack! He spins and attacks the other advancing kobold, cutting it deeply into its side. It staggers, whining in pain, and collapses in a lifeless heap.

Elsie sees on opening on the kobold that attacked Sam, and whacks it - HARD - on the back of its head with her shovel, producing a low clang. The enemy is dead before it hits the ground.

Dilton fumbles a bit with his bow, and aims it towards the last kobold. It snarls as it plunges its spear point into the neck of the hapless villager, killing him, just as Dilton's arrow pierces the humanoid's heart.

The battle is nearly over before it began. Distant screams and crackling of thatched roofs and crops can be heard, but the immediate danger is over.

Nice work! In each case, the attack did the exact amount of damage the kobold had.

Actions?

[AleBelly]

So it turns out I'm an idiot. I misread Samwell's posts...his PCs should have missed and not hit. In general, if I make an error in the PCs' favor (as long as it's not TOO egregious), I'll let it stand and walk back major error that disfavor PCs. So, I'll keep the outcome as it is. Thanks Samwell for letting me know I screwed up.

[ybn1197]

Dilton lets out a sorrowful sigh. It was his fault they were discovered and regardless of what they ultimately accomplished, the villager wasn't saved. He said a quick prayer for the villager and all the others whose lives were cut short by this brutal invasion. Knowing that time is of the essence and they were losing time staying here, he presses on towards the path to leave the village behind.

[Samwell Turleton]

Elsie Hornblatt
Elsie goes to the villager and pulls a couple of coppers from a pouch at her waste. She closes his eyes and places the coppers on his eyelids. May you find safe passage , she says quietly. She then looks around the kobold and villager for anything that could help with their survival.

Sam Root
Sam looks around for any other signs of danger and if sensing none will yell over the Elsie, hurry along, we might not have much time here.

[AleBelly]

Dilton feels a wave of guilt rush over him as he prays over the dead villager. He then makes for the wagon.

Elsie stops to place a couple coins over the eyes of the unfortunate lad, and wishes him safe passage to the next life. She quickly rifles through the boy's pockets and finds nothing, but upon inspecting the kobold GM rolls dice...and it's a good one! she finds a small, nicely crafted wooden box in its cracked leather pouch. She opens it quickly and finds two human figurines cut of very fine deep blue lapis lazuli. This box is almost certainly a raided family heirloom. Although a mushroom farmer by trade, Elsie's still a dwarf and recognizes the value...they are probably worth 10 gp each! Please add the figurines and deduct 2cp from Elsie's sheet.

Sam, having seen battle before, looks about for other danger. He sees none, but then hears a horn blow - then get sharply cut off, somewhere nearby. He urges them both on to follow Dilton.

The trio is awarded 2xp, and we will pause here momentarily.

[AleBelly]

I neglected to mention that the kobolds have between them a serviceable spear and two short swords. Please let me know if the PCs are taking them and put 'em on your character sheet. Thanks!

[ybn1197]

The only weapon Dilton has is the bow so he will grab one of the short swords.

[Samwell Turleton]

Elsie will take the figurines and continue along with her shovel.
Sam will continue along with his longsword.