Expedition - Blackjack/Troll Lair - 20 May 2021

[Spearmint]

Blackjack Amistad

A warrior spirit rises in Amistad. He sees the challenge of another troll and their threat. With little choice he has to act with aggression or lose the fight. Amistad leaps into action....literally.

Not sure how this is going to work but Amistad has two javelins left. He wants to grip one in each hand and using totem power leap upon his prey ( like jump spell). Attacking the troll and stabbing him by plunging the javelins into him. I set the macros as a normal attack, is it -2 main hand, -4 off hand to hit, but double damage from the charge?

Totem lion leap javelin attack [1d20+1] = 16+1 = 17 damage [1d6+1] = 4+1 = 5

Totem lion leap javelin attack off hand [1d20+1] = 7+1 = 8 damage [1d6+1] = 4+1 = 5

[Marullus]

Two-weapon fighting:

I've been thinking a lot about this; here's the decision. Two weapon fighting style is not a thing in LL Basic. The rules for it are added in LL Advanced. LL Basic is deliberately simplified - you get one set of rolls and the rest is narrative - which is the way that I'm going to keep it. What does this mean? You can fight with two weapons and describe your actions accordingly. You only roll one attack/damage roll in a round however. You can narratively describe how the damage occurs with the pair of weapons, and if you like, you can alternate which weapon is swung from one round to the next at your option.

What I will allow is that a secondary weapon capable of parrying can give a +1 bonus to your AC for one melee attack against you each round (i.e. a less effective shield, but with less carried weight than a shield). An actual shield is heavier, but gives its bonus against all melee and missile attacks in a round. This way, if you are without a shield, a dagger n the off-hand is better than nothing. (Note: Torches are not capable of parrying, but can be a primary weapon for 1d4 damage, per the book.)

So... in your case, I'm only going to count your first roll. You don't get a second javelin attack roll, but you can apply a badass description of your action. I will apply the double damage from the leap, though.

Earc yells, "Hold off the other while I burn this one!". Achaedany responds and hurls a javelin at the emerged troll, but it disappears towards the riverbank behind it. Earc dumps a copious amount of oil onto the prostrate troll, lighting it with a brand from the fire. The troll's corpse burns and shrivels amidst the oil, flooding the campsite with far more illumination than the meager-by-comparison campfire beside it. Alcide groans.

Amistad grabs his lion totem and roars, javelin in hand, leaping forward like a springing beast. His momentum carries him a full 30 feet across the clearing in a tremendous charge - he slams his javelin down through the clavicle of the troll in a ferocious blow. Suddenly face to face with the monster, the grievously wounded troll reacts with rage, raking his claw across Amistad's face even as its knees shake with effort.

(Action and initiative!)

Rolls:

Achaedany [1d20] = 10 [1d6] = 1
troll attacks [1d20] = 20 [1d20] = 2 [1d20] = 4
Troll damage [1d6x2] = 3x2 = 6

[Alethan]

Earc readies some vials of oil for the next troll, hoping Alcide can stay alive long enough for them to finish it off, or else they will all end up troll food.

[Alethan]

Initiative [1d6] = 1

Spearmint, you should try to reroll init as the party leader.

[Spearmint]

Blackjack Amistad

coming here was your idea...

Initiative Roll [1d6] = 2


Amistad grimly stands his ground and You cabbage head, I am going to chop off your head just like I did with your brother.Amistad will press down with his full weight on the javelin, twisting and turning it and then step back. I want to pin the troll to the ground for a moment so I can escape its' reach or nail him to a tree.
Achaedany, now is your chance for a troll kill, skewer him.


javelin attack [1d20+1] = 15+1 = 16 damage [1d6+1] = 6+1 = 7

[Alethan]

Blackjack Amistad

coming here was your idea...

OOC: I was basing that on the fact that it says "Blackjack/Troll Lair" in the thread title.

[Marullus]

Amistad and the troll are locked in each other's embrace - Achaedany holds back to not hit him. She loads her crossbow, watching for an opening. Earc grabs more oil as the first troll burns, ready to rush in.

Amistad clings to his javelin like he is riding a wild horse. The troll twists, catching Amistad's thigh in its teeth and crunching through the armor. (-2hp). Amistad heaves downward on the javelin which is already lodged downward through the beast's clavicle, forcing it out through the lower back just above the right hip.

The troll topples forward and Amistad rolls free. Earc rushes in with oil and firebrand, setting the beast on fire before it can rise again while Achaedany provides cover.

Rolls:

Troll initiative [1d6] = 4
Troll attack [1d20] = 9 [1d20] = 4 [1d20] = 11
Troll bite [1d10] = 2

[Alethan]

Earc Orctongue

Earc rushes over to Alcide to try and stabilize him as soon as the second troll is burning.

[Marullus]

Alcide is stable but unconscious. (Exactly zero HP). He'll wake in six hours but needs to rest tomorrow and recover.

Actions tonight? Plan for tomorrow?

[Alethan]

Earc Orctongue

After Alcide is stabilized, Earc takes one of the torches and lights it, then checks the traps to see what kind of condition they are I and make sure there aren't any other trolls lurking about.

He also looks to see where the trolls came from, hoping his idea of wiping all of the prints from the riverbank helps give him a clearer picture.

[Spearmint]

Blackjack Amistad

Achaedany can use my tomahawk and I will use the battle-axe, we need to keep chopping pieces off these troll bodies and burn them in the pyres. Amistad is wary as before the decapitated head still latched on to him with a long tongue and took a nasty chunk from him. So plenty of oil and moving the severed pieces at spear length.

Amistad will raid the sack he gave Alcide earlier. It has 6 flasks if oil in it. That should be enough to bonfire these creatures.

Any items of jewellery, rings, scrolls, we will take. How does the troll spear compare with the Bullywugs long spear?

It is just after 10.00pm, to cremate the trolls might take an hour, with Alcide down how would you feel about us making a stretcher and returning say to the ford, we are not too far away. We could bunk with the guards again and maybe get Alcide properly seen too.

[Marullus]

The prepared riverbank makes the search for tracks much simpler. They definitely emerged from the deep water and waded adore, then made straight for your campsite together.

The pit trap is intact, but the snare and spear trap are ruined. The spear the troll through was yours - it ripped it from your trap after being injured by it. The trolls carried no other adornment or equipment - their natural abilities formidable enough.

Earc already dumped three of the oil flasks on each troll and their rubbery flesh is oddly flammable. They burn brighter and hotter than the campfire and you are unable to get close enough to dismember or move them. At lease, you ruminate, they can't regenerate from THAT.

[Alethan]

Earc Orctongue

"By the gods! Let's hope it was just a... a... a family of three! And that there isn't an aged grandma troll still waiting in the lair! Or if there is that she's toothless with broken claws..."

He looks over Alcide to see if he's safe to move.

"Think he's safe to move? Are they going to let us into the outpost this late at night? Maybe we should wait until morning and then move him down there. While we're there, we can see if they have any solutions for light under water. But we don't want to give away what we're trying to do."

[Marullus]

Alcide can be moved safely.

[Spearmint]

Blackjack Amistad

Moving Alcide to the ford in the morning is fine, it's going to take time to cut a stretcher anyway and carry him out. So Amistad will secure the camp site. In the dark and rain we probably can't make new traps. Suggest we take watches and hike out at sunrise, heal up and return another day. Amistad also has some more grevious wounds.

[Alethan]

Earc Orctongue

Earc nods in agreement at Blackjack's plan. "I can take first watch. Rest up. I'll wake you if I hear anything coming our way..."

[Marullus]

The night passes without further incident; Amistad is grateful for the rest and Alcide wakes from his injury with the dawn. You tear down camp and pack up (unless you let Earc sleep long enough to recover spells, which is 10am).

Anything further here before you head to the Ford?

Day: 22 May 2021
Time: 6:00pm
Light source: Sunrise (since 4:49am)
Injuries: Alcide (Grievous) Amistad (Severe)
Temp: 54 F
Distance traveled: 0 miles today

[Alethan]

Earc Orctongue

Earc would prefer to sleep long enough to recover his cast spell from the day before.

Heading back to the ford a few hours later wouldn't make much difference, but having the extra spell could.

Before they leave camp, Earc recommends they disarm and remove evidence of the traps, scatter the troll ashes, and basically remove most of the evidence of any large troll burning/battle at this location. They should be able to find the location back with no problems at this point, but they don't want to leave a big sign saying, "Trolls were killed here" for everyone to see.

[Marullus]

You sleep in comfortably, then disguise the campsite and head back to the ford. It is a slow pace for Alcide, but he's getting along. Achaedany tries to aid him as he walks, but he eventually waggles his eyebrows one too many times. She trips him intentionally, then walks at the rear of the group, keeping watch with her crossbow. It is only about two hours walk and you are back at the ford, lunchtime activity bustling amidst a the occasional light sprinkles of mid-day rain.

Captain Uthred greets you and does offer you beds to rest for the night, setting the four of you up in a wooden outbuilding. Fastred Frogmorton, the youngest lad as he is just out of his teenage years, keeps gawking from a distance. In fact, from the way everyone is acting, it seems likely that they somehow know about what you've done, even as it goes unmentioned.

That is, until breakfast. Mother Frogmorton brings you cream of wheat with an over-easy fried egg on top of each bowl. Then she also hands you a small sack with six linen-wrapped bundles in it. "I know you're resting... those are Blue tormentil poultices, though. Don't have many, but we're grateful for safer waters." She nods her head awkwardly and departs.

With a good breakfast and a relaxed morning staying dry inside while a major storm pours outside the windows, you're starting to feel about better, ready to consider next steps by lunch. The rain tapers back off to a drizzle but the windstorm makes going outside tretcherous, and looks to stay that way for the afternoon.

Day of rest: Alcide [1d3] = 2 Amistad [1d3] = 3

Day: 23 May 2021
Time: Noon
Light source: Sun
Injuries: Alcide (Severe) Amistad (Severe)
Temp: 54 F
Weather: Light drizzle, winds 35-42mph SW
Distance traveled: 0 miles today

[Spearmint]

Blackjack Amistad

Amistad will thank Captain Uthred for the cabin and thank Mrs Frogmorton again for the hospitality. "Thank you Mrs Frogmorton. So nice to see the kids playing with their new 'toys'. The pastries were delicious too.

A couple of times now the narrative gives a sense of 'them knowing' our activities. Amistad will ask how they keep surveillance over the area and how far they go. Are folk scrying an area through an item, telescope, crystal ball or just guessing from the troll claw and bite marks?


Underwater lighting...only thing that comes to mind is magnesium. Magnesium rods ( used in welding underwater). The morlock chains were exceptionally light and strong, magnesium is also that and silver grey in colour. Can Captain Uthred thread let us examine these chains, he has one set. It is the only thing I know that burns underwater. If we cannot get some gems augmented with light spells.

Maybe Earc you could study the chains a day while Alcide recovers, see if we can get any shavings to burn, manufacture some way of getting the powder to stick like on firebrand torch. Is it magnetic?

I don't want Achaedany to get bored and she looks the type, maybe if you Earc wants to study we could explore a hex to the south and downstream for a day.

if we stay longer at the ford, Ami will deduct gp to cover hospitality