Date: Autumn, 432 ca., Campaign Day 1
Time: 21:05
Weather: 40 degrees, rain
Location: STEADING OF THE HILL GIANT CHIEF, Barracks
Nearest Safe House: First of the First Men, 5.5 miles southeast
Magic in Effect:
Antheris:
- Call Lightning (expires in 2 turns)
- Protection from Fire (cast on treant)
The party stood at the doors outside of the Great Hall. They knew a formidable force of giants (and possibly other foes) lay within. But they also knew that they had powerful magic, skillful fighters, and trusted allies to bring to bear.
The party took a deep breath, then took a final opportunity to square away their assault tactics. They also had an opportunity to prepare themselves for combat by way of potion or spell.
[Two rulings: (1) Blue can "use" the potion of speed and (2) my read of wall of fire is that it can be in a straight line or a circle around the caster, so while still an awesome spell, it can't be used in quite the way you've suggested. http://www.knka.org/osricwiki/index.php ... ll_of_Fire -- Do you disagree CPU? ]
Antheris takes off his handy haversack and reaches in to pull out a small barrel of ale and some stoneshaped goblets and trenchers.
Without ado he pours some ale in each of two trenchers and puts them down for Blue and Oola. He doesn't pause in filling each goblet as well, setting them on top of the barrel for his companions to help themselves to.
"I've worked up quite a thirst so far, please join me if you will. I wager there's a chance this may be our last opportunity."
"If ya prefer wine, I believe I've some of that too," he says as he fishes a corked bottle out of his very handy haversack.
"The lightning will call the Weirwoods, and I may be able to immobilize one of whatever is in there for a good while. "If things end up going badly for us, I've a potion of speed that I can get to one of our fighters." He fishes a small vial out of his haversack, "If I fall, grab it off my body," he says as he tucks the vial into the left side of his broad belt.
"Now, all that bein' said, I expect each of ya back here afterwards to finish off this barrel with me."
Antheris grins, polishes off his goblet of ale, puts the stoneshaped vessel back on top of the barrel, and rubs Blue's shoulders with one of his ham sized hands.
Ethan downs an ale, says a little prayer, and readies his sword. "Courage, everyone. They are big, but they bleed just as we do. Target the leaders, and don't be careless. Some of us need to get back with what we've found."
Ethan limbers up, hops from toe to toe, and prepares to open the door...
Vorsyin takes the offered drink as well. I will unleash fire into the room once the doors are opened. Fire is the heart of Valryia, it will be interesting to bring it here to the cold north.
He looks towards Gaerys, When we get a chance, with your permission, I should like to take a look at your sword. I have some ability at enchanting weapons but the properties of your sword are unknown to me.
He downs the drink and readies himself.
I dont see a problem with how I plan on using the wall of fire, if we are in trouble I will put it up as a straight line wall to slow down anything following us. The downside of the wall is that anyone in front of me may be on the wrong side of it, I hope it doesn't come to that but if the party is going down then Vorsyin will move to save what he can.
As of now I am going to fireball into the hall as my first magical maneuver and then try not to get squished.
Everyone should be watching for any blow back from the fireball, we may have to get out of the doorway for a moment.
Kjelti Skallgrím
She accepts the drink with a silent nod to the man of the wild and sips it slowly. Her hand shakes slightly as she sets it down. She draws her sword and spreads the contents of a Silversheen over it, and she places it next to her in front of the door. Taking up one of the enormous and crude pole-arms of the giants, she stands in the front rank of the party. She looks back over her shoulder and at those standing at her side as they prepare themselves for battle. Despite herself, she notices she is grinning.
"To arms, then, my brothers: for today, we forge the stuff of legends."
Date: Autumn, 432 ca., Campaign Day 1
Time: 21:05.1
Weather: 40 degrees, thunderstorm
Location: STEADING OF THE HILL GIANT CHIEF, Great Hall
Nearest Safe House: First of the First Men, 5.5 miles southeast
Magic in Effect:
Antheris:
- Call Lightning (expires in 2 turns)
- Protection from Fire (cast on treant)
Vorsyin:
- Fireball (to go off in first segment of first round, if desired)
Wounded Party Members:
Blue: - 43/48
Ethan: - 59 / 71
Gaerys: - 42 / 56
***********************************
The madness overhanging the Steading had seeped into the Party, drowning out reason with a blood lust that infected the group and pulled them to attack the giants.
Antheris, knowing the ways of nature, wisely greeted this Mad Bloodgod with a smile and a toast of ale. The remainder of the party greeted him grimly, drinking in the ale offered by the druid just as they would drink in whatever the battle was set to serve them.
***********************************
Ser Blacktyde flung open the door of the Great Hall, marching forward shoulder-to-shoulder with Kjelti. The two bears flanked them, forming the vanguard of the party's formation. Gaerys and Luna followed close behind, ready to to move to the front if they wished. The front line pushed forward enough to give the spellcasters a line of sight necessary to unleash their powerful magicks.
Fate had brought them to this point in their journey...but the remainder of the steps would be their own.
************************************
The party could see that the room was, as expected, a massive dining hall. A firepit stood in the center, on which a variety of carcasses were cooking on spits. Three large tables stood in the north, west, and east. A number of thick support posts stood throughout the room, which was lit by the central fire and a number of torches burning around the room.
As the formation moved into position, their foes came into view.
Upon opening the door, the party came almost immediately eye-to-eye with a group of eight hairy ogres caught in the midst of a feast. Their back to the party left an opening for a quick strike if so desired.
[PARTY HAS SURPRISE ON THE OGRES AND INITIATIVE AS TO EVERYONE ELSE.]
Directly across from the table stood five hill giant partaking in the same meal as the ogres. They were not quite as oblivious as the ogres, having seen the huge doors of the Great Hall spring open in front of them. They stand and brandish a range of improvised weapons ranging from a firepoker to large carving knives. Farther east in the room, a large group of fourteen giants were having a pleasant time stoning one of their number into oblivion. But the party's entrance caught their attention, as it provided a more riveting opportunity for target practice.
Out of the corner of their eye, the party saw two giants heading southward, towards the exit (and guard post/tower). They looked back at the party, momentarily frozen in their tracks.
Beyond the bulk of the rank and file, the party's singular foes stood out.
Nosra, the object of the party's enmity, stood at the head of the table. By hill giant standards, he was not a huge being. But he was compact and powerfully built under his steel great helm and filthy plate armor. His beady eyes shown with a certain glint of cunning not seen, and his grey beard belied years of experience on the battlefield. He reached for a ballista-sized crossbow behind him. Were the party to make it out of the room, the chief's weapons and armor were noteworthy, given that hill giants did not know how to forge such things.
His cave bear, garnished with a "barding" consisting of a crude hammered bronze helmet and a drape of chainmail, curled at his feet growling at the party.
Directly to his east, sat his wife, an obese, treacherous-looking giantess with a mean smirk on her face. She was dressed in fox furs and numerous chains of gold and jewels dripped down under her chins.
One more "step" over, stood Garl, a muscled, heavily scarred specimen of a giant wielding a huge spiked club and dressed in black pieces of banded mail. He was the sub-chief, it would seem. Garl screamed a challenge at the party.
A group of three horrid looking hill-giant sized creatures sat a table just south of Nosra. Cold, black eyes started out from the fish-like face of these hideous green-skinned, web-fingered, and flabby giants. They had muscled, springy legs like massive frogs. One wore a tattered purple robes and twisting gold necklaces, while the other two wore only loincloths and brandished nasty-looking gaff hooks in each hand.
Last, the "white giant" the party had heard so much about came into view in the back of the room (from the party's perspective). Standing 18 feet tall and draped in a robe made from snow leopard furs, he looked older and as formidable as anything the party had ever seen. He parted his chalky-white lips, smiling through a mouth of yellow tusks as he picked up a huge marble club, positioning himself slyly against one of the huge support posts extending upward in the room. One hand reached into a satchel at his hip.
Map:
GreatHall Showdown.jpg (283.48 KiB) Viewed 1479 times
Key:
Single Characters
N - Nosra (chief)
Wife - Norsra's wife
CB - Cave Bear
SC - Sub-chief
Blue Spot - Cloud Giant
HG - Hill Giant
Numbers are as indicated, except that there are eight ogres
Yellow lines are the outline of the chimney/sky access overhead
I colored in some of the walls to prevent potential spoilers.
[PARTY HAS INITIATIVE! TAKE ACTION!!!]
[Spellcasters -- please provide specifics about where you position your fire.]
Last edited by Magnus on Mon Sep 09, 2013 5:39 am, edited 5 times in total.
Reason:updates
drpete wrote: Ethan Blacktyde
In a booming voice, Ethan announces "Surrender yourselves, and you will be spared!"
Gaerys can't help but chuckle at the fighter's words—although he's not sure whether his amusement comes from the bannerman's optimism in the face of steep odds or notion that any of the giants would be spared.
Kjelti Skallgrím
The uncharacteristically restrained shield-maiden resists the urge to break rank and rush into the ogres, keeping her place in front of the party's puissant arcanist with shield raised and immense pole-arm planted firmly, warding off any attackers with the all the ferocity that only a warrior of the north could muster.
Her goal is to defend the casters as they carry out their various magicks. Set giant-sized spear vs. charge.
Vorsyin, deep in casting, scans the hall for the best place to unleash the flow of fire growing within him. He mentally debates the choices before unleashing the fireball. (see image below)
He hopes the fireball will distract the white giant, cause damage to the leadership and make that entire side of the room unpassable.
Attachments
Screen Shot 2013-09-09 at 1.25.25 AM.png (605.17 KiB) Viewed 1424 times
Antheris calls a lightning bolt to strike through the chimney to encompass the group of 5 hill giants closest to the party, and signalling the Weirwoods and their trees to attack!
The assault begins with Antheris calling a great bolt of lightning from the storm above. The shock and rumble shakes the Steading to its foundation. Ceiling debris, along with a supporting beam, fall down into the room, shaken free by the force of the storm (and crap hill giant carpentry). As the bolt hits the ground, the five giants nearest to the party are blown to oblivion.
Vorisyn follows by sending a brilliant pea-sized ball of light into the room. It streaks from his fingertip and bounces against the Steading floor. The impact results in an inferno of fire and concussive force, which catches the giant leadership and two of the odd, black-eyed giants in its wake. Various dried skins and pieces of dry wood catch flame. The cooking fire also scatters, starting an assortment of small flare-ups.
Sensing the blast, Nosra grabs his pet by the scuff of the neck and uses it as a shield. The bear is left as a pile of charred bones but the giant only takes a few bruises and burns. Norsa springs quickly to his feet and takes a shot with his crossbow at Ethan, catching him solidly in the shoulder, as Nosra backs against the West wall.
[Ethan - 12 damage!]
The White-Skinned Giant, whether by experience or perception, senses the the blast and ducks away slightly burnt. The eerie smile continues as he flings a shiny granite boulder at Vor, having an angle at the caster due to his height. It short-hops the mage, knocking him down and leaving his shins bruised.
[Vor - 7 damage]
Norsa's wife is horrifically scarred by the blast and crawls to the West exit, escaping the brutal battle with her life barely intact.
Garl is also badly burnt, but his fearsome eyes lose no determination. He charges Gaerys, swinging heavily. The ranger nimbly rolls away as the club crushes part of the east wall. The ranger knows that he must end this fight quickly.
Luna completes the strike by raining down Holy Fire on the greatest perceived threat, the towering Cloud Giant, and the most unholy foes, the hideous Marsh Giants. The Cloud Giant smells the sudden rise in air temperature and tumbles away with shocking grace for a enormous being. The hook-bearing giants are not that lucky, as they are each burnt to a pile of ash. The third, wearing a robe and jewels, ducks away with barely a scratch. Backing towards the west exit, it groans in a foul, resonant tone and belches forth a thick cloud of fog, which obscures the space 20' or so in front of the west exit. [Nosra and Cloud Giant are still visible.]
The artillery having struck devastatingly at the giant forces, the warriors move in to clean up.
Gaerys and Ethan take measured steps into the room and expertly cut down an ogre each.
The bears join the assault. Oola rips into one ogre, landing a claw and bite that draws blood. Blue tears another ogre limb-from-limb.
Kjelti fiercely protects her less armored companions. This proves wise as a hail of boulders (9) rain in against the party's southern flank, coming from the large group of giants in the southwest. She blocks away two, but is caught short-side with a crushing shot to her shield arm.
[7 damage!]
Luna ducks one boulder, but the next catches him squarely in the chest. He struggles to breathe as he realizes a rib is cracked.
[Natural 20! Double Damage: -14 hp]
The final four boulders fly wildly at Oola, smashing her into bear paste. The last hit crushes the skull of the orge fighting her like a walnut.
[Oola dies in the same round as her mate. Cave Bear tragedy!]
The giant last used as target practices passes away mercifully. The two giants in the south disappear into a door in the west wall. The five giants in the large group not throwing boulders move toward the party bearing a variety of worthy or improvised arms.
The Steading shakes with a great crack – the sound of its very walls being torn away by the treants! The party knows that reinforcements will arrive, but in how long?!?
[To arrive in ??? rounds]
[Damage in this round:
L: -14
V: -7
E: -12
K: -7]
[Nosra, CJ, SC, 14 hill giants, 4 ogres still visible.]
Antheris the Druid (hp 37/37) and Blue the Polar Bear (43/48)
After calling down the lightning bolt, Antheris spends the rest of round one trying to blend in and not be noticed taking advantage of his cloak of elvenkind. He watches the responses of the giants, especially Nosra who has now truly risen the druid's ire by using the cave bear as a shield, and the tallest of their foes the white giant, gauging their distance from him as he retrieves some mistletoe from his pouch in preparation of summoning a swarm of insects to engulf them.
Antheris targets the insect plague on Nosra, thinking flying insect thoughts.
Summon Insects: duration 7 rounds, saving throw none. When the druid completes the intonations and gestures of this spell, a swarm of insects appears from nearby or from the thin air to attack the druid’s enemies. There is a 70% chance that the swarm will be composed of flying insects, 30% chance that the insects will be ants or other non-airborne biting vermin. A flying swarm can move tremendously fast, but a crawling swarm is limited to movement of 12 ft/ round. In either case, the insects automatically inflict 2 hp damage per round against their target, and the unfortunate victim will be so thickly covered as to be incapable of any action, including movement. The druid may redirect the swarm to attack another opponent, but the command will cause 1 round of confusion within the swarm as it reorients itself toward the new target.
Blue continues to tear through any ogres that are left, and if none, joins in the assault on the nearest giant remaining (sub-chief or Nosra).
Ethan grunts with the pain of the hit, and calls out. "Your hall is fallen. Surrender or be destroyed!" He then shrugs at his companions, and attempts to kill another ogre.
Vorsyin scrambles back to his feet, his lower legs throbbing in pain. "I'm glad that didn't hit me directly" he thinks right before he begins casting a Lightning Bolt. He grabs the components and begins the arcane gestures focusing his attack on the cloud giant.
