1. The hunt ends?

[mb.]

As Bedwyr charges the Alpha Gnoll, he draws a nasty looking sword from over his shoulder and grips it with both hands, ready for the attack. As Bedwyr's sword slashes across his chest, the gnoll swings high, drawing blood in a nasty gash across Bedwyr's shoulder! Take 3 damage (1 of which ignores armor, so take all 3).

Oelle: you can see Boggs crouched behind one of the gnolls threatening you, about to jab something nasty into his back, just as one of the other two gnolls grazes your ribs with his spear. Take 2 damage.

Boggs: The three Spear Gnolls on Oelle are very concentrated on him with their backs to you, so no great amount of sneakiness necessary. Please choose to either deal normal damage, or roll+DEX to use your Backstab move:

When you attack a surprised or defenseless enemy with a melee weapon, you can choose to deal your damage or roll+DEX.

✴ On a 10+ choose two.
✴ On a 7–9 choose one.

– You don’t get into melee with them
– You deal your damage+1d6
– You create an advantage, +1 forward to you or an ally acting on it
– Reduce their armor by 1 until they repair it

Dunwick: yup, roll+DEX to Defy Danger and let's see what happens...

Just as a general note on Dungeon World: everything comes out of the fiction, so more description is great! There's no sneak move since the fiction determines whether or not you can surprise an enemy, and "I swing my sword over my head down at his!" is much better than "I use hack & slash." Just describe what it is you want to do, and the moves will pop up on their own.

[jbinc]

Here goes!

[2d6+0] = 2+0 = 2

Well I was going to roll discern realities as well to keep the action going, but with a roll like that...

[mb.]

Dunwick backs up a little too rapidly. He definitely puts some distance between himself and the gnolls, but between trying to stow his lute, draw his sword, and the dangers of an unfamiliar forest, his heel connects solidly with a thick root and he tumbles backwards, falls into some bushes, and disappears from sight. The gnolls follow, but when Dunwick falls they snort and look around for other targets.

For Dunwick:

You fall not only into the bushes, but far further - down a damp, stony bank and into a creek. You're wet, about 2 meters below the forest floor where your friends are fighting, and apparently safe since the gnolls don't seem to be following you down. Take 1 damage from the fall.

What now?

[Pulpatoon]

Seeing that Bedwyr has engaged the alpha, and feeling a little over his head here, Oelle goes on the defensive, using his staff to knock aside spear heads and bop heads while trying to keep out of the way.

Defy Danger (DEX) [2d6] = 11

[mb.]

Doctor Oelle's staff desperately flashes left and right, effectively keeping the three gnoll's spears from piercing him. They become more and more frustrated, growling and yelping at the unexpected resistance...

[KingOfCowards]

Just as a general note on Dungeon World: everything comes out of the fiction, so more description is great! There's no sneak move since the fiction determines whether or not you can surprise an enemy, and "I swing my sword over my head down at his!" is much better than "I use hack & slash." Just describe what it is you want to do, and the moves will pop up on their own.

noted
Seeing the gnolls threatening the good doctor, Boggs pulls out his shortsword and sticks it into the ribs of the closest enemy.

I'll keep the same roll, just to be fair
Sneak: [2d6+2] = 7+2 = 9
I choose to add +1d6 to damage
Backstab: [1d8] = 5+[1d6] = 3

And for the dice roller, you can do two rolls together like this: [1d10]+[1d4].

Tried that just like you said, but it still came out weird. I think you may need to place them inside the same brackets. I'll try again next time.

[mb.]

Boggs rams his shortsword into the back of one of the gnolls, who yelps, looks down at the point protruding from his chest, coughs blood, and collapses at Oelle's feet.

One of his friends snarls and turns from Oelle to Boggs!

So we now have one engaged with Boggs, one on Oelle, two returning from chasing Dunwick (who has disappeared) and Bedwyr and the Alpha swinging at each other. If my notes are right, the HP situation is Dunwick: 11, Bedwyr: 16, Oelle: 14 and Boggs unhurt.

[Pulpatoon]

Now that he's one-on-one with a mini-gnoll, Oelle feels obligated to try and knock it out. He attempts to swing his staff down on the gnoll's head.

Hack and Smack [2d6-1] = 8-1 = 7
Damage: [1d4] = 1

[Spartakos]

Bedwyr dances away from the gnoll, feeling the trickle of blood down his shoulder, where the gnoll's sword bit through the links of his mail...he doesn't spare it a glance, keeping his eyes locked on the gnoll. His face wears a fierce grin.

"Not bad, dog. But not nearly good enough. If you roll over and lick my boots, I might not turn your hide into a rug."

He laughs merrily, and in mid-laugh lunges forward, blade lancing out like a wasp's sting.

Hack & Slash, precise [2d6+2] = 10+2 = 12, damage [1d10] = 6
Total damage = 7, forgot the +1 again.
Query: I've been rolling attack and damage simultaneously, to save time; when I get a 10+ and can choose to add extra damage, do I get to see what my base damage roll is before making that choice?

[mb.]

Bedwyr's slash knocks the Alpha over! As he falls he spins, lands on all fours, and begins running, trailing a great deal of blood. As he runs he lets out three loud barks, and the ears of the remaining gnolls stand straight up. He quickly disappears into the underbrush across the clearing. What's Bedwyr do?

Oelle scores a glancing blow to a gnoll's shoulder, who bark-laughs and stabs his spear at Oelle's ribs. Take 2 damage.

The two gnolls that chased Dunwick return, splitting to attack both Boggs and Oelle.

[mb.]

Query: I've been rolling attack and damage simultaneously, to save time; when I get a 10+ and can choose to add extra damage, do I get to see what my base damage roll is before making that choice?

It's generally best if you roll to hit separately – there should be at least a little risk involved in the choice you make on a 10+. On stuff like this, I'd always go back to the fiction. You're deciding to risk a less cautious attack to do more damage, and you decide that in the fiction before you actually connect, not after you connect and then you decide to do a little more damage. But for the purposes of PbP speed, I'm happy to trust you to make the attack roll, decide, then make your damage roll(s), and post it all together.

[KingOfCowards]

I feel like I am falling behind in the action. This is for the last round, before Dunwick's gnolls approaches

Boggs removes his blade from the dead gnoll, just as another turns around to face him. "What's this? You want a taste of m' blade as well?", he challenges. When the gnoll moves in closer, Boggs spins to get behind him and cuts at the back of its hamstring.

Hack and Slash: [2d6 +1] = 9+1 = 10
Damage: [1d8] = 7

[mb.]

Proving himself far more nimble than a gnoll, Boggs dances around one, slashes across the back of his thigh, and he falls to his knees, howling.

Summary
Bedwyr has given the Alpha a couple very nasty slashes, enough that he turned tail and ran off at top speed on all fours.

Everyone else is a short run away from the clearing where Bedwyr is standing...

Oelle still has two healthy spear gnolls doing their best to skewer him.
Boggs has hamstringed (but not killed) one gnoll, and another is jabbing his spear at him.
Dunwick has tripped, fallen and disappeared.

And Neff... where is Neff anyway?

[KingOfCowards]

Boggs tries to use the downed gnoll as a barrier between him and his other opponent. When he sees an opening his blade lashes out, striking the healthy gnoll in the shoulder, but this leaves him open to an attack from behind.

Hack and Slash: [2d6 +1] = 7+1 = 8
Damage: [1d8] = 7

I am thinking of leaving the hamstrung gnoll alive until the end. Bedwyr might be able to convince him talk.

[mb.]

Boggs stabs the standing gnoll as he raises his spear for a short throw, and gets him not quite in the shoulder, but rather in the heart. He falls over backwards like a chopped tree, just as the hamstrung gnoll snarls and jabs his spear into Boggs' thigh! Take 4 damage.

[jbinc]

With sword and lute in hand (and dignity nowhere to be seen, for now) Dunwick finds himself reminded why he never used to leave the city. Give me a good lamp to climb... wait, that's it!

Stowing his effects for the moment, Dunwick heaves himself up out of the stream and up the nearest tree. He's not focused on stealth - just getting into the branches so he has a good firing position. Once he's got a birds-eye view of the action, Dunwick equips his bow and trains an arrow on the nearest Gnoll, supporting the others with a few well-placed(?) arrows.

Volley: [2d6+0] = 4+0 = 4, Bow damage [d6] = err

Well, I rolled the damage wrong... but with a volley like that I doubt it matters! Mark experience and what's next?

[Pulpatoon]

Oelle, panicked, swings wildly at the gnoll he struck earlier:
Hack and Smack [2d6-1] = 8-1 = 7
Damage: [1d4] = 3

His flailing staff connects, but the Doctor has once again opened his guard to the gnoll's spear.

[mb.]

Dunwick begins his climb out of the stream and into a tree, as Oelle proves that academics aren't useless in a fight after all! His staff connects with the gnoll's snout and sends a few teeth and blobs of blood flying into the foliage!

Enraged that Oelle is proving far more of a challenge than he looked, the gnoll throws his spear carelessly aside and springs at Oelle, claws and (his remaning) teeth bared! Oelle is knocked to the ground with the gnoll on his chest! Take 1 damage, and -1 forward for the awkward position and being winded.

Dunwick's repositioning will take a moment, so I'll let you know when the demonstration of spectacular archery can begin.

[Spartakos]

Bedwyr tenses, about to charge into the brush after the gnoll, but hesitates...don't know how many more are out there...

The sounds of battle from behind him catch his attention, and with a sense of dissatisfaction, he lets the gnoll leader go. Turning back towards his comrades, he crosses the clearing in a few swift strides, raising his sword.

I'm going after the 2nd gnoll that was on Oelle, before he decides to join the dogpile.
Hack & Slash, precise [2d6+2] = 5+2 = 7, damage [1d10] = 8

[mb.]

The snarling gnoll sitting on Oelle's chest suddenly falls silent as Bedwyr's sword passes through its neck, its head bounces to the forest floor and a gout of dark blood splashes out of its neck and onto Oelle's mask.

The remaining two gnoll spearmen, seeing the rest of their pack slaughtered or fled, take a few cautious steps backwards, glance at each other, drop to all fours and break in two different directions.

At about the same time Dunwick's arrow falls out of a nearby tree, followed by a muffled curse.

What do you do?