Ch. 1: Rescue Penelope Primrose!

[Rusty Tincanne]

Twiddle uses a dagger to check the gold door to see if it really is gold. When the others look at him (as if he's not being useful,) he smiles and winks. No treasure left behind.

[Zhym]

Any other actions, or is everyone waiting to see what Twiddle, Geoff, and Finn (sounds like the name of a law firm) find?

[Zhym]

Twiddle uses a dagger to check the gold door to see if it is really gold. It's hard for him to tell whether whatever coats the door is really gold, but it doesn't take much scratching to show that whatever it is, it's just a thin coating over iron. Still sturdy, but not nearly as valuable.

Finn and Geoff enter the hallway. Finn searches the hallway for secret stuff. Geoff inspects the granite floor, looking for traps.

Neither of them think to look at the ceiling.

When they are midway down the hall, Finn and Geoff are surprised by two large spiders falling on them from above. The spiders are 5' long and have the same coloration as the granite (they blend in so well that Finn and Geoff probably wouldn't have noticed the spiders even if they had looked up). The spiders' powerful jaws bite through the leather of Geoff's armor and even Finn's chain (Geoff: -5 HP; Finn: -6 HP). The heroes fall dead from shock and blood loss. The spiders stand over the bodies, ready to protect their meals from the rest of the party.

Sorry, Rex and Starbeard! You're both welcome to roll up new PCs, of course.

-----
Status: Finn (½1): DEAD/5; Grond (F1): 7/7; Twiddle (½1): 4/4; Molly (½1): 3/3; Cy (C1): 2/5; Geoff (T1): DEAD/4; Iliro (E1): 6/6; Dax (D1): 9/9
Effects: Cy, Iliro weakened (STR:9 each)
Light Sources: Lantern (Finn, carried by Twiddle): 12 turns, Lantern (Molly): 16 turns

[Starbeard]

"Well I'll be damned. Clever g—" Geoff doesn't have time to finish his sentence.

[GreyWolfVT]

Dax "Damn. Always hated spiders."

[Rusty Tincanne]

Ack! shouts Twiddle. He draws his bow and looses a crappy shot. At least he didn't hit a halfling.

Short Bow (THAC0 19): [1d20+1] = 6+1 = 7, dmg [1d6] = 4

[The_Wanderer]

Cy

Cy grunts as another pair of adventurers goes down. Hope this lass is worth it!, he thinks. His hands fumble a bit as he pulls out a sling and fires at the spider massacring Finn.

Sling (THAC0 19): [1d20] = 16 [1d4] = 2 Init: [1d6] = 5

[VonAlric]

Since Iliro was towards the far side of the room, he moves close enough to see the spiders, readies his sling and throws over the head of the shorter members.

Sling (THAC0:19): [1d20] = 19 [1d4] = 4 Init: [1d6] = 4

[Captain Kinkajou]

Molly

I'm not sure if Molly can get in a position to fire her bow at the spiders, as she was back from the door talking with Bingo. If she can do so, she will. Here's my roll:

Short bow: [1d20+1] = 12+1 = 13 to hit, damage: [1d6] = 6

[Zhym]

The spiders guard their kills—who moments ago had been your friends—while watching you warily. Twiddle, Cy, Iliro, and Molly all crowd the door and fire their slings and arrows at the spiders. Two sling stones and an arrow strike the larger of the spiders, wounding it heavily. It jerks and staggers, but lives—barely.

The reaction to your attack is swift. Crab-like legs skitter forward on the polished marble, and at once the spiders are biting at Cy and Twiddle. The cleric and halfling are ready for the attack, however, and manage to dodge the monsters' giant mouths.

Actions!

Cy and Twiddle are in front. Molly and Illiro are behind them. Everyone else is back in the room, unable to get in on the action at the moment.

-----
Status: Grond (F1): 7/7; Twiddle (½1): 4/4; Molly (½1): 3/3; Cy (C1): 2/5; Iliro (E1): 6/6; Dax (D1): 9/9
Effects: Cy, Iliro weakened (STR:9 each)
Light Sources: Lantern (Finn, carried by Twiddle): 11.9 turns, Lantern (Molly): 15.9 turns

[Rusty Tincanne]

Feeling the press of bodies behind him, Twiddle knows fleeing is not an option. He drops his bow on the ground as the spiders charge and jabs his spear at the less wounded beast. Shoo. Go on now. Get!

Spear [1d20+1] = 15+1 = 16, damage [1d6+1] = 4+1 = 5


Edit: Initiative [1d6+1] = 1+1 = 2
He's THAC0 19.
Macros updated per your request in the rules thread. [/brown-nosing]

[Rex]

Tanta

Tanta will cover the rear in case something or someone tries attacking well we are preoccupied.

[GreyWolfVT]

Dax will wade into the fight if there is room for it. Moning to within range of his slip the dwarf takes aim and fires at the nearest spider.

Sling [1d20] = 17 to hit, [1d4] = 2 damage

[Captain Kinkajou]

Molly

Molly holds her nerve as the spiders lurch forward and fires again. She'll aim for the nearest or, if they're both the same, the one she shot previously.
With no clear shot through the melee, Molly waits for an opportunity to fire without risking hitting one of the party. If she gets one she will.
Molly looks for a clear shot as the spiders lurch forward. It's all a bit of a confused jumble of legs and bodies ahead of her but she picks her moment and lets fly.

Short bow: [1d20+1] = 12+1 = 13 to hit, damage: [1d6] = 2, (THAC0 19), Initiative: [1d6+1] = 1+1 = 2

ooc: I'm pretty sure the -2 for firing into melee is going to make this a miss, so I rolled the chance of hitting a random melee opponent.

Chance of hitting random melee opponent: [1d6] = 4Phew! That was close!

Edit 1: In response to Rusty's well-made point about firing into melee (I had indeed forgotten) and earlier brown-nosing

Edit 2: In response to Zhym's well-made point about no backsies.

[Starbeard]

Status Quofoot hangs out in the back of the party, trying to get a good look at the action in the corridor. "That's the way! Give 'im a left, give 'im a left! Come on, hit 'im in the spleen!"

[Rusty Tincanne]

Hey all. As a reminder:

Missile Fire into Melee
A missile fired into melee is at -2 to hit (the other melee combatants act as cover for the target). If the attack misses its intended target, it has a 50% chance (1-3 on a 1d6) of hitting a random melee combatant (including enemies in the same melee).

I'm not saying you shouldn't for into combat, but if you're playing the sort of character that would regret killing an ally, I thought you'd like to know.

[The_Wanderer]

Cy
Cy feels an arrow sling by and ducks his head almost in instinct. He puts away his sling and readies his mace and shield.

...I must drive them back or I will never see Ms. Primrose!

His swing at the nearest spider while powerful, belies the cleric's nervousness.

Mace (THAC0 19): [1d20] = 12 [1d6] = 4 Init: [1d6] = 3

[VonAlric]

Iliro grabs another stone and takes aim at the already damaged spider.

Sling (THAC0:19): [1d20] = 12 Damage: [1d4] = 1 Init: [1d6] = 6

[Zhym]

The spiders continue their attacks on Cy and Twiddle, but the halfling and the cleric successfully avoid the deadly arachnids' bites. Twiddle responds with a spear into one of a spider's many eyes, creating a dead spider-kabob. Cy reaches for his mace and deals the other spider a glancing blow. But it is enough. The spider falls and flips almost comically onto its back, with its eight legs curling up above it.

With both spiders dead, everyone else holds their fire.

"Oh my," says Bingo Goodchild. "It really is quite dangerous here, isn't it?" General murmurs of agreement follow from the other halflings, few of whom actually participated in the combat or were anywhere near the spiders. A consensus quickly emerges: the hobbits would much rather be snuggled up safe in their cozy holes with some good pipe weed. Bingo sums up the discussion for you. "We are in well over our heads and you folk seem to have this rescue well in hand. Tanta Tunnelly and Status Quofoot have chosen to stay with you. The rest of us have decided to return to our shire."

-----
Status: Grond (F1): 7/7; Twiddle (½1): 4/4; Molly (½1): 3/3; Cy (C1): 2/5; Iliro (E1): 6/6; Dax (D1): 9/9; Tanta (½1): 5/5; Status (½1): 4/4
Effects: Cy, Iliro weakened (STR:9 each)
Light Sources: Lantern (Finn, carried by Twiddle): 11 turns, Lantern (Molly): 15 turns

[Rex]

Tanta

"Hi all, I am Tanta Tunnelly. If you don't mind I would like to stay on and help rescue this Penelope. My sword is at your service."