Pulling at the Root of Evil

[Zhym]

Gaerys fights a losing battle with impatience. "Moving on, then?"

[Computer +1]

Vorsyin nods his head at the idea of leaving.

[Magnus]

The party moves from the well, down the hall, and past the entrance to the storage room. Moving just around the bend, the hallway narrows slightly to 15' wide.

[Party can stride three abrest.]

Just as the party takes stock of their new surroundings, they stumble upon the first encampment of their foes.

Eight hornfoot wildlings stand with two hill giants, seemingly ready to ambush intruders -- but intruders coming from the other direction. The savage mongrelmen are clothed in leather, fur, and bone. They bear stone clubs and wooden javelins with bone tips. A crude iron gong - seemingly an alarm of some kind - stands in their center.

One of the giants is familiar to the party, as he is the Hunter - the crossbow-wielding giant who lead the direwolves against the party as they made their escape. The party is familiar to the Hunter as well. He stares menacingly at Vorsyin through a freshly burn-scarred face. The other giant is of the rank-and-file, though this makes his spiked club and pile of throwing boulders no less formidable.

A look of confusion crosses bestial faces of their foes as their feeble minds contemplate how the party could have taken their rear flank. Their confusion quickly gives way to rage, as they roar and move to attack the party -- and sound the alarm!

hornfoot.jpg (394.15 KiB) Viewed 513 times

No surprise. Declare actions!!!

[Zhym]

Can Hollis cast silence, 15' radius on the bell? Seems like the first order of business is stopping them from sounding the alert!

Gaerys will attack Hunter.

Giantbane (vs. true giant): [1d20+3] = 5+3 = 8 Damage: [1d12x2] = 9x2 = 18+10 (Hits AC 6)

[sulldawga]

Hollis will cast Silence, 15' Radius, on the gong.

[Eulalios]

Kjelti assesses the scene. It is too close for bow work. She will cut down the stone tossing giant, if need be she first will cut through the wildlings. She charges in!

Kjelti charging attacks w Claymore [1d20+4] = 3+4 = 7; [1d20+4] = 19+4 = 23
first round 2 attacks, charge bonus; hits AC 7, AC -9 AC 4, AC -9 (forgot the weapon specialization)

Kjelti damage (SM) [2d4+6] = 2+6 = 8; [2d4+6] = 4+6 = 10 (L) [2d8+6] = 10+6 = 16; [2d8+6] = 10+6 = 16

[Magnus]

Kjelti assesses the scene. It is too close for bow work. She will cut down the stone tossing giant, if need be she first will cut through the wildlings.

magnus, would you please be able to get Kjelti assigned to me for now over on the usdr, so that I can make her rolls?

Yes, but I operate on a trust basis 90% of the time, so go ahead and roll in the meantime

[NJWilliam]

Antheris, Druid and Blue, Polar Bear

Antheris moves to attack with his spear, but botches it.

Antheris, spear melee THAC0 16: to hit, [1d20] = 1; damage [1d6] = 2 / [1d8] = 7 (double damage when set against a charge)

Blue attacks the nearest giant:

Blue (polar bear) paw, paw, bite (THAC0 11): [1d20] = 14, [1d20] = 20, [1d20] = 11 hits AC -3, -9, 3
Blue (polar bear) damage: [1d10] = 1, [1d10] = 2, [2d6] = 11 | hug: [3d6] = 13

[drpete]

Ethan Blacktyde

All too familiar with the Hunter's poison, Ethan joins Gaerys in putting him down as quickly as possible. If he's down, Ethan goes after the other giant.

To Hit giant (ThAC0 11) [1d20+4] = 7+4 = 11 damage [1d12+4] = 12+4 = 16

To Hit giant (ThAC0 11) [1d20+4] = 17+4 = 21 damage [1d12+4] = 4+4 = 8

[Computer +1]

Vorsyin quickly summons the mystical energy around him and casts Shatter on the crossbow of the Hunter. He is hoping to render the weapon useless and perhaps cause some damage to the Hunter as well.

[Magnus]

The party moves aggressively, but their foes are quicker to take the initiative.

One of the savages bangs on the alarm gong with his club. The low-toned ring reverberates loudly through the stone halls of the dungeon…

The party has no time to worry, as a volley of four javelins are hurled at the party’s front rank. Ethan easily blocks the two flung his way. Gaerys swats away the first thrown at him, though the second javelin catches the meaty part of his thigh.

[Gaerys: 8 damage!]

The three remaining hornfeet charge the party, clashing with Ethan and Gaerys at the party’s vanguard. Two of their clubs land on each of the fighters, bruising each of them deeply. Ethan parries aside a second blow from the third of these cannibalistic savages.

[Ethan takes 7 damage; Gaerys takes 3 damage.]

The experienced fighters immediately recognize the most dangerous of their opponents, but unfortunately they must cut through minions to reach him. Gaerys decapitates one wildman with a whistling horizontal blow. Ethan takes down another with a pair of strikes from his flaming sword.

The two giants attack from a distance. The Hunter, seeking payback for the pain suffered in his last encounter with the party, he fires a bolt at Vorsyin, which grazes the arm of the mage and ruins his concentration. The mage feels a slight tingle in the wound, but it does not otherwise effect him.

[V takes 3 damage; spell lost; save versus poison made]

The other giant hurls a rock at Hollis. The cleric is officially baptized into the party by his own blood as the boulder catches him solidly in the chest. His spell, however, is lost.

[H takes 10 damage; spell lost.]

Kjelti, Antheris, and Blue join the assault on the hornfeet. Kjelti, ever the aggressor, presses forward beyond the party's front line, swinging her claymore at one of the javelin-throwing giants. Her heavy blow misses and clangs loudly against the stone floor.

Antheris and Blue surge forward to join the melee. Antheris strikes from the second rank at the remaining hornfoot engaged with Ethan, thrusting his spear clumsily at the savage. It slips from his grip and hits the ground. He picks a great time to fumble, however, as Blue bounds forward in front of him. The bear then attacks with his usual ferocity and tears the throat out of one of the savages.

Quick sketch (wall is at left margin):

HF (gong)

HG Hunter


HF HF HF

HF
KJ

(HF HF HF - all dead)
Blue Ethan Gaerys
Antheris Hollis Vorsyin


*********************************

[H: -10
V: -3
G: -11
E: -7]

[Zhym]

Gaerys curses. "At the risk of stating the obvious: we're screwed. The alarm has been sounded. We don't know where our enemy is. They now know where we are. And we have no exit behind us!" He tries to spare a thought to wonder why the giants seemed to be expecting them from the other direction when the party found nothing back the way they came. Then he laughs sardonically. "Wasn't someone worried that if we entered through the stream, we'd have no escape route? Good thing we didn't end up in that situation."

Nothing to do now but attack the nearest hornfoot.

Giantbane (vs. giant type): [1d20+3] = 1+3 = 4 Damage: [1d12+10] = 5+10 = 15

Perhaps Gaerys should just concentrate on fighting.

"Somebody watch our backs!" he cries. "If they expected us from the other direction, most of them may be behind us. And the exit may be ahead."

Can we get an updated map? The first combat post suggested that the ambush party was expecting us to come from the other direction. But as far as I remember, there's no unexplored branch the way we came, which means either (1) I don't understand the map correctly or (2) secret door. Either way, an updated map would be useful. Assuming we live to make use of it.

[NJWilliam]

Antheris, Druid and Blue, Polar Bear

Antheris and Blue press the attack on the hornfoots and hill giants.

Antheris, spear melee THAC0 16: to hit, [1d20] = 7; damage [1d6] = 2 / [1d8] = 6 (double damage when set against a charge) hits AC 9

Blue (polar bear) paw, paw, bite (THAC0 11): [1d20] = 3, [1d20] = 2, [1d20] = 1 hits AC 8, 9, ugh

Blue (polar bear) damage: [1d10] = 8, [1d10] = 1, [2d6] = 9 | hug: [3d6] = 14

[drpete]

Ethan Blacktyde (64/71)

On your toes everyone. Company's coming!"

Ethan rushes to attack the hunter, leaping over the wildmen to engage the dangerous enemy.

StumbleRoll(must gethigherthan 16): [1d100]= 49

To Hit giant (ThAC0 11) [1d20+4] = 13+4 = 17 damage [1d12+4] = 10+4 = 14
To Hit giant (ThAC0 11) [1d20+4] = 15+4 = 19 damage [1d12+4] = 11+4 = 15

[Eulalios]

Kjelti (56 / 56)

"Blood for you, Crom!" Kjelti lays into the hornfoot before her, and if it falls, she continues forward.

Kjelti THACO 14 atk # 1 [1d20+3] = 11+3 = 14 dmg SM [2d4+6] = 5+6 = 11 L [2d8+6] = 10+6 = 16

Kjelti THACO 14 atk # 2 [1d20+3] = 18+3 = 21 dmg SM [2d4+6] = 8+6 = 14 L [2d8+6] = 12+6 = 18

Wow ... I keep forgetting adds for specialization + magic weapon ... should be 1d20+5 ... first attack hits AC -2, second attack hits AC -9

[Magnus]

Round 2

The party and their foes fall upon each other simultaneously

Kjelti strikes with a rage that only a berserkess can bring. Her rage reduces the warrior of the ice river clan into pieces more fit for a butcher shop than a battlefield. Its attempts to strike back are feeble at best.

Ethan soars above the hornfeet, much to their shock. He lands in front of the Hunter, just as the giant looses another crossbow bolt at Vorsyin. The bolt again grazes the mage painfully but, fortunately, the mage avoids the effects of the poison.

[spell spoiled; 4 damage; save made]

Having landed, Ethan slices the Hunter’s Achilles tendon, causing its leg to buckle. The skilled fighter uses the opening to thrust his blade deep into the giant’s gut. The Hunter screams in pain but manages to hobble back to his feet. Dropping his crossbow, he draws a nasty-looking jagged blade in one hand, and a long, thin flaying knife in the other.

The giant next to the hunter flings another rock at Hollis. The cleric, ever the wiser, ducks at the absolute last second. He exhales as the stone clatters down the hallway behind him.

For his part, the cleric calls out to the Old Gods for a few words of healing, which he applies to the party's ranger. The benefits of an active priest, as opposed to the more reticent (if more powerful) Luna, are obvious already.

[Gaerys recovers 7 damage!]

Antheris and Blue move forward to support the melee. Antheris’s strike again finds nothing but air. Blue falls upon a hornfoot. The savage, perhaps experienced in hunting polar bears, easily avoids the claw attacks. The bear then lashes forward with a desperate snap of his maw. The hornfoot slides away from the bite, causing Blue to slam his nose into the stone wall. The bear is momentarily stunned as the hornfoot smashes on him twice with his club.

[Blue: 10 damage.]

Gaerys shrieks out in a panic and with cynicism unbefitting a ranger of the Night’s Watch. His desperate blow is parried by the hornfoot, but the return blow is in turn parried away by the ranger, who manages to regain his senses.

Ethan, from his new vantage point, can see that the hall finishes its curve, and then widens into a large (~70’ x 70’) chamber. he sees a number of passages out of the chamber - including one that appears to be a a staircase that goes upward...directly across the chamber from the party!

[Vorsyin NPC'd. I wanted to resolve this round and any spell would have been spoiled anyway.]

[H: -10
V: -7
G: -4
E: -7
B: -10]

Quick sketch:

HF (gong)

HG Hunter
Ethan

HF HF HF
Gaerys Blue
Antheris

HF Kjelti

Hollis Vorsyin

Map to come next round.

[Zhym]

"Shriek?" Sir, I may gripe, whine, yell, complain, grouse, or grumble, but I never "shriek!"

Gaerys strikes at a hornfoot, much more adeptly this time.

Giantbane (vs. true giant): [1d20+3] = 14+3 = 17 Damage: [1d12x2] = 5x2 = 10+10 Sorry, used the wrong macro. This should be 15 damage, not 20.

Does the chamber appear to have any inhabitants? And can we tell how high the ceiling is?

Might be worth starting the fireball area of effect calculations.

[Eulalios]

Kjelti THACO 14 (+2 Claymore, spec) atk [1d20+5] = 10+5 = 15 dmg SM [2d4+6] = 5+6 = 11 / L [2d8+6] = 8+6 = 14
Kjelti THACO 14 (+2 Claymore, spec) atk [1d20+5] = 4+5 = 9 dmg SM [2d4+6] = 5+6 = 11 / L [2d8+6] = 4+6 = 10
Kjelti keeps on keepin on... Hornfoot, giant, if it's not a friend it's gonna be mangled. hits AC -1, 5 "Blood for Crom!" She's laughing.

[drpete]

Ethan Blacktyde (64/71)

Seeing the hobbled Hunter pull his wicked blades, Ethan tsks, and pivots to take advantage of his opponent's injury, then attempts to finish him off before he can do more damage

To Hit giant (ThAC0 11) [1d20+4] = 6+4 = 10 damage [1d12+4] = 8+4 = 12
To Hit giant (ThAC0 11) [1d20+4] = 12+4 = 16 damage [1d12+4] = 2+4 = 6

[NJWilliam]

Antheris and Blue

Blue continues his attack:

Blue (polar bear) paw, paw, bite (THAC0 11): [1d20] = 15, [1d20] = 3, [1d20] = 6 hits AC -4, 8, 5
Blue (polar bear) damage: [1d10] = 10, [1d10] = 8, [2d6] = 8 | hug: [3d6] = 11

Antheris lunges again with his spear:

Antheris, spear melee THAC0 16: to hit, [1d20] = 8; damage [1d6] = 6 / [1d8] = 4 (double damage when set against a charge) hits AC 8