IC IX

[thirdkingdom]

One by one the adventurers pass through the cleft in the wall. They advance down the passageway, which seems to be as much as burrowed tunnel as actual corridor. After it jogs west it travels for another twenty feet before heading south. The smell of death and decay grows stronger, but it is borne on a breeze that carries with it the scent of the open air as well. After sixty feet the sharper eyed companions can see a faint light ahead; and the impression that the tunnel opens up ever so slightly.

[riftstone]

Thordin the dwarf readies his sword and shield.

"There is light up ahead. It could mean freedom or death. I would counsel care and courage; both might be needed here. If I should fall, one of you must take up the Elfin Blade."

He advances...

[Bouv]

Tratlin readies his shield and sword and will proceed carefully with the rest of the party, "I will be happy to be out of this blasted basement once and for all, even if it means facing down a beast."

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny nods at Thordin's brave words.

"You carry enough courage for all of us, Master Thordin... Allow me to supply the care."

Lanny takes a moment to strategize before proceeding.

"This looks to be a large beast, if it burrowed out this tunnel... Perhaps some of us can surround it and pepper it with missile file from a distance before Thordin leads a smaller group in melee. Remember too that we have some Invisibility spells available, if anyone is in dire straits and needs to be rescued from combat with the beast. Marodin, Semele... Keep to the rear and be ready to heal if anyone should fall to the ground."

Lanny looks ahead in the tunnel.

"There is some natural light up ahead... Maybe we should shutter our lantern as we approach, so that our light does alert the creature to our presence. I only hope that the foul smell of death in this place masks our own scent, lest we become a meal ourselves..."

Lanny readies his longbow and prepares to follow Thordin.

[thirdkingdom]

Flaurmont 6, 8:45 am

The adventurers, overjoyed to stand under the sun once again and confident in their ability to overcome any fell beast, gird themselves for battle and advance down the tunnel. As the ambient light from before them grows brighter Lanny urges that their light sources be dimmed, until finally they emerge from the tunnel into a shallow pit, only about fifteen feet in diameter, the top of which is mostly covered by the wooden castle doors. At the southern end of the pit the ground slopes up at perhaps a forty-five degree angle; this section is not covered by the fallen doors. One could, conceivably, scramble up this slope and gain egress to the outdoors!

At the bottom of the pit, mere feet from the end of the tunnel, a gigantic beast snuffles about, noisily sucking the marrow from splintered bones like a starving man licking his plate. It is the same creature as was seen previously: it has the plump body of a caterpillar some ten feet long, and an alien insectile head from which dangle half a dozen or more tentacles that quiver turgidly in the air. Two more tentacles, or perhaps they should be called antennae, protrude from its chitonous head and gingerly taste the air. So far, the party has not been noticed.

Surprise (party first 1 on 1d6, due to foreknowledge)then monster (1 on 1d6 due to, well, you'll see): (1d6=4, 1d6=1)
The dice are certainly with you all on this, the 6th of Flaurmont.

Okay, so I'll need intentions, please. At this point the party is still within the tunnel, say twenty feet back from the pit. The tunnel is wide enough for the party to travel by twos. There is not enough room for everyone to face the monster at once, in melee, whether in the tunnel or in the pit. There is perhaps room for four adventurers in the pit at a time. Should anyone choose, they may attempt to exit the pit by scrambling up the slope that leads to the exit. There is only room for one person at a time to do this. Success at exiting unaided will require a Dex check.

Please note that any planning you guys do will be considered to your surprise round.

[Innana]

Innana the Fighter:

Innana stops mid stride, and reaches for her net on the hip, and hurls it at the giant, flesh eating beast. "Here guys, a present all wrapped up for you, and your pointy skewers."

Net (Basic): +1, Entangle, Range 10/20/30

[riftstone]

Thordin the dwarf charges the creature, hoping to get a deadly stroke in before combat even begins.

Sword, +7 to hit, 1d12+3 damage, -2 AC bonus vs. 1 opponent, 1 deflection attempt/round at a 7 or better chance.

[Finglas]

Bregalad the elf

Bregalad will cast Light upon the creature's head, followed by Magic Missile for the following round.

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

Rhys takes advantage of his speed and their surprise to sprint past the creature and attempt to make his way up the incline before it can even react.

"Lanny, join me! Everyone else, try to engage the creature just inside the tunnel!"he shouts, once he is safely up the incline.

Movement: 45' per round

[Bouv]

Tratiln will launch a magic missile towards the creature and then ready his throwing hammer.

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

If there is enough time for missile fire before Thordin engages the monster Drudsa will take a shot with his sling.

skilled: +2 to hit, 1d6 damage, -1 AC vs 2 opponents, stun s/m, range 40/80/160

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

"I'll follow behind you, Rhys! We'll strike from above!"

Although prepared to fight, Lanny sees the tactical wisdom in Rhys's suggestion for the bowmen to try to get above the creature, and so he bides his time and waits for the right moment to try to dash up the incline, allowing Rhys to make the first attempt.

At the same moment, he realizes that this might be his best chance to strike a lethal blow with his longbow. After a split second of deliberation, Lanny decides to take the shot. He raises his longbow and prepares to fire.

Like Drudsa, Lanny will only attack if he wins initiative over Thordin (to avoid hitting an ally engaged in melee). Otherwise, he will hold his fire and remain invisible.

If attacking:
Longbow, Laminated (Skilled): 1d20+4 (vs. unarmed), 105/180/265 range, 1d8+2 damage (an additional +1 to attack roll for short range, possibly an additional +2 to attack roll for "Unseen Attack", since he is invisible)

Delay (s/m): When the wielder of a weapon with the delay ability hits an opponent with it, the opponent must make a Saving Throw vs. Paralysis or automatically lose initiative in the following round.

If not attacking:
AC -2 (normally AC 2, with a -4 bonus due to invisibility)

Lanny will attempt to climb to the surface in the following round.

[thirdkingdom]

Surprise Round

As one the companions decide to act quickly before the creature is alerted to their presence. Both Lanny and Rhys have the idea to exit the pit, so as to allow them to rain missile fire down upon the turgid monstrosity. Rhys is lithe and quick, and is up the slope and out into the freedom of air before the creature's tentacles can even quiver. Lanny is not so fast, but his invisibility should hopefully provide him some protection as he waits his turns.

Thordin is not far behind, charging in to do battle with the grotesque geometrid. His enchanted blade bites into the creature's hide, drawing forth a sour smelling ichor. In the heat of battle Thordin notes that the creature bears many scars, and that the broken shafts of spears and arrows protrude from its knobbly hide.

Bregalad casts his spell of illumination upon the beast; Tratiln mutters the words to his spell and a ghostly missile appears that spears the monster. Drudsa is unable to get a proper line of sight to fire a stone. Innana steps forward to join Thordin and tosses her net; alas, all of her training with the weapon has been against enemies of the same stature as men, and never with giant caterpillar beasts, and the creature is able to shrug off the entangling effects of the net with liquid warble.

Happy New Years, everyone. I got intentions for the next round from some, but not all, so if the rest of you can chime in that would be great.

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

Now that he is back up at the top of the hole, Rhys quickly scans the area for any sign of additional danger. If he sees none, he shouts down,"Quickly! Pull back into the cave just a few feet to engage it!"

If Rhys is able to fire arrows into the creature without risk of hitting his companions, he will do so.

If he isn't able to do that, then he will keep an eye on the environs above ground until the others can draw back into the tunnel.

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny takes advantage of his invisibility and attempts to scamper up the slope to join Rhys at the top of the hole.

Dexterity: 14

[Bouv]

Tratiln will wait till he has an opening and throw his hammer at the best

1d20+1-1 dmg 1d2

[Finglas]

Bregalad the elf

Bregalad will cast Magic Missile now, and then close in to melee range for the next round!

"We must finish this beast quickly!"

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

If Drudsa is able to strike from the second row with any of his melee weapons (staff or whip, I don't have the book at hand so not sure if the weapons have sufficient reach) he will try to do so.

Whip, basic proficience, 1d2 damage
Staff, unskilled, 1d3 damage

If option #1 is not feasible Drudsa will remain in the tunnel waiting for the resolution of the actions of the other party members.

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

I think we could potentially have 5 people attacking the creature at once: 3 in the tunnel (2 in the front line and 1 behind Thordin using a reach weapon) and 2 from the top of the pit with bows (Lanny and Rhys). Of course, in order for Lanny and Rhys to be able to attack, there would need to be no chance of accidentally hitting an ally with friendly fire. Backing up a bit into the tunnel (so that the PCs are not in the line of fire but the creature still is) might allow that possibility.

[riftstone]

Thordin the dwarf will attempt to move the creature back into the tunnel. Failing that, he will fully engage and attempt to give the others in the party the chance to hit the creature from the blind sides.

Sword, +7 to hit, 1d12+3 damage, -2 AC bonus vs. 1 opponent, 1 deflection attempt/round at a 7 or better chance.