IC X

[Finglas]

Bregalad the elf

Intent on finishing the doppleganger once and for all, Bregalad makes his way down the ridge and towards the dwarf's voice!

Thordin the dwarf, seeing the cloak of darkness, turns and moves into the bandit group, striking to and fro... ...He sings an ancient dwarf warsong while he does this.

Nice one, Thordin!

[Grognardsw]

Aquar the cleric / fighting the darkness

"By Procan's pearly prick, what manner of magic is this!?" yells a startled Aquar in the sudden night. "It's darker than the deeps!"

The cleric instinctively swings his hammer in front of him, not knowing what manner of forest demon may be upon him, and sunders a tree.

Aquar recovers his composure upon hearing Lanny's voice and follows the sound, almost tripping over some rocks.

[Innana]

Innana he Fighter:

Thordin the dwarf, seeing the cloak of darkness, turns and moves into the bandit group, striking to and fro. He will attempt to make it to the caster, if it is possible to determine who that is, otherwise the false Rhys dies. He sings an ancient dwarf warsong while he does this.

Hoping the song will give the rest of the group something to move toward.

Sword - Main Hand, +7 to hit, 1d12+3 damage, -2 AC bonus vs. 1 opponent, 1 deflection attempt/round at a 7 or better chance, Sword - Off-hand -1 to hit, 1d8 damage.

Innana fights beside Thordin while getting extra power from the ancient Dwarvish war song.

Swift Fang Sword (Skilled): +4, 1d12+1 (includes the penalty for silver wire handle)
-2 AC vs 1 opponent
Deflect 1 attack by making a save vs Death Ray

[thirdkingdom]

Round Two

Thordin makes his way down the slope, followed by Innana. Both move slowly enough to avoid slipping, but their caution means they are unable to reach their quarry in time. Atop the ridge, the adventurers move cautiously forward and emerge, blinking, out of the cloud of darkness, which vanishes almost at the same time as they do so, from the casting of Drudsa's magic.

They make their way halfway down the slope and see below them two of the bandits, both with a distinctive rat-like mien, slip among the fallen bandits and begin the shake them awake. The chanting of a spell can be heard from within the shelter of the woods, and the companions watch as both Innana and Thordin slump to the ground, insensate!

Actions for Round Three, please. Thordin and Innana can be reached during Round Three with no need for a Dexterity check if a PC has a movement of 30 or less. The bandits will require a move of 40 to reach without a check.

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

Drudsa will run downslope to Thordin and Innana, shaking them to wakefulness as he reaches them.

Let Drudsa bring Thordin and Innana back to action while the rest of you guys deal with the enemies.

[Alethan]

Rhys will do the same, only faster...

He is somewhat unnerved by the "rat-like" men. He wishes he still had his bow, so he could fire a silver arrow at one of them before the distance was closed.

[Finglas]

Bregalad the elf

Bregalad positions himself in front of the unconscious warriors, ready to attack anyone who comes within melee range.

With his shield to protect him and his weapon raised high, the elf snarls at the rat men. "Which of you would like to die this day? Come forward!"

Edit -- Changed Bregalad's challenge, as it felt kind of weak!

He will hold his attack for anyone who approaches. If it happens to be one of the rat men, he will use Magic Missile before they can reach him. Otherwise, he will fight using his magical spear.

Finely Carved Spear (Skilled): 1d20+5, 1d6+4

[frobozz]

Lanny the Elf

TK, I'm a bit confused about where everyone is at the moment and might need some clarification. I'm assuming that Thordin and Innana (who started the round 30 feet ahead of the others and outside of the darkness, and then (I think) moved forward another 30 feet (assuming cautious movement) before being put to sleep) would have fallen more or less right on top of the pile of bandits that were put to sleep by Drudsa. Athough from their posts, it really seemed like Thordin and Innana intended to bypass cautious movement and move at a speed sufficient enough to be able to engage the enemy in the same round. Whatever the case, it would be helpful to know where Thordin and Innana are lying in relation to the two rat-like humans and in relation to the rest of the PCs, and also if the two rat-like humans are the only enemies currently visible to the PCs (Lanny was considering launching his readied Magic Missile at a visible target after emerging from the cloud of darkness at the end of Round 2).

[thirdkingdom]

if you and Finglas would like to retcon magic missile attacks for the past round that is fine. The two ratmen are visible, as is a shadowy figure further into the woods. The false Rhys is not visible. Your approximation as to location is correct.

However, no one stated that they were moving at speed. I have stated, over and over, that I will not guess at your character's intentions. The lack of clear statements was why I asked Luis to leave. I am going to err on the safe side if I do not have clear instructions. In this combat I have stated twice that moving at speed will force a Dexterity check to avoid falling. Unless I get specific instructions that your character is running (as Drudsa is) or willing to take that chance (i.e. "Blarg will move quickly down the slope, throwing caution to the wind" or a spoiler telling me Blarg is running.) I am going to assume they are moving at a safe speed.

[frobozz]

Lanny the Elf

Ok cool, thanks for the clarification. I guess what I meant was that if someone indicated their intention to be to engage the enemy, that they would move at whatever speed necessary to make that happen, even if that meant a dex check and a -2 penalty on the hit roll because they needed to run. But point well taken about being more clear with intentions/actions.

So, it appears that whoever tries to wake Thordin and Innana will be within melee range of the rat-men, so we will need to provide cover for Drudsa/Rhys lest they be attacked. Also, I am assuming that one person can wake up two people in one round (the same as with waking people at night) and that the rat-men have the capacity to do the same (two people per round, if unchallenged).

Lanny emerges from the dark cloud and sees that the situation is grave. He sees two rat-men ready to wake up all the thugs that Drudsa just put to sleep, and he knows he cannot let that happen. He quickly tries to coordinate a plan.

"Bregalad, let's keep those rat-men busy! I'll take out the one on the right!"

To the others:

"We'll provide the cover, wake Thordin and Innana and then let's seek out those spellcasters in the woods!"

Lanny launches his magic missile at the rat-man on the right and then moves behind cover of a tree before sheathing his sword and dropping his shield. He reaches for his shouldered longbow and starts to reach for a normal arrow to target the same rat-man again, but then pauses briefly, suddenly realizing the possible significance of the rat-like qualities of these humanoids. He reaches instead for a silver arrow, aims carefully, and then fires at the same rat-man that he previously targeted.

Lanny will launch his Magic Missile at the rat-man on the right (end of Round 2) and then will follow up with a silver arrow at the same target (Round 3).

Magic Missile: 1d6+1 damage

Longbow, Laminated (Skilled): 1d20+3 (vs. armed), 1d20+4 (vs. unarmed), 105/180/265 range (range modifier not yet applied), 1d8+2 damage

AC Bonus: -1 vs. 1 armed opponent

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.

[riftstone]

Thordin the dwarf

Yes, I thought I was pretty clear that Thordin was moving with caution. I knew there was a chance they would hang back and I wouldn't be able to engage, but that risk was just as much as missing a dex roll and falling down the slope.

[thirdkingdom]

Thordin the dwarf

Yes, I thought I was pretty clear that Thordin was moving with caution. I knew there was a chance they would hang back and I wouldn't be able to engage, but that risk was just as much as missing a dex roll and falling down the slope.

That is how I interpreted your post.

[frobozz]

Lanny the Elf

Thordin the dwarf, seeing the cloak of darkness, turns and moves into the bandit group, striking to and fro.

Guys, this does not really sound like a cautious approach. But point taken, let's move on.

[Grognardsw]

Aquar, cleric

Aquar moves cautiously down the slope, chanting a low canticle* prayer in hopes he will not be attacked. Staying low, shield up, moving from tree cover to tree cover to gain additional protection**, the cleric will try to reach his sleeping comrades and shake them awake roughly with his foot while keeping eyes peeled and shield up.

* Canticle orison.
** Hoping for plus on AC?

[Finglas]

Bregalad the elf

I'd rather not ret-con any of Bregalad's previous actions (other than my challenge, which felt pretty lame when reading it again this morning!).

If we can wake up Thordin and Innana in time, I think the momentum can swing back in our favor! Lanny, join me at the front. Let's scare those rats away!

[Innana]

Innana the Fighter:

Semele fumbles around trying to find her way out of the darkness, and follows the noise and voices around her.

If Semele finds her way from the darkness, she will cautiously make her way down the slope, hiding behind trees as she goes, trying to get within a safe distance where she can cast healing spells when needed.

[frobozz]

Lanny the Elf

I edited my IC post - Lanny will be attacking with the longbow instead (I think he can be more effective that way).

[Innana]

Innana the Fighter:

Dreams of rat stew with a hint of lime.

[thirdkingdom]

Round Three

Rhys arrives at the scene in the nick of time, as the larger of the two rat-men advances upon his helplessly slumbering comrades. The monk is soon joined by Bregalad, who stands between his friends and the lascivious lycanthropes, sending his arcane missile into the side of the rat-man. Another missile, this one Lanny's also hits the same foe, but it still continues to threaten Bregalad. Bregalad's concern for Inanna and Thordin leave him open to a counterattack, and the large rat-man slides his blade between a chink in the elf's armor!

The other wererat continues to wake his slumbering partners; the two of whom were awakened previously advance on Innana and Thordin, who even now are beginning to rise and stretch. Were the thugs able to land a blow against the helpless adventurers, they must surely be slain, but Rhys and Aquar interpose themselves. Both land telling blows against the thug; Aquar's warhammer smashes one of the bandits in the shoulder, while Rhys drives his blade deep into the heart of the other, killing him instantly. An instant later, Lanny fires a silver arrow that pierces the breast of the second rat-man. It falters, but does not fall.

Three figures can be seen deeper in the cover of the trees.

Wererat gets a natural 20, for 6 points of damage. Innana and Thordin will be able to act in Round Four.

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

Rhys notes the others should have the first wererat under control. If he is close enough, however, he will move to engage the second wererat in order to prevent him from waking any other thugs.

He sheathes his sword and attacks the wererat with his bare hands...

Unarmed Attack (Mystic Ability): +1 To Hit (+1 BAB); 1d4+1 Damage
Unarmed Attacks: Hit as silver

If it is not possible to disengage from the thugs to do this, then he will continue fighting thugs with his sword.