In search of a body

[shaidar]

Arngier

"Beast likely to attack those using road. Smoke screen good, hide us and confuse it, get surprise. Need to find lair or place good to fight it with smoke. We search, yes?

[Ahlmzhad]

Murgar

"Yes, let's find its lair".

[Rex]

Do we have consensus we are going to try and track it or some other action? To find its lair? To return the remains to the outpost and then try and track it?

Role play has been excellent by the way.

[sastaz]

Turnip would vote for returning the remains first, then go back and track the beast to its lair. If we do it that way, Turnip sugests we bring the shed skin to the outpost for safekeeping while we hunt the beast. We promised to return the reamains, after all.

[shaidar]

My vote would be to go looking now, mainly based on Murgar's visions that seem to indicate we are going to meet it on the way back. I'd rather have some some (limited) control over where we fight it.

[sastaz]

That's a fair point, let's do that.

[Rex]

After some discussion it is decided to see what they can learn doing some tracking now.

Algrim bundles up the remains of his fellow (all be it long dead) dwarf and rigs a wooden frame to carry them.

They then begin to study the Drake's trail, following along as slowly and quietly as possible.

Sir Gerolt remains mounted so that he has a higher and hopefully longer view of the area.

You have no problem following the trail and follow it along for about 2 hours, it seems to twist and turn and lead in the general direction back the way you just came, but off the old road bed you were following.

You crest a slight rise and are suddenly looking back and down over the road bed from a hill overlooking the area. Here the trail turns and travels along the ridge/hill top for about 100 yards and you can smell something strong.

Sir Gerolt whispers, "I think I can see a cave opening in some boulders ahead." He climbs down off his horse and secures the horses to a tree.

Tamerlaine hasn't been on in a month now so I will NPC Sir Gerolt for now. Feel free to make suggestions for his actions if you want.

Actions?

[Ahlmzhad]

Murgar

"They be foul smelling beasts indeed." He'll try to assess if there is anyway to get close to the cave without being seen by its occupant. "If we can get some up above the cave opening we could push some boulder or drop things on it, at least get attacks on it before it could attack us. Then someone could go in direct and lure it out so the others could strike."

[shaidar]

Arngeir keeps his voice low

"Good ideas. Do drake only come out at dark?"

[sastaz]

Turnip

"That's a good idea actually. I think I can get there without being discovered (stealth 78%) but I''m not at all sure I'll be able to move (STR 5) a rock large enough to damage a beast like that, more like make it angry. But maybe I can at least distract it in order for you to strike it in the back? Probably though, it will just flee back inside its cave. That's what I would do anyway."

[GreyWolfVT]

Algrim watches and shrugs.

[Rex]

None of you know if Drakes are nocturnal or not.

Turnip sneaks forward to scout ahead and above the cave. She doesn't encounter anything out of the ordinary and thinks she was pretty sneaky. No site of anything like a Drake or Dragon. She does see that the trail goes into the cave, which is formed by a pile of large boulders sort of jumbled together long ago. Looks something like this (woman for scale, LOL).

Cave.jpg (374.43 KiB) Viewed 737 times

After looking it over from above she notes that the trail seems to come back out and head further along, back towards the road. As she looks around further off she thinks she can see a very large tail sticking out from some foliage/tree cover about 200 yards off. Based on that it looks like the Drake is laying in ambush above the old road bed you took to get to the grave she thinks. She carefully sneaks back to the others to fill them in on what she learned.

Turnip gets to make a skill improvement roll for Observation.

Actions?

[shaidar]

Arngeir

"Could give it what wants, someone on road to attack, others surprise it on flanks."

[Rex]

Sir Gerolt

"If we do that it would have to be me, I am the heaviest armored and armed. Probably the most skilled as well, although the Dwarves are legendary warriors and the followers of Sarajin much feared. I am a better combatant from horseback but I am not sure it would be wise. My war horse is well trained but a Drake is another story so I would go on foot and leave the horses behind I think."

[GreyWolfVT]

Algrim "All I know is I got me crossbow an I can be a pretty damned good shot. I'm not really wantin ta go face ta face wit a drake."

[Ahlmzhad]

Murgar

"I've got to fight it with my spear and I might have something that will blunt its first attack. I'm wondering if you sir knight would be better to charge in and get a big hit while its looking at me."

I have an ability to hex things, but checking on if it would work with a Drake, and if its more than one roll that it affects. Not sure about the rules here but usually mounted charges get pretty good damage bonuses. Me charging with my spear not so much. We need a big opening round attack.

[sastaz]

Turnip

"I don't know, the claws on that thing seemed pretty darned sharp. I'm no fighter but my bet would be on putting the one covered by the most plate and chain as the bait, pardon the expression. I thought about someone like me trying to outrun it in some sort of chase while the others fire, but I fear it will be faster than me. I played with some smaller lizards as a kid and they're lightning fast when threatened."

She pauses a bit.

"So, I say we put the one with the hardest armor in front to draw it out, then attack from all angles. Only thing is, what do we do if it retreats back into the cave? Maybe we have to block it from doing that? So one armored fighter drawing it out, another one with armor sneaks down from behind?"

Just checked the character sheets and Sir Gerolt, Arngeir and Algrim all have good protection and excellent ENDURANCE, so game wise, two out of the three of you would do great as "tank types" for this fight. IMO. With Algrim having AML 102 in crossbow, I think he should be firing. So, my suggestion is: Arngeir luring it out, and when it is out of the cave Sir Gerolt charges with his lance (if possible) and Algrim (and the rest of us) attack from our positions. We just need to make sure at least one of us attacks from an angle blocking escape back into the cave.

[shaidar]

It's not in the cave, it's hiding in a bush by the road, ready to ambush passers by. We do need to stop it from retreating into the cave. So one should attack from the front and the other a rear flank to make it more difficult for it to back up or turn and flee. I'm not sure fighting that thing on horseback is a good idea, as Gerokts says. If the horse might bolt or throw it's rider against such a beast.

[Rex]

Sir Gerolt

"I will sneak back the way we came, tie the horses off and work my way down the road. Figure about 30 minutes."

[Rex]

Late afternoon of the 1st of Nolus, the first day of Summer.

Everyone except Gerolt is within sight of the lair preparing for the biggest fight of their life. Gerolt is walking into the jaws of a forest dragon, literally.

You have about 30 minutes, use it wisely. Character details are back, if I screwed something up please point it out to me.

Actions please!






Arngeir Orlygsson: Inj (none), FL 0, BL 0, PP 85, Uni Pen (0/0), Phy Pen (-4/-20), SMP 16, Move 3, Spc: backpack within sight of lair
Algrim Tirion: Inj (none), FL 0, BL 0, PP 19, Uni Pen (0), Phy Pen (-3/-15), SMP 16, Move 10, Spc: backpack within sight of lair
Turnip: Inj (none), FL 0, BL 0, PP 21, Uni Pen (0), Phy Pen (0/0), SMP 17, Move 15, Spc: backpack within sight of lair
Murgar: Inj (none), FL 0, BL 0, PP 28, Uni Pen (0), Phy Pen (-1/-5), SMP 18, Move 11, Spc: backpack within sight of lair
Gerolt: Inj (none), FL 0, BL 0, PP 16, Uni Pen (0), Phy Pen (-5/-25), SMP 0, Move 10, Spc: mounts and non-combat gear back 15 minutes walk from lair