IC VIII

[thirdkingdom]

Lanny listens, but is unable to discern any additional information. Not being an expert on the difference between corporeal and incorporeal voices, he cannot say for certain whether or not the voices or disembodied or not.

You guys are unable to see the room to the east/west without actually entering the room.

[riftstone]

Thordin the dwarf will move forward, shield and sword at the ready. As soon as the owners of the voices are visible, he will state the traditional dwarf salutation reserved only for other dwarves.

"Auch od Isen, Auch od schlag?"

(Ax and Iron, or Axe and Hammer? - Friend or Foe?)

Traslation - Work with me, or fight with me?

Just another spoiler

[Bouv]

Tratiln readies his sword and shield for a potential combat.

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Lanny remains in the passage and whispers quietly to the others as Thordin moves forward.

"Let's see what reaction he draws from these dwarves... They may be willing to talk and may have valuable information about the castle, especially its lower levels... But be ready to act if they show any sign of aggression..."

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

"I have a charm spell ready to cast. If they are hostile I will try to recruit one of them to our side."

[Innana]

Innana the Fighter:

Thordin the dwarf will move forward, shield and sword at the ready. As soon as the owners of the voices are visible, he will state the traditional dwarf salutation reserved only for other dwarves.

"Auch od Isen, Auch od schlag?"

(Ax and Iron, or Axe and Hammer? - Friend or Foe?)

Traslation - Work with me, or fight with me?

Just another spoiler

. Hedfan (Basic): +2, 1d4+1, Range 20/30/45 (magical Elvish dagger)
Net (Basic): +1, Entangle, Range 10/20/30

Innana turns to Bregelad since she knows he speaks Dwarvish, and whispers in Elvish tongue, "did he just say he was going to grind their bones to make bread?, not very good at Dwarvish."

[sulldawga]

Marodin waits, weapon in hand, for the dwarves' reaction.

[thirdkingdom]

Thordin steps out into the room and hails the strangers in dwarfish. He sees the hall extends thirty feet back to the east; it is lit by a number of strange bronze braziers which each contains a small fire. At the far end of the room are eight dwarves of a strange appearance; they have grey, glabrous skin and seem to stand slightly taller than the average dwarf. All are armed and at least two are clad in plate mail.

They seem to be engaged in a heated discussion; as soon as Thordin reveals himself they stop and draw their weapons, a murderous gleam in their eyes. Though he may have never espied such a race of beings, Thordin has heard tales of these distant kin to dwarves, called duergar, and knows that they are evil and constantly at war with other dwarves!

[riftstone]

Thordin the dwarf, as soon as he realizes what these are, gives a savage shout and charges.

"Nocht Vier! Nocht Vier!"

Possible translation: "No Quarter! No Quarter!"

At this point, this is my own bastardized German.

Thordin is using his rowan shield with the magic sword in his main hand, bringing his AC down to 0. +7 to hit, 1d12+3 damage, -2 AC bonus vs. 1 opponent, 1 deflection attempt/round at a 7 or better chance. He is attacking whichever is closest.

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

"Ummm..." he says, as Thordin yells something incomprehensible and charges into the room. "Crap." He quickly slips into the room and ducks to the side, trying to hide in the shadows so he can slip around the back of the dwarves and come at one from behind.

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

Drudsa will cast Charm Person on one of the evil dwarves. If any of them seems to be casting a spell, is dressed in robes or is carrying some other wizardly equipment (wands, etcetera) he will cast it in that one, otherwise he will pick one in plate mail.

[sulldawga]

Marodin will shout, "Drudsa! You have the plate on the left! I have the plate on the right!"

The cleric will cast Hold Person on the plate-wearing duergar on the right.

[Bouv]

Tratiln, seeing the others head into the room with combat in their eyes will charge with them, sword and shield in hand and go to strike the nearest drugear.

Masterwork sword, 1d20+4, dmg 1d12, -2 AC vs. 1

[frobozz]

Lanny the elf

Hearing the plan shouted by Marodin, Lanny calls out to the others.

"Fighters, advance on the grunts! I will protect the casters!"

The invisible Lanny steps directly in front of Drudsa and Marodin, squatting down with his sword resting on the ground but in his hand and ready to strike if one of the dwarves are able to get to either caster before they finish casting their spells.

"After you complete your spells, I am going in," he whispers to the casters.

Lanny will attack on this round only if he is intercepting an attack meant for Drudsa or Marodin (especially Drudsa, since he is unarmored), otherwise he will preserve his invisibility this round.

Longsword, Masterwork (Basic): 1d20+3, 1d8+1 damage, plus an additional +2 bonus to attack roll for an "Unseen Attack" (DD Rulebook, page 138).

If Lanny himself is somehow detected and attacked, he will get a -4 bonus to AC as an "Unseen Target" (DD Rulebook, page 138), bringing his total AC to -3.

[sulldawga]

Semele will attempt, with her sling, to hit one of the duergar who's not engaged in melee combat.

Sling (basic) +2, d4

[Innana]

Innana the Fighter:

Innana looks at Bregalad again and raises her shoulders in question to what their dwarvin friend is yelling. "I think he said to kill em,". Innana quickly Draws her sword and shield, and runs to the closest grunt duerger swinging in from her hip, which is about the level of the enemies necks. "Die duerger dirt!"

Sword (Basic): +1, 1d8

[Finglas]

Thordin the dwarf will move forward, shield and sword at the ready. As soon as the owners of the voices are visible, he will state the traditional dwarf salutation reserved only for other dwarves.

"Auch od Isen, Auch od schlag?"

Innana the Fighter:

Innana turns to Bregelad since she knows he speaks Dwarvish, and whispers in Elvish tongue, "did he just say he was going to grind their bones to make bread?, not very good at Dwarvish."

Thordin the dwarf, as soon as he realizes what these are, gives a savage shout and charges.

"Nocht Vier! Nocht Vier!"

Bregalad the elf

Bregalad readies his spear and shield, while responding to Innana in elvish.....

"Pardon me, Innana. I understand the dwarvish tongue, but very few dwarvish idioms. I believe Thordin first asked them if they shared in his love of making jewelry, but then quickly took offense to their preference in working with fractions. I think it best that we join him, at this point, and display similar indignation!"

.....and then follows Thordin into the fray!

Spear (Skilled): 1d20+5, 1d6+3

[thirdkingdom]

Thordin strides forward and with a single stroke beheads one of the duergar before the grey dwarf can even raise his weapon. He is joined by Bregalad and Innana, and though the two make valiant attempts neither are able to strike their targets. Marodin calls upon his Immortal patron to freeze the limbs of one of the plate clad duergar, and it finds itself unable to resist his puissant prayers. Drudsa calls out the words to his spell and reaches out to mentally dominate the other duergar; like all dwarves, however, it proves resistant to magical influence and shrugs off the spell's power. The adventurers block, parry and dodge a number of attacks from the grey dwarves; one unfortunate dwarf's sword shatters upon Bregalad's armor. Rhys takes advantage of the confusion and sneaks behind the fray, but his sword stroke is deflected by the stout dwarfish chain; the metalsmithing abilities of these strange dwarves seem akin to their more lawful relatives. Tratiln also advances but is unable to hit his target.

Hmmm. Abysmal rolls all around, except for Thordin. Sulldawga, I think I am just going to make it easier and say that at this point firing into a melee is not allowed. Alethan, I went ahead and held Rhys' action, which granted him a +2 bonus on his attack from behind. For those who are curious, I am using the duergar stats from the Labyrinth Lord Advanced Companion. One of the duergar rolled a natural 1. This is the table I have devised for critical fumbles:

1. -4 penalty to next attack
2. +2 to the character's AC for the subsequent round.
3. The character leaves himself open to a free attack from one opponent.
4. The character obstructs a companion in such a way that the companion suffers a -4 penalty to their next attack. Note that this has the potential to disrupt a spell, if it occurs before a spell is cast.
5. The character makes a second attack roll against a randomly determined nearby companion.
6. The character takes 1d4 points of damage from the botched attack.
7. The character's weapon breaks.
8. The character's weapon becomes stuck, requiring 1 round to get unstuck.
9-12. No modifier.

[Innana]

Innana the Fighter:

Innana yells to Bregalad, and Thordin "Fighters, would you like to fight back to back?" Innana looks to Bregalad since he is near her height and fighting closest to her. Innana turns her back to Bregalads back, and swings her sword at the next closest Duerger that advances on their small formation. "Do you think that These Duervens dirtbags will reconsider their views on jewel making before the loose their heads completely? I did not realize Thordin felt so strongly about jewel making or mathematics!"

Sword (Basic): +1, 1d8

[sulldawga]

Marodin will close to melee range and attack the nearest un-paralyzed dark dwarf.

"Semele, stay close and heal whoever needs it."

Masterwork Warhammer (specialized, vs armed opponent) +5, d6+2