Expedition: Earc/Guhra's Tower-Part II-29 July 2021

[Marullus]

Earc and Steve slit the throats of the unconscious goblins. The two clerics pray for their souls.

Halfpint sneaks up the stair, hoping to peek in on the floor above. Funil and Drunil remain as Olaf's flanking followers, the dwarf trio watching her go.

It seems the element of surprise is lost, however - they goblins lie waiting and with a gleeful cackle, they upend a cauldron of scalding oil, sloshing it down the steps! Halfpint's nimble feet scamper away fast enough, avoiding the terrible burns of the spill, but the steps are now slick with the slippery liquid.

Date: 11:52am, 02 August 2021
Effects: Continual light, Invisible (Earc), Olaf's Giant Strength (until 12:20pm)
Injuries: Earc (minorly wounded), Florian (minorly wounded), Halfpint (minorly wounded), Hereward (minorly wound), Funil (superficially wounded)

Halfling Sneak [1d6] = 6 Surprise: Us [1d6] = 1 Them [1d6] = 3
Save vs Petrify! [1d20] = 16 Damage [2d6] = 6

[Zhym]

Would it be possible to burn the oil and stand back far enough to avoid taking damage from it?

And did Halfpint manage to get a glimpse of what's upstairs before she got oil dumped at her?

[Marullus]

No (it isn't flammable) and No (they didn't let her).

[Zhym]

Olaf grunts. He won't be carrying any tables up these stairs. On the other hand, there's a big cauldron near the top of the stairs ready to be thrown. "Be climbing careful," he tells Funil and Drunil, and cautiously leads the way up the stairs.

If he gets the chance to attack:
The Dragon Sword +3 (THAC0 16): [1d20+4] = 5+4 = 9 [1d8+4] = 2+4 = 6
Does not include giant-strength bonuses.

[Alethan]

Earc makes sure one of the clerics is holding the stick of continual light.

Bringing up the rear, he takes a sip from his invisibility potion before coming into view of the goblins. Then he tries to determine who would be the best target for his last "offensive" spell of the day...

[onlyme]

where would Halfpint be at this point? is she at the top of the stairs after dodging the oil? Or did she go to the bottom, out running the oil? If at the bottom, how do we expect everyone to go up those stairs without falling?

[Marullus]

Sorry, the way forward isn't very clear... let me lay this out better.

Everyone is at the bottom of the stairs.
You aren't entirely sure what is upstairs, but assume it is Guhra and her lieutenants, so some number of goblins.
The stairs are slick with non-flammable oil.

You are trying to rush up the slippery stairs, through a single-file chokepoint, and into a goblin ambush. How you do so is obviously important. The slower you go up, the safer the stairs are but the more attacks you're facing at the top with less people. With more people going faster there's a higher chance of mishap, but the attacks in the ambush are potentially diluted.

I need:
* What order you are going up in.
* How many (and whom) are going up each round.

One person can go up without a check each round if they don't rush (and thus are the only one per round)

If you're rushing up the stair to allow multiple arrivals in the round, it is a Save Vs. Petrify. If you fail, you fall back down and take 1d6 damage. You also knock down everyone behind you attempting that round (with same 1d6). Each person after the first gets a cumulative -2 penalty to the save.

Example: If Olaf, Funil, and Drunil charge up in one round, in that order: Olaf [1d20] Funil [1d20-2] Drunil [1d20-4]

[Zhym]

Do any bonuses apply to those saves? Dexterity, maybe? Any magical armor bonuses?

Edit: It doesn't actually matter.

Olaf will go up the stairs alone. He'll ask the others to follow, one at a time or in small groups, as they think best.

[Alethan]

Unfortunately, I think that's the best...

Hmmm... there is one other way to get at least the fighters up to the top, possibly unnoticed. Then when the first cleric begins his climb, that can be the signal for the fighters to attack.

Earc has 6 sips left of his potion of Invisibility. He could give a dose to the three dwarfs and the halfling.

He might expect to be compensated for that during treasure division, of course...

And maybe before we head up, if there are any healing spells left to use then we should use them on injured party members. Or if anyone has healing potions they want to take... Again, Earc has a few of those and would be willing to make them available to the party for compensation (in this case, just the cost of buying new healing pots from the vendor in town). Likely this won't be an easy fight. But it should be the last one for this tower.

[Zhym]

Olaf couldn't drink an invisibility potion because he's already under the effects of one potion. At least, I assume mixing potions is dangerous in LL Basic the way it is in AD&D.

Otherwise, good idea.

[Alethan]

We could sneak the other two dwarfs and the halfling up, then. They could attack when you reach the top.

[Zhym]

Works for me.

[onlyme]

Halfpint nods.

[Alethan]

Once everyone indicates they are ready, Earc passes his potion bottle to Halfpint, Funil, and Drunil to each take a sip before they start their climb up the stairs.

”You three go up and wait near the top of the stairs. Pick a target and wait for Olaf to clear the stairs. As soon as he’s clear, attack. I’ll go up invisibly after Olaf and see if I can disable anyone who appears to be a leader with my last spell, to try and disrupt them further. The clerics should follow, once the fighting starts and after giving me a moment to clear the stairs.”

[Zhym]

Would it make sense for Invisible Earc to go up before Olaf, so that he could fire a magic missile in the first round of action? It might help, if there are any spell casters left up there.

[Alethan]

Earc doesn't have magic missile. He just has one spell left - Continual Light. He also has AC9. I'd rather not have him in the front ranks...

[Zhym]

Seeing the shaman already dead, Earc holds his spell, letting Olaf bulrush in, followed by Funil, Drunil, and Steve.

That was after Earc’s magic missile action, so he should have it still available.

[Alethan]

Seeing the shaman already dead, Earc holds his spell, letting Olaf bulrush in, followed by Funil, Drunil, and Steve.

That was after Earc’s magic missile action, so he should have it still available.

Oh! I'd already marked it off and must have missed that. That changes things... Earc can head up before Olaf and if a goblin appears to be a leader, then he will target it with all three missiles.

[Zhym]

So, here's another in the category of "ideas Olaf probably isn't smart enough to have": It might be useful for him and the clerics to make some noise to make it harder to hear the invisible people sneaking up the stairs. I don't know that it needs to be anything specific—maybe some banging and clattering that sounds like building something. Just something to mask other sounds.

[Alethan]

Consider that added to the action.