IC X

[frobozz]

Lanny the Elf

Lanny emerges from his tent upon hearing the commotion, already feeling a bit of soreness from sleeping in his armor. He compliments Aquar on his tactic after learning that the bats fled from the fire.

"Fire will definitely help us to repel normal animals, so it would be wise to keep more torches near the campfire in case this happens again... In doing so, we can save our spells for the Great Cat."

He moves a bit closer to Aquar, speaking softly.

"You might, however, ask Procan to stand by with a few waves of seawater should one of those thrown torches ignite a treetop..."

Lanny returns to his tent and tries to go back to sleep.

[Alethan]

Aquar, cleric

Aquar smiles when the bats flee. Then he frowns, moving over to where the torch landed. He hopes he didn't start a forest fire.

'It appears they fled," exclaims Aquar. "Procan was with us tonight."

Rhys the Traveler

Rhys gives Aquar a quizzical look and says, "Huh? I thought your god was of the sea... you threw a fiery brand at them, not a waterskin!" Then he smiles to show he is jesting and bends over to tend the fire.

"Looks like you all can get some more rest..."

[thirdkingdom]

No forest fire is caused by the burning brand, and the rest of the night passes uneventfully. The companions break camp in the morning and continue east. Bregalad and Lanny find the tracks of the Beast easy to follow, and by midday the terrain becomes much steeper and less heavily wooded. Several hours later, they are slowly leading their mounts along a narrow ridge when a noise from below attracts their attention. Some sixty or seventy feet away (down the slope) a large group of humanoids can be seen crashing through the trees below. There are at least a dozen of them, heavily armed and on foot, and they do not appear to be exceptional woodsman.

One of them looks surprisingly like Rhys.

Please note that you guys have the higher ground. Anyone looking to charge down the slope to engage in melee will have to make a Dexterity check. However, the other group has partial cover due to the trees. You all have one round in which to act before you are noticed.

[frobozz]

Lanny the Elf

Lanny's keen sense of hearing detects the sounds of approaching creatures. He looks around to see the source of the noise, and his eyes widen at what he sees. He whispers hurriedly to his companions.

"The False Rhys has returned! He must not escape again! I suggest Sleep, Magic Missiles, and a charge, while we are still undetected."

Lanny looks around at the others for a quick confirmation of the plan of action.

Just for clarification, does this Rhys look-a-like actually appear identical to our Rhys (as the doppleganger did)?

Also, can we tell what type of humanoids are accompanying the Rhys look-a-like? Are they closer to human/demi-human or to "monster"? (goblin, orc, etc.)

[thirdkingdom]

The one looks pretty much like Rhys. The others all appear to be human. But it's hard to tell for sure.

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

Could they be soldiers from Threshold? The shapeshifter might have tricked soldiers from the city and if we attack them this could make our situation much more complicated, I'd rather identify them before we initiate any hostile action.

[thirdkingdom]

Drudsa the dabbler

Could they be soldiers from Threshold? The shapeshifter might have tricked soldiers from the city and if we attack them this could make our situation much more complicated, I'd rather identify them before we initiate any hostile action.

They do not appear to be wearing official uniforms.

[frobozz]

Lanny the Elf

Anticipating a battle, Lanny immediately begins to chant the words to his Magic Missile spell, his eyes focused squarely upon the Rhys look-a-like.

Upon completion of the casting, Lanny will hold the glowing arrow at his side (per p. 91 of the DD Rulebook) until the very end of the surprise round. He may or may not launch the missile during the surprise round, depending on what else happens during the surprise round (so I will probably edit this spoiler later).

[zebediah]

Drudsa the dabbler

Drudsa will also cast a Magic Missile and, just as Lanny, will refrain from shooting until the nature and/or intent of the humanoids is clear.

If there is any hostile action from the humanoids and/or from the fake Rhys Drudsa will shoot the Magic Missiles at the (supposed) shapeshifter.

[Innana]

Innana the Fighter:

Watches to see what happens with the spells. "Aye. There are a lot of them together." See what spells we can use first, and let me know when you need me, and Thordin to attack."

[Alethan]

Rhys the Traveler

Rhys readies his bow, but will not be the first to fire upon anyone who has not yet shown hostile intent.

[Finglas]

Lanny the Elf

Lanny's keen sense of hearing detects the sounds of approaching creatures. He looks around to see the source of the noise, and his eyes widen at what he sees. He whispers hurriedly to his companions.

"The False Rhys has returned! He must not escape again! I suggest Sleep, Magic Missiles, and a charge, while we are still undetected."

Lanny looks around at the others for a quick confirmation of the plan of action.

Bregalad the elf

"Aye, brother. Say the word, and I will use my magic against the doppleganger. And those others -- they have the bearing of orcs. They cannot mean well."

Bregalad follows suit and casts Magic Missile, ready to fire the bolt at the false Rhys with the first sign of aggression.

[Grognardsw]

Aquar, cleric

Aquar grasps his throwing hammer, ready to hurl should the party engage.

[riftstone]

Thordin the dwarf mutters a dwarven curse under his breath, takes his second sword from his mount, and moves slowly down the slope towards the band.

Not charging, moving with malice.

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.

[Alethan]

Thordin the dwarf mutters a dwarven curse under his breath, takes his second sword from his mount, and moves slowly down the slope towards the band.

Not charging, moving with malice.

If you move too close and engage in melee in the next round, then that eliminates a full round of ranged attacks we could make...

[frobozz]

Lanny the Elf

Once all preparatory spells have been cast and all weapons readied, Lanny calls out in a firm voice to the approaching humanoids after they have fully emerged from the brush.

"Travelers below! Stand and identify yourselves!"

[thirdkingdom]

Upon hearing Lanny call out, the men below them curse in confusion and surprise. "That's them, boys!" cries one thuggish looking fellow; "the redhead's mine!" calls another.

Okay, spells have been cast as stated in earlier post, the surprise round is over. Thordin is 30' down the slope; let me know if the PCs with missile weapons/spells armed want them to go off at the end of this round (as in, you guys were holding your actions until an intention was declared) or wait until next round.

Please also note that the bandits have partial cover due to the trees. At this point, the PCs do as well, except for Thordin.

[Alethan]

Rhys the Travler

"Fire!" Rhys calls out as he launches an arrow at the group of thugs. If he is allowed a specific target, he aims for the one that mentioned the red hair.

[frobozz]

Lanny the Elf

Lanny launches his glowing arrow directly at the False Rhys.

"Target the doppelganger!"

Magic Missile: 1d6+1 damage

[Grognardsw]

Aquar, cleric

The sailor-priest of Procan hurls Fury's Fist at the deceiver Rhys.

Throwing Hammer, basic proficiency.