Thursday, January 24, 2013

Day Three on the Trail, Combat in the Woods

September 2, in the year 670 by Kingdom reckoning. 2 AM

Tom's arrow hits it's mark and one of the dark shapes lets out a shriek of pain. The others immediately drop to the ground and begin crawling forward to get into bow range.

Rethas (20):

Rethas, it turns out is already awake and comes out of the tent crouching low and takes up a position behind the wagon. He takes no other action and is waiting for orders.

Foes (17):

Several arrows come out of the darkness. One sticks in a log next to Khaza and others fly over his head but he is uninjured. Several more arrows fly around Tom but only one hits it's mark (3 damage).

You can barely see the shapes lying on the bank of the stream, they'll be hard to hit as long as they're laying down (-2).

(The horse shape is the wagon, I didn't have a wagon shape. The other two are the tents. Black dots are the shapes Tom saw, yellow is Tom and red is Khazad. Each hex is 10 feet. I know we're using hexes instead of squares, hope it doesn't ruin anyone's life til I can figure out a different way to map.)






62 comments:

  1. Thorvald heard the cries of alarm, and he woke and scanning the area. Seeing five shadowy figures take prone positions and fire arrows at his allies, Thorvald felt his battle rage consume him.

    Bringing his Greataxe to bear, Thorvald charged the southern most enemy and put all of his strength into a mighty swing of his axe.

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    Replies
    1. ((Hit Roll 1d20 + 3Hit = 18+3=21))
      ((Damage Roll 1d12+[4*1.5]=6+6=12))

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    2. As you charge up, the creatures come into focus and you realize that they are goblins. You also see another group of them on the other side of the stream.

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    3. Also, Thor's weapon cleaves the creature in twain. It is very dead.

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  2. Seeing another group across the stream, Thorvald calls out in his rage:

    "Rejoice companions," he half-shouted, half-growled. "There's another lot just past the stream."

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  3. Kring, already awake too lost in his pondering to sleep, rushes from under the wagon, axe in hand, and danglebones dangling, at the sound of Thor's battle cry. Rushing south following Thor's advance Kring can smell the fresh goblin blood in the air, waking his instinctual gladiatorial rage. With flashes of the glory days tearing through opponents in the ring, Kring goes into a blind rage, bringing his axe upward, ready to cleave the goblin in two from crotch to crown, hardly noticing the dead split goblin at Thor's feet.

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    1. ((Kring's Rolls))
      ((Hit Roll 1d20 + 4Hit = 12+4=16))
      ((Damage Roll 1d12+[5*1.5]=6+7=13))

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    2. The axe hits its mark and the two halves of goblin slide apart and hit the ground.

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  4. Tom yells to Rethas to attack the goblins and for Hamish to watch their rear, in case attack comes from there. Seeing the barbarians rush into the fray and cleave goblins in two, Tom does his best Grizzly Roar and nocks another arrow. Sighting down the arrow he let's loose, the arrow flying into his first target with a thunk. ((Tom is attacking the northern most the one closest to him, figuring that is the one he targeted before too Hit 14 +5 +1 -2 = 18 Damage 7)) ((pretty sure I can move now--moving northwest to flank the first group-can I move to the hex north of my target?))
    Tom moves northwest towards the stream, staying close to the trees north of the camp, attempting to flank the first group and prevent the second group from flanking his companions.

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    Replies
    1. The goblin takes another arrow, this time in the chest, and he is slain. You can move to that position.

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  5. Khazad moves forward taking up a position behind Kring and Thorvald while repositioning his shield and raising his mace.

    "Goblinkind... Flee before the might of the god Torag! Those that flee will be spared, this is your one chance... Now behold the wonder that is a Dwarven God!"

    Khazad summons a monster on the far side of the stream, directly before the large Hobgoblin towering over its companions on the bank.

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    Replies
    1. (Haha, nice speech.)

      What would you like to summon?

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    2. A bright light flares for a moment, illuminating the grove, and an eagle appears. It shrieks and then casts smite evil on the Hobgoblin. It attacks with two talons and does 8 damage!

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  6. Draymun is awoken by the shouts of alarm and battle, and quickly takes a scan of the area from the opening in his tent. Realizing that he is less than prepared for battle immediately, he calls out to Hamish as he snatches up his shield and warhammer:

    "Hamish! I've got the rear flank covered, get in there and split some skulls for me, eh?" He grins at the man as he quickly returns to preparing himself for battle.

    ((I assume that since I wear only light leather that I probably keep it on. There aren't penalties for such, and I figure it's just his normal garb. Equipping myself, will end up directly outside of my tent. Keeping an eye behind the campsite for any stragglers that are sneaking around.

    If I get an additional action, let me know. I assumed equipping and taking my 5-foot-step would be about it this round. If an attack CAN be made, is there a target within 30 ft that my Acid Dart could hit?))

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    1. In the rules, if your base attack bonus is 1 or higher, you can draw weapons and move in the same action. Since you're a druid, it'll be next level.

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  7. Hamish (1) will exit his tent and look to the battle. He'll scream "Goblins?!" and make a mad dash into the fray, ending up toe to toe with the nearest living goblin.

    (He used his full move to get there. Did I mention that when I rolled up Hamish, one of his random quirks was a vendetta against goblins? I love it when the dice come together.)

    Rethas' (21) head pops up from behind the wagon. He yawns and flicks his wrist and a bolt of silver light will fly from his hand and hit the hobgoblin.

    (Magic Missile, 3 damage.)

    Goblins (17)

    There are two goblins and one hobgoblin left on this side of the stream. The one before Hamish will pull a short sword and attack him (from the ground), dealing 1 point of damage. The other goblin will shoot another arrow at Tom, missing. The hobgoblin will Charge Kring but he will miss him, the hobgoblin is now at -2 AC til his next turn and he is visible to the camp.

    There are 6 goblins and one hobgoblin on the other side of the stream. Since Kring, Thorvald and Hamish are visible, two goblins apiece will shoot at them: Kring takes 1 damage, Thorvald is missed, Hamish takes 5 damage. The hobgoblin wades across the stream.

    Hamish is now at 2 hp.

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  8. Thorvald relishes in the rush of the battle. Watching his companions each make use of their impressive skills. Seeing a Hobgoblin rush at Kring, Thorvald moves forward, bellowing his most fearsome war cry and unleashes his axe upon him.

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    Replies
    1. ((Hit Roll 1d20 + 3Hit = 20+3=23))
      ((Damage Roll 1d12+[4*1.5]=12+6=18))

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    2. You bury your axe deep in the creatures chest and it falls to the ground, dead.

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  9. Kring, drunk off of the bloodlust flowing through his body, grabs Thor around the shoulder, "That was MY KILL!" Gathering his strength and looking around for his next victim, Kring raises his axe high, bringing it down upon the next unlucky goblin in his path of destruction.

    ((Hit Roll 1d20 + 3Hit = 10+3=13))
    ((Damage Roll 1d12+[4*1.5]= 6+[4*1.5]=12)) mathz are hard.

    Did I do it right?!?

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    Replies
    1. (If you're still enraged, then your strength is 5. But other than that, you did it perfectly!)

      Krings axe flys in a perfect arc but at the last second, the goblin ducks and the axe goes flying over his head, nearly missing Hamish.

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    2. Did I throw the axe? I didn't mean too. I meant to just swing down on him.... Sorry if it was worded poorly!

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    3. I believe I worded it wrong. The axe is still in your hands, I should have said "You swing the axe in a perfect arc..."

      You whiffed, basically.

      Delete
  10. Seeing the young warrior Hamish take some devastating damage Khazad moves over to offer his aid.
    "Mighty Torag let this humble dwarf be your vessel and see this valiant hero healed!" Stretching forth his mace and touching the young man on the shoulder a flash of light briefly illuminates the two figures as divine energy is channeled to heal the young mans wounds. Skin begins to grow over gaping wounds and the blood stops seeping forth from his injuries.

    (Casts Cure Light Wounds by converting my first level Shield of Faith spell into a spontaneous cast heal spell. Rolled a 7, add 1 for lvl 1... Healed 8 pts of damage)

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  11. Tom growls at the goblin who fired on him, nocking another arrow he sights down the arrow and lets loose. The missile flies true, impaling the goblin into the ground. Tom, seeing the other hobgoblin come across the stream yells, "Here comes the other group!" ((Hit 19 +5 +1 -2 = 23 Damage 10)) ((Tom stays where he is, because he's protected from the other group by the tree--I think and still has a clear shot at any goblin on our side of the stream))

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    Replies
    1. The goblin cries out and then slumps to the earth.

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  12. Hoisting his shield into a defensive position, Draymun surveys the area behind the camp. After being certain that there are no threats coming from that direction, he turns his attention to the battle in progress.

    Moving slighting to the north-west for a better angle, Drayum sets his sites on one of the goblins next to Hamish and extends his hand.

    "Oh, how I have waited for you fowl creatures to invade since I was birthed from stone. GOBLIN, you shall feel the wrath of the caves your kind desecrates! And this wrath BURNS!"

    Focusing his energy he exhales slowly and a green needles forms in front of his hammer, suspended in the air for but a moment. As quickly as it formed, it vanishes, striking out at its target.

    ((Acid Dart. Ranged touch attack 1d20 +1(goblin), Result: 15 + 1 = 16.

    Damage 1d6, Result: 5))

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    1. That'll hit and kill the last goblin on your side of the stream.

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    2. ((Isn't the second Hobgoblin still standing on our side of the river still?))

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  13. Hamish (1) will groan with frustration and run to the stream, splashing and floundering he makes it as far as the other bank.

    Rethas (21) fires another magic missle at one of the goblins.

    (4 damage)

    The 6 goblins on the other side of the stream look around and 3 bolt. The other three fire arrows, two at Thorvald and one at Draymun. All miss.

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    Replies
    1. ((The three that bolted are the lucky ones here))

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  14. The hobgoblin yells something in goblish and swings his longsword at Kring. He hits and does 6 points of damage.

    Kring bares his teeth in a feral grin and swings his greataxe. He also hits and does 14 points of damage. Kring roars with the exaltation of battle.

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  15. Thorvald notices three of the goblins on the far side of the stream begin to flee and he felt his rage surge within him.

    "You will not escape the wrath of Thunor!" Thorvald shouted as he took off at a run and leapt over the stream without missing a stride. Raising his axe above his head, Thorvald charged at the closest of the retreating goblins and put all of his might into his swing.

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    Replies
    1. ((Jump roll 1d20+Dex = 1-+2=12))
      ((Hit Roll 1d20 + 3Hit = 15+3=18))
      ((Damage Roll 1d12+[4*1.5]=8+6=14))

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    2. ((Jump roll should read 10+2))

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    3. One of the running goblins is cut down by Thorvald's weapon and he dies.

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  16. "Thorvald, I said we would spare them if they fled!!! Thorvald!!" Realizing Thorvald was lost to the lust of the battle there was but one option left. Setting his jaw and moving forward Khazad summoned up the might of Torag for a lethal throw of his hammer. Speeded by the magic of a god it sails through the air at one of the retreating Goblins. "Well they did not surrender when given the chance initially..." Khazad muttered to himself. Knowing the magic would return his hammer to his hand after striking the beast, Khazad turns his attention to the remaining combatants nearest to him and sets his shield for the inevitable assault.

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  17. ((Rolled 13+4 (Wis Mod) + 1 (Hatred) = 18. Rolled 8 on d8 for damage. Don't know if it adds my Wis Mod or Hatred to dmg).

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    1. The hammer smacks the goblin between his eyes and knocks him flat, crushing his skull.

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  18. Tom moves around the tree to the stream. Seeing three goblins facing Hamish, Tom grabs an arrow and sights down the shaft, aiming at the goblin on Hamish's north side. The arrow flies true, embedding itself in the goblins torso. ((Hit 20 + 5 damage 4))

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  19. Hamish swings his axe at the goblin recently shot by Tom and hits, cutting across it's chest and felling it.

    (By my count there is one goblin running, one hobgoblin alive toe-to-toe with Kring and two goblins near the stream.)

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  20. Draymun grins as he dashes toward the stream, seeing Hamish land a killing blow on a goblin.

    "Good on you, lad! Keep the blood flowin'!"

    The grin vanishes from his face as he notices the Hobgoblin squaring off with Kring, the warriors exchanging brutal blows.

    'Oh, you ugly bastard...' he thinks as he readies another blast of acid.

    "Kring! Incoming!"

    ((Acid Dart on Hobgoblin. Ranged touch attack 1d20 +1 (goblinoid), Result: 20+1=21;
    Crit Confirmation: 1d20+1, Result: 14+1=15
    Damage 2d6 (x2), Result: 4, 1 = 5

    Sam, according to the rules I'm reading (and this is different than I used to play) crit damage is not multiplied, but instead rolled extra for the crit? If it's multiplied, I rolled the 4 first (x2 would equal 8) but the Masterworks program says you roll extra times for a crit, so I rolled a second d6 with a result of 1. Adjust if needed!))

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    1. (The rules do say that. I usually double it because it feels less "swingy" but there's really no mathematical background to my decision. You can do it either way and I'll accept it either way.)

      The hobgoblin screams in rage and pain as the acid splashes across his torso and face and he falls to the ground, rolling around for a moment before becoming still. (He's dead.)

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  21. Rethas is out of spells so he runs to the fire and tries to stoke it up to give more light. He also lights three torches and has them ready if you need them.

    The goblin who ran makes it to the trees and disappears from immediate view.

    The other two throw down their weapons and kneel on the ground with their hands up and begin to wail.

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  22. Thorvald lets out another war cry, this one filled with the frustration of seeing one of his foes escape in the bushes. Determined not to let the thing escape, he follows in pursuit breaking through the trees. He quickly scans to see if he can locate a healthy target for his axe.

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    Replies
    1. ((Perception roll: 1d20+Wis = 12+1=13))

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    2. (He rolled a 19.)

      You can still hear him though. You are currently 30 feet into the forest.

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  23. Unable to see the foul little beast, Thorvald stopped running and took in the moments that he stood and waited, he calmed himself, letting his rage past. He turned and walked back into the clearing. Stopping a few feet inside, he knelt to give thanks to Thunor for his glorious victory.

    "Mighty thunder rager, you have guided my axe true this day. I honor your ways and give thanks that here, in the place touched by your hand, you have granted us the strength to claim victory. I name this place Thunor's Fist in honor of the victory you guided us to."

    Rising, Thorvald returned to the stream, where he saw his companions gathered around the two cowering goblins.

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    Replies
    1. ((Not sure if combat is technically over or not, now that I gave up chasing the goblin, but figured I wanted to be back with the rest of you to decide the fate of the last two.))

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  24. Unless someone wants to pursue the goblin into the woods, combat is over. Hamish will pretty much demand that the prisoners be executed and offers to do it without any hesitation.

    The two prisoners, understanding what's happening without actually comprehending your speech, grovel like worms in the dirt.

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  25. "If we do not follow that goblin back to its warren you can expect that this forest will crawl with them by nightfall. I would never presume to have authority over any of you but I would recommend that our fastest and surest head into the woods while there is yet time and stop the goblin, every second will count. Remember, with this wagon in these woods we are but a moving target, and a slow one at that. I will tie up the prisoners, I brought rope for the occasion. With the rising of the sun I will pray to Torag that I might have the power to understand their vile speech. Kring, if you will, help me seize them and tie them about."

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  26. "Khazad is right, we must follow them, but we need to wait for the sun, darkvision isn't great for tracking. In addition, splitting up could be a bad idea. Let's see what these can tell us."

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  27. With that said, Tom begins to search the bodies and carry the spoils to the wagon. Making sure all are truly dead and none of the bodies will despoil the stream. Tom also retrieves his arrows.

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  28. As the party gathered up the equipment and spoils from their combat, Thorvald grabbed two of the bags of rats and up-ended them, tossing rat carcases everywhere. Thorvald put the bags over their captives' heads and bound their hands behind their backs. Turning to the rest of his company, Thorvald addressed the most obvious issue at hand.

    "We need to deal with these two," Thorvald began. "This is not my first time being ambushed by goblins, nor do I expect it will be my last. Every experience I have had with these foul creatures tells me that there is no reason they should be allowed to live. Set free, they would only return to whatever hole they crawled out of, pick up new weaponry, and set out to find others to ambush."

    "If they are allowed to live, they may ambush the next travellers they find. And we are not so far from the main road to Ashmont. Their next ambush could target the innocent." Turning to Hamish, Thorvald said, "I could use a second blade to carry out the executions."

    "Unless there are any objections, I will deal with this issue and we can get back to our rest for the night." Thorvald looked to Khazad who nodded and walked off. Taking his approval as enough agreement for consent, Thorvald and Hamish each grabbed one of the prisoners and pushed them off to the far side of the wagon, out of sight of the remainder of the group. Pushing the creatures to their knees, Thorvald and Hamish readied their weapons.

    "One swift strike to the backs of their necks, Hamish," Thorvald advised, "on three." Thorvald counted down and the two men brought their weapons down upon the prisoners at the same time.

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    1. Snicker-snack. The blades do their work and the goblins fall with a dull thud.

      Hamish nods grimly and looks to the sky. "I feel as if I should be glad, but vengeance doesn't bring back the dead." He'll sit alone in his thoughts for a time and then retire to bed.

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    2. As Tom passes Hamish on one of his patrols around the camp, he stops and says to Hamish quietly, "Remember this day Hamish, remember the feelings, taking a life is no easy thing. I think you'll figure it out, you did well this day." Nodding to Hamish, Tom slips back into the woods.

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  29. The party having stripped the creatures bodies of wealth and armorments piled the bodies in a small natural depression in the ground. Khazad intoned a prayer to Torag thanking him for his divine assistance and at least partly in the hopes of assauging any disagreement the divine may have had with the fiery barbarians' decision. As the last two bodies were roughly thrown into place by Hamish and Thorvald, Khazad upended two bottles of oil unto the tinder laden pile... And then he called to the divine for one the power of flame. A single spark caught amidst the pile and the flames lit the surrounding area as if Torag himself had stepped forth in all his glory. It was then that Khazad realized he had been crying, and by the light of the divine pyre, he found the strength to stand once more, and the conviction to know he had made the right choice.

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  30. (Anything else before we move forward to the next day?)

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