Illes crouches in the bushes near Elisile bow in hand. When Lo'j begins his approach, he draws an arrow and carefully takes aim. Not the most patient of the group, he shifts and tries to see where everyone has gotten to eventually whispering to Elisile, "Can you see anything? Are they there yet?"
F10, ready shot on first target at the signal whistle
Illes crouches in the bushes near Elisile bow in hand. When Lo'j begins his approach, he draws an arrow and carefully takes aim. Not the most patient of the group, he shifts and tries to see where everyone has gotten to eventually whispering to Elisile, "Can you see anything? Are they there yet?"
F10, ready shot on first target at the signal whistle
"Lo'j should be there .... right ... about .... now. Let us hope they take the bait."
Lo’j and Gurney stroll casually into view. The goblins seem oblivious at first but, as Lo’j makes no attempt to conceal himself, they eventually notice and hurriedly take position under the bridge. They wait for him to step on to the bridge itself before they leap out, shrieking a shrill Goblin warcry.
OK, Lo’j has got to M5 with Gurney at M6. Goblin 1 is at L7, Goblin 2 at L4, Goblin 3 at M4, Goblin 4 at N7, Goblin 5 at O4 and Goblin 6 at O7. For readied actions, the shooters go first (strictly, it should be in DEX order, but let’s not get too anal) and then the chargers charge (also in DEX order). After that, we roll initiative and proceed as normal.
By the way, for those in deep cover – the goblins will get 20% concealment while they are anywhere apart from the road, stream or bridge. As do you.
Larken takes aim on goblin 2 and lets fly.
to hit 17r +7 +1 PBS = 25 damage 6r +1 PBS (+10 sneak attack, if applicable) = 7 or 17 miss percentage roll = 53
move action: reload crossbow
As the goblins let out their incomprehensible warcry, Larken calmly shoots one in the liver.
I can't find anything that says a sneak attack is a full-round action. I thought it was, but I've looked in all the reasonable places and can't find a reference. If it is a full-round, please disregard the reload, and let me know (with a page ref, if you can.)
Dravite hears the whistle and launches 2 arrows, one quickly following the other.
"Hee-heh!"
Rapid Shot-1d20+5=20, 1d8=5, 1d20+5=22, 1d8=2
Aiming for any still standing.
Vethran, seeing the goblins dropping like flies, opts to reserve his spells and instead rushes forward to release a fiery explosion with the wave of his hand.
Move to G5, Fiery Burst at the intersection of K-L/7-8. Goblin 1 needs to make a DC 15 Reflex save. If he fails, he takes 6. If successful, he takes 3.
A bit more specific next time, please, though I accept I wasn't around to give you the results of the other rolls. It's not really up the the DM to choose your targets for you.
r8+8=16; dam=r2+3=5
%miss r=21 (1-20 miss) hit through concealment.
Goblin 6 already cashed his chips, and Alwyn got 5. Contrary to Dravite's comment above, goblin 3 is still standing. However, you can charge on to the bridge and attack it from above.
There is a flurry of arrows, and then Alwyn and Hudak charge from concealment. Lo'j has the unnervering sight of Hudak bearing down on him, waving his sword... And striking off the bridge and braining the last goblin left standing in the stream.
End of combat. Neatly done - all over in the surprise round. And Lo'j didn't even have to draw his sword. 75 xp each.
"Excellent!" Alwyn is excited about the party's victory, shaking hands and slapping shoulders with anyone who'll let him. "Good teamwork, good planning, good execution. While I doubt that they carry anything valuable, let's quickly pat them down for maps, keys or suchlike. After that, we dump the bodies in the river and continue on our way."
“The best sort of battle,” says Elisile as she hauls the goblin body from the river, seeing if her arrow is salvageable. “Let us not dump the bodies in the river; Thistletop lies by the sea, the direction this river flows. If arrow riddled bodies are seen by the goblins of Thistletop, it may alert them that something is amiss. Haul the corpses from the river and pile them off the road.”
The elf looks around, following the flow of the river north. “This would likely be the Thistle River – we will need to follow it from here.”
What is the terrain by the river like? Any paths along the banks? How deep and swift does the river look? Survival: 15+6 = 21
The river isn't very deep - after all the goblins were standing in it, though this did use to be a ford before they built the bridge. There seem to be tracks down either side of the river, leading into the Thistle Wood a little bit distant. Thorny plants predominate in Thistle Wood - hence the name.
The search of the bodies reveals nothing much - just crummy weapons and armour.
The party heads into the woods. The trails twist about amongst the damp foliage, and biting insects are a constant irritant. Dravite leads the group for a while, but after an hour or so eventually stops and shakes his head, having lost the goblins' spoor.
It is probably about 1 pm or so. You need to make a Survival DC 12 check to find the right path, or lose another hour. Once you have made the Survival check, we then need a Search check, DC 12, or lose yet another hour.
Spoiler:
With the sound of waves crashing unseen against cliffs in the near distance, you find what appears to be a small wooden gate, cunningly weaved with vines and branches to conceal it from a casual gaze. It seems to lead into a tunnel through choked briars and nettles.
The party heads into the woods. The trails twist about amongst the damp foliage, and biting insects are a constant irritant. Dravite leads the group for a while, but after an hour or so eventually stops and shakes his head, having lost the goblins' spoor.
It is probably about 1 pm or so. You need to make a Survival DC 12 check to find the right path, or lose another hour. Once you have made the Survival check, we then need a Search check, DC 12, or lose yet another hour.
** spoiler omitted **
reply/quoted because it was disappearing...this post was made about an hour after Aubrey said this...
I think the different versions of the website are having problems synchronising - it's been like this for a couple of weeks now. It should appear eventually - I've yet to see posts disappear for ever after thay have been posted. That said, my last post has disappeared even for me.
Having been content to let Dravite take the lead for some time – he is the group’s expert ranger after all – Elisile eventually tires of wandering around in the thorn filled wood and, sighing, pushes her way back to the lead of the group.
“This way,” she says, as she begins to lead the band half an hour back in the direction they had come, eventually picking up a faint trail leading north. “Here – goblin tracks,” she says, kneeling and pointing at a half obscured print in the dried mud to the side of the trail.
Leading the band, she keeps a careful eye out for any further signs of the goblins – and after some time, calls a halt. “There,” she says.
Survival: 8+6 = 14. Search: 15+9 = 24
With the sound of waves crashing unseen against cliffs in the near distance, you find what appears to be a small wooden gate, cunningly weaved with vines and branches to conceal it from a casual gaze. It seems to lead into a tunnel through choked briars and nettles.
"I can hear the ocean. Hey, Larken,...wanna check this out? Maybe they trapped it up with poison darts. After that, I'll heave the son a witch open; I don't want to get more stabbed up than usual."
“Are we to go straight in?” asks Elisile. “After Larken has checked for traps of course; I am in favour of that rather than camping a night out here first. However, we should find a spot a distance away to leave the mule.”
Aye, Ms. Starbrow, I'll be ta findin' a spot out o' de way fer da mule ta be hidin'. Good eye dere, spottin' de gobbo's track.
Comon ol Crag. Anyone got any stuff on de mule they be wantin' to haul about?
Dravite waits to see if anyone wants to take any supplies off of Ol'Crag before he leaves him back into the woods, trying to find a good area to conceal him in. Survival-1d20+5=12 .
Tying the mule's lead to a tree, he unloads the gear from the beastie and hides them in a hollow by a fallen tree trunk and covers the pile with leaves and such. Then he takes the 5 flasks of Harpy Musk and distributes the scent around the perimeter of the area about 50' from the mule in all directions, rubbing some on tree branches, drizzling small spots on the ground, etc. to give the impression of harpy habitation. Dravite then heads back to the others.
Swinging open the gate, a low, narrow tunnel, which everyone but Dravite must crouch to traverse, continues northwards. The floor is well-packed earth, indicating that this is a frequently-used route. While not exactly dark, only dappled sunlight makes it through the canopy above.
Out-tracked by one of the party wizards - oh, the humiliation!
Elisile, in her position at the rear of the group, walks backwards in a slight crouch, alert for ambushes from the rear, her bow held ready. If the passageway does not seem wide enough to accommodate her longbow, she holds her rapier instead.
“Move slowly and avoid contact with the thorns and nettles,” she advises the band.
Nature Knowledge: 14+7 = 21 to identify the nettle bushes and determine if they are poisonous or anything.
