Lost City DM |
TACTICAL MAP updated.
Guys: I have put Ana, Brathas, and Wallia in position according to your posts, and put Zynazyr and Fistep and Ferrous based on where I figure they are likely to be. Feel free to move them before anything happens.
What will your strategy be for dealing with the bats?
* Block the door and let the bats pass by?
* Go out into the hall to meet the bats?
* Get ready to spring out in Ambush?
* Open the door to let the bats into the room?
* Something else?
Lost City DM |
Fistep goes up to the door and holds it. I moved Fistep's icon up next to the door.
Wallia goes south to the doorway of the southern chamber. But he is not holding the light (Zynazyr has it), and Wallia cannot see into the dark chamber. Wallia, you do have torches if you want to light one of your own. The party has been using the beetle glands for light as they last a long time and don't consume resources.
The sound of bats screeching in the hall can now be heard by everyone.
Lost City DM |
Fistep and Ferrous continue to hold the door as the sounds of flapping wings and the occasional shriek is heard in the passage right outside the door. There is an occasional bump against the door but Fistep and Ferrous easily keep the door shut.
Is it your plan to stay inside the room with the door shut until the bats leave?
Re: light: Zynazyr might be hesitant to leave the people by the door in the dark.
Wallia of Winterbourne Stoke |
Wallia thinking quickly on his feet, makes a quick wedge out of a small piece of his wood, that he breaks off with his mace. He then slides it under the door.
He then says, "The more they hit the side of the door, the tighter the hold."
Zynazyr |
"Do you think you can continue to hold the door?" Zynazyr asks Fistep. "Assuming so, I'll go with the others to search the south room but I won't leave you in the dark." He then casts a cantrip to place a small light on Fistep's shield. "Brathas and Wallia, whenever you are ready, we can see what it in the next room. Ana, do you want to join us or stay here?"
Lost City DM |
Zynazyr creates a small light as bright as a candle so that Fistep can still see. Then he joins Wallia and Brathas at the south entrance.
Who is going first? You should have a marching order here. Normally I would assume that Brathas goes first as he is better at spotting traps.
Lost City DM |
As Ana, Fistep, and Ferrous guard the door, Brathas, Wallia, and Zynazyr head to the southern room.
3d6 ⇒ (4, 5, 4) = 13
This is merely a small 20' x 20' anteroom, dusty from disuse. A few small crates are stacked in the southeast corner. There are no obvious exits.
Brathas' Dodge save: 1d20 ⇒ 8
Heading towards the crates, Brathas steps on an unstable piece of floor. Suddenly the floor drops away! The southeast 10' x 10' of the room conceals a pit! The crates do not fall and it seems that they must be attached to the wall.
Brathas falls a short way and lands on a ramp or slide. He rolls safely onto a floor in a dark chamber.
No damage. Clearly the trap was not designed to be lethal.
A bit of light filters down from the door of the trap into the room, but not enough to see by. The room is silent, though Brathas can make out some vague shapes in the room.
I am going to assume here that Brathas lights a torch or a light is thrown down to him.
Sparking up a torch, Brathas looks around at the chamber. It is about 30' x 30' and has one passage leading to a door.
Painted on the walls of this room are court scenes showing a king and queen being entertained by a dwarven jester. A small coffin rests in a niche in the north wall, and in each corner of the room is a large brass jar. Against the south wall are two 4' tall statues on pedestals, depicting demonic beings with wings and horns. Their hands are at their faces and are making mocking expressions.
TACTICAL MAP updated.
TIER 3 MAP updated.
TIER 4 MAP updated.
Brathas: Do you want to search the room you are in by yourself? or wait for others to arrive? Or do you wish to get out of here right away?
Everyone else: Brathas has fallen down a pit! You can still hear him and he's unhurt... for now. What do you want to do about it? FYI You can still hear bats in the hallway.
Brathas |
"Ana, Fistep, or Ferrous, can one of you use the iron spikes you carry to secure the door shut? And can Fistep or Ferrous throw down a rope?"
Brathas would have had to stow his bow to light a torch. So he will have his dagger in one hand and the torch in the other.
He eyes the room warily.
I think you had an option for Total Defense but I can't find it. Brathas wants to be prepared to dodge any incoming attack.
Wallia of Winterbourne Stoke |
Walia jogs back and grabs the rope from Fistep's backpack and runs back to the other room tying off one end of the rope to something sturdy and tosses the other end down too Brathas.
"I will come down to you. I am most intrigued by the new floor."
Anastoria |
Ana moves to comply with Fistep's orders, pulling the coil of rope from his backpack and dropping a length down to Brathas.
Brathas |
Brathas sheathes his dagger and grabs hold of the rope that Ana holds. He shouts "If you would be so kind as to pull me up, I'll try to climb and help you out.". He doesn't want to do all the work of climbing on his own since that would require two hands and taking his eyes off the room. This way he can keep the torch in hand and his attention on the room.
Seeing Walia start to make his way down, Brathas says "One thing at a time, priest. Let's be prudent and make sure we've handled our bat problem before splitting up. It was a mistake on my part to move ahead so rashly."
If the bats go away, great. If not, and we want to fight them, Brathas is fine with that - more meat, after all.
Lost City DM |
I think you had an option for Total Defense but I can't find it. Brathas wants to be prepared to dodge any incoming attack.
I didn't post the rules but you could use a melee weapon to parry instead of attack. It would work similar to wearing a shield, though it's a bit more complicated. It would not work against arrows.
Brathas stays on his guard in the strange room, but all is silent. Though the leering stare of the two gargoyles to the south is unnerving, nothing moves.
With a bit of teamwork Ana is able to pull Brathas back up to this level.
If the bats go away, great. If not, and we want to fight them, Brathas is fine with that - more meat, after all.
Okay, I keep getting mixed messages so time for a final vote: do people want to fight the bats or just keep them out of the room until they go away?
It is pretty clear that you will be able to hold the door until they are gone. If you choose to avoid them, you will get partial experience. If you actually defeat them you get full XP and also XP for the meat (which is based on hit points so usually you get more XP for the meat than you do for the monsters themselves). If Ana or Zynazyr is willing to use a sleep spell that would thin their numbers considerably.
Anastoria |
"There are a lot of bats out there," Ana says with trepidation. "If we are to fight them, we should do so on our terms."
Zynazyr |
"That would be nice, Wallia, I just don't know if we would be able to. I imagine it may be difficult to close the door once it is opened and the bats start coming in. I think I should prepare to cast a sleep spell just as the door is opened, and the rest of you can attack the ones that remain," Zynazyr says after considering their options.
Brathas |
"My reason for wanting to deal with them now is that we have no assurance that they will simply disappear if we ignore them. We could be coming back from further investigations wounded and tired, only to be set upon on our way back to camp by these vermin.
If they are dangerous, we should not leave them between us and our base camp. But if you all think they will go away, I will trust your instincts."
Lost City DM |
Okay here are the votes I am seeing on the issue of fighting the bats:
No: Wallia
Yes: Brathas
Unclear: Ana, Zynazyr
Abstain: Fistep (he did not express an opinion)
Ferrous has not voted. I don't want to push ahead when people seem undecided like this, but in 24 hours if there isn't a decision I will either bot Ferrous and have him vote randomly, or if Ferrous has voted and there is still a stalemate then the No vote will carry (since it requires you to do nothing).
Lost City DM |
BTW, on the subject of food: you have used up "half rations" for one day and basically have enough meat from the lizard and leftovers from before to go on "half rations" again for one more day. If you don't feed the NPCs then it will last longer. If you wanted to go full rations at some point then you don't have enough right now.
Lost City DM |
In that case, what will your strategy be for dealing with the bats?
* Go out into the hall to meet the bats?
* Open the door to let the bats into the room?
* Something else?
FYI, if someone is next to the door and has prepared themselves, they could get a swing at a bat that came through the door, much like a readied action. However, once in the room, the bats could stay airborne and the ceiling is 25' up at its height, meaning you could only get them with missile fire, or with readied actions as they swoop to attack.
On the other hand, the ceiling in the hallway is only 12' up at its height, meaning as long as you aren't using daggers you can swing at a bat even though it is overhead.
Either way, if you are striking at a bat overhead you have a -1 to hit (as they have the "high ground") but there would be no such penalty if they are coming through the door.
Brathas |
"What are our strengths? If we let them into the room, those best at hand combat can fight them as they come through the door. I can support from range to take down ones that get past.
Ferrous and either Ana or Fistep at the door, Zynazyr and possibly Ana using magic, and the rest with ranged weapons?"
Replying to Fistep,
"Some sort of crypt, with demonic statues."
Fistep |
Get the spikes out of my backpack Brathas he suggests, Then as I open the door enough to let one or two in, hammer it in so the door doesnt open more He nods, Ferros and Ana can take positions just south of the door and I'll step back at the end, making a tunnel to kill the bats in... Ana can determine if she wants to use our axe or magic, so we can use the melee and magic strengths
Brathas |
"Sounds good, Fistep. Walia, can you try to keep bats off of me until I have the door secured? You can use your mace, but this torch that I lit might also work. Once I have the door secured I will get my bow out."
Brathas grabs the hammer and spikes from Fistep's pack and moves into position.
Anastoria |
Ana sighs, not fully committed to the plan. "I will start off with a sleep spell and go from there, though melee is my strength."
Lost City DM |
Would that mean any melee attacks would have to be readied actions for when the bats would come down to attack?
More or less yes, unless a bat ends its move at ground level. FYI though since you will normally be at close range with a sling (which grants +1 to hit), your chance to hit will be better using it than your mace (though the damage will be a bit less).
Get the spikes out of my backpack Brathas he suggests, Then as I open the door enough to let one or two in, hammer it in so the door doesnt open more He nods, Ferros and Ana can take positions just south of the door and I'll step back at the end, making a tunnel to kill the bats in... Ana can determine if she wants to use our axe or magic, so we can use the melee and magic strengths
Okay, so as I understand it the plan is to open the door only partway, and then spike the door so the door cannot open wider. Fistep will open the door and then move to the south, leaving Brathas in the corner spiking the door.
Lost City DM |
1:40 PM, Day 4
TACTICAL MAP updated.
Everyone stands in place with weapons ready. Ferrous steps back, and Fistep opens the door, and then rushes into place beside Ana. Brathas begins hammering spikes into the floor.
Once the door is open, the screeches from the bats are louder, but it is clear the flock is not immediately outside the door.
However, shortly, one inquisitive bat flies in through the open door, then another. They are indeed giant bats; their bodies are about the size of a dog.
1d6 ⇒ 1
The bats are surprised. They move but don't attack this round.
Lost City DM |
You can still hear plenty of bats in the corridor. The wounded bat screeches and flies up towards the ceiling, as does the second bat.
Ana, Fistep, Wallia, and Zynazyr are up. Fistep has already moved this round and may not move again, but can still attack. Brathas is busy the first round hammering spikes into the floor.
Ana and Fistep may make melee attacks as the bats go by. Fistep will be at -1 to hit as by the time the bat gets near him it will be gaining altitude.
Ana's melee attack will resolve first, so Ana, please indicate whether you will swing at the first bat or wait for the second.
Fistep, you need to do the same, though if Ana kills the first bat I will assume that your swing is at the second one.
Wallia, I put you behind Fistep assuming you would use your sling, but if you want to be part of the "gauntlet" then you could stand at 14:02. You will have a -1 to hit the bat with your mace from this spot.
Anastoria |
Ana swings at the first bat entering the room.
THAC0 16: 16 - 1d20 ⇒ 16 - (5) = 11 Damage: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
Lost City DM |
The two bats slip past both Ana and Fistep and make it into the room.
Wallia and Zynazyr are up. Both may shoot missiles. Zynazyr: you are behind everyone else. You can stay there and get a -1 to hit from cover or you could step out beside Wallia for a clear line of fire.
Lost City DM |
Walia slings with his sling 19-1d20 if hits 1d6
Wallia narrowly misses with his sling stone.
Clearly the bats are AC 7. Weird having Ferrous being the only who hit so far. Zynazyr is up.
Init. Ana: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (3, 4) + 3 = 10
Init. Brathas: 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (6, 4) + 1 = 11
Init. Ferrous: 2d6 ⇒ (4, 6) = 10
Init. Fistep: 2d6 ⇒ (4, 3) = 7
Init. Wallia: 2d6 ⇒ (4, 1) = 5
Init. Zynazyr: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (3, 6) + 3 = 12
Init. Bats A: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 1) = 6
Init. Bats B: 2d6 ⇒ (2, 1) = 3
Round 1 Initiative (Surprise Round)
Block 1: Ana, Brathas, Ferrous, Fistep, Wallia, Zynazyr
Round 2 Initiative
Block 1: Ana, Brathas, Ferrous, Fistep, Zynazyr
Block 2: Some bats
Block 3: Wallia
Block 4: More bats
Everyone except for Wallia can post an action for round 2 (which means Zynazyr can go twice in a row). If you want to ready an action to attack more bats as they come in, go ahead and make the roll.
FYI if anyone wants to use sleep it will only affect bats within your line-of-sight.