Ariella Hearth |
Jonas - Why not stand over Qui? He's small and prone so you can share squares. Then you could attack #1. We need to all attack the same one every round. Also, you lose your shield bonus to AC when you bash unless you have the improved shield bash feat. Why not use your hammer?
Hermann - Always 5' step when you can. You could have five footed east out of melee with #1. Then maybe Jokbur could have finished it with his bow. Neither he nor I have precise shot yet (and with his 15 AC he needs to stay out of melee). If you can keep yourself out of melee with some of the mobs it'll make us 20% more likely to hit them. At least at lower levels.
Everyone - Also, at the beginning of combat it's better to ready actions and let them come to us so we don't get singled out and flanked. Let them use their actions to move instead of full attack. (they only have one attack, but the principle remains)
We have to make tactically sound moves or we're probably all gonna die. These are minor things, but they can make a big difference. I think we'll be okay in this fight, but we could be doing better.
GM Blood |
Jonas moves but fails to connect with his shield. The gnolls react:
Gnoll #3 vs Jonas
Spear 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
Damage 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Gnoll #4 vs Jokbur
Spear 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18 *Hit*
Damage 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
Gnoll #1 vs Hermann
Spear 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 3 + 2 = 25 *Hit*
Damage 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Gnoll #5 vs Hermann
Spear 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 3 + 2 = 13
Damage 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
Gnoll #1 Confirm vs Hermann *Not Confirmed*
Spear 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 3 + 2 = 19
Extra Damage 2d8 + 6 ⇒ (3, 3) + 6 = 12
Round 2
Initiative Order - Quirmydt, Jokbur, Hermann, Jonas, Monster, Ariella, Edmund
Monster Stats AC 15 T 10 FF 15
Ariella Hearth |
Round 2
Current AC 20
Current HP 9/9
In Hand: Shield (Left)
Current Effects ()
Fire Bolt 5/6
Ariella will rush forward muttering a prayer to Sarenrae. She kneels down between Jonas and Jokbur to touch Qui. "Rise up little warrior, there's yet work to do." she says quietly through the noise of battle.
Move to J11
Spontaneously cast Cure Light Wounds (use Bless) on Qui 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
Lets take down #1!
Quirmydt Dephroug |
[b]Round 2[/dice]
HP: 4/13 <-- I screwed up. I took Toughness as my level 1 feat, but forgot to add the extra 3 hp. I would have been at -1 and unconscious anyway.
Being unsure what happened, but seeing several large dog men standing over him and feeling very sore, Qui defensively attempts to stand while avoiding any blows.
Standard Action: Total Defense - AC23
Move Action: Stand up
GM Blood |
Adding in Prone bonus
One of the gnolls manages to stick the frog again
AoO Gnoll #1 vs Qui
Spear 1d20 + 3 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 3 + 2 + 4 = 24 *Hit*
Damage 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11
AoO Gnoll #3 vs Qui
Spear 1d20 + 3 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 3 + 2 + 4 = 12
Damage 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Round 2
Initiative Order - Jokbur, Hermann, Jonas, Monster, Ariella, Quirmydt, Edmund
Monster Stats AC 15 T 10 FF 15
Edmund up last in the round, then top of Round 3!
Quirmydt Dephroug |
I screwed up my post. I intended to do the logical thing and delay until the end of our actions to see whether either of the flankers went down. At the very least, I thought that I would not go until after Edmund fired off another magic missile to trip one of the flankers.
Jokbur 'The Thorn' Oakenshield |
Jokbur grits his teeth as the spear bites deep. Looking at Edmund he points to the injured dogface in front of him.
Round 2 status: 5/12hp, in hands=greataxe, conditions=none.
Edmund Gwenn |
Agreed. Edmund sends another tripping missile at number 1.
Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Trip: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
Current AC/T/FF (11/11/10)
Current HP 8/8
In Hand: light crossbow
Current Effects (none)
Resouces (arcane bolt (7), spells: 1st (3/5))
Nothing else to report
Jokbur 'The Thorn' Oakenshield |
Jokbur tries to help flank for Herman.
If #1 is down, Jokbur takes his place and readies a hit on #2 when Herman goes. If Edmund's hit doesn't put #1 down, Jokbur hits #1 and hopes to take his spot with a 5 foot step. Round 2 status: 5/12hp, in hands=greataxe, conditions=none.
Jokbur 'The Thorn' Oakenshield |
The plan was to hit with flanking with Herman.
I wanted a sure hit and concentrate fire at this pont. Edit:yes, ready strike versus #4 to go off as soon as Herman moves. If I don't end up with flank, I still attack after Herman moves.
Hermann von Rabenstrange |
Map only shows #s 3,4,5 remaining, so not sure "who" #s 1,2 are that are being targeted unless they've already been removed from the map.
Hermann sees his chance to finish one of the dogmen when Jokbur moves next to it. Moving to plate the thing fully between Jokbur and himself, he exploits its split attention to deliver an expert blow for a "clean" kill.
Move: 5' Step to (L,13)
Standard: Attack (L,12)
Attack (Greatsword): 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 5 + 2 = 15
Damage (Greatsword): 2d6 + 6 ⇒ (6, 5) + 6 = 17
Jokbur 'The Thorn' Oakenshield |
Edmund hit and finished off #1.
Jokbur looks at the remaining gnolls and can't help but be taunting, "Isn't this the part of the battle where you think of giving us all YOUR money."
Ariella Hearth |
Last chance for me to post b4 I leave.
Round 3
Ariella will move back and fire another bolt of fire at the remaining Gnoll.
Move back to F10. If I'm engaged in melee just 5' step back.
Attack 1d20 + 3 - 4 ⇒ (8) + 3 - 4 = 7
Again her bolt flies wide.
Edmund Gwenn |
Assuming that kills number 3, Edmund lets the others finish the last one. He dashes forward to K9, dropping to his knees next to Qui, and starts putting pressure on his sword wounds with his hands.
Heal attempt to stabilize: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15
I think that's enough. Edmund gets the bleeding under control.
If 3 isn't down, he'll take the risk of moving to K11 to do the same thing, but he'd prefer the first option. :)
Quirmydt Dephroug |
Er, if you read DM Blood's second to last post, I am still up. At 4 hp, but up since I did not act, and therefore stand, until after Edmund fired off the MM which took down the one flanking. Without the flanking bonus, the 22 just missed my full defense 23 AC. Thanks for the thought though.
Jokbur 'The Thorn' Oakenshield |
Jokbur points to the last one and speaks slowly in common, "This one wants to live I bet."
He looks at the last dogfaced monster and speaks slowly and clearly.
"You do want to live, don't you?"
Jokbur 'The Thorn' Oakenshield |
Jokbur retrieves his bow and speaks, "I would hate to tarnish the water by throwing them in the river. Let us look for a place to put the bodies to draw the least amount of scavengers and attention."
Survival 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13
"Good job everyone, we took some licks, but nothing some healing can't fix. I think our grippli will have a nasty scar to impress the lady gripplis."
After the gnolls are concealed, preferrably in a rocky cairn, Jokbur says, "We are in no shape to camp in an unknown cabin. Luckily we now have the wealth to stay in the inn a day longer and then some."
Quirmydt Dephroug |
The small Grippli looks at his wounds and then at the dead gnolls. I will never understand why so many find it necessary to turn to evil like this. The destruction is so pointless.
Hermann von Rabenstrange |
Hermann looks around the field of... skirmish?
Speaking clearly to everyone, "My apologies to you all. Before we left, we came to an understanding of how to best complement each other in battle and the first fight to come up I abandoned that plan to charge in recklessly. Master Quirmydt suffered grievous injury as a result. I shall endeavor to not make this mistake again."
With that, he begins cleaning the gore from himself and his equipment before helping Jokbur to dispose of the bodies.
Edmund Gwenn |
With Qui and the gnolls being tended to in their respective fashions, Edmund pulls up a stump, gets his pipe out, and begins sketching int he dirt with a stick.
"I've read quite a few books on war over the years. Might I suggest a few possibilities for the next time we have such an encounter?"
Edmund outlines his idea for the concave C formation, with the armoured hulks in the centre, Qui and Jokbur on the wings, and himself and Ariella behind the hulks.
----
-Hj-
QEAJ starting out, quickly moving to
Q**J
-Hj-
-EA-
once the enemy has charged/engaged their line.
With little j being Jonas.
Quirmydt Dephroug |
Yeh - Jokbur and I can either flank, or stop flankers. Keep the slower tanks in the middle.
The fault is not yours Hermann. Nobody made me charge. I did not expect those mutts to surround me that fast. I will have to be more careful in the future.
Jokbur 'The Thorn' Oakenshield |
Jokbur looks at the drawing of Edmund's and nods and makes a few adjustments with a stick in the dirt.
I like the two hulks with reach weapons extended on the front flanks to cover maximum frontage with reach weapons. They would be separated by approximately fifteen feet leaving room in the center for up to four of us to fire pretty much unimpeded. This is a slight adjustment to an earlier suggestion by Jonas. If both enlarged, Herman's and Jonas' reach weapons can actually overlap for better defense.
Jonas - empty - empty - Herman
empty - Jokbur - Qui - empty
Edmund - empty - empty - Ariella
When scouting, we can extend myself and Qui ahead about 40' from their current position with Edmund and Ariella taking our spots. Then Qui and I can easily retreat back 20' to the protected center as the formation advances 20' at the first sign of trouble. And we all have a readied action left.
"But the idea of making them come to us and engaging our armored fighter with reach weapons is most fundamental to continued success. And, alone I almost always see my enemy first and choose the terms of the engagement. With the six of us we probably will not always surprise our opponents."
Jokbur adds, "In combat I prefer to fire arrows from the protected center. Mobile flanking will probably be Qui's department."
Ariella Hearth |
"If you were wounded gather around." Ariella says. Once everyone is close she unleashes three bursts of golden light from her holy symbol.
Channel energy 1d6 ⇒ 2
Channel energy 1d6 ⇒ 5
Channel energy 1d6 ⇒ 1
Hermann von Rabenstrange |
Hermann examines Edmund's and Jokbur's proposed formations, frowning in concentration.
"I'm not used to organizing units this small. Give me blocks of hundreds of pike each, companies of archers, and squadrons of cavalry and I'll fight any battle you care to throw at me. Both of these ideas seem good to me; I am not sure which is better. It is surely good to protect the Lady Ariella and you, Master Edmund, but not so much you are unable to provide the assistance of your Art."
Hermann von Rabenstrange |
I still vote for going to the abandoned cottage; I wouldn't feel comfortable going into the Mouth given the amount of healing that's been expended already, but hate the thought of going back to the Inn so soon already, "oh look the poor adventurers are slinking back in town after only a couple hours with their tails between their legs! Hur-hur-hur!"
Quirmydt Dephroug |
The cottage sound reasonable. We will need a place to rest and recover. Now and after our excursions into the caverns.
Regarding the combat, I have not perfected the art of fighting defensively, but I have seen monks who have perfected a style based on the movements of the crane which is very effective. I have studied this and other techniques which I hope to master soon.
Quirmydt Dephroug |
Keep in mind round trip to the mouth and back again would be about a full's day travel...without other diversions at least ;)
From town? Or from the cottage?
Edmund Gwenn |
I still vote for going to the abandoned cottage; I wouldn't feel comfortable going into the Mouth given the amount of healing that's been expended already, but hate the thought of going back to the Inn so soon already, "oh look the poor adventurers are slinking back in town after only a couple hours with their tails between their legs! Hur-hur-hur!"
"Pride goeth before...yada yada yada..."
Edmund is fine with at least checking out this cottage first, but he certainly doesn't object to a refreshing evening back at the inn.
Jokbur 'The Thorn' Oakenshield |
"Okay, I'll lead us to the cabin with Qui up front. We will be going slow to avoid any untoward surprise. We should have plenty time to get to the cabin, cautiously reconnoiter the entire area, carefully check the cabin, and fortify it for evening."
Jokbur moves out at a cautious speed and waves the formation on when he is about 50' out front. Half Qui's speed for full stealth.
Survival(direction sense)1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27
Stealth1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
Perception1d20 + 15 ⇒ (1) + 15 = 16
Jokbur definitely knows where to go. Whether he is alert on the way is another story.