Four smaller earth elementals crumble their way through the ice, and approach the stone slab. They reach down, their hands easily gripping the slab and tossing it aside. The sound of ice crunching reaches your ears, and at the same time.
Those looking at the slab can see that once opened, the slab does not cover a door. It is more akin to a sarcophagus, containing a layer of charcoal. A leather blanket tied with silk rope lies atop the ashes. From it's rolled edges, there appears to be bones bound to the blanket by red and orange silks.
Moments later, the small earth elementals grumble, clearly feeling less for wear than when they first arrived.
Elemental 1 Con Damage:1d6 ⇒ 5Elemental 1 Cha Damage:1d6 ⇒ 6 Elemental 2 Con Damage:1d6 ⇒ 4Elemental 2 Cha Damage:1d6 ⇒ 3 Elemental 3 Con Damage:1d6 ⇒ 2Elemental 3 Cha Damage:1d6 ⇒ 4 Elemental 4 Con Damage:1d6 ⇒ 2Elemental 4 Cha Damage:1d6 ⇒ 3
You all hear the drums clearly now, and can see shapes at the tops of of nearby ledges. Though foggy, you can see the shapes of ape-like beastmen with javelins and spears. There are many, the horde watching you, yelling to the beat of the drums.
Female Human Witch 10 | AC 17/t13/f17 | F+8, R+6, W+12 | Per +9, Init +4 | HP 62+12/62 || Ra's current AC: 24 | Ra HP: -3/31 | Ra Perception: +18
Oof, glad we didn't walk into that ourselves.
Sharna's eyes are on the surrounding ledges, now crowded with the brutish beastmen. "I suggest we withdraw to the defensible interior, but give me one moment to see if Volkard's pets cleared the necromantic effect."
Hope I don't regret spending the time to do it, but throwing up detect magic again to see if the necromantic effect on the door was dispelled/is still there.
'Nearby ledges' -- are we talking as close as those ledges visible on the map, or are they still off-the-map but closing?
You take a second to examine the cairn's seal and attempt to disable the trap that you had noticed. After a couple moments of work, you realize that the trap is still in place, but not triggered.
DC > 27, attempt fails. (Playing up....)
To keep the game moving, we'll retcon that Merisiel attempts to open the cairn and then allows the elemental plan to proceed.
The beastmen have approached from various directions, most stand a few hundred feet away. The horde watches you, drums beating.
You all watch as some magical effect harms the group of elementals, causing them groan in their deep voices. When the groaning stops, you all realize that the horde of beastmen have grown silent.
The beastmen are a few hundred feet away, some stand above you on ledges. You judge that you have, at best, five rounds until they get down and/or close enough to make effective use of their spears and javelins.
Sharna:
Your detect magic senses that a spell effect on the cairn's stone slab, now safely removed and on the ice floor. It looks like it's aura is, for now, mostly inert.
Everyone in the party recognizes that the silence is the calm before the storm. The beastmen are furious that their site has been desecrated, and the horde is raging and preparing to descend upon you.
The dogs at the sleds begin to growl, as if they smell the scent of danger.
Female Elf Rogue 7 | AC 23/17/17 | F+4, R+11, W+3 | Per +12, Init +9 | HP 48/56
In a hushed whisper, Merisiel speaks to her allies, her voice a little shaky.
"Prepare yourselves. I'm going to grab the bones, then run back to the dog sled."
"Jory, give me cover with your bow if you can. Spell casters, try and distract them. If this works, we can all go home in one piece. Drinks are on me. If not..." She doesn't finish. Being outnumbered 3-1 were not good odds.
I'd like to not die, thank you! Oh gods I hope we make it D:
Since it seems that the use of words similar to 'door' may have been confusing. The Cairn is just a slab of rock over a hollow base. Much like a stone version of a coffin.
There is no doorway or entrance to a lower division.
Merisiel The odds are more like 8:1, and that's what's visible through fog. (Your ooc made me lol though, nice.)
AC: 12; t 11; ff 11 | HP 37 | F 5; R 4; W 7 | I +4; P +6 darkvision
Volkard grins as he moves to take a passenger seat on one of the sleds. This should be fun.
Should I by blocking their approach with a Stone Call or Stinking Cloud or lead with a Haste.....
What does the beastman approach look like, what does our escape route look like. I need to know if I can impede their progress with AoO's without blocking our escape. Stone Call, for example, lets me turn a 40' radius into difficult terrain.
Volkard, the easiest path out on the sleds is the direction from which you came. (The path at the bottom of the map) A 40" radius is really, really large, and if you desire to not impact Merisiel's snatch and run, then your target will only be a portion of the horde. Alternatively, you can wait and see what the approach looks like once your party members are nearby.
Female Human Witch 10 | AC 17/t13/f17 | F+8, R+6, W+12 | Per +9, Init +4 | HP 62+12/62 || Ra's current AC: 24 | Ra HP: -3/31 | Ra Perception: +18
Haste first is always good.
Sharna narrows her eyes at the descending beastmen from her position in mid-air.
"Merisiel and Tyrion, the way is clear for you to grab our quarry. Now we act!"
If any of the beastmen are within 190 feet, Sharna will throw a glitterdust at them (Will save DC 17) to slow down the first cluster as her standard action. Move action will be flying back down to one of the sleds, and assuming the driver position!
Ra shrieks a challenge to the closing beast men and stands triumphantly atop his mistress's shoulders, his wings spread like a particularly bizarre figurehead.
Can I get clarification on who is in which of the three sleds, and who is their driver?
It sounds like the party has a bunch of readied actions. Once we get the sleds sorted out, I'll move forward.
Edit: I'll put a third sled on the map like there is supposed to be. I made two boxes, if I can have drivers put their "mini" in the boxes under or above their appropriate sled. Might make things easier.
Female Human Witch 10 | AC 17/t13/f17 | F+8, R+6, W+12 | Per +9, Init +4 | HP 62+12/62 || Ra's current AC: 24 | Ra HP: -3/31 | Ra Perception: +18
Home from Pacificon, but having computer problems, so I'll do my best to post regularly but GM should GM me if you're waiting on me.
And I think most of us have no ranks in Handle Animal-- Sharna has 1, and her +3 is the best in the group, if I recall correctly. It's boiling down to a choice between who is the LEAST BAD at driving to be drivers, versus passengers being those who are the most effective people to be helping to slow down or stopping large groups of enemies. Casters are the people who are best at slowing down groups. Ergo: Merisiel, you are one of the drivers. If we need to take one more round in order to stow the bones in a pack, we do that. You are welcome to dump the bones in my handy haversack.
Merisiel reaches down and grabs the rolled leather blanket from the charcoal bed. No sooner does he do this than the horde of beastmen let loose a raging bellow from every direction, and the sound of running footsteps echoes of the walls of The Maw as a cacophany of speedy rage.
Racing back, Merisiel jumps onto the sled, package in hand. The party waits, watching and sees that behind her, through fog, you can see the shapes of the beastmen coming. A few [4] of them seem to be ahead of the pack, much faster, or reckless, than their allies. 200 ft. (Still not on the map).
Merisiel, what do you want to do with the leather blanket?
Female Human Witch 10 | AC 17/t13/f17 | F+8, R+6, W+12 | Per +9, Init +4 | HP 62+12/62 || Ra's current AC: 24 | Ra HP: -3/31 | Ra Perception: +18
Sharna nods her approval of Merisiel's deft snagging of the bundle. "Well done!" she says. "May the fortune of my people go with you, Merisiel."
Ra shrieks his assent with this, and briefly leaves Sharna's shoulder to land on Merisiel's, and anoint her with lucky feathers.
Sharna will use her move action to hold her haversack ready for the bones to be chucked into, and her standard to activate Fortune hex. Ra moves, delivers the hex to Merisiel as a free, then moves back to Sharna.
Keeping an eye on the charging, howling beastmen, Sharna signals that she at least is ready to depart.
Merisiel, you can take pick one d20 a round to roll twice and take the better result. I will keep this ability going for as long as I can. Should help with the Handle Animal checks! I'll throw it on Jory next round, assuming nothing happens to alter my course of action.
AC: 12; t 11; ff 11 | HP 37 | F 5; R 4; W 7 | I +4; P +6 darkvision
As Merisiel stows the bones and everyone else takes their place on the sleds, Volkard calls upon the earth. As the entire northern end of the cannon erupts in stone. [b]That should slow them down.[b]
40' radius Stone Call targeting the area the beastmen are approaching from. The area will be difficult terrain for the next 5 rounds.
Merisiel sprints back to the sleds, under the cover of Jory's fire, dropping off the blanket into Sharna's waiting bag. As soon as the elven rogue clears the area, Volkard springs forth a hail of pebbles, gravel and rock. The beastmen in the area push forward through it, but are clearly being hindered by the stone rain.
Stone Call Damage:2d6 ⇒ (2, 6) = 8
Merisiel: A move action to the sled and the bag, drop for free, and move to your sled. You can begin trying to command the sled dogs on your next turn, if you wish. You are also still under the effects of fortune hex.
The beastmen push forward through the stone, and a few even try to throw their spears at the party.
Shortspears rain down on the party, only managing to draw a little blood from Volkard. The sounds of running feet on ice grows ever stronger.
Actions, All Players?
For those who wish to drive the sleds, you have options:
The dogs will get started on their own and will move at a speed of 25ft.
Mush: Increases speed +5ft.
Break: Slows down -5ft.
Full Stop: Moves full distance until end of round then speed of 0.
Maneuvers:
-Turn: Change direction. Penalties for moving faster than 25ft.
-Slam: Attack a nearby sled with your sled.
-Grapple: If slam is successful, may grapple.
All options have an associated difficulty. A failure could be... interesting.
Out of Control: Make a handle animal to recover. Anyone on an out of control sled must make a strength check (DC 12) to not get bounced out.
Crash: Riders fly out. Dogs drag sled dealing it damage. Anyone strapped into the sled also takes damage.
Female Human Witch 10 | AC 17/t13/f17 | F+8, R+6, W+12 | Per +9, Init +4 | HP 62+12/62 || Ra's current AC: 24 | Ra HP: -3/31 | Ra Perception: +18
So much casting~
Sharna casts fortune on Jory! And laughs semi-maniacally, to extend the duration of fortune on Jory and Merisiel as they must now guide their super-fast doggies down a treacherous mountain path...
Merisiel's fortune duration: 2 rounds; Jory's fortune duration: 3 rounds; I will try and use my move action each turn to keep it active but we will see.
Then, she grabs the reins and prepares to mush! Thanks to Tyrion, she looks extra heroic while doing this.
(I'm assuming mushing takes a standard action, so she cannot mush on this turn. But with the various buffs up, we should make up any lost speed pretty quickly... I hope. Double-hasted dogs, hot damn!
Female Elf Rogue 7 | AC 23/17/17 | F+4, R+11, W+3 | Per +12, Init +9 | HP 48/56
"Mush!" Merisiel cracks the reigns and gets the dogs going as fast as she can. Getting the dogs to go faster.
"Keep them off us! They might eventually give up the chase!" If the bones are truely as valuable to the beastmen as they are acting, that may be longer than Merisiel thinks.
Merisiel and Jory take the reins and their dogs need no encouragement. Upon hearing their master's voices, the dogs take off, bolting. They yip as they run, their dog minds half-wondering how they are going so quickly.
The slowed and pummeled beastmen still attempt to attack the party. Jory and Merisiel take Volkard and Markavious with them, leaving Sharna and Tyrion as their closest target.
Female Human Witch 10 | AC 17/t13/f17 | F+8, R+6, W+12 | Per +9, Init +4 | HP 62+12/62 || Ra's current AC: 24 | Ra HP: -3/31 | Ra Perception: +18
I was under the impression my round 2 action was to cast Fortune on Jory. (Round 1 was fortune on Merisiel, Round 2 was fortune on Jory.) If we're now in round 3, then I too will join in the mushing.
This is the start of Round 3. I'll try to remember in future GM combats to use round identifiers.
Tyrion: Four of the horde are trying to navigate the area nearby. Only one will be in your blast area for Blistering Invective. Technically Sharna's action will take you out of range.
Sharna commands the dogs to move, and they respond by mushing forward. Snow and ice flies behind as they speed off.
Tyrion, I don't want to 'put words in your mouth' so to speak. The mushing of the dogs will put the creatures out of range of your spell (and there was only one in it to start with.) You may take a pot-shot on your way out of combat if you wish. It does appear they'll get one last volley off with their spears (at range penalties).
The party drives off down the Maw's exit, making good time towards The Dragon's Eye. The slope in front of you is steep, but you can see the path in front of you will become slightly more gradual as you descend further down the mountain.
The party has made distance from the beastmen horde, but drums and roars can still be heard from above you on the Dragon.
If the party wishes to do any roleplaying, or out of combat stuff, go for it. Anything that requires the sleds to be next to each other to accomplish (such as switching seats, drivers, handing off items, or casters healing an injured ally on another sled) will require both drivers to make a Handle Animal Check: DC 12
