Clebsch's Reign of Winter

Game Master Clebsch RoW

Yes.

Hearing the ice mephit being attacked, Eianar turns round to see Khristov trying to stab it, he shouts, "Khristov! Leave de lil ice man, hees me frien now. kill des oder cold enmies." Before he repeats the words he said before, and shouts to the rest of the group, Don't 'urt me little friend ere de mephity ting, hees gonna 'elps us. Concentrate on dis flying ting. With that he drops his sling and draws out his dagger to stab at the witchcrow.

The owl drops down from the tree, attacks the witchcrow and returns to its natural home, satisfied it has done the bidding of it caller.

Eianar Dagger 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20 damage 1d4 ⇒ 3
Snowy Owl Claw 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22 damage 1d4 ⇒ 2

Shame the 19 wasn't Eianar's then he would have had a go at a crit ... :-(

Eianar and his summoned snowy owl both attack the witchcrow held by Domitian and add some small wounds to the bird, but the bird seems to endure these attacks surprisingly well. The snowy owl fades away, returning to the plane from which it was summoned.

Round 5
Domitian (2 lethal, grappled, Evil Eye, -2 to skill rolls) (maintains grapple, Drops to ground, stands)
Eianar (melee attacks, hits, 3 to witchcrow)
Snowy Owl (attacks, hits, 2 to witchcrow)
Erland
Ice Mephit (controlled)
Witchcrow (10 lethal, grappled)
Ingrit (9 lethal, chill metal on armor 5th round, Evil Eye (-2 to attack))
Khristov(5 lethal)(stabs mephit with rapier, would have done 4 damage but does not get through DR)
Damiano
Air Elemental (4 lethal)

Erland trudge through the snow, spear in hand. Seeing the bird grappled, prone, and injured, he thrusts at the blasted creature.

1d20 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 2 + 4 = 21 spear vs prone bird; 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5 piercing damage

Erland adds his weapon to the assault on the witchcrow, wounding the bird yet again. 5 damage

The witchcrow twists and turns, desperately trying to get free from Domitian's grip. It does so and then tries to fly away, giving Erland, Eianar and Domitian one last chance to attack the bird.

Post your AOOs if you want to make them.

Then Ingrit, Khristov, and Damiano may take their next actions.

1d20 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 2 + 4 = 9 to hit, for 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7 piercing damage

Dom makes a desperate attempt to trip the bird before it can fly away. Thereby drawing an AOO.

Dom takes a desperate swing at the bird before it can fly away. Thereby drawing an AOO.
Unarmed Strike: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

Pretty sure you can't trip a flying creature

As the Witchcrow breaks free of Dom's grasp taking to the air, Ingrit focuses, ignoring all distractions as she releases her shot between breaths, the cold iron arrow sailing through the snow to strike her target.

Precise Shot/PBS/Cold Iron arrow: 1d20 + 7 - 2 ⇒ (16) + 7 - 2 = 21
1d8 ⇒ 3

Eianar AoO Dagger 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7 damage 1d4 ⇒ 3

Ingrit cannot get a shot at the witchcrow but she can apply her roll to the elemental, which will be making another flyby attack soon, if it doesn't decide the fight is hopeless and scarper off as well. The Chill Metal spell does 2 points but that does not get through her cold resistance.

Khristov and Damiano also may make their next actions.

Round 5
Domitian (2 lethal, grappled, Evil Eye, -2 to skill rolls) (maintains grapple, drops to ground, stands, AOO misses)
Eianar (melee attacks, hits, 3 to witchcrow, AOO misses)
Snowy Owl (end of summoning spell duration)(attacks, hits, 2 to witchcrow)
Erland (attacks, hits, 5 to witchcrow, AOO misses)
Ice Mephit (controlled)
Witchcrow (15 lethal) (breaks grapple, moves, AOO misses)
Ingrit (9 lethal, chill metal on armor 5th round, Evil Eye (-2 to attack))(no damage from Chill Metal)
Khristov (5 lethal)
Damiano
Air Elemental (4 lethal)

same action as last turn (readting an attack versus the elementail )

Khristov lugs it through the snow.

Fine I'll shoot the elemental

This melee has devolved into the air elemental making flyby attacks and the PCs readying ranged attacks to make on it as it approaches. It's not very bright and fights to the death. I've rolled a series of attacks and determined it should take you all another three rounds to do it in, taking only minor hits.

With the witchcrow again driven away and the ice mephit under Eianar's control, there remains only the air elemental to keep up the attack. Everyone readies ranged attacks and pepper it with attacks as it flies close to someone to attack. The next two flyby attacks produced no hits on either side. Then Ingrit drove an arrow through its vital internal energy center. The air elemental finally hit someone, Khristov taking a slam attack that crackled with static electricity and smelled of ozone. On its next approach, Domitian hit the mark and the air elemental broke up into a blur of swirling snow and vanished.

Assuming you want to question the Ice Mephit, ask away.

"That damned crow got away again!" shouts Dom in frustration. But after a few moments, he recovers his composure. "I suppose this battle was not entirely without benefit." Picking up and sheathing the falcata he dropped by the tree, Dom stalks over to the controlled ice mephit. "So, what's your name? And how can we put a stop to this winter?"

The ice mephit speaks with a high voice that whistles slightly when he says certain words, like cold wind blowing through trees in the distance. "Izoze is me name. You cannot stop. Powerful magic from Irrisen brings blessed cold to all world."

"Pfft. Blessed cold my arse," says Dom, disbelievingly. He tries another line of questioning. "Okay, Izoze, I know you think we can't stop it. But we know there's a portal that's bringing this winter. Where is the portal? How can the portal be closed? And who created the portal?"

"Also, where are all the cold-lovers coming from? Are they marching south from Irrisen just because the cold is here now?"

"Pfft. Blessed cold my arse," says Dom, disbelievingly. He tries another line of questioning. "Okay, Izoze, I know you think we can't stop it. But we know there's a portal that's bringing this winter. Where is the portal? How can the portal be closed? And who created the portal?"

Izoze looks confused. "No Poor-Toll. Just big hole in air. Wind, snow, and me and Teb and lots of us come through."

"Also, where are all the cold-lovers coming from? Are they marching south from Irrisen just because the cold is here now?"

"No need to march. We fly. Teb walks. Through hole in air."

If asked, Izoze describes how to get to the 'big hole in air'. It is not far from where you are now, perhaps an hour or two trudge through the snow.

"We need to find this hole and take care of it if we can. Better now than leaving and coming back to face worse." Ingrit says wincing a bit as she shifts, feeling the effects of the mild frostbite under her armor. "Though a bit of healing would be nice if we can spare it."

Ingrit's at 11/20 hp

"Of course, Ingrit. Coming right up!"

Erland uses his healing hex to start off, curing 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6 HP

"Thanks" Ingrit says gratefully, a sigh of relief creating a puff of mist in the cold air.

Who is Teb ?

"It's still dark. We should complete our rest and strike out in the morning."

At least, I'm assuming we haven't rested enough to recover spells.

-Posted with Wayfinder

"Lil ice man, answers me true." Eianar commands with authority. "wees met de spirit o de arctic, shes says a Nazhena Vasilliovna an a tower was where de spirit comes from. Who is dis Nazhena Vasilliovna, an wha shes ta do wid dis winter ere? Doos yous knows de way ta dis tower, dis called de Pale Tower. Can yous lead us dere?" He looks at the mephit, as he scratches his beard, listening to his captives answers. Before continuing, "De spirit o de lil girl, dat wer sufferin in de cold and inside de gem of de doll, said she'd a mudder, do ya knows de mudder, and cans wees find her? Wees shoulds say her lil girl's on her way to Pharesma's land nows."

Eianar waits for the answers before he commands the mephit to stand by a tree. "Ayes gonna makes yous safe by de tree, keeps you tied will makes me friens feel safer, hopes yous donna mind." He says as he secures the mephit to the tree, unsure that his control over the beast will last much longer.

"Nazhena Vasillovna," Izoze mutters softly, as if she is afraid to say the name, "Powerful Witch lives in Pale Tower. Makes hole to let Taldor enjoy winter all year round. Never been to tower. Radosek give orders by mirror ta me 'n Teb. Teb big troll. Together we guard hole."

The ice Mephit does not resist being tied up.

I found a ruling on the duration of the control: it is permanent. Intelligent creatures get a new save every day, but until the save is made, the control remains.

Teb's close to the hole? Can you show us where the hole is?

"Wonderful...a troll. Guess I'll be using the rest of my fire arrows." Ingrit mutters.

Knowledge Local: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17

The discussion of mirrors has Dom alarmed; a confirmation of Eianar's prior paranoia about such mirrors, like the one they found on the doll. "Do you have a mirror on you, Ingoe? If so, can you please hand it over?"

Ingrit knows only the usual folklore about trolls regenerating and that fire can limit the regeneration.

Izoze knows where the "hole in the air" (portal) is and can give directions and lead the group there.

Izoze does not have a mirror. Teb handles communications with Irrisen.

The group can continue to question Izoze, but then they can sleep the rest of the night. Spellcasters can prepare spells and then advance to the location Izoze has described.

Setting up camp and taking the first watch, Ingrit retires to sound sleep awakening mostly refreshed.

Heal 2 of the remaining 3 points of damage from rest.

Awakening in the morning, she dons her armor and throws together a passable breakfast before readying to head to the "hole in the air".....the source of this unseasonable winter.

Erland also hunkers down for the night, happy to see the ice creatures off for now.

"How long will this little fellow follow your instructions, Einar? Can we use him as a guide, and can it be trusted not to betray us?"

After some additional rest, Dom recovers fully from the injuries he received in the day before. Recover 2 HP. He's thankful that no further creatures menace them in the night. "So, off we go, find the hole, and face the troll."

The attack came around 11 PM, so if you sleep late and those who were wounded don't take any more watches, the wounded can recover 2 hit points for 8 hours rest. By my tally, that leaves Ingrit with 7 and Khristov with 3 points of damage.

The ice mephit gets another save to break free of Eianar's control every 24 hours, so the group has until the next night before he might break the control. He's a simple creature (Int 6) so I'm going to run it that he does what he's told somewhat like he's intimidated and fearful that if he doesn't do what he's told, he will suffer. He's not going to do anything he's not told to do.

I'm working on the post describing the approach to the winter portal and information about the location that Izoze can provide. But my computer is having problems and I'm going to have to reboot.

Erland healed me of 6pts of damage

So that makes Ingrit with 1 point of damage and Khristov with 3.

Sorry for the delay. Computer problems took longer to fix than expected.

The light filtering in through the omnipresent clouds and snow is the only indication that the sun has come up. Izoze directs you along a valley generally east and then north. Although the distance is only about a mile, it takes several hours. The trail is buried under 3 feet of snow crusted over with frozen sleet. Heavy ice burdens the trees to either side, bowing their branches until many touch the ground, becoming one with the wintry landscape. There are no footprints in the snow other than those you leave behind.

The snow gets increasingly heavy, not so much falling from the sky as blowing with the wind from the direction the group is moving.

Izoze has explained the general situation. The portal is surrounded by a ring of icy formations that have been growing over the days since the portal opened. Just to the east of an opening in this ring is a small clearing containing some ice structures basically igloos. North of these is a cliff with a cave in it. The troll, Teb, lives in this cave and generally stays close to the portal as a guard to keep creatures from interfering with it.

There is one other creature assisting Teb, a winter-touched atomie, named Hommelstaub. This diminuative fey creature flies around and seems to know divine spells, based on what Izoze describes it doing the few times he observed spellcasting. Haommelstaub usually hangs out in the ice hut area.

The conditions near the portal involve very deep snow, 2-4 feet deep and visibility that only extends 5 feet even including darkvsion.
Treat like the spell Fog Cloud. The characters are near the clearing (see map) and can take actions, but limit yourselves to what you can do in a melee round, since you are likely to trigger initiative soon after moving forward. Make sure any spell buffs you want up are in place. If you having any new questions for Izoze,
get those asked and answered first.

The AP describes movement limits as follows: Entering a square covered with heavy snow costs 4 squares of movement. These are reduced for those wearing snowshoes. Snowshoes reduce the penalty for walking through heavy snow by 50%. The penalty is an extra three squares of movement, half of that would be 1.5 squares. So let's just say those with snow shoes can treat each square of movement as costing 2 squares rather than trying to deal with the fractions.

As the air gets foggy and hard to see through, Dom stays closer to the others. "We should see if we can make it to the cave. I think we'll be able to fight the troll better there, instead of being caught up in this snow and fog! Izoze, can you show us the way to the cave?"

That's my theory, anyway. Agree/disagree?

"@##%!" Ingrit exclaims."My bow'll be completely useless in this mess, visibility's practically nothing."

Worth a try though I doubt we'll draw it out of its strongest position

Izoze says, When you comes to de ice houses, go right. De cave entrance will be close.

Khristov nods silently, nervous.

"We'll give it a try," concludes Dom. Dom continues to barrel into the wind, using it as a general guide to their intended target. Once there's a sign of the igloos, Dom will strike north toward the troll cave.

It might mean we will be in close contact to him but I guess that will be the less worse of two bad situations

"Close contact with a troll? That is not somewhere I'd like to be, if I'm being honest here. Although I guess it's better than him sneaking up on us in the mist."

Eianar has posted that he's wearing snowshoes. Ingrit made two pairs. When you next post, please indicate if your character has snowshoes or not. Also, if your character has a weapon out and ready, indicate that. Since you know you might go into a cave without light, have an idea about what you are will do for light in the cave. Finally, if you have applied any magical buffs, specify what.

The party reaches a point where the trail spreads out into a clearing. Almost immediately (about 10 feet further) an ice hut or igloo comes into view. It has an opening to the west. Domitian is about to move to go past it to look for the cave when something hits the top of the igloo just a few feet from Domitian. Immediately a thunderous boom fills the air. Thereafter, Domitian, Eianar, and Khristov cannot hear anything.

Round 1
Damiano
Eianar (deaf)
*
Domitian (deaf)
Khristov (deaf)
Erland
Ingrit
*
Damiano and Eianar are up.

Ingrit would definitely be wearing one pair. Bow slung over her back for now, longsword drawn.

Erland has crossbow readied, and is prepared to cast dancing lights into dark areas.

He also would like to remain as stealthy as possible, moving in towards the troll.

Know(Local) 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1 what does Eianar know of Trolls?

As Eianar's snowshoes make walking through the cold of this summer's winter easier, he leans on his quarterstaff to aid his passage. He instructs Izoze to defend himself if attacked and stay hidden just inside the entrance of the cave.

After the large sound of thunder, Eianar's ear seem to ring incessantly, he starts to speak out, "What was that?", but not hearing his own voice raises his voice and shouts the question again loudly. His eyes look around, as he takes up a defensive stance.

Total Defence ... AC=20

Knowledge local: Trolls: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18

Not seeing anything , Damiano delays

I already made stealth rolls for everyone, assuming you would be stealthy on approach. The snow makes it hard to see, of course, but some creatures can see through snow. The sound of the thunderstone, of course, alerts all in the area to something in the area.

Edit: I already made knowledge rolls for trolls in general and you know the typical troll regenerates but that fire and acid can prevent regeneration. There are different kinds of trolls, however, so until you see the troll, you won't know if it is a typical troll or some variant.

Damiano halts his movement an waits and watches. Eianar stays where he is and readies himself for an attack.

Moments later, Domitian and Khristov see a diminutive blue-skinned humanoid fly toward them out of the blowing snow. It has a bow and is about to shoot an arrow at one of them from 5 feet away.

If either Domitian or Khristov has a ready melee weapon, he can attack the sprite. Due to the blowing snow, there is a 20% miss chance. Make a 1d100 roll with 1-20 equaling a miss due to concealment.