Lost in the desert! The party gets separated from a desert caravan during a sandstorm. Parched and starving, they stumble on a ruined city in the middle of the desert. The pyramid at the center of the city seems mostly intact, and they find a secret door leading inside...
Male Dwarven Axe-man (Level 3) hp 22/37 || AC 1 || F11 A15 C12 D11 H6 W8 || THAC0 17 || Mv 20' || Infravision 60
Ana out here in the open that many Gnolls is certain doom for us all. We need to draw them back towards the pyramid. Our armor slows us down let Zynazyr be the bait.
Ferrous stops and loads his crossbow. Trying to find some cover anywhere. He will fire his crossbow at the first target within range and then fall back to the Pyramid.
What is max range for a crossbow? Actually looking over my character sheet I may not have this crossbow I thought I had. Let me search through post to see where I got that idea.
Is the group that took out the servant spirit still in the same location or did they return to the camp?
That group was at the north end of the map that Brathas was on and has returned to the main part of the camp.
Ferrous Grimgond wrote:
Trying to find some cover anywhere....
The stairs are pretty open. The only cover available would be to go to the west side of the stairs at one of the landings and crouch behind the stairs, since the goblin camp is a bit to the east of you. This won't do that much good though once the gnolls start coming up the stairs though.
Ferrous Grimgond wrote:
...and then fall back to the Pyramid.
Do you mean the hole you came out of? You are still on the pyramid steps. I put some markings on the map... the "AFW" represents Ana, Fistep, and Wallia, while the single "F" represents Ferrous. Zynazyr is the yellow circle (which I had to move back a bit because he moved it too far).
Male Dwarven Axe-man (Level 3) hp 22/37 || AC 1 || F11 A15 C12 D11 H6 W8 || THAC0 17 || Mv 20' || Infravision 60
Making an attack roll since the crossbow is in range at Ferrous's turn and he has bolts.
Ferrous steadies himself on the raised platform and aims his heavy crossbow at one of the smallest Gnolls within range.
CrossbowLongRange:18 - 1d20 ⇒ 18 - (15) = 3 Damage:1d10 ⇒ 10 Target is the Gnoll Youth on the dirt northwest of the camels.
Zynazyr grabs and arrow and the bow and prepares to shoot. Visualizing what he saw Brathas doing to use it, he finds a target and fires.
Will shoot at a secluded target first if possible, otherwise, into the crowd. Maybe it will add to the confusion. I'm not entirely sure who is in range.
THAC0:17 - 1d20 ⇒ 17 - (15) = 2Adjust as needed for penalties. (-3?) Damage:1d6 ⇒ 6
Ana continues to advance down the stairs, while Ferrous takes a shot with his crossbow. He strikes a young gnoll in the back, and the gnoll drops dead with a faintly-heard gurgle.
The gnolls beside him look down in surprise, then up at the pyramid. They point at the group. The party has been spotted! Many gnolls break off from the pack and head towards the pyramid.
Most of the gnolls though have not noticed the group yet. They continue to mill around and argue. Several break off to the southeast to chase camels that are fleeing, and a few of them manage to grab the reins of some of the camels.
The camels with yellow borders are not tied up but gnolls have grabbed them. It will probably take a round for the bulk of the gnolls to notice you but the proces has started.
M Half-Elf CORE Rog 1 | HP 11/11 | AC 18 (T15, FF 13, CMD 19) | F +2 R +7 W +2 | Mv 30' | Per +9 (+10 vs traps), low-light vision | Init +5
Brathas begins looping around to try to get to the prisoners from the other side.
Path drawn on the map, at 80' of movement rather than 120' for because he is going on the sand.
Male Dwarven Axe-man (Level 3) hp 22/37 || AC 1 || F11 A15 C12 D11 H6 W8 || THAC0 17 || Mv 20' || Infravision 60
Not sure how much it will matter but I marked the young gnoll I meant to hit with an arrow. That one was away from the main body of gnolls and trying to get the camels I envision. Tried to describe it as best I could but should have drawn in the arrow when I first made the post but was reluctant to add to your map.
Male Dwarven Axe-man (Level 3) hp 22/37 || AC 1 || F11 A15 C12 D11 H6 W8 || THAC0 17 || Mv 20' || Infravision 60
Doubt you can go that far. But you can join me a step lower. 15' of movement is not alot. We are in very real danger of being overrun as the Gnolls might have a lot more movement per turn.
M Half-Elf CORE Rog 1 | HP 11/11 | AC 18 (T15, FF 13, CMD 19) | F +2 R +7 W +2 | Mv 30' | Per +9 (+10 vs traps), low-light vision | Init +5
"Everyone rush the gnolls' camp" was never the plan. I don't know what you all are doing up there. At least Zynazyr moves at 40' and can run back to safety. But he's still too exposed. It would be suicide for Walia to move up and join him. WHY is Ana triple moving to get closer? That makes no sense at all. I see Ferrous has advised her to change her plans - if the player is away, can we bot her as listening to his good advice?
M Half-Elf CORE Rog 1 | HP 11/11 | AC 18 (T15, FF 13, CMD 19) | F +2 R +7 W +2 | Mv 30' | Per +9 (+10 vs traps), low-light vision | Init +5
The steps provide a fantastic defensive position by limiting the number of gnolls that can attack at once, being narrow enough to allow a high-AC frontline, and also forcing them to fight uphill. It'll be even better once the steps start getting choked with paralyzed gnolls. An open field doesn't have that advantage. You'd all be outflanked and massacred. Right now Ana is out in front of the fighters, out in front of everybody except Zyanzyr - and he's fast enough to fall back when the gnolls start coming. For now, just exploit the huge range advantage the party has with bows vs javelins (and maybe target the relatively few bow-wielding gnolls). Fall back and let the gnolls come to you. I dislike OOC strategizing but these are points that Brathas made multiple times already, though a long time ago IRL. I'm sorry for being harsh earlier. The rod is a key part of how we are going to win. But patience.
I felt I was fast enough that I could move back once the gnolls started advancing. I needed to get closer to get into range and draw their attention. I'm still 10' above the ground.
Male Dwarven Axe-man (Level 3) hp 22/37 || AC 1 || F11 A15 C12 D11 H6 W8 || THAC0 17 || Mv 20' || Infravision 60
I believe Ferrous was in front of Fistep due to him having more movement speed. So Fistep could move back another step. Also I added a 'e' to distinguish Fistep from Ferrous. This made me very glad as Fe is the symbol for iron which is where Ferrous gets his name. Ferrous is the Fe 2+ ion. I know geeky right.
On the map it looks as if the stairs end at the last stony area, but they do extend a bit down to the sand (about 10', which is half a square).
Ferrous moved 60' on round 2, and shot his crossbow on round 3.
Ana moved 45' on round 2, and on round 3 she moved 45' again. So she is ahead of Ferrous now. She is still on the stairs, however. I have moved her "letter."
Wallia moved 45' on round 2, and on round 3 he moved 15'. So he is with Ferrous now. No gnolls are yet in range of his sling. I moved the "W" down to beside Ferrous.
Fistep moved 45' on round 2, so on round 3 he could potentially triple move past Ferrous by moving 45' again. This is what Ana did. Or he could move 15' to catch up with Ferrous. However, if he stops there, none of the gnolls will be in arrow range yet with a shortbow. I have not moved the "F" yet.
Ferrous: I'm not going to change the gnoll you killed because about a dozen gnolls have moved now as a result and I can't recall exactly where they all started. Sorry. But if the goal was to get the gnolls to head up the stairs in a nice line it looks like you may have succeeded.
The gnoll leader standing at the mouth of the big tent begins barking orders at the gnolls around him. He points at the group of humans and demi-humans on the stairs of the pyramid. Several of the gnolls begin sprinting towards the pyramid, and more turn around and look towards the pyramid.
The shaman standing in front of the tent begins to argue, and the leader strides over and begins barking orders at the shaman. The discussion seems to be getting heated.
It is pretty clear that the one giving orders is the overall leader of the tribe. His token is marked with a white star.
Some of the camels escape, though two of the gnolls manage to catch one of the fleeing camels.
Zynazyr's eyes get a little wide when he sees how quickly the group of gnolls approached the pyramid. He takes aim at the young gnoll out in front and fires his bow.
THAC0:17 + 1 - 1d20 ⇒ 17 + 1 - (15) = 3I think you said I had a -1 penalty for using the bow. Damage:1d6 ⇒ 3
I did a separate entry. When I tried to combine them, I must have broke something as my output was -993 lol
He then moves back up the stairs to separate himself from the gnolls.
I'm not sure if this action was ever used. If not ...
Sorry, I don't think I assigned the damage for that one but it would have been a hit. Since you were kind of "firing into the crowd" I just picked a guy at random (he is one of the guys in the lead group). If you wish to retcon your second shot to hit the same guy you can.
Zynazyr wrote:
I did a separate entry. When I tried to combine them, I must have broke something as my output was -993 lol
FYI if you use "quote" on a post with a dice expression it leaves the original [/dice] tag off the expressions. This prevents it from generating a new roll, since it's just a quote and isn't meant to generate new numbers. But since the start of the dice expression is still there, if you do any more they conflate with the original expression, which is still open until you add a closing [/dice] statement, so the rolls get conflated weirdly. I just copy and paste the roll manually from an original post when I quote a post with a roll.
Brathas sprints around to the west side of the camp. As he does, the nearest Hyaena begins to bark loudly.
Meanwhile, Zynazyr takes another shot from the top of the wall. One of the Gnolls yelps in pain as the arrow strikes it. Zynazyr heads back towards Ana though the stairs are harder to climb than he expected.
Zynazyr: Going back up the stairs is done at half the normal speed, so you couldn't have moved quite that far. I moved your token back a bit. If you run (i.e. spend your whole round moving) remember you can move at 3x normal speed.
Zynazyr:
As Zynazyr watches the gnolls he realizes that their paws seem better suited to the sand than human feet would be (i.e. unlike humans they take no penalties for moving on sand). They seem to be running about as fast as humans can run on open ground. He is glad that the group did not choose to face the gnolls on the sand.
The gnolls continue to rush towards the group. Some of the younger ones, unburdened by armor, actually ascend the stairs and reach Zynazyr, howling with glee!
The gnolls that are moving towards the pyramid are running (3x normal movement) and don't get to attack.
Other gnolls within the camp remain, mostly trying to soothe the burnt hyaenas, though others chase fleeing camels and still more stand around the central square, watching the chief argue with the shamans. Two of the shamans leave to watch the progess of the gnoll war party heading for the pyramid, though their lack of haste indicates that they aren't interested in joining the hunt.
M Half-Elf CORE Rog 1 | HP 11/11 | AC 18 (T15, FF 13, CMD 19) | F +2 R +7 W +2 | Mv 30' | Per +9 (+10 vs traps), low-light vision | Init +5
Brathas has been trying to give the hyenas a wide berth to avoid this problem. He is 50' away, with multiple camels in between and multiple burning pack-mates nearby. And multiple human prisoners nearby, who smell basically the same as he does. He is going to think it impossible that the hynena is reacting to him.
Brathas has been trying to give the hyenas a wide berth to avoid this problem. He is 50' away, with multiple camels in between and multiple burning pack-mates nearby. And multiple human prisoners nearby, who smell basically the same as he does. He is going to think it impossible that the hynena is reacting to him.
FYI the hyaena that is barking is the one with a gnoll handler that is south of the main body of camels and was about 25' from your position before you moved. If you run (triple move) you will be a bit more easy to detect than if you move slowly. For the purpose of detection, your position at the start of your move matters as much as where you end up, since a creature has a chance of spotting you at any point along your move, rather that just where you end up.
Anastoria wrote:
I think I have the template aimed at the most advantageous angle.
I adjusted the template a bit for you, since the way you had it you would have got Zynazyr too (which I assume you don't want). It still affects all the same enemies. Anyone within or touching the triangle will be affected.
M Half-Elf CORE Rog 1 | HP 11/11 | AC 18 (T15, FF 13, CMD 19) | F +2 R +7 W +2 | Mv 30' | Per +9 (+10 vs traps), low-light vision | Init +5
Lost City DM wrote:
For the purpose of detection, your position at the start of your move matters as much as where you end up, since a creature has a chance of spotting you at any point along your move, rather that just where you end up.
Okay, next round I'll move more carefully and Hide so he loses track of me.
Pretty sure the distance, smells, distraction, lack of wind, and my Invisibility should make that fairly easy.
save Y 14:1d20 ⇒ 9 save Y 14:1d20 ⇒ 10 save G 13:1d20 ⇒ 10 save G 13:1d20 ⇒ 14 save G 13:1d20 ⇒ 19 save B 13:1d20 ⇒ 2 save W 12:1d20 ⇒ 10
A violet flash of light pours forth from the wand, and rushes forth like a tidal wave of magic. It engulfs several gnolls and a hyaena. When the light clears, the hyaena and four gnolls stand rigid and unmoving! Two other gnolls, unaffected, look down at their bodies and around at the other gnolls, wondering what just happened to them.
The hubbub dies down in the gnoll camp. More gnolls turn to look at the pyramid, and one of the shamans starts shouting orders to the others.
Note: Paralyzed figures have been recolored to be very pale. As with hold person they are frozen in place and do not fall down. This means that the frozen gnoll youths actually give Zynazyr a bit of cover.
Also Note: It is now clear that one of the shamans is the leader of the others by the fact that he is giving orders to the others. This shaman is marked with a black star.
Wallia unloads with his sling and hits one of the gnolls at the base of the stairs. Even with a couple of people in the way providing cover that is still a hit. I'm just assuming you are aiming at the nearest unparalyzed gnoll.
Male Dwarven Axe-man (Level 3) hp 22/37 || AC 1 || F11 A15 C12 D11 H6 W8 || THAC0 17 || Mv 20' || Infravision 60
I am trying to think of what I can do right now within the mechanics of the game. Can Ferrous drop his crossbow and throw a throwing ax? If not Ferrous will reload his crossbow and move back up the stairs towards the hole.
I am trying to think of what I can do right now within the mechanics of the game. Can Ferrous drop his crossbow and throw a throwing ax? If not Ferrous will reload his crossbow and move back up the stairs towards the hole.
Letting go of something you are holding does not require an action, so yes, you can do this. If you choose to move please indicate where you want to drop the crossbow (before, after, or during your move) in case you want to pick it up later.
Ferrous: Actually, if you were to draw a throwing axe, the only targets that would be in range (even if you moved forward) would be the paralyzed gnolls in front of Zynazyr. If you don't want to use it on them, then reloading the crossbow is probably a better plan. However, falling back up the stairs also makes it harder to form a line with the rest of the group, since Ana is way forward. Zynazyr can triple move to right beside where Wallia is; Ana could triple move to between you and Wallia.
Male Dwarven Axe-man (Level 3) hp 22/37 || AC 1 || F11 A15 C12 D11 H6 W8 || THAC0 17 || Mv 20' || Infravision 60
Damned Elf ye missed half of them hold that wand's charges until they are on us. Everyone back towards the hole. Ferrous shouts as he reloads his crossbow and walks backwards 5 feet while doing so.
Just waiting for Fistep. I don't feel it's fair for me to rush people since I was away from the game for so long, but I will bot him tonight after midnight unless we hear from him.
Fistepbot takes a shot with his bow before falling back up the stairs, aiming for the wounded gnoll. The arrow takes the gnoll just below the neck, and the gnoll drops with a gurgle.
Fistep: I moved your token for you representing a single move. You could also take a shot with your shortbow or do a triple move instead. Since a triple move would put you way behind Ferrous and I assume you don't want to do that, I took the shot for you. If you didn't want to do that and prefer a full move, we can retcon this; let me know.
Ferrous: Your token had only moved one square, which reresents a half move (the map squares are 5' and you can move a total of 10' up the stairs). I wasn't sure if that's what you meant to do so I moved your token the extra square; just move it back if that is not what you intended.
Round 5 Initiative Block 1: Ana, Fistep, Zynazyr Block 2: Black, Blue
Block 3: Brathas, Ferrous, Wallia
Block 4: White Green, Red
Block 5: Slaves, Camels
Ana, Fistep, and Zynazyr are up!
I recommend that Ana and Zynazyr triple move back up the stairs to join the others. If they do that they end up on either side of Wallia.
FYI using ranged weapons to shoot at a lower elevation just uses normal ranges, but if the gnolls shoot back each square up the steps will count as two for range purposes, meaning shooting up the steps is harder. You don't see many bows but most of the gnolls have javelins and spears.
Thanks for the extra square catch LCDM. Zynazyr has 40' movement so triple would be 120' He could move further up the steps correct?
He can move farther, but don't forget the stairs themselves cost double when moving back up. But counting again... yes, he could move a lot further. If he goes straight up he could get to the landing above where everyone else is.
The real question is, where do you want to stop and form a line to hold the gnolls back? Presumably you will do that at some point.
Male Dwarven Axe-man (Level 3) hp 22/37 || AC 1 || F11 A15 C12 D11 H6 W8 || THAC0 17 || Mv 20' || Infravision 60
Presumably when or just before Ana gets caught. But I think triple moving the full length gets our wizard behind the front line. Not sure what the range is of the energy bolts he sends.
