DM Shisumo's Jade Regent (Inactive)

Game Master Shisumo

Tristan can't manage to land blows on the ogrekin, but Gan and Tybus both cut deep wounds, and Callomeleth - thanks to Lamsfel's distraction - gets a slice in as well. She snarls, but despite the injuries, she turns her focus toward Lamsfel. "Your ears look mighty tasty, boy!" she grins, drawing her flail and swinging at him with it.

Flail attack on Lamsfel: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20, damage 1d8 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

The wound is brutal and vicious, and Lamsfel feels his ribs shatter beneath the swing.

You guys are up.

Tybus bares his teeth as he sees Lamsfel take a bone-crunching hit. Ye'll be tasting nothing but yer own blood! he issues back as he swings Song of Sparrows in a wide arc. He buries the katana in the ogrekin's shoulder where he twists the blade, then continues the cut as he slashes downward amidst a spray of blood.

Melee, flanking: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 5 + 2 = 27
Damage: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

Confirm crit: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 5 + 2 = 26
Damage: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

あなたは、この日優先してはならない he hisses as he brings the sword back up to its ready stance.

"Oof!" The wind knocked out of him for a moment, Lamsfel gives the 'woman' a nasty smile. "Those drooling idiots outside have a passing resemblance to you. Kin, perhaps? We had a lovely talk. They even used syllables!"

He lunges and strikes with both blades, making sure she knows he's not cowed, broken ribs or no.

Lamsfel, did you include the flanking bonus to attack and sneak attack damage? You and me are flanking.

Gan, impressed with the creature's resiliency, throws down his spear to unleash a flurry of attacks with the Traveler's own natural weapons.

Swift--arcane strike--I remembered again! ;-)

bite: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

claw: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

damage: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

claw: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

damage: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

I did, thanks. That's the +2. I'm suffering from a non proficiency penalty with these weapons that fascinate me, thus the terrible attack bonus. And I'm not a rogue, so no sneak attack. I'm an attempt to create a hybrid swashbuckler and looking very much forward to seeing the official build in the Advanced Class Guide. But I digress.

I never should have given Tybus a katana...

Although Lamsfel does manage to catch the ogrekin with his left-hand blade, the wound is largely inconsequential compared to the lethal cut Tybus delivers. The ogrekin staggers back, looking shocked, and then just slumps sideways, lifeless eyes staring toward the remains of her disgusting meals.

End of combat, 160 XP each.

Lamsfel looks at his blade, frowning, then realizes that Tybus had struck - and struck hard. "Well struck."

He slowly moves to one of the pillars and leans against it heavily. "Sweet Desna, did she really hit me only once?" *cough*

For the record, I have one precious hit point after that shot.

You don't look so good, mate, Tybus offers. He moves to offer the elf a hand in staying upright, but keeps the katana out in case it's needed again soon.

We be cutting these a little close. That ettercap, this thing, he nods in the ogrekin's direction, they're hitting hard. I'm regretting my actions out in the courtyard less and less. How much healing does Shelyn have in ye?

"Not much more," Callomeleth says, trading out his glaive for the symbol of the musethrush. "This day's been rather taxing."

The elf shudders as the healing knits his ribcage back into its normal shape. "Thank the gods you came along, Callomeleth. I think it would hurt less to run over by a horse."

What time of day is it? We've run from one combat to another, so it feels like a day's efforts, but I suspect it may not be noon yet.

"If your gifts for day are used up, we may need to consider either retreating to the caravan to rest or camping within the castle. I am not sure I would want to leave the caravan short so many swords overnight here, but hate to give up ground that was so hard to gain. But hopefully whatever fills the void we've created will be more respectful of the katana." The twinkle in his eye tells you he's feeling much better.

Tybus is pleased that Lamsfel appears better mended and gives him a smile at the quip, but the channeled energy still left them both with wounds remaining. He surveys the disgusting contents of the room with a look of distaste.

I don't like the thought of bedding down here, though. The spider stables wouldn't be much better, either. I have me a few more spells that may help end a fight quick, but I don't think we're in much shape to clear out the castle in one go.

"Maybe we should learn what we can without opening any more doors and pull back to rest. I don't like the idea of coming through the main gate twice, though. Would the second level of a tower be defensible? They had a lot of dust, so I don't think they had much traffic."

He moves around the room as he talks, prodding piles of undetermined origin with his short sword as he goes, half-afraid he will find a kinsman or -woman among the eaten.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10

"I agree, if we continue in this state, we'll do ourselves more harm than good. It might be time for a tactical retreat for now, and come back in the morning. Let's make a quick examination of the room, and be off. The shouting from that ogrekin might bring her friends."

Gods, I hope not. Her friends be lyin' out in the courtyard.

"She shouted something in her harsh language before she attacked," he says, quickly examining the kitchen/abbatoir. "But she spoke to Lamsfel in Taldane. If there's not anyone else here, then who was she talking to?"

To his relief, Lamsfel only finds animal carcasses in varying states of decay, although he is nauseated somewhat when he realizes that the decay doesn't seem to have factored into the ogrekin's perception of their edibility. Nonetheless, the only items of interest or value he locates are on the woman herself: her armor, usable if cleaned; her spiked gauntlet; the finely-made flail she battered him with; and the pouch of gold coins on her belt.

Sounds like retreat - or strategic relocation out of the castle, at any rate - seems to be the general plan. Heading all the way back to the caravan? Going to try to find a campsite you can secure here in the castle? Somewhere in the village, perhaps?

"Hopefully she was shouting to the idiots lying in the courtyard. I'm not sure taking their heads made them any dumber. At any rate, we did not deprive them of anything they used much. She probably did not realize they were dead."

I suspect between the dire corbies and the ogrekin, not a lot of random creatures have come here lately. I think we could use one of the towers that appears unused. We are likely to disturb something we cannot handle if we seek a camp in the village or return to the caravan. Lamsfel just doesn't want to surrender territory gained.

I assume the question in the discussion thread is awaiting this decision for resolution.

I concur--that one's brains were in her biceps, it seems.

Gan would also like to hunker down here for the night, when the time is right. Before we do that, I'll cast Lesser Rejuvenate Eidolon to get my temp HP back, and then I'll send a couple summoned eagles scouting in a few different directions.

Rejuvenate: 1d10 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

I'll start looking up what I get next level in case we do level up.

So, going with the idea that you're barricading yourselves in one of the towers...

It is roughly noon when you retreat to one of the towers, settling in to wait and recover your resources. The fall day is cool and overcast, but it is not unpleasant and the time passes quickly enough. The sun - just a bright spot behind the light grey clouds, really - moves through the sky, dropping toward the western horizon at its usual pace.

A little before sunset, though, all hell breaks loose in the castle's main courtyard.

The main doors on the castle's ground floor boom open, and a flock of seven dire corbies comes pouring through it, shouting angrily and spreading out as though to search the area.

What would you like to do?

While waiting, we would have been looking at our temporary domicile for resources. What sort of materials/detritus is in the tower?

Anything of value or meaningful utility has long since been scrounged up and carried off by one or more of the castle's denizens. The remaining bits of broken wood and badly corroded might be useful in making a small fire, though you are unlikely to care for the smell of the smoke. Beyond that, though, the towers provide only shelter from the elements, nothing more.

Oh, well. I was looking for/hoping for abandoned/empty crates and barrels and such. I suspect the best we can do, then, is limit their approaches to our position or enhance our hiding. I picture each tower has two doors at a minimum, to the wall on either side. Do they all have ladder access from below? Do they have access into a rafter space? Which tower are we in?

There is no rafter access, and there is a ladder down. There is only one door on each of the two levels - one leads out into the courtyard on the ground floor, the other leads out to the top of the curtain wall. As for which tower you're in, that's up to you guys - there's a map on the Campaign Info tab that shows them all.

It would seem that defending any of them will be essentially the same. Does anyone else have a preference as to which tower to chill out in?

I would vote the cleanest, but assuming they're all in the same state, I would say either the one farthest east or the one just west of the gatehouse.
Tybus pulls out his spell book to see if he can prepare just one more spell this day in case it's needed. He also jots down some notes to finalize a couple spells he had been working on. He stops working after a while and sits still, looking at the katana.

My vote would be the farthest SW one as it's farthest from the unexplored territory, but I'm good with anywhere.

Southwest works for me too, it should give us the greatest length of time to respond to any threat.

The squawks of the crebain rouse Callomeleth from his meditations. "I think they found out they've been attacked," he says, gathering up his bow and arrow. "I don't have many spells left, and I can protect us once they find us out, but other than that, I'm tapped. If anyone needs healing right now, let me know."

The bladesinger follows Callomeleth's lead, grabbing up bow and arrows.

Whispering, "Gan, is your other available for another fight? I think the sight of you and your spear at the top of the ladder would give anything pause. Tybus, Tristan, flank the door. We will get a volley or two of arrows against any that come to explore the tower from the wall. If that does not dissuade them, your blades are the next line of defense. Save your spells unless things get dire and let none enter the tower."

Southwest it is. How's that for a plan?

We are both present, and your plan is sound. We shall bleed them during their ascent.

Gan climbs the ladder, much more confidently than his frail frame would suggest.

I thought we were on the upper level of the tower. My plan assumes as much - one to strike if they open the trapdoor (hopefully causing them to fall on another) and four to defend the door.

Might as well fight while we still have the light with us. We should also make use of the cover the wall be giving us. Tybus strings his bow and gets ready.

I figure we are going to step out onto the curtain wall and start shooting?

Tybus waits until everyone is ready, then waits to see if the corbies are spreading out. He and the other archers will identify joint targets to focus fire, then begin.

Whoops, didn't see Lamsfel's last post. But I think we ought to soften them up with range as they get near. We have some decent archers, plus cover from the crenellations

I would not expect crenellations on the inside wall. My thought was to let them look and only strike if they found us. If you want to hit them directly, that's an option, too. I still want Gan covering our rearguard, keeping them off the ladder.

The inside of the wall does not, in fact, have crenelations, but there is a low "safety" wall on the inside that could be used for partial cover. In case it factors into your planning, it looks like the corbies are splitting up into three groups - two pairs, and a larger group of three. They are searching in a very thorough fashion.

If they're searching thoroughly, then they're going to find us soon enough. It might be a good plan to wait until one of the groups is within range of our bows and strike first, softening them up before they reach our position.

Whispering, "Splitting up... Could we take out a pair before the others knew? Any attack on one group would bring the rest coming."

Do they have weapons other than natural? Ranged, in particular?

They do not.

"We could shoot at them without danger of them replying in kind, but it doesn't seem sporting. We don't know how many await within - seven of them out here is one thing, but what if thirty more are waiting for a signal?" Shrugs, "We have to do something, I'm sure. Let me know what part you want me to play and we will see what Desna's luck brings."

Tybus runs his hand over his face. Lam, the first batch from this morning squawked quite a bit, and these didn't come running. It may not be sporting, but we're outnumbered and still hurting. We have to take our advantage where Desna's given it.

"OK. Do we rain down arrows on the lot of them, then? Wait until they have separated?"

Could we possibly find a fist-sized chunk of stone that we could chuck into the far corner of the courtyard for a distraction? Or does one of our spellcasters have a ghost sound prepared?

Feel free to call the plan, I'm still thinking out loud - don't let it distract you.

"I'm all for the raining of arrows. We've got plenty of arrows if there are more of them."

It won't take long before they get the idea. We'll target the group closest first; let's see if we can get them all before they reach the base o' the tower. Then we'll move to the next closest group. Gan, you keep em bottled, and yell if you have any trouble.

"Very good. On your mark, sailor."

Initiative: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

Okay, I'm going to try to make a battle map for this, although it will be rather interesting doing it on two levels. I do, however, need some clarification as to exactly which tower you are in. There are two in the southwest - one at the western end of the gatehouse, and one whose lower door opens into the stables. Which one are you in?

I was thinking the western one by the gatehouse. I could be wrong. Don't mind me.
Initiative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15

I vote for the western one by the gatehouse. If we are firing down, we don't want them to be able to hide in the stable.