You figure smoking them out has a chance -- the two potential problems being helpless kidnap victims (who can't breathe smoke) and whether the cave-system has several more crevices throughout the area that lead outside, providing lots of air and thus making smoking them out from merely one entrance useless.
Of course, an attempt at communicating with them may provide opportunity -- depending on what approach you take (threaten, bargain, bluff, etc., etc.)
Also, you could wait them out -- as far as you know there is no time-sensitive reason not to back off and wait till dark to see if they emerge to get more slaves, gather food or check snares, see where you've gone, etc., etc.
Or you can charge into the narrow confines, melee weapons first, and hope that with their Shaman out of the way the mooks will be easier to mop up. (Though you know Xvarts are known for trap-making!)
"Well the only option I can do o, my own would be to head in alone."
Wulfrun grabs her gear and pats her steed and lifts her visor, "If I don't come back by nightfall return to town and wait for me there," she says to the mount.
Wulfrun turns, closing her visor and heads into the cave to hole and peers down it to see how far it drops.
If one of us goes in we should all go in. We stand a better chance of coming back out that way," Terra said/ She turned thoughful for a moment and then said, "I don't think we should just wait for them to come out, I imagine they're more likely to fortify their cavern with traps, what we ran into already was bad enough."
As she bravely, if not altogether foolishly, enters the narrow cave to peek down the hole in the back, Wulfrun can take the small stone earlier Lit by Aliesah's Cantrip, and toss it down the hole to see how far it drops -- unable as she is to see in natural darkness.
The hole descends for about 15 feet -- barely even enough to be a shaft -- into what looks like an opening with a 6 or 7 foot ceiling.
A large wooden box or chest sits on the floor directly under the hole (Aliesah's "light pebble" fell on it before bouncing off and down to the dirt floor.) ....Perhaps the small creatures use the box as a spring-board to get to the hole in the ceiling -- or maybe it's another trap. Presumably the cavern below is wide enough to accommodate several creatures, despite its mere 6-7 ft height.
As Wulfrun's line of sight follows the pebble in its fall, fifteen feet down, she hears the skittering of voices in a language she does not understand and sees what look to be a few shadows flutter around out of sight below.
A moment later a brave, if not altogether foolish, Kobold scampers underneath the hole and picks up the pebble with the Light spell cast upon it and, ever so defiantly, throws it back up the shaft -- apparently in a "brilliant" gambit to return the lair to darkness.
And with perfect aim the pebble, after reaching its zenith a foot or so from Wulfrun's nose 15 or so feet up, obeys the Law of Gravity and begins its return flight back down-- precisely upon the forehead of the brave, if not altogether foolish, Kobold, knocking him into slack-jawed unconsciousness. And equally as predictably, then bounces where his open mouth catches the light-emanating-pebble -- and thus conceals the light source and plunges the cavern into darkness once again. (Um,... Mission accomplished?)
Wulfrun was able, though, to see that the Kobold carried a fierce-looking short sword with a rusted blade, broken handle, and blunted point -- a truly menacing, if not altogether broken, weapon.
Wulfrun foolhardily sits down on the edge of the hole and using the light of her ioun stone, drops intentionally down over top of the unconscious kobold drawing her bardiche as she lands looking to brutally end the first hostile in sudden surprise. If there is anything holding a weapon within reach, Wulfrun natually attacks it immediately aiming for xvarts first, kobolds second.
Wulfrun drops down into the cavern below, ready to charge this righteous fight with the enthusiasm it deserves and, halfway through the fall realizes that she may in fact want to, um, fall with style, but unfortunately isn't quite as athletic (or Acrobatic) as she thought and lands prone, adjacent to the wooden crate under the hole.
From her position she sees that this cavern is very well-worked stone and at four points of the roughly 40 foot area are small, tunnel like recesses leading to other areas. The light from her Ioun Stone barely reaches the edge of the cavern walls, about 20 feet away in each direction.
She sees 4 total, including the one unconscious a step away from her; the other three seem quite startled that this human woman has entered the area all by herself, but will be quick to take advantage of her.
Wulfrun also sees 5 emerging from one of the four tunnels, one of whom is obviously injured from your combat last night.
From another tunnel emerges another , obviously better equipped than the others and quite confident in a sneaky, stealthy kind of way -- he has the look of one who kills for hire from the shadows.
Finally, huddled against one end of the cavern wall, apparently chained to each other, are several starving kidnap victims, suffering from exposure and barely conscious.
Roll Initiative
.
.
.
Terra looks on in somewhat stunned disbelief as the reckless woman runs ahead like that, even more so when she goes down the hole. It takes a moment for her to realize what's happening, "I can't believe she just did that. I guess we should go try to save her from herself." With that Terra heads towards the hole to look down and make sure that Wulfrun is unhurt.
Rd 1
.... 22.4
Cayosin .... 15.8
.... 11.7
.... 8.6
Wulfrun ....
Terra Minora ....
Lord Gregary ....
Aliesah Leafborn ....
Aerodus Aluain ....
Raggo ....
a lunatic, i tell you.
Quickly aliesah pulls out a coil of rope and ties it off.
The lunacy must be infectious
The hole descends for about 15 feet -- barely even enough to be a shaft -- into what looks like an opening with a 6 or 7 foot ceiling. (So the hole goes down 8-9 feet and opens in the middle of a ceiling which is 6-7 feet off the floor.)
Rd 1
.... 22.4
Cayosin .... 15.8
Wulfrun .... 12.2 ....
.... 11.7
.... 8.6
.
Terra Minora ....
Lord Gregary ....
Aliesah Leafborn ....
Aerodus Aluain .... ....
Raggo ....
"The missing people are here along with many kobolds and xvarts! Wulfrun says as she attacks the closest enemy to her
Surprise Round?
Wulfrun takes a step to distance herself and still be able to hit her attackers.
Once the rope is secured, aliesah uses it to lower herself into the hole, without a headlong leap of faith.
Rd 1
Aliesah Leafborn .... 22.6 ....
.... 22.4 ....
Cayosin .... 15.8 ....
Terra Minora .... 14.2 ....
Wulfrun .... 12.2 ....
.... 11.7 ....
.... 8.6 ....
Raggo .... 7.1 ....
.
Lord Gregary ....
Aerodus Aluain .... ....
Three Kobolds are in the center of the room with Wulfrun & Aerodus.
Five Xvarts are 20 feet away from the center, on one end of the cavern wall (next to their little tunnel).
The Xvart Assassin is 20 feet away from the center, on another end of the cavern wall (next to his little tunnel).
Two other little tunnels on other ends of the cavern wall presumably lead to the Shaman's lair and another chamber.
The kidnap victims are also 20 feet away from the center, chained to an edge of the cavern wall with no tunnel behind them.
Raggo moves forward and leaps down the hole.
Raggo is prone.
.
...And Raggo is Prone, as stated
|
The attacks thud aimlessly off of the prone Svirfssamirs armor as he slowly lumbers to his feet, incurring an attack from the Kobold.
"If you drop your weapon and stand over there, I'll deal with your masters and you'll be free. No need to die tonight, right?" Aerodus grins as he swings the flat of his blade at the Kobold.
His attack whistles through the air over the Kobolds head. "Next time I won't use the flat, but the edge. And trust me, I never miss twice!"
Wulfrun presses hard to open up space for her allies as they join the fight. She steps away from being flanked and toward the potion drinking, sneaky Xvart again and tries to ruin his day, or someone else's if he is still out of reach.
Wulfrun gracefully obliterates the severely hit Kobold, leaving two left.
Aerodus misses.
Aliesah can climb down the rope in round 2 -- I believe that climb is a Standard Action so she will have a Move Action when she reaches the bottom, if she so chooses.
Rd 2
Aliesah Leafborn ....
....
Cayosin ....
Terra Minora ....
Wulfrun ....
....
....
Raggo ....
Lord Gregary ....
Aerodus Aluain ....
Raggo stands up and casts burning hands, hitting as many enemies as possible without hitting his allies.
Cleverly, the Assassin tumbles his way past Wulfrun's wicked bardiche and comes face to face with the powerful woman to strike at her heart, only to see the Cavalier's equally cleverly placed Cestus on course to bloody his little blue nose!
.
The little Xvart closes in faster than Wulfrun can bring her weapon down to best him, but as his little weapon strikes at Wulfrun's two hands, Wulfrun instictively draws back her spiked fist and strikes the sneaky xvart in the chest inches from his throat.
Aliesah pulls out her bow and casts hold person on the assasin.
DC 16, or be paralysed.
With a lithe step Terra decides on the express route down, unfortunately in her cockiness she failed to stick the landing and instead found herself prone, though not unarmed.
Despite being on her back Terra remembered it's where she does some of her best work. She chose a nearby victim and snapped the whip at her target, the end cracking towards their feet in an attempt to wrap around them and pull them to the ground.
Rd 3
Aliesah Leafborn ....
....
Cayosin ....
Terra Minora ....
Wulfrun ....
....
....
Raggo ....
Lord Gregary ....
Aerodus Aluain ....