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Not these again, he groans.
He asks Exiel to use guidence on him.
He moves labouriously through the snow and takes long and careful aim (using a grit point) to get a better range with his musket (allows touch AC to the next range increment though at -2 for range) at the skeleton to the south of the party
-1 if Exiel doesn't cast it on him.
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The skeletons advance on your position as badr takes aim and smashes the skull of one of the skeletons with an exceptionally well-placed shot.
Shu and Guilford attempt to strike at the skeletons with magic as they approach, but are unable to aim their spells though the falling snow.
Meanwhile, the skeletons close in on your front line... ...
New round! Exiel, Mu, Shu and Eldanar go before the skeletons.
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Sorry, Eldanar, this is the second round. Feel free to reroll that attack or change your action for round 2.
On their respective turns, Exiel and Badr will take the following cold damage from the skeletons being in your face:
Everyone's up again
Badr and Guilford take your actions for round 2. Exiel, Eldanar, Mu and Shu take your turns for round 3.
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Mu pegs the skeleton that Eldanar shot in the previous round, and it explodes in a burst of frost and bone!
(Bro, you need that second level of paladin soon, your ref save sucks ****)
Badr takes 2 damage from the burst of ice, Exiel takes 5.
Waiting on actions from Exiel, Badr, Guilford. Shu has a readied action which will trigger on the skele south of Badr.
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You shot in round 1, you are now declaring your action for round 2.
The skeletons got to you before you moved in round 2, dealing ice damage to you. (The were concentrating on moving.)
After your go in round 2, Shu will peg the skeleton with disrupt undead. Then in round 3, Eldanar and Mu will finish off the skeleton next to you and Exiel.
We're just filling in at this point what you did in round 2. =)
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Have added a combat summary in the reference sheet to help clear confusion about what's going on. Badr's roll of 18 was in round 1, and the skeleton already exploded. There are 2 more to deal with (well, Mu will be dealing with 1 in round 3, but we still need to resolve what happened in round 2 first).
For the record, Shu was before skeletons, but delayed till after Badr, so is now after skeletons.
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Guilford pegs the skeleton (which was hit earlier by Eldanar in round 1) with a telekinetic fist, showering Badr with a spray of ice!
Ice damage taken by Badr from exploding skeleton:
Badr takes 1 point of ice damage.
Badr, need you to declare action for round 2 so that we can move on to round 3, which will open with Mu slinging the last skeleton dead. Also, you will be taking less cold damage since one of the skeletons is now dead.
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The force of the latest blast of ice knocks Exiel off his feet as the final skeleton explodes. He is still sitting on the ground shaking his head to clear it when Shu cheerfully taps him with the wand of infernal healing. Exiel suddenly jolts upright as he feels devil-blood coursing through his veinsm, accelerating his natural healing, and leaving the paladin feeling very, very dirty inside.
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Wha-hey-what? WHAT? WHAT DID YOU JUST DO TO ME! Look, I appreciate what you are trying to do, and I appreciate that as equals I have no business questioning the methods you employ...but that magic employs the use of devil blood! Ugh...I may look human, mostly, but... Exiel trails off, as if uncertain of whether to reveal something, then taking a deep breath continues but I do have some celestial blood within my veins, and it REALLY disagrees with what that magic does to me. Ugh I'm gonna be sick for awhile now...
Exiel tries not to stomp off too petulantly down the trail, and tries not to mutter too loudly under his breath, even as the magic that so irks him continues to mend his wounds... ...
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A while later, after Exiel has had time to calm down, he walks up to Shu.
I'm sorry for the earlier outburst. As I said, I appreciate you were trying to help. However, I really do not approve of that particular spell being used on me. In the future I heal myself with my own spells. But....thank you, nonetheless.
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As you press on, you spy a dead body along the trail, amidst many boot and large paw prints in the snow...
Perception checks
Exiel:
Badr:
Mu:
Shu:
Guilford:
Eldanar:
Ted: (Scent)
Pu:
along with a slightly-damp journal which identifies then man as one Dryden Kepp. Apparently Dryden had recently spotted a giant sloth in the woods, but when he reported his findings in Heldren, he was laughed at. Determined to have vindication, Dryden set a few bear traps in the area hoping to catch the beast. Judging from the tracks in the snow, however, the beast got the better of him.
That said, the journal does state in detail where the bear traps were laid, and will be useful in helping you avoid them. It also makes some mention of a strange hut which he discovered in the woods (it rested on what appeared to be giant chicken-legs), and an even stranger doll inside.
As for Dryden's body itself, it has a ripped (but still usable) cold-weather outfit, a pair of home-made (but very serviceable) snowshoes, and though his shortbow is snapped in half, two +1 animal-bane arrows remain in his quiver. His pack contains holds 3 days' worth of trail rations and a half-full hip flask of strong applejack, the smell of which drives Pu wild with excitement.
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Shu leans back from Exiel's verbal assault. Pu hides in his turban. When the tirade ends, Shu looks at the wand stupidly, then back to Exiel with innocent wide eyes. He then points to Guilford. "This belong to him!" But Exiel is already trudging away through the snow.
Later, when Exiel returns...
Shu nods solemnly to the Aasimar, and promises not to use the wand on him again.
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Pressing further along, you find your way to the top of the ridge, and continue to follow the tracks along it. A cold wind blows through the forest atop the ridge, and heavy snow burdens the boughs of the evergreen trees. However, it does look as if someone has recently cleared the snow from a large patch of ground to dig in the pine-needle-carpeted soil. You recognise the patches as the locations of the beartraps you just read about in the journal, and sidestep them.
As you press on, however, a pair of trees near the trail suddenly spring to life!
Initiatives
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The book does nothing more than mention the strange hut, and that the doll looked really creepy. In fact, the area near the hut seemed to creep him out for some reason, though he seemed reluctant to write much about it.
That said...
Most people have at least heard of the sentinel huts that the white witches of Irrisen erect huts along the border of Irrisen.
You know that they resemble the fabled chicken-legged Dancing Hut of Baba Yaga herself, and are designed to ward of trespassers. These huts each contain only a single porcelain doll in the imagine of a crone. However, each of these dolls also contain the corrupted soul of a stolen child, and at night these dolls come alive and hunt any foolish enough to invade Irrisen. There is no known way to free the soul of the child short of destroying the doll, though attacking said doll usually serves to cause it to retaliate regardless of the time of day.
What such a doll and such a hut may be doing here, however, you have absolutely no idea.