GM Axolotl's Maiden, Mother, Crone

Game Master Axolotl

As Dez takes a step forward, he can see an enormous troll with a nose like a crooked tree root, covered in bits of foliage, grinning evilly, with a tremendous spear that could probably tap his forehead right between the horns. Hommelstaub hovers nearby. The sound of the vortex of cold air is tremendous and the snow is deep around the two vetr-taka.

For game purposes we shall say that only Dez has full visibility; the rest of you have 50%. I'll roll up some initiative tonight or tomorrow! Dez, per Rule of Cool you may safely retreat without incurring an AoO from Teb and his big ol' spear.

Actually, the plan was that Chiquq was going to send an eagle in first and then we would follow. So I don't know how that changes things, but Dez would definitely want to retreat while avoiding any AoO.

Bah, I thought I wrote a comment saying that the eagle would not be able to fly in the snow/wind. Anyhow, that is not exactly the case...the eagle could do it with a -4 Fly penalty and a DC 20 Fly. So, roll a 16 and higher and yes, it could fly...

I'll retcon it to show that if you all wish, or we can make it so that the eagle never appeared and Chiquq keeps the spell. Sorry for the bad bookkeeping!

Eh, if it's too windy for the eagle to fly, I'd be okay sending in a different creature-- the eagle's the best combat-wise of the SNA 1s, but the tactical goal is mostly just to have something other than our tender heads be the first thing through the door. ;) If you're okay with the change, Chiquq would summon a dog rather than an eagle on realizing the eagle would be hampered by the winds. If allowed:

Concentrating, Chiquq chants a prayer to the spirits of the north-- the real north, that is to say, which stays properly... north... and doesn't come down here to the southlands. She thinks of the dogs she has known: sled dogs, with their thick black and white fur and blue eyes, hearty creatures that can run through a blizzard. She calls on the spirits of the north to shape such a creature before her now.

"Hai!" she cries when the prayer manifests a quasi-real dog, who looks around alertly before letting out a single bark and racing into the structure.

The summons will only stay for two rounds, the hope is just that it can soak an initial attack

Retconned and I'll roll up initiative. :)

Position a dog where you want within the spell range, Chiquq.

Teb and Hommelstaub narrow their eyes--one pair large and yellowed like fresh bark, the other tiny and glowing bluish white--at the snow dog's appearance among them. "Manlings," growls the troll in a voice like boulders and trees. "Eats them up."

Round 1 - The Battle At The Portal
Dez
Braegan

Hommelstaub
Chiquq/Ila
Doggie
Yrja
Imendri
Caelum
Teb

Bold may post!

So, can I get a reminder on visibility and conditions? what can/can't we see and what other environmental effects are we dealing with here?

In Hallit: "Braegan, are you going to hit them with your fiery cone? I don't want to get in the way!"

Within the ring, visibility is good. Outside of it, visibility decreases to 50%--it's like you're passing through a wall of wind and snow. The entirety inside the ring is at 20 mph winds with the center at a much higher speed. You are still limited to half speed even with snowshoes due to drifts of snow. Whew!

Those mobility limitations just inside the ring or outside too?

"Yah, but i don't fancy being the first one in range."

Can Braegan cast through those spikey things? Or does that provide cover?

By the way, my understanding is Imendri and Cealum are up with us near the entrance, not way back by the huts. We weren't going to move forward until we were all together.

Dez--both inside and outside the ring. Brae--the spikes are 10' tall or more. Would you believe that the module doesn't list their height? However, that's how tall I say they are. They provide full cover and concealment. Feel free to move Imendri and Caelum up. :)

Then i can't get a good shot at them without putting Brae in harm's way ... and I don't like the odds of him soloing that big baddie for a round before the friendly hitters can intervene. i say we let the warriors do their thing, and Brae will move in to look for Blasting angles.

Braegan holds his position, waiting for the best time to follow his teammates in.

Delay for the moment.

"Chiquq, do you want to send the dog in to draw the troll's attack (AoO with reach) and then the rest of us can move in?"

"Yes, as soon as I can!"

Unfortunately, I'm not up yet to do that. Hommelstraub gets to go before me and the dog.

Moved my icon up. Can I cast bless or do I need to wait for my turn now? I assume Imendri will be center stage next to where my icon is but I can move that if it is bad placement.

Sorry for the slow answer. I was out of town and also kind of dealing with some real life stuff.

Caelum, you can always post your stuff out of turn, as long as people know it doesn't affect until next round. PbP can get a little slow sometimes, and posting early can't hurt (we hope).

Dez and Braegan hold their ground.

Hommelstaub, one eye on the group of heroes, pulls out a scroll and reads something in a reedy voice. No stab of cold or other effects lash out at you.

Round 1 - The Battle At The Portal
Dez
Braegan

Hommelstaub
Chiquq/Ila
Doggie
Yrja
Imendri
Caelum
Teb

Bold may post! Get them, O Heroes!

"Hai!" Chiquq shouts at her spirit-dog, who barks once in answer and runs forward-- into the troll-thing's reach.

Provoking AOO. Dog has AC 13 and 6 HP. If he survives the troll's AOO:

Bitey: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18
Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Chiquq herself steps forward with her spear, knowing her arrows are useless in the swirling winds. To be clear, does that condition of swirling winds prevail even inside the dome? So as long as Hommelstraub stays flying we basically just can't hit him with ranged? Is his flying impeded at all by said winds?

Reach attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4 Wohn wohhhn
Longspear damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Kn Nature re trolls: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15

"Ila! Come! To this side of me!" Chiquq shouts to her mammoth, her voice nearly lost to the raging winds, but Ila trundles faithfully forward.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14

"Curse you, horrible creatures!" Not wanting to risk a spell unless the situation becomes desperate, and with the inimical weather making her sling unusable, Yrja falls back on her tried and true hexes.

Misfortune on Teb, DC 15 Will or use the worst of 2d20 on rolls for 1 round.

Braegan gambles. He follows on Chiquq's heels, his gift building. Burning. His tattoos flare to life and his skin crackles as a gout of flames explodes from his fingertips, rolling over the huge opponent.

I'm assuming Braegan can still see the big troll, even with the sight limitations. If that's not the case, let me know.

Move forward, cast Burnign Hands, aiming it to hit Hommelstaub but nothing else. Reflex DC 16 for half.
Fire damage: 3d4 + 3 ⇒ (1, 1, 3) + 3 = 8

Teb mercilessly skewers the dog, who yips in agony and vanishes in a puff of celestial dust.

Aw dang, nice catch! The module didn't even mention small fey + flying. Ok, Hommelstaub is grounded. And yes, ranged attacks will be subject to a -4 penalty due to wind.

Chiquq is unable to recall anything further about trolls (although someone sussed out Teb's major strengths and weaknesses a while back).

The hex slides off of Teb like water on a slimy rock.

Braegan's fan of flames washes over Hommelstaub. For a moment his form is obscured by the fire...and then is revealed, completely unaffected. It is as if the fire never touched the winter-touched spell user. Hommelstaub grins, showing glittering teeth.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 26

"don't bother with fire against the fey, the spell he cast allows him to resist its effects!"

Any chance to redirect the spell against the troll, given that Dez noticed what the spell was before Braegan acted?

I'm having trouble viewing the map on my phone, but Dez will double move to try to get in the fey's face, ending his turn as far from the troll as possible. I think he can reach the square just beneath the fey.

Yes, Brae can retcon, due to initiative order.

Dez’s warning registers just in time, and Braegan intuitively shifts the power building in his body in a different direction. Instead of blasting outwards toward the troll’s body, it focuses into a blast of searing heat into the creature’s mind.

Cast Daze on the troll, instead. Will DC 14 or lose next round’s actions.

Teb brushes away the spell like an annoying cobweb.

Imendri and Caelum are summoned! Brae is botted! We are lurching back into action!

Huffing, breath steaming in plumes behind him, Imendri heaves himself forward and between his companions, making a beeline for the Troll. He disappears around the corner of the entrance and can be heard yelling as he brings his cold iron sword down on the flank of the beast.

Enter rage - 10/13 rounds remaining.
Cold Iron longsword: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 3 + 2 = 14 <-- no idea if that hits
DMG if it hits: 1d8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 + 2 = 8

Caelum moves through the thick snow stopping near Braegan. His eyes wide at the sight of the Troll. He begins a prayer to Torag to bless his friends.

Cast Bless.

As Imendri rounds the corner, Teb stabs at him with his spear...

Attack of Opportunity: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

...but misses terribly.

Likewise, Imendri's slash glances off the moss troll's icy hide.

Teb, unable to get to a position to use his spear again, snaps at Imendri with his ragged teeth. His breath is horrible.

Bite: 1d20 ⇒ 17

Imendri deftly ducks as the moss troll roars over him with gnashing jaws.

So sorry, folks, I had two big deadline days at work.

Round 2 one month later!- The Battle At The Portal
Dez
Braegan[b]

[b]Bold may post!

Dezső strikes at Hommelstaub! Seething in anger at the fey, he will add inspiration to the attack. 3/5 left.
Attack: 1d20 + 4 + 1d6 ⇒ (11) + 4 + (6) = 21
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 6

I assume five foot steps are not possible in these weather conditions? Does the fey have something in its hands (or claws) with which it could make a natural attack? If not, Dez will also use his move to re-position behind the fey.

No five foot steps for you! Yes, the troll can bite at you as it did Imendri.

Hommelstaub is skewered by the angry tiefling's blade, but is far from out of the fight.

Braegan is up! Ignore the bolding of the other post!

Ok re 5 foot step, but how about my question as to whether Hommelstaub is holding anything to make an AoO with, or has claws? If not, Dez will re-position. Also, Dez is currently out of the troll's reach and the troll did not have any AoO available when Dez ran by him because he had swept at the dog. At least that's my understanding...

Oh, sorry, Hommelstaub has no AoO as he has a reach of 0'.

Ok. Then Dez uses his move action to re-position as show on map.

Sorry for my extended absence, guys. Work-life balance has been out of whack. Trying to get back into the saddle (in all my games).

Braegan tries to exploit the team’s momentum, darting past the troll to get into range with the smaller target. Fire explodes out from his fingertips, aimed high to miss Dezso.

Move into range, then Burning Hands the little guy (aiming it up slightly to avoid friendly fire)
fire damage: 3d4 + 3 ⇒ (3, 4, 2) + 3 = 12; reflex 16 for half.

Although the player understandably forgot after a month, it seems unlikely Braegan would have forgotten the warning 6 seconds ago (game time) to not use fire against the fey! Also, the fey is on the ground, so I don't know if the targeting works...

They both have that spell up? I thought it was just on the big guy.

Actually the opposite. The spell was just directed to protect the fey. Don't think the troll has fire protection. Hope not! By the way, this is what Dez yelled out: "don't bother with fire against the fey, the spell he cast allows him to resist its effects!"

If that's the case, DM, can Braegan instead atay closer to the main group of our folks and blast the big guy?

My apologies for being absent from the page...yes, only Hommelstaub has the resist fire spell up. And yes, retcon away. This has been a discombobulating two months what with summer vacations.

Reflex: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

The troll is washed in flames; he appears to miss the worst of it, but the flames affect him terribly. His mossy face momentarily erupts in an expression of primal fear, but it evaporates with the flames.

9 HP of damage!
A close reading of Burning Hands shows that attended objects won't auto-burn. Otherwise that would be a NASTY spell!

Anything Catch On Fire?: 1d20 ⇒ 15

But attended objects will only burn on a Natural 1.

Cast Defensively: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

Hommelstaub concentrates, but fails to do anything in particular, and snarls impotently.

Rest of the party may post!

The troll was proving more resilient to her tricks than she had hoped. And she only had power left for one spell. She chances it, keeping the troll as her target.

Spell failure chance 20%, low is bad: 1d100 ⇒ 71

As she had done before, she opens her mouth in a silent scream, clenching her fists and leaning forward into the flurries of snow.

Cast Ear-Piercing Scream, DC 15 Will or be dazed for 1 round and take 1d6 ⇒ 5 points of sonic damage. Successful save negates the daze effect and halves the damage.

Chiquq lets out a cheer as fire washes over the troll, and urges Ila forward, attacking with her furry friend. They're nearly adjacent to the troll as it is, so they don't have to move far.

As I understand it, no 5-ft steps because snowshoes, terrain, etc. So Ila's move will provoke an AOO. AC 17 versus that AOO

Ila trundles forward, her head lowered for a hard gore, knowing nothing of fire, just simple attacks.

Ila Gore troll, bless: 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 4 + 1 = 8

The mammoth isn't doing well in the tight confines of the inner ring. But Chiquq stabs from where she stands, putting as much force into it as she can.

Longspear vs Troll, bless: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 3 + 1 = 21
Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

"We will need more fire to keep it from healing!" she warns the others.

(Remember Caelum's bless, everyone. :) Also, Ila's soaking the troll's AOO, so if you want to get in melee with it, go for it... hopefully Ila won't get hurt in vain ;) )

Dezső smiles in silent satisfaction at the fey's failure to get off its spell in the face of the tiefling's slashing blade and he again strikes:

Sword: 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 4 + 1 = 19

Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 7

Still spitting angry, a face twisted into a sometimes screaming mask of rage, Imendri swings down again on this icy, mossy hill of a beast.

Still raging, 9/13 rounds remaining
Raging longsword: 1d20 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 2 + 3 = 16
DMG if I hit: 1d8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 + 2 = 9

I see Braegan moved up to the fey on the map. If, so Dezső took a step to get in a flanking position, giving a +2 to hit.

Teb Will: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

Teb winces in pain, but is not stopped entirely by the mysterious, silent sonic assault that only affects his own ears.

He stabs at the mammoth with his spear as it lumbers toward him.

AoO: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14
for: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

However, he fails to penetrate the pachyderm's wooly hide. Similarly, Ila's tusks are turned aside by the troll.

Dezső cuts Hommelstaub across the face, causing the atomie to shriek with pain...but as with the previous cut, some of the natural fey resistance prevents the wound from being deeper.

Imendri also scores a hit on the troll. As the barbarian/druid strikes singed flesh, the party can see that the wound will not regenerate, failing to begin to knit.

Certain attack forms, typically fire and acid, cause a creature’s regeneration to stop functioning on the round following the attack. During this round, the creature does not heal any damage and can die normally.

I learned something...

Round 2 - The Party Strikes Back!

Dez
Braegan

Hommelstaub -7 HP
Chiquq/Ila
Yrja
Imendri
Caelum
Teb -18 HP

Caelum is up!

Witnessing the effectiveness of the fire, Caelum quickly digs through his pack.

Draw and throw Alchemist's Fire at Troll.

Ranged touch: 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 + 1 = 14
miss direction: 1d8 ⇒ 2
damage: 1d6 ⇒ 2

Teb screams as the alchemist's fire just barely lands on one of his moss-encrusted legs. Flames begin to lick up his flank. Ila and Imendri also get splashed by the alchemist's fire, but not nearly as much.

-1 HP for Ila and Imendri. I see no specific rule for the need to extinguish that 1 hp splash damage...

Maddened, the troll no longer seeks to preserve himself, and lunges blindly at Imendri with his claws, dropping his spear into the snow, seeking to crush the barbarian.

Grapple, Shaken: 1d20 + 8 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 8 - 2 = 12

Imendri and Ila both get AoO's against Teb. Via GM Fiat/Rule of Fire Osmosis, if Teb did grapple he'd transfer the On Fire condition. However, he failed. Trolls aren't that bright...

Round 3 - Hunka Hunka Burning Troll

Dez
Braegan

Hommelstaub -7 HP
Chiquq/Ila
Yrja
Imendri
Caelum
Teb -21 HP, shaken, on fire

Dez and Brae are up!