GM NotEspi's "To Scale the Dragon" (Standard 5-9) [OutPost] (Inactive)

Game Master NotEspi

Odo calls out, "Yarricki! Don't engage it alone! We can't keep up. Draw it to us."
Meanwhile, Odo moves and drops down off the tomb.

"I was hoping that crocodile would distract it a bit while we close with it!"

Mal knows there is not enough time to work the bones out of the ice while a fight rages. He grabs his javelin and moves across the ice towards the many-legged creature.

move to pick up javelin, and move to advance 20' as indicated on the map.

I'll give Raman a few more hours to post and then I'll bot to move this forward.

Raman moves into the frontlines by climbing down the fallen column.

The creature is clearly not happy with whatever is happening with its eggs and moves in to dispose of the intruders. The ice cracks as the creature walks and pierces the topmost layer with its sharp appendages. It targets the closest one - Thunder.

The mandibles only snap at the air, however, as Thunder easily gets out of the way by pure instinct.

Yarricki feels a wave of heat as the creature swoops in for a bite, and notices the air above the centipede's back rippling, as if above a hot rock in summer.

Turn 2 - Go if bolded

Raman
Raimdol
Malachite
Odo
Yarricki
Jeff, the Centipede

Malachite advances and when he gets reasonably close, he launches his javelin at the big centipede, but misses quite badly.

Malachite javelin, into melee: 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 - 4 = 4

Thunder bites: 1d20 + 9 - 1 ⇒ (10) + 9 - 1 = 18
Damage: 1d8 + 9 - 1 ⇒ (8) + 9 - 1 = 16

Yarricki’s lance: 1d20 + 8 - 1 + 1 - 1 ⇒ (7) + 8 - 1 + 1 - 1 = 14
Damage: 1d6 + 5 + 3 + 1 - 1 ⇒ (2) + 5 + 3 + 1 - 1 = 10

Thunder does not like the attention of the creature and bites at it while Yarricki takes her time to study the best place to hit it. Having found a likely spot she attempts to place her lance just there.

What happened to the summoned crocodile?

Fort Yarricki: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

Oh, my bad. Totally forgot about that one. Whoever struck the creature with a weapon, roll a fort save for me, please. I'll have the croc post up in a few minutes.

Heat, Crocodile: 8d6 ⇒ (5, 2, 6, 6, 1, 1, 3, 5) = 29

The summoned crocodile charges the creature, and makes a nasty bite. As the croc's jaw connect with the leg and tries to grab the appendage, a hissing sound can be heard, and the crocodile's saliva evaporates in a cloud of steam. The croc itself ends up with a charred jaw and head, and rolls over in death's embrace.

Rip Croc. it did some damage, though.

Both Thunder's and Yarricki's attacks bounce off the creature's carpace, however. Probably for the better

Malachite's throw is way off to reliably pierce the creature's defenses.

Turn 2 - Go if bolded

Raman
Raimdol
Malachite
Odo
Yarricki
Jeff, the Centipede

Raimdol stares in horror as his most powerful celestial ally is laid waste in a matter of seconds.

"I wouldn't advise touching that beast if it can be avoided! The heat must be unbearably hot and obviously deadly! Switch to ranged attacks if you can!" shouts the mage as he moves to position himself for another spell.

Raimdol moves to his new position (move action) and casts Haste (standard action). The range is 35' and I can target 5 allies. I target everyone except for myself on this.

Not liking the distance and his odds despite the haste, Odo moves forward to form a line with the monks and shouts out his battle cry, "For the Sun and Fury!" Everyone feels their morale perk up a little bit. Odo readies to advance closer if the terrible creature gets close enough to strike at him.

Move action to move forward, swift action for battle cry, standard to ready a 5' step forward if the monster gets close enough to attack him with its greater reach, current AC 24

Raman moves in closer, just outside of the creature's reach, to strike if need-be.

The creature moves in for a strike, and launches its mandibles against Yarricki. It swoops its entire head left to right, attemtping to strike multiple targets at the same time.

Bite, Cleave, Power Attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (3) + 11 = 14

It is not enough to connect. however, and it misses the axebeak rider.

Turn 3 - Go if bolded

Status: Haste

Raman
Raimdol
Malachite
Odo
Yarricki
Jeff, the Centipede

Yarricki: swift to use animal focus bull for +2 str. Full round for full attack
Thunder: swift to use skirmisher trick surprise shift. Full round for withdraw

Yarricki takes a quick moment and you see her muscles swell up. She jabs at the monster twice, the first attack is spot on but the second is not as good. Then Thunder seems to shift 5 feet back from where he does a tactical retreat.

"I am repositioning so it needs to come to us!" the gnome shouts towards her companions.

Raimdol, having hasted his allies, seeks to move out of harms way. While nowhere close is safe, a simple retreat eases his mind somewhat.

Having taken a better position, the mage launches a volley of magic missiles. The darts unerringly strike the huge target and impact solidly.

Magic missile damage:3d4 + 3 ⇒ (3, 4, 2) + 3 = 12

Move action, 30' back. Standard action, cast magic missile.

Raimdol releases a set of arcane projectiles that slam into the creature, it recoils from the blow, and looks at the wizard. While it does so, Yarricki takes the opportunity for a viscious strike through the open mouth and quickly pulls out the lance - the tip is searing hot and glows red for several seconds before being cooled down by the local temperature and wind.

The predator lets out a shriek of pain, and the plates on its back start glowing even more.

Round 3 - Go if bolded

Status - Hasted (all but Raimdol)

Raman
Raimdol - magic missile
Malachite
Odo
Yarricki - showing you how it's done, frontliners
Jeff, the Centipede

The javelin being his only ranged attack, Malachite takes out his last one, wondering if the group isn't better off to try to out run this terrible beast. Shrugging, he launches the second javelin, hoping for a better result than the first.

Mal javelin throw: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Not my day for ranged attacks, I guess.

A bit worried that the worm will pursue Yarricki and stay out of his reach, Odo dashes forward, the extra speed of the haste enabling him to reach his foe despite his otherwise short legs.
Anticipating that the worm's greater reach might enable it to attack him first, Odo plays defensive with a guarded slash.

fighting defensively, +1 keen scimitar: 1d20 + 10 - 4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 10 - 4 + 1 + 1 = 21
damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

AC is currently 26

Raman moves up to the beast and kicks it.
Strike + haste: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 8 + 1 = 18
Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

He ded. I'll update tomorrow.

Whew. I was worried

Odo dashes at the creature and delivers a quick strike to one of the front legs. After Yarricki's strike, this proves sufficient to make the creature collapse to the floor. Its carapace immediately starts cooling down, and Raman comes in and gives it a hit just for good measure.

The party returns to prying the body out of the ice. Or something else?

That was our mission, yes. I don't believe anyone requires healing either, correct?

Malachite rushes back to the shrine and continues to carefully chip away at the ice to free the bones without damaging them. When free, he wraps them in a blanket, and lays them in his pack next to the remorraz eggs.

Yarricki moves over to the unconscious remorhaz "When you wake up we will be gone, and your eggs will still be here."

After that she inspects the paws of the sled dogs to make sure they are fit to travel back.

@Yarricki - The crocodile? Because the remorhaz is just napping. It was forced to sleep, but still.

Yarricki moves towards the sleigh to check on the dogs - those are wagging their tails happily as she approaches. They are clearly ready for another trip, and are getting bored with sitting around.

Within a few minutes of Malachite starting to work on freeing the body, you notice drums and primitive war horns sounding in the distance out of multiple directions. High in the peaks, several dots move in towards the frozen lake from multiple directions, and many of you can recognise humanoid shapes holding sticks once the dots get close enough.

"Oh no, more visitors." Raman says when he sees the dots.

"I don't like the looks of that. Maybe we should plan to leave the eggs behind." Odo suggests.

Raimdol nods at Odo's suggestion.

"Let's just take what we came for. We only need the bones. Leave the eggs. This seems a sacred site and the beast could be viewed by the humanoids as a guardian. That means we have trespassed and things could go from bad to worse very quickly." posits the mage in a matter-of-fact delivery.

"We need to move. Quickly!"

With that, Ramidol moves to Thunder and seeks Yarricki's approval to mount her companion again.

Malachite frees the body from the ice at long last. And with no time to spare. The taer are almost upon you. Dozens of shaggy beastmen howl from the fog-enshrouded precipices, their chants seemingly silenced by the death of the monstrous worm-creature. The tempo of the drums rises furiously, followed by an enraged chorus of violent, howling screams.

You drag the remains of the body, with some ice as a bonus, towards the sleigh, hastily fix them up, and are on your way. The taer pursue you for several hundred feet. Once the sleigh gathers up speed, the taer clearly see they can't catch up. In their fury, they let lose a rain of spears at the pathfinders.

Malachite: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 191d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
Odo: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 141d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
Raimdol: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 171d6 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Raman: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 71d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
Yarricki: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 111d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
Thunder: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 71d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Fortunately for you, they all only pierce the snowy crust of the Maw.

Malachite doesn't have time to return the eggs once the bones are freed, he just gathers the relics together as gently as he can and slides them in his pack next to the lizard eggs. He leaps on the back of the sled as it starts moving, using his hard-rocky body to shield the driver, Odo from any wayward spears.

Once out of reach of the spears Yarricki stops her sled "We should leave those eggs here. That beast was only trying to protect her offspring. Please leave them Malachite."

Shrugging, Malachite does as Yarricki asks, and deposits the eggs back in the snow.

"Thank you" Yarricki says while she waves to the pursuing taer. She then calls out to the dogs "Away!"

"Leave the eggs and run!" the short legged dwarf shouts and moves over to the dogs.

With the eggs left behind on the avalanche-devastated hills, the party continues on with your journey back towards Cania's Drop. The trip back shouldn't take long, as you would mostly be moving downhill. The taer stop their pursuit, but the sound of battle drums and horns can still be heard in the distance, as if moving alongside you over the mountains, perhaps even faster than you.

Once you leave the avalanche-covered area, you rediscover your own tracks and follow them. Soon enough, you find yourselves in the narrow valley referred to as 'Wings'. The sleighs move through the valley and the snow cuts into your faces as you speed through the wings. With the Sun blocked by the surrounding hills, you feel the chill of the air more than anywhere else on the journey.

As you enter the narrow passage, a chorus of howling dogs echoes from atop the surrounding hills. Suddenly, from out of the snow-covered brush shoot four teams of dogsleds. They barrel down the hills at breakneck speed, heading straight in your direction.

Turn 1 - Go if bolded - Remember that as it is, you are still moving
Status: -
Speed: Odo 8, Yarricki 8

Raman
Malachite
Yellow Musher
Thunder
Purple Ranger
Red Musher
Raimdol
Fyrth
Ephys
Odo
Yellow Ranger
Green Musher
Purple Musher
Yariccki

If you wish, you can stop and fight them where you stand. Then again, where's the fun in that, when you can have a neat high-speed combat?

Raman's eyes widen when he sees the other dogsleds coming out of nowhere. He prepares for a fight by taking out a bottle of alchemist's fire from his bag, but hopes the Pathfinder's dogs are faster than the others.

Raman doesn't have any ranged weapons apart from alchemist's fire and acid.

You can always slam into other sleds and grapple people (see the rules text on slide 2 of the handouts doc.

I feel like we should delay Malachite and Thunder so that we are in larger blocks. Alternatively, we can delay more people so that you can perform your actions at the same time, if you don't mind the opposition all going first. Let me know.

I am fine delaying.

Mush DC 12: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

Turn 1 - Go if bolded - Remember that as it is, you are still moving
Status: -
Speed: Odo 8, Yarricki 8

Raman - pulling out alch. fire
Yellow Musher - mush to catch up
Malachite (delayed for now)
Thunder
Purple Ranger
Red Musher
Raimdol
Fyrth
Ephys
Odo
Yellow Ranger
Green Musher
Purple Musher
Yariccki

Mush, Red: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17
Mush, Purple: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Two other sleds move up to match your speed and stay close to you, with the people behind mushers readying up weapons to engage.

Turn 1 - Go if bolded - Remember that as it is, you are still moving
Status: -
Speed: Odo 8, Yarricki 8

Raman - pulling out alch. fire
Yellow Musher - mush to catch up
Purple Ranger - mush to catch up
Red Musher - mush to catch up
Malachite (delayed for now)
Thunder (delayed for now)
Raimdol
Fyrth
Ephys
Odo
Yellow Ranger
Green Musher
Purple Musher
Yariccki

The Purple sled appears to be adjacent to us. Can i make a melee attack against them? Is there a penalty? How about jumping over onto their sled?

Jumping over, probably not. There are two people on it and you wouldn't fit, but you can make an attack or a combat maneuver no problem.

As the purple sled comes alongside, Malachite attacks the rider with a flurry of unarmed strikes, using both an closed fist and a well-placed kick. The rocky skin of the Oread causes any hits to begin bleeding on the target.

Use flurry of blows, unarmed, as full-round action. Expend a ki-point to add a third attack during this flurry.

Unarmed flurry 1: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
unarmed flurry 2: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
Unarmed flurry 3: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
Flurry 1 dmg, belier's bite: 1d8 + 2 + 1d4 ⇒ (8) + 2 + (4) = 14
Flurry 2 dmg, belier's bite: 1d8 + 2 + 1d4 ⇒ (6) + 2 + (3) = 11
Flurry 3 dmg, belier's bite: 1d8 + 2 + 1d4 ⇒ (7) + 2 + (1) = 10

Probably two hits there. If that drops the guy, Malachite will attempt to dislodge him from the sled so he can perhaps get over onto it next round. We'll see.

The musher, then? You sure you want to jump on a that uncontrolled sled if he drops?

Using a full-round action, so we'll see what happens to the sled next round. If it's still a threat, maybe. was trying to hit the non-driver this round.

Oh, okay. I was asking because you said rider so I assumed musher. I'll edit this soon with the result.

Malachite, waiting for the right opportunity, attacks the breastplate-wearing woman on the passing sleigh as she is preparing to unleash hell with her spells. Several strikes from the Oread overwhelm her, however, and she topples over unceremoniously and falls off the rack. Her body starts to quickly disappear in the distance behind you.

Turn 1 - Go if bolded - Remember that as it is, you are still moving
Status: -
Speed: Odo 8, Yarricki 8

Raman - pulling out alch. fire
Yellow Musher - mush to catch up
Purple Ranger - mush to catch up
Red Musher - mush to catch up
Malachite - flurry
Thunder (delayed for now)
Raimdol
Fyrth (red sled)
Ephys (purple sled) (-25, dying + bleeding)
Odo
Yellow Ranger
Green Musher
Purple Musher
Yariccki

Thunder acts as Raimdol's mount, he is instructed to follow Raimdol's commands (and act on his initiative

Right. I was away for the weekend, but the game was reported on 30th, so no worries there. Let's finish this baby so that you folks can move on to your scheduled stuff. I'll delay Odo as well so that you can all get your posts through and get the encounter resolved. As an alternative, just let me know if you want to go on your time, Odo, and we can retconn.

Reinforced by the wind, the snow is cutting through skin as you move back through the dragon, and the trees come and quickly disappear in the distance. Throughout all of this, you still hear the taer battle drums sounding in the distance, some even in front of you.

The armed Aspis on the sleds throw bolas and nets at Yarricki and Odo to try to stop the Pathfinder sleds, but all of them somehow end up in the snow. One would think they would send professionals, but apparently, this is not the case. The mushers continue to pursue you, but one of them gets the leash caught in the sled and his dogs slow down as you gain distance.

Turn 1+2 - Go if bolded - Remember that as it is, you are still moving
Status: -
Speed: Odo 8, Yarricki 8

Raman - alch fire in hand
Yellow Musher - mush
Purple Ranger - missed bolas
Red Musher - mush
Malachite - flurry
Fyrth (red sled) - missed net
Ephys (purple sled) (-25, dying + bleeding)
Yellow Ranger - missed bolas
Green Musher - mush
Purple Musher - failed mush. moved back
Thunder (delayed)
Raimdol (delayed)
Odo (delayed)
Yariccki