Kappi gets flurry-ous, but only one of his swings hits!
B -4 saves
Vojtek growls ferociously, and the team fights valiantly, but Angr-O can barely hear it, and his view is blocked over his tremendous face-palm.
Edward heals the party, and Ali's eyes flutter open!
The group can hear scraping of wood on stone from beyond the double doors as the giant guards continue to press the attack!
"FALL BACK!" Davosh uses the cover of the corner to help shield his spell casting. He opens his big eye, which turns black as night as he casts a spell. With no time to cackle, he simply retreats
The Speaker then retreats down the hall.
Ali wakes up, quick enough to hear Davosh call the retreat. She sees the magic of the Loco Ojo try to bind one giant, so she does the only thing she can think of to help save them...she tries to blind the other
<--stuck on a fick. Hero point reroll.
Glitterdust on the non-hexed giant. Will DC 16 or blind.
move action will depend on whether giants are blinded.
Ali wakes up, quick enough to hear Davosh call the retreat. She sees the magic of the Loco Ojo try to bind one giant, so she does the only thing she can think of to help save them...she tries to blind the other
[dice=Cast Defeinsively]d20+8+4 <--stuck on a fick. Hero point reroll.
[dice=Cast Defeinsively]d20+8+4
Glitterdust on the non-hexed giant. Will DC 16 or blind.
move action will depend on whether giants are blinded.
as per TS' approval, Ali does NOT do this.
Instead, she looks about, waiting for the giants to be distracted enough (that is, swing at someone else first) before trying to make good her escape.
- Round the Third
- Current HPs:53+13=66/112
Vojtek kips up like he has seen Kappi do many times, and he tries to dodge any incoming giant fists...
...if he is still standing, he scoots back out of range.
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Time stops.
Fade to black.
In the distance, we hear rapid drumming. The drumming intensifies, as we pan right to see Vojtek on his back in a cleared circle of dirt, wearing nothing but a loincloth. A middle-aged Kappi stands over him with a stick in one hand, dressed in robes and a pair of worn sandals.
Fire light plays over the scene, bathing the two men in reddish light.
As the music picks up, we see a series of attempts at a kip-up, but with each failure, Vojtek invites another blow from Middle Aged Sensei Kappi's stick.
In his frustration, Vojtek seems about to give up.
Cut to Kappi standing over Vojtek, who is mostly submerged in pounding surf, as he struggles to keep his head above water. The music swells and becomes synchronized with a series of brief scenes of Vojtek suffering through intense training:
Vojtek in a thunderstorm carrying a sack of rocks, water streaming over his face as he screams silently with exertion
Vojtek climbing a volcano with Middle Aged Sensei Kappi perched on his shoulders, whipping him with the stick
Vojtek doing calisthenics at sunrise in a desert while vultures peck at a carcass nearby and hugrily watch Vojtek expectantly
Vojtek sprinting across a bed of hot coals while blidfolded
Middle Aged Sensei Kappi sitting cross-legged drinking a cup of tea... zoom out to show he is sitting on Vojtek's back while the barbarian does push ups.
As the inspiring music builds toward a crescendo, we see Middle Aged Sensei Kappi nodding with increasing satisfaction, as Vojtek improves at his sisyphean tasks.
Finally, with a flashing of light, we see Sensei Kappi knock Vojtek prone again and again, but each time, Vojtek executes a perfect kip-up, each time from a different angle.
The music stops, a final drum beat reverberates through the silence.
With a backlit explosion of sand, water, and light, Vojtek does a slow motion kip-up and lands in a spectacular fighting stance as the music fades. Behind him, Middle Aged Sensei Kappi smiles triumphantly.
Cut to the cold stone floor of the Giant's lair, blood and sweat cover Vojtek's gaunt frame. With the only sound being the steady beating of his outsized draconic heart and his labored breathing...
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Vojtek executes a picture-perfect kip-up!
As he lands, a single Hero Point Falls from his pocket and rolls into a corner, forgotten in the rush to retreat.
The boost from the pebble taken from Master Po's hand hero point is enough to get Vojtek to avoid the attacks of opportunity of the frost giants!
Round 4?
Desna you tricksy b#$~%, let me somehow cut and tumble between the giant's legs only to strand me on this side of the fight and NOW we are running rabbit.
Kappi is twitchy and nervous, when he senses the moment is there he MOVES. No hesitation. He is running, then spinning, suddenly rolling across the floor at one point. He honestly wasn't sure if it was a trip or not but he just went with it.
Acrobatics
The rogue retreats out of the room and tries NOT to be squished to death by giants.
Do I have a certain amount of these? Or is this just DM benevolence?
You have one for every two levels your PC has, and they reset every level.
As Kappi tries to retreat out of the room he ducks and dodges, spins and slides, it looked like he might make it but then he trips...
Acrobatics
Though it looked pained and awkward, the rogue seemed to bounce across the floor in a series of short and long scrambles changing tempo and distance as he moved.
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As the heroes make a strategic withdrawl, Ali knows that this catastrophe is entirely her own fault. She had no place rushing in, and is dreadfully afraid that her mistake will cost her friends' lives.
From her vantage point of the floor, she sees Vojtek dodge with serpentine (dragonine??) grace, seemingly calling upon inner reserves of speed and fluidity to leave not a trace of an opening for the giants. Kappi has the same result, but with comically different tactics as he "drunken-warriors" his own way to safety. She takes half a heartbeat to breathe a quick sigh of relief, and even cracks a small smile...the only one who might suffer, is herself.
As the giants watch the retreating warriors and ignore her for the moment, the magus knows she has only precious seconds to get out before she becomes a smudge on the floor. As soon as I stand, they have me...no. NO!! They have AT me, but that doesn't mean they will hit me!!
Her smile of relief breaks into a grin of desperate hope. With her life depending on it, she tries to cast a spell defensively...
...and laughs out loud as the first part of her gambit succeeds!!
The giants, unable to find an opening to the now-retreated warriors & drawn by the incongruent laughter, look down and see not one, but...
<--YASSSSSS!!!!
SEVEN elven warriors, laughing on the ground!
She STANDS, and the giants both swing mightily...
The first giant strikes and destroys an image!
The second giant's swing also hits only illusion. She gives a primal scream of defiance and glee, and calling upon her own reserves and under the influence of her own magical Haste, she sprints out of the room and down the hall as fast as she can go!!
The giants cover up their inability to hit the party on their way out with jeers.
So go get 'em!
There ain't no way I'm going in there. What, you want me to come out there looking like you? Squeezing-Butt?
But we gotta finish the job!
They're as good as dead out there anyway. And if they come back, we'll kill 'em.
Yeah! D'ya hear that? If ya ever come back, we'll kill ya!
The party retreats to the room that housed the illusory cornstalks to reconnoiter. Davosh quickly realizes that Jadrenka's rhyme foreshadowed the presence of the giants.
I didnt realize it worked that way. I thought they would waste them striking at awkward ninja Kappi
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I didnt realize it worked that way. I thought they would waste them striking at awkward ninja Kappi
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Ed lets his healing magic flow holding his bow at the low ready. It takes a few minutes, but eventually everyone is feeling refreshed.
That's twice now that Artrosa has denied us our will. I think we need to find a way to really focus our will to help tackle these challenges. Baba Yaga needs freed to remove her vile daughter and stop the spread of eternal winter that won't happen if we perish here.
Ali's breathing returns to normal, after a bit longer than usual. Head bowed, she says in a low voice I'm...sorry that happened. I've learned.
"So what now? Do we continue to fumble about these three statues? We need to be crystal clear on our goal... and how we plan to achieve it."
The rogue looks a little nervous about that but he nods.
"Kappi, you don't speak their language. I do, but I'm not exactly good at what you do. If we can sleep I can promise that we'll be ready...."
"Let us go back and try a different approach. Anyone have a hallway they recommend we test?"
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Davosh stops. This is not the way. Not like this. We can't find the end of our tale here.
He looks at each comrade in turn; sunken eyes, heavy shoulders. Not like this. With a heavy sigh he breaks the silence. It feels like it's been months.
"Gather round. Gather round." Slowly, with deliberation like a Tien Xia master, he takes out a cloth bag of dried leaves. Fishing about in his robes, he pulls forth a small cup. Into the cup he empties the leaves. With a bit of water from a skin and a swirl, Davosh drinks the tea and closes his eyes. He whispers, the words spilling out at a barely audible volume.
Ancient fathers, honored mothers. See the threads of our weird and give us guidance. If we bar ourselves within this statue to rest, will we pass the night to rest and recover in safety?
"I recommend that we rest. In the morning we use the combined power of our magic and guile to assault the giants and push through."
"We will not find rest. Let us use what magic we can to gird ourselves for combat and try to lure a giant away. I have some spells, though likely against such foes they will neither last long nor do much."
"Let us do our best to rest, expend what magic we have to protect ourselves and post a guard. In the morning we do what we can with what we have. I defer to the warriors on a stratagem for killing our way through the giants."
"Lads and lady, we're @#%$^Yed. I'm open to ideas."
Davosh sits crosslegged on the stone floor, his eyes closed as the mild, bitter tang of the tea can still be tasted in his mouth.
For a moment, he see nothing as his heart sinks, thinking his spell has failed.
Then, all at once, a wave of warmth washes over him — not uncomfortable, but pleasant — and images explode across his mind.
A tangled skein of five interwoven threads stretches out between three moons: the first waxing, the second full, the third waning. The thread follows a single path from one to another; Davosh can tell that it never follows the same course more than once, though it goes back and forth a number of times between the three moons.
"The Ancestors have spoken. I think we can risk a rest. In the morning we're going through those giants.Be ready and spare not boon or power."
Through the giants...GOT IT!! I'll run in first, and...
Ali cracks a smile. I will NOT run in first. We'll do this smart and we'll win. YOU go in first, short stuff she gives Vojtek an elbow in the ribs
Kappi raises his hand and waits to be acknowledged before he speaks. I will be able to do the most damage if I can flank with one of you. I can try my trick again where I cut one and slip between the legs and suddenly Im on the far side.
The lad shrugs, or do we try to use missile weapons from the doorway?
Kap again shrugs and turns a little red like maybe he is embarrassed for bringing up a dumb idea.
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I will defer if there are better ideas, but going into that room is not an idea. The size and reach of the giants is their strength. We need to force them to fight us 1 of them against as may of us as possible. If we can force them to come down the passage they can’t use their size and strength. I say let Ali use her wand until they die, or pursue. Death by a thousand cuts is still death.
"I agree with both of you. Let us draw one out to us while Kappi melds into the shadow. Once one of them is in the open, Kappi will already be behind them."
The party prudently withdraws to the room where they faced the pukwudgie to rest and recuperate, setting watches to protect themselves.
The time passes uneventfully, and you awaken refreshed and renewed, though the air remains cold and the light dim, despite your best efforts to illuminate the gloom.
In the morning, Davosh grins at each of his compatriots as the plan comes to fruition. "I have some magic to bestow upon you all before we fight. I recommend that we trigger a response from the giants by means of a spell to slow them down. It won't hold them, but it'll buy us time. Given a bit of luck, I can stand in the hall and strike with a bolt of lightning. As soon as one is in our clutches, Kappi can sneak in from behind and we can fell the blue monster!"
Vojtek jumps, visibly startled at Davosh breaking his reverie.
His consternation at the tactics employed last time has left him with a furrowed brow for weeks.
"What magicks will you use in there? How can we use the terrain to our advantage? Where should we make our stand?"
"Here. Let us do it here. I can summon forth a writhing mass of black tentacles. They can trap smaller creatures fast, but at the least they should slow the giants down. I can strike with lightning and also bestow the fervor of the Ancients. I'll give mystical aid to Kappi as well. It'll be most of my power, but it is all I can do. Now, we simply need a distraction."
Davosh lays out his plan:
And I'll hasten our steps & sword arms. I'll also be better prepared to help Vojtek bring the things down with blade & spell.
[ooc]Headed out on a field trip today. I'll cast Aid on Kappi . I'll put myself into position to cast Black Tentacles as soon as Vojtek lures a giant into the room.
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