Ike is able to simply take a five foot step before swinging two oozey extensions of himself. He flanks with Diceros.
ROUND 2 SUMMARY
Rai remembers something about these plants and shouts it out. "Fire isn't likely to harm it either! Too much water in its leaves!"
Ike misses! Diceros misses! Thankfully, Sigurd, Rai, Brokk'r, and Pygmy all attack, and together combine for 32 damage! The party seems to be working well together, attempting to surround the large plant and gets in harrying shots from all sides.
no
The shambling mound isn't down yet! In fact, it gets all the more enraged and seems even more deadly! Two long leafy fists strike out at two random enemies! Pygmy takes a bad hit and is dealt 15 damage. Diceros though is hit even harder! A slam to the head knocks him down and out, and he remembers no more.
1. Ike
2. pyg
3. Sigurd
4. Brokk'r
5. Diceros
CRIT CARD!: What's Going On: Last 4 hours of Diceros memory has been erased.
nope!
note: had a d20 snafu go on after I rearranged rolls. keeping it as it originally was: diceros critted.
ROUND 3
EVERYONE GO!
Rai imbues acid again taking a five foot step back and throws a precise frost bomb again
(Dc 15 fort or staggered)
(Right, sigh xrit failure)
No confirm! This guy has really low touch AC.
Rai misses! The grenade lands near Ike and splashes him, Pygmy, and the Shambling Mound with cold!
DC15
Ike takes 5 splash damage, and Pygmy and the Shambling Mound take 2.
Arlen's cackling is tinged with uncertainty and fear. "Kill it quick, Sigurd! Ah ah ah!! We need to help Diceros!"
Ike burbled with a bit of anger. Partly at missing his marks on the shambling mound, but from the splash damage from Rai's bomb! In his tentative mindset, Ike took the perceived attempt to hit him poorly. They DID see him as just a monster! FINE! They hadn't seen anything yet!
Rising up into a massive mound of slime and goop, Ike's form became much more... well, monstrous. A huge gaping maw made of gooey teeth formed the biggest portion, while a pair of sunken eye sockets formed above it. The aberrant behemoth head Ike had become let out a gurgling growl, before opening its maw and baring the rows of quickly solidifying fangs. Ike let out an angry snarl before opening his huge jawline wider and aiming to chomp down on the mound and sink his bladed body into it!
A roar escapes Brokk'r's lips as he sees Diceros fall. He continues his assault more vigorously.
no probs on the cestus attack
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[Pygmy is down to 9 HP]
Seeing his master go down, Pygmy continues his attacks, knowing instinctively he needs to kill this monster to save Diceros.
Pygmy connects hard, dealing 9 damage!
Diceros stabilization attempt:
Diceros continues to bleed out. (Now at -11, dead at -14)
SIGURD can still attack. (realizing he is on vacation, I will hold off botting until 8 PM Eastern)
ROUND 3 SUMMARY
With several strong hits against the Shambling Mound, you can see it teetering on the edge of death, but it is not down yet!
Ike misses! Brokk'r hits with his fist but not his shield! And Sigurd and Pygmy really crush it!
The ailing creature, on death's door, goes into an all out attack! He tries to slam Brokk'r once... and slips in the mud! He slams Brokk'r again! He scores a direct hit, and then immediately grabs the dwarf in his fist. He squeezes, squeezes, squeezes!!! He seems to hope that the dwarf's head will pop off! Brokk'r passes out!
ROUND 4
Save Brokk'r! Everyone attack! One hit will end it!
Enraged at seeing the horror as her companions keep falling before this horrible creature, Arlen screams at the pile of vegetated earth and allows her ring to keep the cackling going. She then moves over toward Diceros.
The shambling mound looks like it is about to resist the shrill scream.... but... but... it falls over! It is ripped to pieces by the noise. Brokk'r falls to the ground with a crash.
COMBAT OVER!
Arlen searches frantically for healing potions to give to Diceros then Brokk'r.
"That was much too close, dearies... Much too close..."
Diceros and Brokk'r both stir, and wake up!
sorry I hit you with that bomb Ike, it slipped wrong from my hand. Rai says looking very apologetic.
Ike doesn't come out of his massive mouth-head for a moment, growling a bit at the shambling mound before finally shrinking back into a more feasible size and curling up away from Rai. He regards the elf a moment, still a little miffed, but also angry with himself. Rai seemed apologetic... but what if it was just a ruse?
After a moment of quietly shifting contemplation, Ike extends a tendril and draws a few words in the dirt. 'I deserve it.' He slinks back and retreats to a nice brush of foliage, staying out of the way as the party recovers.
Arlen turns to Sigurd. "Ike seems rather upset. Do you think you could talk to him? People listen to you more than me... You've spent your years actually talking to people... Instead of reading about people..."
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Sigurd nods at Arlen. He was a bit disturbed to see Ike write those words. What's happened to you, Ike? Why do you think you deserve to be treated like a monster?
"What do you mean, Ike? We've been through quite a bit already. We're your friends. You don't deserve to be hurt by anyone, let alone any of us. This was an, nothing more. An unfortunate consequence of going into battle."
Ike retreats a little further under the brush at Sigurd's approach, compressing himself tightly and huddling a bit. He considers Sigurd's words a moment, before a bulbous green head pokes out from under the foliage. Ike's opted to take a goblin form this time.
"...all monsters get destroyed in the end. They have it coming. They're not allowed." He stares at the ground for a minute, before speaking again. "...I'm a monster. Just like the kobolds. Just like the plant monster. There is no place for monsters. They have to go."
Ike squirms a little bit, pulling his newly round head into the bush again, before speaking from inside its branches again. "I'll keep helping... but I know I'll need to be destroyed in the end. There some things you cannot stand or allow... that's just the way it is..."
Thunder and lightning is crashing around you, so the conversation with Ike comes to an end as everyone is forced to find cover. One of the uninjured volunteers to take the rest of the watch, so Brokk'r can get some much needed sleep.
It takes some time, but all are able to get a little bit of rest. The storm passes, and you wake up to a dreary day, but the rain has stopped. (Spells restored (feel free to mix up your spell selection and gain 2+con modifier in HP.)
Diceros wakes, extremely sore and bruised. What happened last night? He can't remember a thing. It must have been some bender! Even Pygmy is all beaten up. He mediates and prays for his spells, and casts cure light wounds on himself twice and once on Pygmy.
Diceros is at 15 and Pyg is more or less full now.
Gozran 4
The party needs to pick a new destination!
The previous day's work was abbreviated, but you finished the job, albeit somewhat poorly. You've certainly made better maps (58 gold total, I'll add it to the sheet since Diceros is gone).
Rai says to Ike "you are my friend Ike and a good natured soul. There is a difference between you and a kobolds. I would hazard to guess in my pragmatic approach to life that I am more the monster then you."
Arlen thinks to herself Maybe it can connect to my hexes? She looks around for a nearby bird and puts Fortune on it while trying to focus through the ring. She then looks at a nearby squirrel and puts her evil eye on it, again attempting to focus through the ring.
To her companions, she opines "And we still have no idea where these Kobolds are?! Hmm... How can we find them?" looking sideways at Ike, she states loudly "Perhaps we will need to fight them but it would be much safer and better if they agree to be peaceful."
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Sigurd went to bed last night, disturbed by what Ike had said to him. He really thinks he's no different from what we're fighting out here. He believes he's a monster.
As he packs up camp, he wracks his brain, trying to come up with something to say to his strange, green friend. Finally, it dawns on him. His father had taught it to him as the two of them were working on a batch of beer.
He walks over to where Ike was packing up his things and sits down, pulling out his dagger.
"Ike, look at my dagger. I can use it for all sorts of different things. I can use it to cut meet or butter my bread so I can have a meal. I can cut rope or tree limbs or canvas so I can build a boat. I can use it to defend myself or someone else against an enemy. These are all good things. But I could also use it for evil things. I could use it to threaten an innocent person. I could use it to kill. I could even kill a child if I wanted to.
You are like this dagger, Ike. You can do good or you can do evil. But the difference is that I make my dagger do those things. Only you can choose to do good or evil and it's those actions that define who you are. It's not some innate goodness or evilness. It's your choices. You are only a monster if that's what you want to be. And from what I've seen, you act more like a man then many who claim to be so.
Arlen thinks to herself Maybe it can connect to my hexes? She looks around for a nearby bird and puts Fortune on it while trying to focus through the ring. She then looks at a nearby squirrel and puts her evil eye on it, again attempting to focus through the ring.
The bird finds the biggest worm you have ever seen, while the squirrel misjumps and lands on its head, stunning itself for a few seconds. But the ring didn't seem to aid that; Arlen could do all of that before.
You decide to head to the southwest, staying on the edge of the lands your charter has charged you to explore.
Terrain: Hill ; max PC speed: 20 ; days to explore: 3
Sleet: Every target over 20 feet away has concealment (20% miss chance), in addition to moving more than 10 feet requires creatures to make an acrobatics DC 10 or go prone.
You have certainly entered the Kamelands proper. The hills are continuous, up and down, some big, some small, some sheer like small mountains, and others smooth and rounded. If is difficult going. If you would like to ride your mount, it takes a DC 10 ride check in this terrain.
Unfortunately for you, the storm from last night brought a new weather pattern with it. Rain and snow mix to form sleet, and it is cold and miserable. You all hope that the weather keeps foes away, as it would be difficult to fight in these conditions.
Much of your time is spent along a wide river. This is no creek, but a substantial waterway. You are going to have to find a fordable location in order to map the other side of it.
EXPLORATION PHASE!
Three rolls. It takes substantial effort to explore these hills!
Arlen dismounts and walks along with her dear friends. As she does, she ponders the mystery of her ring.
She then looks around for any signs of Kobolds.
She spots some depressions in the ground.
"Look at these everyone!!! I'm no tracker but these must be footprints of humongous Kobolds! I wonder how they got so big?! No wonder these reptiles have been a problem!!"
You had previously learned at Oleg's that the kobolds seem more riled up than usual. They have been more aggressive on attacks against trappers and hunters than normal, and are straying further from their home territory.
Rai walks along with the mount checking for good fishing areas along the water
Then he will consider the best bait for the fish
Lastly he will look for a way to fashion a fishing net
Arlen recalls the Kobolds whisperings and opines "So there seems to be some controversy among the kobolde. Sootscale rules but Tartuk is a mighty suboridnate who might make a play for power. That would not bode well for our peaceful approach as Tartuk was the one who ordered those Kobolds to kill anyone in their territory... Hmm... Perhaps we should convince Sootscale that Tartuk is the problem...What do you think, my friends?"
Ike shook his head at Rai's comment... not that anyone can see it from his hiding spot in the bush. "Nobody runs you out of town when they see you..."
*********
In the morning, Ike slithered out of his bush, listening to Sigurd's explanation. It made sense, in some ways... but if that was the case, why did people always chase him away?
...that wasn't completely true, though. Nobody in the group did. Even Brokk'r didn't, despite not fully trusting him. Was it the way he looked? ...was it the fact he lied about what he really was? If he approached folks as a slime, and then changed, would they be more trusting? No, because then he couldn't have fooled the bandits... it was so hard! How could he know what others wanted?!
His depression lessened, but more because he was mentally preoccupied than feeling better, per se.
When Arlen mentions that their might be some kind political discord about the kobolds, and more intriguingly, a way to make peace with them, Ike seemed to perk up a bit. A non-violent solution... that's what he wanted. And as Sigurd mentioned... it was his choice! That was what he wanted... to make peace! Even if every other solution in these lands was violent, if he could just solve one thing without fighting... that's what he wanted!
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I wonder if kobolds would listen to reason. Likely not.
"We can certainly try, Arlen, but I doubt we'd be able to talk them into much. I don't think they're smart enough for that. Maybe if we lied about having some proof?"
As the group travels around, Sigurd keeps his eyes open for signs of these creatures.
He also attempts to see if he can identify any other game trails that he might find along the way.
But after a while, that starts to bore him and he concentrates on the matter at hand, trying to figure out how to best deal with the kobolds by non-lethal means.
Arlen shrugs at Sigurd's reply. "Certainly. It might not be a workable solution. But in case things go wrong, I believe Rai will be able to deal with Kobolds in large quantities at once. And the rest of us will hold our own as well."
She nods thoughtfully but confidently as the group keeps moving along.
On the first day of their time in the hills, the party walks along the banks of the wide river, and Rai slowly fashions a fishing net from bit of pliable sticks and large leaves. Wanting to test it out, he finds a shallow quiet backwater area on the side of the river. Full of large plants, it looks like the perfect place to catch a fish.
Rai gives it a shot while the others take a rest nearby.
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Unknownst to Rai, the backwater pool is home to a particularly large pike, a species best known for voracious predation. They hide in weeds, scanning for prey, and once they see something, they curl their body in a S position and strike in a flash.
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Rai stands in the shallow water, up to his waist, throwing his improvised fishing net into the water.
Without warning, the water around Rai erupts! He is bit hard in the leg, and he screams! The giant fish has grabbed him! Everyone jumps to their feet.
Pike wins initiative and goes again. In a flash, Rai is swallowed whole and dealt another 4 damage.
EVERYONE GO! THIS TIME, IT IS RAI WHO NEEDS SAVING!
Rai at the beginning of your turn, take acid damage from the digestive juices, putting your total damage up to 15! You are swallowed whole, and you can try to cut your way out with a light slashing or piercing weapon. (Your normal longsword is too big, do you have a dagger or rapier?) You also have the option of escaping the grapple, which would put you back in it's mouth, and then a five foot step to get out. But escaping this fish will not be easy!
To learn 1 piece of information, free action check: Knowledge: nature, DC: 14. (It will be revealed next time GM posts and it will be assumed all players are told.Higher rolls give more information.)
Arlen moves toward the pike and looks at it hard and mean. "HEE HEE!! Let my friend go!!!"
Arlen knows a bit about giant pike.... some of it quite evident at this point. They strike quietly from aquatic vegetation, they bite and swallow prey whole. They have all-around-vision and as such cannot be flanked.
As the ginormous pike leaps from the water and swallows Rai, Ike slurps up and to attention, before rolling angrily at the pike. Yes, it was in water! Yes, he hated it! But Rai needed help, or he was fish food! Literally!
Without even a second thought, Ike catapults himself into the water's edge and slaps a few tendrils around the giant fish's maw, slithering around its body and pulling with all his might, hoping to wrench the pike's jaws open so that someone could pull Rai to safety!
Ike's oozey arms wrap around the big fish! He can't pry its jaws open (not for lack of effort), but if Ike continues to hold on, at least the fish can't escape with its elven prize!
Arlen cackles with glee, seeing Ike grab the nasty fish.
Diceros runs into spear range, which requires him getting into the water up to his knees, and he stabs at the giant Esocidae!
"Pygmy! I know how much you like a fish dinner! Get it! Try not to hit Rai!"
Pygmy runs in to gore it.
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