As the group discusses ideas and tactics, you are all ever aware that if whatever Grobly saw in the sky, it could have seen him and could be approaching.
Taya keeps a few eyes out for trouble and her bow handy
"Grobly, Tayanella and I will scout ahead. Karkoran and Lump can stay here. Once we know whatever it was, we can decide if it was a threat and we will come back and devise a plan. Sound good?"
"Ok. Are you leaving your animals here?"
Grobly will nod. "If we not be in the air, then Bazzt will stay within your sight."
Using the Nature's Paths of Asheranthi, the small group moves swiftly toward the direction where Grobly saw the dot in the sky. Given the time that passed to discuss it is unknown how much progress the being may have made if it was coming this way, so the group pauses occasionally to scan the skies.
As you move through the lightly forested hills, you take care to prevent being seen since there is not total concealment here. After traversing a mile, you see the creature ahead flying this way, perhaps a mile off yet. It is hard at this distance to make out what it is, but it looks winged, and bestial.
The group remains hidden in some light underbrush, and it not spotted. The creature seems to be flying back and forth slowly in a cross pattern. Possibly either looking for you, or for anything alive.
How far away from Karkoran and the zoo are we?
It's going to not see us, keep going, see him, and fight us separately.
You think less than a mile. The creature doesn't fly terribly fast, and is flying in a pattern back and forth, not in a straight line the way you came. It is as if it is doing a scouting pattern looking for something.
If you waited until it did a double back on its pattern you could make a break for it and hustle back to the rest of the group. Given its current methods it will come across the group in some 10-15 minutes you suspect, possibly less if it sees you ahead of time and makes a beeline.
Tayanella, you are unaware what the creature is, but Grobly's eyes widen and he growls "Manticore!" Shoots tail spikes."
"Let's get back to the others quickly. We can set up an ambush and then use my elk call kit and my elk to lure it in."
"Agreed..." Taya hisses back to Asheranthi.
If we can take it by surprise on the ground, we can prevent it from warning its masters."
We will head back in the manner CaveToad described.
The group waits until the manticore is on an outward leg of its pattern, moving away from the spot where you are hidden, and quickly scuttles back toward Lump and Karkoran. You estimate you have about 5 minutes before the creature sweeps over the area where the group is now located.
"Ash, can you get your animals to hide and prepare to bait it down?"
Tayanalla casts mage armor on herself and anyone else who needs it (probably no one now that we bought armor)
She readies her bow and finds a good hiding spot.
"Yes, everyone should hide or take cover. I will have my elk out to lure it in and I will use my elk call whistle to make some sound. If it comes in to attack it we pounce. If it attacks from a range with tail spikes we need a way to bring it down."
Lump seeks to use a particularly thick tree as cover.
Karkoran will be hiding nearby using his camouflage netting, lying prone and hidden, weapons drawn.
Grobly will climb up into a tree and hide under a thick branch.
Grobly stealth
Bazzt stealth
"I'll take a position to the south and be ready with my bow."
I placed my character, but I would like to be within 30' of the elk or wherever the manticore might come down so that if I need to I can attack from camouflage. Ash, can you put your elk somewhat close to me? I am sort of in the center of the map.
I put it in the middle and I will be down near Taya.
Placed myself in a tree near Lump. Had a few issues- using a tablet.
As you hear the flapping of its wings, the group readies themselves.
Asheranthi uses her Elk kit to make the call a few times (which confuses her own elk) to lure the manticore in and then has her giant elk stand in the clearing as per the plan?
The manticore circles a few times from high above, perhaps 200' and then flies higher making several mighty roars, seeming to do so in the distance it came from. You can only assume the leonic roar travels a good distance. You are smart enough to realize it is signaling..something.
From there it circles down lower and seems intent on attacking the elk. From about 150' it swoops in and starts to hover in place as the elk rolls its eyes and starts to flee.
- miss
- hit
- hit
- hit
The huge beast grunts in pain and makes a braying noise as it flees to the southwest.
Cast gravity bow in my hiding place.
Karkoran thinks to himself, that this might be tricky. The beast seemed to signal to allies, and is airborne and with deadly ranged abilities. For now, he waited. Perhaps the others had tricks they could employ.
Grobly eyes the Manticore warily. "I could go and fight it in the air. Maybe bring it to the ground?... Maybe. " the goblin whispers to Lump as he licks his lips. "But if it is calling pack? I do not think Grobly would live long..."
Taya waits, unwilling to start a fight with it if it isn't on the ground.
Ashe grimaces as the manticore pelts her elk with spikes. she whispers to Tayanella, "We need to bring it down. I think its time to return fire. If we can get it to the ground we can kill it."
Lump will cast Calm Emotions on the creature, DC 19.
"If it comes down to eat the elk, we have a chance. If we get into a ranged fight with it, it'll just kill us from the air." Taya hisses back to Ash.
"I can't let it kill my elk." Ashe will cast mage armor on herself and step from the cover and shout at the manticore, giving it a rude taunting gesture.
Asheranthi casts her spell and steps out from the brush shouting.
Asheranthi 30
Tayanella 25
Lump 24
Karkoran 22
Giant Elk 19
Velociraptors 17
Grobly 17
Bazzt 9
Manticore 3
Everyone is ready and watches Asheranthi step out and shout at the manticore.
Seeing Ash step from cover, Grobly will growl to himself then cast magic fang on himself and hop on top of Bazzt.
Bazzt will dart up into the air as soon as Grobly is holding on 120(run) feet into the air.
Taya curses quietly and steps 5' to an opening in the brush.
She spends a point of ki for an extra attack and a swift action to poison the first arrow.
Venom: DC:16 str damage
Fort DC 10 + 1/2 the user's Hit Dice + the user's Constitution modifier; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Str; cure 1 save.
Ash will pull out a scroll and cast ironskin off of it. (AC now 29)
She will continue to taunt the manticore. Raptor pets stay put for now.
Vunisu is with me.
Karkoran drinks a potion of mage armor. Remaining hidden and weapons ready.
Round 1
Asheranthi 30
Tayanella 25
Lump 24
Karkoran 22
Giant Elk 19
Velociraptors 17
Grobly 17
Bazzt 9
Manticore 3
Asheranthi casts more protective magic as she tries to draw the attention of the manticore away from her elk pet.
Tayanella unleashes a trio of arrows, and even at considerable distance, all three of them strike the hovering manticore.
The arrows deliver significant damage to the creature.
- fail, lose 10' altitude
- fail, failed by 5 or more, plummet to ground
The clumsy manticore loses some altitude as the arrows rip through its body, then it spirals out of control unable to maintain its flight, plummeting to the ground unable to recover. It hits the ground hard roaring the entire way down, it strikes the ground with a thump as its head bounces off the earth. There is a squelch and a crunch. It appears quite dead.
"more will come. But will they care about their... brother? Friend?
"Nice shooting Taya!"
"I guess we should prepare for whoever he signaled."
"My work here is done ...." Taya says as she steps out of cover.
[ooc](drop the mic ....)[/occ]
"We need to shift positions and prepare to ambush whatever the manticore was calling to. Whatever is coming is sure to come here and investigate."
Taya hurries out to the manticore carcass and pulls out the three arrows to help conceal what happened.
Grobly flies up on Bazzt and keeps watch staying low in the tree canopy, knowing that enemies may be approaching. He sees not too far off a band of humanoids approaching fast.
A large giant at their lead, there seems to be about two dozen of them coming quickly over the lightly wooded hills. At this distance it is difficult to tell what they are but they are spread out. They pause occasionally to look at the sky or to listen, but press forward. They seem to be coming in more or less your direction, but there is no guarantee they will pass specifically into your area. They are about a quarter to half a mile away, and you give them about a minute and a half before they are even with your hiding spot.
Will you lure them in, or remain hidden?
Karkoran will come out of his camouflage net and drag the manticore corpse off into the bushes. Next he rumbles to the group, "We should keep hidden and draw them in. Grobly can you do that from the air? Maybe let them see you for a few seconds and then dive down into this area quickly just so they know you went in here. Don't stay too long, just to make sure they come this way. The rest of us should being casting battle spells and be ready. Once they arrive, we pounce and crush them." He emphasizes the last words by hitting one fist into the palm of his other hand. He snorts and start preparing extracts and mutagens for the battle, pulling out potions.
"If everyone is in agreement, we should cast what spells we need from each other, and then get back into hiding. It sounds like they have a lot of people, do we want to spread out, which could let them surround and cut us off from each other, or do we want to cluster together and let them surround us all?"