Mr. Barlau and the Heroes of NIMH

Game Master chavamana

Medge moves herself up to the boulders, flinging a globule of acid through the break until it sizzles against the kobold leaders green scales. He snarls a bit, "Thanks for the shine job, Scrufs." To his men, "Once you've taken out the traitor, kill the furry ones."

"Ha! It is we who shall take out the traitor and be killing the furry ones!"

"You are the traitor," Medge explains helpfully in case he missed it.

Bakuu looks over at Willem after the 'furry ones' comments, frowning. "No one will be killing the furry ones on my watch."

"Catlass, let's not kill the furry ones. We'll buy them drinks, instead." She grins fiercely. "Besides, he's not just a traitor; he's an apostate. You have stolen from your God, Roaghaz, and I would not be you for all the world when it comes for the accounting."

"You should maybe hang back some, lady," Farmer says to Nighttail. And to Roaghaz, "What's an Esteperax?"

"The great and powerful, scaly Aeteperax is our divine noble and the apex of what we shall be. Your pinkskin is not worthy enough to say his name which is why it twists on your tongue."

"Ha! It is we who shall take out the traitor and be killing the furry ones!"

"You are the traitor," Medge explains helpfully in case he missed it.

"Fantastic!" The kobold leader crows, "So win or lose, life or death, you'll be dead either by our hand or your own."

In the Lair of Roaghaz! - Round 2

Willem reloads with a paper cartridge and fires again. His fire rakes across the line of archers, the closest managing to dodge as he fumbles for his spear, but the other two taking the hot metal in their snouts.

Medge claws and scratches her way to the far side of the rocks, yanking herself free from both the clinging webs and the cold stones, then attacking with a vicious bite that removes scales from the kobold to her left.

Bakuu pulls her bow to back Willem up and shoot at the kobolds. Although she slips free of the entangling mass with ease, juggling her sword and her bow spoils her shot.

Following Farmer's advice, Nighttail directs Hak back... but only after stabbing at one of the kobolds mounted on rocks.

The guards on the ground drop their bows and pull spears - stabbing as they do. Both furred combatants, Medge and Black Willem, manage to dodge the sharp tips. With the extended distance, Nighttail manages to manuever Hak out of the way of the arrows.

Akatsuki slides to an open spot to get a better angle on the boulder perched kobold guards. But her arrow gets nabbed by the web on the rock.

Roaghaz's glare jumps from Medge to Willem and back to Medge. With arcane commands in Draconic, Roaghaz sends a bubble of acid at the catwoman, burning and sticking to all the wrong places. Medge and/or her armor take 12 points of acid and the nasty spell will continue to act for another round.

Farmer takes a step forward to place a celestial eagle in the middle of the Kobold cluster. "Attack Kobolds," he calls to it. 1d4 ⇒ 2 The eagles talon tears across the middle kobold, drawing a small amount of blood.

Farmer does the same chanting and peering as before.

Fenyx steadies himself, the clash of combat fading away as he targets the undamaged kobold on the southern rock. A perfect shot, right through the kobold's eye and it falls.

Adjusting her aim, she reaches deep within her soul for the cool presence of the Lady of Graves, and fires an icicle. Which sadly continues to batter away at the stone.

Pasara moves up next to Nighttail and Hak, being careful to avoid the webs. She extends her outstretched palm towards the still-active kobolds including Roaghaz, hoping to get as many as she can in the fan of flames that gout out from her hand. Sadly Roaghaz proves to be just out of reach of Pasara's magic flames. Kobold Save DC 16: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 91d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 231d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11 Two of the kobold's look scorched, the middle confused by the triple team of rat, cat and bird, somehow manages to avoid most of the fire.

Grand Hall of the Blood Vow - End of Round 2
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▓ = boulders (northern rock has an archer, southern rock has a dead kobold)
☺ = TREASURE CHESTS
R = Roaghaz
K = Kobold Guards (k = sleeping)
~ = area with web (contains W and M but not S or B)
E = Farmer's Summoned Eagle friend

A = Aka
B = Bakuu
W = Willem
G = Faf
F = Farmer
X = Fenyx
M = Medge
P = Pasara
S = Sigrit
N = Nighttail on Hak

"Fantastic!" The kobold leader crows, "So win or lose, life or death, you'll be dead either by our hand or your own."

Medge sighs. "You are not getting the principle here."

Interpreting the attacks of the icicles upon the boulders as a bit of divine guidance, Sigrit backs off and circles round to the base of one of the boulders. She studies it for a moment, nods, and pulls out her warhammer. She gives it a test swing, then draws it all the way back and slams it against the boulder, aiming for a very particular point...

In the Lair of Roaghaz! - Round 3

Willem reloads with a paper cartridge and fires again, apparently unafraid of the two kobolds who closed with him. Both kobolds, prepared for the momentary opening right before Willem fires, attempt to kill the gunslinger (1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 91d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16) but his armor turns the thrust of their attacks. Two of the three kobolds lose scales and flesh to the metal fragments, as does Farmer's eagle.

Medge claws and bites at the kobold's arrayed before her, but with so many choices she doesn't quite focus enough to land a solid blow.

Bakuu sighs and mumbles something about multitasking when she rights her gear to focus on the bow. She'll focus on the kobolds Willem is shooting at, if she can get the shot around him without endangering any of her companions. She shoots at the kobold right in front of Willem, but her care in avoiding hitting her partner means the arrow thuds home in the kobold's armor rather than flesh.

With a spurious comment on Roaghaz's parentage in Draconic, Nighttail shifts Hak through the combatants. For a moment she looks at the web covered boulders, then stops short of them, stabbing at the final archer kobold. With the extra height provided by Hak, her blow lands solidly.

The guards on the ground stab out at both Willem and Medge, but both front-line fighters prove too nimble. The final archer takes a bead on Nighttail and fires, the arrow striking incredibly close to her heart. Your kobold ally grits her teeth stoically, but Hak looks pissed.

Akatsuki steadies her aim and fires at the exposed kobold perched atop his boulder, then with a running leap attempts to gain the vantage of that same surface. Sadly, she stumbles and nearly does a face plant into the webs before catching herself, dancing through the sticky morass and ...fails to make any progress whatsoever.

The acid Roaghaz summoned onto Medge continues to burn. (Medge takes 2d6 ⇒ (1, 1) = 2 acid damage.) The kobold leader starts to look apopectic that none of his enemies have fallen, "Be a good little kitty and die!" Medge Fort DC 16: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11 Medge and her armor turn small. (Medge is subject to a reduce person spell.)

With her dwarven know-how, Sigrit manages to tip the boulder with the dead kobold over, it hangs for a moment on the edge threatening to roll back and smash both Sigrit and Nighttail before toppling over and turning the kobold between Pasara and Medge to paste.

"'Aeteperax' is your apex, eh? My granddad may have something to say about that," says Pasara as she clambers over the boulder to get into hand-to-hand distance with the nearest kobold. As she lands, Pasara's hands turn into scaly dragon's claws. She swipes at the kobold nearest her and nearly removes his eye with the sharp natural weapon.

Grand Hall of the Blood Vow - End of Round 3
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▓ = boulder (has archer)
@ = unstable boulder, DC 10 Acrobatics to remain ontop
☺ = TREASURE CHESTS
R = Roaghaz
K = Kobold Guards (k = sleeping)
~ = area with web (contains A, B, W and M but not S)
E = Farmer's Summoned Eagle friend

A = Aka
B = Bakuu
W = Willem
G = Faf
F = Farmer
X = Fenyx
M = Medge
P = Pasara
S = Sigrit
N = Nighttail on Hak

"Draw your sword, Bakuu. I'm about to supply you with a target."

Sigrit allows herself a fierce grin as the boulder rolls exactly as she intended it to.

"Best stay back, Nighttail. You'll be needed to help put your tribe back together after this is done."

Her eyes flicker to Aka. "I'm short; you can fire over me?" If Aka's answer is is "No," she'll take a moment to stabilize Nighttail. Otherwise, she will move forward through the space where the boulder no longer is, swinging the warhammer at the kobold guard in front of Aka.

Farmer looks through his fingers, and says, quietly, "Feh."

The kobold leader starts to look apopectic that none of his enemies have fallen, "Be a good little kitty and die!" Medge Fort DC 16: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11 Medge and her armor turn small.

"Er ... was that the spell you were meaning to be casting?"

Aka responds with a quick nod to Sigrit, "I will not hit you." she says, targeting the closest living kobold beyond her dwarven ally. And as Sigrit moves past her, "Don't jump." she says blithely with something of a smile in her tone.

In the Lair of Roaghaz! - Round 3

Fenyx casts Force Bolt on the kobold on the rock. The force missile finds its target unerringly.

In the Lair of Roaghaz! - Round 4

Medge attacks the kobold to the south this time and her focus pays off, her bite snapping through armor and scale.

Both of the remaining guards target Nighttail, as commanded, although she manages to dodge the spear, the arrow sinks into her thigh.

Aka's arrow, as she attempts to protect Sigrit, thuds solidly home into the final spear-wielding guard, who falls.

Mere seconds after it moves, Farmer's first eagle pops out of existence, and although his second tries valiantly to smite the kobold leader, it does not succeed. Farmer pulls out a healing potion as he moves next to Nighttail, offering it to the kobold.

Fenyx throws another bolt of force at the final archer, and his persistence pays off as the kobold falls.

Her path clear, Sigrit moves up to Roaghaz but he manages to dodge her mace.

With a quick step to the left, Pasara swipes twice with her claws at Roaghaz. One claw manages to break through his magical defenses.

Grand Hall of the Blood Vow - End of Round 4
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▓ = boulder (has archer)
@ = unstable boulder, DC 10 Acrobatics to remain on top (under Willem)
☺ = TREASURE CHESTS
R = Roaghaz
K = Kobold Guards (k = sleeping)
~ = area with web (contains A, B, W and M but not S)
E = Farmer's Summoned Eagle friend

A = Aka
B = Bakuu
W = Willem (on a shaky boulder)
G = Faf
F = Farmer
X = Fenyx
M = Medge
P = Pasara
S = Sigrit
N = Nighttail on Hak

My goodness, do Pasara and Sigrit have some sort of flanking advantage on Roaghaz? How odd a thought.

Map had one error in the previous incarnations - Fenyx had just killed the final boulder straddling archer, leaving Roaghaz alone to face his foes.

In the Lair of Roaghaz! - Round 5

Willem fires a bullet into the last kobold standing, which in this case is Roaghaz himself. The bullet zips just past Sigrit and into the leader of the den.

Medge zips around Willem uncertain perch to bite viciously at Roaghaz, her little jaws rending through scaly flesh.

Nighttail jigs Hak behind the curve of the wall and downs the potion Farmer handed to her. 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Aka moves to Nighttail, "May I?" she asks, looking up at the mounted rider. And pausing only briefly for an answer lays a softly glowing hand upon her.

Farmer limps closer to the action.

Farmer's remaining eagle lets out a vengeful screech and vanishes.

From Feynx, a magic missile slides around the curve of the wall, over Sigrit's head and slams into Roaghaz. The kobold leader - and all the images of him - falls to the ground.

"For Jakkol," says Sigrit quietly--a simple statement of fact, without drama, for a man should know why he dies.

Seeing that she can get past his defenses, Pasara concentrates her attacks on Roaghaz. At the very least she can keep him off balance and feeling flanked. She claws at him twice more. The leader falls just before first claw, reeling from the magic missile, and Pasara's second claw scratches Sigrit's cheek - dangerously close to the cleric's eye.

Medge has taken 14 points of acid damage and Nighttail is still down 11 hit points.

On examination, Roaghaz's cloak proves to be made from an ancient black leather. Magical ancient black leather.

"I am tiny and adorable," Medge says, examining herself.

"The cloak's leather has been alchemically treated," says Willem, examining it, "and I'd wager it was once the hide of a magical creature."

Pasara nods. "Black dragon, if I'm any judge."

A quick casting of Detect Magic, and Pasara adds "Wearing that cloak will enhance one's defenses, and allow you to bite in combat."

"I am tiny and adorable," Medge says, examining herself.

"Yes. But how badly are you injured?"Unless Medge dodges out of the way, Sigrit will scoop her up to examine her. "We need to dilute this acid... close your eyes, Catlass..." Sigrit will gently pour water from her waterskin over Medge, then start patting her dry with a corner of Sigrit's robe. The drying off of Medge looks an swful lot like an excuse to cuddle and pet the tiny and adorable kitty...

Heal, evaluating Medge's condition: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

As she wills her claws back into hands, she looks sheepishly at Sigrit. "Sorry about your cheek, Mother."

Quote:

"I am tiny and adorable," Medge says, examining herself.

"Yes. But how badly are you injured?"Unless Medge dodges out of the way, Sigrit will scoop her up to examine her. "We need to dilute this acid... close your eyes, Catlass..." Sigrit will gently pour water from her waterskin over Medge, then start patting her dry with a corner of Sigrit's robe. The drying off of Medge looks an swful lot like an excuse to cuddle and pet the tiny and adorable kitty...

Regardless of, or because of, the cuddling, Sigrit's ministrations would have treated Medge. If she were the one injured rather than her armor. Medge can get back 7 hit points, but her armor needs mending not healing.

If there was any doubt that all of the goodies could be transported back to town, Fenyx will offer to cast Floating Disc to help.
This is using the 1 spell you know per day provided by the bow as an arcane focus

A quick casting of Detect Magic, and Pasara adds "Wearing that cloak will enhance one's defenses, and allow you to bite in combat."

Farmer snickers.

Farmer snickers.

Willem flashes his big rat teeth at Farmer, then joins in with a squeaky chuckle.

Akatsuki continues to lend healing energy to Nighttail.
Lay on Hands: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Lay on Hands: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Farmer Odell wrote:

Farmer snickers.

Willem flashes his big rat teeth at Farmer, then joins in with a squeaky chuckle.

Aka raises an eyebrow, apparently not comprehending the humor. She turns back to Nighttail, "Feeling better?"