PbP Gameday VII - Heroes for Highdelve - GM NOWRUZ #4 (Inactive)

Game Master noral

Richelle looks at Tolwin and starts crying.

"Feran and his mother Gilda made us ... made us burn everything that tied us to our roots. I ... I do not know how we did what we did! Tolwin ... we have to wake up!" she says between sobs.

Tolwin looks at the Tiefling and then at the floor.

"You have to be careful in the cave ... it's a giant! For sure! I've only read about them before. Feran and his mother said they are preparing it in that cave. It looks weird, though. Two heads, and these mangled limbs. It smells horrible. But the cave was so dark, we couldn't really see it well. I was the one who got up close to it. Be careful!" he says.

Dwarves know that he is talking about an Ettin. If any of you want to roll knowledge(nature) please do so.

Torgen's eyes light up.

"An ettin! How large was it? The young ones are manageable, but if this one is full grown we are going to need to get help."

Jarrish looks at the cave speculatively, "An ettin you say? Cant say I've killed one of those yet. Mangled limbs, I wonder if its deformed, or injured?"

Not knowing much about Ettin's Tuuli looks intrigued but also a little unsure. "Should we go in and deal with this thing, or at least check it out for ourselves?"

Happy to go into the cave.

Tolwin shrugs.

"I ... I do not know how old it was. It was large you know ... but it was in bad shape I think as they carved something into its skin. But I really have no idea!"

"There are wrongs that need righting we should get moving."

Clearing his head of the fog from the color spray, Torgen heads into the cave.

You all move to the cave entrance.

This rock face towers nearly 30 feet and is punctuated in the middle with the dark opening of a cave mouth.

As you enter, the dank scent of moss hangs heavy in the air as the gloom in the cave thickens. Some daylight filters in to the mouth of the cave (the entryway is in low-light), but the caverns receding deeper in on either side are completely dark.

How do you want to deal with light, and what is your marching order/algorithm as you proceed into this cave? Please place your icons on the map.

Who needs light? Not Torgen!

Anyway, I figure Jarish and Moose will want to go up front as Togen is slower and might get in the way.

As they approach the cave, Tuuli protects herself a little with a tap of her wand of Mage Armor, staying near the back of the group.

Tuuli has darkvision too and will stay at the back of the group. AC now 16.

Peering into the cave Jarrish grumbles, "Hmm. Seems dark. Let's shed some light." with that he casts light on his sword before holding it aloft and venturing into the cave.

I can keep light on something, and I'll probably march in the second or first row

"Cast light on me I can take a punch."

Cestus would be a reasonable target.

These cramped corridors smell like fungus and rot.

Ridges on the map represent sloping passages downward. Squares that are sloped are difficult terrain.
Are you taking your time and exploring the area, or moving quickly to find the creature?

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23

Moose whispers, "Greatest detective in the world."

Moose will take 10 to look for traps (19) but just along the path they are moving as to not slow down too much.

Torgen is in no hurry, though the kids seem to think he should be.

He muses on giants and ettins and glory as they search.

After a minute of moving through the caverns and exploring, you hear the loud *snap* of a chain breaking, followed by a bellow of triumph and loud, thudding footsteps.

Suddenly, a large, two-headed beast comes into view, wielding a nasty-looking flail in one hand and holding the dead, crushed body of an aged woman in the other hand.

The two-headed giant is wearing a large pendant that you clearly recognize as the pendant that was granted by the dragon to the town of Highdelve.

But you also see that strange cords are attached to the amulet and it is blood-covered.

All over the Ettin’s body strange bloody runes are carved into ist skin.

Initiative

ini +1: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

ini (Jarrish): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
ini (Moose: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
ini (Tuuli): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11
ini(Torgen): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Round 1

1. Tuuli, -> GO!
2. Ettin
3. Moose, Torgen, Jarrish

#Ettin: 0 Damage

Tuuli:
Torgen:
Jarrish:
Moose:

Kn. Arcana: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11

Tuuli, too distracted by the sudden danger, doesn't pay much attention to the runes. Instead, she suddenly pops out of view and pushes through the group to take up a more strategic position.

Cast Vanish and move.

The Ettin sees Torgen and Moose and charges forward!

Moose 1, Torgen 2: 1d2 ⇒ 1

He swings his flail at Moose and almost hits him but Moose can dodge!

Flail: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20
Damage: 1d10 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13

YOU ARE ALL UP!

Flurry of blows: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 71d4 - 3 ⇒ (3) - 3 = 0

Flurry of blows: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 251d4 - 3 ⇒ (2) - 3 = -1
Confirmation: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 221d4 - 3 ⇒ (1) - 3 = -2

[ooc]Each hit is 1 point of non-lethal damage

Moose hits twice but the Ettin hardly feels anything.

#Ettin: 0 Damage, 2 NL

Tuuli:
Torgen:
Jarrish:
Moose:

Jarrish grins savagely as he takes in the demon cursed ettin. Besides gathering personal power and knowledge, defeating powerful and new monsters was what drove him, and this thing looked impressively powerful.

Finally! Something interesting to kill

Stepping in carefully, Jarrish uses his magics to shield himself before charging his blade with magic and striking.

swift to charge blade (+1), move to b2b, spell combat to cast shield (defensive casting), attack

Attack: 1d20 + 3 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (11) + 3 + 1 - 2 = 13
Damage: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 3 + 1 = 6

Concentration, vs DC 17: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24

AC 20 10/10 rounds

Torgen takes a swipe with his warhammer and ax at its legs, taking advantage of the ettins distraction.

"I'll cut him down to size!"

to hit warhammer: 1d20 ⇒ 17
damage warhammer: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

to hit ax: 1d20 ⇒ 18
damage ax: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

AC 22 due to dwarven bonus vs. giants

All three attacks solidly connect with the Ettin‘s foul flesh and it screams in pain.

#Ettin: 24 Damage, 2 NL

Tuuli:
Torgen:
Jarrish:
Moose:

Tuuli invisibly steps forward next to the ettin, and seemingly out of nowhere a flash of electricity bursts out of the air.

Electricity Damage to Ettin: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
DC16 or dazzled

Ref DC 16: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

The Ettin cries out in pain and turns around!

The Ettin sees Tuula and attacks!

His swings almost rams her into the ground but she is still standing!

Flail: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
Damage: 1d10 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

YOU ARE ALL UP!

#Ettin: 28 Damage, 2 NL

Tuuli: 8 damage
Torgen:
Jarrish:
Moose:

Moose tries to make an opening for Torgen.
Aid: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

Cursing as the beast batters Tuuli, Jarrish grabs his longsword in both hands and slashes with all his might.

Attack, 2h: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 3 + 1 = 12
Damage: 1d8 + 3 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 3 + 1 + 1 = 9

Moose aids Torgen with by pushing into the Etting and Jarrish hits the floor!

to hit warhammer,flank: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11
damage warhammer: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

to hit ax, flank: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11
damage ax: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Like Jarrish, Torgen takes his frustration out on the floor.

Tuuli is up.

Tuuli steps behind the ettin and reaches out to sends another more personal blast of electricity into back.

Shocking Grasp. Flanking
Touch Attack: 1d20 - 1 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (8) - 1 + 3 + 2 = 12 Electrical Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (1, 4) = 5

Tuuli is unbelievably brave to still fight the Ettin although she is so injured.

Her electricity connects with the Ettin and his flesh burns!

Again, the Ettin cries out in pain and attacks ...

Jarrish 1, Moose 2, Torgen 3, Tuuli 4: 1d4 ⇒ 2

... Moose by smashing the flail against his chest breaking his bones and leading to heavy internal bleeding. Moose sinks to the ground!

Flail: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
Damage: 1d10 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Crit confirm Flail: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22
Crit Damage: 1d10 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

YOU ARE ALL UP!

#Ettin: 33 Damage, 2 NL

Tuuli: 8 damage
Torgen:
Jarrish:
Moose: 16 damage

Torgen exclaims "Moose! You need to learn to duck," though his advice falls on deaf ears as the halfling slumps to the ground. His flank buddy gone, he struggles to land a decent blow.

to hit warhammer: 1d20 ⇒ 9
dice=damage warhammer] 1d8 + 3[/dice]

to hit ax, flank: 1d20 ⇒ 17
damage ax: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

Moose takes a nap.

Torgen's second blow with his axe cuts off one of the Ettin's heads!

You only hear a ...

"Erghhhh .... ahrghhrrhhrhh ..." and the large giant drops to the ground like a stone.

Clinging to the foul skin of the Ettin you find a beautiful, glittering golden pendant in the shape of dragon's head which was smeared with blood. You can easily search the rest of the cavern, finding nothing but filth.

The woman that the Ettin dropped is probably Gilda Korgren, the mother of the Tiefling, and she also seems to have the runes carved all over her body and it looks as if she died from these injuries and not through the hands of the Ettin.

Tuuli bends down over Moose and revives him with a tap of her Wand of Infernal Healing, then examining the fallen ettin.

Kn. Arcana: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21

"These markings on this giant are diabolic runes which could be used to protect it from draconic beings with the right focus...and this amulet could serve as exactly that focus. I would assume that Aureliax would not have been able to protect the town as it would not have been able to harm this Ettin!" Tuuli looks quite surprised by the findings, whispering them as much to herself as the rest of the group.

You do not find anything else in the caves.

After you have defeated the ettin and recovered the golden pendant, you emerge from the cave to find yourselves ... face to face with Aurelliax in her true form (picture in the slide deck).

She is a magnificent mature adult gold dragon whose presence dwarfs your own.

The dwarfed dwarf bows before the magnificent creature, pretty much speechless, though you do hear some sounds come out of his mouth that may or may not be words.

Moose still in a haze also bows.

Tuuli's eyes widen in surprise and wondrous awe! "Ah, greetings great one!" she whispers, not sure what else to say.

The dragon raises an eyebrow when she sees your signs of respect ... silence follows for several seconds.

”Thank you, travelers, for protecting the people of Highdelve, and for recovering my amulet. Truly, you are the heroes these people needed. Let me commend you, as well, for sparing the lives of those children that belong to this town ... I will take care that they are loved and brought back to this community!“

You see the golden pendant levitate in the golden dragon’s direction and it vanishes when touching her scales.

She looks at you for a while.

”Please accept these as a token of my appreciation.“

Four statuettes of gold dragons with diamonds for eyes appear out of thin air and levitate to your hands.

"Thank you. Gifts are not necessary though, we just wanted to help."

Torgen looks at Moose, his own eyes lit up with dwarven greed, "I'll be happy to take yours!"

"I said necessary, not unappreciated. Great detectives need to get to eat."