Red Hand of Doom [E6] (Inactive)

Game Master Aldizog

No time for a proper update today, but will definitely get to it tomorrow.

No worries, thanks for keeping us in the loop.

You make your way up the Rhest Trail about 30 miles, maybe a bit more. A creek coming down from the Giantshield Mountains crosses the trail, but it is easily forded. The last bit of the Witchwood is on your left, before it gives way to the swamps of the Blackfens. As it is beginning to get dark, you find a good campsite and settle down for the night.

Although your campsite is decently well hidden from the road, there are creatures in the hobgoblin army that are quite good at tracking by scent...

Watch: 1d3 ⇒ 3
Bran and Tal'ariel have the morning watch, from about 4 am until 8 am.
Bran Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17
Tal'ariel Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (3) + 12 = 15
Neither one of those beat the Stealth checks for the enemies.
The enemies don't know how close they can approach without you spotting them, of course, so they move up as far as they are on the map and then act.

In the hour before dawn, a volley of arrows flies out of the twilight at Bran. It happens in a fast and seamless sequence of steps -- one hobgoblin steps out from behind the brush and fires, then another in front of him, then a third. The same sequence from the brush on the other side. Meanwhile, a horrid wolf-like creature bursts from nearby cover and snarls at Bran and Tal'ariel. They feel a wave of despair push against their minds.

DC 16 Will saves please, against an enchantment (compulsion) effect.

Composite Longbow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
Composite Longbow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10
Composite Longbow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20
Composite Longbow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14
Composite Longbow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19
Composite Longbow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16
Bran traded away Uncanny Dodge, correct?
Three arrows strike Bran. Despite being taken by surprise, he is able to get his shield in the way of another arrow.
damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
So 13 damage after DR.

The noise of battle wakes Mikail, Thom, Shishka, and Seltazar. Mikail and Thom, I assume you do not sleep in your armor since you do not have Endurance. You all are prone but can act on your initiative.

Init Wolf-thing: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
Init Hobgoblins: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14
Init Tal'ariel: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13
Init Bran: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Init Shishka: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Init Mikail: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19
Init Thom: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
Init Seltazar: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

Round 1
Mikail
Wolf-thing
Hobgoblins
Tal'ariel
Seltazar
Shishka
Thom
Bran

Map is up.

EDIT: Forgot Seltazar's Ring of Sustenance.
1 he is sleeping, 2-4 he is not: 1d4 ⇒ 2
Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21
Okay, still doesn't beat the Stealth at this distance, so he is surprised, but he is not prone.

Hi guys, Shishka still here... will be busy next day or two, I have a wedding to attend

Will vs Compulsion DC16: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27
K. Planes DC14: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26

"Hobgoblins and Barghests!" cries Tal'ariel. But she is slow to actually do anything about the threat.

Mikail bounces up from her sleep with nary but her shift on. Her burnished silver skin shines in the semi-dark as she draws her sword.
A flash of silvery light and the hilt of the weapon looks like the holy symbol of Iomedae.
Still slightly sleep addled the war-priestess mutters out the words of a protection spell almost without thinking.

Cast Protection from evil

Once cast she picks up her shield and stands ready to fight.

Her AC will now be 15, I believe...+1 Dex, +2 Shield and +2 Prot. from Evil

He did trade Uncanny Dodge. I was tired after work yesterday but I am here.

Bran takes a volley of arrows from the brush and before he even has a chance to react he hears the howl of the barghest.

Will: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22 Looking to take Bear's Balance for pseudo Fear immunity.

He is able to resist the enchantment and looks to the two elves, "Are you alright?"

@Mikail: you can stand and cast, but picking up your shield is also a move action so that will happen next round.

The barghests all begin to flicker in and out of existence.

Round 1
Mikail
Barghests
Hobgoblins
Tal'ariel
Seltazar
Shishka
Thom
Bran

Will bot Shishka if she doesn't post in 24 hrs.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (6) + 13 = 19. "The dogs are Blinking into the Ethereal Plane," she reports. "I can help in part, but not entirely."

Tal'ariel conjures a burst of Glitterdust! It materializes around two of the Barghests and two hobgoblins. Will DC16 to save vs blindness.

@GM Zelligar: So . . . my interpretation of the rules is that if Tal'ariel casts Glitterdust on the Barghests, the party will be able to "see invisible creatures" as described by the text of Blink. That would reduce the miss chance from 50% to 20% when they actually go ethereal. Do you agree? If so, Tal'ariel is casting Glitterdust as described above. If not, she's probably doing something else like casting See Invisibility from her sword or Shield from her wand.

Hmm, it's quite a confusing issue. Blind-fight doesn't help at all against Blink, but See Invisibility does. Would the dust go ethereal with the barghest when it blinks, thereby providing no benefit? Would there be a 50% chance of the Glitterdust failing to affect the barghest in the first place?
I'm going to say it doesn't work here, and Tal'ariel would know that so you can do something else.

I think the Glitterdust spell itself would definitely hit, because it's only individually targeted spells that have a 50% miss chance. To me, the weird part is whether the Glitterdust has any impact once it's there. I'll revise my action.

Tal'ariel focuses on the power of the sword forged by her father. As she does so, she calls forth the spell she just learned from Seltazar days ago--one that would help her divine the location of even invisible creatures. As her eyes open, she can see the Barghests clearly blinking into and out of the Ethereal Plane.

Arcane Bond into See Invisibility.

Thom gets up and calls on the forces of nature to give him the strength of the bull.

Casts bulls strength. duration 6 minutes

Bran sees the ambush now and he knows the arrows. The Red Hand. Not willing to be a pincushion again he enters the same stance he attempted against the dragon at Skull Gorge.

Move Action Martial Flexibility for Monkey Style

With a smooth motion he enters a low stance, his knees and elbows nearly touching the floor, kicking up the wicked dwarven axe into his hands.

Swift Enter Stance
Standard to Draw the Axe
Free to 'drop prone' with the low stance

Botting Seltazar and Shishka to move this along.
Shishka sits up in her bedroll. She reaches for her gun and fumbles it. She bobbles it once, twice, three times, "Whoa... whoa... WHOA!" before finally getting a grip on it.
"We've got them right where we want them, boys and girls!"
Move action to draw gun, standard action to Inspire Courage. Still prone.

Seltazar doesn't look terribly amused at Shishka's antics. He casts Haste.

Inspire Courage and Haste are in effect.
Round 2
Mikail
Barghests
Hobgoblins
Tal'ariel
Seltazar
Shishka
Thom
Bran

Mikail, you are up. Will bot you tonight if I don't hear.

Sorry...don't know how I missed that..

Feeling the magic wash over her, Mikail swiftly moves towards the enemy and slashes at the nearest barghest.

AC-16 (+1 Haste, +2 Shield,+1 Dex, +2 Prot. form evil)
(Haste, Inspire Courage, Smite, Vital Strike)

Attack: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (7) + 12 = 19
Damage: 2d8 + 18 ⇒ (6, 1) + 18 = 25

Unsure if I get a second attack with Haste, if I am using Vital Strike, but here is the roll in case I do

Attack: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (16) + 12 = 28
Damage: 2d8 + 18 ⇒ (8, 4) + 18 = 30

I'm not one to, as a GM, ask "Are you sure you want to do that?"
But maybe it's not such a bad habit if it leads to a happier game. And in this case you might have missed some crucial information.
Mikail didn't actually get to ready her shield last round -- move action to stand up, standard action to cast.
So this round you could ready the shield, and move drawing the sword, but not attack. Or ready the shield and cast another spell.
Or, you could forget the shield, move and Vital Strike, and be at AC 14.
You only get the Haste bonus attacks on a full attack, not on a move + attack.

Ok, my misunderstanding then, I had thought I could ready my shield, move and attack. I will then hold my ground, with my shield ready.

These forums. My golly. They don't look so hot.

My mistake. Yes, you can combine "ready a shield" with a move just like drawing a weapon. I thought you were drawing your sword as part of the move but didn't see you had done that last round. Technically you can't combine drawing a sword with standing up, but, eh, Mikail can sleep with her sword in her hand. She's a warpriest of Iomedae, after all.
If you want to attack, go ahead and roll the 50% miss chance for attacking a Blinking opponent. You may want to take a swift action to use Weapon of the Chosen so you can re-roll the miss chance once.
Sorry for the confusion -- will get this fight back on track.

No worries...I sometimes confuse editions and what can be done on one with another...all good!

Miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 53 (I can never remember if it hits above 50 or below...lol)

Mikail's sword strikes one of the barghests!
Unfortunately, this leaves her in a bad place, as both it and its neighbor get a full attack on her. 5' step and full attack for Blue.

The last barghest doesn't act at this time.

The hobgoblins aren't good enough archers to shoot through their allies, and Bran has dropped prone, so four turn their arrows on Tal'ariel. Two arrows find their mark. 15 damage to Tal'ariel. Two hobgoblins (Red and Blue) drop their bows (free), ready sword and shield (standard and move), and step in front of their comrades.

Tal'ariel pops a wand in her hand using a spring-loaded sheath and casts Shield before looking to maneuver around Mikail's enemies.

Swift and Standard to use the Shield Wand, drop the wand, move action around the other side of Mikail. Used up 60' of movement with Haste to avoid an AOO.

Bran attempts to jumps up to his full height but the underbrush of the terrain seems to snag him a little and he settles for moving in low to the ground.
Acrobatics: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (6) + 13 = 19
Attempted to swift action stand up (DC20), instead he will move at half speed (35) to reach the nearest hobbo.

He swings the ax in an upward arc, hoping to throw the now-shielded hobogoblin off balance.
Attack Roll: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (7) + 11 = 18 +1 from Haste
Unlikely Damage: 1d12 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

Bran, do you have Inspire Courage included? The hobgoblins with shields are AC 20.

I do not, I think I'm outside Shishka's 30 foot range. I also included the +1 from Haste already so an extra +1 Inspire won't be enough.

Thom begins to growl as his body begins to change into a large tiger. His growl tuns into a roar as his he charged toward the frey.

Standard action: wildshape, Move action:move

@Bran: while some bardic performances do have a 30' range limitation, Inspire Courage is not one of them. You just have to be able to either see or hear the bard (depending on what the bard decides when starting the performance).

With a grim smile, Seltazar flows forward smoothly, the haste effect making his quick advance seem casual. With a gesture and a word, the air amidst the hobgoblins bursts with glittering light.

Cast glitterdust DC 17 on the hobgoblins.

Shishka get a bright idea, and advances forward spewing forth all sorts of stupid jokes.

as she does she pulls out a small black sphere with a short fuse on it.

she eyes up the group of hobgoblins, calculating the right spot to toss it. she lightes the fuse.

continue inpspire for another round and pull out a pellet grenade. the fuse will last 1d3 ⇒ 3 rounds, so she now has a little bit of time to advance a little closer then toss the grenade right into the middle of the bad guys.

Red Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Orange Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
Pink Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15
Green Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
Black Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15
Blue Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13
All the hobgoblins are blinded by the sparkling dust.

Thom moves into position to help Mikail, as does Tal'ariel.
Shishka arms one of her 'bomb' weapons, but the rest of you probably have no idea when it will explode. Hopefully she knows what she is doing!

The green barghest gets impatient, and decides to attack the crawling human rather than waiting for him to close so it could full-attack. It moves up and snaps at Bran with its jaws, timing its attack well enough to hit.
Bite, Blink: 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 10 + 2 = 29
Miss chance 01-20: 1d100 ⇒ 62
Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6
5 damage to Bran after DR. Forgot the Blink bonus on attack rolls vs. Mikail but none of them missed by 2 anyway.

Round 3
Mikail -36
Barghest (Red -25, Blue)
Hobgoblins
Tal'ariel -15
Seltazar
Shishka
Thom
Bran
Green Barghest

HP: 30/66

Feeling the creatures tear into her silvery flesh, Mikail calls to her goddess to strengthen her resolve and to smite the evil beast attacking her.

AC-16 (+1 Haste, +2 Shield,+1 Dex, +2 Prot. form evil)
(Haste, Inspire Courage, Smite, Holy Strike, Inheritors Smite)

Attack: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (15) + 17 = 32
Damage: 1d8 + 18 + 1d6 ⇒ (1) + 18 + (1) = 20

Attack: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (16) + 17 = 33
Damage: 1d8 + 18 + 1d6 ⇒ (1) + 18 + (6) = 25

Ok, so casting (swift) Inheritor's smite, using Holy Strike and under the influence of Haste and Inspire Courage, as well as still having Smite Evil against the red barghest...I think that is all my bonsus and herolab seems to have them all added up..I hope this is correct!

The barghest is an outsider with the Evil subtype. Did you already double your Smite bonus damage or should I add that?

No I did not, was not sure what their subtype was (and herolab does not automatically add those bonsus

Checking the math here:
BAB +4/+0
WF +1/+0
Str +3/+3
Enhancement +1/+1
Inspire Courage +1/+1
Smite +0/+12 (first attack) and +0/+6 (second attack)
Inheritor's Smite +5/+0 (first attack)
Haste +1/+0
First attack: +16 to hit (first attack) and +17 damage
Perhaps HeroLab assumed a +2/+2 Inspire Courage? Shishka grants +1/+1.
Second attack: +11 to hit and +11 damage.
BUT, remember the barghests are Blinking (50% miss chance) so you would likely want to use as your swift action to invoke Weapon of the Chosen so you can reroll the miss chance, instead of Inheritor's Smite.
I will let you change your swift action to do that if you want, and you can keep the same attack rolls and damage. Just roll your miss chance and we'll proceed. Normally I say 'high is good' so 51-00 is a hit. With Weapon of the Chosen you can roll twice.

Ok, that sounds good. Will change swift action

Miss roll: 1d100 ⇒ 28
Miss roll: 1d100 ⇒ 12

Even adding the two together will not hit..lol

Sorry about that. Well, you can roll the miss chance for your second attack -- Weapon of the Chosen only applies to the first attack in a round, so you don't get two rolls for the miss chance this time. But you might still double the Smite bonus since that applies to your first successful attack.

01-50 miss: 1d100 ⇒ 81
Even with the blessings of the Inheritor, Mikail's excellent first swing is foiled by the creature blinking out of existence just before the sword strikes its neck.

However, Seltazar's magic gives the Aasimar the uncanny speed to strike again, and this swing connects.
24 damage by my math.

The barghest falls to the ground, dying.

Its comrade strikes at Mikail, wounding her greviously. 16 more damage.

The hobgoblins are all blinded. Two try to run (double move at half speed), three hold their ground, and one hears directions from the barghest attacking Bran and swings blindly.

At the end of their turn, the hobgoblins all try to shake off the Glitterdust.
Red Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 20
Orange Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 = 17
Pink Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Green Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
Black Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21
Blue Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12

Three make it (including one who had fled) and three are still blinded.

Round 3
Mikail -52
Blue Barghest
Hobgoblins
Tal'ariel -15
Seltazar
Shishka
Thom
Bran
Green Barghest

Tal'ariel moves behind the barghest, flanking with Thom, then strikes at the creature.

Posting on my phone, can someone move my token?

Concealment, See Invisibility: 1d100 ⇒ 75
Attack, haste, flank: 1d20 + 7 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 7 + 2 + 1 = 18
damage: 1d10 + 10 + 2d6 ⇒ (7) + 10 + (3, 6) = 26

Shishka slips in a little closer trying to stay out of sight of the bad critters. she stops with the jokes but the effects last an additional 2 rounds.

lingering song effect

stealth: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (7) + 11 = 18

round 2 of fuse, toss next round for a boom

Factoring the +1/+1 Inspire Courage into Tal'ariel's attack.
Tal'ariel slips around the barghest and slices through its flank, her magically enhanced senses seeing even into the edge of the Ethereal Plane. It is badly hurt, though still up.

Shishka sneaks closer, grenade in hand.

However, the barghest attacking Bran hears her approach and whips its head in her direction, snarling. It might decide to leave this tough meat for others to deal with and go after the gnome...
Round 3
Mikail -52
Blue Barghest -27
Hobgoblins
Tal'ariel -15
Shishka
Seltazar
Thom
Bran -24
Green Barghest

Bran hasn't taken any new damage since my last post, just realized I hadn't been tracking his.

Bran attempts to kick himself up off the ground again and start his offense in earnest.
Acrobatics: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26 Attempt to Swift Kick Up, DC 20
Full Round: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (11) + 12 = 23
Full Round (Haste): 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (10) + 12 = 22
Iterative: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

He starts by going for the shielded hobgoblin Blue standing next to him, turning his attacks on the barghest if it falls.

Damage: 1d12 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16
Damage Haste: 1d12 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
Iterative: 1d12 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

After the assault, the man moves closer to Shishka, seeing the barghest losing attention on him. 5 foot step
"Anyone know how to hit these wolf things?"

Bran leaps up, drops the hobgoblin in two swings, then attacks the barghest. The creature dodges the blow.

With a sigh, Seltazar moves calmly through the brush to Mikael and calls upon his dark patron once more, filling her with a cold, healing energy,

Healing Hex@ Mikael: 2d8 + 6 ⇒ (6, 5) + 6 = 17

The large cat lashes out at the Barghest claws and teeth move in a blur at the creature.

Claw1: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (16) + 16 = 32
damage: 2d4 + 8 ⇒ (1, 2) + 8 = 11
1-50 miss: 1d100 ⇒ 62

Claw2: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (7) + 16 = 23
damage: 2d4 + 8 ⇒ (4, 4) + 8 = 16
01-50 miss: 1d100 ⇒ 46 MISS

bite: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (4) + 16 = 20
damage: 2d6 + 8 ⇒ (2, 1) + 8 = 11
01-50 miss: 1d100 ⇒ 94

Not going to try to grab

Also a bonus attack from Haste.
Hasted Bite Attack 01-50 miss: 1d100 ⇒ 8

Thom's attacks leave the barghest in deep trouble, but still on its feet. It looks around for an escape route and doesn't see one. However, Tal'ariel knows that they can use Dimension Door once per day.
Thom's attacks don't count as magical, do they? It has DR 5/magic. That's my mistake for not telling you sooner; I should have given you more pieces of info from Tal'ariel's Knowledge (Planes) check.
By my math you are doing +9 damage on each attack, not +8. So it takes a net 14 damage (7 per hit), for 41 points of damage total. It's on its last legs.

The other barghest moves next to Shishka (so it will get an AOO if she throws a ranged weapon or moves away), then attacks Bran. It bites and claws at him. 15 points after DR

Round 4
Mikail -35
Blue Barghest -41
Hobgoblins
Tal'ariel -15
Shishka
Seltazar
Thom
Bran -39
Green Barghest

Not Magic

Feeling the odd sensation of Seltazar's healing Mikail says a quick prayer to her goddess and feels the healing warmth creep into her wounded body. As this happens, she takes a swing at the beast that is right before her.

Fervor: 2d8 ⇒ (8, 8) = 16

Attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (5) + 11 = 16
Damage: 2d8 + 5 ⇒ (3, 3) + 5 = 11

miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 7

Mikail's sword misses, as the creature is able to dodge.
It still is in dire straits.
Concentration DC 21: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25
The barghest disappears.

The hobgoblin who regained his vision on the road begins to run (Orange moves 80' away).
Red moves up and attacks Shiska.
Longsword: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14
Black moves up and attacks Bran.
Longsword: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14
Neither is able to hit.
The two remaining hobgoblins hold their ground and try to shake off the blindness.
Pink Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16
Green Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Both remain blinded.

Round 4
Mikail -19
Hobgoblins
Tal'ariel -15
Shishka
Seltazar
Thom
Bran -39
Green Barghest

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (8) + 13 = 21. "The creature teleported away!" huffs Tal'ariel in frustration. She decides to select new targets.

First, she tries to tumble past one of the hobgoblins (black).
Acrobatics: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (9) + 13 = 22

She then tries to strike both the Barghest and hobgoblin in a deadly blow. Cleave
Attack, Haste, Flank, Inspire: 1d20 + 7 + 2 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 7 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 21; Damage, Sneak: 1d10 + 10 + 2d6 ⇒ (2) + 10 + (2, 4) = 18
Concealment, See Invisibility: 1d100 ⇒ 8

Unfortunately, the Barghest blinks out of existence! The surprise leaves her off-balance, meaning her followthrough strike has no hope of connecting.
AC22 this round.