Red Hand of Doom [E6] (Inactive)

Game Master Aldizog

The large cat continued to attack the lone Barghest.

Bite: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (3) + 14 = 17
Damage: 2d6 + 9 ⇒ (5, 4) + 9 = 18
Miss 01-50: 1d100 ⇒ 45 MISS

Bite (hasted): 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (5) + 14 = 19
Damage: 2d6 + 9 ⇒ (3, 5) + 9 = 17
Miss 01-50: 1d100 ⇒ 38 MISS

Claw1: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (6) + 14 = 20
Damage: 2d4 + 9 ⇒ (2, 2) + 9 = 13
Miss 01-50: 1d100 ⇒ 59

Claw2: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (3) + 14 = 17
Damage: 2d4 + 9 ⇒ (1, 1) + 9 = 11
Miss 01-50: 1d100 ⇒ 90

Bad dice!

My bad, Thom. The one near you teleported away. I had you move to the other one, but it's not a charge so you don't get the Pounce. Just the first attack, which was a miss.

Hmm... that could be... useful. I wonder....?

Whether out of curiosity or actual concern for the group and their mission, Seltazar attempts to bring down the creature's primary defense.

"Bran... you may want to hold on to the thing so that it does not... slide... away."

Cast dispel magic targetting the Blink effect.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (13) + 14 = 27
Dispel Check: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

Seltazar's spell succeeds, and the barghest stops blinking. It looks at the old elf with murderous intent.
Shishka and Bran are up!

Bran nods quickly and enters a rage, dropping the axe and moving in in an attempt to hold down the barghest.

Grapple: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (7) + 17 = 24
Raging Grapple Damage: 1d4 + 2d6 + 7 ⇒ (4) + (5, 4) + 7 = 20

Current AC: 19

With the fuse about to end, Shishka rolls her bomb toward the best spot she can to get as many of her enemies.

unfortunately just as he tosses it, Tal gets in her last radius.

5' step back and toss at the x on the map.
ranged attack vs 10: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25

damage 10' radius blast: 3d6 ⇒ (4, 5, 5) = 14
thats 4 bludgeoning damage, 5 points of piercing damage, and 5 points of fire damage. DC 15 reflex for half

that will catch red black and green also not sure if the grenade can do crit damage so did not bother to roll that. unfortunately Tal will be in the blast as well

Reflex: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28

Realizing her foolishness at moving toward the enemies Shishka's about to bomb, Tal'ariel leaps away at the last second and escapes unscathed! Sweet, sweet evasion.

The barghest is fast and strong, but Bran is able to grab hold of it. Its CMD is 22, so Rage, Haste, and Inspire Courage made the difference. He wrenches its neck, injuring it.
Concentration: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16
Surrounded, the fiend knows that even defeating this grappler won't save it. So it tries to escape. It concentrates for a second, and flickers, but remains in Bran's grasp.
Bran's unarmed strikes don't count as magical, do they?

Reflex Red: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15
Reflex Black: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Reflex Green: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23
Shishka's blast catches one of the hobgoblins full on; the other two are able to block some of the blast with their shields, and Tal'ariel is able to dodge entirely.

Round 5
Mikail -19
Hobgoblins (R -7, B -14, G -7)
Tal'ariel -15
Shishka
Seltazar
Thom
Bran -39
Green Barghest -15

They do not.

Mikail moves forward and strikes at the hobgoblin before her (green)

Attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13
Damage: 2d8 + 5 ⇒ (2, 3) + 5 = 10

Mikail's swing misses the hobgoblin as he dodges.
Two hobgoblins step to flank Tal'ariel and attack her.
Black, Flank: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 6 + 2 = 23
Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
Red, Flank: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 6 + 2 = 10
One manages to hit (due to her Cleave attempt making her AC 22).
The one on the road tries to flee, blinded.
The last one is blinded and tries to strike back at Mikail, but doesn't even come close.
Green: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

The two remaining blinded ones try to shake off the Glitterdust.
Pink Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 = 17
Green Will: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16
The one on the road actually makes it.

Round 5
Mikail -19
Hobgoblins (R -7, B -14, G -7)
Tal'ariel -18
Shishka
Seltazar
Thom
Bran -39
Green Barghest -15

"Now you're in trouble," says Tal'ariel, shrugging off the hobgoblins' blows as the barghest's invisibility disperses. Sliding to get on the other side of the barghest from Thom, Tal'ariel launches a flurry of strikes aided by Seltazar's magic.

Curve Blade, Flank, Haste, Inspire: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30; Damage: 1d10 + 10 + 2d6 ⇒ (4) + 10 + (4, 5) = 23
Crit?: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15; Damage: 1d10 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13
Curve Blade, Flank, Haste, Inspire: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (12) + 11 = 23; Damage: 1d10 + 10 + 2d6 ⇒ (2) + 10 + (5, 1) = 18

If the Barghest dies, Tal'ariel's attacks continue on to the hobgoblin next to her.

Cleaving Finish?: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26; Damage: 1d10 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16

Tal'ariel's mighty sword finishes off the barghest, and then the hobgoblin.

Bran drops the corpse of the barghest and pummels the nearby hobgoblin with a flurry of cestus punches to the kidneys; hoping to get around the shields and find a weak spot.

Attack: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (11) + 15 = 26
Haste: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (13) + 15 = 28
Iterative: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21

Damage 1: 1d4 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
Damage 1: 1d4 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
Damage 1: 1d4 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10

Bran makes short work of the hobgoblin next to him. One left in melee range.

With a roar the tiger bounds toward the closest hobgoblin and tried to take a chunk out of him with his razor lined jaws

Bite: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (2) + 14 = 16
Damage: 2d6 + 9 ⇒ (6, 5) + 9 = 20

Since you are attacking his flat-footed AC, with an extra +2 to hit since he is blinded, that hits exactly, on a 2! You weren't flanking on the map but with Haste could easily have gotten to a square where you were.
Thom's feline jaws crush the hobgoblin.

Will you chase after the two that fled or tend to your wounds? There is fairly little chance of catching the barghest, most likely.

We're chasing with Haste. A shame the barghest gets away to potentially inform the outpost.

Even though the Haste only lasts a few seconds longer (6 round duration), Tal'ariel is able to catch the nearby one and Bran is able to chase down the one that fled earlier (base 40' move). When caught, they fight to the death, but it is over quickly.
I'm moving things along without wasting time on interrogating the grunts. These ones won't surrender, and it's a war. You could beat them unconscious and then interrogate them, but then you'd still end up killing them after a period of captivity and not much information. More merciful to give them a clean death - and even if they don't deserve that mercy, you are the good guys (well, most of you).
Now, if an enemy decides to surrender, maybe offering information, that'll be a different story. But taking prisoners through non-lethal damage is not going to be necessary.

So. You've defeated six hobgoblins. Each has a MW longsword, a composite longbow (+2 Str bonus), and chainmail. The two barghests don't have gear.

The last barghest could be anywhere, and is both fast and stealthy. It is about an hour before dawn. You can start your day if you want. The casters can change prepared spells (if Tal'ariel wanted to prep See Invisibility or Thom wanted to re-prep Bull's Strength), but the Recent Casting Limit applies. You won't get back the expended spell slots until the next day.

What now?

The old elf sighs and shakes his head. "I do not think this will get any easier the closer we get. Perhaps we will die the next time."

His comment is very nonchalant. With a grim smile, Seltazar moves to the others and checks for wounds. Invoking the cold healing power of his patron again, he mends some, but not all of the wounds on the others.

Healing Hex @Bran: 2d8 + 6 ⇒ (2, 2) + 6 = 10
Healing Hex @Tal'ariel: 2d8 + 6 ⇒ (4, 3) + 6 = 13
CLW@Bran x2: 2d8 + 10 ⇒ (8, 5) + 10 = 23
CLW@Mikael x2: 2d8 + 10 ⇒ (6, 1) + 10 = 17

Bran heals 33, Mikael 17, Tal'ariel 13

Wide awake Thom prepared a light breakfast over the embers of the campfire. After, the druid packed his minimal gear and was ready to start out once again.

Going to keep the spells the same and expend bull's strength

Hey, I've been shortchanging myself a spell of each level! I've now fixed that on my profile. Also, is Thom's HP accurate?

Tal'ariel, as she is wont to do, doesn't hesitate to call on some Infernal Magics to heal the remainder of her wounds. Can't be worse than whatever Seltazar does she thinks to herself.

Infernal Healing wand, 42 charges remain.

Nope, Thanks.

Expending a round of rage to chase, otherwise he would be fatigued.

"Thank you for the healing magic Seltazar; though truthfully I could do without all of the doom. We made it out alive, and more importantly we survived an attack at night by a bunch of teleporting hounds and armed guards. I feel that isn't that bad."

It is about 10 miles to the roadblock. This would take about 2 hours on your horses at an easy clip, although you could make it in 1 if you hustled.
How do you wish to proceed?
Approach openly and ready for battle?
Send one or more scouts with Stealth to look at it first?
Try to all use Stealth and see how close you can get before being observed?

Shishka seems rather pleased at her handiwork. did you guys see that boom? that was better than I expected, I mean it really worked this time!

Shishka gets her gear together after a short rest, we gonna keep moving now? I think we need to get to this Rhest place, right?

"Thank you for the healing magic Seltazar; though truthfully I could do without all of the doom. We made it out alive, and more importantly we survived an attack at night by a bunch of teleporting hounds and armed guards. I feel that isn't that bad."

The old elf smiles quietly. "I am not being dramatic... merely... realistic. But I have been wrong before."

Seltazar shrugs and moves on. "Perhaps we should take some care as we approach. Certainly having the advantage over the hobgoblins next time would improve our chances."

Before his companions eyes Thom transformed back into his natural form. After some consideration he suggested, "Aye, we should scout the place out we don't want to go in blindly." With his customary grin he continued, "I can become a wee little bird and scout from the air and get a birds eye view of the place."

Shishka seems rather pleased at her handiwork. did you guys see that boom? that was better than I expected, I mean it really worked this time!

Tal'ariel nods energetically. "Let me tell you--that was almost too effective! Your gnomish alchemy is nearly the equal of magical fire!" Her enthusiasm is genuine, though it would seem she implicitly thinks elvish magic is superior.

When the conversation moves to scouting, Tal'ariel nods. "They'll be expecting some sort of attack thanks to the escaped barghest. Some stealthy scouting is in order, and while I am stealthy, I am no equal to one who could take the appearance of a bird."

"Be wary Thom...they seem to be well appointed with users of magic and magical beasts."

"Yes we were all pretty effective, though I feel we should take things slowly as Seltazar suggests. If we can get the jump on them, understand their fortifications and weaknesses, we can exploit them and save a lot of trouble. If you're confidant Thom you can scout ahead solo, I can wait for your return." He hears Mikail's comment, "Just be wary of those dragonkin, who knows what they can sense and smell."

He takes a quiet moment, "The barghest will inform them of us if it decides they're worth telling, we need to assume they know of us now."

Thom is easily able to locate the enemy.

Up ahead, a crude, ten-foot-high palisade of logs has been erected across the road, extending forty feet to either side and completely blocking all passage. A squat, twenty-foot guardtower looms in the middle of the palisade. Two hobgoblin archers are on the top floor of the guard tower. A third hobgoblin with them seems to be shouting order at them and pointing down the road.

Outside the tower, but within the palisade, stand three ogres -- two on one side and one on the other. There are barrels of spears near the ogres. Every now and then, an ogre steps up onto the packed earth against the wall, glancing over the palisade (which is otherwise about as tall as the ogres are). The barghest is in the yard with the single ogre.

None of the enemy take any notice of a small bird flying around.

Map is up, with the enemies that Thom can see. Some could be inside the tower as well.

Thom quickly flew back to his companions and transformed back into his true form. "The Barghest is there along with two ogres," The druid quickly relayed along with the layout and other pertinent information.

The old elf raises an eyebrow and chants a brief spell before looking to Bran with a quiet smile.

"So... what is your plan?"

Cast False Life.

False Life: 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

Tal'ariel is seen sharpening her sword in anticipation. "Nice work, Thom! So how close can we get without being seen?"

Does anyone have Invisibility or Vanish, even on a scroll?
Otherwise, with Mikail's -6 Stealth (with her shield slung on her back; +1 Dex, -5 ACP, and -2 Angelic Flesh) an opponent with even +4 Perception would see her at 100' on average.

Yeah, she was not made for stealth...and maybe that might work in our favor...

Mikail steps forward and, smiling, gestures to all her armor and equipment.

"I will not be able to sneak up on the roadblock, but maybe I can distract them a bit. They will see me coming from quite the distance, so maybe I let them and try to keep their attention while the rest of you flank them. That would give some of you a chance at surprise. What do you think?"

There's a potion of invisibility kicking around, but no matter.

"At 100 feet, I can start laying down Glitterdust on the area, and Seltazar probably has his own tricks. With Haste, we could close the gap in seconds. But then we need some way to deal with the high walls. Shishka, I don't suppose you have anything specially designed for blowing through a gate?"

Thom runs his fingers through his beard as he suggested, "I can turn back into a bird and cast a couple of fog spells within the walls of the palisade to distract the defenders while the party approaches." He pause and continued with a smile, "While they cant see through the fog I will be able to and could even attack them to create more confusion."

Some good ideas you have.

The stockade wall wouldn't be as easy to climb as a typical tree (DC 15), nor as difficult as a finished wooden wall (DC 25). Somewhere in between. You also have Enlarge Person; I'm going to say that a Large creature can clamber over the wall as a full-round action with no check required, or vault over the wall as a move action with a DC 15 Acrobatics check. Bran, we've established, can clear 10' in a running leap.

The stockade would be difficult to break; each log is about a foot thick, so at 10 hp/inch that would take a while. I don't believe Shishka has anything in her arsenal that does 120 hp damage in a blast. But she has something else for dealing with walls and gates...

There is also a large set of double doors facing the road in each direction. You can't tell how these are secured inside the tower.

"Plan? Um well..." He hadn't really thought this through, but that was no matter, he could see the gears in his comrades turning, all he had to do was keep the morale up like the gnome did, "We have some good ideas. We just need to remember that those ogres are big and frankly shouldn't be tangled with in melee if we can avoid it."

He hears about the gate, "I might be able to break the front door open for us, but its a bit of a longshot." He stops mid sentence and looks at Shishka, "Longshot. Your grappling hook was it? Can that help the rest of them get over the wall?" He turns to the aasimar, "I don't mind working with Mikail to divert their attention while you get into position, I can probably scale that wall no problem if I was large."

The Kurgite pulls out a small flask, "And this can give me a slight edge as well. Supposed to give you the strength of a bear, or was it a bull? Thom said it was safe enough."

Sorry, had some heavy work load lately.

Shishka had been contemplating what she is up against. but suddenly her ears perk p as her grappling hook is recognized.

Yeah, this thing will be of great use. Also I can toss a few bombs over the walls, maybe create some sort of distraction.

Shiska pulls out her grapple hook gun. I will need to get close to the wall to use this. where would be the best spot?

She draws out a little map in the dirt from what a little birdy told her about the place.

"Sounds like, I'll fly in and create cover with fog. While you all advance and get over the wall I'll soften them up with some lightening and other forces of nature. " He shakes his head in approval and warns, "Just make sure you approach from the west and wait until the western portion of the palisade is covered in fog before you move. You should all be able to get over the wall there with the grappling hook."

He claps his large hands together as he concludes, "No need to use yourselves as bait or a distraction."

If the party agrees he will cast barkskin on himself and bulls strength [using his pearl of power] on Mikail. He will then transform into a tiny bird and from 150 feet in the air cast Fog cloud [range 160'] twice on the center portion (west side) of the palisade and fly down into the mist and cast obscuring mist twice [range 20] on the west portion of the palisade (these are all domain spells that I cast spontaneously). This should be enough to cover the entire west-side of the small fort. Once that is done I'll start casting sleet storm or call lightening.

"That sound like an excellent plan. I can also bless the group before we move out into battle, allowing all to benefit of Iomedae's favor."

Bless will last 7 minutes and give everyone +1 to hit and saves

Sounds like a plan. I'll give 12 hours for anyone else to weigh in and change anything, then move ahead.
A few notes:
A Tiny bird would be perhaps a raven. Fairly large as birds go, so after a few rounds they might notice you - but the fog should help.
Fog Cloud is 20' radius, and the west palisade yard is 40' x 20'. Centering the cloud in the yard would get almost everything except the very corners with a single spell. I've made a template and put it on the map. If anybody knows where to find background-less templates to use, let me know. Or can remove the white background from an image - I don't have much in the way of graphics software. This template is just line segments I drew myself.
Obscuring Mist is centered on you initially, although stationary once cast.
Weather today is: 1d100 ⇒ 90 inclement.
Great for Call Lightning! It is cloudy and windy (though still warm), with rain threatening. You'll get 3d10 per bolt.

"I... will get myself over the wall. Hmmm... your armor doesn't likely help while you are a bird. I have an answer."

The old elf chants a spell on Thom.

Cast Mage Armor on Thom. Seltazar will activate his flight hex when the party begins to move in. Also, I can remove white from an image if you need. Just link me the image and it doesn't take long at all.

"Good, it seems we have a plan." Tal'ariel hopes to cast the following spells prior to combat if possible:

-Protection from Arrows on Thom (DR10/magic vs ranged weapons, 50 HP, lasts hours so should be fine)
-Enlarge Person on Bran (lasts 5 minutes)
-Long Arm on herself (lasts 5 minutes)
-Shield wand on herself (lasts 1 minute)

In that order of priority.

"Lets get to it then." He finishes the potion with a quick gulp and hops up and down a few times, "I need more of these, ha!"
Bull's Strength, CL3 (minimum)

Thom changes back into a bird and flies off. You are all about 100' down the road, around a bend and hidden by trees.
After a short time you hear a deep voice, probably an ogre, roaring in alarm.
Thom: the west palisade is now covered with Fog Cloud. You can assume you cast Call Lightning ahead of time if you want. So you could start calling bolts, or cast another Fog Cloud or a Sleet Storm. For the time being, the archers and sergeant on top of the central tower are looking around, mostly up and down the road.

Because Shishka's turn isn't going to affect it, I'll have the Barghest go. It uses Blink and moves into the tower. Likewise, Tal'ariel's turn probably isn't going to affect the sergeant (she can't see him), so he takes his action.

High above the tower the raven flys its cawing is followed by the top of the tower being covered in fog. The feathered Druid swoops lower toward the fort.

120 ft high when he cast the spell and will down with his move action to 60. Good point he would have cast call lightening before combat. Also posting from phone and can’t move the template.