RttToEE [3.5 D&D] (Inactive)

Game Master Stiehle

Seeing a more powerful version of the previous monster blocking the exit from the cavern, Jekka moves over by ???? and calls on one of his more useful illusions, drawing the colors from his own image and sending a blinding surge at the monster, then disappearing.

Casting Blinding Color Surge at the Hulk. DC14 Will save or it is blind for one round, and I'm invisible for 7 rounds or 'til I attack.

The cleric growled, and the cried out.

"By the power of the cudgel!"

He then stepped forward, and smashed his morningstar towards the creature.

Attack with smite: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (7) + 12 = 191d8 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 10 = 18

OOC: Smiting for +4 to hit and +7 on damage.
AC 22, or 21 flat-footed.

Ayla charges the Umber Hulk with her 6 and a half foot long Fullblade

Attack(Charge): 1d20 + 12 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 12 + 2 = 33 Crit
Damage(Adamant): 2d8 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (2, 5) + 9 + 1 = 17

Crit: 1d20 + 12 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 12 + 2 = 15 Likely Nope
Damage(Adamant): 2d8 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (1, 8) + 9 + 1 = 19

AC: 20:11:20 for the round due to charge

Freeday, 28th day of Fireseek, 593 C.Y.
First day underground.
Early in the day, the party has been exploring for about three hours.

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Addis backs away from the horror and fires a couple of bolts at the creature both of them finding the mark! (18 damage). Jekka casts a spell that he hopes will blind the creature, but it appears to resist the gnome’s magic – though at least Jekka knows he is invisible to the monster. Maximus beats his chest and moves swiftly to engage the umber hulk, tearing at it with a clawed hand but missing by a few inches. The massive umber hulk unleashes a devastating attack upon the large gorilla companion of the druidess, clawing and slashing with its scimitar-like mandibles (58 damage), taking the formidable Maximus down in an instant! Ayla charges the creature with his heavy blade, slashing a nasty wound along its bulbous forearm!

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Combat Map

Travel Map (Crater Ridge Mines)

Map History of the Crater Ridge Mines

Just as a heads-up Addiz, you can roll your own dice on this board AND move yourself on the map, if you’d like! I’m happy to do it on your behalf if you prefer, but rolling your own dice is one of the cooler features of this board! :) I don’t have Loren’s post yet, and as her companion is down and dying I figure she might do something about that. Phaligast hasn’t posted either, and Jamarkis has an issue I need him to look at first, so I adjusted the initiative order a bit so that everyone can now post their actions for Round 2 as though those three delayed until the top of the next round – which didn’t affect anything.

Loren curses the situration and swopes down causing herself harm as she heals Maximus wounds

using her stigmata feat she will do 6 pts of con damage to her self to heal Maximus 18 hp. for the next hour she can touch 5 more people and heal team 3 hp per level they have. Maximus can not benefit from this again during this activation

Seeing the big ape being torn into by the hulking monster, Addiz resolves to stay away from it and fires again.

Fire repeating handcrossbow: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (7) + 14 = 21
Damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Fire repeating handcrossbow: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17
Damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

Seeing the great ape put down so quickly terrifies Jekka. Knowing he'd likely be nothing but strands of flesh hanging from the claws he carefully moves to get a good position to shoot from and readies his crossbow.

Move Silent: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (14) + 18 = 32

Crossbow shot: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15 Any bonus for being invisible?
Damage: 1d6 + 3d6 ⇒ (4) + (6, 2, 4) = 16 The 2d6 is sneak attack damage

Freeday, 28th day of Fireseek, 593 C.Y.
First day underground.
Early in the day, the party has been exploring for about three hours.

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Jamarkis swings his heavy morningstar, but the armor-like carapace of the creature sheds the blow! Phaligast sends four magic missiles at the umber hulk, and they smash into its chest without causing too much apparent harm. Loren summons her martyr magic and begins to bleed terribly, but her self-sacrifice allows her to heal her faithful companion. Addiz keeps her distance from the creature, but fires again – one of her bolts lodging into its flesh and the other bouncing off its shell. Jekka takes a shot with his crossbow, but the bolt also deflects off the umber hulk’s formidable exoskeleton! Maximus rouses from unconsciousness, but makes no move to attack just yet.

The umber hulk finds a new foe in the raging barbarian and tears into Ayla with one of its claws and the slashing mandibles, nearly bringing her down (66 HP damage!)

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Combat Map

Travel Map (Crater Ridge Mines)

Map History of the Crater Ridge Mines

Party is up! I adjusted the initiative order again to make it easier to interpret, so now the Umber Hulk acts last and everyone else can act before it does in the current round.Addiz, your repeating crossbow has one shot left, then it must be reloaded. Jekka, you get +2 to attack and the target is flat-footed – unfortunately that wasn’t enough… :( Loren, I didn’t want to imperil Maximus without your posting the action. He is prone and only at 16 HP, obviously. Let me know if he is going to attack from prone, stand and draw an AoO then attack, or lay there quietly for a bit longer. Yes, this combat is rather deadly, in case you hadn’t noticed…

Ayla continues at it with her Fullblade

Attack: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (5) + 12 = 17 boo
Damage(Adamant): 2d8 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (8, 6) + 9 + 1 = 24

AC: 22:13:22

The cleric frowned in irritation, and tried a healing spell for Ayla.

OOC: Cast defensively, burn divine power for cure critical wounds.

Concentration: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 20
Cure Critical Wounds: 4d8 + 7 ⇒ (8, 7, 4, 3) + 7 = 29

Horrified at the sudden and bloody turn of events, Phaligast considers casting a damaging spell, but then clumsily reconsiders... the path to the massive beast is very cluttered with his allies. "Well" the gnome says to himself, "this worked before..." He begins casting.

OOC: Casting another phantasmal killer at the monster.

Will then Fortitude saves (DC 21). If the Fort. save succeeds, then...

Phantasmal Killer damage: 3d6 ⇒ (2, 2, 1) = 5

Loren flies over to porch on Ayla's shoulder healing her wounds

she receives 15 hp from the stigmata.

Seeing the terrible power of the creature Jekka scoots across behind Ayla and casts another Blinding Color Surge at the beast.

Will save DC14 or it is blind for one round, and I am invisible again....

Addiz sees it is not going well for her newfound companions (protectors?). She rushes to the side while drawing a wand from her belt, and then, right past Jamarkis, a lightning bolt appears and tears into the umber hulk.

I moved my character myself on the map (first time) did I do it ok?
Dex save DC ??? (9th level caster)
lightning bolt: 9d6 ⇒ (1, 6, 1, 6, 4, 2, 6, 2, 4) = 32 electrical damage

Freeday, 28th day of Fireseek, 593 C.Y.
First day underground.
Early in the day, the party has been exploring for about three hours.

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Ayla swings her massive sword but misses, perhaps because of the blood that clouds her vision. Jamarkis focuses on a spell and gives the barbarian some much-needed healing. Phaligast casts a spell, hoping it is as successful as the time he used it last, but this time he is disappointed as the creature only pauses for a moment, then shudders and shakes its head as though dismissing the vision. Loren swoops in to heal Ayla as well, but the druid-turned-hawk is within the umber hulk’s reach and it reaches out to claw at her, but just misses as the sharp talon only harmlessly brushes against one of her feathers! Addiz steps forward and draws her wand, then sends a bolt of lightning streaking past Jamarkis (who can feel his hair stand on end and smell the sharp tang of ozone in the air) and into the beast! The creature roars and staggers back a step, its multi-faceted eyes fixing on the elf – though she notices something… odd about its eyes. They seem to be dull and not quite looking directly at her. As though it doesn’t quite see her specifically... Jekka casts a spell to blind it, and then the gnome too notices the same thing that Addiz just saw. Is it blind already? He thinks so… Perhaps this is what saves Maximus, for the big ape doesn’t move, heeding Loren’s wishes for it to remain still for the time being.

The umber hulk continues to claw at Ayla and takes her down (49 HP damage) before turning its attention to Jamarkis, wounded the cleric badly with its slashing mandibles (26 HP damage!)

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Combat Map

Travel Map (Crater Ridge Mines)

Map History of the Crater Ridge Mines

Party is up! I’m sorry Ayla, this was just a horrible combat to bring you into! But at least you’re only at -1 and dying instead of slashed to ribbons, right? Addiz, that looks good to me, since the target is 15’ tall you can shoot the lightning bolt over Jamarkis’ head – though normally he would have been standing in the line of fire if your opponent was Medium or Large. Also, that umber hulk has a reach of 15’, so it was able to take an AoO against Loren when she flew within its reach to heal Ayla. But that hawk form has a darn good AC! Also, realized I made a mistake with its gaze attack as I should have had you all rolling saves just by looking at it, unless you averted your gaze. In any case, I had already determined it was a very old umber hulk, so I’m just taking away its confusing gaze ability (figure it has cataracts or something) and giving it blindsense instead. So that’s mostly good news for you all, but bad news for Jekka’s spell! But now you DO realize it’s blind, so post your next actions accordingly.

Addiz considers what she just learned for a short moment, seeing the two persons downed in a few seconds, and takes a quick step back and to the side.
Again she blasts from her wand! This was not a time for risks.

Still don't know Save DC (Caster Level 9), Dex Save
Lighting Bolt: 9d6 ⇒ (3, 5, 5, 1, 3, 2, 4, 2, 2) = 27

DC of the wand depends on the spell level and the minimum ability modifier required to create the wand. So, in this instance, Lightning Bolt is a 3rd level spell requiring a minimum of 13 INT to cast. So the formula here is 10 + 3 (spell level) + 1 (modifier for 13 INT) = DC 14. Obviously wands tend to have a sucky DC because of this, which probably keep them from being overpowered. At least I think that's how it works, given what I read in the DMG.

Realizing that the invisibility doesn't matter with the beast being blind Jekka notices that it does seem to notice everyone. He carefully loads and fires his crossbow trying to maintain stealth for a sneak attack.

Not sure how Blind sight works but trying to remain stealthy until I fire so the creature doesn't get his DEX against my attack and sneak attack applies. Roll for Hide? Move Silent? 3.5 doesn't have a stealth skill....

Hide: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (19) + 23 = 42
Move Silent: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (2) + 18 = 20

To hit: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23
damage: 1d6 + 3d6 ⇒ (6) + (3, 2, 2) = 13 [ooc]The 3d6 is sneak[/dice]

It depends on how the blindsight works. If it depends on hearing then Move Silently works, if it works on smell, stinking cloud might work, etc...

Agreed that Move Silent would work against a foe with Blindsense. Unfortunately, this beast has Tremorsense as well... I'll have to look up the rules and see how that works. I'm thinking you can't sneak past this guy so long as you're in contact with the ground, but I could be wrong.

The cleric frowned and pulled out a scroll, and started reading it whilst carefully using the same tricks as he did to cast spells defensively.

OOC: Take out scroll, read it casting defensively. Summon Monster IV: Celestial Lion.

Would prefer to give up use of morning star till next round, though can accept losing use of shield instead. Spell completion only standard action.

cast defensively: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (16) + 12 = 28

Hmm.... I can't fly, so it sounds like there's no way to get a sneak attack against this blind enemy! :) So just the regular damage if the attack hit!

Freeday, 28th day of Fireseek, 593 C.Y.
First day underground.
Early in the day, the party has been exploring for about three hours.

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Ayla continues to bleed out as Jamarkis begins to read a scroll he pulls from its tube, doing his best to avoid the sweeping mandibles and claws of the monster before him. Jamarkis looses his shield so he can grab a scroll that will summon an extra-planar ally and Phaligast tries again with the same spell, hoping to frighten the monster to death. He sees a small misty figure – quite small actually – appear before the massive umber hulk and the creature shies away convulsively, but then the tiny form reaches out and touches the monster and the umber hulk shudders once before falling dead to the cavern floor, nearly crushing Ayla, though Jamarkis is able to grab her body and move her at the last moment!

The cave is silent as death, save for the ragged breaths of the victorious adventurers…

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Combat Map

Travel Map (Crater Ridge Mines)

Map History of the Crater Ridge Mines

Well done folks, that was a very nasty opponent! Since Phaligast had a second Phantasmal Killer spell memorized and I had to NPC him I just went with his last posted action and had him try again - and his specialization in illusion magic was just barely enough to get past the formidable Fort save of the umber hulk! Just for the record Jamarkis, per the move action rules, you had to loose your shield as a move action in order to have a free hand to use the scroll and then ready the scroll itself from your haversack (neither of which drew an AoO) with a move action – but those two actions did take your entire action this round. Next round you could have cast the spell as a full-round action (it’s a 1 round casting time, even from a scroll) and then you’re your summoned monster would have appeared at the beginning of your turn on the following round. But as Phaligast’s second crack at giving the umber hulk a fatal heart attack worked quite nicely, your scroll is in hand and still intact. I’m figuring you’re healing Ayla, just let me know what resources you’re using to do so and make the needed rolls – but you can all post now and I’ll do the HP once I see some healing rolls from you.[/ooc]

Addiz is glad that she did not need another shot of her wand and is also glad to learn that her companions are still alive.
She quickly goes over the dead body of the umber hulk, checking for clothing-like structures to see if it was carrying something (hopefully of value), and to find where her adamantine bolts are lodged, hopefully still in one piece, each.

She then carefully reloads the clip of her repeating hand crossbow.
Before they go back from this dead-end, she at least throws a good glance into the pit-trap the creature came from.

Jekka stares for several seconds as the behemoth shudders and dies from the deadly illusion, then gets to the more realistic task of searching the area for anything of interest or value. "So, does anyone know whether or not these things are intelligent enough to hoard treasure? Or perhaps hide the more valuable items? Good to know when searching an area like this, in a pit and such...."

Search: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (4) + 12 = 16 Hmm.... Guess I'm distracted by wondering whether or not these might be more....

Loren reverts to her human form as she bends over her fallen comrade channeling the healing powers of nature into her to close the wounds

cure moderate wounds: 2d8 + 5 ⇒ (1, 3) + 5 = 9

We need to consider finding a place to rest and heal up our friends.

Thank you...

Ayla slowly gets up
"That sucker can hit like a white dragon."

Jekka glances around "This looks like a dead end, and as a powerful monster's lair it probably is avoided by anything intelligent. Likely as safe as any place else that we could find...."

Unless there are more?

Oh, there's all sorts of gold and trinkets scattered around the place. Per my earlier post prior to the combat... "Bones lie scattered among the fungi in this cave, some so old that the fungus grows over them as much or more than on the stones. Jekka’s sharp eyes note piles of treasure spread throughout the room, to the limit of his vision. Coins are scattered about carelessly, a great number of them – several hundred at least, though the color is lost to his darkvision. He also sees a small statue and what might be a couple of gems or jewels as well…" I'll go into more detail about what you get once I'm back to my usual posting after the New Year! And yes, this place is a dead end and seems a decent (if gruesome...) enough place to rest. It doesn't seem like this giant umber hulk lair was disturbed very much by whatever else lurks in these vast caverns.

Seeing the various, possibly valuable items scattered around the floor Jekka casts Detect Magic and scans the area. "Does anyone have light? I can see things fine but need light to see what color things are.... Gold? Silver? Platinum perhaps!?!"

Starday, 1st day of Readying, 593 C.Y.
Festival of St. Bane – Attempts to turn undead on this date receive a +1 bonus to the cleric or paladin’s level.
Second day underground.
Early in the day, the party has been exploring for about 0 hours.

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With the umber hulk dead, the adventurers take a look around the cave strewn with the treasure garnered by the massive creature. Bones and skulls lie scattered about along with rotted clothing and backpacks as well as rusted weapons and armor. Whatever loot the monster had accumulated was obviously a byproduct of the many victims that fell to the deadly umber hulk. A goodly number of gold and silver coins (as well as some copper) are pulled from the midden after several hours of laborious work, along with a small emerald in a rotted bag, a jeweled brooch pinned to a cloak that is moldy and rather disgusting in general, a pair of candlesticks made of gold found in a damp half-rotted backpack, and a copper statue of a dwarf warrior clutched in the skeletal hand of one that likely belonged to that stone-delving race. There is also a simple ring that radiates a magic aura to Jekka’s eyes, Spellcraft Check: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16 but the gnome is unable to determine its properties – though he knows that the school of magic is that of transmutation.

Deciding that the cave would make a good place to rest, the party settles in and goes about binding their wounds, cleaning their weapons and involving themselves in other mundane tasks – all the while trying to ignore the huge corpse of the umber hulk and the faint smell of decay that permeates the cavern. All in all, their rest isn’t terribly pleasant, but it is sufficient for spellcasters to memorize their spells and to use spells (including Loren’s sacrificial healing magic) and natural healing to take care of their wounds. Those with religious backgrounds realize that this day is the first day of the month of Readying, a date known as the Festival of St. Bane when their powers brought against the evil undead will be particularly potent! Feeling invigorated and ready to move on (especially to get away from the awful smell!), the adventurers prepare to continue their exploration of the Cavern Ridge Mines, seeking a way to access the central island where the mysterious Doomdreamers reside.

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Combat Map

Travel Map (Crater Ridge Mines)

Map History of the Crater Ridge Mines

Back from the break! The treasure list is below, and the items noted are the ones that you plucked from the junk after about three hours of hard work. I do use the Pathfinder rules for determining the powers of magical items, but the Spellcraft dice result wasn’t quite enough to do the trick. I do also allow experimentation if you want to try the ring on and make a fool of yourself trying to figure it out! Otherwise someone else can have a crack at it or you can use Identify to give you a boost to your roll (as per the Pathfinder rules for that spell.) Feel free to roll your own Spellcraft check if you’d like on the day prior to this one if you have Detect Magic memorized and available. Jamarkis has plenty of healing available, so figured he’d use it to heal Ayla and Maximus, so you are all at full HP – though Loren still has some CON damage that can be taken care of using Lesser Restoration (I didn’t see anybody with that particular spell memorized and available.) Also, note that the Greyhawk calendar I use (link at the top of this post) notes that ‘today’ is the Festival of St. Bane, when attempts to turn undead will receive a +1 bonus to the cleric or paladin’s level. A late Christmas gift for you all!

1,233 gp
1,546 sp
Gem (value – 50gp)
Jeweled brooch (value – 150gp)
Copper statue of a dwarf warrior (value – 100gp)
2 golden candlesticks (value – 100gp each)
Magical ring with a faint transmutation aura (unknown power)

"Can I have a look at that ring?" Addiz asks, "I am trained in the use of magic, I might be able to determine what it does..."

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (10) + 13 = 23

Addiz is able to identify the simple leather cord as a Magical Ring of Climbing

"Meh. This ring does not help me, really."
"We should save this ring for when we need some rough climbing; who sucks at climbing?" she looks around the group of newfound friends.

Jekka grins at the comment about climbing. "I do my best to avoid needing to climb...."

Once the party is ready to move he takes the lead, back to the previous caves and the other tunnel.
Back through 33 -> 31 to the stepped passage, up? I'll move ahead of the lights carried by the party.

Hide: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (20) + 23 = 43
Move Silent: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (5) + 18 = 23
Spot: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 20

Phaligast makes sure the lantern is held high -- or as high as is reasonable -- and follows a safe distance from Jekka.

OOC: Happy new year everybody! Glad to be back with all of you.

"I'm good on climbing, but let's look for more treasure.."

Move Silently: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19
Hide: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
Spot: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10
Listen: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

Ayla moves quietly, but her stature and gear make it hard to hide as she moves

Starday, 1st day of Readying, 593 C.Y.
Festival of St. Bane – Attempts to turn undead on this date receive a +1 bonus to the cleric or paladin’s level.
Second day underground.
Early in the day, the party has been exploring for about 0 hours.

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After Loren uses her druid magic to heal herself of the damage she’s taken, the party heads out, with Phaligast holding the lantern as Jekka slinks off to scout ahead, Ayla keeping an eye on the gnome to watch for signals to stop or move forward – utilizing his dragonborn darkvision to do so. Climbing the natural stone stairs, Jekka pauses for a moment, then signals the party forward to behold a cave (Area 35) that contains the desiccated corpse of another umber hulk. Its black, armor-plated skin and long claws are all that remains of its humanoid form – for its head has been removed. Jekka moves on through the silent but otherwise empty cavern and into the passage that exits roughly in a southeasterly direction, followed a short time later by the others. After the tunnel widens from ten feet to a bit more than twenty feet for a short distance, the corridor narrows again and bends sharply south. Jekka eases past the corner and then stops abruptly, motioning for the others behind him to stop and remain still.

The cavern (Area 36) that stretches before the gnome is roughly fifty feet wide and forty feet deep, though it bulges a bit further than that to his right. Another passage can be seen on the far side of the cave, exiting south. In the central potion of the cave bulging off to the southwest is an offal-filled pit packed with animal bones and dung. Two enormous trolls squat near the pit, chewing on the remains of a meal. The one furthest is sitting on one of two patches of uprooted, dead fungus that appear to have been shaped into rough nests or the like. Neither of the creatures appear to have noticed Jekka yet…

Lesser Restoration: 1d4 ⇒ 4 = 4 CON healed

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Combat Map

Travel Map (Crater Ridge Mines)

Map History of the Crater Ridge Mines

Loren, I’m figuring you cast Lesser Restoration on yourself to cure those CON points, so I rolled the d4 myself. You’re only 1 down, which doesn’t have any effect (modifier is still +3), so I didn’t have you cast a second time. Also, I made a note about Hide and Spot checks in the OOC forum after seeing the comments from Jekka and Ayla. Go ahead and just roll those only from now on if you’re scouting ahead (no need for Move Silently or Search). Usually Jekka is the only one moving well ahead of the party (30’ or so?) and I’ll figure Ayla is keeping an eye on him using his Darkvision for signals to halt or move forward. I’ve got the presumed marching order below, let me know if you’d like me to change it up. So unless someone plans to move alongside the gnome, don’t bother with rolling those, as you’ll be far enough back that it shouldn’t matter. If it does, I’ll ask for the rolls or just make them myself on your behalf. Jekka, let me know what you do!

Marching Order

10' corridor:
......Jekka
......[30’]
Ayla......Maximus
Addiz......Loren
......Phaligast
......Jamarkis

5' corridor:
Jekka
[30’]
Ayla
Maximus (squeezing rules apply)
Loren
Addiz
Phaligast
Jamarkis

Ayla whispers quietly back to the group when seeing Jekka pause at the cavern
"Oh seems Jekka may of found some trouble a head of us."

Seeing the trolls, Jekka pauses for just long enough to verify that they don't seem to have noticed him, and to signal back to the team.
He carefully backs away motioning for the others to back away for discussion.

Hide: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (5) + 23 = 28

Getting back to the group he very quietly informs them, "Two very large trolls ahead, having lunch. Unfortunately I don't have a fireball or three to hit them...."

Ayla adds in a quiet voice
"Oh great, two things that are hard to kill and use you like a club if need be.
At least after lunch they won't be as hungry, if we're lucky they might be sluggish, like after eating a turkey meal."

Jekka gets back to the others without being noticed by the trolls and reports as to what he saw. Now they need a plan...

"Do you think we can handle them? I have nothing that will burn them..." Addiz says quietly. "I might have something to set them up against each other, but that could also make it worse."

"My magic is illusion, enchantment and a little divination. Not very useful against these things I fear. And they'll just regenerate any hurt my little sticker or crossbow could do."

Ayla adds quietly
"I could breath fire on them, but that is a one time thing.
Couldn't we just go back to town and buy everything we need?"

The cleric looks thoughtful.

"My magic is mainly of a buffing variety. I can make myself or my allies more powerful, but little in the way of direct damage. Nevertheless, we do need to deal with the trolls at some point, do we not?"

"I think we should avoid them if we can"

Sneaking past them in some manner is certainly a possibility - if somewhat risky since you have some armor-clad folk that don't move very stealthily. Of course, magic can be used to compensate! This is the only tunnel heading in this direction. Your other other option is to go back all the way around to the far side of the Crater Ridge Mines. That would be approaching the outer perimeter of the Fire Temple where the PCs encountered a demon summoned by an elf (I think it got away from him, if I recall correctly). That would be south (up on the map) of Area 141 & 138. The map is below:

Opposite Side of Crater Ridge Mines

Obviously it would be quite a trek and possibly filled with peril but would take less than a day to accomplish. I'd probably do wandering monsters unless you took severe precautions to avoid them - which might or might not work depending on your ideas. But you certainly have choices! Returning to town means you leave the Crater Ridge Mines after gaining access through blood and sweat. Leaving and coming back weeks later is also a risk, and who knows what the Doomdreamers might accomplish in the meantime! Your PCs feel as though time is not on their side right now...

Jekka listens to everyone and considers whatever options there are. "Sometimes you just want an evoker with you.... But, I do have some flasks of acid and alchemist's fire. I know trolls hate acid and fire. Maybe if we start a battle with those thrown in, along with as many missiles as we can fire, then hit'em as hard and fast as we can.... ??"

Said in a questioning manner, obviously not as a leader of this group! I just checked my CS and I have 4 of each.