The ettercap dodges the moonelf's wild blows as it jockeys for position next to him. Finally the swordmage's sight clears and he looks at his circling foes with vengeance in his eyes.
Even through a haze of pain, Fairwind clings doggedly to life.
Leo struggle to free himself from the webbing hoping he can reach the others before its too late.
Striking at his nearest foe the webbing makes things difficult but the effort weakens the hold over him now if only he could reach the others in time...
Leo breaks free of the webbing in time to see Kneebiter grasp the shortsword and advance on Devlin, eyes agleam with blood lust.
"You are mine to hurt," he bellows before stabbing bravely but ineffectually at the warlord.
Kneebiter v Devlin (1d20 6=19, 1d8 1=9)
The chamber is abruptly awash with infurated kobolds, converging on the ettercaps and Devlin and trying to pummel them with clawed fists and draconic invective.
K8's blow is good and he jumps up, punching Devlin hard on the nose and drawing blood. K6 finds a way past the ettercaps's insect hide and also lands a blow. K1 only just misses, but K3 does land a blow. K4 does even better. Somehow he manages to find a vulnerable spot in E1's carapace and bloodies the insectoid. Unarmed or not, the kobolds are coming up trumps as allies.
K8 v Devlin (1d20 3=22, 1d4=2)
K6 v E4 (1d20 3=20, 1d4=2)
K1 v E4 (1d20 3=19, 1d4=2)
K3 v E5 (1d20 3=20, 1d4=2)
K4 v E1 (1d20 3=22, 1d4=1).
Leo gulps.
"Remind me to never do that!" he says to nobody in particular as he turns to face his two foes hoping he has time to step back and help Fairwind and Snaggletooth.
"Brujo if you can shift towards me that should leave them open to area attacks from the others and I'll need your help to save Fairwind and Snaggletooth!" Leo calls over hoping he isn't asking too much from the embattled swordmage.
"Go... koboldssszz...."
Fairwind somehow senses the resurgence of their fortunes as she lies bleeding on the ground.
Her eyes are fluttering open and shut...
"Thass the way..." she murmurs.
Snaggletooth smiles as he clings to life.
Despite his temporary disability, Caine's instincts guide him well, and he slashes happily into creeper.
The ettercaps go into action. E1 spits webbing at Brujo and enmeshes the swordmage, bringing a screech of satisfaction from E3, waiting with greataxe at the ready. Through the tangle of web, Brujo sees the axe rise and fall, missing him comfortably.
From across the room, Devlin sighs audibly. "Come on, the scalers can hit hard enough, focus, damn it." He irritably wipes blood from his punched nose.
E1 v Brujo (Web Tangle - ref) (1d20 9=16).
E3 v Brujo ( 2 to A/D against immobilised opponent). On crit does 1d12 17. (1d20 11=18, 1d12 7=18)
E4 and E5 look enthusiastically as the kobolds and slam their axes down hard. K6 has no chance of avoiding the blow and collapses, critically injured. K1 also takes a horrific injury, but astonishingly still stands.
"Yeah, yeah. They're not the real problem. You need to do that to the big guns." Devlin points out the obvious to his allies.
E4 v K6 (1d20 9=23, 1d12 5=11)
E4 v K1 (1d20 9=28, 1d12 5=7)
Cronin calls on his goddess and sends a stream of divine purity straight into E3. Murmuring a prayer of thanks, he gestures at Brujo, urging the moonelf to break his bonds.
Sacred Flame v E3 (Ref) (1d20 7=23, 1d6 6=7).
"Listen little feller. This hero thing suits you. How's about Thrice Hatched? Got to be better, hasn't it?"
Devlin casually jabs his halberd into Kneebiter, sending the kobold screaming to the floor as the weapon digs deep into his guts.
"Just adding to your mythic status." He heads insolently to the stairs. K8 lashes out at him as he goes, horrified by the fall of Kneebiter, but can't touch the warlord.
Devlin v Kneebiter (1d20 10=20, 1d10 8=9)
K8 OA on Devlin (1d20 3=9, 1d4=2)
Determination writ bold on her scowling face, Mirth steps forward muttering quick words in an eldritch tongue, charred staff clenched in both small fists.
Spell completed, she shouts and gestures the kobold militia forward to death or glory.
Draconic:
Devlin stumbles as Mirth's spell tells his brain that he's just fallen into a deep pit. Flat on his back in the stairwell and unable to move, he manages to shake his head in admiration at the tiefling's antics.
"Hot damn horny gal. You're something serious. I got a proposition for you..."
The creepers take no notice at all either of their leader's abrupt departure nor his subsequent fall. C4 shifts and slashes at Brujo, missing completely. C6 has more success.
C4 v Brujo (1d20 11=13, 1d4 5=7)
C6 v Brujo (1d20 13=26, 1d4 5=6, 1d6=5).
"Hold on I'm almost there," Leo prays he's right as he decides he has to act fast before Brujo is overwhelmed.
"Kelemvor guide my hand and my heart..." Leo prays aloud as he stabs the nearest Ettercap and then shifts into position to either heal Fairwind or aid Brujo if needed...
"Brujo if you can move on the otherside of the ettercap directly in front of you that should make the creepers split up after both of us," Leo advises.
Save 1d20=11
"Caine wolf pack tactics on either of the creepers in front of you so Brujo can shift clear!" Leo calls over.
Brujo breaks free of the web bindings with furious ease and prepares to attack.
Brujo continues to fight like a man possessed. Shrugging off the webbing and any damage he's taken.
He brings his blade down in wide arc at the ettercap.
He cuts a burning rune in the air placing in on a creeper.
Rev
I lost track what's my hp total?
Brujo and Leo embark on a comprehensive clearance programme. Blue flame mingles with the radiant light of Kelemvor as the unlikely duo slice their way towards their fallen comrades, Leo calling out battle tactics as he goes. As the flurry of movement dies away, E3 is seen to have fallen to Leo's blade and the remaining creepers are converging on Brujo. The kobolds look with longing at Devlin's prone form.
Kneebiter proves how tough he is, fighting off death once more.
K1 ignores its own horrible wounds and rushes to pummel the fallen warlord, to no avail.
K2 sneaks towards the north door where the weapons are waiting, shifting around the ettercaps.
K3 thumps helplessly at E5.
K4 is equally useless against E1.
K5 redeems kobold honour by solidly clouting E4 and screeches a triumphant battle cry as he does so. "I have hurt it!"
K6 collapses closer to death.
K7 struggles to stabilise Kneebiter the Twice Hatched, but cannot help in the heat of battle.
K8 grabs Kneebiter's shortsword and hurls himself into the fray, but cannot seem to find an opening. Even down and out, Devlin keeps his luck. As the blow goes wide, he comments wryly
"Stick to your fists - you're better with them."
K9 finds a vulnerable spot on E1's carapace and with a single wild blow, fells the creature.
K10 punches the air. "We are sneaky kobolds of doom!"
K12 attempts to help K6 and emboldened by the fall of the ettercap, succeeds.
K1 v Devlin (AC) (1d20 3=8, 1d4=2)
K3 v E5 (1d20 3=16, 1d4=2)
K4 v E1 (1d20 3=4, 1d4=2)
K5 v E4 (1d20 3=21, 1d4=4)
K6 Death save (1d20=4)
Heal check to stabilise Kneebiter (1d20 4=7)
K8 v Devlin (1d20 5=10, 1d8 1=2)
K9 v E1 (1d20 5=25, 1d4=4)
K12 heal checks K6 (1d20 4=16)
"Keep... fghtng..."
Fairwind clings on against all the odds, kept alive by the unexpected success of the kobold allies.
MAP (unchanged, for ease of reference)
Commander Caine stabs hopefully in front of him, barely missing C6. With a muttered curse, he brushes his hand in front of his face and can finally see the room and his opponents again.
Caine v C6 (1d20 3=17, 1d10 4=10)
Caine save v blindness (1d20=11)
The remaining ettercaps concentrate on K2. Both axes smash down and K2 simply cannot take this kind of punishment. With a small wail, he drops and dies.
E4 v K2 (1d20 9=13, 1d12 5=6)
E4 v K2 (1d20 9=13, 1d12 5=6)
Cronin's lip curls with disgust as he prays hard, invoking Selune's light once more. His prayers are answered and he nods to Brujo. "Kill it while you can," the words emerging as a snarl of loathing.
Devlin pushes himself back against the stairwell and jabs with his halberd, hoping to rid himself of one of the kobolds. Sword-weilding K8 gets his close attention, but the kobold is wary and ducks aside.
"You're on the wrong side scales. I've got a proposition for you ... I guess we can talk about that once I'm out of here."
Devlin v K8 (1d20 8=11, 1d10 8=11)
Her frustration evident in the snarl that twists her lips, Mirth is forced to leave Devlin's fate to the smallest (and most unlikely) of her allies. Stepping sideways for a clearer view, she lashes out with shadow and nightmare at the closest creeper, eyes still focused on the far stairwell.
To add to her frustration, Mirth sees that the creeper manages to banish her will sapping illusion before it can take effect. Pale eyes gleaming with predatory joy, C4 eases around Leo and materialises next to Brujo, where its dagger sinks neatly into the swordmage's back. C6 at last manages to take advantage of its position and also stabs hard, bloodying the moonelf.
C4 v Brujo (1d20 13=29, 1d4 5=7, 1d6=3)
C6 v Brujo (1d20 13=25, 1d4 5=8, 1d6=4)
Brujo continues to strike nearby foes.
Distracted by sudden pain, Brujo's sure aim deserts him and his sword flickers past the creepers without harming them.
Leo strikes back at the creeper.
Leo then shifts away from the creeper allowing him to lay on hands on Fairwind.
"Hope this helps," Leo tells her.
DM:
Leo
Leo slices neatly into C4 as it passes, but with his mind on helping Fairwind, doesn't put as much power behind the blow as he's like. Quietly calling on Kelemvor, he restores his half-elven companion to life.
In the depths of his private world of pain, Kneebiter senses that hope is at hand and clings on.
Death save (1d20=12)
K1 throws a punch at Devlin and batters his already bloodied nose. "Will you just stop spoiling my looks!" he bellows.
K3 jumps and hits E5 astonishingly hard.
K4 shifts around C4 to flank it, but in his excitement fails to land a blow.
K5 waits for K12 to scuttle into position before launching his own pummeling attack. His blows slide off the ettercap.
K6 is stable and going nowhere.
K7 screams at Kneebiter in draconic while trying to save him. His efforts are in vain.
Draconic
K8 looks at Devlin with brutal determination. "You should not mock us. We will kill you and use your spine for knucklebones." He stabs viciously and misses. Devlin shrugs. "First rule. Don't make threats you can't follow up on. Learn that and you'll be getting somewhere."
K9 takes advantage of Brujo's ominous presence to punch C4 hard enough to bloody it.
K10 tries to copy the move, but fails.
K11 thumps hard at E4, much to the surprise of the insectoid. The blow does no damage, but provokes a started click of outrage.
K12 sneaks towards Snaggletooth and tries to hunt quickly for weapons.
K1 v Devlin (1d20 5=21, 1d4=2).
K3 v E5 (1d20 3=23, 1d4=3).
K4 v C4 (1d20 5=8, 1d4=4).
K5 v E4 (1d20 5=17, 1d4=2)
Heal check on Kneebiter to stabilise him. (1d20 3=9)
K8 v Devlin (1d20 6=11, 1d8 1=3)
K9 v C4 (1d20 5=23, 1d4=3)
K10 v C4 (1d20 5=16, 1d4=1)
K11 v E4 (1d20 3=18, 1d4=1)
Fairwind gasps as she is brought rushing back to reality, "Ha-huh-ah... th-thanks, prea- Leo." she says with feeling.
Attack vs. C6 1d20+10=25, Damage 1d10+4=6
"Snaggletooth! Wake up!"
Caine continues his dogged assault on C6, gradually cutting through its defenses and sparing time to raise his fallen kobold ally. Calling upon Torm, his faith revives Snaggletooth once more.
Surrounded by kobolds, the ettercaps work to thin the population. E4 spins to hit K12, but the kobold leans low and the blow goes wide. Emitting a insect hiss of annoyance, E5 fares much better. K12 is doomed and knows it, even before the axe lands.
E4 v K12 (1d20 9=11, 1d12 5=6).
E5 v K12 (1d20 9=28, 1d12 5=16)
Cronin concentrates on C4, sending a lance of divine light towards the shadow dweller. The creature flinches back and Brujo somehow knows that his next attack will be bolstered by Selune's grace.
E5 v K12 (1d20 9=28, 1d12 5=16).
Devlin rises to his feet, surveys the rampaging melee and puffs out his cheeks in what might be admiration or might be resignation.
Then he shrugs, "Guess this isn't my time or place. See you later."
Ignoring the futile attempts of K8 and K1 to stop him, he runs up the stairs. K8's shortsword attack is a failure, but K1 bites hard on the disappearing ankle, producing a satisfying yelp of pain from Devlin.
K8 OA on fleeing Devlin (1d20 11=15, 1d8 1=2)
K1 OA on fleeing Devlin (1d20 8=28, 1d4=2).
Draconic screams of outrage fill the air.
Draconic
"Follow him and kill him. He insults us, cheats us and lies."
Snaggletooth's eyes flutter as he regains consciousness. He heard Caine's voice call to him from the void. Then he realizes, he is lying on the floor.
Draconic-
Draconic:
Mirth's temper continues to rise, her tail snapping back and forth with vehemence. Again she molds shadows into terrors, unleashing them upon a hapless, already vulnerable creeper.