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will do.
ash quietly sneaks up invisible.
::yeah, they're on guard here. two on duty. no others in sight from here to the walkway. i don't want to break invisibility to attack, but i don't know that Victor and Loran can take them down quickly and quietly. They've got signal horns. Can't tell if they have any magics up. but i doubt they're that bright. ::
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::Victor, can you Vanish and come up for a strike? Neji, you're so tiny you might be able to go unnoticed. worst case I can try and slit one of their throats invis. best case, i could summon a monster and help down one of them and remain invisible. for that matter, Leo, you could summon down there to contribute and stay invis. That, or we try another way up::
::I can take one of them down, but I'll need help with the other, before he takes actions. Don't break stealth Ash::
Pending setup, I cast, Guidance and Shocking Grasp, changed to fire, sneak up stairs...
Depending on who is my strike partner...
::When I say go, GO::
We sneak up, go, I rage and power attack...
Normally you are, obviously, not allowed to charge while stealthing, but if Leo tossed me at the Guard, would that break my stealth during my charging flight? Sure there would be a bonus from charging, and the AC should loose all dex bonuses, but you would get impact damage (on both sides) along with my attack. If the tosser had sneak attack, throw anything feats and skills, perhaps a gavity arm, then we would really be talking.
Just saying...
Little moves up with a hanbo in one hand and a hand crossbow in the other.
I take my shot with the crossbow:
vs flat footed
I'll use prescience for a 20 to-hit vs flat-footed AC. I shoot the one that isn't getting mauled by Neji.
Also, guessing this will be relevant.
[r1][22: Victor], [18: Ash], [17: guards], [12: Neji]
One of the guards collapses, a smoldering corpse. the other takes a shot. They grunt and cry out a little, but they hardly sound an alarm yet.
I continue shooting the one that Neji didn't solo.
I'll use the 16, so a 21. Assuming that hits, 3 more awesome points of damage.
On my turn, if the Guard is still up and hasn't blown a horn, I will charge under the other Guard and Power Attack:
2nd round of Rage; 1.6min of Reduce Person remaining
brings it up to 12, and he goes down. for good measure ash lets the elemental whack him into a mush,and then tells the elemental to go home.
with the path cleared, you stealth and make your way out onto the battlements. Victor grabbing one of the signal horns from a guard, and going west, while the rest of you invisibly go north, with Loran disguised.
Fortunately you encounter no one on your way across the murder bridge to the gatehouse where Loran can begin summoning spawn. As you get closer, you see the door is propped open, and a pretty oppressive heat, by human standards, flows out from inside the tower... from the heat, you'd expect the tower to be in flames already.
Was the drawbridge down? Would def like to poke our heads in and see what the story is...are there bodies littered on the ground or does it look like it was started by the guards. Someone has fire resistance, I believe...
Someone a good enough climber to hop on the roof real quick and look down the front of the gatehouse to see if there is any sign of a fight?
you ask, and Ash sticks his head in stealthily to have a look
he enters, and whispers back that there are four guards tending two huge cauldrons, and pacing around, peering out arrow slits on this floor. There's two stout winches. and it looks like the cauldrons are for murder holes in area 19 below. The fires must make it oppresively hot for humans, so they've cracked the door a bit. but they'd hear if Loran starts summoning or someone were to cast outside with the door open.
KEEP ==murder== Gatehouse
KEEP ___bridge___ |Gatehouse
::Well this changes things a bit. I'll go in here (25) with one other person and kill the cooks. Would one of you invisibles climb up and peek over the roof? Are there guards up there, are the ports to the oil room (25) open? If open, we all go in and climb the stairs, it not you scale the wall and work your way down to here (25). Regardless, once these two are dead we'll peek and send the oil they were cooking to the Guards below for a nice surprise. Don't look so worried Temp, that oil will only go down the murder holes, not flood the floor to harm you. They are expecting us to enter from the ground floor.::
I can summon up a fire elemental to attack them as well if that will help
No, we're just going to kill all the people tending the boiling cauldrons and if we somehow get lucky enough for some idiot guards to hang out under the vats of boiling oil, we'll pour it on them. Otherwise, we'll just leave them going.
^^agree^^
<-- ohhh crit stealth. I stealth so hard the enemies go blind, deaf and dumb.
Power Attack, Rage, Hammer
<-- I totally shattered that dude's shin!
Nah, my attention just wandered.
miss
miss with maybe flank and flat-footed?
Anyone else in the surprise round?
Initiatives:
[r1] [17: Ash], [16: Temperance], [14: Forsythe], [14: guards], [13:neji], [10: leo], [7: loran]
(Yea, they're 16 flat footed)
Ill crossbow in surprise round.
And reload, shoot in first round
*facepalm*
With the second crossbow shot, that's enough to bring down four guards.
Ash bashes ones skull in, Neji bashes another. Leo cuts one down, and steps to the side so Forsythe can take her shots, two bolts landing in the guard before he can reach for the horn on his belt. By the next round as everyone reacts again, the guards crumple.
You have time to come in and close the door. Loran can summon spawn and Forsythe can unpack a skeleton. Ash suggests letting the fires go untended, if they cool enough no one will be able to use them. Which could be better for the invaders, he suggests, though he seems in favor of a pyro option. They're filled with boiling sands.
After the minute long summoning ritual in the heat ( you drink the endure elements potion so we bypass fort due to the heat. ) spawn appears.
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The winches probably operate the bridge and the portcullis. Opening them probably won't be super silent. We either set off the flare, and then open them, or open them, and set off the flare, and then get ready for the guards to try and break down and get at us in here.
We can be up on the roof under cover of darkness waiting, with a few barricaded in the tower? And force the paladin to come at us over the narrow bridge?
They can't get up from the bottom correct? We should raise the bridge and set off the flare and force them to come at us from the small bridge till the army is ready to come stampeding across the bridge.
When we get ready to go I will cast barkskin on Spawn. If we stay close i can haste us all when the paladin comes knocking.
there's trapdoors to ladders from 25 that go down into 20 and 21, but no, they can't get up into the gatehouse except through 24. there's no ground-entry to the gatehouse, its just a small passage where boiling sand can be poured. Theres ladders that lead up to trapdoors in the ceiling of 25 that emerge at 33 where it looks like the dwarves were doing repairs and fortifications up here during the day.
the drawbridge is already up, (closed/blocked)
the portcullis is already down (blocking)
Ash recommends opening them, rather than signaling and waiting, in case something happens where you have to abandon your position at the gatehouse.
Agreed. The signal will be noticed by the guards, so as soon as we trigger that, s#$* is going down (in theory they could just be confused, but they seem really sharp/quick on the trigger, so I'm guessing they'll just attack straight away).
They can't get us easily if they come across the lower bridge AND we can drop boiling sand on them if they try. Let's drop the bridge, raise the portcullis, fire the flare (all at about the same time), and get ready for them to charge the small bridge. If possible, jam the controls so it would be difficult to re-close the portcullis and bridge. Then if we have to retreat, we can come back with the horde at our backs and not get stuck at the chokepoint.
I liked Ash's plan to have a group on the roof in darkness sniping them as they cross the bridge and a couple of melee monsters holding the door and wrecking them when/if they do get through it. I have a hold portal scroll or two we can use as well to help with that door.
I should be able to see the courtyard from the roof, I should have about enough range (140 feet) to hit it from there with an entangle, which I can drop as soon as they start pouring out of the keep. I can also grease up the bridge to help slow them down.
Taking a minute to look at the portcullis and bridge mechanisms, does it seem possible to sabotage them open?
Victor, surely you've spent some of your time studying engineering in the past weeks, since you've known we were trying to assault a keep?
Uh, yea, totally. Definitely been studying.
What are you doing? That isn't how you hold the plans! Have you been drawing warrior and maiden battles all over these? What is this PEW PEW PEW you've written next to your caricature?
Also agree with "gate up and bridge down" when we fire flares. We are well fortified, here and on the roof, to take on attackers due to our high-ground advantage and restricted, one man at a time entries. Before we do flare we should confirm the lower floors are empty and ready/trapped for invaders. It may also be wise to relocate the Basilisk, assuming that what those are, and rocks on the roof from the village side to the tower side. Those are fantastic for shooting at heros and dumping on troops. Armor means nothing to those tools. If they can move that is. Typically, the Basilisk are on wheels anyway.
Not familiar with Basilisks, are you talking about the ballistae? Definitely a good idea to turn those around at the tower, ha! They should be small enough to be mobile.
Also, since I'm still invisible, I can sneak down and investigate the ground floor of the gatehouse. Assuming I find nothing there, but happy to check.
This lower level of the gatehouse has arrow slits that can fire in the entryway (room 19). It also houses some of the long term provisions for the gatehouse - iron rations, root vegetables and dried meat mostly.
There is also a cistern that leads straight down into the river. A long bucket on a rope can be lowered to collect fresh water from the River Tyburn. A halfling or someone employing magical means might be able to sneak into the gatehouse this way.
identical to 20, except that it lacks a cistern and has more provisions.
this is the open air crenellated roof of the gatehouse. It is dominated by siege engines and munitions of war. The banner of Talingarde flutters from a flag pole mounted in the center of the west battlements.
two fearsome ballistae point out across the rocky approach to the gatehouse. They are loaded with great barbed missiles that convey the message "death to any who approach unbidden". Beside each ballista is a rack full of ammunition for the siege engines, fifty shots apiece.
Two stone dropers overlook the portcullis of the gatehouse (19a). These lethal war machines allow stones from great troughs to be hurled on the heads of any invaders who approach. The troughs are loaded down with old masonry from various building projects and allow each stone dropper to be used thirty times before more stones must be fetched.
Light: This common type of ballista, also called an arbalest or scorpion, is size Large, maneuverable, and often mounted atop towers or even vehicles. Light ballistae have a hardness of 5 and 50 hit points. Light ballista bolts cost 10 gp each and weigh 10 pounds.
Dmg:3d8 Critical: 19–20/×2 Range: 120 ft. Type: P Crew: 1 Aim: 0 Load: 2 Speed: 10 ft.
Nope. you seem to have gone unnoticed so far.
Victor isn't with you, he's split off with the horn to make a distraction at the right moment.Victor, give me stealth check for the minute they've spent in the gatehouse
Things remain quiet in the keep so far.
Everyone ready?
Leo begins to lower the drawbridge, as Ash and Neji raise the portcullis. The chains clanking echoing through the keep, a strong reverberation in the stone beneath you. You can't help but know that the guards in the keep perk their ears and ponder the sound for a second before realizing whats going on.
Within a few seconds the bridge is down and the portcullis is up. Leo strides forth to open the door and await his enemies. Ash starts to disable the systems, handing the flare to the pyro Neji, who gleefully takes it up, scampers outside and fires it up into the night sky.
The rocket flies up into the air, and bursts into a shower of red sparks. Horns start to blare as the tower goes on high alert. It takes a few seconds but you can start to hear a patrol of soldiers being sent to the gatehouse to investigate.