Shhh! You're making me look bad here! (Nuts!)
What are you paranoid? You think there's like 10 more splices coming over the hill in a few seconds?
P.S. Sorry we never got to use your map! Thanks for that.
Gonna do my patented clairvoyance in the sky thing to search for more baddies. Hurgah will have to wait a little bit for healing. Sorry big guy!
Karek had hardly left his unnamed mount's side when the battle was over. Valse alarm, den. Carry on. Karek says as he wrestles his mount back into a position where he can get back on him. Once he has returned to the saddle, he patiently waits for Donkor to finish his reconnaissance, eyeing the ground with discomfort once more.
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A massive explosion of fire erupts and then vanishes as quickly as it came. When the dust settles the remaining splice has been reduced to a crispy pile of char. In the distance, the dawarven priest makes a slight motion as though sweeping the dust off of his hands.
Moonpate eyes bulge slightly when he witnesses the sudden explosion and nods approvingly. "Master Halstadt, a very impressive display. I just hope we got the original critter. I hate those...things!"
Donkor's eyes haze over as his invisible sensor winks open hundreds of feet directly above him, enabling the priest to scan in all directions with a bird's eye view.
Donkor thinks he spies additional shapes in a rocky dune-valley to the north-west, about 100+ yards away. He would need to relocate his sensor much closer to that spot to be certain.
"It seems our run ins with this beast are no coincidence. Do any of you have enemies, besides our foes back at the dig?" asks Halstadt who begisn to peer around looking for another attack.
In the absence of further threats, Hurgah lets his rage subside for now. For a few moments, he slumps a bit from the fatigue caused by his brief killing frenzy.
"It seems our run ins with this beast are no coincidence. Do any of you have enemies, besides our foes back at the dig?" asks Halstadt who begins to peer around looking for another attack.
“Too many lad, too many. . .” answers Breach. For the briefest of moments the veteran dwarf caresses his beard as he considers whether the aboleth might somehow be behind this attack in the middle of the desert.
Snapping out of it, Shattershield nudges his horse up the nearest rise, thirty feet away, so that he can obtain a superior perch to take a look around. Placing his hand above his eye he scans the horizon, looking for signs of more splices.
“No tracks that I can see.”
Donkor speaks, his eyes still glazed over, "Something moving off to the Northwest, about a hundred yards. Going to take a closer look."
Please relocate my sensor as close as I can get to the disturbance for a better looksee.
Hal will use the pause to cast Hold Person into his spell storing axe.
Hal will use the pause to cast Hold Person into his spell storing axe.
Done!
Donkor’s unseen all-seeing sensor winks out and rematerializes in the very center of the rocky valley of dunes to the northwest behind the Dune Squad.
There is a pack of scar-covered, tri-tusked beasts. It’s your splices alright; a quick count reveals ten in total. They are pacing back and forth. They seem tense. Perhaps they are waiting for something. Perhaps they are about to be on the move.
Sooron withdraws his all-seeing eye and speaks to the group, "There are 10 more over there. They're acting restless and tense. They don't seem to be heading this way at the moment. What's our next step?"
"Is there any way we can outflank them and bring them down. I am tired of playing games with these dogs! Do you have any translocation tricks Moonpate? If so I have a spell that can absorb wounds inflicted upon you by taking them onto myself. With the Reaver in the middle and the rest of us around them they should fall much easier than Deca-Jaws."
"Is there any way we can outflank them and bring them down. I am tired of playing games with these dogs! Do you have any translocation tricks Moonpate? If so I have a spell that can absorb wounds inflicted upon you by taking them onto myself. With the Reaver in the middle and the rest of us around them they should fall much easier than Deca-Jaws."
Moonpate dismounts and looks concerned regarding Hurgah's condition.
"I completely agree with you, my good dwarf. If we can finish these devil dogs now, then let's at it. We certainly can't leave them behind us to hound our every step. Now, as to translocation, what exactly do you have in mind, because if you are thinking what I think you are thinking....then you better ply me with plenty o' strong drink along with that protection spell of yours. I can wink three of us right into their midst for close action...or we can skip all the biting and clawing and let me fly right over and blast their mangy hides to cinders!"
Hal nods at Moonpate's explanation. "Perhaps a flyover would be more effective. Give us time to surround the beasts. Then after a certain amount of time give your self the ability to fly and then appear over them by translocation, raining fiery doom upon them. As they scatter the rest of us will move in for the kill. Does this seem like a good plan my friends? I think we will need to decide quickly before they move upon us!"
As best I can tell it is still available - unless the Dune Squad objects, knock yourself out!
But if you happen to find yourself in the course of editing your profile, please delete the coins on his sheet. They were used up in the purchase of material components for the stoneskin. Money well spent as it turns out.
As best I can tell it is still available - unless the Dune Squad objects, knock yourself out!
But if you happen to find yourself in the course of editing your profile, please delete the coins on his sheet. They were used up in the purchase of material components for the stoneskin. Money well spent as it turns out.
So what’s the plan guys?
(A) Moon is doing a flyover fireball?
(B) He’s dim dooring with two volunteers to the spot identified by Donkor?
(C) The Dune Squad will move to spread out and surround the splices? (on horse/leave horses?)
(D) Press on and continue to the dig site?
(E) Anything else?
Minor nitpick with the above version - Moonpate will know that if he transports an enlarged Hurgah by dimension door, he won't be able to take a second person (size-Large counts as two persons for that particular spell).
So assuming we have enough on board for this low-level 'scry and die' variation, which is likely because I have an established habit of treating silence as acquiescence. . . who is our second shock trooper?
Breach would readily volunteer; it might in theory even let him get some sneak attack(s) off with surprise. But I suspect Karek would have much higher DPR (damage per round) even still, and I hate to give GM PC's the fun. And I assure you, being voluntarily surrounded will be fun.
(a) Moonpate casts Fly on himself,
(b) The Dune Squad on Mounts spend 1 minute surrounding the position the Soroon identified,
(c) At the 1 minute mark Moonpate casts Dimension Door appearing over the splicer's position (hopefully attracting their attention skyward in the process),
(d) We then begin to charge as he casts a Fireball at them from above,
(e) After his fireball roasts them all we eat some of Moonpate's Delicious Doggie Desserts, fire roasted. If they don't all die we finish them off, then eat Moonpate's Delicious Doggie Desserts.
Anyone have any other ideas?
So assuming we have enough on board for this low-level 'scry and die' variation, which is likely because I have an established habit of treating silence as acquiescence. . . who is our second shock trooper?
Breach would readily volunteer; it might in theory even let him get some sneak attack(s) off with surprise. But I suspect Karek would have much higher DPR (damage per round) even still, and I hate to give GM PC's the fun. And I assure you, being voluntarily surrounded will be fun.
I think that's a 2/2 split? Only Karek or Gandel can save you democratic fools now! Brewhaha!
Karek generously helps Moonpate to a swig of the fine A'viss wine he so kindly acquired for just this purpose.
So assuming we have enough on board for this low-level 'scry and die' variation, which is likely because I have an established habit of treating silence as acquiescence. . .
*This ad was paid for by the Society of Small-sized Professors.
Karek generously helps Moonpate to a swig of the fine A'viss wine he so kindly acquired for just this purpose.
He finds it a bit watery - badoom, badoom, smash!
Cure Moderate Wounds on the Reaver -
A final note: this is going to be a bit imperfect. Normally in “scry and die” a single caster scry’s the area and then casts teleport himself. Here, we have one caster using a variation of clairvoyance and then a second separate caster using dimension door. Moonpate has never actually seen the desired spot. It has to be communicated to him by Donkor. In theory Moonpate can do this if Donkor simply specifies the exact distance from their current location – the spell is supposed to be unerring. But Donkor probably doesn’t know the exact distance, it’s several hundred feet away, ‘give or take’.
I figure Donkor should though be able to identify the specific rise of sand that he last saw the splices hiding behind and point that out to Moonpate. The pair would probably need to join Breach at his elevated perch in order to see that particular dune of sand so that Donkor could point it out. From there, Moonpate could estimate 15 or 20 feet from the rise pointed out to him so that he hopefully arrives right in the midst of the splices.
What I am alluding to is I will be doing a bit of die rolling to determine precisely where the shock troopers arrive. But in theory you have a working model for a nice scry and die.
Denis,
By the spell description: No, you can’t make a curved wall with wall of fire. Normally I am pretty big on keeping to spell description, otherwise you can get into power creep and a spell becomes more powerful than it was meant to be. I have a real sense though that the reason you can’t make a curved wall is just because the game is played on a grid and it’s hard to figure out how a curve would work on a game map. Since we’re not playing on a grid at the moment, why not give it a try – as long as you don’t hold me to this on future occasions. I’ll give Hal a gently curved semi-circle that totals 100 feet in length (as opposed to 140 foot line).
So with extra-planar wine, a sanctuary and a shield other spell, has the Dune Squad successfully pressured the Potentate into this madness?
Breach promises not to think less of Moonpate if he wants to back out. . .
Cure Moderate on Hurgah
That's pretty close anyway. Should be close enough for some silly splicer beasts.
So with extra-planar wine, a sanctuary and a shield other spell, has the Dune Squad successfully pressured the Potentate into this madness?Breach promises not to think less of Moonpate if he wants to back out. . .
Moonpate is sufficiently emboldened and is beginning to have heroic thoughts again.
Once the Dune Squad makes its decision, events unfold quickly. Two moderate wounds spells are (spontaneously) applied on Hurgah, who uses those rounds to recover from his post-rage fatigue. Halstadt casts shield other on Moonpate, while Donkor casts sanctuary. Meanwhile, Karek plies Moonpate with alcohol and gets him to sign a waiver.
Then, following Donkor’s laboriously detailed description, Moonpate casts dimension door taking Hurgah and Karek with him. The vanguard trio winks out suddenly and disappears.
For a moment, Gandel, Donkor, Halstadt and Breach find themselves alone, staring at the space where the trio used to be. Moonpate is powerful wizard indeed.
The moment passes. “Have at em!’ cries Breach and the quartet race off on their horses towards the dune-valley where Donkor says the splices were last seen.
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The vanguard arrives in the dune-valley in a sudden explosion of soundless light.
The Potentate, Kogan and the Reaver quickly discover the counter-ambush has gone better than dared to have expected. They find themselves right in the midst of a large pack of splices, ten in fact, just as the Sooron foretold. The scar-encrusted beasts are completely startled and – for the briefest of moments – utterly vulnerable.
Karek wastes no time laying into the creatures surrounding him, working to level the playing field before they can begin to outmanuever the trio. Covering and defending one side of the Potentate, Karek hefts his hammer, steps into a battle trance, and goes to work.
Attack 1: for .
Attack 2: for .
Confirmation Roll for Attack 2: for damage.
Surprise Round: for .
Round 1, Attack 1: for .
Round 1, Attack 2: for .
Confirmation Roll for Attack 2: for damage.
Yes, it is!
Karek wastes no time laying into the creatures surrounding him, working to level the playing field before they can begin to outmanuever the trio. Covering and defending one side of the Potentate, Karek hefts his hammer, steps into a battle trance, and goes to work.
Oooo! Karek instantly squishes one splice, and then really, really squishes another, pulverizing the splice into a sand-covered jelly. (Woah! A x3 crit!)
I'll hold the rest of those further rolls then - we'll just resolve the "scry and die" round for the moment. If the splices get attacks in between, I'll scrub those remaining rolls though, as we won't want you making your action choices based on expected dice outcomes. But if the splices don't go, we might as well use em, as he's just going to hammer away.
Good reminder! That will be very helpful against a creature with superior flanking.