
Y'rjar'n |

With two enemies down, the victory seems assured. Y'rjar'n moves to finish off the last remaining ant. He strikes at his back, as it is distracted by Adrian.
Moving to flank the ant with Adrian if it's possible w/out taking an AoO. If not, remove 2 to the attack result.
Attack: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 5 + 2 = 10
Damage:1d10 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

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Ran-Hajad, I'm assuming Total Defense behind Gargerath. Let me know if you wanted to do something else.
Adrian's rapier pierces the ant again, but the damage is minimal (3 damage).
Ran-Hajad continues to hide behind Gargerath.
Gargerath turns suddenly from his victory over the quivering exoskeleton of his last victim and smashes the spikestaff into the last ant's body, crushing it to the ground. After a few attempts to strike back at its attacker, the giant ant lowers its head to the ground and dies.
Victory!

Ran-Hajad |

After the final ant stops twitching, Ran-Hajad gingerly prods it a couple of times with the end of his staff. Apparently satisfied, he peers at his companions, looking for signs of injury. Seeing none (nobody got hit, did they?), he beams and nods approvingly at the others. 'Heroes' he says, sagely.

Adrian Selliene |

Adrian pokes at the closest ant's body with his rapier, nodding in satisfaction when he realizes all three have been sufficiently killed.
"The farmsteads in the area must be doing very difficult if they have these things to contend with."
He looks towards the setting sun. "Should we make camp or continue on through the night?"

Y'rjar'n |

"I don't think the Keep is in such a danger that we need to hurry getting to it at all cost. It would be a waste of our strength to march through the night. Gargerath is right, however, let us put some distance between our camp and these dead vermins." Y'rjar'n tells the others. He then speaks specifically to the sibeccai. You fought well, Gargerath, but your style is probably a bit too wild. Who trained you in the ways of the warrior? There are times when ferociousness alone isn't enough to vanquish your foe."

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As the party continues down the road, they find an old campsite that has been frequently used over the years. A few standing stones mark its perimeter, and a blackened stone fire pit is at its center. Long moss-covered stones seem to have been intentionally placed there as benches near the fire pit.
Perception checks please.

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In the interest of saving time, I'm going to speed up the camp and watch scenes.
The night goes by with few (if any) events of note. Gargerath notices a small family of foxes curious about the campers (and hopeful perhaps for crumbs and leftovers) peering out at them from the nearby tall grass, but after a short while they move on. The day breaks with the cool scent of rain from the north.

Y'rjar'n |

Y'rjar'n is also up early and starts his day as usual, with his martial routine, sparring against imagined opponents. As the others stir from sleep, he rejoins them for a quick breakfast. To Adrian, he replies: "Very good, let us waste no time and make our way there." The dracha quickly gathers his things and is ready to go.

Ran-Hajad |

Ran-Hajad wakes up to find an ant crawling over his face. He lets it crawl onto his finger, then spends several minutes watching it moving about until finally depositing on the ground. He then gets down on his hands and knees and follows it as it skitters over the earth. When it disappears down a hole, he shrugs, stands up, stretches and then proceeds to look in his bag for food.
By the time the others are ready to go he has wandered off to examine some interesting looking flowers at the edge of the campsite.

Gargerath the Bold |

Gargerath stretches and rises with the sun, wasting no time with ablutions, but going straight to a series of stretching exercises with his spikestick. He works himself into a fury, a whirled dance of malice and violence, finally culminating in a full throated howl.
"I am ready. Let us get there quick; sooner over the better."

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After traveling most of the day, any clouds carrying rain drift further to the north and leave the tall grass parched and dry. A sudden skittering through the grass warns Y'rjar'n and Gargerath to the presence of another creature. Two scorpions as large as mastiffs (medium size) surge out of the grass and strike suddenly.
Adrian's Perception 1d20 ⇒ 20
Surprise Round
Y'rjar'n, Gargerath, and Adrian get to act in the surprise round. Roll for initiative and declare actions.

Ran-Hajad |

Folks (couldn't find the OC thread to post in) I think I'm going to call it quits. I'm just not feeling it, and when you have a PC with limited options, and keep facing things where even those options aren't working, then it's difficult to get motivated.
Thanks for letting me get a taste of AE. The character alias will still be there if you want to use it.

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Well if you really want to leave, that's up to you. You're welcome to reroll another character if you prefer. Or perhaps I am failing as a DM to provide conflicts that everyone can participate in. Feel free to let me know here or in a spoiler if it's helpful if there's anything I can do to help make the gaming experience better for everyone. Once you all get on the road to Ebonring Keep, things should pick up a little plotwise, but I wanted to try to get everyone to 2nd level by Ebonring or sooner.

Adrian Selliene |

"It's these dry grasslands. Insects seem to love the heat, and the food. My father once told me, where there is grain there is life. I didn't realize he meant insect life, but it makes sense."
Adrian's breathless explanation comes almost automatically, as he focuses on his opponent.