Cleo senses the rage and pain of a mother losing her children. These three have sworn to have vengeance in the name of their children. Though talk about what they might do after they get vengeance has not been asked, the Troll mothers show no interest in betraying their deal.
Another Troll, perhaps the youngest of the three and sporting dark red hair, laughs at Cleo's suggestion and says "Armour? Клео (Kleo), we are Trolls! We are not cowards like te smallfolk who cower behind rock, wood, skins, and metal."
The last Troll, who's slightly more hunched over and her hair is gray, steps towards the red-haired Troll and stabs her in the gut with her spear. "Assol! Tey know not our ways, but tese are strrong smallfolk, who speak Giant tongue. We must be kind like tey are trollkids." The youngest, red-haired Troll watches as the spear wound heal itself in a matter of seconds. She replies "Yes Babushka, I will be gentle." She gets a whap from the butt end of the spear this time. The older Troll says "And do not call me Babushka around oters! I am Abishag."
To Wabbit's question, Blagorodna answers "No, Кролик (Krolik). We stay far from Smallfolk who live in Warxouse. Tose ones make lots of fire, and acid. Tey keep Ogres away, so we live in big rock xouse, made by ancient Giant, which stands on water wit no war. But te Ogres killed the Smallfolk, then us and our xome."
Babushka, or Abishag, adds "Balance is broken. Now, we go to xelp tey smallfolk."
Kemras likely believes from his knowledge of history that Elves never existed before the Age of Darkness. They spread from their homeland in Kyonin only once the dark had gone. To find Elvish ruins from before the Age of Darkness (which was set into motion from Earthfall), this would be a monumental discovery. Only a select few know about the existence of Elves before Earthfall, and even fewer know the true origins of the Elves.
"Impressive" Cleo compliments their abilities but winces at the stabing. She translates everything they say to the others, as well as translating everything that one of them might want to say but can't since they don't know Giant.
Then when everything is said that is desired to, she asks "Are we ready?"
Kemras looks mildly surprised. These are uncommonly communicative trolls. Or maybe they're all like this, and I've been misled this entire time about how trolls are. I suppose I should make note of this, as well.
Furnok just grunts and nods
"Impressive" Cleo compliments their abilities but winces at the stabing. She translates everything they say to the others, as well as translating everything that one of them might want to say but can't since they don't know Giant.
Then when everything is said that is desired to, she asks "Are we ready?"
Yeah...guess so Wabbit says uneasily
With his evil-dar pinging on the young one, Wabbit will surreptitiously keep a wary eye on that one in particular, hoping that its elders will keep it in check.
Furnok knows pigs, not trolls.
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The average adventurer knows Trolls to be lean, rabid, terrifyingly powerful monsters. Kill it with fire or acid, most are told. This is all true, but more specifically for the lowly male Troll.
Trolls grow up in family units, which is lead by a male and includes multiple females who are usually related. When a male troll is born, it is raised to puberty, at which point it is immediately expelled from the collective. Such young trolls must travel through hostile territory to find food and survive. Though a Troll may be able to regenerate their body, the toll on food is extremely high. Most Trolls are not slain, but rather starve to death. Should a young male Troll survive long enough, he may find a new family. The young male Troll challenges the older male, and if he successfully kills or ejects the older troll, he gets to mate with the females until a new challenger eventually evicts him in turn.
However, female Trolls are no pushovers, and are more than happy to rip the new leader apart should his ambitions not fall in line with the desires of the women. While the male trolls hone their battle skills, the females work as hunters, crafters, and oracles. They often trade with other races, such as Giants and Orcs, and are even accepted by deep forest dwellers such as Fey and Dragons. Trolls and Ogres have a deep-seated hatred for one another, but often live far enough apart to not be in big competition over resources (normally food).
The best way to defend oneself from a male Troll is to feed it. A male Troll is willing to eat anything, but prefers fatty animals (and humanoids). Baring that, using fire or acid is enough to dissuade most Trolls from attacking a human, who wouldn't normally be worth the food to regenerate after all that damage. To defend oneself from a female Troll, begging for one's life is the only advice beyond running from a significant headstart. Both are very unlikely to succeed.
"Today we draw blood togeter small ones." Blagorodna proclaims.
The party and three Trolls travel a short distance to Fort Rannick. Very little seems to have changed since the last time the group was here, though it would seem there are no lookouts. The towers are empty, and the gates lie open. The only shut door seems to be the front entrance into the keep proper. The barge continues to float overhead, hundreds of feet into the air.
"It's too quiet." Cleo says softly.
The three Trolls also cast a few spells.
Assol the young redhaired Troll summons a giant porcupine, then casts Guidance on herself.
Blagorodna blesses the entire party in the name of her Troll God, asking for the power to avenge her home and children. Then she casts Guidance on herself.
Babushka only casts resistance on herself.
All three of them activate their longspears, in which the iron blade turns red hot with wisps of flame.
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Wabbit doesn't know any spells, he relies on the Luck of Chaldira to keep him safe and when that fails CLEO!
keeping a wary eye on the barge overhead eventually we're gonna need some flying magic to take care of that barge. I hate waiting for magic bombs to drop on our heads
Kemras do you think the door is safe to open?
Furnok is all set to bash with his hammer.
"Let's see what we've got..." Kemras quickly takes in the door, scanning for any signs of traps of the magical or mundane sort.
The party approaches the great double doors, and already Kemras can see that not only is it barred from the inside, it's also magically trapped. A subtle rune imposed on the door suggests that if it's opened, some sort of magical effect will take place. Also, as they're focusing on the door, Kemras hears the faintest little goblin laugh behind him. As they turn around, the sky gets noticeably darker, and monstrous-looking goblins and ogres materialize around them.
The goblins are clearly incorporeal, ghost-like creatures. They have glowing red eyes, and when they smile, their grin of sharp teeth gets so large it completely covers their face. They hold spectral bombs that spark with black flames.
The Ogres are slightly more substantial, ectoplasmic undead. Their slick, oozing body is a vibrant green, which drips like it's melting every second. Their eyes are violet, and there's an unsettling aura around them. No weapons to be spoken for, but likely it uses its ectoplasmic body as a weapon instead.
An elegant, yet menacing female voice echoes from far above "You insolent little peons and dim-witted beasts. I'll never be able to fill my master's need for weapons and armour now. So I'm going to send everything I have at you! But fear not you ants, death is not coming for you yet. Infestation awaits you now! I'll draw your worst nightmares out of you until they finally consume your soul, then turn you into my next ectoplasms! Then I'll send you back to whatever remains of that backwater village you came from and kill the survivors yourselves!" She cackles louder and louder with full insanity, then screams "LAUNCH THE NEXT BOMB!"
I don't normally curse, but...
Well, shit." Kemras says, his brows furrowing as he draws his sword. "Figures, though." He chants a quick phrase and feels his limbs fill with grace and alacrity. With a rush, he dodges through his companions to face the creatures.
Not wanting to stay bunched up, allowing the undead kamikaze soul bomb to get a direct hit on all of them Wabbit yells
Before Wabbit allows his tattoo to yank him onto the western parapet he quickly says to Cleo Summon one of your fliers to take me up to the Barge, I'm gonna stop those Bombs from raining on us
Wabbit is yanked onto the western parapet by his tattoo and once there slashes at the undead gobbo
Magic Weapon +2
Being wedged behind everyone, especially some big butt trolls. Furnok backs off so he backs off to hopefully get himself out of bomb range.
Whoops! Just noticed the goblins have a better init
It should be
Kemras
Goblins
The rest of us
Kemras hustles over the rough terrain, then easily dodges an attack from an ectoplasmic Ogre. He isn't entirely sure what these creatures are capable of, but he knows ectoplasms can walk on air and slip into spaces like an ooze or phase through walls slowly sort of like a ghost. He notices that the Ogres have an aura of magical fear around them. Anyone within 20 feet can end up shaken or worse. At least ectoplasms are unintelligent. They are not meant to be great fighters.
However, now the ghostly goblins go. The goblin closest to Cleo on the tower lobs a single bomb that solidifies as ectoplasm as it soars towards the Halfling. As the black spark reaches the end, it detonates right on top of Cleo, hurting her and Wabbit, though Aggah gets out of the way in time. The eruption sends a burst of negative energy radiating out like a purple miasma, and all sorts of shrieks and screams are heard from no one in particular. Each goblin launches another bomb, and every single one of them hits, causing devastation and horror upon the battlefield.
Evasion
Cleo takes 12, Wabbit takes 4
Blagorodna takes 21 and is Hazed, Kemras takes 4
Improved Evasion
Kemras takes 13, Blagorodna takes 8, Babushka takes 8 and is Hazed
Improved Evasion
Babushka takes 13, Blagorodna takes 8, and Kemras takes 4
Improved Evasion
Kemras takes 16, Blagorodna and Babushka take 8, and Dikabraz takes 4
Evasion
Babushka takes 15, Assol takes 4
Bacon takes 16 and is Hazed, Assol and Babushka take 8, Furnok and Wabbit take 4
Evasion
Furnok takes 18, Bacon takes 8, Wabbit takes 4
Total:
Furnok took 22
Bacon took 24 and is hazed
Cleo took 12
Aggah took 0
Wabbit took 12
Kemras took 31
Blagorodna took 45 and is hazed
Assol took 12
Dikabraz took 4
Babushka took 52 and is hazed
Cleo tries to cover up with her shiel with little effect. She has no advice to yell out or encouraging words, but she does have a prayer to her god to see them all through another day.
Aggah tries to put holes in the goblins with the lovely smiles.
Not wanting to stay bunched up, allowing the undead kamikaze soul bomb to get a direct hit on all of them Wabbit yells
Before Wabbit allows his tattoo to yank him onto the western parapet he quickly says to Cleo Summon one of your fliers to take me up to the Barge, I'm gonna stop those Bombs from raining on us
Wabbit is yanked onto the western parapet by his tattoo and once there slashes at the undead gobbo
incorporeal miss chance, low bad, high good: 1d100 ⇒ 52
Magic Weapon +2
attack #1: 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 10 + 2 = 18
damage: 1d4 + 6 + 4 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 6 + 4 + 5 + 2 = 21
Furnok moves up and bashes at an undead ogre with his longhammer
Cleo's channel washes over everyone, granting significant relief. All of her enemies are some form of undead, so not a single one of them benefits from her ability. The trolls all smile as Cleo's healing aids them. (in Giant)"Te power of Клео is witus! Her God lends its aid to Urxehl!"
Aggah makes two quick shots at a ghostly goblin, but it easily dodges both of her attacks. Wabbit yanks himself up to attack the same goblin, but also misses! The first strike goes to Furnok, who braves the wave of fear to bash into the ectoplasmic ogre for an incredible blow, only slightly lessened due to the squishiness of the semi-liquid nature of the creature. As he goes to pull his weapon free, he realises that it naturally sticks to the creature, and requires some strength to retrieve.
Blagorodna uses her wand to touch Kemras with. (in Giant)"You're a brave one, little Kemras! Fight like a troll!" Kemras feels like his blood is boiling, and his eyes focus in on his enemies. Assol summons a sphere of fire, hurting the ectoplasm slightly. Old Babushka takes a step back, and begins casting an intricate spell.
You've been affected with a spell that grants you the following:
- +2 to all melee attack rolls and damage rolls
- +2 on all Will Saves
- A -2 penalty to AC
- Regenerate 2hp per round (starting on the beginning of your turn) This allows you to regrow skin, bone, organs, and can even prevent you from hp death. Fire and Acid eliminate the benefit for one round.
- You gain claws. If you make a full attack action but have a free hand, you can make one additional claw attack at your highest BAB, dealing 1d6 damage plus modifiers.
The Ectoplasm Ogres move, one of which begins engulfing Blagorodna in its acidic body, but it takes more time to engulf a Troll compared to a human. Kemras is also targeted, but he dodges effortlessly. Furnok doesn't get engulfed, but rather is slapped with a massive arm. The ectoplasm residue stings, but also eats at his resolve.
The screaming from above commences. Something is beginning to fall...
pass
Kemras listens carefully to the screaming as he prepares to get out of the area. The magic of the trolls surges within him, and he bares his teeth in a feral grin. This will prove useful. He takes a moment to study the ectoplasmic giant before him before lashing out with his rapier.
Kemras takes a good look into the sky, peering to get a glimpse of the falling goblin's trajectory. His eyes are keen enough to know that it's being blown off course with the wind, making it land right in front of the double doors. It should hit in a matter of seconds (1 round), and Kemras remembers the blast area was 15 feet from the impact. This means Babushka, Cleo, and Aggah need to MOVE, before a necromantic fireball detonates overtop of them.
Kemras' rapier thrust easily penetrates the gooey skin of the ectoplasmic ogre, though it lacks the cutting capacity to sever the skin off.
The goblin right in front of Wabbit tries to lunge straight into the middle of the paladin, though Wabbit easily dodges and fends him off with his magical waveblade. The rest of the goblins throw bombs, causing yet more devastation. Furnok sees hazy images of nightmares in his past, which distract him whenever he moves.
Improved Evasion
Improved Evasion
Improved Evasion
Enchantment, TrollBlood
Shaken
Shaken
Failed
Wabbit hates fighting these insubstantial THINGS. But without any other solid opponents around, he seeks to end the undead gobbo in front of him
Melee, Fighting Defensively-2,Flurry, Pirahna Strike -2 +4dam
WaveBlade +10/+10/+5 (1d4+6+4+5, 18-20x2, PS) +1Agile Waveblade, , Pirahna,
GMW+2 Bless+1
Cleo does her last burst of magical healing, then rushes away from where Kemras tells her the bombs are coming.
Aggah sends an arrow at the nearest ectoplasmic goblin, and rushes after Cleo
Furnok keeps bashing at the nasty undead ogre in front of him
Wabbit slashes wildly at the spectral goblin, but this time he's fighting an opponent his size! Two of his slashes meet their mark, and together they nearly take the goblin back to the ethereal plane, but not quite. The incorporeal goblin feels no pain, and just continues its onslaught with a mad grin on its face. The only signs of damage being its frayed and dispersed form, like disrupting a smoke ring.
Cleo uses her channel energy in desperation to keep everyone alive. Then with Kemras' advice, swiftly gets out of the way of the falling soul bomb.
Aggah fires a magical arrow at a goblin, but the goblin easily dodges with such nimbleness that no corporeal form could ever do. Meanwhile, Furnok bashes the ectoplasmic ogre like he was smashing jelly with a hammer. It bobs and bounces back with the first swing, but when Furnok tries to go for the backswing, he fails to pull his hammer free of the creature. Assol the red-haired troll tries to set it on fire with her flaming sphere, but the ectoplasmic ogre shows surprising nimbleness and dodges away. She then gets frustrated, and sticks it with her fiery longspear, which can reach over Furnok like a military pike. The Ogre sizzles from the fire, but just barely manages to survive.
"Assol! Use your claws on the fat ones, your spear on the ghosts." Blagorodna instructs. Assol just grunts and considers just dropping the spear.
"Blaggard. Tey took me lightning!" The old Babushka curses. Blagorodna maintains her wand's power over Kemras, then fights the Ogre that's trying to engulf her with a claw. Though its just a mundane claw, it does rip and tear into the undead's rubbery hide like butter. Babushka stays back, and uses her longspear to fight over Blagorodna's shoulder. All of the trolls are able to retrieve their weapons from the sticky hide of the Ogres.
The Ectoplasmic Ogre fighting Blagorodna lurches at her, throwing its arms and head and stretching beyond what a living creature could do. It impacts her right in the chest, but she shakes off whatever nasty effects the bludgeoning might have done. The other two Ogres also make similar attacks against Kemras and Furnok, but both are able to dodge the unsettling strikes.
The scream from before gets louder and louder, before what looks like a black fireball comes into view and swiftly impacts the area Kemras just pointed out. A 15ft sphere of violet energy erupts from the impact, with horrific screams emanating from swirling violet faces. Then a second afterwards, it collapses in on itself before bursting out to 30 feet. Babushka the elderly troll, DikaBraz the summoned giant hedgehog, Aggah, and even Bacon are caught in this after blast. For Aggah and Bacon however, they manage to evade the whole thing at the last moment.
The energy from the initial blast seeps deep into the soil, causing it to twist and worm with necrotic magic. Then another scream is heard from high above. The hag has launched another bomb!
(half)
Improved Evasion (quarter)
Evasion (none)
Evasion (none)
half is 13, quarter is 6
failed, but doesn't really matter
Kemras grimaces. Should I...? I can really hurt this thing. No. Focus on your allies. "Another one's coming!" He calls, gesturing in the direction he thinks it'll hit.
With that, he sends another quick flurry of thrusts at his spectral giant opponent.
Furnok forgoes his hammer and draws his cutlass to attack the ogre
Kemras notices the next bomb as it falls. It's bigger, greener, and has a deeper scream to it. He believes it will fall nearby, possibly right on top of Blagorodna. Then he stabs at the Ogre again, and although it looks like the ectoplasm will fall apart from one or two more hits like that, it isn't exactly encouraging.
Then the goblins launch their bombs, and since everyone is clumped up, deal incredible amounts of damage. Cleo nearly passes out from being the center target, and Furnok and Kemras aren't looking good either. The trolls are fighting hard, relying on their regeneration to keep themselves alive, but anyone else apart from Kemras does not have that kind of luxury.
In addition, the goblin that Wabbit is fighting, as well as one near Kemras, don't attack. Instead they start getting darker and darker, all except for their yellow teeth and red eyes. Both Kemras and Wabbit feel cold.
Improved Evasion
Evasion
Improved Evasion
Evasion
Improved Evasion
Evasion
Blag 20
Kemras 12
DikaBraz 4
Aggah 16
Cleo 48
Furnok 28
Babush 12
Assol 28
"We should separate!"
Aggah fires arrows at the reddining goblin next to Kemras
Wabbits a bit unnerved by the still goblin ghost/thing in front of him but doesn't know what else to do so he continues attacking
Melee, Fighting Defensively-2,Flurry, Pirahna Strike -2 +4dam
WaveBlade +10/+10/+5 (1d4+6+4+5, 18-20x2, PS) +1Agile Waveblade, , Pirahna,
GMW+2 Bless+1
Furnok swings with his falchion, dealing the final strike to the Ogre ectoplasmic ooze. The creature is split apart, and four small oozes escape 10 feet in each direction. Furnok nearly destroys one with his second swing. These oozes are slowly travelling back to the center, suggesting they will recombine eventually. Furnok's lucerne hammer now lies at his feet, covered in goop, but not stuck any more.
Cleo sends out a wave of healing again, giving everyone whiplash of pain and restoration over and over again. She moves out of the way so the ghost bombs are less effective, while Aggah rapid fires two shots at the darkening goblin next to Kemras. The first shot is a hit, but the second is dodged by the nimble thing.
Wabbit eviscerates the darkening goblin in front of him, which results in a faint burst of blue light before the ghost is dispersed into the wind.
Blagorodna is stuck where she is, so she simply keeps her wand activated, while hunkering down for whatever may be falling. Assol's flamish sphere fails to connect, but she stabs the same ooze that Furnok slashed, killing it immediately. Even DikaBraz, the giant porcupine Assol summoned, gets in on the action, backing up at great speed before launching several spines into one of the small oozes. Babushka looks over at Furnok, who even with Cleo's help is hurt badly. The old troll hobbles closer to him, and with her long arms touches him on the head. Furnok's wounds suddenly start to regenerate, though Babushka's cease. "Be strong, Фёpнok. You are like miniature troll. Do not stop fighting."
The Ectoplasm Ogres continue their assault, with one slamming into Blagorodna, and another into Aggah. While the troll withstands the assault, Aggah is not so fortunate. The poor goblin is horrified by the monster, and in her fear staggers as if she's not in full control of her body.
The green slime falls from the barge, impacting the ground right next to Blagorodna. It's another Ogre, and with its squishy body it rockets back up over a hundred feet in the air. It manages to hone in on Kemras, bludgeoning him before coming up again, and bludgeoning him a second time. On the third, it's only 30 feet into the air, but it looks like it'll decend on Kemras, Aggah, and DikaBraz.
From the barge above, "HAHAHAHAHAHA! What!? What d'you mean that's the last one? FOOLS!! Be grateful I need you here, or I'd throw you down next! I'll get some more from the keep myself!"
miss, 300
hit, 150
hit, 75
Now in air, 30 feet up
Cloe helps with Furnocks wounds as well, stepping close and praying he sees his grandfathering days.
Aggah sends her arrows into the small blobs since they are near and easy to hit.