One of the bandits in the front group and one from the rear group act next. The first shoots again, while the second rushes forward and also shoots at Elma.
One of the arrows twists through the underbrush and catches Elma's torso. She yells in pain. 5 damage.
Sarge springs up from his place by the fire and interposes himself and his shield between Elma and the bandits. "Get into the palisade, we'll hold 'em there!"
He activates Total Defense, raising his shield to the level of his helm so only a sliver of his eyes are left to watch the bandits below.
Init order:
Jack
Bandit
Bandit
Sarge
Bandit
Elma 5d
Bandit
Private
Bandit
Bandit
Another bandit fires a shot, this time at Sarge
It ricochets off his shield.
Elma scuttles back into camp, drawing and drinking a potion of Cure Light
She's fully healed.
Another day, another arrow:
The private grabs his gear and heads to the gate. He heard Sarge's command to Elma, so he's not about to expose himself to arrow fire. He holds his light crossbow in one hand, his longsword in the other.
By now, all the bandits are in the clearing in front of the demon's mouth, and they pepper Sarge with deadly shots:
One very dangerous shot leaves a nasty wound in Sarge's side, but just misses critical internal organs.
Init order
Jack 1/10
Bandit
Bandit
Sarge 6d
Bandit
Elma
Bandit
Private
Bandit
Bandit
Sarge withdraws into the palisade. He yells out "We mean ye no harm, pass on, travelers!"
The bandits look back and forth at each other. "Alright, mate. If we see ye followin' us we'll kill ye."
Jack suddenly whistles a shrill, unusual note.
Elma looks into his eyes and sees that he's trying to signal the bandits outside. She yells this to Sarge.
The next bandit whispers to the rest, "Jack's up there! Let's save him!"
He heads towards the path up to the palisade.
Elma yells at Jack, "Why the hell are you signalling them!?"
He tries to explain, "Umm well, I mean, maybe they are friendly folks..."
She doens't buy his lies this time. "It's your gang, isn't it? You bastard, you want them to kill us! I AM GOING TO LIVE!"
She moved next to him and points her crossbow at his face. She yells, "Come any closer and Jack gets a bolt in his brain!"
"Calm down, Lady, we'll talk, we just want Jack to be ok..."
Not fooled for a second, Elma whispers to Sarge, "They're gonna come up here and they don't give a damn if I kill Jack. What should I do?"
Sarge, who has withdrawn from the ledge into the palisade, walks over to where she's standing and says, "Get ready to hit the first one that comes through the doors. We won't shut the palisade. Better to try to focus them, path of least resistance. Ready your spear, Private!"
Meanwhile two of the bandits keep talking to the fort, lying about good intentions while holding bows at the ready.
The other four begin to climb up around the demon's face.
The bandits eventually gather entirely on the top of the demon's face, drawing their swords and suddenly rushing the two doors, three at each.
They rush right into defenders who have waited for them, not fooled for an instant by their jabber.
miss
miss
hit
hit
The first bandit goes down, unconscious, but the others swarm in behind him and engage the small party. Three on the private, one on Sarge.
The first, moving to engage Sarge, misses.
Sarge, canny veteran of many battles, readies an action to Cleave as soon as two bandits are in range.
He doesn't have to wait long, as a second bandit moves into range.
His clever tactic fails, this time, and the bandit ripostes:
No harm.
Elma shoots her light crossbow into melee
Then she scuttles to the back of the palisade, back to the wall.
Another bandit goes after the private:
He misses
The private drops his spear and quick-draws his longsword and smites the man who just got inside his reach:
He deals some damage but doesn't take full advantage of the accuracy of his strike.
Another bandit moves around him into flanking position and lunges with his short sword
But misses.
Another moves on Sarge:
No dice.
Jack 3 /10
Bandit 12d
Bandit 10d
Sarge 13d
Bandit
Elma
Bandit
Private
Bandit
Bandit
Jack keeps working on his bonds.
The bandit fighting Sarge 5-fts into a flanking position:
He dips his shortsword into the veteran.
Sarge, no longer with an opportunity to Cleave, does his best with what he has:
His counter gashes the bandit badly!
His other opponent takes their turn:
And despite his armor and shield, Sarge is now bleeding from several wounds.
Elma shoots her light crossbow into melee. She's getting nervous.
If she wasn't shooting into combat, that would have hit.
In the other half of the combat, a bandit goes after the private, shifting to ensure flanking for his friends:
He connects and wounds the lad.
Everyone else just waves their blades around...
Jack 4 /10
Bandit 12d (down)
Bandit 19d (down)
Sarge 31d
Bandit
Elma
Bandit
Private d6
Bandit
Bandit
This round is much like last round.
Jack keeps working on his bonds. The bandits keep going after their targets, who respond accordingly.
A terrible blow against the old man!
But he gets his revenge, sending his opponent to Pharasma.
Oh dang! The other bandit confirms a crit, and Sarge is barely on his feet... this bandit's last four roll have been 19, 1, 20, 20.
Elma spends her round piling a few things against the inside of the palisade. Seeing how wounded Sarge is, she's making herself a back door.
The corporal is overwhelmed by the bandits lined against him, and, like Sarge, has difficulty maintaining his footing against the onslaught.
Jack 5/10
Bandit 12d (down)
Bandit 19d (down)
Sarge 31d
Bandit
Elma
Bandit
Private d17
Bandit
Bandit
This round is much like last round.
Jack keeps working on his bonds. The bandits keep going after their targets, who respond accordingly.
Neither Sarge nor his remaining opponent can make any headway.
Elma tries to ascend her rickety ladder:
Elma fails to get out. She's panicking now.
The first of the bandits finishes the Private.
The other two move in on Sarge.
They can't piece his defenses.
Jack 6/10
Bandit 12d (down)
Bandit 19d (down)
Sarge 31d
Bandit
Elma
Bandit d18 (down)
Private d21 (down)
Bandit
Bandit
This round is much like last round.
Jack keeps working on his bonds.
Sarge finally has a chance to Cleave, spinning to his new antagonists and attempting to take two of them with one swing:
He utterly cleaves one of them, but the carry-through fails.
Elma tries again
Definitely panicking now.
Sarge stands alone, fending off the three remaining bandits with his mighty shield...
Jack 7/10
Bandit 12d (down)
Bandit 19d (down)
Sarge 41d (down)
Bandit
Elma
Bandit d18 (down)
Private d21 (down)
Bandit
Bandit
This round is much like last round.
Jack keeps working on his bonds.
Sarge declines to Cleave again, focusing on keeping his defenses up.
He fails to land his attack...
Finally, the old campaigner succumbs to his wounds.
Elma reaches into her pocked and quaffs a potion of Invisibility. She fades from view, and starts creeping 5 ft towards the doorway of the camp...
Jack laughs heartily, Atta way to do it, boys! Come cut me free!
One of them does, rushing over and slicing deftly through the ropes. Where's the she-dog got to? I've got a few things to tell her, after she shoved a crossbow in my face! chuckles Jack Ratt.
Checking to see who managed to stablize: Bandit 1
Bandit 1 is stable.
Bandit 2 is dead-dead
Bandit 3
Bandit 3 is dying but his friends have a chance to save him...
They staunch the bleeding at death's very door.
Jack
Bandit 12d (down)
Sarge 41d (down)
Bandit
Elma
Bandit d18 (down)
Private d21 (down)
Bandit
Bandit
Elma quaffs a second potion, this time of Longstrider, edging towards the door again...
Jack takes a look around, realizing she must be somewhere...
But he juussst misses the footprints in the dirt...
Jack
Bandit 12d (down)
Sarge 41d (down)
Bandit
Elma
Bandit d18 (down)
Private d21 (down)
Bandit
Bandit
Elma makes a break for the door and gets through.
Jack misses her escape, and couldn't have caught her if he wanted to. She's moving fast.
He considers his two unconscious party-members. From a proud gang of seven humans and three orcs, and three random zombies to boot, he only has three active warriors left. He has no means of healing his wounded and no experience in healing. He says, "Well boys, I guess we have to leave these fellas behind. It's sad but they will only slow us down."
His men reject this plan outright, arguing that they need to find some healing magic. Thinking quickly, Jack moves to stabilize the mercenaries:
He snarls cruelly. "Those scumbags who wrecked our hideout have healing magic. With these guys we've got some leverage. Let's see if we can work out a deal..."
Found your secret place!
If it didn't work in the PM, here's initiative.
Tragershen takes one look at this place and presses the "return" button. He feels that odd sensation of being rendered into particles again...
The ball of light lunges towards him, but he's already gone.
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Sounds good! If I have time later, maybe I'll post a "here's my back up character for Tragershen" in the out of character thread just to up the freak out factor. ;)
After some preliminary training, the half-orc brothers and their guide, Callisto the woodswoman, depart from Zelkor's Ferry. They leave the very next day in the hopes that the trail of the hobgoblins will be all the fresher.
Callisto knows the immediate surroundings of Zelkor's like the back of her hand, even after just a month of living there. Her tender ministrations to the ancient forest have literally cleared the terrain adjacent to the town. Farther out, she's been more selective, picking the most valuable stands for thinning. There's no check necessary to get to the edge of the trail to the east.
Sylvie can't make out the trail. They fan out, searching for clues. After a few hours:
They find the path of the hobgoblins. Now, the long tracking.
At nightfall, something appears!
Actually, it's just a dead hunting spider. Since the nest collapsed, their population has fallen.
Night passes without incident.
At the dawn of the second day, they continue tracking:
Night falls.
On the third day, they rose again:
...yep, you guessed it. Five refugees. The little party immediately turns back for the Ferry.
Night falls.
...dead spiders again.
The whole party is briefly captured in camp by Draceana the sorceress. The half-orcs surrender quickly after being wounded. After being rifled of all items of value (there aren't many), they and their wards are allowed to leave.
At the dawn of the fourth day, they continue heading home:
A foot patrol of Riddleport soldiers catches the group. Battle ensues.
It is CR 4 vs. CR 8. The knights quickly kill the half-orc brothers and round up the non-combatants for transport back to Riddleport.
On Septimus 11th, after meeting the party, Sir Rah's patrol follows their instructions and enters the Foothills.
Nothing stops them.
As they approach the hillfort, the forest is eerily quiet. That's because Daarog, Zorzunar, and Hodger are dependent on divine guidance and want to wait until tomorrow to use Divination for advice. They have the fort buttoned up tight, with three patrols of three hobgoblins each constantly rotating around the fort. Zorzunar is waiting for his spell list to reset, but he did cast Greater Magic Weapon on fifty arrows, distributed to the hobgoblins. Each sentry has three magic arrows. Daarog glowers in the cave, seeing to his defenses. Hodger sits in one of the ruined buildings aboveground. As the brains of the operation, he wants to supervise the sentries. He has a guard of five hobgoblins posted around his building, with one sitting with him and the others at the corners. All the other hobgoblins are waiting at the second line of defenses below and/or sleeping. Tomorrow will be a big day. They've cooked a feast of venison, hoping for other flesh to resupply them soon.
Despite the collective efforts of the hobgoblins, they can't spot the ranger.
The ranger notes the sentries and the plumes of cooksmoke. She casts longstrider on herself and advances.
She can't help but try a little sniper action:
One hobgoblin takes an arrow, but the ranger's position is compromised.
Initiative:
One hobgoblin goes down, and another is badly wounded.
The hobgoblins sound the alarm, call for a medic, and return fire:
The ranger takes an arrow herself.
Two more sentries launch arrows:
Their magically enhanced archery begins to pressure the greycloak. She wasn't expecting such a skilled counterattack. After taking fifteen damage, she retreats, using Longstrider to outdistance any pursuit.
Hodger Cures the wounded hobgoblin before he dies.
Rather than pursue, the hillfort waits for the results of the Divination. An additional sentry trio heads to the walls.
Neither side does anything stupid. The patrol returns to the prairies of the Coast Road, knowing that they need room for the horses if they want to be effective in combat. They have located the hobgoblin stronghold and will return to Iansfort in the morning.
In the morning, Zorzunar asks the orc gods for advice.
The orc gods warn Zorzunar that they face more than one foe. They must prepare their defenses for a mighty battle. They should avoid horses. Check back in three days.
Zorzunar changes his spell loadout accordingly, favoring Blessing of Fervor x 2, Greater Magic Weapon, and Summon 4.
Hodger helps the hobgoblins plan and install horse-sized pit traps on the path to the main gate to the fort.
The Combatants:
Daarog, Barbarian 8
Zorzunar, Cleric 8
Hodger, Bard 1
46 Hobgoblins in the Army
31 Hobgoblin Females (last ditch defense)
Sir Rah's Patrol
Sparky Wizard 5
Greycloak Ranger 5
Sheriff Aristo 2/Fighter 3
2 Knights Fighter 4
8 Footmen
Daarog's Ruffians are CR 11
Sir Rah's Patrol is CR 10
Zorzunar Wis Check:
Greycloak Wis:
Actually, I think Riddlefort would send more men than just Rah's patrol. The CRs would be roughly even, with the biggest tipping points being Sparky's fireball, invisibility, and beast shape versus Zorzunar's blessings of fervor, greater magic weapon, and summon monster 4. But Zorzunar has an ace in the hole: Divination. He already knows about the attack and has fortified the hobgoblins. He's been warned about horses, so the hobs will stick to the hillfort, relying on long casts of GMW on arrows and rotating sentry duty to keep themselves from being surprised. Zorz has all horse-passable trails pit trapped, especially close to the fort itself. Hodger is placed where he can sing to inspire the hobs on the wall.
The fort's attack begins as Sparky flies above the fight invisibly, waiting for the best time to launch a fireball.
The knights hold back at first, and a missile duel begins between their crossbowmen and the longbows of the hobs. Cover, numbers, bard, and GMW mean the hobs quickly take the lead, and more and more hobgoblins swarm the walls. They feign retreat, but Zorzunar is too canny to fall for it.
Sparky, flying and invisible, bombs the walls with a Fireball, but hobgoblins are nails and the cleric is on hand to quickly reverse Sparky's handiwork. He's wounded by counter-fire and withdraws.
The humans, having preserved their cavalry and without suffering too many losses, settle in for a siege. Daarog argues that the hobs should counter-charge, but Zorzunar convinces him to wait. They are impregnable as long as they avoid the lance charges of the humans.
Thus, the fight ends without either side losing significant forces. Having been forewarned by the orc gods, Zorzunar has the fort well-supplied with food and the siege can last quite some time without forcing them into hunger. And they have lots of noncombatants to eat if things get desperate.