As Teleri pointed out in discussion, there's a map under my name here. I had stashed it as a lower slide and forgot to move it up until earlier today.
Teleri, just fyi that I rule that the running start can have occurred in the previous round. It's not as if you would run 10 ft last round, stop and wait for the stirge to do something, then jump with no momentum at the start of the next round.
Ives eliminates another stirge with the flash of his claw as it flies toward him while he and Teleri leap safely onto a small grassy island. But another stirge comes flying over from the east, looking for a bloodmeal! This one is moving toward Teleri!
Map updated. I'll assume Teleri gave Ives somewhere to land on that island, if it's the island of choice. In general, you'll need to pay attention to whether or not the other character is in your way. Party go!
Acro +1, Bluff +8, Diplo +8, Kn(nobles, hist, eng) +3, Kn(nature) +6, Perform (dance) +6, Perc +7, Sense M +10, Stealth +7, Spellcraft +8
"I'm going for that one," Teleri says, pointing at the small hummock directly north of them. "Then that one," shifting her finger west to a slightly larger spot. "If we can get to that really large dry spot over there," indicating the long squiggledy one even further west, "... then we can just walk a good ways to the north, where that big one lies."
I hope that's clear.
She glances over her shoulder at the sound of an approaching stirge. "Horrid creature," she mutters. "Here goes! Hup!"
She takes a breath, dashes forward, and leaps.
Acrobatics:1d20 - 2 ⇒ (5) - 2 = 3
At the last moment, her foot slips in a bit of mire. With a startled shriek, Teleri staggers forward, arms windmilling. She manages not to fall full length and face first into the swamp, but winds up standing in water up to her hips. It's cold from spring snowmelt, and promptly soaks her to the skin.
Could have been worse. I could have failed by five or more and wound up prone and underwater.
"Terrific," she says, grimacing, and slogs her way to the shore as best she can.
So, first move action was the failed jump, ending in the square of water between our two current hummocks; second move action to haul herself out of the swamp water on the opposite side, leaving a spot for Ives to jump to.
Full round action to haul oneself out of the mire! It's thick stuff! You can use a standard action to begin a full round action, however. So currently, Ives could just jump over you, assuming he doesn't fail as well.
Acro +1, Bluff +8, Diplo +8, Kn(nobles, hist, eng) +3, Kn(nature) +6, Perform (dance) +6, Perc +7, Sense M +10, Stealth +7, Spellcraft +8
Teleri shrieks a little as the stirge latches onto her and inserts its wickedly sharp proboscis into her side. Then Ives tears it apart. She brushes most of its remains off, leaving herself soaked not just in muddy swamp water, but also her own blood and bits of dead bug.
Okay, so I spent a standard action to start getting out of the muck last time, so I can get out as a move, and then move again to jump to the next hummock.
"This is the best day ever," she says through gritted teeth, and hauls herself out of the water. Once ashore, she lines up another jump and grimly leaps towards the hummock to the west.
Acrobatics:1d20 - 2 ⇒ (5) - 2 = 3
Her dress, sodden and heavy, clumps up about her legs, and she splashes to a halt halfway between the hummocks, once again.
She closes her eyes. She inhales deeply through her nostrils; holds it a moment; and exhales and opens her eyes once more.
Acro +1, Bluff +8, Diplo +8, Kn(nobles, hist, eng) +3, Kn(nature) +6, Perform (dance) +6, Perc +7, Sense M +10, Stealth +7, Spellcraft +8
"No thank you, sir," Teleri tells the stirge. "I've given enough blood for one day." And so saying, she shifts slightly to the side and smacks at it with her light mace.
Acro +1, Bluff +8, Diplo +8, Kn(nobles, hist, eng) +3, Kn(nature) +6, Perform (dance) +6, Perc +7, Sense M +10, Stealth +7, Spellcraft +8
"Coming, Mr. Tunn?" she calls back and strides forward a bit.
I'm just going to move forward a bit and give Ives a chance to catch up. She may have splattered that one, but she's nowhere near as good at it as he is.
Acro +1, Bluff +8, Diplo +8, Kn(nobles, hist, eng) +3, Kn(nature) +6, Perform (dance) +6, Perc +7, Sense M +10, Stealth +7, Spellcraft +8
"Thanks," Teleri says. Reaching down, she bundles up her sodden skirts to about knee length and makes a running jump to the next hummock.
Acrobatics:1d20 - 2 ⇒ (3) - 2 = 1
... and trips on a rock, stumbling forward into the water once again. "This is getting old," she remarks, thigh deep in muddy water. She starts hauling herself out.
Move action for the jump, standard to start the full round to extract herself from the mire next round. Gosh, I only need to roll a 7 or higher to clear one of these gaps, but the dice apparently like dunking Teleri. That's three failures to hit DC 5 in a row!
Ives is forced to spend his time skewering another one. "I'm coming, I'm coming. These things aren't giving me a second!"
Remind me again how Con damage works? That one is always fuzzy in my mind. It seems like I take 1 damage and my max HP should drop by 1 since it lowers my con from 14 to 13. So HP: 10/11
Acro +1, Bluff +8, Diplo +8, Kn(nobles, hist, eng) +3, Kn(nature) +6, Perform (dance) +6, Perc +7, Sense M +10, Stealth +7, Spellcraft +8
Ability score damage doesn't actually reduce your stat; it applies a penalty based on how much CON damage you've taken. The exact phrasing from the rule book is: "For every 2 points of damage you take to a single ability, apply a –1 penalty to skills and statistics listed with the relevant ability." So, with just 1 CON damage, you take no penalty. If you accrue another CON damage, for a total of 2, then you will decrease your current AND max hp by 1 for each hit die you have (currently 1), and reduce your fort saves by 1.
"All right", Teleri says. She hauls herself out of the water once more, and makes her way along the soft, mucky terrain.
Move action to finish the full-round action started last round, then 20 feet of movement.
Acro +1, Bluff +8, Diplo +8, Kn(nobles, hist, eng) +3, Kn(nature) +6, Perform (dance) +6, Perc +7, Sense M +10, Stealth +7, Spellcraft +8
"Thanks," Teleri says, feeling a bit faint-headed from loss of blood. "Come on -- the sooner we get out of this stirge breeding ground, the better."
Also, two mechanics notes; Teleri's Fort save is +2, not +1. That's her Reflex save. I've added labels to her stat line to make it clearer rather than relying on their positions. And Ives, a stirge's AC drops to 12 when they're attached to someone, so I don't think you needed to spend that stamina.
Teleri is correct except its 11 in the case of these juvenile stirges. Thanks for pointing out the correct fort save. Not sure why I read it wrong since you had it in the usual order. *shrug*
Ives' claws are now covered in stirge guts. Another one of the pesky bugs comes buzzing over from the east! It looks very hungry!
Another stirge comes buzzing toward them as the commotion seems to have attracted them at significant distances. It seems the swamp has no end of these pests!
Acro +1, Bluff +8, Diplo +8, Kn(nobles, hist, eng) +3, Kn(nature) +6, Perform (dance) +6, Perc +7, Sense M +10, Stealth +7, Spellcraft +8
Teleri moves anxiously back towards the other end of the hummock. "Leave him alone, you stupid bug!" she yells, and hurls a rock at it.
Let's see. Improvised weapon, -4 nonproficient. Range increment 10 feet, range is 30 feet, range penalty -4. Firing into melee without Precise Shot, -4. Dex +1. Rolling at -11! And it's got +2 to its AC due to soft cover from Ives.
Attack:1d20 - 11 ⇒ (16) - 11 = 5
The rock sails through the air and disappears in the swamp water somewhere behind Ives with a large plop.
Ives swipes off the stirge and runs forward to the next gap. Despite the blood loss, or maybe because of it, he can't help but laugh at Teleri's rock throw.
"Ha hee heh ha! Miss Teleri! You had as much a chance of beaming me in the head with that rock as one of these stirges!"
Acro +1, Bluff +8, Diplo +8, Kn(nobles, hist, eng) +3, Kn(nature) +6, Perform (dance) +6, Perc +7, Sense M +10, Stealth +7, Spellcraft +8
Teleri goes faintly red at this. "Well!" she says.
She thinks of half a dozen other things to say; but opts to say none of them. Instead she turns on her heel and stalks deeper into the swamp, dripping wet, slightly woozy from blood loss, and wearing a face that would make any stirge think twice before taking a bite of her.
Ives and Teleri make it out of the swamp, wet, light-headed, and stinking of decaying vegetation. But they also feel stronger, more confident. It's as if they've proved something to themselves by crossing that horrible portion of the swamp. The ground up ahead is firmer, though still soggy, with occasional pools. After a little while, they come across several footprints deep in the shade of the twisted trees of the swamp.
DC 13 survival:
The tracks look almost... amphibian. They lead north.
Acro +1, Bluff +8, Diplo +8, Kn(nobles, hist, eng) +3, Kn(nature) +6, Perform (dance) +6, Perc +7, Sense M +10, Stealth +7, Spellcraft +8
Prestidigitation is awesome.
Once they're clear of the stirge nest, Teleri takes a few minutes to clean up. With a twinkle of her fingers and several minutes of concentration, water and mud come sluicing off her, leaving her mostly dry, mostly clean, and feeling about a million times better. She's so glad to be clean that she doesn't even feel self-conscious about using magic in front of another person.
The stirges left a couple of holes in her dress, though. She frowns at them, but there's nothing to be done about them here and now. The stirge bites itch.
She takes a moment to check her backpack, as well. Though the pack got splashed a few times, the tight weave of the canvas prevented the contents from more than some slight dampness in a couple of spots.
"There," she says. "Much better."
Survival:1d20 ⇒ 18
Coming to the tracks, she studies them a moment. "Looks like something a giant frog might have left," she comments. "And they head north. Ives, do you think these might go to the fey person we're looking for? That giant frog was probably connected somehow."
The pair follows the trail deeper into the swamp, turning to match its meandering bends. At first, the trail of a footprint here, a broken stem there, seems to wander aimlessly. Then you notice that it has been avoiding the most problematic portions of the swampy ground and thickest patches of trees. After a while, you enter a dark copse of twisted trunks. Ives sharp sense pick out dark shapes moving in the trees right before one of them calls out in rough common
"Halt, strange folk."
Another comments "The pointy ear breathes so loud. Could shoot her in darkness."
