Garland the Gallant |
Garland bravely advanced into combat, moving to a position that would hopefully distract the Ankhegs and give Darius an opening!
Garland double moves into a flanking position for Darius.
Darius Rotarion |
My bad.
Darius tries to drive his knife into the things eye as it has him snatched up...
Attack, Flank: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 4 + 2 = 18
Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Sneak Damage: 2d8 ⇒ (7, 5) = 12
Ilistra Ignatius |
Ilistra jogs over to get a clear shot on the newest ankheg, charging up her blast quickly and suffering for it.
Accepting 1 burn to add burning infusion
Ranged touch, pbs, eo: 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 6 + 1 + 1 = 26
Damage, eo: 2d6 + 2 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (2, 1) + 2 + 1 + 2 = 8
Reflex DC 15 or catch fire
Cica Sabuleum |
Cica draws her greatsword--visualizing the strength of the gorilla as she does--and swipes at the ankheg attacking her.
Greatsword+bull+bless-PA: 1d20 + 8 + 1 + 1 - 1 ⇒ (6) + 8 + 1 + 1 - 1 = 15
Damage+PA: 2d6 + 6 + 1 + 3 ⇒ (2, 1) + 6 + 1 + 3 = 13
Darius Rotarion |
Darius spins his blades around, turning to the new insectoid before running a very circuitous route around it to get to an advantageous position.
Double Move, avoiding any reach it may have.
Garland the Gallant |
Garland boldly advanced toward the second ankheg and then took a heroic swing at his new foe!
+1 Cold Iron Scythe (PA, Bless): 1d20 + 8 - 1 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 8 - 1 + 1 = 21
Damage (PA): 2d4 + 7 + 3 ⇒ (1, 4) + 7 + 3 = 15
Placidus Utilinus |
Attack on : 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 7 + 2 = 27
Damage: 1d6 + 3 + 1d6 ⇒ (4) + 3 + (3) = 10
Placidus charges over, his foot igniting with its own flame once again as he drives his heel through the ankheg's carapace.
DM Jelani |
End of Round 3
================================
Begin Round 4
The ankheg attacks the armored thing that drove a scythe into it.
Attack on Garland: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
Damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (5, 4) + 4 = 13
Acid damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3
Confirm crit: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22
Damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (2, 1) + 4 = 7
Grab: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19
Armored mandibles close on Garland's arm, crunching down and bathing the limb in acid. The ankheg tries to hold on, but Garland wrenches his limb free.
PCs are up!
Cica Sabuleum |
Cica swings down hard on the giant bug. "DIE!!"
Greatsword+bull+bless: 1d20 + 8 + 1 + 1 - 1 ⇒ (20) + 8 + 1 + 1 - 1 = 29
Confirm?: 1d20 + 8 + 1 + 1 - 1 ⇒ (2) + 8 + 1 + 1 - 1 = 11
Damage: 2d6 + 6 + 3 ⇒ (6, 6) + 6 + 3 = 21
Darius Rotarion |
Darius slices at the thing twice, but in taking efforts to not get hit himself, fails to connect.
Attack, Flank: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 2 = 10
Attack, Flank: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 4 + 2 = 7
Ilistra Ignatius |
Without needing to reposition, Ilistra conjures up an intense blast of flame, then throws it at the monstrous insect.
Move: gather power. Standard: attack
Ranged touch, pbs: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 6 + 1 = 18
Fire: 2d6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (4, 1) + 2 + 1 = 8
Burning infusion: Reflex DC 15 or catch fire
Cica Sabuleum |
Cica offers the Gallant Garland a hand up. "You OK? Those bugs suck, eh?"
She pauses to look around, and says, "I don't really know as much as I'd like about their habits, but it seems like that might be the last of them, at least for now."
Garland the Gallant |
Garland CLW x2: 2d8 + 6 ⇒ (8, 7) + 6 = 21
By the time Cica offered her hand, Garland was already standing. He quickly began magically mending his wounds. With a chuckle, he agreed, "Indeed, Cica. Those bugs were pure Evil!"
Ilistra Ignatius |
As the contubernium traverse the rest of the ankheg field, Ilistra keeps her shimmering defensive heat up. After about a half hour of walking and keeping the heat field up, she grows lightheaded, stumbles, and collapses.
She lights some of the dry grasses on fire where she fell. She gasps and quickly pats them out with her hands. "Sorry, sorry," she says quickly to forestall any assistance. "I'm okay."
She draws herself up into a cross-legged seated position and holds her head for a few moments while her body cools down.
DM Jelani |
A day and a half after entering the open plains, marked by the ankheg's territory, the soldiers attract the attention of sharp-eyed avian scavengers. These opportunists, mostly vultures, circle above the contubernium, waiting for one of them to die. Every hour, the number of circling birds grows larger.
A couple of hours before sunset, however, two larger birds join the flock. Known as geiers, these giant vultures have a bald, bloody appearance. As sunset approaches, the geiers finally muster up their courage and swoop down to attack!
Theater of the mind for this one. We are on open grasslands, with you all on your mounts, presumably surrounding the NPCs who are with the pack animals.
Initiative
Cica: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22 (+2 in jungle)
Darius: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
Garland: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Ilistra: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25
Placidus: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
Geiers: 2d20 + 4 ⇒ (19, 19) + 4 = 42
Group 1 (Cica, Ilistra) 23.5
Geiers 21
Group 2 (Darius, Garland and Placidus) 6.3
Begin Round 1
Cica and Ilistra are up. You have two large sized (10x10) vultures swooping down to attack the train. 2d5 ⇒ (5, 1) = 6 One of them is heading for Cica and her servant, currently 50' up/out and diving. The other is heading for Placidus, who was conveniently riding 50' over Ilistra. An aerial vulture battle looks set to ensue there. Any questions hit me up on Discord.
Ilistra Ignatius |
Ilistra never bought a mount, preferring to walk near the servants with the pack animals. She didn't want to burn a poor animal with her tendency to grow scorching hot.
For the next day and night after the ankhegs, she grew strangely twitchy. Randomly, her head would whip around as if she expected someone or something right behind her. Sometimes she flared up her fire rather than spin around, but still nothing. At night at camp, she sat quietly and stared at the campfire until it became time to sleep.
Her strange behavior continued the next day, though the circling scavengers had her also periodically looking up.
When the oversized vultures arrive and look to attack, she was already on edge. She charges up her flames to make sure she can blast the distant birds in the air, but also taxes herself to make her blast extra hot to hopefully ignite the bird's feathers.
Applying burning infusion and range (up to 120'), gather power to reduce burn by 1 for 1 burn
Ranged touch, eo: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 7 + 1 = 10
Fire, eo: 2d6 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (5, 3) + 2 + 2 = 12
Ouch. Maaybe I hit because it's technically flat-footed, and large? If so, Reflex DC 16 or catch fire.
Cica Sabuleum |
As the massive shadow crosses over her, Cica draws a bead on the diving vulture and aims for it's heart.
Then, in one smooth motion, she stows her bow and draws her longhammer, ready to swing if it approaches.
Bow: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21
Damage+Bull: 1d8 + 5 + 1 + 2d10 ⇒ (3) + 5 + 1 + (4, 3) = 16
Assuming it dives through her 10' reach, AoO:
Longhammer+Bull: 1d20 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 9 + 1 = 20
Damage: 2d6 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (3, 5) + 6 + 1 = 15
DM Jelani |
Ilistra sends a gout of flame up and barely catches the vulture above her and Placidus.
Reflex save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14
The bird catches fire.
Cica manages to both shoot and hammer her vulture as it dives in to attack her!
Fire damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1
Attack on Placidus' mount: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
Attack on Cica: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16
Both vultures miss their targets as the one in the sky engages Placidus's mount, and the other hovers over Cica.
Rest of the PCs are up. Placidus is mounted 50' above Ilistra, with one vulture adjacent to him. The other is hovering 5' off the ground above Cica.
Darius Rotarion |
Darius sours his steps towards the nearest one, slicing at it with his blades with upward thrusts.
Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20
Damage: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
Cica Sabuleum |
Cica steps back and swings again with her longhammer, aiming for the vulture's skull.
Longhammer+Bull-PA: 1d20 + 9 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (20) + 9 + 1 - 2 = 28
confirm?: 1d20 + 9 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (7) + 9 + 1 - 2 = 15
Damage+Bull+PA: 2d6 + 6 + 1 + 6 ⇒ (2, 1) + 6 + 1 + 6 = 16
Damage+Bull+PA: 2d6 + 6 + 1 + 6 ⇒ (5, 4) + 6 + 1 + 6 = 22
Garland the Gallant |
After drawing his trusty scythe, Garland once again called upon the mighty Spirit of Heroism for a Blessing!
Drawing my scythe as move action and then casting Bless as a standard.
Ilistra Ignatius |
Ilistra aims again at the vulture she set on fire, gathering power to charge up her blast so it again can reach the bird in the air.
Ranged touch, bless, bi bonus: 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 7 + 1 + 2 = 15
Fire: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (1, 2) + 2 = 5
Against targets on fire from burning infusion, I get a +2 bonus to hit and to overcome SR
Placidus Utilinus |
Placidus and his own vulture mount swoop and swipe at their avian opponent in the air above.
Mount attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22
Damage: 1d8 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
Attack on : 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (17) + 8 - 1 = 24
Damage: 1d6 + 3 + 2 + 1d6 ⇒ (2) + 3 + 2 + (1) = 8
DM Jelani |
Another two and half uneventful days pass as the group makes good time over the savanna. The expedition has fallen into a rhythm by this point, with each person knowing their role. N'kechi informs the group that they will be nearing Kalabuto in a few hours. He has never traveled farther than the great city on the river before.
Athyra and Placidus stop up ahead of the group, apparently having spotted something during their scouting. Once everyone gathers, they point out the oddity. A tall and leafless boab tree stands alone in a clearing, its wood burnt black. A circle of tiny bones surrounds the tree. Over a dozen human bodies hang from the branches, making grisly silhouettes against the blue sky. More bodies lie on the ground at the base of the tree, frayed ropes still around their necks. All of the dead appear to be imperials.
DM Jelani |
Athyra shakes her head. "Bad mojo," is all she says.
N'Kechi shrugs. "Such things are outside the natural order," he complains.
Ilistra Ignatius |
The next couple days, Ilistra grows more agitated. She frequently starts, whips her head around at nothing, bats at the air around her ears like some sort of bug or something is buzzing nearby, and sometimes mutters to herself.
She sits apart from the group at camp, avoiding the others.
Knowledge (local): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22
Her eyes go wide when she sees the tree and the air starts to shimmer around her as she reflexively brings up her heat defense. "Mzali..."
Placidus Utilinus |
Placidus frowns even more at her reaction. "Ma-what now?" He looks around but doesn't see anything immediately dangerous.
"Those are imperial citizens. We should cut them down and provide them with proper cremations. To leave them like this would be without honor!"
Placidus Utilinus |
"And we are imperial soldiers! It is our duty to die as such if needed. If we don't cut them down I will know they are still here."
Placidus' eyes narrow, and he crosses his arms. "We fight monsters for random Zenj villagers, but we fear men too much to bury our own?"
Ilistra Ignatius |
Ilistra glares back and points at the tree. "The Mzali have many death trees! Do you want to search for all of them to burn corpses and not find city? Imperials die for 'duty,'" she says, face twisted in scowl. "Who cares where their bodies go?"
Darius Rotarion |
Darius doesn’t comment. But he agrees with Placidus. No creature deserves such disrespect. He dismounts and joins him in cutting the men’s bodies free.
Garland the Gallant |
"I have a shovel we can use to give them a proper burial," Garland offers. While he goes to fetch the tool, the masked man casts a spell to enhance his senses. As he moves to help Placidus and Darius, Garland takes take to inspect the immediate area for any signs of hidden danger. Luna helps.
Perception (Guidance): 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 5 + 1 = 23
Luna Aid Another: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15
25 Total.
Cica Sabuleum |
Cica shakes her head in disgust at the sight.
"Ilistra, Placidus is right. We aren't here to stop everything the Mzali are doing--we do have a mission to accomplish--but when we come across something like this we can't let these bodies just hang."
As they start to take down the bodies and give them what decency they can, she adds, "The question is how many of these Mzali savages are out here, and if we'll need to find a route around them for those who're following us."