GM Phntm888's Return of the Runelords (Inactive)

Game Master Phntm888

Love the song, Hal.

Round 1

"Sunlight through treetops and dimples on faces
Colorful ribbons and death of all races
Rich chestnut grave soil with worms that it brings
These are a few of my favorite things,"

The knife at the end of the spidery limbs lashed out to run across the goblin's back, sending a spray of red through the air. The cleric had waded out of the bushes with smile and song on his lips.

"Floppy-eared puppies and crisp lemon sweetmeats
Drumbeats and heartbeats and fresh linen bed sheets
Final demise nearing on silent wings
These are a few of my favorite things."

The Black Goblin begins singing his own song.

He then attacks the singing elf.

The attack is ineffective.

Initiative Order
Red Goblin
Magenta Goblin
Orange Goblin
Henric
Stryn
Yellow Goblin
Hal
Black Goblin
Renae
Kiley

Renae and Kiley are up!

Despite the cut given to her from the goblin's dogslicer profusely, Renae was still able to say her Thassilonian incarnation through gritted teeth and cast her spell, unleashing a torrent of fire that hit all three goblins surrounding her.

Standard Action: Activating Burning Hands scroll.

Concentration (Casting Defensively): DC 17: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

Burning Hands Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 1

Should be able to hit all three goblins around her and avoid Henric and Hal.

Kiley charges from her hiding spot, hoping to end the fight quickly if for no other reason than to have Hal stop singing the frankly disturbing song. Steel flashes through the last flickers of Renae's fire to take the head of a goblin.

Attack (Greatsword, Charge, Flank) v. Red: 1d20 + 6 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 6 + 2 + 2 = 24
Damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (4, 4) + 4 = 12 I'm assuming that's enough to kill it. If not, amend my description as necessary.

The goblin, just beginning to join in with its fellow's song, finds it curious that it cannot sing and the world is suddenly spinning. It sees its body crash into the goblin next to it, then sees Kiley planting her feet to begin a dance of death as an arc of blood flies from the tip of her sword. How pretty its blood looked, like ruby droplets.

Then everything is black.

For the next round, Kiley's AC is lowered by 2.

Round 1

Despite the cut given to her from the goblin's dogslicer profusely, Renae was still able to say her Thassilonian incarnation through gritted teeth and cast her spell, unleashing a torrent of fire that hit all three goblins surrounding her. The flames aren't that powerful, however, and the goblins are only lightly singed.

Kiley charges from her hiding spot, hoping to end the fight quickly if for no other reason than to have Hal stop singing the frankly disturbing song. Steel flashes through the last flickers of Renae's fire to take the head of a goblin. The goblin, just beginning to join in with its fellow's song, finds it curious that it cannot sing and the world is suddenly spinning. It sees its body crash into the goblin next to it, then sees Kiley planting her feet to begin a dance of death as an arc of blood flies from the tip of her sword. How pretty its blood looked, like ruby droplets. Then everything is black.

Round 2

The goblins squawk out,

The two goblins who had attacked Henric and Renae divide their attentions among their original targets.

The goblins apparently really don't liek Renae. The one attacking Henric misses, but the one attacking Renae is much more successful, and the slash across her stomach isn't particularly pleasant. Renae, take 4 damage.

Initiative Order
Red Goblin
Magenta Goblin
Orange Goblin
Henric
Stryn
Yellow Goblin
Hal
Black Goblin
Renae
Kiley

Henric, Stryn, and Hal are up!

Frustrated at his lack of concentration, Henric re-doubles his efforts, and tries to cast the spell again, making sure to angle the spell away from Renae and Kiley.

Concentration; Casting Defensively; DC 17: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10

.... Sometimes I wonder why I bother.... :(

Stryn tries to circle around the other goblin at the mouth of the cave to block off its escape.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

He then strikes out hoping to not only block its path but put an end to the stupid goblin.

Attack, Flank: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 5 + 2 = 14
Damage, SA: 1d4 - 1 + 1d6 ⇒ (4) - 1 + (4) = 7

"Bleatings of lambs and sky-gazing at white clouds
Really, what are they but mortalkind's death shrouds?
All will be dust, whether peasant or king
These are a few of my favorite things."

The side of the singing's elf's bloodied knife came down to gently touch the badly injured wizard. Rather than leaving more wounds, however, the weapon erased them.

Concentration, casting defensively, DC 17: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23
Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

"But not you, Renae. Not yet."

5 ft. step and then burning the last PfE.

Round 2

Frustrated at his lack of concentration, Henric re-doubles his efforts, and tries to cast the spell again, making sure to angle the spell away from Renae and Kiley. Once again, it fizzled as he tried to avoid them.

Stryn tries to circle around the other goblin at the mouth of the cave to block off its escape, easily getting there. He then strikes out hoping to not only block its path but put an end to the stupid goblin. Unfortunately, the goblin's armor proved resistant to Stryn's blade.

"Bleatings of lambs and sky-gazing at white clouds
Really, what are they but mortalkind's death shrouds?
All will be dust, whether peasant or king
These are a few of my favorite things."

The side of the singing's elf's bloodied knife came down to gently touch the badly injured wizard. Rather than leaving more wounds, however, the weapon erased them. "But not you, Renae. Not yet."

The goblin by the cave turns to face Stryn and swipes at him.

The nimble Stryn evades the strike, and the goblin backs away from him, closer to the pickles.

Initiative Order
Red Goblin
Magenta Goblin
Orange Goblin
Henric
Stryn
Yellow Goblin
Hal
Black Goblin
Renae
Kiley

Renae and Kiley are up!

Once again, I wish I had Cleave.

Kiley flows from the end of her last strike into a lightning quick upstroke into a highguard as she aims for the goblin menacing Renae.

Attack(Greatsword): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19
Damage: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (5, 3) + 3 = 11

The blade catches the goblin along the spine and sends it soaring into the air in two halves as another arc of blood splatters the ground.

Renae felt it as her life blood started to drain from the gruesome wound the goblin had dealt her. The cold pull of death that would have surely sent her to straight to the Boneyard in record time if not for the sudden healing from Hal.

"Tha... thank you, Hal," she managed to get out through ragged breaths.

Even with the approach of death currently out of sight, Renae was still surrounded meaning there was little the wizard could do for herself beyond try and cast from one last remaining scroll.

No Action: 5-Foot step back.
Move Action: Retrieving stored item.
Standard Action: Casting Enlarge Person scroll on Kiley.

Concentration (Casting Defensively): DC 17: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

My apologies. I thought I was still waiting for people to post.

Renae felt it as her life blood started to drain from the gruesome wound the goblin had dealt her. The cold pull of death that would have surely sent her to straight to the Boneyard in record time if not for the sudden healing from Hal. "Tha... thank you, Hal," she managed to get out through ragged breaths. Even with the approach of death currently out of sight, Renae was still surrounded meaning there was little the wizard could do for herself beyond try and cast from one last remaining scroll. Kiley grows to a larger size as the spell goes off.

Kiley flows from the end of her last strike into a lightning quick upstroke into a highguard as she aims for the goblin menacing Renae.

Extra Enlarged Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

The blade catches the goblin along the spine and sends it soaring into the air in two halves as another arc of blood splatters the ground.

Round 3

The goblin next to Henric looks at the giant-sized Kiley and screams, trying to run away into the woods.

Kiley, Renae, Henric, and Hal can take AoOs if they have melee weapons out.

Initiative Order
Red Goblin
Magenta Goblin
Orange Goblin - attempting to run away
Henric
Stryn
Yellow Goblin
Hal
Black Goblin
Renae
Kiley

Henric, Stry, and Hal are up!

AoO: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22
Damage: 3d6 + 6 ⇒ (6, 1, 2) + 6 = 15

Kiley's instinctual backhand bisects another goblin.

Staff AoO: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12
Staff Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

I'll wait for the result before doing anything else, if that's okay.

Attack, dagger (AoO vs Orange) : 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Attack, dagger (vs Black) : 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Sigh. Why couldn't the little beasties sit still, Hal pondered as the nimble goblins dodged the swings of his dagger? He supposed goblins were just very fond of their lives and reluctant to surrender them. To be clear, this was of course something the cleric approved of. Everyone should enjoy their limited time on this mortal plane, while there was a mortal plane. Now if only goblins enjoying their lives didn't mean ending so many other lives...

Stryn steps up to the goblin in front of him to flank with Kiley and tries to stab it in the back an ever present frown on his face.

Attack, Flank: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 5 + 2 = 16
Damage, SA: 1d4 - 1 + 1d6 ⇒ (2) - 1 + (4) = 5

Round 3

Kiley's instinctual backhand bisects another goblin.

Stryn steps up to the goblin in front of him to flank with Kiley and tries to stab it in the back an ever present frown on his face. His rapier connects, but the goblin doesn't fall.

Initiative Order
Red Goblin
Magenta Goblin
Orange Goblin
Henric
Stryn
Yellow Goblin
Hal
Black Goblin
Renae
Kiley

Hal and Henric are still up!

I think Hal included his regular action in his last post, but I could be wrong.

Henric pulls out his crossbow, looking for an opening, and lets loose at the remaining goblin.

Crossbow attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22
Piercing damage: 1d8 ⇒ 5

I think Hal included his regular action in his last post, but I could be wrong.

I think I did too.

Whoops, missed that completely with the AoO. Thank you, Hal.

Round 3

Henric pulls out his crossbow, looking for an opening, and lets loose at the remaining goblin. The bolt flies true, finishing off the final goblin.

Combat is over. Henric, don't forget the -4 penalty for firing into melee, since you don't have Precise Shot.

Stryn looks over the dead goblins and just shakes his head. He takes a quick count to see if that was all the ones that were waiting in the ambush he spotted or not.

"We should hide the bodies and the blood. Maybe a few more will come to see if all the pickles are gone," Kiley says as she sees the fight is over.

Despite her lingering exhaustion from their most recent fight, Renae bobbed her to Kiley's suggestion. "Indeed. I think these near bushes would be sufficient to that task." The wizard promptly started to hull one of the goblin bodies to bush.

Stryn counts five of the nine goblins he saw waiting in ambush - they've thinned the herd, but not all of them came out.

So, the plan is to hide the bodies, then take up ambush points again to see if you can get them, correct? If so, I'd like each person hiding a body to make either a Stealth or Survival check to hide the bodies, and then a Stealth check to hide yourselves. If you hide multiple bodies, make one check for each body. I'll give a +2 circumstance bonus to body hiding for using the bushes.

Stryn doesn't help to hide the bodies, a sour look on his face, instead he goes to keep watch at the entrance of the cave, finding a good hiding spot for himself.

Stealth: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (19) + 12 = 31

Kiley tries to hide the bodies in the bushes away from the entrance before taking cover once more.

Hide the Evidence: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 6 + 2 = 281d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 6 + 2 = 91d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 6 + 2 = 221d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 6 + 2 = 281d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 6 + 2 = 15

Stealth: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25
Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

"Hey, Sloblob? What do you fancy for supper tonight?" the elf asked no one in the party. No one in the group was named Sloblob. But this was the moniker he had decided to impart the poor goblin Kiley had bisected, the upper half of which he was now propping up. "I dunno, Hælador," he answered himself, speaking in a gruffer tone mocking the typical goblin's nonsense utterances. He was even wagging the corpse's chin to complete the image of a puppeteer. "I'm feeling kinda... split."

The laughter that followed was bright like pearls falling down a marble staircase. And as innocent as only the inanimate can be too. Laughing at his own joke, Hal apparently saw nothing unsavory nor morbid in playing with a corpse for a laugh. Or more likely, he just didn't care. What did it all matter, after all? While the cleric's ethos described that life's lack of meaning was what gave it infinite potential, death was truly absurd. Might as well have fun with it. Besides, it was only a goblin.

"Sorry, sorry," he smiled, still pleased with himself, in passing over the torso to the tiefling when she moved to hide the fallen. "Uhm, anyone in need of a curative before the next wave?"

He held up Audrahni's wand in asking, the only means of spellcasting he had left to him now. His own reserves of divine energy were spent.

Stealth: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16

Let's say the one that Hal was playing with is the one that Kiley rolled a nat 1 to hide. :)

"Hal! Don't do that! It's disgusting and you're getting bits everywhere," Kiley scolds as she takes the goblin's corpse and tries to hide it.

Stealth: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22

With Kiley having taken upon herself to hide most of the bodies, Renae opted to move into the nearby bush and await whatever came next. Her crossbow was of its restraints and was pointed towards the cave mouth. With her spells and scrolls depleted, the wizard prayed to Desna that her hiding spot would be sufficient a refuge.

Henric shakes his head at the strange elf, at this point having grown more than familiar with his antics. "I'm still okay, Hal, thank you." He repositions himself to a different location in the bushes, hoping to get a better angle for whatever comes. While he waits, he readies his own crossbow for the fight.

Stealth: 1d20 ⇒ 3

<facepalm>

Once we're done with this, Kiley will be training Henric on how to stealth. It should be fun. :D

After another three hours, as the sun passes the mid-day point and goes into the mid-afternoon, it becomes clear that no more goblins are going to come out and investigate. It appears the pickle trap is no longer going to work.

What do you want to do? Go in or go rest?

Stryn frowns when it becomes apparent their trap is no longer going to work and looks to the others "I'm ok to continue on, how about everyone else?"

"I can, but I think our mages are close to having no magic left," Kiley says as she pops out of her hiding spot and sighs. "Those that are left are going to be the smart ones. That might be a problem for us. I don't know if we can wait any longer to save the dwarves, though."

That's two for pressing ahead, and probably pressing our luck.

"Zzz... Hnk! Hm? What? I'm awake. What?" An elf's snore was a predictably gentle thing, like a thread of spun mithril sawing into bark, but Hal woke up with a bit of a start as the others spoke. He had fallen asleep in his hidey hole. Asking vivacious Hælador Færvel to sit still for three hours was like asking his beloved clouds to be motionless in the sky: it simply couldn't be done. He'd go mad in the attempt. But seeing as he was already mad, he had taken the only other option available to him and had a nap.

"Speaking for myself, you are entirely correct, Kiley," he said at the tiefling's words all the while gracing her with a bizarrely fatherly smile, as if he thought her very clever indeed in her assessment. "I cannot channel any more of the Harbinger's power today. Not strong enough. Hurts the soul. Then again..."

The cleric retrieved Audrahni's wand from a deep pocket. "We do have some magical healing available to us. But then again again! As Kiley says, the goblins likely suspect foul-play by now. They do have a mean intelligence of their own. While we've been tanning out here, waiting for them, they've probably prepared themselves for our second coming." Hal chuckled to himself. "And the trapper becomes the trapee. Lovely."

Toss me in the 'ambivalent' camp. I don't mind forging ahead, but fully expect a rough time. The wand has 11 charges for those curious.

Sitting back against whatever is solid enough nearby to support his weight, Henric holds his staff in both hands, knees up against his chest for some added warmth. "I still have some spells left, so I can keep going if need be, but I'm more comfortable with being well prepared. They obviously will be. We'll be no help to the dwarves if we die ourselves."

Henric will go along with the group, but is leaning towards getting some rest.

Renae, waiting on you to weigh in.

"I can, but I think our mages are close to having no magic left," Kiley says as she pops out of her hiding spot and sighs. "Those that are left are going to be the smart ones. That might be a problem for us. I don't know if we can wait any longer to save the dwarves, though."

"You are correct, Kiley," Renae explains evenly, more annoyed with herself than anything. "That last pyroclasm I unleashed was the last of my offensive scrolls. With it gone, I'm left with only my minor cantrips and crossbow for attack options."

The wizard sighed. Though she had no intention of wallowing in her self-pity, the fact remained that she did not see herself being especially useful in the next fight without the aid of her spells. Still, she did have her crossbow and though its track record of hitting things was unimpressive the chance remained that it could be of service.

"While I know the lives of the dwarves are still at risk, I think Henric is right that in that we risk our own lives if we go off without being fully prepared. Ultimately, I'd rather we rest and recuperate our strength, but I'll fight on if that is the majority opinion."

Stryn offers "Want me to go take a look and see what we might be facing and then we can decide?"

So, it looks like the plan is to fall back and rest. Is everyone good with Stryn attempting to scout back a bit?

Probably best not to split the party, but Stryn's Stealth score is pretty good.

Renae looked to Stryn cautiously. "If you think you can manage it, but I feel it would be best if we stuck together in the oft-chance you were spotted."

"Stryn, just be careful. Okay? I like my friends in one piece," Kiley says not sure how much help she'd be in the cramped confines of the goblin's tunnels.

I'm okay with it. And yeah, that's the plan.

Stryn nods and gives the two woman a wink "I always try to be careful."

He slinks off back into the cave to look around and see what the goblins inside had been up to.

Stealth: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (11) + 15 = 26
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11 +1 for traps

Stryn sneaks back down into the goblin's den, and descends to the lower level to the room where the goblins were set up, and finds that the remaining four goblins are still standing guard. They're whispering, but he can't hear what they're saying. He also knows that if he tries to get any further into the cave, discovery is all but certain, as he won't have any cover to use to hide.

He slinks back out to report "Seems like there are still the four goblins standing guard from before, haven't gotten any reinforcements. They were whispering but I couldn't get close enough to hear anything. We still want to leave?"

"The question," Henric pipes up, "Is what do they have to back up those four goblins?"

"That is a good question. Another to ask is the rest of their tribe in there, or do they have other goblins that can help reinforce their numbers."

Stryn shrugs to both questions and just notes "Alright, let's get some rest then so we are ready in case there are more threats. Before we do though, we should take the pickles with us and maybe give these bodies a proper send of on a pyre?" He finishes off his statement with a bit of hesitation in his voice as he looks to the others.

"We can do that, Stryn," Kiley says before taking the pickles back to where their donkey is tethered and begins making a pyre for the dead.

After burning the bodies of the fallen goblins, Stryn helps them to find someplace to camp for the night and snacks on some of the pickles that were going to seemingly go to waste anyway. Before settling in for some sleep he goes to talk to Kiley "Hey, thanks for being so supportive and concerned. I don't get that a lot from, to use a phrase common to my people, longshanks." He offers a tooth smile in appreciation, which is equal parts creepy and endearing.

"You don't need to thank me. I know what it's like to be an outcast, too. Besides, you've shown me that not all goblins are bad, and maybe if they had a chance to grow up in a loving family, then they'd be no different from you or I," Kiley says as she returns the grin with a sad smile. "But it took meeting you and getting to know you to realize that. I guess I'm not that different from a human or an elf in that regard."