GM Zero/GL's Giantslayer! (Inactive)

Game Master GM_Grandlounge

Alright, there is a plan!

Grandma says, "I have spells that can incapacitate the guards. If you all can take care of the evacuation. Ben, your entangling spells will be good if there is pursuit. How can we have a prepared option to set off the alarms?"

"Mmmh. I like that. If you can knock them out we can try to get the prisoners out quietly, or at least quietly enough so that there is no rush to interfere. And I can have a couple of entanglement spells all ready to go in case there is pursuit. If there are dragons, that might be a problem unless we can fly. Grandma, can you make that happen if dragons, or something else that flies shows up?"

"Us flying off and leaving all those prisoners to be fried by a dragon doesn't seem great. If a dragon comes, we'll have to distract it somehow while we continue to lead the people away as quickly as we can."

"Maybe Gorum will favor Ulretha enough that if he's flying around he can keep a dragon busy for a minute or so and give us a chance to get away?"

"Gorum will favor me enough that if I'm flying around you won't have to worry about the dragon any longer!" Ulretha declares.

"Then the slaves can feast on dragon flesh and warm themselves on its steaming entrails."

"Alternate possibility, do we still have that horn that lets us control dragons? I know it didn't work well at the Cathedral, but we might have better luck this time. We can give it to Ulretha and he can use it to tame the beast and make it his servant -- then it can be our distraction and attack the giants' tents. And if it doesn't work, then-- well, Gorum, I guess,"

"Yes! Give me the horn and I will summon a dragon and the two of us shall ride into the camp and slay every giant that dares to defy us. Only those who bend the knee to the glory of Gorum shall escape our wrath, but those who obey shall be rewarded. Each will get their own personal human slave to do with as they like.

"What were we talking about, again?"

"Uh, sorry to disappoint you all but we sold that thing, and the amulet too. "

A snowshoe hair hops out of the bush at this moment and says. "This seems like a good time to introduce myself. I am Naximarra. A red dragon." You notice that you can not feel a frightful presence. "I can tell you that there is a much more powerful sister artifact to that horn called the Orb of Dragonkind. It has subjugated many of my sisters. I seek revenge on the giants and would like to offer you my aid."

Normally in tune with nature, Ben startles.

"A red dragon you say? I can see why you would be concerned. What kind of help can you offer, besides the obvious of course."

"Is the Orb here? Held by one of these giants?" asks Lidia. "If it is, you should probably stay clear."

"Wait... have you been watching us?"

"Does it still count as slaying and eating a dragon if you slay and eat it while it's in bunny form?" Ulretha asks Thyste without making any effort to not be heard by Naximarra.

With a groan, Ben rubs his head, at a complete loss for words, though his mouth does open and close a few times.

He is going to be the death of us yet.

"I have a compulsion and transformation magic. I can also provide a significant distraction by strafing the camp with fire breath without too much danger to myself. I could take out a group of giants for you clearing a way for a deeper assault. However, the orb is not here it is on Volsatases sky mountain castle. Which I can get you to if you need transport. Gnoll if you want a one-on-one bout I'm happy to oblige once my sisters are free."

Ben jumps at the chance to delay a showdown.

[b}"There! How does that sound Ulretha? First we free the slaves, dragons included, then we grab the orb, THEN you can fight the rabbit."[/b]

After a short delay, Lidia's question registers. "That is a good question. How did you know we were here, Naximarra, and does anyone else know?"

"Does anyone else feel like we had just about put a puzzle together and then someone came by and added a bunch of pieces, or"

Lidia suddenly registers to herself that she's speaking with a rabbit that claims to be a dragon. Also, that she might be speaking with a dragon.

"No offense Naximarra, but can you prove to us that you are a dragon? I've encountered fey creatures who might make such a claim as a prank or as a malevolent trick."

"Also, maybe you can clear a few things up. First off, we sent a bird in to scout the giant camp and she told me that there was a dragon nest in the camp. Do you know if this is true? We've seen no evidence of dragon activity here in a few days we've been around."

"Also, the focus of this camp seems to have something to do with that big opening in the mountain. Do you know what's going on inside the mountain that's so important?"

"My initial thought is that it would be nice to have some strafing of tents as a contingency plan in case there's trouble getting the prisoners out of the camp, but it would still be preferable if we could do the whole thing without anyone noticing. The giants seem pretty lax right now -- few patrols or guards, poor discipline. I'd like to keep it that way as long as we can -- a dragon attack might just put the camp on high alert to anything else we wanted to do, and galvanize their resistance."

"But I suppose I could be convinced otherwise, Staying undercover just suits my temperament better."

"Why are we even talking about this camp any more? Didn't you hear there's a magic ball somewhere that can control dragons and this bunny dragon is willing to take us to it?

"I can be ready to go to this sky castle in 5 minutes!" he declares.

"We don't know what's in that mountain, but the giants obviously consider it pretty important. It might literally be a gold mine." answers Lidia in an attempt to pique the gnoll's venal interests.

Ulretha grunts and strokes his chin thoughtfully. "That's true. I've heard that sky cities have geese that lay golden eggs, but then you have to keep the goose alive and not eat it so it may be better to have a mine. Of course, we won't have any sla...workers to work the mine...but maybe they'll just have a pile of gold...or we can sell the rights to it to someone else..."

Hello?
Is there anybody in there?
Just nod if you can hear me
Is there anybody home?

First, sorry for the slow posting. My job has had me monitoring for conflicts/harassment online, which has made it much harder to come home and be online. I hope stuff is calming down now. I appreciate your patience.

The small creature begins to grow. Fur falling off to be replaced with red scales. As she grows, she continues talking. [b]"I because aware of you when you killed one of my kin in that giant's cathedral. Between dragons, special sense, flight and transforming into woodland creates, it was not hard to follow you, being that I knew of you already. I have kept this information to myself and not approached you at night, which should count for something. Lidia, the dragons from the camp, have been summoned back to the tyrant king to serve as village killers. They will be used to kill the farmers and burn the crops. In the mountain, it seems like mining and training though there are powerful magic users in there, so it maybe that there is more to it than that. I can take you near flying mountain whenever that is if you know the location. If you do not, I know where the generals are trained and where they called my sister a mountain called Ashpeak."[b]

As the bunny grows into a dragon before her, Lidia involuntarily takes a step backward and tries to keep from looking rattled. Even knowing that the creature had likely been telling the truth, it was still unnerving to see it spread out into its true form before her.

She swallows quickly, licks her lips and responds. "It's good to hear that the dragons aren't currently in the camp. That makes our job easier. But it also means we should try to finish up here as quickly as we can, before they return."

"And as far as I'm concerned, if the giants are using the dragons to massacre villages, then we definitely want to get that control Orb away from them."

"So, I think we have a plan ready for tonight to take out the guard towers and get the prisoners free. Then if that works out, we can start to get more aggressive about sabotaging the camp."

"So, to summarize out plan so far...
1) Thyste goes in and disables the paper tube things with a string.
2) Gandma tries to incapacitate the guards.
3) I lurk there and throw up an entangle spell and insect plague if grandma fails.
4) The rest of you rescue the prisoners."

"Grandma, can you cast a silence spell if they resist whatever you plan on casting on them to incapacitate them? If not I can cast silence on something that you can drop on the platform. Or maybe Thyste, you can drop it off after disabling the devices?"

Ulretha takes a step back as well. That moment or weakness shames him and he rests his hand on his sword, ready to step into the fray should the dragon try to capitalize on his moment of fear, or simply if the chance to prove his mettle occurs.

He nods. "Yes, we'll finish this camp then deal with the next giants. All will fall before us."

Blix chimes in, "I can take care of the silence one whatever you need I can position myself to be able to cast it from a distance on anyone or thing that give me a hand sign. I can prepare for four to use today in 15 min."

Let's get some rolls. Stealth and disable device and stealth again from Thyste. I will roll some saves for giants in the area. Stealth with invisibility and disable device, strength check, or attacks and damage for opening the gate.

Ben leaves the gate to Thyste and moves into position. Before they set off, everyone gets the benefit of a Hunter's Blessing. Naturally that will be for giants and the town.

Invisible Lidia creeps into the camp and sets up near the gate to the slave pen, watching for patrols. Not having any particular skill in picking locks or bashing through sturdy gates, she leaves that task to her companions, but will assist if called upon.

Stealth (Invisible): 1d20 + 20 + 20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 20 + 20 + 4 + 2 = 48
Strength (assist): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11

Ulretha doesn't particularly like this stealthy approach. Better to face your opponents in open combat, but he understands why the weaker members of the party would prefer to do it this way.

Moving invisibly through the camp, he tries to force open the gate.

Stealth (invisible): 1d20 + 13 - 5 + 20 ⇒ (6) + 13 - 5 + 20 = 34
Strength: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

Will Save (in case he sees any giants): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22

stealth, invisible: 1d20 - 2 + 20 ⇒ (14) - 2 + 20 = 32

Naturally, Ben is trying to remain unseen while infiltrating. He leaves Little Buddy outside where he can join them once the prisoners are freed and moved. As soon as he sees action happening with the guards he will lay down a DC 18 Thirsting Entanglement covering the platform and the stairs or whatever goes from the platform to the ground.

The team passes easily by the giants. Watching as several seem compelled to erratic behaviour. They wander from their posts and start fights. However, one seems to resist the magic. "That bunny just cast a spell on me. The giant yells. Blixs is ready to silence the creature but pauses. The statement is so ridiculous that the other giants pay him no mind. Frustrated, he runs off to get the spell-casting rabbit. Easily lured away from your positions. Blix waves to Ben, indicating to save his spells.

Ulretha and Lidia break the lock free from the frame as they heave the barricade free.

Most of the slaves take no notice, but one particularly keen-eyed one says, in a voice just loud enough for you to hear of the commotion, "Who is there, and what do you want?" He steps in front of the other slaves.

"My name is Lidia, I'm a human from the lowlands. My friends and I have invisibility spells cast on us, which is why you can't see us. We've been fighting the giants for many weeks now and we've been working to sabotage the giant's camp for the last couple of days. We've distracted the giants and have come to get you all out of here. There's a cave not too far from here where you can all rest and get some decent food and healing. Then we'll try to get you back down into the lowlands."

"Please come quickly, there's no time to lose."

Ben joins Lidia soon after her statement, not able to see Lidia, and announces.

"Come with us if you want to escape this place, but make it quick before the guard returns."

diplomacy: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

Lidia is invisible, right?

Yes she is. If they seem disinclined to trust invisible voices, she'll drop the invisibility. Might not be a bad idea to drop it anyway, to better lead these guys out.

Then again a bunch of disembodied voices leading the prisoners is a recipe for fun.

"Come with me if you want to live," Ulretha adds his own encouragement.

Let's get some rolls. Stealth and disable device and stealth again from Thyste. I will roll some saves for giants in the area. Stealth with invisibility and disable device, strength check, or attacks and damage for opening the gate.

Thyste rolls out her shoulders and grins.

"Finally, the sort of thing I'm good at!" she chirps, twisting the ring on her finger and halving in height.

"See you all later~!"

Taking 10 for each of these, if allowed~
Stealth: 10 + 26 = 36
Disable Device: 10 + 16 = 26
Stealth: 10 + 26 = 36

"Your offer seems promising, but how do I know we can trust you? Even opening the gate is impressive, but I can't lead these people out to follow a voice no matter how good the promise is."

Lidia assuming you reveal yourself.

"Well I know you are not one of the giants casters so that is a good step." A few of the other slaves come over to see what is happening.

A strong looking woman says, "Bother Selev, if we stay here, we will die. Any chance to survive is better than staying."

We will do a group check on this diplomacy. Tell me what else you say and roll. Highest person is the leader. The rest count as aids. Lidia, you can say more, but you have done enough to have a +4 circumstance bonus on the check.

Lidia will indeed cancel the invisibility

Diplomacy: 1d20 - 1 + 4 ⇒ (4) - 1 + 4 = 7

"She's right. The giants look at you as little more than pack animals. They won't think twice about starving you or working you to death. We've incapacitated the guards, but there isn't much time. Please come now."

diplomacy: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

"We even have a nice safe snug hidey hole with lots of food set up for you. You guys sure look like you could use a rest."

"Did she get more attractive?" Ulretha says to those that remain after Thyste gets even smaller and head out. The way he looks at one of his pouches then the direction she went in is somewhat dubious.

He does not reveal himself when they try to talk the slaves into leaving. In fact, he has little patience for people who won't put forth even the minor effort of walking out of their slavery.

"If you stay here, you're going to get eaten," he points out, though he doesn't mention who's going to eat them. He'll save that for plan B.

Diplomacy: 1d20 ⇒ 9

”Do you think the giants would even think it was worth the effort to try and trick you? They don’t care about your loyalty. If any of die, they just go and get more people from the lowlands. We’ve seen it even in the short time we’ve been here. I’m sure you have too.”

The two look at each other the man nod and the woman addresses the group "Ok. We are about 38 right now. How do we move safely to the caves?"

The slave pen in N. The safest options seem to be north or east, but that is super verticle or south along the cliff.

I think plan was to move pretty much due south along the east side of the camp under the incapacitated two towers. (past 'A' 'K' and 'A')

Scaling cliffs is not going to happen without magical aid so south it is.

The path before you forces you west past the watchtower. The commotion and mind control antic have left the tower unmanned, but there is a giant wandering around near the base, trying to figure out what is going on.

This solitary watchtower, enormous by human standards, consists of a wooden, hexagonal platform supported by six poles, each the size of a large tree. A large hut sits on top of the platform. Underneath, a sloping ramp and staircase climb up into the center of the tower.

Ben suggests we ask our ghostly cleric to cast silence on Little Buddy, then bum rush the fellow.

"He's alone. Let's just take him down." says Lidia.

Does Ben have Warp Wood memorized? I'm just imagining the giant wooden tower falling over onto that giant's head.

No such luck.

"We just have to make sure ne does not call for backup."

"In all the chaos, I'm not sure anyone will notice another giant yelling. We just have to make sure he doesn't run off."

"You and Ulretha rush him while you're invisible. I'll get up into the tower and fill him full of arrows."