Braving the Borderlands (Inactive)

Game Master Edeldhur

Dobin again tries to strike the ogre with his club...wishing for the hundredth time he had not lost his old equipment!

Attack: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 1 = 10
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Cursed...Dobin must just be cursed...there is not other explanation!

"You are right. Lets move around to its flank" She says as she moves towards the ogre though.

Will move so I can get around to the back, thus surrounding the Ogre

Dobin, the trick is how you toss the dices. Grab a beer and toss the dices after a good gulp... at least after a handful of mugs we all will laugh at everyone dices

-- Combat Round 2 -- (continued)

1. Declare spells and melee movement: Done.

2. Initiative: Done

3. Both sides act: Done

The group bravely confronts the brutish creature, though Regnar and Dobin prove ineffective - their axe and club swings wide off the mark. Similarly, Amhal's torch fails to hit its intended target. Ralina fares better, her warhammer striking the ogre in the thigh and drawing a low, pained grunt in response.

Clockwise: 1d5 ⇒ 3

The creature licks its lips and drools slightly, clearly hesitating as it decides which of you to devour. After a tense moment, it fixes its gaze on Amhal.

Club: 1d20 ⇒ 19
Damage: 1d10 ⇒ 3

It swings its massive club at the dark-haired warrior with tremendous force, though the blow only glances him. (Amhal takes 3 points of damage)

Round 2 is over!

Tactical Map updated.

Post coming up for Round 3 in a moment - hang tight!

-- Combat Round 3 --

1. Declare spells and melee movement: Players must inform the referee if they intend to cast a spell or move when in melee. Other actions need not be declared.

GO!

Remember folks in Melee - that is Dobin, Regnar, Ralina and Amhal, there are only three Movement options available to us - Retreat, Fighting Withdrawal, and a 5’ step. GMO outlined those for us in THIS post.

GMO - further clarification - is the 5’ step counted as part of the Intent phase? The part you quoted from the Rules Cyclopedia says “Maneuvering in this way does not count as an action during the round.” That makes me think it is part of an attack. What do you think? Do you want us to declare intent to 5’ step during this phase?

Nothing to declare on movement

Combat Round 2 - Declaration of Intent

No Movement.

no movement

Should I shut off the Ogres retreat or move in

No movement

-- Combat Round 3 -- (continued)

1. Declare spells and melee movement: no one moves.

The group stands their ground, ready to face the large creature, and commited to the fight!

2. Initiative.

Good Guys: 1d6 ⇒ 6 < Players go first!
Bad Guys: 1d6 ⇒ 1

The brave adventurers are the first to react.
Dobin in his eagerness to finish the fight, ends up missing the mark. (Using your attack roll of 10)

Rest of the group can GO!

Swinging back across with his blade, Amhal tries to slice the creature’s midsection open…

Shaaa!!!: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 20
Shhht!!!: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

By the Gods, Dye y' foul creature!!

hand axe: 1d20 ⇒ 201d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Drusilla steps up and swings her Mace.

Mace: 1d20 ⇒ 3
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 6

Dobin again swings his club at the hulking humanoid!

Attack: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Well heck!! I was bound to happen sooner or later!! lol

Ralina offers a prayer of thanks to Petra when she feels her hammer strike with a solid thud against flabby flesh. Stepping back and forth quickly, she readies to block or duck away from the creature's counterstrike, but the ogre focuses its fury upon Amhal instead. She steps forward in an attempt to continue the pressure on the beast. But the creature suddenly lurches aside just as she swings causing her blow to bounce harmlessly off its bulky hide.

Warhammer Attack: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

-- Combat Round 3 -- (continued)

1. Declare spells and melee movement: no one moves. Done.
2. Initiative: Players went first.
3a. Player actions: Done.

Standing their ground, the group fought back against the monster attacking them, Regnar and Amhal hitting it repeatedly. Each individual hit adding to the toll on the creature.

Creature scares off?: 2d6 ⇒ (2, 2) = 4 Naaaaah.

Clockwise: 1d5 ⇒ 3 > Amhal again!

In spite of the mounting wounds, the beast does not run, instead swinging its massive maul at Amhal once more.

Attack: 1d20 ⇒ 3
Damage: 1d10 ⇒ 10

The swing has tremendous force, but misses the mark!

3b. Monster actions: Done.

Round 3 is over!

Tactical Map updated.

==============================

-- Combat Round 4 --

1. Declare spells and melee movement: Players must inform the referee if they intend to cast a spell or move when in melee. Other actions need not be declared.

GO!

no movement for me

Drusilla wont move yet

[Combat Round 4 - Declaration of Intent]

[No Movement Intent]

No movement.

I intend to move if Amhal moves.

Amhal, get behind me man! - yells Regnar while he tries to move between the beast and his friend.

-- Combat Round 4 --

1. Declare spells and melee movement: No one moves.
2. Initiative:

Good Guys: 1d6 ⇒ 3
Bad Guys: 1d6 ⇒ 6 < Bad guys go first!

3. Actions:

By now the ogre does not even care, simply trying to hit any of the annoying little things hopping all around him! Grabbing the club in both hands it swings at...

Clockwise: 1d5 ⇒ 1 Drusilla!

Attack: 1d20 ⇒ 7
Damage: 1d10 ⇒ 2

But the swing is poorly aimed and feeble, the lite elf easily avoiding it.

Players turn to attack - GO!

Drusilla avoids the blow with honed reflex. It was a strange feeling as surely she would have become as flat as travel cake.

Using the momentum of her evasive reflex she swings her Mace towards the Massive bulk still moving before her.

Mace: 1d20 - 19 ⇒ (16) - 19 = -3
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 2

Seeing an opening as the ogre over extends trying to strike at the nimble elf, Ralina steps up quickly striking low. A grim grin crosses her face as she once again feel her heavy warhammer hit. It's steel head cracking against the beast's meaty leg.

Warhammer Attack: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Combat Round 4

Hearing Regnar through a haze, Amhal shakes his head, unsure why the dwarf feels the need to command him.

First he takes my shield, now he wants to steal my glory!?!

Seeing Drusilla and Ralina score hits on the creature’s hide, and buoyed by both his own successful strike and the adrenalin of battle, Amhal swings back along the creature’s trunk….

Shwaa!!!: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 = 17
Schh!!!: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

The battle reaches its climax!

Drusilla’s mace slams into the ogre’s side, staggering it, while Ralina’s warhammer cracks its knee. Amhal’s furious swing drives his blade deep into the creature’s gut, and with a final, shuddering breath, the ogre collapses onto the ground.

In the ensuing silence, Finnin steps forward and cautiously peers into the cave from which the brute emerged.

Actions?

Amhal grins manically as the behemoth falls. The warrior steps back to allow Regnar egress from the goblin-lair, and holds his torch forward toward the cave the ogre emerged from.

”Perhaps his home might provide a redoubt from which to defend. Or his family lairs within. Let us find out!”

He then steps toward the corpse, and with a huge swing, lops off the Ogre’s head.

Essentially a Move then an Attack (or coup de grace) on a corpse. Does this require an attack roll?

Regnar takes a pick to the Goblins' lair from his position and if nothing catches his attention he joins Finnin at the entrance of the cave from where the ogre came.

Anything interesting?

After a quick prayer of thanks to Petra for their survival, Ralina quickly searches the corpse for anything of value or interest. Once finished with that grim task, she grabs her lantern and moves next to the second cave opening from which it emerged.

Search ogre. Move to the side of the opening of the ogre cave.

Drusilla will go and collect her crossbow and then, move back to a better postion least more surprises come.

Essentially a Move then an Attack (or coup de grace) on a corpse. Does this require an attack roll?

Naaaaah.

With a few hacks, Amhal lops off the ogre's head!

Regnar takes a pick to the Goblins' lair from his position and if nothing catches his attention he joins Finnin at the entrance of the cave from where the ogre came.

Anything interesting?

"It stinks" - Finnin replies.

Peering into the cave, Finnin and Regnar are immediately assailed by a pungent, sour odor that clings to the air like decay. As their eyes adjust, they notice in the southwestern corner a massive bear’s hide, crudely arranged with heaped leaves to serve as a bed - a grim trophy clearly taken by the slain ogre. In the eastern depths, the space that once housed the ogre now lies silent and foreboding, its darkness undisturbed. The cavern holds a lingering, uneasy stillness.

After a quick prayer of thanks to Petra for their survival, Ralina quickly searches the corpse for anything of value or interest. Once finished with that grim task, she grabs her lantern and moves next to the second cave opening from which it emerged.

Search ogre. Move to the side of the opening of the ogre cave.

On the fallen ogre Ralina finds a bulging sack which the ogre used as a pouch - inside she counts 250 gold pieces!

Drusilla will go and collect her crossbow and then, move back to a better postion least more surprises come.

Drusilla, any chance you could be more detailed? What is a 'better position'?

Tactical Map updated.

Going to wait to see what Dobin’s post-combat action is…

Once the creature falls, Dobin walks up and takes out his frustration and anger by beating the corpse with his club. He steps back, breathing heavy and looks sheepishly at Ralina as she moves forward to search the corpse.

"Sorry about that..."

He moves on to watch the cave entrance as the others examine what is in the beast's lair.

I believe I would be near the Ogre. Enough to shoot into the cave mouth where we heard the "Goblins" and they have a hard time to hit me.

Once everyone but Drusilla is around the ogre's lair, Regnar waves Drusilla to come closer and prepares to go in:

Ralina on my signal point the lantern to the cave and I'll go in. Dobin, Amhal go second the rest go third. All ready?

Dobin moves over to the Ogre's lair and gets ready to move in once Ralina moves in.

Dru moves towards the other cave taking glances back to the Goblin caves as she doesn't want Goblins creeping up on them after such a harsh battle.

Ralina secures the gold with a sad smile. "How many unwary travelers and merchants did you rob in order to amass such a tidy sum. She says quietly to the dead creature, not expecting an answer from the headless beast.

At the entrance to the ogre cave, she pauses to tie a kerchief around her neck, slipping it over her nose and mouth to cut the stench a little. A nod to the others making sure all are ready and soon enough she steps into the ogre's former lair turning the wick up on the lantern to the let light shine bright and reveal any other inhabitants, doors or other dangers.

I said to move on my signal priest! How can I defend you if you go ahead of me? - curses Regnar under his breath when Ralina passes him. He moves quickly inside the cave looking for any signs of creatures that might be a threat and ready to pounce at them.

Amhal watches with interest as Ralina removes a king’s ransom in coins from the ogre’s effects. Then, after tying the grisly trophy to his belt, and keen to avoid further ambushes, Amhal moves back to the goblin cave entrance and keeps watch, torch held high to allow him to see.

[Move from Ogre corpse to Goblin Cave entrance.]

"Our salwart stone scout" Drusilla amuses herself out loud as she watches there back before slipping into the cavern behind the others.

The cavern remains unnervingly quiet, with only subdued squeaks and soft whimpers drifting from its depths - distant enough to suggest caution rather than alarm. Amhal listens intently, noting the tentative sounds as if the creatures within are hesitant to fully reveal themselves.

Meanwhile, Ralina steps carefully over the remnants of the ogre’s lair. Her eyes fall on a makeshift bed fashioned from a massive bearskin, roughly stuffed with dry leaves to offer a modicum of comfort. Nearby, the detritus of a hasty meal - old food scraps, a few lazily buzzing flies, and the unmistakable odor of decay and offal - serves as a grim reminder of the violence that transpired.

Off to one side, a narrow passage opens into a smaller adjoining cave. The floor here is scattered with refuse and the remains of half-devoured carcasses, haphazardly piled against the rough stone wall. The air grows heavier with an oppressive stench, and the lantern’s dim glow reveals streaks of dried blood on the weathered rock. Amid the disorder, the neatly arranged carcasses in one corner hint at a grim, utilitarian purpose - perhaps a crude storehouse for the spoils of a brutal feast.

What will you do next?

"Finnian, get in here and use those supposedly expert eyes to check this place for traps or any hidden doorways." Ralina says to the hired rogue. She keeps her eye on the scoundrel as much as she does the creepy larder and rest of the ogre's living quarters, not forgetting how he ran earlier and managed to steer well clear of danger when the big beast came after them.

"Everyone take a good look through everything. If we are going to try and hold up here for a bit, I don't want anything sneaking up on us from some trap door or other hiding hole." She says.

Joining in the search, the acolyte takes her time to examine the lair for any signs of hidden objects or doors. Telltale footprints suddenly ending, odd air flows, marks in the dirt, unusual cracks along the wall, fur covered trapdoors, or anything else that might catch her wary eye.

Amhal keeps his watch on the goblin lair entrance, and occasionally looks back toward the ogre cavern.

”Drusilla - what news from the ogre lair?” he calls out.

If any of the other cavern entrances hold lairs of goblins, or other creatures, they will likely have already heard the recent fracas with the ogre, so calling out to his allies doesn’t feel like a breach of any kind of “stealth”. And, to belabor the point, Amhal calls into the tunnel before him.

”We have slain your ogre champion!”

Amidst the debris and dark stains, Finnin grumbles under his breath, "Damn slog and dirt - always gotta sift through this filth." Reluctantly, he shuffles forward, his eyes narrowing as he peers into the shadowy recesses of the lair.

Ralina steps cautiously into the cave, each footfall sending clumps of mud and refuse splattering onto her boots. The floor is a grim mosaic of discarded scraps, broken bits of armor, and traces of old meals, all evidence of the lair’s unsavory past.

Ralina, searching a 10 by 10 foot square or wall takes about 1 turn. Where do you want to start (also where should Finnin start), and how long do you want to search?

At Amhal's triumphant shout, a chorus of shrieks and whimpers rises from the cave's depths - then gradually fades into an eerie silence.

'So far so Good, it will take some time." Drusilla says as she keeps her crossbow ready and stands at the Ogre's entrance and keeping an eye out more into the vale than the cave.

Ralina, searching a 10 by 10 foot square or wall takes about 1 turn. Where do you want to start (also where should Finnin start), and how long do you want to search?

Ralina starts on the right side, Finnin on the left. If more eyes allow for an additional roll, then others should join. Drusilla and Regnar would be helpful since I believe elves get a chance to spot hidden doors and dwarves can spot traps. Can't tell by the map, but based on the description, the entire area doesn't seem very big, so work our way around the room until were done.