If so then I hope you guys know how to deal with it. All Kragg can do is try to hit it in close combat. And I don't think that would turn out very well.
Search Posts
Kragg finished off the giant that he was facing, ripping it asunder with pick and axe. He looked up from the ruin that was once a hill giant and saw the spell go up. He had no idea what it was, and hoped that one of his more intelligent comrades could be able to figure it out.
“Just making sure, because I missed it - you guys are including the giant hatred racial trait, right?” <shifty eyes> I...I am now.
With the battle lines being pushed further and further away, Kragg charged over the corpse filled field so he could reach his comrades.
With the Giant before him having the audacity to remain alive, Kragg did what he could to resolve the social faux pas.
Hoping that he is just DR/magic, so the mundane arrows don’t get through.
Kragg was far more dangerous in a fight where he could dig his feet into the ground and trade blows. Charging, even over short distances, was not his forte. Still, he managed to deliver a telling blow to another giant, as he dug his pick into the giant's shin.
With one giant lagging behind, Kragg ran after it and savaged it with pick and axe. Given his elemental fueled strength, there was little it could do to defend itself besides dying a few seconds later than if it had just given up. Standing over the wreckage that was once a hill giant, Kragg tried to look over the field of battle to see where the Hill Giant chieftain was. He was certain that the battle wouldn't truly be started until the foe showed himself.
Now in the thick of the fighting, Kragg lashed out with stone axe and pick. There were giants everywhere, so finding a target wasn’t exactly hard. This was unfortunate for any Hill Giant within arm’s reach.
I vote hail of arrows as thematically it is how you start the fight. Followed by melee support as the dwarves charge. Then shield wall as they dig in. Then arrows as they do an orderly movement away, only for them to charge again. Save Get Him! For major threats.
[ooc]31 with heroism
"FOR HEARTH AND HOME!" Kragg roared as he was the first to charge into battle. The stone-skinned dwarf charged in like an avalanche, his hands forming into axe and pick. Coming to the nearest giant, he slammed the pick into the brute's leg, feeling the all-too-familiar feeling of weapon impacting into flesh.
"I think..." Kragg said, after some thought. "That we should go to try and slay High Chief Nag Nag or Tim Tim. Whatever the idiot's name is. I mean, if we managed to slay a dragon, then I'd say we should have a decent enough chance against the Giant. If we could kill him, then it would probably shatter the Hill Giants. And from there? Mayhaps we could lead the freed up forces to relieve the siege of Grasspax."
Feeling somewhat defeated, Kragg asked "How long will it take us to get there? I fear that changing fronts now will just mean missing the war, and finding naught but either victorious kin or corpses."
”By the stones.” Kragg said, at the news. When the best news was that the Oldstones had only kept the Frostbeards busy, then things were not going well. ”From bad to worst. So, what’s it to be, lads? We slip away and try out hand at freeing the king, while the Giants and their dragon be out in the field? Or do we stay here and fight with our kin?” Neither option seemed great. Both felt like certain death. It was a question of which one was more honorable.
Regardless we don’t command the forces here, we’re something of an independent unit. So if the army retreats, we have to go with it, right?
”This may be out chance. Sneak into the fortress during the battle. Or the rout, as it might be.” Kragg offered. It looked like there would be another slaughter, but he wanted at least some good to come of it.
Just to make it clear, Kragg doesn't really have a problem with summoning devils or demons. To him, it's not all that different from summoning an elemental. He generally doesn't like it because of the danger involved. Why summon a force of evil when there are other options? Not sure where other PCs stand on this issue...
"Perhaps I did not choose my words carefully enough. I do not question the need to bring in allies. The ancestors know that the giants will do so, and I do not wish to lose any more kinsmen than necessary. Gold Peak can ill afford another defeat." Kragg said, his voice even and his face neutral. "I fear devils summoned in secret. For out of all possible allies, they are the most untrustworthy. And I fear going into battle, not knowing if a rampaging demon is friend or foe, for I am certain that the giants will summon those of their own. So how do we know which devils are on our side? How do we know that once summoned, the devils won't turn on us? And what price must Gold Peak pay for their aid?" Kragg asked. "While I don't have the audacity to believe myself to be anyone of importance, I would hope that I have built something of a reputation for loyalty to Clan and Hold. And I hope that these questions are taken in such a light."
Sense Motive 10: Kragg really doesn't care about summoning devils or demons. He is truthful when he says what matters to him is avoiding unnecessary dwarven casualties and that his concern lies chiefly with the safety of the plans.
”I’d lie if I said that I wasn’t. But we’ve fought orcs, fey, werekin, elementals, even a dragon, in defense of hearth and home. And I’ll add giants to that list. Besides, there are worse things than death. I’d rather die knowing that I join my ancestors with head held up high, than to die with the fires awaiting.” The stone-skinned dwarf replied. ”If I may be so bold, what price has been paid to garner the aid of the hells? How do we know that such untrustworthy...forces...won’t betray us? Creatures made out of pure evil do not put me at ease.”
Kragg was unsettled by what had occurred. Before the night was over he went about trying to find out who the cultists worshiped. It would be important to knowing what they had planned. He also tried to find out who the dead were and what clan(s) they came from. In this, he wished that Khazuk was there to guide him.
”Anyone more knowledgeable than I able to add anything...?”
Forcing his way through auras of negative energy and fear, Kragg made his way into the middle of the room and swung his stone pick at the kobold.
Standing up over the body of the cultist, Kragg felt a wave of negative energy wash over him. He resisted the worst of it, but even moving under the barrage was difficult nonetheless. Seeing the kobold as the center to the danger, Kragg stalked towards it.
Same! Wishing you the best.
Given that we are an all dwarf party, I'd like to share something I've come up with. It's making use of the archetype "Dwarven Scholar." It's a bard archetype that trades Inspire Courage for the ability to give a combat feat you know to everyone in the party, with the only condition being that you have the feat. --- Lvls 1-3: Weapon Master Fighter
This gives him Weapon Training and Martial Flexibility. That makes the Dwarven Scholar capable of taking advanced weapons training once per day. And with that, he can take item mastery feats without having to meet the item prerequisites. So, at lvl 5, this dwarf could give his entire party the ability to cast dimension door, see invisible enemies, fly, cast lessor restoration, healing spells, telekinesis...even fly! And when not using that? Well, once he can give 2 feats at the same time, he could give Dwarven Hatred Style and Dwarven Seething to the entire party. If anyone in the party is hit by an enemy, then that dwarf gets +2 Hit +2 Damage +4 Dodge AC against that opponent for so long as the Dwarven Scholar sings. ----- I *think* that the build checks out. And I had to share it, because it's a build that only works for a dwarven bard in a party of all dwarves. Something that is beyond rare...except in parties like this one.
With the time for words being over, Kragg raised his hands and caused a stone axe and pick to form in each one. Striding forward, he took the pick and swung it at the side of the nearest cultist, roaring "For GOLD PEAK!"
Seeing that something untoward was happening, Kragg motioned for his comrades to come over. Once they had done so, he threw the tent’s entrance open. In a loud and clear voice he said ”What is this?! We march to war and a secret ritual is done at night. Explained yourselves!” Having grown rather large since his...incident, and being covered in rock as he was, Kragg was a much more intimidating sight than he was before.
Moving like a shadow, Kragg made his way around the tent to get a look at was happening within. Unconsciously channeling the power of the plane of air into his body, the dwarf was almost insubstantial as he made his way to his target...
Kragg motioned for his companions to stay quiet and act normally. He then skulked off into the night, moving more silently than any dwarf should have been capable of.
With little else to do, Kragg said his good-byes once more and marched out to war. It was the second war that he was going to be in, the first being when they had defended the walls of Gold Peak all of those months ago. He prepared as best he could, though in doing so it hit him of what he had lost. For almost his entire life he had been able to shape stone as if though it were clay, and Khazuk...she had always been there with the right word of advice or the tidbit of knowledge he needed. Losing each felt like losing a limb. Together...at times he felt crippled. It was almost a relief to march out, for it let him put his mind onto something else. Grief was far easier to deal with when it wasn't the only thing to occupy his time. -----
Well, here is our strength then. We have the ability to summon an army for 1 day that nobody knows about! Which means that our goal should be to punch as deep as possible into the front lines as possible, and *then* summon our army. Preferably when we have the King in sight. Here's my question: how long does it take to summon our army?
Kragg listened in rapt silence. At length he said "Aye, very valuable. For my two copper, if this were normal times then we would have many options for earning glory for our Houses. To slay a black dragon? To exploit the path we discovered in the Hidden Plateau? To kill an unkillable giant, or to win the Frost Dwarves over to our side? All of this would be enough to rest one's pick on. But these are not normal times. Should we not reach Kick Nechezzar first, then I fear that he will be found dead." He let that sit for a moment, knowing full well that his kinsmen knew what the Prince was. "Thurgrom, I think that we need to head straight for Fire Giants, but we must have operational freedom. For this, can ye get the Stormhammers to give ye a command of your own? If so, then we can march under your name and that of your house."
"Aye then. Unless there are any objections, I'll get us registered with my House's forces. We'll have it so that we are a unit named under the banner of House Oldstone, where I'll nominally be in charge. This way if any challenge us, we will have proper rank to explain our actions. I recommend everyone here to let your own House's know whatever it is ye think that they'll need to know. Because my own House is not leading the charge, I would like to ask everyone here to find whatever information ye can about the upcoming assault. When it will take place, where your own Houses will be fighting, and whatever information we can get about the Giant fortress."
"Aye then. We sign up with my clan and use it as cover to do our own thing. Keeps us from being ordered around by anyone else, especially those with their own agenda for glory. We make it our mission to find the King and save him." Kragg said. "Any objections?"
Kragg looked more than a little embarrassed when he said "House Oldstone is a...conservative House. While a great force is being gathered, no glory will be won. Oldstone tends to move as fast as it's namesake. If we march with my clan, then it will mean that for the most part we will work alone, for we will undoubtedly move faster than that of my clan's. It does mean, though, that we will have the most operational freedom to act independently."
"Well lads, we need to figure out which army to march with, aye? And it comes down to this. Do we want to fook up the giants and try to rescue the King, or do we want to remove the Frost Dwarves from the enemy army? Now, this choice comes down to this. Do we have any leverage on the Frost Dwarves that we can use to end this diplomatically? Because I would prefer not to spill dwarven blood if I can help it. My Clan has no dealings with the Frost Dwarves, so I cannot say much on this." He looked around at the group expectantly.
One thing that might be worth it, is convincing them to betray their giant allies in the middle of the battle. That could quite well turn the tide of battle for us if timed correctly. The trick is finding the right leverage or benefit for the CE frost dwarves to do this. Now, the best way I can think of is to offer Prince Nim's hand in marriage to the beautiful frost dwarf queen. But doing this would mean an alliance between an evil-murder-prince and an evil queen. Uniting them would probably cause more problems than it would solve!
A few ideas here. (1) We can hook up with one of the main forces doing the assault on the giants. Go for the King and save him, out of fear that if we don't then the prince might assassinate him. (2) Gather intel on the Frost Dwarves. Find out exactly why they oppose Gold Peak. Perhaps we could head over there and try and find a way to flip them to our side? For #2, what do we know about the conflict between the Frost Dwarves and the Storm Dwarf leadership of our city?
I think we agreed on knowing her approach at the very least, check how much reasonable she wants to be. After all, we could have just killed her - and she seems to have restrained her lethality as well. +1
Don't look at it as just being level 3. Think of it this way: https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/587/roleplaying-games/dd-calibrating-y our-expectations-2 For power, level 3 is already heads and tails above what the average person can accomplish. And as counselors in a kingdom, it's really like being a lvl 15 NPC gestalt with lvl 3 PC. :)
Kragg nodded. He didn’t trust the prince as far as he could throw him, but the news made sense. Thanking his father he took his leave, to report back to his comrades what he had learned. It seemed to him that their best choice was to join the assault. Though keeping out of sight of Prince Nim seemed prudent...
Kragg nodded along, unsurprised with much of the news. He felt relief in his heart that he was still accepted, regardless of his physical changes. Though he supposed that his condition did match the name. ”I am currently working with a solid group of dwarfs, most of noble houses. They’re solid. Been fighting with them since the siege. Before I go, do we know anything of the King’s location, or who will be going after him? It seems like to win glory for our Clan, I won’t be marching with our kinsmen.”
”Aye. Father.” He took a deep breath before continuing. ”Where do we stand, on the issue of the returned prince and our missing king? What forces do we gather? What actions would bring pride into our house and what would bring shame?” He raised a rock-like hand and concentrated, causing a pick to form. ”I have changed. There isn’t any point hiding it. I called in too much of the elements. There was a dragon and I was desperate. But I still have strength to spend, and I want to ensure that it is spent in Oldstone interests.”
I like that ruling. Let’s cloaks be used! So many fun ones out there that are never touched due to the need for cloaks of resistance
Having arranged for a meeting with his father, Kragg waited impatiently for the audience. Even being his son, the clan leader was far too busy to just allow him in. Kragg's legs bounced nervously as he sat in his own clan-hall. His father knew of his condition, of course. The fact that he had been allowed in meant that he hadn't been declared an abomination. But still, he was worried about how he would be seen and his place in the clan. He took a deep breath, and reminded himself that he wasn't here on personal matters. What he wanted to know was his clan's position on Prince Nim Nimbus. In his heart, Kragg wanted King Dak Nimbus to return, but he knew that wouldn't be an easy task. At the moment, he just wanted to ensure that whatever he caught himself up in, it wouldn't go counter to clan interests.
I think that the fairest thing to do is roll when multiple people claim something. And 14k! 4k spent on deliquescent gloves. 11k left with current gold. Upgrading armor from +1 to +3, for a cost of 8k gold. 3k gold left which I'm holding onto.
Kragg has no ill will against her. He’d be for either turning her into the mother’s “care” as the only lawful authority he knows or cutting her loose and washing his hands of it. But at the end of the day all he cares about is clan and hold. Getting back home with the axe is what would be on his mind.
|