Shinjin's page

Even still, it does seem that the baddies were very beefed up compared to the party. I know that you and all the players got together to discuss the game afterwards, but have you asked the DM what they think you did wrong? Probably the best insight into how they intended for you to survive the encounter can come straight from the DM.

It was asked. Answer, basically, was to split the party and attack from two directions. Try to take out the platform snipers quietly and then move in.

Which is an OK plan if A. More than 1 party member has stealth and B. More than 2 party members can do burst ranged damage with relatively low chance of missing.

Neither of those were true. So, I think we did OK. There needs to be more rules learning and perhaps asking for DM opinion before committing to an action.

By the way, absolutely disagree with running away. We would have TPK'd had we run by the time we realized not engaging was initially the best option.

I recall this fight pretty well. I'll lay it out best I remember.

Attack after DUSK. Actions are as initiative was rolled.

Round 1:
Bard (Gnome) sneaks to within range of first sniper. Cast Hideous Laughter on sniper.
Fighter (Elf) moves behind the wagon and kneels behind it.
Sorcerer moves into the underbrush (Halfling).
Paladin (Human) - "I guess I'll move next to the fighter and ready my bow."
Cleric also moves behind the wagon (Halfling).
Sniper fails save, starts laughing.
Snipers 2 & 3 peak over their cover (fallen tree trunks).

Keep in mind these are Human NPCs, it is dark, and the everyone in the party has low-light vision except the Paladin.

Round 2:
Bard moves next to the far tree where sniper 1 platform is. Fires xbow at sniper 1, misses.
Fighter moves up through the brush next to the tree, readies caltrops.
Sorcerer moves to tree where sniper 1 is, starts climbing.
Paladin stays put behind the wagon.
Cleric moves through the brush alongside sorcerer.
Sniper 1 falls to his death, still laughing.
Snipers 2 & 3 yell for help. Shoot at Fighter (no penalty), first hits for 5 HPs, second misses.
Sniper 4 appears 15 squares away, shoots at Fighter, misses.

Round 3:
Bard moves toward Fighter in cover.
Fighter drops caltrops, double moves to Snipers 2 & 3.
Sorcerer makes it top of Sniper 1 platform, Magic Missiles Sniper 4.
Paladin moves up, shoots at Sniper 2, hits for *forget* damage.
Cleric moves toward Paladin.
Snipers 2 & 3 5-foot-step, 2 shoots at Fighter and misses, 3 shoots at Paladin, hits for *I forget*.
Sniper 4 shoots at Paladin, misses.
Bad-guys-with-big-swords 1 & 2 appear out of nowhere, move toward Fighter.
Snipers 5 & 6 appear from nowhere, flanking right.

Round 4:
Bard shoots Sniper 2 successfully, kills him.
Fighter 5-foot-steps in front of Sniper 3, disarms him.
Sorcerer magic missiles Sniper 4, hits him.
Paladin shoots at Sniper 4, hits, staggers him.
Sniper 4 shoots at Paladin, misses, falls to his death.
Bad-guys-with-big-swords 1 & 2 move to surround fighter. 1 attacks Fighter, hits for 8 damage to 0 HPs, is down prone (this is before I read that, actually, at 0 HPs, you're still conscious, did not know that at the time).
Sniper 5 shoots at Sorcerer, misses, thanks to Mage Shield.
Sniper 6 failed save previously, falls prone.

Round 5:
Bard shoots at Sniper 5 (no Precise Shot or whatever it's called to shoot into melee), hits, 1 damage.
Fighter 5-foot-steps, disarms Sniper 3 successfully.
Sorcerer shoots xbow at Sniper 3, hits for *I forget*.

This is really where I stopped paying attention. We had no idea that Withdraw existed until the DM used it to retreat the dual-axe-wielding lady thing.