Kipa climbed the trees and easily made his way out to the jars. He looked inside and grimaced. Then, with a swipe of his dagger, all six jugs came pouring down to the ground. The puddle of river water soaked into the loamy soil, and the tree would appreciate the drink, he was sure.
Molly shakes her head.
"I ever catch sight of him again... Give me a moment to prep my spells."
The Witch squats a ways away from the group and has a quiet conversation with her toad...
Water!?
Quill seems very disappointed that it was only water, but also somewhat relieved. He shakes his head, and looks to move on. He will let the scouters scout, and he will hang back with Storn, the loud one.
Storn stares incredulously at the trap installed by the giant they just paid off. "I... I'm too dumb for this. Let's go find something to kill."
Although he is dumb, Storn examines the area around the trap and tries to puzzle out if there was any kind of purpose to it using his pretty decent outdoorsy skills.
Well maybe not that decent.
"Water?Bloody Water?! Next time we see that giant we are getting our money back."
Climbing back down and joining the party. "Yeah for the stealthy approach until we can get a clear shot at what we need to do."
kipa
molly
sander
quill
storn
Still grumbling about being tricked by the giant, you gather your gear once more and head north, following the directions he gave. If you were going to be fleeced by that much gold, at least the instructions had better be good.
Kipa took the lead, staying several hundred feet out in front of the others, looking for trouble, then circling back every half hour or so to report. The valley was enormous, and trying to stay stealthy really cut into your travel time. As it was, it was mid-afternoon before Kipa saw signs of danger.
It was shortly after you turned down the large canyon to the northeast that Kipa saw signs of a large campfire. The area was abandoned, and Kipa snuck in close to check it out. He felt heat rising from the ashes, and saw several sets of giant-sized footprints in the dirt around the firepit.
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Quill looks around, stretching his legs and back. There has been a LOT of walking. Days of it, it feels like.
”Alright, campfire, no giants. Do we want to track them for a bit?” Quill asks, happy to follow the big trail as it goes.
”But it’s also almost close to pre-dark, and time for bed,” he suggests. ”We could pick this up in the morning.”
Molly exchanges a sober look with Sander and Kipa, then casts a quick spell on herself.
Storn mutters something about tracking quarry and starts investigating the camp to determine any kind of information about the number of giants, if they're all adults, and if they went thataway.
Looking at Molly and rolling his eyes some. [b]"I think we should gather some info on the camp now. It could help us in the long run. Have are you seeing from the camp there Storn?"
Kipa starts looking around for anything that he can.
Sander drinks his mutagen, his form filling out slightly as he's suffused with health.
Then, looking around nervously, he drinks his extract of barkskin, just to be safe.
"It didn't really go very well when we all went to sleep last time there was a giant around," he says. "Maybe we should make sure these ones really are gone. How many did you say you think there are?"
He looks around some more, still nervously.
Storn manages to find distinct footprints of about 5 giant-sized creatures in the dirt around the fire. He also finds the cracked and blackened bones of a medium-sized humanoid in the firepit.
The tracks lead eastwards, further into the valley.
Storn clanks over. "Five giants heading east. Maybe someone is waiting to ambush us but doesn't look likely. Someone our size that it looks like they ate. I don't see too much else. Let's make some time before the day is out although they're probably going to be moving faster than we are."
Storn also takes a moment to switch back into his giant's nail armour, doubting that any giants they meet are going to be interested in parlay for the rest of the day.
Sander looks as miserable as ever, but agrees, putting his head down and trudging on as he tries to keep up with the elf and others'longer strides. Thank goodness that horrible armor slows down Storn and Kipa's got normal-sized legs.
"So are we trying to catch them, then? What's our plan if we do catch up to them (though they're probably a lot faster than us, since they're so big)?"
Storn shrugs as he clanks along tirelessly. "Let me know if you want a piggyback Sander. Just hang onto the beard. As for what we do when we meet them - well we get information or kill them and take their stuff. Our goal here is finding the army, at which point we can figure out how the hell we can either kill the STorm King or ruin the army's plans."
The tracks led you 6 miles or so to the east, and with Kipa in the lead, you were fairly confident you wouldn't be giving away your position too easily, despite Storn's presence. Finally, after about 3 hours, Kipa came back to tell you what he had found.
There was a giant, all right, and four trolls that had made camp at the opening to a small side valley. The giant, a hill giant it looked like, seemed to be in command of the small group. All of the giant-kin seemed to be fairly alert, though Kipa was confident that no one had spotted him.
"Trolls," Molly says, a slightly disturbing smile blossoming on her lips. "Yeah. Less chance they'll know anything useful. Trolls ain't all like the one we caught back at Trunau. Remember her, Sander? Heh. But hey, whacking Trolls… That's just plain fun. Ain't that right, Storn?"
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Quill readies his bow, happy to take out a team of giants because that’s what they should do.
The Elf that *HUNTS* the World, Quill reminds himself, still not used to the phrasing. The Elf that *HUNTS* the World. *HUNTS THE WORLD*.
”Yeah, we should kill them all. Should be easy, right? Trolls are easy to kill, right?”
Quill assumes that the party is going to ambush at some pre-arranged symbol or something. The signal might be Storn charging in solo, but if that’s the plan, that’s the plan. Or Quill, Sander, & Molly could blast from a distance, whatever works.
Storn shows a broken-toothed grin at Molly. "Ahh those were the days. I miss annoying the Iomedeans and hassling trolls."
He then gets down to business, grinning over to Quill and quietly proud of the deranged murderer the elf has become. "They're dumb, so just have to make them mad or hungry. Maybe set Kipa and me as an ambush, throw some stuff at them, they go all 'BWARARAR' and run at us, and then they die on the way over or Kipa nad I clean up the rest?"
"Don't forget the giant. The kind of thug that runs with trolls is likely to start chucking rocks from a distance while the trolls close in. You're going to need ranged backup."
"If they're normal trolls, my bombs should be pretty effective," Sander agrees. "Maybe try to lure them toward us?"
He sounds like he can't quite believe that's his plan.
"Alright, let's strip Quill down and pour barbeque sauce on him. That'll bring any troll as sees him running. I hear Elf meat is more tender than veal."
Storn sets himself in front of Quill with some decent cover - ideally a big tree - so he's less likely to get pelted with boulders.
HP 48/48 (+14 for extract)
AC 21, touch 18, flat-footed 18
Fort +8 (+4 vs. poison), Ref +9, Will +4 (+2 vs. fear)
CMD 13
Bombs: 0/10; Mutagen: 1/1; Spontaneous healing: 0/15; Blast
Sipping jacket: Bomber's eye (1/7); +10 range increment, +1 to hit
Effects: shield (+4 AC)
Extracts; Blast Finesse ritual: [x]
1st (5/day): bomber's eye [x], endure elements [], enlarge person [], shield [x][]
2nd (3/day): alchemical allocation [], barkskin [x], perceive cues []
3rd (2/day) fly [x], invisibility []
A little disappointed that the effects of his earlier extracts already ended, Sander drinks a few more, letting himself fly and giving himself a shield to help keep him safe.
Flying up about 20 feet, he gets a little closer and is ready to throw a bomb toward the trolls when the others are ready. He draws on what he learned from his formula book to shape the blast to include more trolls.
Molly moves into her martial arts stance and looks for a good spot from which to cast Lightning Bolt once battle begins.
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Round Surprise
Quill casts Divine Favor and he fires once at the giant in the surprise round.
to hit;
magic cold iron damage
to hit;
more magic cold iron damage
AC 19
HP 45/45
Happies: 1/6 used
Ferves: 1/6 used
SacWeap: 0/6 used (+1,swift)
PoP 1: 0/1 used
To Hit: +5 BAB, +4 Dex, +1 WF, +1 Magic +1 PBS -2 DA =+10
Damage: 1d8 + 1 Str +1 magic + 2 weap spec +1 PBS +4 DA = +9
[ dice]1d20+10-2[/dice] to hit; (-rapid,+PBS)
[ dice]1d8+9[/dice] cold iron damage.
[ dice]1d20+9-2[/dice] to hit; (-rapid,+PBS)
[ dice]1d8+10[/dice] cold iron damage.
Storn chants a war blessing and he shimmers with protective energy, knowing he'll have to break faces once they're in closer range.
initiatives:
Kipa
Molly
Quill
Sander
Storn
trolls1
trolls2
giant
These are regular trolls, with regular troll regeneration (acid or fire negates)
These are moss trolls. These forest-dwelling trolls are almost as at home in the trees as they are on land. Smaller and less durable than normal trolls, their regeneration is only negated by fire
Larger than a standard hill giant, this one appears to have some taiga giant ancestry.
Everyone prepared themselves, and Quill started off the assault with a well-aimed arrow that struck the giant in the left eye. The giant bellowed, and quickly all of the trolls were on their feet and ready for the assault. The giant lumbered to her feet, and she was enormous! Standing nearly 20 feet tall, she towered over the trolls beside her. Quill's arrow looked tiny as the giant reached up and yanked it from her eyes socket, leaving behind a gory hole that quickly filled with blood.
The trolls rushed forward, moving on both hind legs and one arm, the other hand free to swipe with 4-inch claws. One ran straight at Storn, while the other charged towards Quill.
R1: trolls1, storn, kipa, trolls2, sander, quill, giant, molly
HP 48/48 (+14 for extract)
AC 21, touch 18, flat-footed 18
Fort +8 (+4 vs. poison), Ref +9, Will +4 (+2 vs. fear)
CMD 13
Bombs: 0/10; Mutagen: 1/1; Spontaneous healing: 0/15; Blast
Sipping jacket: Bomber's eye (1/7); +10 range increment, +1 to hit
Effects: shield (+4 AC)
Extracts; Blast Finesse ritual: [x]
1st (5/day): bomber's eye [x], endure elements [], enlarge person [], shield [x][]
2nd (3/day): alchemical allocation [], barkskin [x], perceive cues []
3rd (2/day) fly [x], invisibility []
Sander remains secure in his confidence those are trolls.
Storn grins as Gorum's Thorn bursts into flame before he roars, stepping into combat with the moss troll.
"BAAAHAHAHA KNEEL BEFORE STORN!"
Darting over to the same target that Storn is attacking "Here let me help with that!
Move to o15
...Storn switches into his far more comfortable spiked plate mail, tucking away the giant's nail armour.
Storn slammed his fiery sword into the troll, who squealed in pain at the burning wounds, but did not run. Sander's strike missed completely as the halfling tried to avoid the flashing claws. Another troll ran straight for Kipa, catching the halfling with a heavy claw.
Kipa is hit for 6 damage
R1: trolls1, storn, kipa, trolls2, sander, quill, giant, molly
current status:
kipa 46/52
molly 43/43
quill 45/45
sander 48/48
storn 59/59
HP 48/48 (+14 for extract)
AC 21, touch 18, flat-footed 18
Fort +8 (+4 vs. poison), Ref +9, Will +4 (+2 vs. fear)
CMD 13
Bombs: 0/10; Mutagen: 1/1; Spontaneous healing: 0/15; Blast
Sipping jacket: Bomber's eye (1/7); +10 range increment, +1 to hit
Effects: shield (+4 AC)
Extracts; Blast Finesse ritual: [x]
1st (5/day): bomber's eye [x], endure elements [], enlarge person [], shield [x][]
2nd (3/day): alchemical allocation [], barkskin [x], perceive cues []
3rd (2/day) fly [x], invisibility []
Sander gawps at the giant's size and, after throwing two bombs at the trolls, flies a little further up.
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Round 1
Quill, like Storn, adds fire to his already cracklin’ bow. He fires at the near to him troll.
to hit;
magic fire cold iron damage
to hit;
magic fire cold iron damage
AC 19
HP 45/45
Happies: 1/6 used
Ferves: 1/6 used
SacWeap: 1/6 used (+1,swift)
PoP 1: 0/1 used
To Hit: +5 BAB, +4 Dex, +1 WF, +1 Magic +1 PBS -2 DA =+10
Damage: 1d8 + 1 Str +1 magic + 2 weap spec +1 PBS +4 DA = +9
[ dice]1d20+10-2[/dice] to hit; (-rapid,+PBS)
[ dice]1d8+9[/dice] cold iron damage.
[ dice]1d20+9-2[/dice] to hit; (-rapid,+PBS)
[ dice]1d8+10[/dice] cold iron damage.
wills
ref
Sander's bombs rained down on the trolls gathered around Storn and Kipa, the whole time the alchemist yelling imprecations about bigots and stereotypes. The trolls were badly burned, but stood their ground. Quill managed to plant a pair of fiery electrical arrows into the troll barreling down at him, but the creature simply kept coming. The massive hill giant roared and ran at Storn, but her club slammed into the ground as she caught sight of what Storn was wearing.
R1: trolls1, storn, kipa, trolls2, sander, quill, giant, molly
current status:
kipa 46/52
molly 43/43
quill 45/45
sander 48/48
storn 59/59
Molly chants a spell and hurls lightning at the oversized Giantess!
Molly's spell rips into the enormous giant, causing burns and twitching, but the heavy mass absorbed the spell without being weakened too much. One of the trolls continued charging Quill, its wounds slowing it just enough for the archer to avoid the flashing claws. The other continued to attack Storn, though it was very distracted by the hideous armor and the warpriest was easily able to block and turn its blows aside.
R2: trolls1, storn, kipa, trolls2, sander, quill, giant, molly
current status:
kipa 46/52
molly 43/43
quill 45/45
sander 48/48
storn 59/59
"RWAWWRRR LET'S SEE WHAT YOUR GUTS SMELL LIKE! STOOOOORRRN!"
Scampering to the side as a club crashes into the ground he suddenly shimmers, moving past the troll and adjacent to the super-giant. His blade flashes as he slashes out repeatedly.
Status: (AC: 22, +1d6 fire damage)
Used: 2 blessings, shield of faith, 2 sacred weapon, Grace
- Sacred weapon (2/7 rounds)
- Shield of Faith (7 minutes) (+3 AC)
- War Blessing (2/10 rounds) (+1 AC)