[GAME] SDMB RPG - Seven Seas of Rhye - IC Thread

The Game Room
21

Four of the five adventurers leave the tavern, heading down the wide, dirt-packed road that leads to the bay. Creatures are moving in all directions, entering buildings and upturning carts and barrels that line the roads near the docks.

As the men approach, though, a small pack of them peel off from the others, shouting to one another in their strange, burbling tongue and spreading out loosely. They wield various rusted weapons, but seem to know how to use them.

[spoiler]You are fighting Sahuagin raiders. They have +3 to hit, 5 hitpoints, and deal 1d6 damage on a successful attack. If your initiative roll is 10+, you may act before the Sahuagin do.

There are four raiders and four of you. If none of the raiders are taken down by ranged attacks, Haldour and Hukthak will each be engaged by two of them in melee, so they may want to hold their posts until the others have gone.

Morath is currently out of engagement range, though he can engage on the following turn if he wishes.[/spoiler]

22

Rinzo was not able to get a shot off before the fish heads start swinging.

Initiative 7. http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4643959/ I don’t see what the rules are for a ranged attack when allies are standing next to the target

23

[Thoradin, dwarf cleric]

Thoradin assesses the situation and acts quickly to strike. As the group of four fishmen run to clash with Hukthak and Halduour, he moves up to Hukthak’s left side and swings his warmhammer at the leftmost raider.

The raider, so focused on Hukthak, fails to notice the warhammer coming from his right. It lands brutally in his midsection, instantly causing his ribs to collapse with a crack and a sick gurgling sound. He collapses, falling forward just short of Hukthak’s feet, dead.

Initiative 19, Hit roll 12, damage 9. Their AC is 11.
Anyone else with an initiative above 10 should take their turn now, before the enemy takes their turn. Particularly ranged attackers who might cut one down before they reach the group

24

Noticing that the Sahuagin seem to have no particular objective, Morath emerges from the shadows. He circles around to the left in an attempt to catch the fishmen off guard while they fight the others.

Initiative: 17. I can’t attack this turn, but I’m positioning myself to strike in the future.

25

Hukthak stands at range with his pike, and stabs at the first fishman… And completely misses. Undeterred, he takes a step back, placing a little more range between him and his adversaries, waving his pike around dangerously. This is clearly a dance he’s danced many times before.

Ugh, +4 to hit and I still can’t roll higher than a 10. Got a 10 on initiative and an 8 on my attack roll. That’s after the attack bonus, mind you. Followed by a 5-foot step backwards.

26

Just a reminder: you do have a +d6 any time you want from the bard’s Inspiration

27

[NPC turn]

The three remaining Sahuagin raiders finish their charge towards Hukthak and Haldour. The rightmost one raises his rusted sabre and maneuvers his way into range with Hukthak, avoiding his waving pike. He lunges at Hukthak, barely reaching the his left shoulder, drawing a little blood with a glancing slash.

The other two raiders strike simultaneously at Haldour with a sabre and a mace. Haldour deftly avoids the swing of the sabre by taking a step to his right, but the mace hits him directly on his chest armor without much force, leaving some bruising.

The attack on Hukthak rolled a 20, doing 2 damage. The first attack on Haldour missed with an 11, the second attack hit with a 22, doing 1 damage. Those of you who had initiative rolls lower than 10 can now act.

28

Hualdor (Dwarf Fighter)

The fish moved quicker than he’d expected, and Hualdor took the blow in stride. Just a bit of bruising, and he could take a little more if it meant getting the chance to skewer a fish-head rather than fumbling around for his axe.

Hualdor backed up several feet, knowing the fish would get a blow in. And a blow in it did get, such as it was–but no harm was done.

Hualdor took careful aim and fired.

Initiative 6+2 = 8

Fish-creature’s opportunity attack, 9+3 = 12, no hit

Hualdor’s attack, 9+6 = 15. I don’t know the creature’s AC. But it’s 7+2 = 9 damage if it hit, which is a kill.

29

Not sure why the rolz lobby shows two 1d8 rolls. I must have hit the button twice without realizing it. But the 7 is the first roll, and it’s the one I saw and reported, so that should be fine, right?

30

[spoiler]I think the enemy is supposed to get an attack of opportunity in this case, isn’t it? I’m not aware of a “shifting” mechanic as in 4e–moving out of reach simply always incurs an opportunity attack, unless I’m mistaken.

[/spoiler]

31

Rinzo

Rinzo fires off one shot at a Sahuagin attacking Hualdor, which goes wild. He drops the crossbow to be retrieved later, unslings his fiddle, tucking it under his chin, and unclips his bow. He times the first chirp of the strings to arcing sweep of his rearing-back pack, with an energy to compliment the energy of his swing.

Now Rinzo ticks peers over his outstretched bow as he sweeps it across the battle ahead, looking for the most monsters he can fit in the 40-foot diameter of a Sleep spell.

The closest to a clear rule on firing into melee that you are not yourself in is +2 cover for a creature in the way “whether that creature is friend or foe” (PHB 196), but they don’t state explicitly that this is the rule for firing into melee. I just took the disadvantage, and missed. Then for the next round I’m readying my fiddle as a spellcasting focus as my action, and as a bonus action I’m inspiring Hualdor with a quick battle riff.

32

[Thoradin, cleric.]

As Hauldor’s shot felled a second raider, Thoradin turned to engage the raider that was currently trading blows with Hukthak. He takes a quick swing from behind with his warhammer, but misses short as the raider took a step towards Hukthak at just the right moment.

They have an AC of 11, so Hauldor’s roll was a hit and a kill. I rolled an 8, missing. Morath can act now, and then the NPCs get a turn, and then the rest of the players.

33

Apparently surprised by the unexpectedly fierce resistance from this small fishing village, the remaining sahugain raiders turn and flee. One of them finds his forward movement arrested by the head of the pike bisecting several of his internal organs, and slumps down to the ground with a burbling, fishy death cry. The other slips on the ground in his haste to flee, and scrambles away beneath the vicious arc of Thoradin’s attack.

Meanwhile, Rinzo levels his hand crossbow and calmly sights down its length, watching the sahugain scuttle back towards the waterline. He exhales, pulls the trigger, and watches the bolt fly through the air in an unerring line, entering the back of the monster’s head and exiting through an eye. The creature falls at the tideline, water lapping at the bloody wound.

Two opportunity attacks, one successful and one not, followed by a critical hit from Rinzo. Good job! I am moving the combat along because I want to contemplate a better way to deal with D&D combat via this method. Meanwhile, back to the game!

Morath slips back up to the party just as Rinzo is loosing the crossbow bolt. No longer under direct attack, the adventurers have a choice to make. The raid seems to have no particular focal point. Sahugain are looting stores of fish, attacking boats, and breaking through windows to do mischief to the villagers hiding within. There are at least thirty all told, but they are scattered through the village. Here and there, sturdy villagers, men and women both, hold one or two of the monsters at bay with makeshift weapons, but this is temporary at best.

What will you do to save the village?

34

Rinzo takes up his fiddle and casts his Vicious Mockery on a likely target harrying a local, accompanying it with a discordant squeal to make sure everybody knows where it’s coming from, hoping a few of these gill-breathers feel like making him pay for torturing their ears.

3 psychic damage and disadvantage on next attack unless the victim makes a Wis save DC 14. Then a Performance check of 9 trying to piss off any one else listening. Gulp!

35

What’s the nearest pack? Assuming that he wouldn’t be outnumbered more than 5-to-1, Hukthak rushes in that direction, flinging the head off the tip of his pike in the general direction and bellowing like a madman.

36

Thoradin casts thaumaturgy, tapping into his connection to the divine to empower his voice to be three times as loud as usual.

“Raiders near the docks! Alert the guards! All fighting men to arms! Rally at my voice!” he calls out in several directions.

He tries to assess which group of raiders is attacking the biggest gathering of people who are unable to defend themselves.

37

Morath (rogue)

Morath adds his voice to Thoradin’s in attempting to rally the villagers. He is unable to match the cleric’s volume, but he puts the full force of his noble upbringing behind his words. “Join with us! These raiders are cowards! They will flee from a unified defense!”

[spoiler]Persuasion roll, d20+5 = 15

(I rolled this in at rolz.org, but it’s currently acting glitchy for me and it doesn’t seem to be showing the result in the dice room. There are a bunch of Javascript error messages on the page. I don’t know if this is a site error or somehow related to the fact that I’m connecting through a hotel ISP in the UK. I really did roll it however, and I’ll try to figure out what’s wrong later.)[/spoiler]

38

Hualdor (Dwarf Fighter–Archer)

Hualdor tsks to himself, concerned albeit amused by Hukthak’s charge.

He does a quick visual check to see if any of these fish creatures have ranged weapons on them.

I’m not thinking of this as a perception check or anything, I’m just asking the DM a question before completing my move… but if it needs to be a check that’s fine as well. If no ranged weapons, he’s going to just stand where he is and start trying to pick off fish-heads, starting with those bothering his newfound acquaintences. If they do have ranged weapons, he’s first going to run into the nearest building and protect himself behind a window (not hiding, just finding cover), then start picking off fishheads. Assuming that, too, can be done in one turn, the relevant attack roll either way is: 13+6 = 19. 18 bolts left.

39

Hukthak

The barbarian rushes away from the group, waving his axe and colliding with a group of three sahugain raiders. There is a tangle of limbs and scales and weapons for a moment and then the three monsters dart backwards, spreading out and encircling him.

You are fighting three monsters with the same stats as above. You can roll as many rounds as you like (you, then all three monsters) until you either win, die, disengage, or call for help. If you call for help, your fight will pause and we’ll figure out who, if anyone, is in a position to help you.

Rinzo

One of the monsters, a creature whose head looks like a rotting salmon, stumbles in its attack on a small child, who is able to flee down the road and into a building. None of the other sahugain seem affected by the song. Rinzo will have to decide what he is doing on the following turn.

Thoradin and Morath

Between the noble bearing of Morath and the thunder of Thoradin’s magically enhanced boom, several of the villagers rally to their location. They are battered, bloody, and terrified. Their weapons are makeshift and nearly useless. But they are defending their homes, and will follow you at least for a little while.

You are being joined by a peasant rabble. Thoradin may take advantage on one attack of his choosing between now and the end of this combat. Morath may gain advantage on two attacks of his choosing due to his noble bearing and roguish positioning abilities. The villagers rallying around you have drawn in several more of the creatures, and you are each engaging with two of them. As with Hakthuk, you can roll rounds until you either win, lose, disengage, or call for help.

Hauldor

A sahugain with arms like eels collapses to the ground with an arrow through its throat. Hauldor takes cover and prepares to sniper.

Hauldor, you can make three attack rolls against Sahugain, rolling your damage for each success. Each sahugain you kill will save a villager.

Current monster murder count: 5 sahugain.

40

Three villagers respond to Thoradin’s call, armed with rudimentary fishing gear as weapons. They all poke at two of the raiders without conviction, all of them fearing being the one to get too close to become a target. But these distracting attacks from multiple directions cause the raiders to hesitate, leaving an opening for Thoradin to strike with his warhammer. He hits one of the distracted raiders with a powerful overhand swing, and instantly crushes his skull.

As Thoradin extends forward for the powerful blow, the other raider makes a quick strike with a rusted axe to the back of Thoradin’s right arm, causing a deep but short wound that immediately has significant bleeding.

In a fluid motion after his killing blow, Thoradin swings his warhammer back to his right, catching the raider in the thigh, shattering his femur and knocking him to the ground. The raider makes a half-hearted attempt to slash at Thoradin’s hand, but the shock of the hit was just too much. He collapses as Thoradin ends him with a blow to the chest.

First attack had advantage due to the villagers, best roll was 21. 6 damage, kill. Other raider has his turn, rolls 22, hit, with 3 damage done to Thoradin. Thoradin attacks the second raider and hits with a 14, but only 4 damage. Raider swings back, 8, miss. Thoradin attacks again, 13, hit, 6 damage. Thoradin has 7 hp left. The fight lasted 3 turns.