OOC: I'm going to assume Grant doesn't head back through the caves for now, and start doing three rounds at a time. If Doc wants to break from aiding the repair work, let me know.
Grant 22
NPC Allies 20 (probably irrelevant; working on repairs)
Human Musketeers 17
Horace 8
Dolgrim Crossbowmen 7
Quaen 4
Doc 3
Round 2
Grant reloads his pistol, ducking behind one of the many piles of rubble and rock formations in the crevase. "keep shooting Horace!" He yells.
A set of three shots ring out, all as inaccurate as before, and you realize there are another set of men behind the first, loading muskets for them.
Horace quickly reloads his rifle and fires another shot, dropping the man he hit before.
Two of the dolgrims missed again, but one got off a lucky shot and hit Quaen (7 dmg), who then creates a ghostly hand, floating just below the cliff edge from the musketeers (i.e. where they can't see it yet, but it can touch them).
Round 3
Grant actually managed to hit something with his second shot, but just barely; it didn't look like he did much damage to the man.
One of the men who had been reloading stepped forward to join the other two, and another three misses rang down on them.
Horace took another shot, and the man nicked by Grant fell.
This time, the dolgrims had rather less luck, not even coming close to the heroes.
Quaen's spectral hand whipped up to touch one of the men, draining his life force and restoring hers (4dmg, +4hp, presists).
Round 4
Grant ducked behind cover again, reloading his pistol.
Yet another man stepped forward to replace the second victim of Horace's rifle, but he was no better shot from this range than the others.
Horace's rifle just barely found his target, wounding yet another of the men.
While the fourth barage of crossbow bolts came much closer than the third, they still didn't manage to hit anyone.
Quaen's spell continued to drain the man she'd touched before, fulling restoring her hit points, and then touched one of them with the forces of negative engergy at her command (charnel touch).
As Grant hides from cover, he considers his options. That last shot was lucky, Horace is the only with the range of hitting these things. I gotta get up there! "Horace, cover me, I'm going up there!" Grant then moves towards the entrance to the caves, seeking out the place where the men stand above them.
Horace will pick his shots carefully, loading his "special" ammo. He'll aim specifically for anyone aiming at Grant.
__________________ Originally Posted by Piratecat:
See, that's the thing. A half-vampire gelatinous cube ninja of legend is patently absurd. An unkillable blob of midnight slime that haunts the crevices of an ancient inn, that leaves slime-covered and blood-drained carcasses behind it as it slinks back into the shadows, is just plain scary.
If you're trying for style without player metagaming, change physical appearance and never label anything. As the Shaman and other folks illustrated, everything can be more frightening when you don't know what the heck you're facing.
Grant 22
NPC Allies 20 (probably irrelevant; working on repairs)
Human Musketeers 17
Horace 8
Dolgrim Crossbowmen 7
Quaen 4
Doc 3
Round 5
Grant moves from his spot of cover to the next boulder he can hide behind, on his way to the tunnel they had originally come down.
Unfortunately, the cover was not as good in his new location, and one of the musketeers managed to scape him (8hp damage), though the other two shots, aimed at Horace and Quaen, continued to be futile.
Horace's shot went wide, wasting one bullet of his special ammo.
The dolgrim crossbowmen continued firing, and although one shot came maddenly close, none actually connected.
Quaen's attempt to use her charnel touch ability failed, as her spectral hand was not able to touch any of the musketeers (natural 1).
Round 6
Grant disappeared into the tunnel they had originally come down in, passing by the body of the Lyrander liveried man they'd seen on their way in.
Three more bullets from the musketeers found no targets. Horace's return fire, though... the man he'd hit early collapsed as a flaming bullet took him down.
The dolgrim crossbowmen all missed yet again. And Quaen's dark touch felled a second musketeer.
Round 7
Grant found the steep, slippery tunnel hard to move quickly in, but he persevered.
Three more misses rang out, as yet another pair stepped forward to replace their fallen comrades. And three more shots missed. Horace's rile was another story; another one of his special bullets dropped a musketeer in a single shot.
One of the dolgrims managed a lucky shot on Horace, though it barely scratched him (1 hp dmg).
And Quaen's hand was unable to find a target, its intend victim slipping out of harms way at the last second.
Doc bites his cigar, and thumps something hard. "Don't you have any large bore weapons on this thing? Maybe net launcher? Anything?"
OOC: Just checked, and Doc doesn't have any scrolls to help, and no Kn: dungeoneering to help with the dolgaunts. He'll just keep banging on the engine.
__________________ stonegod -- LEB judge and spawn of Khyber since 2005 (Blog)
"There hasn't been a major war since the Principalities and the Republic went at it a century ago. I didn't think heavy armaments were important." Aerdene says.
Initiative
Grant 22
NPC Allies 20 (probably irrelevant; working on repairs)
Human Musketeers 17
Horace 8
Dolgrim Crossbowmen 7
Quaen 4
Doc 3
Round 8
Grant continued to make his way up the steeply-sloped tunnel, finding that going up was much more difficult than going down.
Another trio of shots rang out, two just missing Quaen and Horace. Horace's return shot was somewhat less accurate, as one of his precious special bullets crashed into the cliff face. The dolgrims all missed yet again. Quaen's dark touch brushed against one of the musketeers, however.
Round 9
Grant reaches the split-off where the tunnel he came up led to the crevase with Aerdene's device, while the other led to the ledge where the musketeers were shooting at Horace and Quaene, below.
The musketeers shots were not such close calls this time, all coming well short of their taregets. Horace's shot was much better (critical hit), dropping the musketeer where he stood. The futility of the dolgrims continued, and Quaen's touch drained a little more out of her victim (she keeps rolling 1s for damage).
Round 10
Grant creeps up to the musketeers' ledge, seeing what is there. Six men, dead or dying, dragged to the sides. Six standing. One wounded. Four dressed the same as the other musketeers you've seen. One was dressed subtlely differently; you'd guess him a technician, not a bruiser, though he was loading rifles for the man in front of him just the same. And the last is a tall, solidly built human with the rough-hewn look all too common in those from the 'free' city of Newthorne. He's rather more pale than you'd expect for one of that sort -- and obviously the commander of this band. Despite him carrying no weapon heavier than a revolver, Grant gets the feeling that the man is possibly more dangerous than all of his underlings together.
Another three futile shots crash into the ground and boulders. Horace's shot hits the man twice-touched by Quaen's dark hand, but despite being hit by one of his alchemical bullets, the man still stood. Incomprehensible grumbling went up from the dolgrims, though you could guess the meaning well enough; another three bolts missed. And then Quaen's touch of darkness extinguished the man that had been touched twice before, and shot.
From his hiding spot, Grant peers closely at the men, detecting evil. If he is satisfied that they are indeed evil, he continues to sneak behind the apparent leader.
If the leader stands directly on the edge of the precipice Grant will do the following: Grant silently strides towards the pale man, his shoulder connecting with the man's back, trying to push him off the ledge.
Bull rush +0, I will use an AP on the opposed roll though.
If the leader is standing back from the ledge Grant does the following: Grant silently approaches the leader. When he is behind the man he loudly cocks his loaded pistol, and slightly pokes the pale man with his rapier. He then says, "Drop your weapons or he gets a head full of lead."
Intimidate: 24 + an AP Bluff and diplomacy if applicable: 22
If Grant is spotted before he can get to the leader he retreats back the way he came.
This is probably a death sentence, but it would be so cool if either plan worked!
From his hiding spot, Grant peers closely at the men, detecting evil. If he is satisfied that they are indeed evil, he continues to sneak behind the apparent leader.
OOC: Are you going to try and move in immediately upon detecting the presense/absense of evil, or will you wait to gauge the strength of various evil auras (if any)?
(sorry this is taking so long; you guys managed to take about the most direct route possible to the airship, so most of the bad guys were still alive when you got there)
Initiative
Grant 22
NPC Allies 20 (probably irrelevant; working on repairs)
Human Musketeers 17
Horace 8
Dolgrim Crossbowmen 7
Quaen 4
Doc 3
Round 11
Grant, not unsurprisingly, does detect the presense of evil here.
Neither the musketeers nor their leader seem to have noticed him yet, as they fire another three futile shots at Quaen and Horace. Horace's return shot was more successful, though not fatal. But when Quaen's ghostly dark hand touched the same target, he fell; three more futile crossbow shots providing little distraction.
Round 12
Grant detects 11 evil auras, one of them strong, from the thugs and their remains (note that that's one less than the number of bad guys and corpses up here). Only one of the thugs is able to take a shot this round, as the leader disdains reloading for his men, so only the tech could manage. Fewer shots didn't improve accuracy, though.
Horace, on the other hand, hit again. And again, combined with Quaen's magic, it was sufficient to fall a musketeer. And again, the dolgrim crossbowmen were more a nuisance than anything else.
Round 13
Finishing his analysis, Grant now senses lingering evil auras on the bodies of the musketeers, and a faint evil aura on the remaining musketeer. The leader, though, seems to have a strong evil aura.
The last musketeer wasted a shot, before being hit by Horace's return fire. The dolgrims again failed to do more than harass. And Quaen's charnel touch was, again, enough to take the man down.
Horace calmly reloads and fire, whispering softly to his rifle all the while.
__________________ Originally Posted by Piratecat:
See, that's the thing. A half-vampire gelatinous cube ninja of legend is patently absurd. An unkillable blob of midnight slime that haunts the crevices of an ancient inn, that leaves slime-covered and blood-drained carcasses behind it as it slinks back into the shadows, is just plain scary.
If you're trying for style without player metagaming, change physical appearance and never label anything. As the Shaman and other folks illustrated, everything can be more frightening when you don't know what the heck you're facing.
Initiative
Grant 22
NPC Allies 20 (probably irrelevant; working on repairs)
Mercs 17 (leader and tech left)
Horace 8
Dolgrim Crossbowmen 7
Quaen 4
Doc 3
Round 14
The leader is still staring over the falls -- though well back from the ledge, only a little surprised all of his men have fallen.
Grant silently approaches the leader. When he is behind the man he loudly cocks his loaded pistol, and slightly pokes the pale man with his rapier. He then says, "Drop your weapons or he gets a head full of lead."
"Oh come now," The man said. "Surely you aren't threatening me?" The leader says, muttering a few infernal words of power.
Grant feels a sense of dread wash over him, but his faith in the Flame holds the enchantment at bay. The leader tries to touch him, but Grant dances away.
(Quaen, Doc, and Horace can't see what's going on in the cavern)
With no more mercenaries to target, Horace turns on the dolgrims, but he takes his worst shot of the day, even taking into account the even greater range to their perch.
"Threatening you? I offer you mercy, granted it would be life spent rotting in a prison cell, but it is one can't ask much where you people are concerned." Grant thrusts his rapier at the imposing man, calling upon the might of the Silver Flame, and then steps away, closer to the edge and fires his pistol.
Smite evil with the rapier, +8/1d6+2, then five foot step closer to the edge, but not threatening this guy and fire the pistol +4/2d4
Linear Mode
And yet another word from our sponsors
