D&D 5E hafrogman's Hoard of the Dragon Queen (full)

[hafrogman]

[MENTION=6800384]kuey1975[/MENTION] Skree can use the help action, it does not count as an attack, and flyby does not provoke, so you are welcome to use the tactics just as you did. Just fair warning - the more you make use of your familiar in combat, the more of a valid target he'll start being. I'll start tracking his position next battle. This was just a brief warm up to get the blood flowing.

 

[Skarsgard]

[MENTION=8858]hafrogman[/MENTION] I would just like to say thanks for the maps! They are proving to be an awesome asset for working out what our characters can do without a million questions.

Thanks!

 

[kuey1975]

[MENTION=6800384]kuey1975[/MENTION] Skree can use the help action, it does not count as an attack, and flyby does not provoke, so you are welcome to use the tactics just as you did. Just fair warning - the more you make use of your familiar in combat, the more of a valid target he'll start being. I'll start tracking his position next battle. This was just a brief warm up to get the blood flowing.

Agreed! I figured it was worth the risk since the kobolds were practically mincemeat by then.

 

[kuey1975]

Also wanted to cue you all in. To add some flair to Venn and his sort of madness, I wanted to delve into RP and story elements for him. I didn't want to go too far or derail anything within the party or with our goals. Instead I have been working on a table of strange sayings and musing he might utter. Everytime I speak I roll an Intelligence check to see whether or not he speaks coherently. So far you've been lucky to hear him!

Sounds fun! Perhaps I would roll an intelligence check also to see if Carad understands him each time.

 

[Forged Fury]

I'll start tracking his position next battle.

Does Skree need his own initiative? I think familiars are supposed to have their own initiative.

 

[hafrogman]

Does Skree need his own initiative? I think familiars are supposed to have their own initiative.

They should, but I think that adds a level of complexity to the PbP format that would just make for more problems. So I'll just bundle them together.

 

[Forged Fury]

Just to get some more clarification, does the keep appear to be surrounded by mercenaries? If we're going to be required to infiltrate through them to get to the keep, it really changes our options. We also have to consider we currently have a big bear with us and several civilians who may or may not be able to play along if we try the deception option. At a minimum, Jeni may have to change back to her regular form.

My issue with the southern option is that it is less direct and would take longer. Since it seems the mercenaries are being sent south, I'm thinking we would stand a better chance of running into them if we head south as well. If we can get to the northern path heading southwest in H5, it's a relatively short trip to the keep door from there.

 

[hafrogman]

The keep is not yet surrounded. From what you've heard, the enemy forces are gearing up for a push, but so far they've been concentrating on looting and sowing confusion among the townsfolk. Assaulting the defensive keep is another matter. However, you can be fairly sure that the main gates are under watch no matter what. Still, there are not so many troops currently on the hill that you couldn't try to sneak past (but the group as a whole isn't very sneaky) or battle through, or try bluffing something, or some combination of parts, or some other alternative I haven't thought of.

 

[Forged Fury]

Thanks.

Any ideas? I asked in the IC so feel free to respond if you can. I think north or south could work. North seems most direct but is closer to the inhabited areas of the town. South looks like it would take longer.

We might be able to try disguises. If Jeni reverts to a humanoid and we get some cloaks, we might be able to pretend to be a mercenary group working with three cloaked kobolds.

 

[kuey1975]

(Not sure if it's happening to the rest of you by enworld has been difficult to get in or extremely slow for me the last few days.)

Agree, I think sneaking either north or south would work. Each has its pros and cons. North seem shorter, but possibly more chance of encounters. South is longer, but possibly more deserted. Whatever the case is though, at some point when we near the gate, we would likely have to bluff or fight our way through. As he had suggested, Carad can throw his illusions to at least get the vulnerable refugees through. I like the idea of disguising the kids as kobolds. Maybe using illusions to make them appear as kobolds.

I'm undecided about Jeni-bear though. On one hand, a bear is quite conspicuous, but in crunch, we might need her bear might. Perhaps if she keeps to a distance and charges in when necessary?