D&D 5E [IC] Creamsteak's Princes of Elemental Evil

[Steve Gorak]

By outside, what do you mean? The Pinnacle? The drawbridge? The stables?

ooc: To the pinnacle, but I am assuming that the whole group is following, and Thaliss is not the one on the front line. I think this is where the group will have a better view of the Manticore, even though there will be less cover. The stables would have been the better place for cover, but I don't think it would be feasible to hone in and target the beast.

 

[Forged Fury]

OOC: Well, if a manticore is on the move, we probably need to be flying.

Tolan gathered up his gear and rose from his seat. Pulling his bow from the quiver on his back, he tested the draw of the weapon and started moving toward the stables. The warrior looked back and saw that Thaliss at least seemed headed for the Pinnacle. Shrugging, the warrior continued on his way.

 

[Creamsteak]

At the pinnacle you can see that the moon is bright in the sky. A fog fills the canyon limiting visibility to 100 feet. Beyond that range creatures and objects are heavily obscured. The moon illuminates the misty canyon below Feathergale Spire. In the far distance, a single shard of darkness moves, flitting in and out of the mist. Then the shadow sinks beneath the bank of clouds, lost again from sight. A single viewing glass seems to be mounted and pointed down towards somewhere in the valley.

Savra follows the party to a moment later. "The hippogriffs know the canyon well enough to avoid the cliffs. I imagine the riders won't have need of them as it stands." She smiles and looks out into the night skies. "Or were your boasts in jest?"

 

[Steve Gorak]

"Or were your boasts in jest?"

With a smile, Thaliss says "My dear girl, we don't need to boast! How many of your flying mounts can we borrow? I imagine you won't want to miss the action; care to ride with me?".

Thaliss then proceeds to the stables.

OOC: Thaliss will regularely be casting cast guidance when not in combat.

 

[Creamsteak]

Savra will lead you down to the stables where four hippogriff can be acquired for the party.

"I'll keep watch from behind in case any of you fall off."

Pursuing the manticore takes one minute. Does the party want to split up to search, or work together?

 

[Steve Gorak]

ooc: I say we stay together, since the casters can cast featherfall if any of us falls. Besides, we'll be harder targets if we're closer to one another.

 

[Creamsteak]

OOC: For this bit, I am rolling for the Manticore to "evade" the group. The group can use skills or spells for each minute of pursuit to attempt to find the manticore. The hippogriffs are definitely faster, but as you are all traveling in a group it will likely just try to avoid you. The standard skill check DC is 12. Perception, Nature, Handle Animal, and Survival are all primary skills and add +5 to your pursuit. Acrobatics, Insight, Athletics, and Investigation are secondary skills and add +3 to your pursuit. Other skills and spells default to +1 to pursuit, though clever use might be worth more. Each character can only choose one skill to attempt per minute. The group can only succeed at a given skill once per minute. So only one person can succeed at Perception in a given minute. If, after ten minutes, the Manticore is not found, it is considered to have escaped.

 

[Steve Gorak]

[sblock=ooc] to make sure I understand: we each roll one out of those skills once per minute DC12, and the primary +5/secondary +3 is added up, plus +1 or more for spell, and if we exceed 12, we can see the Manticore (and therefore attack it) and have 10 minutes during which the Manticore is not considered to have escaped. Right?

If so, we can can have 3 characters using primary skills at +5 and one with a secondary at +3. We'd need 3/4 rolls to succeed.

I believe this setup maximizes our chances:

Thaliss will use guidance for his rolls, and gets +8.5 on average for perception. This would be the highest of the group's so I propose that Thaliss uses perception

Tolan has +6 survival (primary); lower than Maighan's +8, but we need the additional primary

Maighan has +5 nature (primary)

Carradoc can use acrobatics (secondary) with a +8 mod.

Does anybody see a more optimal scenario for rolls (assuming that I understand the rules properly? [/sblock]

 

[Forged Fury]

Tolan mounted the hippogriff, appreciating their earlier training. Manticore could be nasty and mounted combat was not really the elf's forte. He set his bow across his lap and tied a quiver of arrows to his leg for ready access. The elf searched the area for fleeing wildlife or an absence of creatures altogether, something that would give away the fact that a large predator was nearby.

OOC: Survival: [roll0]

 

[Kobold Stew]

Carradoc breaks from his reverie and follows the group to the Pinnacle. The sight of the hippogriffs is completely new to him, and he is surprised that they are being lent out so freely. He quickly considers summoning a floating disk, on which they can ride (fewer mounts, fewer mounts to which control can be lost), but it would take to long. No matter. He has prepared a spell that can ensure a safe fall if the worst happens.

He steps up and offers to help, perhaps riding with someone else so that he can focus on attacking the manticore if it should be found.

OOC: sorry for the absence. Carradoc has Nature at +5 (vs. Dc 12 = 70% chance for +3) and Acrobatics at +7 (80% for +2). I expect the probabilities are all close anyways.