[IC2] Pool of Radiance

[Thanee]

[SBLOCK=Sir Dryw]Your knowledge of all things natural tell you, that this giant frog, which is actually quite huge, is not or is no longer an animal. Your attempts to communicate with it will likely not work out.

Also, in their tales, Eldwyn and Kordunn had mentioned a similar creature, that attacked them on the small island in the river near Phlan's harbor. It carried a magical trinket, which was most likely used to mentally control it. The trinket was a pendant shaped as a pyramid.[/SBLOCK]

 

[Mark Chance]

Sir Dryw

Sir Dryw stops advancing.

"That frog is no natural creature," he says. "Not now, at least. Eldwyn, Kordunn, have you not encountered such a thing before?"

 

[Voadam]

"Yes. Beware, I know from experience they are large enough to attempt to swallow a dwarf whole. Have a weapon out and ready, you will be better off for it." He grips his ranseur tightly, ready to use it to bar the creature's mouth should there be a repeat of the last time.

 

[Mark Chance]

Sir Dryw swaps out his wand for a dagger, figuring if swallowed whole it'd be easier to cut his way out with a smaller weapon.

 

[renau1g]

Storm already has his bow drawn and nocked.

 

[Thanee]

1348 DR, Day 15 of Mirtul (spring) - late afternoon

Battle Map - Round 0

The aquatic humanoids, which Dryw and Storm can identify as Sahuagin, begin to climb out of the poisonous water now. Worse even, a second gigantic frog surfaces a bit further to the southeast.


Status:

Dryw - unscathed
Eldwyn - unscathed
Rover - unscathed
Emagor - unscathed, Greater Mage Armor
Peabody - unscathed
Kordunn - unscathed, Mage Armor
Storm - unscathed
Giant Frog I - unscathed
Giant Frog II - unscathed
Sahuagin Warrior I - unscathed
Sahuagin Warrior II - unscathed
Sahuagin Warrior III - unscathed
Sahuagin Warrior IV - unscathed
Sahuagin Mutant I - unscathed
Sahuagin Mutant II - unscathed

[smallcaps]Combat Declarations[/smallcaps]

 

[Thanee]

Round 1

Battle Map - Round 1

Storm smiles as the creatures show themselves and at Kordunn's words he nods "Yes, let's rain death on them. Focus out shots to not spread out our effectiveness." he agrees. The human fires off a pair of arrows that streak towards the closest sahaguin. Both shots hit, but while the first bounces off the creatures scales, the second punches right into his shoulder.

"Steady my friends the time for brave deeds is at hand." Eldwyn begins to sing a song of encouragement.

Sir Dryw hefts his shield and shillelagh as he rushes forward shouting, "Ha ha! A challenge worthy of my mettle! Face me or slither back to your watery hovels, foul denizens of the deep!" Two of the Sahuagin shift their focus entirely towards the knight in response.

Kordunn says "Let them come to us, they have no ranged weapons." The dwarf stands his ground behind the rocky turf starting off with a magic missile centered on the lead fish man. The three energy projectiles hit their target unerringly, causing more wounds on the fishlike body of the sahuagin.

Emagor, still ready, seeks a protected position behind his militaristic friends and waits for the foes to reach a point in range of his spell.

"Aye, Emagor! Stand ready! The siren call of battle sings loudly in my blood! Ha! Ha!" Sir Dryw calls out to encourage his battle companion.

The fish-creatures seem to follow a rather simple tactic, they run straight at the party, while the giant frogs leap out of the river behind them. Now that they get closer, the adventurers can see that two of the sahuagin have four arms, unlike the rest of them, who have just a single pair of arms. The mutant, that has been hit by Storm and Kordunn, appears to be especially wild and flies into a frenzy while charging forward.


Status:

Dryw - unscathed, inspired, Test of Mettle
Eldwyn - unscathed, inspired
Rover - unscathed, inspired
Emagor - unscathed, inspired, Greater Mage Armor
Peabody - unscathed, inspired
Kordunn - unscathed, inspired, Mage Armor
Storm - unscathed, inspired
Giant Frog I - unscathed
Giant Frog II - unscathed
Sahuagin Warrior I - unscathed
Sahuagin Warrior II - unscathed
Sahuagin Warrior III - unscathed
Sahuagin Warrior IV - unscathed, Test of Mettle
Sahuagin Mutant I - moderately wounded, Blood Frenzy
Sahuagin Mutant II - unscathed, Test of Mettle

[smallcaps]Combat Declarations[/smallcaps]

 

[Thanee]

Round 2

Battle Map - Round 2

"Continue to focus our attacks!" Storm calls out as he unleashes another pair of arrows at the monstrous creature and backs further away from them. Once again, one arrow wounds the creature, that doesn't seem to feel much pain in its frenzy, however, while the other bounces off harmlessly from its tough skin.

Eldwyn brings his warsling into action hitting the Sahuagin directly out in front of him with a stone to the forehead, aided by his own morale-boosting song.

"You shall fall!" Sir Dryw declares as he leaps toward the nearest monster, his shield and shillelagh ready for action. The well-aimed attack almost knocks the heavily wounded mutant off its feet.

Now that the opponents are all out of the water Kordunn draws out the scroll of fireball and invokes its power, catching the two mutants and two other sahuagin within the blast of fiery death. The wounded mutant, that was leading the attack, is mostly consumed by the engulfing flames, leaving a smoking and rather bad-smelling body and a heap of ash near Sir Dryw. The other targets are also burnt but still fighting.

Emagor is still holding his spell ready. His eyes focused on the 4-armed sahuagin in front of the group of fishmen, but as it goes up in flames, the warrior-mage looks for other targets, which soon present themselves.

The sahuagin mob rushes forward, some heading straight for Sir Dryw, while the others run past the knight and towards the rest of the party. Likewise, the two giant frogs advance towards their prey with powerful leaps.

As two of the sahuagin charge Eldwyn and Kordunn, Emagor takes a step between them and unleashes his spell, which creates a cone of dazzling light. Unfortunately, the stubborn creatures refuse to become affected and continue their savage attacks. Only one of them was close enough to reach Kordunn, almost getting skewered by the dwarf's ranseur which barely glances off the creatures hide, the sahuagin's claw attack does not endanger the paladin either, however.

Dryw is attacked by the other mutant and one more sahuagin in the meantime and he does not share the luck of the dwarven paladin. The mutant savagely claws into the knight's shoulder, ripping through his flesh with sharp nails, while the other sahuagin also manages to overcome his defenses and hurt Sir Dryw.

The remaining attackers move close enough to launch an attack every moment.


Status:

Dryw - moderately wounded, inspired, Test of Mettle
Eldwyn - unscathed, inspired
Rover - unscathed, inspired
Emagor - unscathed, inspired, Greater Mage Armor
Peabody - unscathed, inspired
Kordunn - unscathed, inspired, Mage Armor
Storm - unscathed, inspired
Giant Frog I - unscathed
Giant Frog II - unscathed
Sahuagin Warrior I - unscathed
Sahuagin Warrior II - lightly wounded, Blood Frenzy
Sahuagin Warrior III - severely wounded, fatigued
Sahuagin Warrior IV - moderately wounded, Test of Mettle
Sahuagin Mutant I - dying, Blood Frenzy
Sahuagin Mutant II - lightly wounded, Test of Mettle

[smallcaps]Combat Declarations[/smallcaps]

 

[Thanee]

Round 3

Battle Map - Round 3

Storm curses as the enemy approaches him at the least preferred range for the ranger, up close and personal. He quickly fires off an arrow, that fells the closest sahuagin, then the ranger moves north towards his allies. If he was to battle one of these beasts in close quarters, at least he'd have help. On the way, Storm quickly draws his longsword.

Eldwyn calls upon the power of Urogalan to produce a cacophony in front of the advancing giant frog's nose. The stunningly loud noise encompasses the frog and the two Sahuagin warriors before him as well. This proves to be too much for the frog and one of the sahuagin, whose attacks are stopped for now, as they are stunned from the magic.

"Ha! My blood is a badge of honor!" Sir Dryw says as he hammers his shillelagh into the warrior once again. The well-aimed attack puts the sahuagin one step closer to defeat. "Flee! Flee while you still can!"

Kordunn backs off a step and pokes the one enemy, that was not stunned by Eldwyn's spell, missing badly with the first try, but then giving the proper attention to his next attack, which pierces the tough skin of the monstrous humanoid and draws blood. In its blood frenzy, it doesn't seem to notice the wound, but it still slows the sahuagin down a bit.

Emagor realizes, that the web spell he had in mind to stop the assault of the nearby creatures won't have enough anchorpoints on the small rocks, and instead puts his trusted longsword to good use, taking a step towards the sahuagin, that Kordunn just attacked, and drops the creature with a single, well-aimed strike.

Sir Dryw gets the full attention of the remaining and still able aquatic creatures. The giant frog leashes out with its tongue, which promptly wraps around the nature warrior and drags him into the huge mouth. The sahuagin, that Dryw just attacked, follows and attacks savagely, as does the mutant, who unleashes a storm of claws and teeth upon the knight. Dryw must endure a few hits and now begins to feel the strain of his own wounds. Worse, though, he is now quite restricted and his shillelagh won't be much use for him at the moment.


Status:

Dryw - severely wounded, fatigued, grappling, inspired, Test of Mettle
Eldwyn - unscathed, inspired
Rover - unscathed, inspired
Emagor - unscathed, inspired, Greater Mage Armor
Peabody - unscathed, inspired
Kordunn - unscathed, inspired, Mage Armor
Storm - unscathed, inspired
Giant Frog I - lightly wounded, stunned
Giant Frog II - unscathed, grappling
Sahuagin Warrior I - lightly wounded, stunned
Sahuagin Warrior II - dying, Blood Frenzy
Sahuagin Warrior III - dying
Sahuagin Warrior IV - severely wounded, fatigued, Blood Frenzy, Test of Mettle
Sahuagin Mutant I - dying, Blood Frenzy
Sahuagin Mutant II - lightly wounded, Test of Mettle

[smallcaps]Combat Declarations[/smallcaps]

 

[Thanee]

Round 4

Battle Map - Round 4

Since the big frog nearby is still recovering from Eldwyn's spell, Storm seizes the opportunity to move around it and fire a shot at the other giant frog, that is about to eat Sir Dryw. The sure-aimed archer brings the arrow home and punches a deep hole into the huge creature's thick skin.

Nudging his mount south, Eldwyn brings his sling into action sending a stone at the frog who ate Dryw, further wounding it with another solid hit. "Come quickly my friends we must free our comrade from the belly of the beast."

"Unmouth me, foul creature! Ag! Miscreants! Striking a man while he's being eaten! I shall wreak a terrible vengeance on you all!" Sir Dryw starts foaming at the mouth, his eyes rolling wildly. He tosses his shield and shillelagh as he he roars, wolf-like fangs growing in his mouth and talons extending from his fingers. As he struggles in the giant frog's maw, it almost seems as if he is deliberately trying to wriggle deeper into the beast's body!

In order to help Dryw, Kordunn sends a trio of energy missiles in the direction of the frog. The magical projectiles hit true and bring the creature one step closer to defeat.

Emagor, shocked by his melee success, pauses, dumbfounded and looks at the bloody blade in his hand. "Criminy! How about it, Peabody, did I make the wrong career choice?"

The giant frog swallows its prey, Sir Dryw, down its throat, the warrior of nature isn't even really resisting, assuming that he won't have trouble to kill it from the inside. In his rage, Dryw does not even notice the acid burns from the frog's digestive system. The heavily wounded creature makes off towards the river with its prey, while the other frog is still stunned from Eldwyn's spell, as is the nearby Sahuagin Warrior. The two remaining Sahuagin are now looking for new targets, since Dryw is unreachable for them, they move closer towards Eldwyn and Storm.

As they look over the battlefield, the adventurers notice another humanoid quickly coming closer from the south. The towering orc sits on top of a light riding horse and seems determined to see what's going on here. Hopefully he isn't all too fond of frogs and fishmen.

[SBLOCK=Grynth]You will enter the map through the southern edge, from wherever you like.[/SBLOCK]


Status:

Dryw - severely wounded, fatigued, grappling, inspired, Rage, Test of Mettle, Aspect of Nature (Tooth and Claw)
Eldwyn - unscathed, inspired
Rover - unscathed, inspired
Emagor - unscathed, inspired, Greater Mage Armor
Peabody - unscathed, inspired
Grynth - unscathed
Kordunn - unscathed, inspired, Mage Armor
Storm - unscathed, inspired
Giant Frog I - lightly wounded
Giant Frog II - critically wounded, exhausted, grappling
Sahuagin Warrior I - lightly wounded
Sahuagin Warrior II - dying, Blood Frenzy
Sahuagin Warrior III - dying
Sahuagin Warrior IV - severely wounded, fatigued, Blood Frenzy, Test of Mettle
Sahuagin Mutant I - dying, Blood Frenzy
Sahuagin Mutant II - lightly wounded, Test of Mettle

[smallcaps]Combat Declarations (please post your combat actions into that thread, not here!)[/smallcaps]