(Casual D&D III) The Man in Black

Nurthk blinks, startled, as Shavah's spell deflects one of the orc's blows. He sidesteps another in time to receive a nasty blow which, were it not for his chain shirt, would have gutted him. The orc standing over the girl fails to even connect.

Might be in over my head, gotta buy time.

Nurthk changes his stance, switching his grip on his axe so that he's better able to parry, but at the cost of accuracy.

"What's with your armour? No meaning to the stuff on it," Nurthk grunts at his opponent as he lashes out.

(full attack action, fighting defensively)

Attack 1: 26 (damage: 7)
Attack 2: 24 (damage: 7)
Attack 3: 8 (damage: 12)
Attack 4: 4 (damage: 11)

Fendric: Init 1, AC 16, HP 41/49

Fendric, relieved that the orc in front of him was at least as clumsy as he himself was, points beneath his feet in an urgent, hasty manner. Seeing Hiritus walk past him to the basement, Fendric vigorously nods his assent, and flail and shield in hand, trots briskly after his cohort.

[Full movement toward the stair, same as Hiritus. Fendric will let the paladin lead the way.]

Nurthk's first two attacks connect, as the others begin to make their way downstairs. His opponent looks severely hurt, now, and is becoming aware that he's been backed into a corner.

"It's a long story," he says, regarding the armor. "But I don't think there'll be time to share it." He speaks in common, and rather well.

Leading back from his last attack, he rolls his doubleaxe through three more -- fortunately for Nurthk, the new arrivals seem to distract him, and both attacks made with the stronger forward head swing wide... Between them, though, he manages to slip in a sharp stroke to the belly. (Natural 1; Attack 27, Damage 19; Natural 1) After the last stroke, he issues a command (in Orcish) to his lackey, instructing him to kill the girl.

The other orc, however, seems oblivious to it, at the moment, caught on the edge of Fendric's silence, and too busy glancing back at the new entrants to notice that any command has been issued. He does gather his attention enough to take another stab at Nurthk. (Attack 27, Damage 6)

(Need to know movement rates before I can position everyone Fendric and Hiritus... Aerda is certainly downstairs however, roughly in the center of the room, and it's back to Oliver's initiative -- although it should be noted that Nurthk gets a chance to act again before anyone else coming down the staircase does. Also, Oliver should roll an Int check.

Incidentally, that second orc's attack on Nurthk was also a critical threat, but the confirm roll was a Natural 1. Plus one upstairs, plus Tatlock's back at the inn... Five in the encounter, three in this post alone. Now, I'm not accusing anyone of anything, but if one of you's been sneaking in here at night and messing with my d20...)

Nurthk does his best to keep the situation under control, but a couple of attacks slip through his defenses and leave him barely standing, not unlike his opponent. One of his knees threaten to give way, but he keeps fighting.

I only just got this armour repaired...

"Weapons and armour; under attack or going to war?" he asks his opponent as he fights on.

(fighting defensively)

Attack 1: 25 (damage: 12)
Attack 2: 16 (damage: 9)
Attack 3: 14 (damage: 10)
Attack 4: 9 (damage: 10)

Guilt Puppy said:

(Need to know movement rates before I can position everyone Fendric and Hiritus... Aerda is certainly downstairs however, roughly in the center of the room, and it's back to Oliver's initiative -- although it should be noted that Nurthk gets a chance to act again before anyone else coming down the staircase does. Also, Oliver should roll an Int check.

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Fendric and Hiritus both wear medium armor, so it's 20' rate for each of them (8 squares each on a full move). However, I just noticed that given their positions vs. full movement, and the SRD method of counting corners (not sure if we're doing that here), Hiritus doesn't quite get downstairs, while Fendric does only just (which is good). C'mon, Nurthk! Stay up, buddy! C'mon, Aerda and Oliver! We need ya!

Incidentally, that second orc's attack on Nurthk was also a critical threat, but the confirm roll was a Natural 1. Plus one upstairs, plus Tatlock's back at the inn... Five in the encounter, three in this post alone. Now, I'm not accusing anyone of anything, but if one of you's been sneaking in here at night and messing with my d20...)

Click to expand...

And if you find that little thief, you can send him or her back to me right after (Init 1? Atk roll 3? WTH is that?).

"At a dead run Raven rushes downstairs , through the hall, taking up position in the basement. He has an arrow nocked, the string of his bow drawn fully back.
"“The first one to move gets to see how much damage a longbow can do at close range. Drop your weapons"

(Movement 30', moving as fast as possible. Holding actions untill anyone does anything he doesn't like. If his little macho speech is ruined by the silence, he'll nonetheless fire on anything he doesn't like (that doesn't include fendric :°) )

Hadoken?

Aerda takes the stairs two at a time, followed by his host of mirrored visages. Once in the downstairs room he steps back towards the wall until he can hear the soft droning hum he was making, checking for audibility.

Finding it, the Aerda's lower their heads, a chorus of arcane chants as arcane fire starts to form in a nebulae over their heads. Each practiced downward swipe of his hand siphons more energy, singing it into shape, bringing it spiraling down his thin arm in orbs that caress his milky skin. He gathers them together and is for a moment both quiet and still- each image focused on the orc that has been ordered to kill the girl, a held breath, anyone who shoots a bow with proficiency can tell they are aiming. A final syllable completes the spell as his hand shoots forward, fingers outstretched- a lance of fire erupting from an emerald plate that forms before his hand, the slim, fast energy racing from each image to a single point, the orc, converging there and punching into him, even though only one bears true heat.

Scorching Ray: Ranged touch attack- 15, 14 fire damage

[Can we get an updated map of everybody's position in the basement? I have a feeling Hiritus is going to be on the stairs, but I want to make sure. I'll post an action for Hiritus once I see where he ends up on his turn.]

As Hiritus descends to the basement, he sees where he must be - directly next to the orc with the girl. He tries to close the distance, willing his legs to do what they must to get him there.

Round 3

(Update the map? Why, I'm going to do you one better and advance the action!)

(autopilot) Oliver moves downstairs, passing up the Pelorites in their pace-slowing armor, then finally rolling between Aerda, Nurthk, and the smaller orc, and into position at the far side of the room. The orc takes a swing at him, but fails to connect. (Tumble, rolled very low, orc hit less than posted AC... I don't like autopiloting in such detail on such short notice, especially with AoO's involved, but all things considered it seemed to stand out enough as the most logical move...)

Shavah also shows up: Hiritus sees her come in through the back room, blood on her sword. She heads down the stairs and steps next to the many images of Aerda, just outside of the silence.

Nurthk's first blow lands; the rest are far too hesitant, and deftly deflected by his adversary. In response to Nurthk's question, he simply raises an eyebrow to the new arrivals in the room and answers briefly: "Looks like both." His legs look just about as ready to buckle as Nurthk's.

Raven, meanwhile, rushes in with Fendric and Hiritus and assumes a position in the front of the room, his speech indeed hidden by the silence.

Aerda's burst of fire, meanwhile, leaves the orc standing over the girl severely blackened and blistered, but he remains standing. (A bit out of turn there, but if Hiritus really wants to find a way to get in the way of that, we can backtrack.)

Meanwhile, those near the stairs can see Tatlock and Niccolo show up from different directions.

21 Orcs
20 Oliver
14 Shavah
13 Nurthk
11 Raven
11 Hiritus
9 Aerda
8 Tatlock
6 Niccolo
1 Fendric

Hiritus makes it to the top of the stair. For the crowd in the basement, and his half-elf immediately in front of him, he could not advance if he wanted to.

[Hiritus will delay until the way is clear (init now 22 in the next round).]

Fendric, however, has no such compunction, even if he has to shove his way clear to an opening in the area outside the silence. He does so, and grabbing the holy symbol, he points with his other hand at the orc standing above the girl and intones, "In the Holy Name of the Radiant Light, I command thee, hold!"

[Fendric moves through Shavah's square to the square next to her that is outside the area of effect, possibly displacing one of the Aerdii, and casts Hold Person at the orc above the girl. Orc gets Will save DC16 to resist each round of the 6 that the spell will last, or is magically held.]

Hiritus, his way clear, is not willing to wait for the orc to resist or not the effects of Fendric's Hold. Moving directly up to the orc, he once again (and for the final time today) summons the power of his God, and channels it into a mighty strike at the orc poised above the girl.

[Attack Roll: 19! (On Hiritus' longsword, that's a critical threat.)
Confirmation Roll: 8 +9 (normal atk bonus) +2 (he's flanked by Nurthk and Oliver) +3 (Smite Evil atk bonus) = 22.
Damage (if not critical): 10
Damage (if critical): 16]

If Hiritus is at all embarrassed about the wimpy Smite, he's not letting on.

[Anyway, if that doesn't do him in, Hiritus will stand by to deliver an attack of opportunity in case the orc should try to kill the girl. If it does, Hiritus will occupy the orc's former position.]