CB's The Sunless Citadel v3.5

Karl nods at Elyan's comments and begins hauling the rope upwards once Kiphas touches down.

"Get the basket."

With Kiaphas hanging on the rope against the rocky wall some ten feet above, Grotz's feet touch bottom and the half-orc lits on the sandy ledge. Just as Grotz looks up to address Kiaphas and begins to call out, "What do you s--" his speech is broken off by the flutter of wings and the whoosh of air stirred from stillness. A nasty looking creature, seemingly a cross between a bat and a giant mosquito with membranous wings, a short furry body, eight jointed legs ending in sharp pincers and a needlelike probiscus flaps from somewhere nearby on Grotz's right to invade Grotz's personal space. Surprised by the sudden appearance of the silent stalker, Grotz is unable to do little other than belatedly react as the creature catches him flat-footed, alights on his right left shoulder, and attempts to affix its needlelike probiscus underneath the skin on Grotzkoshter's neck. Grotz feels the creature's furry body on his shoulder as the thing's pincers latch onto his armor.

Initiative
Bat/mosquito creature
Grotz 19
Karl 13
Kiaphas 10
Elyan 6
Korgrave 5

We are now on initiative. Please feel free to post out of order; I'll resolve everyone's actions according to iniative count. The climb down from the top of the ravine to the sandy ledge is 100 feet.

Grotzkoshter

What the…
Says Grotzkoshter in surprise
Bahhhha
He shouts as he sees the bulbous furry flying creature land on his shoulder, unfortunately his greataxe still tied to his back, but he reacts quickly, Grotz tries to grab the odd creature tightly and impale him on one of his armor's spikes, squeeze him hardly all the way down on the right shoulder's spike.

Grapple/Attack +6 ; 1d6+5 Dmg

Kiaphas

Kiaphas climbs down tell he is 10 feet from the ledge and then drops down next to Grotz. Once down Kiaphas will draw his Longsword and prepare to attack.

ooc-if the light down here is to dim to allow sight Kiaphas will draw a sunrod with his other hand

Hearing Grotz's shout, Korgrave steps up to the edge of the ravine to see if he can tell what is going on. If he can see the creature, then he'll pull out his sling.

Holding onto the rope, Karl hears Grotzkoshter's call get cut off. He peers down to try and see what ails the warrior.



[ooc - if Grotz kills it, Karl will watch for more, otherwise he will start down Climb +5 double move for 30']

The creature on Grotz finishes securing itself to the imposing half-orc's spiked armor then, despite the choppy ride on Grotz's backside, gingerly taps its needlelike probiscus into Grotz's skin. Grotz feels the creature begin to greedily suck away at his lifeblood.

Wanting to get the filthy creature off his shoulder and impale the beast on his spiked armor, Grotz tries to swipe at the bat/mosquito but fails to grasp even the creature's body or wings. Intent on sucking Grotz's blood, the creature keeps its nose stuck under Grotz's skin and swivels out of reach then re-settles into position dead center on Grotkoshter's back just below his neck.

From an old ring of stones and a pile of rubble on the sandy ledge, three pairs of yellow eyes look Grotzkoshter's way. One pair of eyes, belonging to a very large rat similar in height to a small dog and very much like the rat encountered in the tunnels underneath the Ol Boar Inn, blinks then steps out away from the rubble. Dire rat 3 skitters 15 feet to bite at Grotz, the mealy scales of its dull pink tail rasping against the rubble strewn on the ledge. The rat, however, misses with its bite as Grotz begins to flail away at the furry creature affixed to his neck.

Note on Climbing: Characters can climb 1/4 of their movement with a successful check. If you're willing to accept a -5 penalty, your character can climb 1/2 his speed. Also, no Dex to AC while climbing, and characters cannot use a shield while climbing. PHB 69. This particular climb has a DC of 5.

Karl, somewhat throwing caution to the wind, quickly moves down the rope and finds himself 30 feet into the climb at the end of this round.

Dire rat 2 scrabbles over a small boulder in the pile of rubble and darts toward the currently grappled Grotzkoshter. Joining Dire Rat 1 at Grotz's front, Dire Rat 2 bites at Grotz's kneecap and deals 4 points of damage. Grotz feels a surge of heat in the bite wound but his body shrugs off the effect.

Kiaphas jumps the last ten feet of the climb and lands directly beside Grotz, in between the half-orc and the rocky pile of rubble. Finding the light not to his liking, Kiaphas draws and lights a sunrod. The gold tip of the small iron rod flares to life, sending forth a 60-foot radius of clear illumination and visible shadows beyond that to a radius of 120 feet. Kiaphas notes the two rats biting at Grotz, plus a third rat that seems to be hanging back at the moment, favoring its hind quarters as if wounded. A set of switchbacking stairs plunges off the ledge into darkness and continues on past the limits of light shed by Kiaphas's sunrod.

Dire Rat 1, old blood matted on the fur of its right rear leg, slowly treads out from the pile of rubble and faces off ten feet distant from Kiaphas. The creature's yellow eyes shine in the light given off by the priest's rod and as the rat bares fangs at Kiaphas, the elf notes a hint of foamy spittle inside the rat's mouth.

Elyan begins readying the wicker basket and supplies up top the ravine.

Korgrave, finding that the rope is securely tied to the pillar that leans out over the ravine mouth, sees the action below with the aid of Kiaphas's light. Korgrave pulls out his sling and makes ready to fire a shot from 100 feet up, should an opportunity present itself.

By the end of the round, there is one furry bat/mosquito creature affixed to Grotz's back, and two very large rats biting away at Grotz from the half-orc's front. Kiaphas stands within 5 feet of Grotz and has a very large rat looking hungrily at him from 10 feet distant. Karl is roughly 1/3 the way down the rope. Elyan, Rogue, and Korgrave are up top the ravine.


Initiative
Bat/mosquito creature
Grotz 19
Dire Rat 3
Karl 13
Dire Rat 2
Kiaphas 10
Dire Rat 1
Elyan 6
Korgrave 5

Grotzkoshter

Kill those rats while I take this bloody thing from my back
Cries Grotzkoshter to Kiphas.
Again he tries to hold the creature and impale him on his armor.
The fiendish thing is interrupting Grotz from drawing his greataxe

Grapple/Attack +6 ; 1d6+5 Dmg

[SBLOCK=OOC]Oops! I meant to ask Karl that question about what he sees, not Korgrave. Oh well - keep them guessing![/SBLOCK]
Elyan hears Grotzkoshter's exclamation and realizes that Karl has taken off down the rope. As Korgrave moves to the edge of the ravine, and with Rogue whining excitedly, he asks, "What's going on? They're under attack? Are there many enemies?"

Depending on Korgrave's reply, Elyan may choose to sing, inspiring courage in his allies. If the half-orc indicates that things are going badly, Elyan first nods to him, saying, "So much for a quiet entrance." He then launches into a battle song. Korgrave, who has only heard him sing in the tavern, will be amazed at the sheer volume of sound that this puny human can produce. His voice, pitched to cut through the wind and angled to reflect off the walls of the ravine, easily reaches the battle below.

If, however, the druid reports that the others are holding their own, Elyan will bide his time.

Kiaphas

"We got 3 of those rats like the one from the tunnel and a bloodsucker who's fast becoming Grotz's closest friend!"

Heeding Grotz's plea, Kiaphas will drop the sunrod, ready his buckler, take a diagonal step forward between Rats 1 and 2, swinging his blade at the rat in the middle.

[sblock]ooc: this assumes rats 2 and 3 don't move: otherwise just attack from where I am.
drop sunrod-free action, ready shield-mea, 5ft step, AC: 16
attack rat 2-standard action Longsword +3 melee (1d8+2)[/sblock]