(Casual D&D IV) A Knight for a Pawn

Xiao Yu, male human monk

Xiao pulls back about 10 feet, giving himself, and the others, some room to move. He sets his feet and gives his staff a easy twirl.

- OOC -
Move to K19, Initiative (1d20+3=5), melee +7 (quarterstaff, 1d6+3/1d6+3), AC 16, hp 48/48.

Nurthk placed his axe against a rock in easy reach and nocked his bow.

"Cylantro, I'm waiting on you," he said, waiting to see which one she fires on.

[ooc: Nurthk will wait and fire on whichever one of the creatures Cylantro attacks, assuming it isn't killed. If it is, he'll attack the closest.]

initiative: 22
attack rolls: 19, 5 (adjusted for range)
damage: 5, 8

OOC :
Attack 18,24,8
Dmg 11,10, yeah right

Attack not modified for range

HP 56 AC 17/18 dodge (whatever beastie is attackin gme)

Note to self : must kiss ass of elven blacksmith to get elven chain mail

Raven makes his way down the face a few yards, then readies his bow to fire at the approaching creatures. He does not recognize their species; indeed, they move quite strangely for birds, seeming to flow through the air with too much ease.

Tatlock imitates Raven, planting his feet a short way down and beginning to twirl his sling in preparation.

Nurthk readies his own attack, waiting on Cylantro's action to fire. Oliver does much the same.

Cylantro prepares her own spell, waiting for them to come within range.

The birds continue their fast approach, and are about 120 feet away when the ground beneath you begins to tremble.

There is a low droning sound; at the edge of the cliff face, the rocks begin to crack away, falling into the water. A loud breaking sound issues from somewhere deep beneath you, and the ground under your feet begins to shift, seemingly sucked out from under you toward the ocean.

Except, that is, for Raven; the landslide begins a few feet away from where he stands, and he is safe at least from that danger. But for his there is another: The cleft in which he sought cover begins to open into a fissure, and the packed dirt on which he stands begins to slide down into it. Back down the path, another fissure cracks open suddenly in Nurthk's path, and the ground on which he stands begins to slide down into it.

The horses, save for Justice, begin to panic, but it is hard for them to flee when their hooves can find no solid ground to drive from.

(For Raven, I need one Reflex save, to avoid falling into the fissure. For the rest of you, I need two Reflex saves, the first being to maintain your footing, the second being to avoid your horses should they fail to maintain theirs (if applicable). For those of you who are still mounted, please give me Ride checks in addition to this, which may or may not nullify the results in addition to that. Finally, I need one additional Reflex save from Nurthk, to avoid falling into the fissure.

Anyone with Knowledge: Nature can make a check regarding what is happening.

Also, feel free to execute any readied actions, ie firing bows, casting spells, et cetera.

Attached is a map showing positions at the start of the earthquake. I'll have another with new positions and new terrain once the checks have been resolved.)

Hiritus: Reflex Save #1 - 8; Reflex Save #2 - 21; Ride Check - 11.
Fendric: Reflex Save #1 - 22 (Natural!); Reflex Save #2 - 5; Ride Check - 5.

Both are mounted. Hiritus, of course, is on Justice. Fendric is on Vespers - a normal horse.

If Fendric is upright, he will proceed with the Bless as planned.

If Hiritus is upright, he will cast Endure Elements (his one spell!) and then ready an action to swing.

If Justice is upright, she will face the birds, and if possible, ready a bite attack at whichever one attacks them.

If Vespers is upright, he will run ahead on the trail (if possible) or off, to find ground that isn't opening up.

Whoever isn't upright (between the horses and the Pelorites) will first attempt to move to unfissured ground, then stand.

Xiao Yu, male human monk

Xiao flexes his legs to lower his center of gravity and absorb the movement. He keeps his eyes on the birds, flying things, ... whatever.

"Do birds do this? Perhaps we should not have be so quick to draw weapons. Maybe they did not have wicked intentions. But now they annoyed."

- ooc -
Xiao should be a couple of squares to the left. He moved there last round.
Reflex Save (1d20+7=22)

Raven, aka mr balance

Without batting an eye Raven shifts his feet, deftly stapping aside and keeping his bow trained on the birdies.

reflex : 27

"It may be better to make a run for it," Nurthk said, trying to keep his feet as things went severely wrong.

Having his bow nocked was suddenly not a great concern as he tried to dive away from the fissure, his stumbling horse, and towards the magical double axe lest he lose it down the space that threatened to swallow him.

[footing: 19
avoiding horse: 8
fissure: 21
Rolls made in order of requests.]

As Nurthk's warhorse Gale panicked she tried to shift her weight to prevent herself falling over, and her hooves fell about Nurthk as he himself danced about, trying to retain his footing while avoiding the fissure. It seemed however that he wasn't giving enough mind to Gale's plight, and risked getting struck by a stray hoof, knocked off his feet, or worse yet getting pinned under a panicked horse during battle should Gale topple over.

Raven effectively sidesteps the crevice. Tatlock loses his footing, sliding fifteen feet down the forming slope. Oliver manages to keep from being bucked off his horse, but it is of little concern as the beast loses its footing, and tumbles down the hillside, colliding with Tatlock along the way. (Oliver: 11 damage)

Nurthk falls and takes the slide as well, avoiding the fissure but colliding in a heap with Oliver and Tatlock. His horse likewise falls, but manages with flailing hooves to keep itself from being sucked into the earth, instead colliding with its master. (Nurthk: 6 damage.)

Cylantro's horse falls, rolling over the spicy spellcaster at slides down the tumultuous cliffside. (Cylantro: 8 damage.)

Justice is perhaps a bit cooler-headed, and the paladin's mount manages to keep her feet on the ground, although it is still a wild, stumbling effort. Hiritus comes close to being thrown from the saddle, but manages to hold on.

Xiao, meanwhile, calmly hunkers down as the ground moves beneath him. Side by side, the monk and the knight are carried a few feet closer to the ocean unharmed.

To Hiritus' other side, Fendric is thrown from his horse, but after a wild turn in the air comes down planted on his feet, as though he'd intended to do it that way all along. Vespers, on the other hand, is not so fortunate; one wild hoof catches Fendric in the back, knocking the wind out of him, before he is left to watch the horse tumble down the cliffside. (Fendric: 6 damage.)

In either direction, the waves of motion can be seen tearing rock away all along the coastline. From the South, you can hear shouts of alarm, and yes, screams as well.

Beneath you, the water begins to peel back, pressed away in one fat back-running wave, leaving a wide stretch of moist, blank beach where it once was.

(The latter effect is not pictured on the updated Round 2 map, as that just constituted more Photoshoppnig than I felt up to. Also note that on the updated map the white squares are horses, and that Hiritus "got big" all of a sudden because I remembered that horses -- and hence, riders of horseback -- occupy ten-foot squares.

Also, regarding Xiao's movement, the earthquake occurred took effect prior to his initiative, hence it hasn't taken place yet. Sorry I wasn't more clear on that.

For that matter, I should start posting initiatives.)


Round 2
24 Raven
23 Tatlock
22 Nurthk
21 Oliver
20 Cylantro
17 Hiritus
12 The Birds
5 Xiao
3 Fendric

Fendric

Fendric barely has time to worry about his horse in peril, and with it, the safety of the letters.

His next thought is that he must aid his companions, and tend to their support and protection (Concentration check: 27). After completing the Bless, Fendric takes a position behind Hiritus/Justice.

"It is that vexing druid again, may the Light sear him blind!"