Pterosaur Wranglin’, Round 1
One of the long-necked reptile birds, apparently seeing Noriaki as a rival for its dinner, takes to the air, wheels around, and dives down at him from the side. Noriaki, smirking his contempt, steps aside at the last moment and the creature ends up driving its beak several inches into the ground. The other squawks in surprise as it is struck by Castile’s axe. Launching itself into the air, it dives straight at her, delivering a terrible blow and knocking her onto her back.
One of the airborne creatures swoops down towards Hú Lí, uttering a tremendously loud screech. Sasha almost loses her grip on her bow, and Hú Lí has such a ringing in her ears that her musical sense seems to desert her. The other creature swoops Noriaki, but he effortlessly avoids contact and returns a swift slash of his own. The creature banks to avoid it, gaining more altitude.
[sblock=actions and rolls]Pneckosaur 1 moves back and then charges to N13 (it has reach 2).
Pneck 1 diving charge vs AC, Noriaki; damage
1(1d20) +11 = 12; 18(2d10) +12 = 30 miss!
Pneckosaur 2 moves up and charges to H10.
Pneck 2 diving charge vs AC, Castile; damage
16(1d20) +11 = 27; 17(2d10) +10 = 27 hits Castile for 27 and she is knocked
prone.
Pscreamosaur 1 moves to K4 and uses a close blast 3.
Curdling screech vs Will, Sasha; Hu Li; Takahaan; damage
14(1d20) +8 = 22; 14(1d20) +8 = 22; 1(1d20) +8 = 9; 6(1d8) +6 = 12. Sasha and Hú Lí are hit for
12 psychic damage and
dazed (save ends). Taka takes half damage (6) and is not dazed.
Pscreamosaur 2 buzzes Noriaki, ending up in P11.
Swooping slash vs AC, Noriaki; damage
2(1d20) +11 = 13; 6(1d8) +6 = 12 miss.
Noriaki gets an OA on Pscreamosaur 2.
Noriaki OA vs AC, pscream 2; damage
1(1d20) +10 = 11; 10(1d12) +6 = 16 misses as well.
[/sblock]
[sblock=SAVE THE CHICKS!]As a
move action, you can make a DC 20 Nature check in an attempt to calm/coax the chicks. If you succeed, each chick immediately takes a move action as you direct, and does not take one on its usual turn. Chicks have a move of 4 (and see the section on terrain).
As a
move action, you can make a DC 22 check with some other skill to attempt to influence the behavior of the chicks. I’ll allow anything that seems reasonable (Arcana to produce compelling lights or noises, interpersonal skills, etc.). If you succeed, pick one of the following effects:
--
one chick immediately takes a move action as you direct (and none on its usual turn) or
--
all the chicks give up their move actions for the round and do nothing.
Regardless of how many attempts you make to influence the chicks, no chick may take more than one move action each round.
As a
standard action, you can make a DC 14 Acrobatics or Athletics check to grab an adjacent chick and hold onto it to keep it safe. You must fulfill the usual conditions for maintaining a grab (hand free, not dazed, etc.). While grabbed, a chick is considered to be in your square, but cannot be targeted by attacks. Each round that you hold the chick, you must repeat the Acrobatics or Athletics check on your turn as a free action. If you fail, the chick escapes into an adjacent square and moves on its turn as usual.
If you successfully influence a chick that you are holding using one of the methods above, it will stop trying to escape for as long as you hold it. You do not need to make any further Acrobatics or Athletics checks.
The chicks count as your allies, and can be targeted by things that affect allies. They do not have any attacks, cannot flank, and they do not provoke OAs when they move. If you use an effect on a chick that allows it to spend a healing surge and recover hit points, it is fully healed by that effect.[/sblock]
[sblock=Special Note about Falling] Because falling off the rightmost edge would probably be fatal (and at the very least would take a character completely out of the fight), it is impossible for a PC or Sasha to fall off into the blue area during this fight. If you would fall off under the normal rules (i.e. you are forced over the edge and fail your save), then you stay prone on the edge and in addition become dazed until the end of your next turn.[/sblock]
[sblock=Terrain and Elevation]All terrain is normal except for the nest, which is difficult terrain. The different shades of grey represent rock ledges at different elevations. The red numbers are elevations relative to the rough, light brown terrain at the top. (You can also tell where the drops are by the shadows: a thin shadow represents a 5-foot difference and a thick shadow represents a 10-foot difference.)
Moving to an adjacent square that is 5 feet higher or lower costs an extra square of movement. Moving to an adjacent square that is 10 feet higher or lower requires climbing (DC 15). Chicks can handle 5-foot changes without spending extra squares of movement, but they can’t handle 10-foot changes at all.[/sblock]
[sblock=Controlling Sasha]
Companion NPCs in Combat
Any PC can take a standard, move, or minor action to have an NPC perform an action of the same (or a lesser) type. E.g., if you want Sasha to use Twin Strike, you spend a standard action. If you want her to move, you spend a move action. An NPC is limited to the usual number of actions each round (but those actions need not all be granted by the same PC). An NPC who has an immediate action can likewise only use it if a PC has an immediate action available to use on his/her behalf.
NPCs can take free actions and opportunity actions normally, without the direction of PCs. They are always considered to have their weapons in hand and don’t need to spend actions unsheathing them.
If all of the PCs act in a given round without giving any actions to a particular NPC, I will have that NPC take
one non-offensive action. This will most likely be Second Wind if it is needed and available, and movement or Total Defense if it is not. (It won’t be necessary for PCs to spend their own standard actions to have NPCs use second wind.)[/sblock]
[sblock=Sasha]
Sasha
HP 22/34, Bloodied 17, Surge value 8; Surges 7/7
Str 10, Con 12, Dex 18, Int 12, Wis 14, Cha 12
AC 18, Fort 16, Reflex 18, Will 14
Skills: Nature +8, Perception +8, Stealth +10
Striker: 1/round, Sasha can deal 1d6 extra damage when she hits an enemy she has CA against.
longbow +9 vs. AC, 1d10+5 damage (range 20/40)
Twin Strike (standard; martial, weapon; ranged weapon, one or two creatures)
Attack: +9 vs. AC, two attacks
Hit: 1d10+1 damage per attack
[o] Evasive Strike (standard; martial, weapon; ranged weapon, one creature)
Special: Sasha can shift 3 squares either before or after the attack
Attack: +9 vs. AC
Hit: 2d10+5 damage
[o] Crucial Advice (immediate reaction; ranged 5)
Trigger: An ally within range that Sasha can see or hear makes a Nature, Perception, or Stealth check
Effect: The ally can reroll the skill check with a +2 power bonus.
[o] Heroic Effort (no action; personal)
Trigger: Sasha misses with an attack or fails a save
Effect: Sasha gains a +4 racial bonus to the attack roll or saving throw.
[o] Second Wind
Conditions: dazed (save ends)[/sblock]
[sblock=status]
Good Guys
Castile (I8) HP
25/52; surges
13/13; prone, bloodied
Hú Lí (N3) HP
27/39; surges
8/8; dazed (save ends)
Kane (L1) HP
38/38; surges
10/10
Noriaki (L13) HP
45/45; surges
9/9
Takahaan (N4) HP
33/39; surges
8/8
Sasha (M4) HP
22/34; surges
7/7; dazed (save ends)
Chick 1 (J13)
Chick 2 (J14)
Chick 3 (K13)
Chick 4 (K14)
Bad Guys
Pneckosaur 1 (N13) diving charge used
Pneckosaur 2 (H10)
9 damage taken, marked by Castile, diving charge used
Pscreamosaur 1 (K4 +1) curdling screech used
Pscreamosaur 2 (P11 +4)
[/sblock]
[sblock=Enemy Stats]Please read the appropriate block(s) only when necessary to resolve attacks or OAs.
[sblock=Pscreamosaur (with the open beak)]
Pscreamosaur
AC 19, Fort 17, Ref 18, Will 17; HP 62, bloodied 31
Bite +10 vs. AC, 1d8+6 damage or 2d6+6 damage with CA.[/sblock]
[sblock=Pneckosaur (with the long neck)]
Pneckosaur
AC 18, Fort 17, Ref 19, Will 18; HP 80, bloodied 40
Bite (reach 2) +11 vs. AC, 2d10+5 damage.[/sblock][/sblock]