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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 7169576" data-attributes="member: 20323">Ajan’s men lead the camels to the watering hole, while the rogues merilly splash their faces and each other with water, their multitonal laughter echoing across the oasis. However, Husam and Harun – accustomed to desert travel as they are – find it odd that the songbirds keep a safe distance from the pond, and that there is precious little sign of animal life save for a few beetles. Water is life. Something is amiss.Akilah and her loyal handmaiden only have a second forewarning as a massive amorphous shadow shifts under the pond’s surface.The pond’s surface roils, sending one of Nimar’s rogues stumbling backward in terror, falling into a camel, which takes off in a panic, trampling over one of Ajan’s men. Seven serpentine heads arise from the pond, baleful yellow-green eyes staring down as they loom 15 feet overhead, water cascading onto your party from the hungry heads above. They are mauve colored, like the sunset stretching across Hakim Oasis, and boast scales as thick as lamellar (scale armor). Two of the heads reflexively snap at the prone rogue, one tearing his boot off, and the other sending him sliding across the muddy bank of the pond.Steam roils off its hideous contorted form as the monstrosity attacks!<img src="http://i.imgur.com/5yRzP1Q.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" /> [GM]Hydra <a href="http://orokos.com/roll/533650" target="_blank">stealth check w/ advantage</a>: 2d20k1+1 20Husam and Harun are not surprised due to Survival proficiency tipping them off.Akilah and “Amina” are not surprised due to passive Perceptions >20.Salahuddin and Lal Qalandar are surprised, however, along with all allied NPCs.Rolling for “clumped” initiative!To save time in play-by-post, I use static initiative for PCs (10+initiative modifier). Advantage is interpreted as +5. To minimize extremes, I then begin with static initiative for monsters/NPCs, but modifiy it with a d12 roll interpreted as follows. PCs *always* win ties.1=-5, 2=-4, 3=-3, 4=-2, 5=-16 or 7 = no change8=+1, 9=+2, 10=+3, 11=+4, 12=+5Hydra, base initiative 11, modified <a href="http://orokos.com/roll/533651" target="_blank">initiative</a>: 1d12 11 +4 = 15Ajan’s men, base initiative 10, modified <a href="http://orokos.com/roll/533653" target="_blank">initiative</a>: 1d12 7 no change = 10Nimar’s rogues, base initiative 12, modified <a href="http://orokos.com/roll/533652" target="_blank">initiative</a>: 1d12 2 -4 = 8[/GM][GM]INITIATIVE     [MENTION=4936]Shayuri[/MENTION] and     [MENTION=6855204]tglassy[/MENTION] take your turns in whatever order you want.      [MENTION=23]Ancalagon[/MENTION], because Lal begins surprised he doesn’t get an action, however because he’s faster than the hydra, he is no longer surprised by the time the hydra is acting (which is of benefit for taking reactions and against certain monster traits like Assassinate & Surprise Attack).Player Group #1Lal Qalandar 17 (surprised)Harun 15“Amina” 15MonstersHydra 15Player Group #2Salahuddin & Sinjin 13 (surprised)Husam 12Akilah 12NPCsAjan’s men 10 (surprised)Nimar’s rogues 8 (surprised)[/GM][GM]MONSTER STATSHydra AC 15, HP 230[/GM]</blockquote>

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