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

[Festy_Dog]

Nurthk exhaled and focused himself. Now was the time to put into practise something he'd been testing for a while now. He had to take the pressure off Raven and this was his best bet. Nurthk emitted a low growl and launched an uncharacteristicly reckless series of attack upon the metal man.

[ooc: I'm not entirely sure how far the metal man has moved although it sounds as though it has. Nurthk will take a 5' step if that will bring him into melee, otherwise he'll take a move action and make only his first attack.

+2 if Nurthk is flanking, and +2 if only the first attack applies.

Attack rolls:
1st: to hit - 31; damage - 14 slashing, 4 fire
2nd: to hit - 27; damage - 5 slashing, 1 fire
3rd: to hit - 10; damage - 12 slashing, 4 fire
4th: to hit - 25; damage - 11 slashing, 3 fire]

 

[dpdx]

Hiritus, struggling to adhere to his Code that requires he meet all challenges, and protect the weak, strides toward the creature as it passes him, but instead of swinging at it, looks (as Fendric suggested) for anything that might suggest the thing can be deactivated.

[5' Step toward Metal Man, and Spot. Hiritus Spot roll: 19 +2 = 21. Attempting to learn all he can about the machine. Also readying an action to back away from Metal Man should it approach him.]

Fendric, under no such compunction, trusts the actual combat to his companions, and instead, goes into the hole the creature came out of.

[Fendric: full movement action away from the creature and into the hole, towards the source of the screaming that precipitated the thing's arrival. Without a map, it's hard to tell, but I think there's room without getting crushed.]

 

[DrZombie]

Raven, AC 18 HP 16/57

Raven takes another battering strike, this time on his thigh. He hardly remains standing, but focusses on his attacker. He leans his entire weight in his swing, hoping to penetrate the creature's massive armor.

(ooc: Attack +31 dmg 14, +14 dmg 9 (critical confirm : +31 dmg 6)
(AAAARGL , nat 20 on to hit, nat 20 on confirm against a bloody construct. What a waste of two perfectly good nat 20's. All I did is grab it's attention even more. )

 

[Guilt Puppy]

Hiritus steps in, looking over the creature for some sign of its workings. There is a somewhat triangular, knoblike protrusion on the back of the thing's neck which looks conspicuous -- it rests just between two of its "vertebrae," and has no obvious anatomical significance.

Heading into the cave, Fendric finds the bodies of two men, apparently bludgeoned to death, resting against a wall about 60 feet in. Throughout the cave itself there is a great mess of overturned racks, shelves, equipment strewn about... Several passageways have been closed off by debris.

Cylantro's missile strikes the target, but it seems to take no notice.

Meanwhile, Raven's blade hits the creature hard. It reels from the waist up, but its legs remain firmly planted to the ground.

Nurthk steps back, waiting for the right opportunity, then lets loose with his assault. The first two blows connect, putting a number of rods and joints noticeably out of place. (Gave him the flanking bonus, as well as Raven, since there are enough movement options between the two of them that it seems sensible.)

Oliver attacks with his blades, but the thing evades deftly. Xiao slides a kick in toward the legs, attempting to bring the thing down, but the thing simply steps over the strike with an uncanny fluidity. Tatlock sends another sling bullet into the dirt.

The metal man swings at Raven twice more. (Attack 14, Damage 10; Attack 21, Damage 4)

 

[DrZombie]

Raven, AC 18, HP 12/57

Raven evades one blow, but is too slow to dodge the afterswing. Still, he evades most of the damage.

Without wasting too much breath with warcries he smashes down on his opponent with his twohander, hoping to bring it down before it can land another blow.

( Attack 32, dmg 9, attack 13, dmg 9 (flanking allready calculated, and yes, another critical hit attack 28 dmg 14 )

 

[Festy_Dog]

Nurthk growled and flecks of spit flew from his mouth. He said something incoherent in orcish before continuing swinging.

[ooc:Attack rolls:
1st: to hit - 16; damage - 13 slashing, 6 fire
2nd: to hit - 19; damage - 14 slashing, 6 fire
3rd: to hit - 27; damage - 6 slashing, 3 fire
4th: to hit - 19; damage - 7 slashing, 4 fire]

 

[Sparky]

OOC: Sorry so late...

Oliver's shoulders slump at the sight of the strange automaton. As he and the others dodge and weave trying - some unsuccessfully - he wracks his brain for some clue of what the thing is. "Get back you slack-wits! What in the Ninety-Nine Hells do you think you're doing?"

OOC: Oliver was eschewing his blades for the handy shovel. I don't have Ollie's sheet on me, but he's got most all of the Knowledge skills with a bonus of +4. Here's a selection of rolls.
K: Arcana = 6+4 = 10
K: Dungeoneering = 14+4 = 18
K: Nature = 7+11= 11
K: The Planes = 15+4 = 19

 

[Guilt Puppy]

Raven and Nurthk both land blows against the creature. At this point the thing is recognizably bent out of shape, and its movements have an ever more exaggerated character to them.

Oliver, racking his memory, can find no stories of such a creature. He's heard of animated metal before, true, but never of such speed...

The thing swings twice again at Raven. (Attack 22, Damage 10; Attack 11, Damage 4)

 

[dpdx]

Hiritus lunges toward the thing's back with his longsword, to try and flick at the protruding knob upon it (an almost hopeless proposition, but one that he rolls an attack of 16 to, nonetheless).

Fendric looks back to see that the rest of the party is making some progress against the thing. Noting things in the cavern complex that he'd like to make a more thorough review of after the battle is concluded, he moves carefully back toward the rest of the party.

 

[DrZombie]

Rave, HP 2/57, AC18

Raven takes another hit in the side, the allready broken rib doing more damage to his lungs. Blood starts to trickle from the side of his mouth, and his vision is going dim.
He strikes again at the construct, but he is rapidly losing his strength.


(OOC : attack 23 dmg 11 attack 22 dmg 8
C'mon festy don't screw up your roll like I did mine )