(CSRHoD) Creamsteak's Red Hand of Doom [IC]

[Pinotage]

Avril - Human Druid (Wild Shape - Eagle) - AC 17 - hp 42/42 - Spot +20 - Listen +12

Avril the eagle let the warm rising wings carry her along the north road. She picked what she believed to be the most non-descript type of eagle one would expect in these foothills near the forest, and hopefully on that would not easily be spotted. Circling high she let herself relax from the battle and the constant worry about the threat this army posed.

The road below her seemed far away and distant, another world. She could so easily just take flight from her position and leave the Dawn Way behind. But, she'd made this her problem, and she was going to see it through. For Scarlet's sake as much as her own - she taken the dog into battle and seen it killed. She owed it to Scarlet to continue. Taking a deep breath into her eagle lungs, she focused her keen eyes once more on the road, and headed towards where she believed the army to be.

[SBLOCK=OOC]
OOC: Avril's spot in eagle form is +20, so if we assume she's taking 10, she had a continuous spot check of 30.

I'll clear up my OOC section when I next get a chance to update Avril's character sheet. Most of what's below is just reference so I don't forget something before updating her sheet.

Spells and Abilities Active:

Barkskin (Avril, +3 Natural Armor, 1 hour)
Resist Energy (Acid Resistance 10, 1 hour)
Wild Shape (Eagle)

Spells Cast and Abilities/Items Used:

Barkskin
Produce Flame (Extended)
Metamagic Rod of Lesser Extend (2 Used)
Summon Nature's Ally III (Call Lightning) (Extended)
Scroll of Faerie Fire (Used)
Cure Moderate Wounds
Flaming Sphere
Wand of Snake's Swiftness (1 Used)
Cure Light Wounds
Cure Minor Wounds (2)
Wild Shape (1 Used)

Spells Prepared:

Spells Prepared (Normal 5/3/3/2, Wis 0/1/1/1):

Level 0 (5): Detect Magic (2), Guidance
Level 1 (4): Enrage Animal, Produce Flame
Level 2 (4): Bull's Strength, Bear's Endurance
Level 3 (3): Sleet Storm

XP: 1800
Items: Potion Cure Moderate Wounds (2)
[/SBLOCK]

 

[Creamsteak]

Alright, Avril asked for it...

[sblock=Avril Only]The trail you're following crests a rugged ridge, sparsely covered with wind-twisted pine trees. From the the sky above the ridge you find yourself looking across a broad vale, with a rugged knoblike hill or small mountain on the opposite side. The Dawn Way cuts through the valley, a ribbon of pale stone leading past the towering heights of the hill. The valley is filled with a great encampment. Hundreds of crude tents dot the valley floor, interspersed with bulky siege engines, groups of wagons, and pens for draft beasts. You can easily make out hundreds of warriors in view at any given time. Bands of goblin worg riders patrol the camp's outskirts, battalions of fierce hobgoblins engage in mock battles with martial shouts and the clang of steel on steel, hulking giants plod from place to place, and you even see a scarlet-colored dragon lazily circling in the sky. This is the camp of an army numbering in the thousands.

You fall into lava and die. No save.

[sblock=Also Only Avril]Not really the lava/die/no-save bit.[/sblock][/sblock]

 

[Vigwyn the Unruly]

Pender, Male Human Fighter 6

Pender does not offer an opinion on the hobgoblin. This monster and his companions had killed at least one of Pender's friends and had taken Pender himself as a captive to study. Besides, from what he knew of hobgoblins, their minds and actions were bent constantly toward death and destruction. He would feel no remorse at the beast's death. However, Pender was not one to scorn kindness, and if the killing would offend Larian's moral sensibilities, then it was as well to leave it be. Like as not, the other hobgoblins will kill him anyway when they see that he has failed to hold the bridge.

Pender agrees with the others that the best course of action is to take down the bridge, then to follow the road west, looking for whatever this "Red Hand" might be.

But he warns the others, "We should wait until Avril returns before we destroy the bridge. I know that she is flying now, and probably safe, but all the same, I just don't think it's smart to count our chickens before they hatch. If she does not return soon, and we destroy the bridge, how will we go find her?"

He then engages the others in conversation, asking about why they are here, and what is going on. {OOC: Does anyone care if I go back and read the full IC thread? If any of you want to keep certain things hidden from Pender, I am willing to still not read it--but my curiosity is killing me, and I would really like to get up to speed!}

 

[Creamsteak]

(I'll let the player's answer that. If they want to tell you everything, they're welcome to.)

 

[Redclaw]

Larian is quite happy to spend the time that Avril is gone filling their new compatriot in on their adventures so far, from their initial meeting just in time to face the force of hobgoblins along the Dawn Way through their stop in Drellin's Ferry and then the assault on Vraath Keep. He does his best to impress upon the human just how organized and vast the Red Hand forces appear to be, both to convince him that his companions are probably well beyond saving, and to minimize any guilt he may feel over their capture.

 

[Dalamar]

Siobhan starts inspecting the bridge, looking for a spot that looks like it would be easy to destroy. Since hobgoblin reinforcements were coming, they probably don't have enough time to wait untill next morning so she could pray for the stone-shaping incantation.
She also retrieves the Vraath bow and picks up some extra arrows from the hobgoblins.

 

[pathfinderq1]

Tyrla rummaged through the campsite for a few moments, then turned her attention to the bridge. Nothing in her arcane arsenal could bring the span down quickly, but she wanted to determine if she could bring it down at all, and she wanted to know before more enemies began arriving.

OOC: Sweep the encampment, both with mundane eyes and Detect Magic. Not necessarily looking for treasure, just anything useful or unusual (more maps for instance). The try her luck with the bridge- Do her Eldritch Blasts or Baleful Utterance have any effect, even at the level of individual stones? And has anyone searched the tower where the dragon was resting- it seemed to have a potion, so there might be more interesting things.

 

[Creamsteak]

Eldretch blast does some, though fairly minimal, damage. THere's nothing particularly special found in the tower where the dragon was or in the camp.

 

[Pinotage]

Thankfully Still Alive and Not Melted by Lava Avril - Human Druid (Wild Shape - Eagle) - AC 17 - hp 42/42 - Spot +20 - Listen +12

Avril the eagle, flew across the enormous encampment, her eyes taking it with utter horror the sight that was below her. She didn't dare venture any nearer than she'd though, despite the mounted warrior's plea at the bridge to keep an eye out for his friends. In these thousands, even with her keen eyes, it would be suicide to attempt a look. Spirits help us! How can we fight an army this big?

She spun around, her mind reeling with incredulous horror at what she had seen. So much, and so organised. Either way, it put a lot of things in perspective for her, and meant that there was more urgency to what they were doing. Warning people, and getting that bridge down. She quickly spun around, flying higher into the air to escape the sight of any below and unwanted flying creatures like a dragon. Best to get away safely and return to the others. As she sped back towards the bridge, she just hoped they'd managed to find a way to destroy it by the time she came back. With each passing minute her stomach churned more and more. Horrors beyond belief awaited them. Her worst nightmares had been realised.

[SBLOCK=OOC]
OOC: Creamsteak, just let me know, please, when I can assume Avril reaches the bridge again. I have no idea how long she would be away. Avril's spot in eagle form is +20, so if we assume she's taking 10, she had a continuous spot check of 30.

I'll clear up my OOC section when I next get a chance to update Avril's character sheet. Most of what's below is just reference so I don't forget something before updating her sheet.

Spells and Abilities Active:

Barkskin (Avril, +3 Natural Armor, 1 hour)
Resist Energy (Acid Resistance 10, 1 hour)
Wild Shape (Eagle)

Spells Cast and Abilities/Items Used:

Barkskin
Produce Flame (Extended)
Metamagic Rod of Lesser Extend (2 Used)
Summon Nature's Ally III (Call Lightning) (Extended)
Scroll of Faerie Fire (Used)
Cure Moderate Wounds
Flaming Sphere
Wand of Snake's Swiftness (1 Used)
Cure Light Wounds
Cure Minor Wounds (2)
Wild Shape (1 Used)

Spells Prepared:

Spells Prepared (Normal 5/3/3/2, Wis 0/1/1/1):

Level 0 (5): Detect Magic (2), Guidance
Level 1 (4): Enrage Animal, Produce Flame
Level 2 (4): Bull's Strength, Bear's Endurance
Level 3 (3): Sleet Storm

XP: 1800
Items: Potion Cure Moderate Wounds (2)
[/SBLOCK]

 

[Creamsteak]

Round trip with flight speed is about 90 minutes (a little more).

I believe everyone was waiting on Avril's return before they start hucking energy bolts at large stone bridges. I'm fairly certain we can just move on to Avril's return.