Ankheg Attack 3
Hardin, breathes a prayer of thanks to Moradin for sparing his body, and asks for strength to overcome this foe. He again brings down his warhammer in both fists, but the ankheg is swifter and dodges the blow completely.
As Belisha finishes her spell, the light gathered in her hands flies through air toward the insectile beast fighting with the Dwarf. It lands south of the beast and is revealed as a celestial giant bombardier beetle, its carapace gleaming gold and glorious in the sun. Thanks to Belisha’s expertise in summoning, she has brought forth a creature of superior strength and heartiness. On Belisha’s command, the beetle turns and sprays acidic vapor into the air. The ankheg is startled by the painful gas, and is clearly hurt, letting out an alien cry. The celestial beetle then turns again, and adjusts up onto the road.
Belisha’s joy at the success of her summoned creature quickly returns to fear as she remembers Rufus’s perilous situation. She tries to recall her faithful guard animal, but he stubbornly continues his course to assault the great beast.
Rufus corrects his course, making his way around Hardin and the celestial giant bombardier beetle to launch himself at the threatening ankheg. However, he catches the beast on a particularly tough patch of exoskeleton, and his teeth only scratch at the beast, doing no real damage.
Round 3
In one graceful movement, the rogue drops his bow in the grass, steps forward to the monster on the road, draws his rapier and strikes! But the grim luck of the party continues, as Slyfen stumbles at the very last moment on a small stone he hadn’t spotted on the road. His graceful motion is wasted as the strike goes astray.
The ankheg is distracted by Slyfen’s movement, and Eolan, sensing an opening for a flanking attack, charges the beast. He and his steed bear down hard on the insect. The warhorse’s hoof flashes out and smashes into the back of the ankheg, opening a wound in the chitinous material. Unbelievably, though, the highly trained fighter is once again unable to score a damaging blow, his bastard sword crashing onto the monster with a thud instead of a slash.
The ankheg, now oozing a tan goo from the wound opened by the horse and frightened severely, makes a last ditch effort to make off with at least one tasty morsel. He has already tried and failed to take the horse and the dwarf, and his instincts push him in the direction of the other insectile creature now beside him. He jabs his powerful mandibles at the celestial beetle and makes a direct hit. The ankheg’s muscles clamp down, and the party hears a sickening crunch as the beetle’s beautiful shell cracks open under the immense pressure. The ankheg lifts the beetle in its mouth and turns to retreat with its prey.
However, in its haste to escape with this morsel, it becomes careless, and all of the adjacent party member take this opportunity to make an extra attack against the beast. Only Hardin and the dog hit. Hardin’s warhammer, on the upswing this time, catches the edge of a wing cover, ripping it away from the ankheg with a grisly wet sound. Rufus is also luckier this time, and takes away one of the beast’s rear legs. The ankheg is clearly in trouble, but is still desperate to escape with his life and his first meal in weeks.
OOC Notes:
Hardin
Warhammer two-handed misses (AC 18, Atk roll 5 + 5 = 10)
Retains limited concealment (10% miss chance)
Celestial Giant Bombardier Beetle
1st round of 3
Acid spray hits ankheg (Fort save DC 15, die result 1 +6 = 7)
4 damage (Dmg roll [1d4+2] 2 + 2 = 4) Ankheg reduced to 24 hp
5’ step
Belisha
Handle Animal fails (perform Down DC 10, check result 1 + 0 = 1)
Rufus continues to perform Defend [Belisha]
Rufus
Moves 20’
Bite misses (AC 18, Atk roll 13 + 2 = 15)
Slyfen
Drops bow (free action)
Draws rapier (move action)
5’ step
Rapier misses (AC 18, Atk roll 1 + 6 = 7)
(I couldn’t set up a flank for you this round because Draw a weapon is a move action, so I could only give you a 5’ step in addition to the attack)
Eolan
Guide with knees succeeds (DC 5, Ride check result 10 + 6 = 16)
Fight with warhorse succeeds (DC 10, Ride check result 15 + 6 = 21)
Charges ankheg
Hoof charging flanking hits (AC 18, Atk roll 16 + 6 + 2 + 2 = 26)
6 damage (Dmg roll [1d6+4] 2 + 4 = 6) ankheg reduced to 18 hp
Bastard sword charging flanking Power Attack [-2] misses (AC 18, Atk roll 1 + 6 + 2 + 2 – 2 = 9)
-2 to AC until beginning of next round (both Eolan and horse)
Ankheg
Bite hits (CGB Beetle AC 16, Atk roll 9 + 7 = 16)
17 damage (Dmg roll [2d6+7] 4 + 6 + 7 = 17, Celestial Beetle has acid resistance 5) Beetle reduced to -4 hp, and is dying
Hold succeeds automatically (Beetle is unconscious), Beetle now in ankheg’s space
Ankheg now carrying medium load, so speed reduced to 20’
Moves 20’
This provokes AoO from Slyfen, Hardin, Rufus, and Eolan (and his warhorse)
Slyfen
Rapier flanking misses (AC 18, Atk roll 4 + 6 + 2 = 12)
Hardin
Warhammer hits (AC 18, Atk roll 15 + 5 = 20)
6 damage two-handed (Dmg roll [1d8+3] 3 + 3 = 6) ankheg reduced to 12 hp
Rufus
Bite hits (AC 18, Atk roll 19 + 2 = 21)
3 damage (Dmg roll [1d4+1] 2 + 1 = 3) ankheg reduced to 9 hp
Eolan
Hoof flanking misses (AC 18, Atk roll 5 + 6 + 2 = 13)
Bastard sword flanking misses (AC 18, Atk roll 8 + 6 + 2 = 16)
