MortalPlague
Adventurer
My group has been going through a casual series of loosely-connected playtests, and we've been keeping a constant XP total through it all. They finally hit 2nd level (most of the playtests have been on the shorter side of things). So tonight, we picked up roughly where we'd left off; the kobolds and goblins were dead, and they'd bloodied the noses of the orcs in Cave B.
Tonight, my group decided it would be entertaining to all play fighters.
So a band of five dwarf brothers marched into the orc cave, seeking to finish Throk'a and his band. The oldest, Mordecai by name, had traded his greataxe for a battle-axe and a heavy shield. The other brothers (Morris, Mor'bear, Todd, and Muce) were all armed as the sheet suggested.
They found that Throk'a had not been sitting idle for the week. The crafty orc chieftan had gathered allies to replace his fallen orcs; a band of goblin survivors from the cave had been pressed into service, along with a gnoll archer hired to help out. Since their sentry trick had been foiled the previous time, they instead strung up a trip wire to make noise, and set the goblins to patrolling the front hall.
Marching into the cave, the dwarves spotted the tripwire, and set about disarming it. Having spent all his money on caltrops, Todd decided he could build a stack of them tall enough to stop the tripwire from going off. With an incredible dexterity check, he somehow succeeded in this endeavor! With the tripwire disabled, it was time to-
Oh no! A goblin patrol!
Initiative was rolled, and the dwarves handily dispatched most of the goblins. But the combat alerted the orcs, who began to mobilize in their living area. As the battle pressed into the mess hall, the orcs retreated to regroup and make an attack.
Todd, using his head, charged into the room and flipped up the large table, turning it to block the attacks of the archers (and to give the orcs only two avenues of attack). With this defensive position in place, the dwarves were able to force the archers to come to them, while the battle-eager orcs charged into melee.
Blows were traded, surges were spent, but the orcs were having a tough time of it. Throk'a, the chief made his appearance! He struck a savage blow to Todd, dealing 13 damage in a single strike. But Muce stepped up to defend his brother, striking once for 19 damage, then again (on an action surge) for a crit (19 more damage). Throk'a went from being healthy to nearly-dead in a very short span. Mor'bear stepped up and made no mistake, finishing the chief with a savage blow.
With their chief killed, it was only a matter of cleaning up the rest. One of the remaining goblins fled, everything else in the cave was hacked apart.
The dwarves looted (with Todd searching every nook and cranny for caltrops), and made off with most of the chief's treasure (though they missed the healing potion and the secret tunnel to Cave C).
So... Five Fighers, Huh?
Yep. It was a casual, Friday night hangout where we decided to play some 5th. Five fighters at second level makes for a pretty potent force. It's hard to say how they compare to a normal group because I haven't run anything else at second level, but with a good ranged attack, a great melee attack, and bags of hit points, they were tough to defeat. Their action surge was a really potent ability; I think 4 or 5 were used in the one fight. Also, Todd's table maneuver made it hard for the orcs to attack with numbers, which made it a tough fight to read, difficulty-wise.
It didn't break the game, however. At the end of the fight, two of the fighters were bloodied, and only one was unscathed. The battle was pretty dynamic, with a variety of tactics and situations employed. The fighter proved to be really versatile, and a deadly force.
So in short... Five of five walked out of the cave, with heaps of treasure.
Tonight, my group decided it would be entertaining to all play fighters.
So a band of five dwarf brothers marched into the orc cave, seeking to finish Throk'a and his band. The oldest, Mordecai by name, had traded his greataxe for a battle-axe and a heavy shield. The other brothers (Morris, Mor'bear, Todd, and Muce) were all armed as the sheet suggested.
They found that Throk'a had not been sitting idle for the week. The crafty orc chieftan had gathered allies to replace his fallen orcs; a band of goblin survivors from the cave had been pressed into service, along with a gnoll archer hired to help out. Since their sentry trick had been foiled the previous time, they instead strung up a trip wire to make noise, and set the goblins to patrolling the front hall.
Marching into the cave, the dwarves spotted the tripwire, and set about disarming it. Having spent all his money on caltrops, Todd decided he could build a stack of them tall enough to stop the tripwire from going off. With an incredible dexterity check, he somehow succeeded in this endeavor! With the tripwire disabled, it was time to-
Oh no! A goblin patrol!
Initiative was rolled, and the dwarves handily dispatched most of the goblins. But the combat alerted the orcs, who began to mobilize in their living area. As the battle pressed into the mess hall, the orcs retreated to regroup and make an attack.
Todd, using his head, charged into the room and flipped up the large table, turning it to block the attacks of the archers (and to give the orcs only two avenues of attack). With this defensive position in place, the dwarves were able to force the archers to come to them, while the battle-eager orcs charged into melee.
Blows were traded, surges were spent, but the orcs were having a tough time of it. Throk'a, the chief made his appearance! He struck a savage blow to Todd, dealing 13 damage in a single strike. But Muce stepped up to defend his brother, striking once for 19 damage, then again (on an action surge) for a crit (19 more damage). Throk'a went from being healthy to nearly-dead in a very short span. Mor'bear stepped up and made no mistake, finishing the chief with a savage blow.
With their chief killed, it was only a matter of cleaning up the rest. One of the remaining goblins fled, everything else in the cave was hacked apart.
The dwarves looted (with Todd searching every nook and cranny for caltrops), and made off with most of the chief's treasure (though they missed the healing potion and the secret tunnel to Cave C).
So... Five Fighers, Huh?
Yep. It was a casual, Friday night hangout where we decided to play some 5th. Five fighters at second level makes for a pretty potent force. It's hard to say how they compare to a normal group because I haven't run anything else at second level, but with a good ranged attack, a great melee attack, and bags of hit points, they were tough to defeat. Their action surge was a really potent ability; I think 4 or 5 were used in the one fight. Also, Todd's table maneuver made it hard for the orcs to attack with numbers, which made it a tough fight to read, difficulty-wise.
It didn't break the game, however. At the end of the fight, two of the fighters were bloodied, and only one was unscathed. The battle was pretty dynamic, with a variety of tactics and situations employed. The fighter proved to be really versatile, and a deadly force.
So in short... Five of five walked out of the cave, with heaps of treasure.
