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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 1402365" data-attributes="member: 143">The fish-building was in the module, although there were no rules provided for fighting on top of it.  As an improvising DM, I'd say Balance checks would be required for anything more than a slow and cautious crawl (5'/round) across the "roof" of the fish, with a DC5 check required for slow movement or stationary attacking, and a DC10 check for something more dangerous like full movement or a move+attack (or getting hit by a lightning bolt <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> ).  I probably also would have required a DC10 check each round if any of them had gotten into melee up there.  With Arun having a net Balance check of -7, you can see why he didn't want to do any running around up there. And now for the midweek update:* * * * * Chapter 113Arun Goldenshield, filled with the divine favor of his god Moradin, rode his celestial mount down the front face of the massive fish-structure, his hammer held aloft in one hand, his shield protecting the other.  Somehow he maintained his perch upon the tilting back of the lizard as it clambered rapidly down the slick stone face; it was as if dwarf and steed were one creature, promising death to any who would face it.  Darts rose up to meet them from the tiny bows of the kuo-toa guards, but they either glanced off of the dwarf’s heavy armor, or from the thick hide of the celestial lizard.  It was an impressive sight, and if no one initially noticed the gnome hanging for dear life onto one of the ropes slung across the flanks of the lizard, they could perhaps be forgiven the oversight. While the clerics screamed in anger, or perhaps encouragement to their warriors—the kuo-toa tongue sounded like nothing less than a frog being strangled to death, so it was impossible to tell—the four warriors flanking them drew their rapiers and rushed forward to meet the descending paladin.  The first abruptly stopped, an arrow and crossbow bolt jutting from its chest a few inches apart, and fell limply backward to the ground.  The second leapt over the body of its comrade and lunged at the giant lizard; the beast was quicker, though, and as it darted forward it snapped up the fish-man’s arm in its powerful jaws, jerking it wildly back and forth while the kuo-toa croaked in pain.  The other two warriors did not hesitate, moving to flank the lizard and assault it from the sides, but that plan faltered when the dwarven rider brought his hammer down in a powerful blow that caught one of the warriors on the chest and drove it roughly back.  The one on the other side pressed its attack despite the losses its side had just taken, stabbing its rapier into the side of the giant lizard in an attack that drew a bright trail of celestial ichor from the wound.  The lizard released its current victim with a shake of its head and turned to face this new attacker, but before it could attack, the kuo-toa slumped to its knees.  As it fell, it turned to reveal Mole hanging from its back, her small sword sunk to its hilt in the creature’s fat torso.  “Nobody messes with my friends,” she said with a smile at Clinger.  Arun directed his mount back toward the clerics, but before they could resume their charge, another lightning bolt erupted from the leader of the triad, lancing mercilessly into the lizard and its rider.  But the paladin shrugged off the pain of the blast, and despite its wounds the lizard carried him forward in a swift rush that took him into the midst of the gathered whips.  The kuo-toa warrior that he’d injured earlier and the one that the lizard had bitten were both still active and dangerous, but before they could move to pursue the dwarf and aid the priests, one went down with another of Dannel’s arrows sunk to the feathers in its thigh, while the other was forced to turn to deal with Mole as the gnome stabbed at it with her tiny sword.  On the far flank of the battle, Hodge continued battling against the kuo-toa warriors that had taken cover in the rocks.  Both of the remaining kuo-toa warriors were injured now, one with a deep gash from Betsy, the other still hindered by the arrow stuck in its shoulder, but they continued to press their attacks against the dwarf with an almost insane fury.  The fish-men flanked the dwarf, who soon found himself hard-pressed as they worked in tandem to seek out the holes in his defenses.  Arun grunted as a whip slammed its morningstar into his armored thigh, the force of the blow augmented by the bull’s strength that it had conjured earlier.  He countered with a strong swing of his own, but before he could land his blow the kuo-toa brought up its heavy shield.  The hammer impacted the solid surface with a muted thwack, but to Arun’s surprise the hammer remained securely affixed to the shield.  The dwarf nearly lost his grip on the weapon as the kuo-toa drew back, trying to take its prize from the paladin, and for a moment the two engaged in a vicious tug-of-war, the stakes clear as the other two priests rushed into the fray, their own weapons lashing out at the dwarf and his mount.  Zenna cursed as yet another shot from her crossbow went awry.  With the need to avoid hitting her friends, she was forced to be conservative in her choice of targets, and thus far she’d squandered five bolts to only two hits.  If she could only get down to the ground below, she could employ her spells... but one glance at the long descent from their perch was enough to dissuade her from trying anything foolish.  As she tugged at the string of her bow back into firing position once more, she glanced over at Dannel.  The elf had seemingly become one with his bow, drawing and firing with a smooth efficiency.  He managed several shots to her one, and even with such rapid shots, was managing to score hits with a greater frequency.  Even as the tiefling slid another bolt into the long groove of her crossbow, the elf managed to slide another shot neatly into the chaotic melee that raged around Arun, and one of the clerics drew back in pain, a shaft jutting awkwardly from the side of its bulbous throat.  Hodge cried out as a rapier slid several inches into his side, punching a nasty hole through steel links, leather, cloth, and into the flesh beneath.  With a defiant roar he tore himself free of the weapon before the fish-man could work it deeper, trailing blood as he regained a defensive stance a few paces away.  The kuo-toa, sensing that their foe was nearly defeated, eagerly rushed forward, spreading out to flank the dwarf again and open up another devastating sneak attack.  Hodge did not give ground, but he seemed barely able to stand, holding his wounded side and breathing in hard, labored gasps.  His axe hung limply at his side, its deadly edge no longer as threatening without a strong arm to wield it. Then, suddenly, as the first kuo-toa came into reach, he sprang up, Betsy seeming to jump into his hand as he brought the axe up in a violent arc.  The kuo-toa was unable to react in time as the blade of the axe drew a deep line across its throat, and it crumpled, its head flopping back on what was left of its spine.  The second kuo-toa came up short, staring down at bleeding and battered foe, who now spat out a challenge through blood-flecked lips. “A’right then, yer turn, fish-face,” he grunted, taking a meaningful step forward.  The kuo-toa met his gaze squarely, then its huge eyes drifted to the bloody axe.  For a moment it seemed to hesitate, and then it spun around and darted into the lake, disappearing with only a tiny splash.  “Yah, I thought so,” the dwarf said, staggering forward a pace or two before slumping to the ground and promptly passing out. “Hodge is down!” Zenna cried out from above.  She followed that warning by uttering a particularly nasty and likely biologically impossible suggestion in orcish that she’d picked up in her travels, as another shot glanced harmlessly off of a whip’s shield.  Dannel likewise missed as the three enemy clerics swarmed onto Arun and the giant lizard.  The lizard bit one of the enemy priests, but suffered a nasty blow to its head in response.  The spikes of the whip’s weapon drew open wicked gashes along the side of the lizard’s head, oozing bright celestial ichor that fell in fat drops onto the wet stone at its feet.  At the same moment, Arun finally lost his tug-of-war with the kuo-toa holding his weapon hostage with its adhesive shield, as a second priest joined in the struggle.  The first whip pulled away its shield with the hammer stuck to it, while the second grabbed onto the paladin and dragged him roughly off of the lizard’s back and to the ground.  For a moment the paladin disappeared from view, ringed by the kuo-toa priests and the battered and struggling lizard.  An already-bloody morningstar was lifted high and came down, ringing as it struck metal.  But then an opening appeared as one of the kuo-toa staggered back, turning to reveal half its jaw crushed into a bloody mess.  Arun exploded out of the gap, his second light hammer clutched in his fist, laying about him with mighty swings backed by the full force of his strength and the divine potency of his patron.   The second kuo-toa tried to crush his skull from behind, but before the blow landed the dwarf spun and drove his hammer with a meaty plop into the fish-man’s gut.  The creature, its organs merged into a jumbled stew from the force of the blow, crumpled and collapsed in a flopping heap.  Even as Arun turned to face the other priest, it fell, an arrow jutting from its back.  The paladin spun to aid his ally, but the lizard had things well in hand, and was busy crushing the head of the last whip in its powerful jaws.  Similarly, Mole had dealt with her foe, the wounded kuo-toa unable to connect with the nimble gnome before falling to several well-placed thrusts from her smaller blade.  Quiet belatedly returned to the cavern as the rush of combat ended, and the companions stood amidst the ruin of the kuo-toa defenders.</blockquote>

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