Sons of Krauss Age of Worms Adventure Path (IC)

[Mista Collins]

OOC: On the upside, the move that you have posted does not need a tumble check, as it simply a 5 ft. step which does not provoke an AoO. On the downside, in that position you and Majakilar do not flank wolf#2, as Majakilar does not threaten him (he's using a reach weapon). If Majakilar were to step 5 ft. to the west (which he can't at the moment because Azten is there) then you'd be flanking wolf#2.

OCC: I know some Dm's who do consider the diagonal move when next to an enemy to provoke AoO (thus why I put the tumble there just in case). Either way, Owen will try to get into a flanking position no matter what. And if it requires he provoke an AoO, he will tumble . If there is no way for this to happen, he will stab without flanking.

 

[Voadam]

Gregor continues to bleed but his prone form is not harried by the wolves thanks to his companions' efforts. If he were aware he'd be thankful.

 

[hbarsquared]

Kenneth

"Ah ha!" Kenneth shouts, pulling out the blade a second time from the wolf's flank. But the animal remained standing with only superficial wounds from Kenneth's rapier, gnashing its fangs and growling from deep within its throat.

Kenneth withdraws his rapier as Owen rolls between him the wolf, and Kenneth calls his name to get his attention.

"Owen! Keep going!" he says, jerking his head to the small empty space at the wolf's rear. "Wait for my signal!" Kenneth sidesteps a bite from the wolf and throws himself theatrically to one side.

He sees the dwarf circling the group, hopefully seeking to attend to Gregor. A glance tells Kenneth the big man is still breathing, thankfully. A crossbow bolt flies for the other wolf and Kenneth returns his focus to the one still occupying him. Raising his voice, he yells out, "Now!" and plunges his rapier into the wolf.

OOC - How about Owen continues his move, tumbling to the square just north of wolf #2, and readies an attack when Kenneth's initiative comes up. Kenneth will take a 5'-step to the left so that he and Owen will be flanking wolf #2, and both can make their attacks simultaneously with flanking bonuses. Attack +4 (1d4+1, 18-20/x2)​

 

[silentspace]

"That's it you mangy curs! Follow me, I'm the one you want! GRRR!"

Majakilar brandishes his guiesarme, swinging it above both wolves as he steps back, goading them on.

OOC: Withdraw ten feet back, hoping wolves continue to come after him blindly and draw AoOs from the others, and set himself up for AoOs against the wolves as they close. Same attack as before. Is there some bardic music going? I wasn't sure. Atk +2 (2d4+4/x3, guisearme). Dodge feat against same wolf.

 

[Branding Opportunity]

With the combat shifting his direction, Azten takes out his warhammer in case the opportunity arises to beat on a wolf. Seeing that wolf #1 is currently occupied elsewhere, and assuming Majakilar is not seriously wounded this round, he will try to skirt around behind it to get to Gregor. Striking out with his hammer, the dwarf connects soundly with the side of the wolf’s head with a sickening “Crunch!” The wolf immediately topples over. (OOC: draw warhammer, move action; 5 ft. step; warhammer attack 16 + 0 = 16, hit! Damage 1d8 = 2 hp to wolf #1, and is now dying)

With the wolves lunging at Majakilar, Owen sees a great opportunity to catch the wolves off guard. Diving in between Kennth and the wolf. Rolling on his shoulder to a standing position with the wolf directly Gregor’s still form, Owen waits to plunge the dagger in his hand into the back of the wolf as he is distracted by Kenneth. "How's this for a bite?" (OCC: Tumble to square north of wolf#2, tumble check 18 + 7 = 25 vs. DC 15, success! Ready action to attack when Kenneth moves into place)

"That's it you mangy curs! Follow me, I'm the one you want! GRRR!" Majakilar brandishes his guisarme, swinging it above both wolves as he steps back, goading them on. (OOC: Withdraw ten feet back, hoping wolves continue to come after him blindly and draw AoOs from the others, and set himself up for AoOs against the wolves as they close; Dodge feat against same wolf)

Gregor continues to bleed but his prone form is not harried by the wolves thanks to his companions' efforts. If he were aware he'd be thankful.

"Ah ha!" Kenneth shouts, pulling out the blade a second time from the wolf's flank. But the animal remained standing with only superficial wounds from Kenneth's rapier, gnashing its fangs and growling from deep within its throat.
Kenneth withdraws his rapier as Owen rolls between him the wolf, and Kenneth calls his name to get his attention.
"Owen! Keep going!" he says, jerking his head to the small empty space at the wolf's rear. "Wait for my signal!" Kenneth sidesteps a bite from the wolf and throws himself theatrically to one side.
He sees the dwarf circling the group, hopefully seeking to attend to Gregor. A glance tells Kenneth the big man is still breathing, thankfully. A crossbow bolt flies for the other wolf and Kenneth returns his focus to the one still occupying him. Raising his voice, he yells out, "Now!" and plunges his rapier into the wolf.

Hearing his companions shout, Owen lashes out with his dagger. (OOC: dagger attack 7 + 1 + 2 (flanking) = 10, miss)

Kenneth strikes at the sole remaining wolf. With a bit of luck and a lot of distraction from his companion, the gnome’s attack hit true, burying the rapier up to the hilt in the wolf’s chest. He growls one last time at Kenneth, bearing his yellow teeth before his eyes close and he falls over, the weapon still sticking out of him. (OOC: rapier attack 16 + 2 + 2 (flanking) = 20, hit! Damage 1d4 + 1 = 4 hp, wolf #2 is now dying)

OOC: All wolves are dead or dying and combat is over. According to my notes Majakilar is down 3 hp, while Gregor is down 13.

 

[Mista Collins]

Breathing heavily so that his heart slows down a bit, Owen kneels near Gregor on the ground but knows there is nothing he can do. "It appears he is still breathing, Azten. I'm sure there is something you could do." Knowing Azten will talk care of Gregor, he stands and looks around for his thrown dagger. Spotting it in the corner he walks over to where it landed after missing the wolf and picks it up. He then heads back to where he dropped his rapier and lantern and sits down, trying to catch his breath and slow his heart rate. "Is everyone..." *gasp* "..else..." *gasp* "..alright?"

 

[Thanee]

Alexi

As soon as the last wolf falls, Alexi drops her crossbow and speeds to Gregors side, trying to stop his wounds from bleeding, though she hopes that someone with more expertise will soon join her to save him.


OOC: Heal check at +2.

 

[Branding Opportunity]

As soon as the last wolf falls, Alexi drops her crossbow and speeds to Gregors side, trying to stop his wounds from bleeding, though she hopes that someone with more expertise will soon join her to save him.

Quickly looking at Gregor's very serious wounds you see that his bleeding has stopped. The bite on his leg is the worst by far. Only serious bedrest with medical attention or divine healing can help him now.

 

[Branding Opportunity]

OOC: So you don't have to flip back to the old IC thread, I am reposting the description of the room where you are standing and the map of what you have explored so far.

The central hallway opens into a large chamber with wings leading to the east and west. Across the chamber to the north yawns a twenty-foot-wide open arch draped from top to bottom in translucent cobwebs. An eerie green light flickers from beyond these webs, casting strange shadows about this room. The place smells of animal spoor and wet fur.

To the west, three short stairs lead to a wide marble dais, but the far end of the wing is obscured by darkness.

Huge slabs of cracked masonry and irregular piles of scattered debris choke the eastern wing, giving the appearance of complete collapse. It was from here that you saw the wolves emerging from a low break in the rock slab debris.

The sibilant, almost human whispers present in the passage become a chorus in this massive chamber, eerily echoing off the walls.

 

[Voadam]

As his unconscious mind drifts, Gregor sees the slender form of a sneering elf bearing a long curved sword. The hexblade who cursed his family.

With a gesture the elf invokes dark power and Gregor feels the curse enter his body, warping it in great spasms. The giant's body grows grotesquely, his back hunches and curling horns erupt from his forehead. His fingers become bent clawed talons and his teeth elongate into terrible fangs. His legs painfully shift into inhuman cloven elk legs giving him the appearance of some hideous satyr-like thing. In the hallucination Gregor is twisted into a misshappen ogre, monstrous to the core, reflecting the spiteful evil of the hexblade. "No!" he shouts in pain filled defiance. "I will not be a monster! I am not evil."

Gregor lets out a slight moan as he lies unconscious in his own pooling blood.

 

[hbarsquared]

Kenneth

In the midst of chaos, Kenneth keeps an eye on Owen as he tumbles past the wolf to the opposite side. The wolf is not distracted by the boy and keeps its glowing yellow eyes fixed on Kenneth. It growls deep within its throat and opens its jaws to take in the gnome when suddenly it flinches, turning its head around to find Owen. His own weapon had missed, barely grazing the wolf, but it was enough to distract it. As the creature ignores the smaller, though far better dressed in his opinion, threat, Kenneth fingers the hilt and jabs it into the wolf's chest.

After the battle, Kenneth leans down next to the final wolf and gingerly slides his rapier out from its still form. He purses his lips in disgust and halfheartedly attempts to shake off some of the blood from his blade.

"Yeah, I'm okay," he replies to Owen's concern, though with his thoughts elsewhere. "Is Gregor doin' all right?"

After a moment, Kenneth begins pacing across the cavern. "Does anyone have a rag?" he asks, holding up his blade, searching the cave for a clump of moss or a wide-leaved bush. "There's no way I'm going to slide this back into my scabbard."

OOC - Kenneth will clean off his sword with what's available and keep it drawn. When everyone's ready, he will suggest exploring the area where the wolves came from.​

 

[Azten]

After the shock of actually killing the wolf wears off, I absently wipe off my warhammer's head and place it back on my belt.

Then as I look around, I see Gregor's prone, bloody form and rush over to heal him.

All right big guy, let's see what we've got

OOC:

I use a CLW (Heals 1d8+1+1{Healing Domain}) on Gregor, and reassess his condition.
If needed (still significantly injured - >50% HP loss) I'll use another CLW. If he's not so bad off, but still in need of healing I'll pray for a CMinorW (heals 1 hp) to top him off.
​

Speaking softly to myself the prayer, I calm my mind and gather Moradin's power to heal Gregor.

When he appears sufficiently healed, I end with a murmured Praise Moradin .

With a soft grunt, I stand back up and face the caved-in passage to the east.

Any more of you wolves in there might as well come out now so we don't have to come in to beat you silly.

What do you say, guys? Shall we?
R
` E

 

[Branding Opportunity]

OOC:

I use a CLW (Heals 1d8+1+1{Healing Domain}) on Gregor, and reassess his condition.
If needed (still significantly injured - >50% HP loss) I'll use another CLW. If he's not so bad off, but still in need of healing I'll pray for a CMinorW (heals 1 hp) to top him off.
​

Speaking softly to myself the prayer, I calm my mind and gather Moradin's power to heal Gregor.

OOC: The first Cure Light Wounds spell heals 5 hp, and the second heals 7 hp, which means that he is only down 1 hp. Let me know if you want to use one of your orisons to cure the final hp.

Any more of you wolves in there might as well come out now so we don't have to come in to beat you silly.

There is no answer to the question posed to the pile of rubble, and you can't hear any other noises over the sibilant whisper-like noises coming from the walls. (OOC: Listen check)

 

[Branding Opportunity]

OOC - Kenneth will clean off his sword with what's available and keep it drawn.

OOC: There is nothing suitable growing on the walls to clean your blade with. There is a bountiful supply of ... um ... wolf fur around. I'm sure you could find some non-bloody bits.

 

[Azten]

OOC:

Oops. Major faux pas. I didn't take the healing domain. See OOC thread.​

 

[Mista Collins]

"Good to have you back, Gregor." Owen says from his sitting position. Looking towards Kenneth, who is searching for something to wipe his blade on, Owen laughs quite audibly. "I hear the color of blood will match perfectly with that green cloak you wear. Apparently it is all the rave these days, Kenneth"

There is no answer to the question posed to the pile of rubble, and you can't hear any other noises over the sibilant whisper-like noises coming from the walls.

Standing up as he finally catches his breath, Owen will walk over to where the wolves emerged. "Well it doesn't seem like there is anything else in there," Owen says as he eyes the low break in the debris to see if there is any sign of another cave-in or collapse of the current rubble.

OCC: Search +7, Knowledge (anything relevant) +3

If the debris and the opening look safe enough, Owen is going to crawl through the opening with his lantern to see if there is anything worth while in there, hoping he doesn't find the face of a wolf staring back at him.

OCC: Search +7

 

[silentspace]

Majakilar quickly dispatches the downed wolves, putting them out of their misery. "Tough beasts, we're lucky there were just three of them. They can run in large packs, or so I hear," he says as he examines his own wounds.

He gives Gregor a great pat on his back after Azten heals him, then follows Owen through the rubble.

 

[Branding Opportunity]

Owen and Majakilar:[sblock]Getting down on their hands and knees, Owen pushes the lamp ahead of him as he and Majakilar crawl through the opening in the rubble. After negotiating a low, short passage they find themselves in a smallish space rank with the smell of wild animals. Irregular piles of rubble litter the den, as do hundreds of bones and bone fragments from the creatures' past meals. Most of these belong to animals, but a few are unmistakably human.
After looking around for a brief while (OOC: "Taking 20" on Search checks) Owen turns up an old leather backpack half-buried under a pile of humanoid bones in the northern half of the den. The bag contains an elaborate lantern of indigo metal inset with indigo glass panes (see below). Taking a closer look at it, you Owen would guess that it would be worth around 45 gp. Majakilar confesses that he does not have enough expertise in these matters to even make an educated guess.

After a more extensive search of the southern end of the den, Majakilar turns up an intricately carved armband of unmistakable elven craftsmanship, bearing a repeating leaf motif. With this piece, it is Owen who is stumped as to its value. Majakilar guesses that due to the fine craftmanship it might fetch as much as 75 gp, perhaps even more if sold to an elf.
Finally, in searching the rubble mostly blocking off the passage, Owen turns up what appears to be a marble index finger cracked off a statue of some kind.[/sblock]
Everyone else:
Owen and Majakilar crawl on their hands and knees through a small opening in a rubble. They let you know that they have found a small den beyond the blocked-off area, but that there are no more wolves to be found in it.
Over the next few minutes you hear them rummaging about inside and arguing with one another.

 

[Mista Collins]

To Majakilar:
[sblock]"Odd that this lantern survived underneath this rubble. This has had to be here quite sometime for these bones to pile up on top of it. I do like this lantern much more than the dull one I have." Owen says as he grabs his lantern and backs out of the small den.[/sblock]

Owen emerges from the small den with a backpack, marble index finger, and his lantern in hand. Setting the bag down for everyone to see, he pulls out an elaborate lantern of indigo metal inset with indigo glass panes. "This could fetch a nice price to the right buyer back in town. I think Tidwoad would like to see this. I also found this," Owen says as he tosses the marble finger to Azten. "Looks like it came from some sort of statue. Looks like junk to me. But Majakilar found a nice little prize."

 

[Azten]

Oh, sure. Show us the treasure, then give me the finger! Azten allows his sour face to remain for a moment longer, then breaks into a grin as he examines the stone finger, looking for any clues as to age, make(racial) and other details.