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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 6778666" data-attributes="member: 6696971">Zone C (NW)Three Bird stalks around the wilderness perimeter, tight to the wall granting nary an open battlefield to fight on.  He carefully picks stalks of barbweed, making sure not to open the classic, gnarly wound on his flesh that the plant is known for.  When he has his cache, he casually walks back to the defenders, breaking open one of the barbs so the milky innards spills out onto his hand.  He walks a circle around them all, flinging it out on the ground as he does and whispering an ancient druidic plea.One of the infantryman of Giliad's Rest looks on unnerved and incredulously.  Speaking loudly for all to hear, "...what does he do?"  One of the Coldland Barbarians answers flatly.  "He anoints the ground before you to signify to the earth spirits that you are his ally.  He asks for their blessings upon you for the battle to come.  It is an honor upon you."The skeptical member of the watch can barely hide his disdain as he whispers under his breath, "...I don't need the blessings of a savage..."Abruptly, one of Three Birds falcons dives to his arm as the screeching cries of the other two fill the air as they circle in wide arcs above.  After a moment of it lighting down upon his forearm, he looks up and says loudly enough for the archers on the ramparts to hear.  "THEY COME!"The sound of bowstrings being pulled taut and the clatter of spears on shields and shuffling feet are barely sufficient to serve as background vocals to the cacophony of the engine of the destruction that wades through the dense foliage.  Tremors rattle the earth with each step.  Trees threaten to topple until some actually do.  When the massive stone giant abominations reveal themselves, a collective gasp unifies the defenders in shaken morale.  When the twisted pair of infernal basilisks (massive, multi-headed, and a dozen or so legs) enters the fray directly behind them, it is all the group can do to not turn and run for their lives.Nonetheless, when the Coldland Barbarians and the peregrine falcons charge the first giant, the archers atop the wall somehow find their courage and loose a lethal volley of arrows.The first giant falls under the weight of that initial charge and volley.  A second is entangled in the horrible barbweed and falls not long after.But the tide turns swiftly...and it turns decisively when it does...Twisted Far Realm magic pervades the frozen wilderness of a battlefield.  Psyche-assailing whispers from the void dumbfound the infantry, the barbarians, and the archers on the ramparts.  When the monstrosity of the basilisk charges the wall, the fight is truly lost.  The distorted thing is the stuff of nightmares in the most creative of children.  Otthor lured the horde to the two huge creatures' lair.  They must have survived long enough to be overtaken by the mists, the same as the Stone Giants.  Fused together into an entangled mess, the creature obliterates the outer and inner wooden walls with its fiery maw, petrifies the archers with its gaze, rends them to pieces with its claws, finally making a quick meal out of their stoney remains.Three Bird fights until there is nothing left to do but die bravely.  He instructs his falcons to alert his people in the common hall to flee before shapechanging into a wolf and tearing into the lower leg of one of the giants...intent on slowing the behemoth down before the lights in his eyes are dimmed and the spirit world claims him...[HR][/HR]Mechanical Stuff[sblock]The opening salvo by the Coldland Barbarians and the Giliad's Rest Archers is enough to slay one of the Stone Giant Void Whisperers outright.  They survive long enough, due to their resilience encounter power, to slay another giant before they succumb to the multiple AoEs that the SGVWs and the Advanced Fouldpawns can put out.The Giliad's Rest Men-At-Arms do a good job of locking down three of the four SGVWs that survive through much of this fight.  However, like the Coldland Barbarians, the large amount of AoEs that the SGVWs and AFs can put out are a problem for them (swarm being vuln to AoE) and eventually wear them down despite the healing they receive from Three Bird.However, they do a good job of surviving long enough and controlling the giants (force moving them into the barbweed for damage and -2 defenses [save ends]) long enough to keep them from unleashing hell on Giliad's Rest for too long.  In the end though, the giants and foulspawn's array of dazes and stuns effectively shut down and destroy Giliad's Rest infantry.The real problem is the Morphed Infernal Basilisks.  This thing is a terror for the wall and the archers upon it.  A few Archers go down from ranged AoE from the SGVWs and AF.  The rest are obliterated by the MIB which (a) has no problem clambering up the wall, (b) has the HPs to survive multiple volleys, (c) prevents them from getting away with Petrifying Gaze (slowed > immobilized > petrified [saved ends or go to next condition on the track] which works with the Stone Giant's Whispers from the Void zone to nerf their STs), (d) and obliterates them with a triple attack * times per round.  Worse still, the MIB destroys the wall outright due its bite being Fire damage which the wall is vuln 10 to.  The wall is outright wrecked after the MIB is done with it and the Archers in this zone are all slain.The Advanced Foulspawn is slain.  1 Bloodied and 3 pretty healthy Stone Giants survive to assault Giliad's Rest.  The Morphed Infernal Basilisks Solo has plenty of HPs left when it assaults Giliad's Rest with the Stone Giant Void Whisperers.In retrospect, the players would have liked to have put their PCs in this zone to face this group and redistributed the GIliad's Rest infantry.  A successful scouting mission before things went down would have done the trick![/sblock]</blockquote>

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