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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 329617" data-attributes="member: 1210">Don't Pet the Dire BearsHave I mentioned that I typically run a very high-fatality game?The party moves on, again after a few moments’ rest.  Are their missing companions as lost as they are?  What happened to that Turk guy?  Where are the damn pirates?  What day is it?  How long were they on the astral plane anyway?  They haven’t checked the date since then.  For all they know, it might have been a year on that empty plane!They mostly continue edging along the coast, though they use their clearest afternoon yet (the mist allows them to see 30’) to explore a little inland and they find that the isle seems to ascend to some ruins.  But after a brief flirt with the idea of exploring them, they decide to keep trying to find the pirates.  Stone tries casting a locate object spell to find a ship, but unfortunately his range is too short and he fails to locate them.  So the group descends again towards the coast, where they plan to continue along the way they were going.  After all, how big can the island be?Before they reach the beach, however, they stumble upon a humungous bear with feral, brutal features scratching its back against the largest tree they’ve seen on the island.  They come to a quick halt, but it’s noticed them.  It doesn’t seem to be angry or hostile, but our heroes tense; this could be ugly if it gets into a fight.  Krunkshank enchants his axe- he’s done that a lot lately- as it ambles on over, and by the time most of them even realize what’s happening, it’s right next to them, sniffing at the group.  Sith pulls out his wand of haste and gets uses it on himself , then says, “Nice bear... nice bear...” and tries to handle the huge animal.  Krunkshank has readied a fireball, and Stone isn’t sure what to do, because after a cursory sniff it closes its massive jaws gently on his leg!  It isn’t biting him, but he sure isn’t happy.Stone chokes out a “Nice... bear...” of his own, starts trembling and pats it on the head himself.Whether it’s the pat on the head, whatever the bear smelled on Stone’s leg, or the smell of fear- the dire bear suddenly bites down as hard as it can.  The dwarf cleric lets out a shriek of pain as there’s the sound of armor and flesh, and maybe bone? –crunching under the bear’s terrific jaws.  Krunkshank roars, “STUPID BEAR!” and hurls his ready fireball onto its hindquarters, while Sith tries to cast a spell defensively.  Unfortunately the orcish necromancer can’t muster his concentration and loses his fly!  Still, he’s hasted, so he steps back to displace himself with another spell- and falls through a shallow screen of bushing down a slope.  With a groan he stumbles to his feet“GRRRRRR!” says the bear, and it tenses its massive jaws on Stone’s thigh again.  He cries out again, and then it spits him out like a discarded rag doll.  “Ya bastard!” he coughs, whipping out his morningstar and swinging it, but his leg is pouring out blood.  He almost slips, then stumbles back 5’- and falls off a depression, dropping about 5’ into a shallow pit!  Krunkshank fires out a searing light spell, burning the giant bear’s eyes, and Sith first magic missiles the beast and then clambers up.  At the top, he draws forth the chain Senotyfe he claimed from the mistress of chains.  They’ve been talking, you see.The bear, however, moves before he has a chance to strike at it, and he’s in perfect position for it to full attack him.  He has no defensive magic up, either.  It swats him with a tree sized limb, then grabs him and pulls him forward into its deadly embrace.  Krunkshank fires another blast of searing light at it, and Sith struggles to loose himself from the monster’s grip.  The bear continues to maul him, then takes a swipe at Krunkshank, leaving terrible rakes across his face and chest.  With a cry, the dwarven elementalist brings his axe around, but he’s so shaken by the damage he took that he misses an easy shot.At the bottom of the small pit, Stone drags himself up and out, then brings up his morningstar.  He’s just in time to see his orcish ally break free, stagger 5’ back and unleash a blistering wave of attacks with the chain.  It almost seems to howl through the air as it crashes against the bear’s forelimb and head.With an ear-shattering roar, the dire bear moves in on Sith again, and it tears him literally in two.“Sith!” cries Stone, dropping his morningstar and leaping on the bear with his punch dagger (*why, I have no idea.)  Then Krunkshank steps in and hews its head from its shoulders.  The massive bear dies, its head giving out one last surprised snarl.But it’s too later for Sith.  And looking at each other, Stone and Krunkshank realize... now they are two.Next time: We find our missing people!  'Bout time, especially with Sith- one of the highest level members of the party- dead...</blockquote>

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