Adventure #5 - March of the Frost Giants

Elodie will fly down to take a closer look at the bodies.

Glitz wrote:Elodie will fly down to take a closer look at the bodies.

Elodie swoops down to the ground where the bodies are located. She quickly identifies them as soldiers from Umbrafall; scouts, most likely. Their weapons and other gear lay scattered around them. One of the bodies seems to be holding a thick braided hemp rope.

When Elodie takes a closer look, she sees that one end of the rope is tied to a piton, which has been hammered into a nearby boulder; the other end (and indeed the bulk of the rope) has been stuffed into the dead-man's backpack (which lies under him, since he died facing up).

Elodie checks the bodies for injuries.

Glitz wrote:Elodie checks the bodies for injuries.

Most of the bodies were bludgeoned to death, probably by singular heavy objects. A couple, however, were hacked to bits by some sort of enormous blade.

Elodie flies back up to check out the giants once more, attempting to see what kind of weapons they have.

OOC: Looking to see if they have a large blade that could've sliced up the bodies...

Glitz wrote:Elodie flies back up to check out the giants once more, attempting to see what kind of weapons they have.
OOC: Looking to see if they have a large blade that could've sliced up the bodies...

The giants are armed with enormous axes ... more than adequate for the task of hacking down foes.

Elodie flies back to the group, and transforms back into her human form. She quietly explains what she has seen to Jeremiah. "Some of the bodies have been bashed, possibly by boulders--and some of them have been hacked by a giant blade--literally, a giant blade. There are three bluish giants at the top of the cliff, and they seem to be listening for something. I think maybe they've set some sort of trap, and are attempting to lure us in and ambush us in the valley."

Swifthand wrote:O.O.C. - What's the provision situation at the Arx?
"Private-Recruit Olfreth Forteer, do you know when we can expect the garrison troops to arrive, and how many troops are under the command of Captain Duraina Drake?"

"I don't rightly know, but I would imagine they would be here within the day. The captain commands an entire company; four platoons, that's roughly a gross, isn't it?"
There are a few provisions stored at the Arx (enough to sustain four people for a month), but a company of soldiers could easily devour that in a single day.

Alpha Omega wrote:OOC: How far away is the cliff? How High up is the cliff?

The gorge is twenty, maybe twenty-five, yards wide (meaning the cliffs are that far apart at the base); one either side, they rise up a hundred feet or more. The bodies are about thirty yards in front of you and the giants are right above them. Elodie estimates the ledge to be around forty feet up (and about fifteen feet wide, but much longer).

The cliffs would be difficult to climb (DC 15), but not impossible.



OOC: Note that there are more troops just off the west side of the map. There is a total of 35 soldiers (29 recruits, plus 3 corporals and 3 lance-corporals).

"Flint, please work out a watch schedule with the Private here.  I have work elsewhere in preparation for the Captain's arrival."

Talmut will head to the broken mirror he found and cast Mending on it, in the hopes that he can use it to Scry.

Talmut wrote:"Flint, please work out a watch schedule with the Private here.  I have work elsewhere in preparation for the Captain's arrival."

"Absolutely. I'll see to it."
Olfreth asks, "Shouldn't I try to follow behind my squadron?"
"By yourself?" Flint responds. "Don't be daft. The Leftenant wouldn't want you to go alone."

Talmut wrote:Talmut will head to the broken mirror he found and cast Mending on it, in the hopes that he can use it to Scry.

When the spell is cast, the shards suddenly fuse together, forming a round mirror roughly a foot in diameter.  Unlike most mirrors, this one is not just polished metal. It is made of silvered glass, making it a much rarer and more sophisticated piece of work. On its face, the edges of the mirror are frosted with silver and gold to create the image of entwined vines (one vine is gold, the other is silver). The center of the mirror is clear and free of blemishes, allowing for a near-perfect reflection. Talmut estimates this work of art to be worth around 1,750 gold pieces.

OOC: The game doesn't clearly state whether a "silver mirror" is a mirror of polished silver or a mirror of silvered glass. I am ruling that either counts as "silver."

OOC: Nice!

Talmut and the mirror will travel to the lower section of the Arx.  There, the wizard places the mirror in the center of the northern circle where he then prepares himself for powerful divination magicks. Moving to the Room of Summoning, the wizard carefully sets the silvered mirror in the center of the north eastern circle, as north is the direction of questions answered and east that of wisdom gained.  Sitting cross-legged on the floor in the 9 o'clock position of the inner circle, Talmut begins to concentrate on his reflection in the mirror, focusing on his forehead. Long minutes pass, and then a barely audible hum can be heard.  More minutes pass, and the hum has become a chant, spoken under the breath of the wizard.

"ANA PUHI NASU AMARU"

And then it happens: the Third Eye of Knowledge, the All-Seeing Eye opens on the Conjuror's forehead!

Talmut will first seek out Gumphrey.  (Casting Scrying)

Talmut wrote:... the wizard places the mirror in the center of the northern circle ... begins to concentrate ... hum ... chant ... the Third Eye of Knowledge ... opens on the Conjuror's forehead!
Talmut will first seek out Gumphrey.

The face of the mirror changes to show an image of Gumphrey, sound asleep by the fire. An eerie tune is playing nearby. As Talmut studies the camp, he finds that Lindy is also sleeping nearby, her bare arms and shoulders poking out from under the blankets. On the other side of the fire, Glory is performing an evocative dance, stripped down to her undergarments. Before her, a hairy man with cloven hooves and small goat-like horns is playing the pan pipes, apparently urging Glory to misbehave. Talmut knows immediately that his friends have come under the influence of some sort of enchantment!

Malazek wrote:Talmut knows immediately that his friends have come under the influence of some sort of enchantment!

Seen this coming...

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Jeremiah will instruct the soldiers to surround him and get ready to rain arrows down on these giants. Everyone spread themselves out after the first attack so when they retaliate with rocks it makes us harder targets. All those who can take cover should this may get quite hectic...

As soon as the troops are ready he will down his potion of true strike, knock his black arrow and fire at the first giant.

MW. CLB Attk 1: 17 + 38 = 55     6 + 3 + 4 = 13 DMG (plus effects of black arrow)
MW. CLB Attk 2: 15 + 12 = 27     4 + 3 + 4 = 11 DMG (sleep arrow)

Elodie quietly creeps to the tree closest to the corpses, and prepares to blast some giants with her new wand. She will wait until the giants step out into view. Then she steps out long enough to cast, and then darts back behind the tree. She aims between two of the giants, hoping to catch them both in the blast.

Use Wand of Flame Strike.
Damage: 26 (9d6)

Before Combat ...

The troops surround Jeremiah as commanded, and ready their bows.
Meanwhile, Elodie sneaks away and quietly raises her wand.
Next, Jeremiah quaffs his potion and knocks the black arrow.

Surprise Round ...

OOC: Even though the giants know you're there, they don't realize the attack is coming. So, you get a surprise round. But you can only take a single action in the surprise round.

Jeremiah fires. The troops fire. The arrows fly through the air like a cloud of wasps, arching down upon the giants. The giants cry out in fear and agony!

- The Black arrow hits. No Miss Chance. Giant (T6) Fortitude Save = 18. He suffers 50 extra damage.
- Because the Recruits would need natural 20's to hit individually, I am instead going to have them fire in groups of five. That will give one arrow out of each group a +8 bonus to hit (the last group will be a group of four, so they'll only be +6). Therefore, their attack rolls are a 30, 19, 24, 17, 17, and a natural 20. That's two potential hits. The miss chance rolls are 81 and 84 (both hit). The Crit verification is 26 (hit). So, the damage is 10 and 20.
- The Corporals attack rolls are 18, 23, and a natural 1 (all misses).
- The Lance-corporals attacks are 21, 21, and a natural 1 (all misses).

Initiative ...
- Halvar & Buck 22
- Squad Two 20
- Elodie 19
- Jeremiah 18
- Giants 13
- Squad Three 12
- Squad One 3

Round One ...

Init 22
Halvar moves forward and readies his axes, in case the giants dare to come down from the mountain.
Buck follows along behind him.

Init 20
Squad Two scatters as commanded, and fires another volley.

- First Volley, Attack Roll = 26; Miss chance = 91 (Hit); Damage = 3
- Second Volley, Attack Roll = 31; Miss chance = 95(Hit); Damage = 10
- Eggler, Attack Roll = 11 (Miss)
- Kerner, Attack Roll = 24 (Miss)

Init 19
Elodie holds her position.

Init 18
Jeremiah fires the white arrow next. Of course, he has no way of telling whether it worked or not ... not yet, anyway.

- Jeremiah Attack Roll = Natural 1 (Miss)
- Jeremiah, Sleep Arrows; Miss Chance = 58 (Hit). Giant (T6) Will Save = 22 (He resists).
- Since your posted attacks got divided between the surprise round and round 1, I rolled another attack for you.

Init 13
The giants rise up and move to the edge of the precipice, with boulders in hand. As soon as they show their monstrous heads, Elodie blasts them with her wand, catching two of them in a column of divine fire!

- Giant (T7) and Giant (V7)'s Reflex Saves = 18 and 9 (both fail). They take 39 damage, because Frost Giants are vulnerable to fire.
- First Giant has suffered a total of 102 damage already plus 10 points of nonlethal.
- Second Giant suffered a total of 63 damage already.
- Third Giant suffered a total of 10 damage already.
- Elodie's Initiative becomes 13

One of the giants is so badly wounded, that he retreats back from the edge, kneeling down and seeking cover. The other two quickly spot the source of the fire and begin hurling massive boulders toward Elodie! The first strikes the tree with a heavy thud; the second one misses the truck of the tree and comes careening through the needles, slamming into Elodie with a painful crunch.

- Elodie has cover and concealment, because she took cover behind the tree (+4 AC, 20% miss chance).
- First Boulder = 16 (Miss)
- Second Boulder = 23 (Hit); Miss chance = 69 (Hit); Damage = 16

Init 12
Squad Three scatters as commanded, and fires another volley. The giants thick, thick armor stops most of the puny arrows, but a couple find their way into the giant's body. He winces with each piercing.

- First Volley, Attack Roll = 27 (Hit); Damage to V7 = 9
- Second Volley, Attack Roll = 27 (Hit); Damage to V7  = 8
- Haber, Attack Roll = 11 (Miss)
- Gerst, Attack Roll = 9 (Miss)

Init 3
Squad One scatters as commanded, and fires another volley. Unfortunately, most of the arrows miss their mark.

- First Volley, Attack Roll = 17 (Miss)
- Second Volley, Attack Roll = 17 (Miss)
- Drover, Attack Roll = 17 (Miss)
- Jager, Attack Roll = 8 (Miss)

Round 2 ...

OOC: Post your actions for round 2, please.

Elodie directs another column of fire at the two remaining giants, once again seeking cover behind the tree after she has cast her spell.

Use Wand of Flame Strike.
Damage: 31

Talmut jumps to action.  Running to the lab, he grabs some soft wax to plug his ears, and then returns to the mirror.

Using the Staff of Nu'ul, Talmut recalls the spell Owl's Wisdom and casts it on himself (+4 enhancement bonus to wis for 9 minutes). He then casts Fly (Flight, 9 minutes), and Summon Monster 2 and then 3, respectively (Celestial Eagles).

"Sons of Eru-Belu, work in tandem to target the goat-man's pipes.  Perch on my arms and I will teleport us in the air above him."

Finally, he casts Teleport, concentrating on the image in the mirror. Target destination, 10' directly above the goat-man.  If he gets the jump on the goat-man, he will cast Acid Arrow on him.

Jeremiah will attack the next Giant...



MW. CLB Attk 1: 16 + 13 = 29   DMG: 3 + 7 = 10
MW. CLB Attk 2: 8 + 8 = 16  DMG: 4 + 7 = 11

Free (In Celestial) - "Use your claws to wake my sleeping friends from their enchanted slumber, my aerial allies!"
Free (In Common) - "VILLIAN!  You no longer face defenseless foes, but the combined might of the House's of Nu'ul and Eru-Belu!  Cower, for your DOOM is now upon you!"
Standard - Acid Arrow
Move - 60' straight up

Gonna be eating mutton tonight!

Elodie & Jeremiah ...

Round 2 ...

Init 22
Without a bow to fire, Halvar holds his position ... hoping the storm of arrows will drive them from their roost.

Init 20
Squad two continues to rain arrows upon the giants.

- First Volley, Attack Roll = 31; (Hit); Damage = 8 to V7
- Second Volley, Attack Roll = Natural 1 (Miss)
- Eggler, Attack Roll = 18 (Miss)
- Kerner, Attack Roll = 12 (Miss)

Init 18
Jeremiah's arrows soar at the injured giant, at least one of which bites deeply into the giant's shoulder.

Init 13
Elodie leans out from behind the tree and aims her wand at the two giants. A fiery pillar of burning doom catches the both of them, scorching their flesh.

- Giants' Reflex Saves: 23 for V7 (Success); 18 for X7 (Miss). V7 suffers 23 Damage; X7 suffers 46.
- The giants have now suffered (T6) 102 damage plus 10 nonlethal; (V7) 121 damage; (X7) 56 damage.

Suddenly, one of the giants rolls over the side of the cliff and begins to climb down! Relying on his monstrous strength, he quickly and easily descends to the floor of the gorge.

- (X7) Move & Standard: Climb. Climb Check (-5 for Accelerated Climbing) = 20.

Ready for action, Halvar charges the descending giant and buries his battle-axe in the giant's thigh! The monster howls in agony as blood gushes from his enormous leg.

- Halvar's Attack Roll (+2 for Charge, -2 for Power-attack) = Natural 20! (Verification = 27, Success); Damage = 47!
- Halvar's Initiative changes to 13
- That Giant (X10) is now down 103 hit points.

Meanwhile, back on the cliff, the other giant slinks back to take cover with his companion.

Suddenly, the gorge is filled with the sound and echoes of someone blowing a horn!
BAROOOOOOOOOOOOM!! BAROOOOOOOOOOOOM!!

Init 12
Though they can't see their targets, Squad Three unleashes a torrent of arrows at the giants still on the ledge

- First Volley, Attack Roll = 22; (Miss)
- Second Volley, Attack Roll = Natural 20 (Verif. Roll = 27, Success); Miss Chance = 54 (Hit); Damage = 17 to V7 (Dead)
- Haber, Attack Roll = 15 (Miss)
- Gerst, Attack Roll = 12 (Miss)

Init 3
Though they can't see their targets, Squad One unleashes a torrent of arrows at the giants still on the ledge

- First Volley, Attack Roll = 16 (Miss)
- Second Volley, Attack Roll = 17 (Miss)
- Haber, Attack Roll = Natural 20 (Verif. Roll = 26, Success); Miss Chance = 93 (Hit); Damage = 27 to T7 (Knocked-Out)
- Gerst, Attack Roll = 18 (Miss)

Round 3 ...

???

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OOC: I rolled three natural 20's and a natural 1 this round. cRaZy!

Talmut & Crew ...

Round 1 (Continued) ...

Init 16 (Continued)
The eagles fly away with the pan-pipes.

Conjuring another gout of acid, Talmut soars even higher, beyond the reach of the offending creature. Now drenched in acid, the Satyr buckles over with his mouth wide open ... but Talmut cannot hear the agonized scream.

- Talmut's Attack Roll = 20 (Hit); 5 Damage. The acid will continue to deal damage for another 5 rounds.
- That's two sets of 2d4 damage per round, for the time being.
- The Satyr is currently down 17 hit points.

Init 6
Realizing he's in trouble, the dastardly faun weaves a magical spell, directed at Talmut! Fortunately, Talmut cannot hear the enchantment and is unaffected by it.

- Talmut's Will Save (+4 for having wax in his ears) = 30 (Success)!

Round 2 ...

Init 16
- The Satyr suffers another 13 points of acid damage (meaning he's lost a total of 30 hit points now).

The Sons of Eru-Belu drop the pan-pipes down the steep hillside, as they turn back toward the camp. Then, they perform a synchronized dive-bomb maneuver at Gumphrey and Lindy! The eagles are not out to kill, however, but do claw out just enough meat to wake up the sleeping heroes! Gumphrey and Lindy lift their heads and begin to look around, taking-in the scene and recovering from their drowsy stupor.

- Eagles Charge-Attack Rolls = 22 & 22 (Both Hit); 1 Point of Damage each to Gumphrey and Lindy.

Meanwhile, Talmut ...