If no one has any objections then Durnik will light a torch to aid his sight and peer past the others down the tunnel searching for the rats or anything else that might be there.
If no one else wants to be in second, Zithers will try to shimmy his way up to second in line, not at the front due to his weaker constitution but close enough to use all his fire magic on the rats, who presumably don't enjoy fire very much. Zithers has darkvision and has agreed with Cerlinde's ideas so far so he supports the idea of following the rats, keeping a close eye on his surroundings and muttering to his tobacco box
Several of you notice bits of something rope-like stuck to the walls of the tunnel as you advance. Suddenly, Zithers reaches out and grabs Mohdrak's tunic, hissing at him to stop. He points to the roof of the tunnel, where a patch of the packed earth has been replaced by a roundish trapdoor of sorts, made of similar sticky rope.
As you strain your ears to listen for movement beyond, the trapdoor suddenly swings open, and six goat-sized spiders rush out along the roof and sidewalls of the tunnel, one adjacent to each party member. They look hungry.
(Anyone utilizing a torch remember that one of your hands is occupied. If you choose to attack without being able to see, you attack at disadvantage.)
“Aargh! Spiders! ” Cerlinde yells. Filled with terror, almost without thinking, she disappears, and reappears 30’ (well, of our feet) back down the corridor, (ba misty step)and then shoots “her” spider with firebolt:
Cerlinde has dark vision, she looks in the direction the injured rat went. “Maybe Mohdrak should lead us..” she says with trepidation. She will follow him, hoping to finish the rat and help retrieve that axe..
When the group reached the entrance, Mohdrak stood a bit to the side to usher everyone in, staying to the last should the need arise. After everyone else had ducked into the hole did the minotaur join them in the darkness. His eyes adjusted as best as they could to the sudden disappearance of light and judging from the sounds above, the metal murder box now blocked the entrance, essentially trapping them inside.
Mohdrak was a bit disoriented from his lack of sight but when Durnik struck a torch behind him, it provided him with enough light to pull out his own torch from his backpack. Lighting his own with the flame from Durnik's, Mohdrak held the torch aloft in his right hand and held his shield with his left. He had to lower himself to keep from scraping his horns or torch against the ceiling but he would rather have his shield out and a moment of discomfort than to blindly stumble around in the dark.
'Stick close to each other, okay?' Mohdrak told the others to reassure those who might be hesitant to venture forth. He lacked the special eyesight to see in the dark like some of the others but he could not expect them to hold his hand and guide him so he sucked it up and boldly soldiered on. Putting up a brave facade was sometimes just as good as being brave.
It was only when Zithers grabbed his tunic from behind that Mohdrak became aware of the ceiling. Due to his height and his semi-crouched position, he had neglected to look up and when the gnome pointed out the trapdoor, Mohdrak only had time to utter a single profanity before it swung open and six spiders descended upon them. It briefly crossed Mohdrak's mind that these spiders were probably the kind he would not even notice were he regular sized but down here they were the equivalent of goats. Great, hairy, eight legged, terrifying goats...
The minotaur wasted no time to go on the offensive. Shield and torch in hand, there was only one course of action: he slammed his head into the nearest spider. For any ordinary person that would have been a mere headbutt but for a minotaur, the horns added an extra degree of lethality. Unrelenting Mohdrak slammed his head into the spider once more, hoping to skewer it with his horns.
OOC: shield equipped and torch in hand so unarmed strike with the horns - Attack: 21 Damage: 10
Amelia normally has no issue with spiders. They creep her out a little, and the larger ones are gross, but she can deal with them. Right now, though, she's about an inch tall, and these spiders aren't much smaller, and a chill runs down her spine at how huge they seem. She draws her shortswords and slashes at the one nearest to her.
Main hand attack: 17 Damage: 5 piercing Offhand attack: 25 Damage: 7 piercing If she gets sneak attack, she deals an additional 6 piercing damage.
Jack deliberately left a torch for someone else, believing the light to be enough for him to fight with both hands. Hopefully he wasn't mistaken, as he now deals a quick slash at the spider just by his side.
Sword Slash: 19
Potential Damage: 11
"I wonder how did they make a trapdoor..."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Losing to a master is nothing to be ashamed of, unless you learn nothing from the experience."
Durnik is not fond of spiders and he initially reaches for the great axe on his back, but after grumbling a few choice words decides to pull up his hand axe instead and strikes at the spider. (If he is near Mohdrak or Jack he’ll also hold up his torch for them so they have visibility)
After yanking on Mohdrak's cloak maybe a bit too hard, Zithers hisses at the minotaur to look up and luckily, managed to warn at least one person on time. He mutters something unintelligible, a hiss of a different kind than the warning, with many Xs and Zs that don't sound great against his scratchy throat but he then points his hands straight up and a fan of flames spread around the ceiling spider above him. (Burning hands, DC 14 dex save, does 10 fire damage on a fail or half as much on a success; with it aimed straight up none of the party members need to make a save so don't worry about that though)
"Spiders. I hate hate hate spiders, the nasty, hairy, bloodsucking backstabbers" he says with a shiver.
The first five spiders quickly scuttle over Mohdrak before he is quite sure what is happening, but the sixth is not so lucky... the minotaur gores it through the thorax, impaling it on his sharpened horns. Mohdrak now has an upside-down, dead-but-still-twitching spider hat leaking green goo all over his forehead.
Spider 5 attempts to bite Zithers (Attack: 6 Damage: 4 + 11 poison damage, DC 11 Con save for half) but fails. It then attempts to leap out of the way of the flames directed at it (DEX Save 7), fails that too, and is severely burned by the attack.
Spider 4 is skewered by Amelia before it can attack, and falls to the floor, upside down with legs curling up and inward.
Spider 3 was about to feast on a juicy-looking elf, but she blinked away, so instead it will attack the next in line, Jack (Attack: 7 Damage: 2 + 7 poison damage, DC 11 Con save for half). It is singed by a fire bolt from the wizard.
Spider 2 is directly above Jack, and is gashed by his sword, but this only seems to anger it. It strikes back at him like an empire. (Attack: 13 Damage: 5 + 5 poison damage, DC 11 Con save for half) but its fangs cannot penetrate his armor.
Finally, Spider one reaches Durnik a little out of breath, allowing the dwarf to swing his remaining handaxe... and miss. Recovering its resolve, the arachnid's mandibles hungrily reach for his meaty leg (Attack: 13 Damage: 5 + 4 poison damage, DC 11 Con save for half) but do not find any purchase.
(Summary- spiders 4 and 6 dead, party unscathed. *pout*)
After seeing spider 5 not dead yet, Zithers then grabs his walking stick/quarterstaff and proceeds to jab the spider with it with both hands (to hit: 14 damage: 6 bludgeoning)
Were Mohdrak more included to the barbarian way of life, the green goo coating and seeping into his furrowed brow might give him cause to rage. For now he merely shook the thought of it out of his head and the spider corpse off his horns, turned and attacked the closest spider that was threatening one of the smaller, squishier teammates.
Mohdrak, wiping the goo from his eyes, lunges at the still-smoldering spider 5, not scoring a hit, but distracting it enough that Zithers' staff is able to jab right through the crispy critter and finish it off, as well as inventing a new carnival treat, "fried-spider-on-a-stick".
(caution, spoiler not for the squeamish, but it's a thing)
Spider 3, sensing Amelia passing beneath it, leaps down onto her back, going for the neck. (Attack: 5 Damage: 3 + 7 poison damage, DC 11 Con save for half). The rogue manages to twist out of its grip, and skewer it with both shortswords, leaving it lifeless.
Spider 2 has another go at Jack, its gnawing hunger driving it past the pain of its wound, its many limbs pulling, gripping, and trying to tear open this troublesome snack. (Attack: 16 Damage: 2 + 8 poison damage, DC 11 Con save for half). It finds an opening in his armor, and sinks its fangs into his flesh. Its head, however, immediately afterwards explodes in a shower of green ichor as Cerlinde's impressive firebolt virtually disintegrates it.
Durnik's mighty mini-axe lops off two of Spider 1's long legs, but it strikes back, going for the beard. (Attack: 10 Damage: 2 + 7 poison damage, DC 11 Con save for half, don't forget dwarven resilience)
Summary: spiders 3, 5, 2 now dead, Jack and Durnik wounded. If Jack fails his save, I'll need Medicine checks for anyone that attends to him.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
After seeing his new invention, he wiggles his eyebrows and the fried spider at the two chefs of the party, but then hears the strange singing from further within the tunnel. Since he is almost to the front, Zithers would have trouble attacking the last spider without danger of hitting someone or shuffling through to the back of the line, so instead he turns to the singing and tries to listen to see about how far away this shrunken bard is, and/or if the singing is coming closer. (perception 5)
A minimal distraction is all you need, and a spider bites you. Jack has learned this the hard way, and he uses one of his hands to wipe his face from the spider's innards while the other holds tight the wounded leg.
Con save: 18
Hoping the venom doesn't act too wuick, he advances to face another spider and tries to end the battle quickly so he can be attended.
If no one has any objections then Durnik will light a torch to aid his sight and peer past the others down the tunnel searching for the rats or anything else that might be there.
Perception:20
Cerlinde perception 12
Cerlinde suggested we try to follow the direction the rat went, but she listens and looks carefully
If no one else wants to be in second, Zithers will try to shimmy his way up to second in line, not at the front due to his weaker constitution but close enough to use all his fire magic on the rats, who presumably don't enjoy fire very much. Zithers has darkvision and has agreed with Cerlinde's ideas so far so he supports the idea of following the rats, keeping a close eye on his surroundings and muttering to his tobacco box
Perception 21
Several of you notice bits of something rope-like stuck to the walls of the tunnel as you advance. Suddenly, Zithers reaches out and grabs Mohdrak's tunic, hissing at him to stop. He points to the roof of the tunnel, where a patch of the packed earth has been replaced by a roundish trapdoor of sorts, made of similar sticky rope.
As you strain your ears to listen for movement beyond, the trapdoor suddenly swings open, and six goat-sized spiders rush out along the roof and sidewalls of the tunnel, one adjacent to each party member. They look hungry.
(Anyone utilizing a torch remember that one of your hands is occupied. If you choose to attack without being able to see, you attack at disadvantage.)
Feel free to panic now.
“Aargh! Spiders! ” Cerlinde yells. Filled with terror, almost without thinking, she disappears, and reappears 30’ (well, of our feet) back down the corridor, (ba misty step)and then shoots “her” spider with firebolt:
22 to hit
3 damage
When the group reached the entrance, Mohdrak stood a bit to the side to usher everyone in, staying to the last should the need arise. After everyone else had ducked into the hole did the minotaur join them in the darkness. His eyes adjusted as best as they could to the sudden disappearance of light and judging from the sounds above, the metal murder box now blocked the entrance, essentially trapping them inside.
Mohdrak was a bit disoriented from his lack of sight but when Durnik struck a torch behind him, it provided him with enough light to pull out his own torch from his backpack. Lighting his own with the flame from Durnik's, Mohdrak held the torch aloft in his right hand and held his shield with his left. He had to lower himself to keep from scraping his horns or torch against the ceiling but he would rather have his shield out and a moment of discomfort than to blindly stumble around in the dark.
'Stick close to each other, okay?' Mohdrak told the others to reassure those who might be hesitant to venture forth. He lacked the special eyesight to see in the dark like some of the others but he could not expect them to hold his hand and guide him so he sucked it up and boldly soldiered on. Putting up a brave facade was sometimes just as good as being brave.
It was only when Zithers grabbed his tunic from behind that Mohdrak became aware of the ceiling. Due to his height and his semi-crouched position, he had neglected to look up and when the gnome pointed out the trapdoor, Mohdrak only had time to utter a single profanity before it swung open and six spiders descended upon them. It briefly crossed Mohdrak's mind that these spiders were probably the kind he would not even notice were he regular sized but down here they were the equivalent of goats. Great, hairy, eight legged, terrifying goats...
The minotaur wasted no time to go on the offensive. Shield and torch in hand, there was only one course of action: he slammed his head into the nearest spider. For any ordinary person that would have been a mere headbutt but for a minotaur, the horns added an extra degree of lethality. Unrelenting Mohdrak slammed his head into the spider once more, hoping to skewer it with his horns.
OOC: shield equipped and torch in hand so unarmed strike with the horns - Attack: 21 Damage: 10
Action surge: another Attack: 13 Damage: 8
William Brackwater: Human Fighter - The Windward Isles
Amelia normally has no issue with spiders. They creep her out a little, and the larger ones are gross, but she can deal with them. Right now, though, she's about an inch tall, and these spiders aren't much smaller, and a chill runs down her spine at how huge they seem. She draws her shortswords and slashes at the one nearest to her.
Main hand attack: 17 Damage: 5 piercing
Offhand attack: 25 Damage: 7 piercing
If she gets sneak attack, she deals an additional 6 piercing damage.
JACK
"Spiders! Ew!"
Jack deliberately left a torch for someone else, believing the light to be enough for him to fight with both hands. Hopefully he wasn't mistaken, as he now deals a quick slash at the spider just by his side.
Sword Slash: 19
Potential Damage: 11
"I wonder how did they make a trapdoor..."
"Losing to a master is nothing to be ashamed of, unless you learn nothing from the experience."
Master Suana.
Durnik is not fond of spiders and he initially reaches for the great axe on his back, but after grumbling a few choice words decides to pull up his hand axe instead and strikes at the spider. (If he is near Mohdrak or Jack he’ll also hold up his torch for them so they have visibility)
Attack: 11 Damage: 4
After yanking on Mohdrak's cloak maybe a bit too hard, Zithers hisses at the minotaur to look up and luckily, managed to warn at least one person on time. He mutters something unintelligible, a hiss of a different kind than the warning, with many Xs and Zs that don't sound great against his scratchy throat but he then points his hands straight up and a fan of flames spread around the ceiling spider above him. (Burning hands, DC 14 dex save, does 10 fire damage on a fail or half as much on a success; with it aimed straight up none of the party members need to make a save so don't worry about that though)
"Spiders. I hate hate hate spiders, the nasty, hairy, bloodsucking backstabbers" he says with a shiver.
Round 1
The first five spiders quickly scuttle over Mohdrak before he is quite sure what is happening, but the sixth is not so lucky... the minotaur gores it through the thorax, impaling it on his sharpened horns. Mohdrak now has an upside-down, dead-but-still-twitching spider hat leaking green goo all over his forehead.
Spider 5 attempts to bite Zithers (Attack: 6 Damage: 4 + 11 poison damage, DC 11 Con save for half) but fails. It then attempts to leap out of the way of the flames directed at it (DEX Save 7), fails that too, and is severely burned by the attack.
Spider 4 is skewered by Amelia before it can attack, and falls to the floor, upside down with legs curling up and inward.
Spider 3 was about to feast on a juicy-looking elf, but she blinked away, so instead it will attack the next in line, Jack (Attack: 7 Damage: 2 + 7 poison damage, DC 11 Con save for half). It is singed by a fire bolt from the wizard.
Spider 2 is directly above Jack, and is gashed by his sword, but this only seems to anger it. It strikes back at him like an empire. (Attack: 13 Damage: 5 + 5 poison damage, DC 11 Con save for half) but its fangs cannot penetrate his armor.
Finally, Spider one reaches Durnik a little out of breath, allowing the dwarf to swing his remaining handaxe... and miss. Recovering its resolve, the arachnid's mandibles hungrily reach for his meaty leg (Attack: 13 Damage: 5 + 4 poison damage, DC 11 Con save for half) but do not find any purchase.
(Summary- spiders 4 and 6 dead, party unscathed. *pout*)
Next round...
Cerlinde again blasts spider 3 - hoping to hit it a little better. A bit of an arachnophobe, she’s better at range..:
16 to hit
5 damage
crit! Plus 8 damage
Amelia runs over to spider 2 and aims to thrust both shortswords into it.
Main hand attack: 22 Damage: 7 piercing
Offhand attack: 14 Damage: 5 piercing
If she gets sneak attack, she deals an additional 3 piercing damage.
After seeing spider 5 not dead yet, Zithers then grabs his walking stick/quarterstaff and proceeds to jab the spider with it with both hands (to hit: 14 damage: 6 bludgeoning)
Were Mohdrak more included to the barbarian way of life, the green goo coating and seeping into his furrowed brow might give him cause to rage. For now he merely shook the thought of it out of his head and the spider corpse off his horns, turned and attacked the closest spider that was threatening one of the smaller, squishier teammates.
Attack: 11 Damage: 7
William Brackwater: Human Fighter - The Windward Isles
Durnik will wind up and take another swing at spider 1 hoping his axe finds purchase in its flesh this time.
Attack:Attack: 20 Damage: 8
Round 2
Mohdrak, wiping the goo from his eyes, lunges at the still-smoldering spider 5, not scoring a hit, but distracting it enough that Zithers' staff is able to jab right through the crispy critter and finish it off, as well as inventing a new carnival treat, "fried-spider-on-a-stick".
(caution, spoiler not for the squeamish, but it's a thing)
Spider 3, sensing Amelia passing beneath it, leaps down onto her back, going for the neck. (Attack: 5 Damage: 3 + 7 poison damage, DC 11 Con save for half). The rogue manages to twist out of its grip, and skewer it with both shortswords, leaving it lifeless.
Spider 2 has another go at Jack, its gnawing hunger driving it past the pain of its wound, its many limbs pulling, gripping, and trying to tear open this troublesome snack. (Attack: 16 Damage: 2 + 8 poison damage, DC 11 Con save for half). It finds an opening in his armor, and sinks its fangs into his flesh. Its head, however, immediately afterwards explodes in a shower of green ichor as Cerlinde's impressive firebolt virtually disintegrates it.
Durnik's mighty mini-axe lops off two of Spider 1's long legs, but it strikes back, going for the beard. (Attack: 10 Damage: 2 + 7 poison damage, DC 11 Con save for half, don't forget dwarven resilience)
Summary: spiders 3, 5, 2 now dead, Jack and Durnik wounded. If Jack fails his save, I'll need Medicine checks for anyone that attends to him.
From further ahead in the unexplored tunnel you hear... singing?? A voice singing in Common:
"Old fat spider spinning in a tree!
Old fat spider can’t see me!
Attercop! Attercop!
Won’t you stop,
Stop your spinning and look for me?
Lazy Lob and crazy Cob
are weaving webs to wind me,
I am far more sweet than other meat,
but still they cannot find me!
Here am I, naughty little fly;
you are fat and lazy.
You cannot trap me, though you try,
in your cobwebs crazy."
(Apologies to Tolkien)
After seeing his new invention, he wiggles his eyebrows and the fried spider at the two chefs of the party, but then hears the strange singing from further within the tunnel. Since he is almost to the front, Zithers would have trouble attacking the last spider without danger of hitting someone or shuffling through to the back of the line, so instead he turns to the singing and tries to listen to see about how far away this shrunken bard is, and/or if the singing is coming closer. (perception 5)
JACK
A minimal distraction is all you need, and a spider bites you. Jack has learned this the hard way, and he uses one of his hands to wipe his face from the spider's innards while the other holds tight the wounded leg.
Con save: 18
Hoping the venom doesn't act too wuick, he advances to face another spider and tries to end the battle quickly so he can be attended.
Sword Slash: 7
Potential Damage: 19
Bonus Action: Second Wind 3
"Losing to a master is nothing to be ashamed of, unless you learn nothing from the experience."
Master Suana.