Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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“I’ve got their trail,” Vars announces, then relays the additional information to Sorsha.
“So…if the safest thing is to cut his throat in his sleep then cover our tracks with a fog cloud…” He chuckles, “I’m joking. But I am all for scouting ahead to gauge the group and maybe grab some of their weapons to make life more difficult for them and easier for us.”
"Not sure about the grab their weapons part there Vars, I suspect they have their weapons by their sides, and trying to take them, even while invisible would be very risky. I'm not against waiting until they rest though depending on the situation. They will most likely have some guards awake but it could make our win easier to have some of them asleep. We'll see when we get close." Sorsha comments. "We are not only here for Bernard but also for what he stole, so I think we will need to deal with the whole band to accomplish that."
"It's a sound plan. Eberk and I can certainly throw a few well-placed javelins in (maybe at spellcasters) while your spells wreck havoc." He smiles at Eberk and winks. "Then we go in for some hand to hand. I think I can get Bernard to focus on me by provoking him. Once Bernard is down, we can tie him up and stabilize him for the journey back. He looks back at Sorsha, "Good to keep it flexible until we have a better idea of what we are facing."
"Stealing is always risky. You sure you're a pirate, Cap'n?" Rubbing his eyes, Bjorn looks back to the pile of discarded stuff.
[Is it possible to estimate, based on the time of the attack and the speed of an ordinary group of humanoids, how far from here the gang could be at this moment? I get the feeling they're close enough that they might actually hear us.]
Vars shrugs, “Eh, that would be the smart thing to do. But if any of them have bigger weapons, they probably won’t have them on their person while sleeping. Sure, they’ll have them nearby, but probably just next to them. I won’t try anything if it looks to risky, I know my own limits.”
He pauses, “One thing I could do would be lay out some traps. I don’t know how many of these bandits will be able to see well in the dark, but I could tie some ropes around some trees to maybe trip them up. When we launch the attack, preferably while these guys are asleep, Bjorn and I can head in first and see if we can slit a few throats before they wake up. We will know where the ropes are, so we can avoid them. The rest of you can attack with ranged spells as soon as the enemy starts to wake up. When they wake up, they’ll either shoot at us or try to rush us. If it’s the latter, the rest of you can stay behind the ropes to see if we can get a few of them tied up or at least tripped up before they can engage in all out combat.”
”I know the ropes could potentially get in the way, so I’d only set them up if it looks like we are going to be significantly outnumbered. Again, if things go poorly, I can create the fog cloud to allow us an escape route. I’m bringing this up now, because if I’m going to scout ahead, I’m going to want to set up the ropes before I come back.”
(They currently have about a half an hour lead, judging by the tracks that Vars found. But their wagon is heavy, so they won’t be able to keep up the pace for long.)
"Hey Vars, you're turning out to be a very resourceful fellow!" says Sparhawk, admiring his friend.
( a good estimate is at least 1/2 hour ahead)
Ruhm transforms himself into Pelican Ruhm and takes off. Making a circle around before heading north.
Soon as he makes his circle he informs Sorsha via telepathy that there is a group of twelve horsemen in Armor coming from the south, maybe a mile away. Looks to be officials of some sort, possibly Luskan guard.
[If they're guards from Luskan, I don't trust em lol. Those guys are basically bandits with a higher budget. We should make ourselves scarce, and maybe cover these tracks behind us.]
[agreed]
Vars nods and smiles to Sparhawk, but doesn't remark on the compliment. Instead he points ahead and says, "Well, lets get moving then. The longer we wait around the more of a lead they are going to have."
(I don't think anyone has said anything about the guards coming down the road in character, so Vars is oblivious to that.)
Eberk, entranced by the bird, hears his name and tries to pretend like he was paying attention. “Uh, yes. Magic, javelins, then hit faces.”
You begin to head out after the Bernard crew, you are carrying a much lighter load so you are able to make good time.
Sorsha messages back to Ruhm that she wants him to scout ahead and report on the progress of the bandits and their wagon. She then talks to the crew while walking. "There are twelve horsemen in armor, possibly Luskan guard, coming from the south, maybe a mile away. We should expect them to turn up at our heels soon. We don't know if they will oppose us or will be potential allies but whatever we do we don't want to aggravate them. She says, keeping a look out behind them to see if and when the riders appear.
Perception: 24
“No problem” Sparhawk smiles.
Eberk turns to Sorsha. “Do we have a plan if they are coming for us? I’d rather not fight a dozen men.”
"If they come this way I will try to find out what they want, but I suspect they would be coming for Bernard rather than us. Depending on their answers I think it will likely be best to just tell them how it is, that we have been sent to take care of Bernard and retrieve what he stole. Possibly we can cooperate, or they could go ahead and attack the bandits and we can pick up the pieces depending on how things go. I will not intiate a fight against them unless I we can make certain there would be no witnesses to report back to Luskan." Sorsha responds to the dwarf.
"I certainly agree, in this case, honesty is our best policy, but I certainly don't trust guards of Luskan after our last encounter. However, it could be that different guards work for different employers, so perhaps these mounted types are 'better' than the city guards we encountered." Sparhawk issues a silent prayer that the mounted horseman are allies.
Sorsha chuckles. "I highly doubt they are better in the sense that they are more honest Sparhawk, but that doesn't mean we can't come to some sort of arrangement that we both stand to gain from."
"I don't intend to split the profits with any guards. If they seem interested in the bounty, I suggest letting them handle it themselves." Bjorn shrugs. "It's a bit of a ride back to Luskan. I'm sure we can acquire Bernard from them one way or another."
"We'd probably need to convince them we're a liability, not even worth using as cannon fodder."