Realising that her arrows are mostly shooting right through the intercostal spaces of the skeletons' bodies, Yeshil quickly calculates an alternative strategy. Better that she try to aid and protect those combatants whose attacks are more effective. Sprinting as quickly as she dare in the dark, corpse-strew battlefield, the green teen stows her bow and runs to the side of the nearby monk. Fingering her bracelet with the opposite hand, she intones the words of a spell with an unnaturally deep and cackly voice...
talamh sióg éirí gréine
...upon which a brilliant flash of light with bright sparkles, in every shade of green, sprays out across the skeletons like a fairyland sunrise. The glare barely subsides before the fleet-footed rogue is scampering away once more.
Move: 25' south-west to stand on the right of the monk Action:Color Spray for 38 worth of hit points, angling the cone to the skeletons but not the monk. Bonus Action: Dash 35' north-west in a straight line.
((I think technically Yeshil could have moved to within 10' of the monk and skeleton and achieved the same effect, but it made explaining the movement easier. If there's a chance of Yeshil being in danger, then she would avoid getting so close. However assuming the spell works, the blinded skeleton should be denied an opportunity attack.))
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Jirel grips her axes tight enough to make her knuckles white. In her attempts to be witty to meet Finn's amusement she appeared to have mixed up her right from left, going east instead of west (player oopsie). Her blunder is fuel for the fire and she closes the gap on the undead who attacked the ox. If her first swing some how ends that one, she'd go for the next closest.
Attack: 26 Damage: 7 + 2 rage + 3 frost for axe of the highlander BA: 26 Damage: 10 (rolled in log except for the frost damage) Movement: What she needs to get to the closest skellies and if they perish she will go west.
With another thunderous blast, one of the skeletons to the west disappears in a cloud of bone dust.
And with the help of Yeshil'sspell, the monk makes swift work of the two blinded skeletons to the east. He gives Yeshilthe briefest of nods as she races by, then he turns and charges due west, toward where the Skeletal Knight continues to battle his commanding officer.
Jirel, despite two seemingly solid strikes, is unable to completely destroy her skeleton, as her axe skips and slips between the bones. The nearest werewolf, however, destroys both is its own opponent and then slides over to finish Jirel's, then both of them lope off to the west, a skeletal femur hanging from the wolf's jaws.
Finn charges the bone swarm and pierces it with his rapier - to minimal effect. Then the swarm rolls over top of Finn. He is deafened by the cacophonous clattering and scraping of bones and jaws swirling around him. Broken bones beat and clobber his body and skeletal fingers poke for his eyes.
Swarm Attack: 24 Slashing Damage: 24
The nearest werewolf approaches and bites and claws at the swarm, without accomplishing much.
To the south, the swarm of bones there continues to maul at the mob. Some of the caravan members clamber up the side of a wagon and shelter on the roof. All those unable to make it up, perish the whirling mass of undead skeletons.
The Knight of Tempus swings again at the Skeletal Knight, trying to strike it with another smite-empowered blow. He misses badly, his wounds taking their toll as he drops to one knee. The skeletal knight does not hesitate. It steps forward, towering over its foe, and with a slow, deliberate motion, drives its blackened blade through the knight’s chest. The metal of his armor groans, bending inward as the blade sinks deep. The knight gasps. The skeletal warrior leans in close, its helm nearly touching his, whispering something inaudible to all but the dying. Whatever words it speaks, they are meant for the knight alone. His body stiffens, then slackens, his sword slipping from his fingers as he collapses, lifeless, onto the blood-soaked ground.
There is no pause, no moment of stillness. The skeletal knight wheels with the unnatural speed of the dead, its shadowed blade slicing twice in quick succession. The nearby monk barely has time to raise his guard before the cursed steel cleaves through him. Blood sprays across the dirt as his body crumples next to his fallen knight.
Now, only a lone pilgrim remains. He stands, trembling, his fingers tightening around the symbol of Tempus. His voice does not waver as he calls out defiant prayer:
"Strike down this abomination, O Lord of Battles! Let your judgment fall upon this unholy thing!"
The heavens answer.
A mote of radiant fire roars down from the sky. It engulfs the skeletal knight in divine flame, briefly burning away the shadows that cling to its armor. It staggers beneath the force of the holy light.
And yet… it does not fall.
The fire fades, leaving blackened bone and smoldering armor. Slowly, mockingly, the skeletal knight turns its helm toward the pilgrim.
Round 5
The Party
Everything Else
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PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
As Finn is about to be swarmed and buried by the swarm, Jirel’s oh so bad puns flash through his mind. “This’ll be a marrow escape,” he says to himself as he reacts and casts Silvery Barbs to hopefully make his words come true…
((Swarm must reroll the d20 attack roll and use the lower result… plus he passes advantage on to Jirel for her next d20 roll… results of this will definitely need be known before Finn can take an actual turn.))
Finnis swarmed over and nearly consumed by the writing mass of bones...
... oh wait, no he isn't.
Swarm Attack: 18 Slashing Damage: 10
The swarm still buffets and claws at Finn, but it doesn't look nearly as devastating as it had seemed to be a moment before.
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PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Seeing Finn disappear into the writhing mass of bones, Tylaerys desperately sends three silvery darts from her outstretched hand, all of which slams into the undead abomination.
The dark, foggy night grows murkier and closer as the swarm engulfs Finn. The available light is diminished further by bone and claw and chip and dirt and the detritus of the dead smothering our hero with an inevitable avalanche of untold remains. The cacophony and clattering of the bits and pieces or reanimated carcasses is an unfightable background roar drowning out all other sounds. Finn couldn't help but cough and gag as the chalky dust and dirt of the frenzied fragments clogged his breathing and coated his throat, the calcium of the dead a flat, cloying and disgusting taste he fears he will never get out of his mouth. He had tried to make light of it as it advanced, making a pun about survival in the face of such a thing... But the truth is he had indeed seen his life all but snatched away by the undead debris that engulfed him. That engulfs him still.
Engulfed, Finn feels he has no choice but to attack from within... With a Defensive Flourish to them, he swings his blades once again against the clattering catastrophe and hopes his blades can find some purchase. ((Thought does occur... Is there any bonus to hit this thing while literally being inside or it? lol, it's a stretch but have to ask!)
Rapier Attack: 13to hit for 8 piercing damage BA Scimitar Attack: 18to hit for 3slashing damage
If either of those attacks hit, Finn uses Defensive Flourish:You can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to cause the weapon to deal extra damage to the target you hit. The damage equals the number you roll on the Bardic Inspiration die. You also add the number rolled to your AC until the start of your next turn. This adds 5 to the damage from the hit AND makes Finn's AC 22 until the start of his next round...
Yeshil glances with concern toward where she last saw Finn, now obscured in a tangle of bones. But Jirel and Tylaerys are there to help, and Yeshil has already proven inadequate against such a foe. Instead she continues to look for ways to aid the remaining devotees of Tempus. Drawing her bow once again, she ducks her head down and sprints through the fray, seeking for a more advantageous angle to fire from...
Move 30' and Bonus Action: Dash another 30' through the gap between the big skeleton and the ball of bones, around to the far side. Not sure exactly where that would take her, but looking for a spot just to the left of the pilgrim, but where she can get a clear shot at the smaller skeleton.
Action: Shortbow v small Skeleton: 26 Damage: 12 piercing Sneak Attack if pilgrim counts as an ally: 15 piercing
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How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Yeshilruns clear across the battlefield, firing off an arrow at one of the lone skeletons. This arrow passes through the ribs as well but hits right where Yeshilaimed in the spine. Its rattles back and forth throughout the interior of the undead warrior, until its whole superstructure comes apart and it falls to the ground.
The combined attacks of Finn, Jirel, both werewolves, and Tylaerys' spell hammer and crash against the swirling storm of bones. When it is over, the raging hurricane of skeletal pieces is little more than a springtime shower, its mass greatly depleted. Still, what is left of the bones makes another spiraling attempt on Finn's life.
Bone Swarm Attack: 21(Almost!)
Familiar with its motions and currents now, Finn deftly deflects the broken slivers of fingers and teeth with his rapier.
The other bone swarm, directed by the skeletal knight, moves to cut off the remaining monk. It washes over him, buffeting him and slashing him. The monk, undeterred, ingnores his opponent and leaves the cloud of bones (taking an AOO in the process)and charges the skeletal knight. With a flurry of kicks and punches he attempts to rain vengeance upon the undead... the heavy armor of the undead knight is too much.
The pilgrim calls out for another bolt of fire from the heavens... but his cry is cut short when the dark-wreathed blade of the knight cleaves him in twain. On a vicious follow-through he drops the monk to his knees as well. Then, looking about, he gazes momentarily at the fearful mob huddling atop the nearby wagon. "...Soon..." he chuckles hauntingly, then turns away.
The skeletal knight moves with the eerie, unbroken stride of the undead, its enervating blade dragging behind it. It closes in on the nearest werewolf, who is snarling and focused on the bone swarm surrounding Finn, unaware of the threat that looms behind it. With sudden, brutal force, the knight raises its sword and swings.
Enervating Blade: 28 Necrotic Damage: 24
The cursed blade carves deep into the werewolf’s side, cutting past thick fur and flesh with unnatural ease. The impact is devastating—bones crack, muscle tears, and the werewolf stumbles forward, choking out a growl of agony. Then, the true horror begins. Dark tendrils of necrotic energy coil from the wound, writhing like grasping fingers as they sink deeper into the werewolf’s body. Its fur blackens and burns where the magic touches, its flesh turning sallow and sickly. The beast’s powerful form, seems to wither before the party's eyes.
Staggering back, the werewolf clutches its side, its breath suddenly ragged. Its eyes, wild with pain, flicker between rage and fear. Beside Jirel, her sister howls.
And this time the skeletal knight… it does not revel, does not mock. It merely stands, blade at the ready, as it waits for the next move of the living....
Round 5
The Party
Everything Else
[The bone swarm surrounding Finn looks very near to destruction. The knight and the other bone swarm are slightly/moderately damaged.]
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
((Finn will use reaction to Silvery Barbs the criteria on the werewolf? Giving the advantage to the werewolf in case they are still hit and have to make some kind of save? Or for their next attack or whatever))
The skeletal knight's dark-wreathed sword sails just over the werewolf's back, clipping a few hairs but otherwise doing nothing more than alerting her to the danger.
The knight pauses, hollow eyesockets glancing at his blade and then at Finn, aware that things are not as they should have been....
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Call it a premonition, call it a hunch... Something told Finn things were not going to go well for the werewolf. Before he could even think about it he reached out with that spark of magical whateverness inside of him and did what he could to aid them. Maybe he was wrong in the first place. Or maybe it worked. Either way, the werewolf was untouched and the dark knight looked pissed off.
Which, let's face it, is part of being a dark knight or undeath, no? Pissed offness? Still and all, it was suddenly focused on Finn, which was not exactly a comfortable feeling. Then again, neither was being inside a whirlwind of detritus and bone. It may have abated a bit but it was still quite the hostile environment for one as pretty and fascinating as our hero...
Finn strikes out with his rapier once again, hoping beyond hope to catch some part of this necrotic maelstrom that was important to it's make up. Then he swings his scimitar as well...
Rapier Attack vs BoneBubble: 7 to hit... BA Scimitar Attack: 21 to hit for 5 slashing damage
Our hero adds another Defensive Flourish to the BA attack, not liking the chances of the boneyard crashing to true death just yet... And fearful about the dark knight so nearby even if it does. That adds another 2 damage to the attack and raises his AC up to 19 until the start of his next turn.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
With Finn still trapped within the writhing mass of bones, Tylaerys desperately sends another three silvery darts from her outstretched hand, all of which slams into the undead abomination.
Finn's scimitar and Tylaerys' magic missiles finally smash the last swirling skeletal pieces, a final bonemeal dust settling over Finn as the swarm settles back to the grave.
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PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Path cleared of swirling bones, Jirel brandishes her axes and charges in down the centre line. In a blur of reckless fury, she passes by one werewolf, Finn, and then the other werewolf to get to the knight. With a wild snarl she aims to jab it in the gut with her first strike and come around the side with the second.
Seeing more skeletons fall gives Yeshil hope that they might survive this yet, despite all the fresh corpses strewn across the campsite. From her position by the wagon, the girl fires her arrows at the skeletal knight's back, then tries to duck out of sight.
Yeshil'sarrow strikes home, drawing a hollow moan from the skeletal knight. She attempts to hide alongside the wagon, but apparently not very well. From above, some of those in the mob call out to her. "Miss! Climb up here, where its safe!"
Jirel'sfirst axe clangs off the knight's heavy armor, but her second sinks deep into the left humerus.
The werewolf sisters surround and attacks, biting and snarling, a whirlwind of teeth, fur and claws.
Bite: 15
Claws: 14
Bite: 9
Claws: 7
But despite their animal fury, they do little more than scrape and scratch against rusted plate mail.
The bone swarm closes in behind them, then washes over one of the werewolves and Jirel. Surrounded by the surging mass of clattering bones, Jirel and the werewolf are deafened. The bony fingers pull at Jirel'shair and dislocates jaws try to bite at her knuckles.
Bone Swarm: 12
But Jirelis able to hunker down and shrug off the worst of it.
Then, with the slow, inevitable certainty of death itself, the skeletal knight raises its cursed blade once more.
Enervating Blade: 19 Necrotic Damage: 18
Enervating Blade: 18 Necrotic Damage: 16
Enervating Blade: 26 Necrotic Damage: 17
The werewolf barely has time to react before the first strike comes, carving across its side. The dark magic within the blade sears through fur and flesh alike, leaving deep, festering wounds. The werewolf howls, staggering, but the knight is relentless. A second slash follows, cruel and precise, carving into the beast’s shoulder, forcing it to one knee. The necrotic tendrils left in the blade’s wake coil around the wound, spreading sickness and decay with each moment. The third blow falls like the executioner’s stroke. The knight’s blade cleaves down through the werewolf’s collar bone, nearly driving it to the ground. The monstrous form that once stood proud and defiant now trembles, its breath ragged, its body failing. It doesn't look like it could survive another blow like this.
The skeletal knight does not revel in its carnage. It does not hesitate. It simply stands over its prey, blade still dripping with dark energy, awaiting the moment to strike again.
From within the swirling mass of bones around Jirel, dozens of disembodied voices cry out as one. "Join us! Join us!"
Meanwhile, Tylaerys, further from the din of melee, can hear the voice of Jararaka in the distance, rallying her guards. From the sound of it, the battle is going well in the rest of the camp.
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM -(Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown *Red Dead Annihilation: ToA *Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Finn begins to draw upon his magics again in order to save the poor occasional lupine... But before he can even tap into them he sees it would be mostly for naught. He would not be able to draw upon his magics fast enough to stay every blow, even trying to may tap him out long before the fight is over. Instead he gives a good thought to the deities he doesn't even believe in and hopes there will be something they can do for her after the battle is done.
Figuring the best thing he can do at this time is to put an end to the fight as quickly as possible, Finn rushes up to engage the undead knight. (Fifteen feet SW seems to put Finn in melee with them directly across from Jirel and thus flanking?)
"You think yourself a warrior? Then fight a warrior, not an animal, you coward!" Finn calls out in his practiced voice intended to bite and to carry to the cheap seats... As a part of insulting him so, Finn also places his Hexblade's Curse upon the Skeletal Knight. And with that, he swings!
As a bonus action, choose one creature you can see within 30 feet of you. The target is cursed for 1 minute. The curse ends early if the target dies, you die, or you are incapacitated. Until the curse ends, you gain the following benefits:
You gain a bonus to damage rolls against the cursed target. The bonus equals your proficiency bonus.
Any attack roll you make against the cursed target is a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20 on the d20.
If the cursed target dies, you regain hit points equal to your warlock level + your Charisma modifier (minimum of 1 hit point).
Rapier Attack vs Skelly Knight: 24or 17to hit for 8 piercing damage, plus 2 from Hexblade's Curse. Plus Curse makes a 19 a crit so 4 more for that... BA Scimitar Attack vs Skelly Knight: 13 or 16 to hit for 8 slashing damage, plus 2 from Hexblade's Curse. * If either hit he once more uses Defensive Flourish to add 3 damage as well as 3 to his AC (so making it 20) until the start of his next turn. That'll be his last Defensive Flourish. Hexblade's curse gives a bonus to damage rolls vs the target (prof bonus, which is 2) BUT I don't know if the Defensive Flourish roll would get that plus to the damage it deals? It does say to Flourish you roll to deal extra damage plus also the AC bit but *shrug*. It's 2 pts damage so not game changing either way so DM's discretion...
* Hexblade's Curse is a Bonus Action to place so didn't have a Bonus Action for second attack. Disregard second attack...
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Realising that her arrows are mostly shooting right through the intercostal spaces of the skeletons' bodies, Yeshil quickly calculates an alternative strategy. Better that she try to aid and protect those combatants whose attacks are more effective. Sprinting as quickly as she dare in the dark, corpse-strew battlefield, the green teen stows her bow and runs to the side of the nearby monk. Fingering her bracelet with the opposite hand, she intones the words of a spell with an unnaturally deep and cackly voice...
talamh sióg éirí gréine
...upon which a brilliant flash of light with bright sparkles, in every shade of green, sprays out across the skeletons like a fairyland sunrise. The glare barely subsides before the fleet-footed rogue is scampering away once more.
Move: 25' south-west to stand on the right of the monk
Action: Color Spray for 38 worth of hit points, angling the cone to the skeletons but not the monk.
Bonus Action: Dash 35' north-west in a straight line.
((I think technically Yeshil could have moved to within 10' of the monk and skeleton and achieved the same effect, but it made explaining the movement easier. If there's a chance of Yeshil being in danger, then she would avoid getting so close. However assuming the spell works, the blinded skeleton should be denied an opportunity attack.))
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Jirel grips her axes tight enough to make her knuckles white. In her attempts to be witty to meet Finn's amusement she appeared to have mixed up her right from left, going east instead of west
(player oopsie). Her blunder is fuel for the fire and she closes the gap on the undead who attacked the ox. If her first swing some how ends that one, she'd go for the next closest.Attack: 26 Damage: 7 + 2 rage + 3 frost for axe of the highlander
BA: 26 Damage: 10
(rolled in log except for the frost damage)
Movement: What she needs to get to the closest skellies and if they perish she will go west.
just an unstable unicorn.
With another thunderous blast, one of the skeletons to the west disappears in a cloud of bone dust.
And with the help of Yeshil's spell, the monk makes swift work of the two blinded skeletons to the east. He gives Yeshil the briefest of nods as she races by, then he turns and charges due west, toward where the Skeletal Knight continues to battle his commanding officer.
Jirel, despite two seemingly solid strikes, is unable to completely destroy her skeleton, as her axe skips and slips between the bones. The nearest werewolf, however, destroys both is its own opponent and then slides over to finish Jirel's, then both of them lope off to the west, a skeletal femur hanging from the wolf's jaws.
Finn charges the bone swarm and pierces it with his rapier - to minimal effect. Then the swarm rolls over top of Finn. He is deafened by the cacophonous clattering and scraping of bones and jaws swirling around him. Broken bones beat and clobber his body and skeletal fingers poke for his eyes.
The nearest werewolf approaches and bites and claws at the swarm, without accomplishing much.
To the south, the swarm of bones there continues to maul at the mob. Some of the caravan members clamber up the side of a wagon and shelter on the roof. All those unable to make it up, perish the whirling mass of undead skeletons.
The Knight of Tempus swings again at the Skeletal Knight, trying to strike it with another smite-empowered blow. He misses badly, his wounds taking their toll as he drops to one knee. The skeletal knight does not hesitate. It steps forward, towering over its foe, and with a slow, deliberate motion, drives its blackened blade through the knight’s chest. The metal of his armor groans, bending inward as the blade sinks deep. The knight gasps. The skeletal warrior leans in close, its helm nearly touching his, whispering something inaudible to all but the dying. Whatever words it speaks, they are meant for the knight alone. His body stiffens, then slackens, his sword slipping from his fingers as he collapses, lifeless, onto the blood-soaked ground.
There is no pause, no moment of stillness. The skeletal knight wheels with the unnatural speed of the dead, its shadowed blade slicing twice in quick succession. The nearby monk barely has time to raise his guard before the cursed steel cleaves through him. Blood sprays across the dirt as his body crumples next to his fallen knight.
Now, only a lone pilgrim remains. He stands, trembling, his fingers tightening around the symbol of Tempus. His voice does not waver as he calls out defiant prayer:
"Strike down this abomination, O Lord of Battles! Let your judgment fall upon this unholy thing!"
The heavens answer.
A mote of radiant fire roars down from the sky. It engulfs the skeletal knight in divine flame, briefly burning away the shadows that cling to its armor. It staggers beneath the force of the holy light.
And yet… it does not fall.
The fire fades, leaving blackened bone and smoldering armor. Slowly, mockingly, the skeletal knight turns its helm toward the pilgrim.
Round 5
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
As Finn is about to be swarmed and buried by the swarm, Jirel’s oh so bad puns flash through his mind. “This’ll be a marrow escape,” he says to himself as he reacts and casts Silvery Barbs to hopefully make his words come true…
((Swarm must reroll the d20 attack roll and use the lower result… plus he passes advantage on to Jirel for her next d20 roll… results of this will definitely need be known before Finn can take an actual turn.))
Finn is swarmed over and nearly consumed by the writing mass of bones...
... oh wait, no he isn't.
The swarm still buffets and claws at Finn, but it doesn't look nearly as devastating as it had seemed to be a moment before.
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Jirel pivots and hugs the side of the cart in a quick stride in hopes to reach the swarm around Finn to recklessly hack at some bones.
Reckless Attack: 21 Damage: 7 + 2 rage
BA: 24 Damage 6
just an unstable unicorn.
Seeing Finn disappear into the writhing mass of bones, Tylaerys desperately sends three silvery darts from her outstretched hand, all of which slams into the undead abomination.
(Magic missiles, force: 12 )
The dark, foggy night grows murkier and closer as the swarm engulfs Finn. The available light is diminished further by bone and claw and chip and dirt and the detritus of the dead smothering our hero with an inevitable avalanche of untold remains. The cacophony and clattering of the bits and pieces or reanimated carcasses is an unfightable background roar drowning out all other sounds. Finn couldn't help but cough and gag as the chalky dust and dirt of the frenzied fragments clogged his breathing and coated his throat, the calcium of the dead a flat, cloying and disgusting taste he fears he will never get out of his mouth. He had tried to make light of it as it advanced, making a pun about survival in the face of such a thing... But the truth is he had indeed seen his life all but snatched away by the undead debris that engulfed him. That engulfs him still.
Engulfed, Finn feels he has no choice but to attack from within... With a Defensive Flourish to them, he swings his blades once again against the clattering catastrophe and hopes his blades can find some purchase. ((Thought does occur... Is there any bonus to hit this thing while literally being inside or it? lol, it's a stretch but have to ask!)
Rapier Attack: 13 to hit for 8 piercing damage
BA Scimitar Attack: 18 to hit for 3 slashing damage
If either of those attacks hit, Finn uses Defensive Flourish: You can expend one use of your Bardic Inspiration to cause the weapon to deal extra damage to the target you hit. The damage equals the number you roll on the Bardic Inspiration die. You also add the number rolled to your AC until the start of your next turn. This adds 5 to the damage from the hit AND makes Finn's AC 22 until the start of his next round...
Yeshil glances with concern toward where she last saw Finn, now obscured in a tangle of bones. But Jirel and Tylaerys are there to help, and Yeshil has already proven inadequate against such a foe. Instead she continues to look for ways to aid the remaining devotees of Tempus. Drawing her bow once again, she ducks her head down and sprints through the fray, seeking for a more advantageous angle to fire from...
Move 30' and Bonus Action: Dash another 30' through the gap between the big skeleton and the ball of bones, around to the far side. Not sure exactly where that would take her, but looking for a spot just to the left of the pilgrim, but where she can get a clear shot at the smaller skeleton.
Action: Shortbow v small Skeleton: 26 Damage: 12 piercing
Sneak Attack if pilgrim counts as an ally: 15 piercing
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Yeshil runs clear across the battlefield, firing off an arrow at one of the lone skeletons. This arrow passes through the ribs as well but hits right where Yeshil aimed in the spine. Its rattles back and forth throughout the interior of the undead warrior, until its whole superstructure comes apart and it falls to the ground.
The combined attacks of Finn, Jirel, both werewolves, and Tylaerys' spell hammer and crash against the swirling storm of bones. When it is over, the raging hurricane of skeletal pieces is little more than a springtime shower, its mass greatly depleted. Still, what is left of the bones makes another spiraling attempt on Finn's life.
Familiar with its motions and currents now, Finn deftly deflects the broken slivers of fingers and teeth with his rapier.
The other bone swarm, directed by the skeletal knight, moves to cut off the remaining monk. It washes over him, buffeting him and slashing him. The monk, undeterred, ingnores his opponent and leaves the cloud of bones (taking an AOO in the process) and charges the skeletal knight. With a flurry of kicks and punches he attempts to rain vengeance upon the undead... the heavy armor of the undead knight is too much.
The pilgrim calls out for another bolt of fire from the heavens... but his cry is cut short when the dark-wreathed blade of the knight cleaves him in twain. On a vicious follow-through he drops the monk to his knees as well. Then, looking about, he gazes momentarily at the fearful mob huddling atop the nearby wagon. "...Soon..." he chuckles hauntingly, then turns away.
The skeletal knight moves with the eerie, unbroken stride of the undead, its enervating blade dragging behind it. It closes in on the nearest werewolf, who is snarling and focused on the bone swarm surrounding Finn, unaware of the threat that looms behind it. With sudden, brutal force, the knight raises its sword and swings.
Enervating Blade: 28 Necrotic Damage: 24The cursed blade carves deep into the werewolf’s side, cutting past thick fur and flesh with unnatural ease. The impact is devastating—bones crack, muscle tears, and the werewolf stumbles forward, choking out a growl of agony. Then, the true horror begins. Dark tendrils of necrotic energy coil from the wound, writhing like grasping fingers as they sink deeper into the werewolf’s body. Its fur blackens and burns where the magic touches, its flesh turning sallow and sickly. The beast’s powerful form, seems to wither before the party's eyes.Staggering back, the werewolf clutches its side, its breath suddenly ragged. Its eyes, wild with pain, flicker between rage and fear. Beside Jirel, her sister howls.And this time the skeletal knight… it does not revel, does not mock. It merely stands, blade at the ready, as it waits for the next move of the living....Round 5
[The bone swarm surrounding Finn looks very near to destruction. The knight and the other bone swarm are slightly/moderately damaged.]
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
((Finn will use reaction to Silvery Barbs the criteria on the werewolf? Giving the advantage to the werewolf in case they are still hit and have to make some kind of save? Or for their next attack or whatever))
The skeletal knight's dark-wreathed sword sails just over the werewolf's back, clipping a few hairs but otherwise doing nothing more than alerting her to the danger.
The knight pauses, hollow eyesockets glancing at his blade and then at Finn, aware that things are not as they should have been....
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Call it a premonition, call it a hunch... Something told Finn things were not going to go well for the werewolf. Before he could even think about it he reached out with that spark of magical whateverness inside of him and did what he could to aid them. Maybe he was wrong in the first place. Or maybe it worked. Either way, the werewolf was untouched and the dark knight looked pissed off.
Which, let's face it, is part of being a dark knight or undeath, no? Pissed offness? Still and all, it was suddenly focused on Finn, which was not exactly a comfortable feeling. Then again, neither was being inside a whirlwind of detritus and bone. It may have abated a bit but it was still quite the hostile environment for one as pretty and fascinating as our hero...
Finn strikes out with his rapier once again, hoping beyond hope to catch some part of this necrotic maelstrom that was important to it's make up. Then he swings his scimitar as well...
Rapier Attack vs BoneBubble: 7 to hit...
BA Scimitar Attack: 21 to hit for 5 slashing damage
Our hero adds another Defensive Flourish to the BA attack, not liking the chances of the boneyard crashing to true death just yet... And fearful about the dark knight so nearby even if it does. That adds another 2 damage to the attack and raises his AC up to 19 until the start of his next turn.
With Finn still trapped within the writhing mass of bones, Tylaerys desperately sends another three silvery darts from her outstretched hand, all of which slams into the undead abomination.
(Magic missiles, force: 10 )
Finn's scimitar and Tylaerys' magic missiles finally smash the last swirling skeletal pieces, a final bonemeal dust settling over Finn as the swarm settles back to the grave.
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Path cleared of swirling bones, Jirel brandishes her axes and charges in down the centre line. In a blur of reckless fury, she passes by one werewolf, Finn, and then the other werewolf to get to the knight. With a wild snarl she aims to jab it in the gut with her first strike and come around the side with the second.
Attack: 15 Damage: 12 +2 Rage
BA: 23 Damage: 11
just an unstable unicorn.
Seeing more skeletons fall gives Yeshil hope that they might survive this yet, despite all the fresh corpses strewn across the campsite. From her position by the wagon, the girl fires her arrows at the skeletal knight's back, then tries to duck out of sight.
Action: Attack: 19 Damage: 9 piercing + 7 piercing from Sneak Attack
Bonus Action: Hide. Stealth: 12
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
(try those rolls again)
Attack: 25 Damage: 7 piercing
+ 5 piercing from Sneak Attack
Stealth: 21
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Yeshil's arrow strikes home, drawing a hollow moan from the skeletal knight. She attempts to hide alongside the wagon, but apparently not very well. From above, some of those in the mob call out to her. "Miss! Climb up here, where its safe!"
Jirel's first axe clangs off the knight's heavy armor, but her second sinks deep into the left humerus.
The werewolf sisters surround and attacks, biting and snarling, a whirlwind of teeth, fur and claws.
But despite their animal fury, they do little more than scrape and scratch against rusted plate mail.
The bone swarm closes in behind them, then washes over one of the werewolves and Jirel. Surrounded by the surging mass of clattering bones, Jirel and the werewolf are deafened. The bony fingers pull at Jirel's hair and dislocates jaws try to bite at her knuckles.
But Jirel is able to hunker down and shrug off the worst of it.
Then, with the slow, inevitable certainty of death itself, the skeletal knight raises its cursed blade once more.
The werewolf barely has time to react before the first strike comes, carving across its side. The dark magic within the blade sears through fur and flesh alike, leaving deep, festering wounds. The werewolf howls, staggering, but the knight is relentless. A second slash follows, cruel and precise, carving into the beast’s shoulder, forcing it to one knee. The necrotic tendrils left in the blade’s wake coil around the wound, spreading sickness and decay with each moment. The third blow falls like the executioner’s stroke. The knight’s blade cleaves down through the werewolf’s collar bone, nearly driving it to the ground. The monstrous form that once stood proud and defiant now trembles, its breath ragged, its body failing. It doesn't look like it could survive another blow like this.
The skeletal knight does not revel in its carnage. It does not hesitate. It simply stands over its prey, blade still dripping with dark energy, awaiting the moment to strike again.
From within the swirling mass of bones around Jirel, dozens of disembodied voices cry out as one. "Join us! Join us!"
Meanwhile, Tylaerys, further from the din of melee, can hear the voice of Jararaka in the distance, rallying her guards. From the sound of it, the battle is going well in the rest of the camp.
Round 5
PC - Ethel - Human - Lvl 4 Necromancer - Undying Dragons * Serge Marshblade - Human - Lvl 5 Eldritch Knight - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
DM - (Homebrew) Heroes of Bardstown * Red Dead Annihilation: ToA * Where the Cold Winds Blow : DoIP * Covetous, Dragonish Thoughts: HotDQ * Red Wine, Black Rose: CoS * Greyhawk: Tides of War
Finn begins to draw upon his magics again in order to save the poor occasional lupine... But before he can even tap into them he sees it would be mostly for naught. He would not be able to draw upon his magics fast enough to stay every blow, even trying to may tap him out long before the fight is over. Instead he gives a good thought to the deities he doesn't even believe in and hopes there will be something they can do for her after the battle is done.
Figuring the best thing he can do at this time is to put an end to the fight as quickly as possible, Finn rushes up to engage the undead knight. (Fifteen feet SW seems to put Finn in melee with them directly across from Jirel and thus flanking?)
"You think yourself a warrior? Then fight a warrior, not an animal, you coward!" Finn calls out in his practiced voice intended to bite and to carry to the cheap seats... As a part of insulting him so, Finn also places his Hexblade's Curse upon the Skeletal Knight. And with that, he swings!
As a bonus action, choose one creature you can see within 30 feet of you. The target is cursed for 1 minute. The curse ends early if the target dies, you die, or you are incapacitated. Until the curse ends, you gain the following benefits:
Rapier Attack vs Skelly Knight: 24 or
17to hit for 8 piercing damage, plus 2 from Hexblade's Curse. Plus Curse makes a 19 a crit so 4 more for that...BA Scimitar Attack vs Skelly Knight: 13 or 16 to hit for 8 slashing damage, plus 2 from Hexblade's Curse.*If
eitherhit he once more uses Defensive Flourish to add 3 damage as well as 3 to his AC (so making it 20) until the start of his next turn. That'll be his last Defensive Flourish. Hexblade's curse gives a bonus to damage rolls vs the target (prof bonus, which is 2) BUT I don't know if the Defensive Flourish roll would get that plus to the damage it deals? It does say to Flourish you roll to deal extra damage plus also the AC bit but *shrug*. It's 2 pts damage so not game changing either way so DM's discretion...* Hexblade's Curse is a Bonus Action to place so didn't have a Bonus Action for second attack. Disregard second attack...