Quote from Larskolstad >>

I think Sharn look great with some braided beard..

 Watch out! Glynnis is COMIN' for that moustache!

Sooooo, how do we do initiative in play by post?

Do we just post it in the IC forum?

First timer for ppb, sorry 

Ok, first battle. Just a reminder:

Battle happens in initiative order. There are no surprise attacks this round. Technically, your attacker used theirs and missed. You can use feats, but you'll need to roll skill checks to use them. I'll adjudicate accordingly, so just tell me which feat you want to borrow, and I'll tell you the roll. If you want me to roll for you and tell you the results to speed things up, I can do that. During combat, I initiate a 24 hour rule. If you don't post on your turn within 24 hours, I'll decide what happens to your character to move things along. Usually, I'll just delay your initiative unless it's something obvious. Movement and attacks happen on a grid, which I'll post while you're rolling initiative. So if your movement/attack combo isn't legal, I'll make the closest adjustment I can to your intentions.

Skills can also be used in combat to aid in combat, and many can be used as a free or bonus action.

• Acroabatic checks can grant Advantage
• Arcana checks are often used to use caster feats like War Caster
• Athletics checks can be used to gain combat feats like Athlete or Charger Feat, and can be used to make a Haymaker Strike to knock an opponent prone, or even unconcious.
• Deception can be used to feint, causing the opponent to be thrown off balance (Disadvantage on their next strike.
• Insight can be used to anticipate the combat tactics of an opponent. (I'll send you a PM) Also it can grant you access to their stat block.
• Intimidation can inflict the Frightened status on an opponent for one round.
• Investigation can help you recall the stat block of an opponent. (May be used once per round.)
• Medicine may be used to estimate the remaining HP of a target.
• Persuasion may be used to change the attitude of a target.
• Sleight of Hand may be used to use an equipment item as a bonus attack to disarm, distract, trip, bind, etc. Equipment items can deal damage as an Improvised Weapon this way if a crit is rolled.

The first battle is intentionally easy. It's a chance for you to learn how to fight as a team and explore the many options in combat. You can stand there and just hack at him if you wish, but if you like exploring options, have fun with it!

Also please don't just post "I attack for... 18, and deal... 6 damage." Get colorful with it. Feel free to describe your feelings and actions so we can all visualize the drama of combat. Casters remember that your vocal components mean you need to come up with words to say. Feel free to use any language your character knows. Don't forget material and somatic components as well to add descriptors to what you're doing.

Roll results should be posted in IC, but if you have questions (like which roll to do for a feat) before you post, you may PM me or post OOC. Please declare whether you want me to toll something for you when you do, so I can keep the action going. If you have to take a break from the game, also PM me or post OOC, so I know to automate your character while you're gone.

Any questions?

Initiative: Nat 20 + 1 = 21

Beware of DMs offering temporary HP.. 😀

As soon as that was awarded, I said "Oh shiiit."

Initiative: 7+2 = 9

Ha ha..I was too suspecting something...darn myfeet flirt gets ruined!...aarg ok I rage..wait I am not barbarian..

Initiative 13

Initiative 17+3 = 20

Who were they aiming at first?

Our overtly friendly Hastos, with his armour pointing him out like a beacon of trouble?

Or did he take a swing at our hosts? 

How many people came in?

The LDDH is empty except for Handar and Glynnis, who are NPCs, and therefore prefer not to fight, unless called into action, or for self defense.

The scythe landed between Sera and Merkas, scattering the coins about the bar. It's unclear who the attacker was going after, but it seems all of you are "interlopers" based on their body language and tone.

As for the map (which I'm about to post) the "piano" is the bar. We'll just pretend it looks exactly like a bar. It's an image I found of a dance hall that loosely reflects the layout of the place. Currently, you are all in melee range.

BTW, @DM, how sturdy does the bar seem? Like is it a solid plank of wood, or a thin sheet of plywood duct taped to its legs?

”darn myfeet flirt gets ruined!...aarg ok I rage”

Yea,  Hastos is going from an oxytocin rush to an adrenaline rush. His brain is experiencing a neurochemical whiplash at the moment! 

It's well made and dwarf approved. The bar is made of stone and wood. 

The splintering done to it by the impact of the scythe is an indicator of the weapon's power, rather than an indictment of the construction.

Hastos is comin' in hot with a vicious swing! Nearly splitting our mystery guest in half with just one hit!

Merkas better represent. Does he have what it takes?

Oh, btw... I forgot to give you your XP for your first skill challenge: the gate.

25 XP to each of you.

Hastos gets skill points for antagonizing NPCs?? 😂

Here's hoping this is a good enough showing.

Dealing non-lethal damage is a choice you can make without a roll. Simply declare that's your intention, and it will be done. 

Since the purpose of your (3) Athletics roll was to deal non-lethal damage, we'll just forget that roll happened. 😅

But I'm going to make an Acrobatics check for you to make sure you landed gracefully on the attackers shoulders. I'm not going to call that a smooth landing, but ya did ok. 

 Rolls were high enough that I didn't think about it but would myself and/or Hastos have advantage on the attacks due to flanking?

The Athletics was about the "Haymaker" to knock them out, but always planned the non-lethal to start with. Thanks for the acrobatics, I should of thought of that to begin with.

Irrelevant, but yes. You would've gotten advantage.

You two rolled high enough to twist the attackers guts into a pretty bowtie if you wanted. 😅

It seems I don't have to worry about this party. Y'all know how to kick some ass and take some names. Now, where did I put my Tarrasque...

So who would send an assasin at us on such a short notice??  This maniac not operate alone we think?

We just got the mission. Verhanna or some that spy on her?

We can take lots of talk in character but maybe think how we like the story to go?

1. We start investigate in town. Interriogate the assassin when he wake up. Check tve scythe.  Find out if Duncan saw some leave to parhaps cause us trouble or warn some? Verhanna perhaps have some spying/betraying her?

2. We take this as our mission is compromised. Assume the maniac are sent to delay us and rush as fast we can to find the crates before a warning reach the kobolds or more maniacs try stop us. 

Other ideas? 

Good points, we haven’t been in town very long. Might not have anything to do with the mission?