Well, some of the party already did a scouting of the nearby areas and found nothing. So I vote for going straight to the distant fire.

Quote from Touschka_ >>

Well, some of the party already did a scouting of the nearby areas and found nothing. So I vote for going straight to the distant fire.

 This. 

Alright I guess we go to the far fire. Bow will, together with Randall, instruct the soldiers to set a lookout etc. Furthermore, he will discuss with the others on a good first setup for camp while they explore the island, and the colonists can start to build a couple of buildings. So all colonists can live quite well, while doing the work on permanent housing.

After leaving some final instructions and advice for the Colonists and making your final preparations for the four day journey, you set off heading thru the small forest toward the fire.

Day 1:

Most of the day is as uneventful as your initial scouting mission. About an hour of sunlight is left in the day when you are surprised.

Initiative:

Bow 7 

Randall 15 

Tempe 12 

Petcan 9 

Zenodor 11 

3 exotic flying snakes (left side) 6 

4 exotic flying snakes (right side) 5 

Initiative Order:

Tempe & Petcan
EFS (left)
Randall
Zenodor
Bow
EFS (right)

Tempe and Petcan can decide who goes 1st in the initiative order but the exotic flying snakes get a surprise round, if their stealth roll beats your passive perception you are surprised for that particular attack.

Tempe is attacked by 2:

Stealth: 7 Bite Attack: 14 Damage: 13 

Stealth: 15 Bite Attack: 9 Damage: 18 

Petcan is attacked by 2:

Stealth: 21 Bite Attack: 16 Damage: 17 

Stealth: 24 Bite Attack: 7 Damage: 20 

Randall is attacked by 2:

Stealth: 24 Bite Attack: 9 Damage: 17 

Stealth: 24 Bite Attack: 21 Damage: 12 

Zenodor is attacked by the last 1:

Stealth: 7 Bite Attack: 12 Damage: 20 

(If you are not surprised by an attack you can react to it normally.)

(Tempe & Petcan are up, possibly surprised... which means you might be limited in what you can do in Round 1.)

If surprised by an attack you cannot react to that attack or creature, but you can react to those attacks and creatures that don't surprise you.

This is only for the 1st Round.

Petcan is surprised by one of the snakes, but it doesn’t aim its bite well enough to catch any flesh in its fangs. 

A second snake appears but Petcan is alerted now. 

He draws his rapier and casts green flame blade to strike at the two snakes

Attack: 8 Damage: 10 + 9 fire damage to the first

and the second snake takes 8 fire damage. 

Severely hurt and surprised only by one snake he reacts to the other by using a ki point to disengage  he then throws a couple of sun bolts Attack: 16 Damage: 7 at it  21 Damage: 7

(Damn. Those are some seriously beefy snakes. +4 to hit and 4d6+2 damage! I can't find "exotic flying snakes" on DnDBeyond. Are we talking something like a small dragon?)
Z's intelligence (nature) roll to identify some information about what these are: 4

Ok. Anyone else want to roll? Maybe someone with better nature knowledge?

 Nature 16

(OOC: PbP clarification on reactions:
How do we deal with reactions that could have changed the outcome of an attack already noted in a post? Specific example here: Z has "Entropic Ward" which can put disadvantage on an opponents attack roll once per short rest. In normal 'table' play this would be announced after Z is declared the target but before the monster makes its attack roll. Given this is once per short rest, it makes sense for Z to use this on whichever is the first significant attack roll against him, especially when he has not had time to cast Armor of Agathys or similar, so on a table would have probably called this and hoped for a missed roll (or at least a non-critical hit). How do we do this on the PbP? Can we re-roll the previous attack, or do we have to declare standard actions/reactions in advance? If we cannot re-roll, can I declare this reaction in advance for whatever next attack tries to strike?

Similar point for future: If we e.g. face a spell-caster at some point, how/when do we declare counterspell as a reaction?)

Randall:

Spotting 4 of the 7 flying snakes as they approach to start their attack (Passive Perception 18), Randall cries out, “Beware, we are under attack!  Defend yourselves!”

One of the snakes he doesn’t see manages to land a hit on him due to surprise..

(Depending on which group of snakes attacks him, the other snake may attack before or after Randall’s action in the first round)

If anyone has a reaction or any other feature they wish to employ just announce it in a post and I will adjust it according. It isn't fair that PbP deny something that is standard at a table. Keep in mind that if surprised you cannot even use a reaction until after the end of your turn, and surprise is only possible during Round 1.

Zenodor's Entorpic Ward causes the 1st attack to be rolled with disadvantage (toss out that 1st attack of 23 and use the attack below.).

Bite Attack: 11 Damage: 15 

(just use the attack roll to determine if you're still hit, ignore the rerolled damage... I use the combat macro and always fill it out to avoid any potential tech problems.)

(also, those who were attacked twice, the 1st attack still counts as a surprise but the 2nd is from the EFSs on the right and since they go last Randall's warning ruins their surprise. this doesn't negate their attacks, it just means it wasn't a surprise.)

(Since the EFS have rolled their attacks for the 1st Round as part of their attempted surprise the remaining players are up and can post their 1st Round actions. I will apply them in initiative order and then announce when Round 2 begins.)

OOC:  Randall's actions will depend on people's injury level at the time of his action (two other party members will have gone after the surprise attacks take effect for those snakes stealthy enough).

Bow sees a couple of the snakes attacking, and thus isnt surprised by all. Luckily none of them attack him so he has a clear shot which he takes at the one that hurt Tempe the most.

Bow uses his bonus action to imbue his weapon with rite of the dawn taking 6 damage. After which he fires of 2 quick shots

Attack 1: 13 Damage: 17

Attack 2: 24 Damage: 21

(2nd d6 of the attacks is radiant rest is magical piercing)

(When one of the snakes falls to 0 hit points Bow will use his reaction to curse the creature as a fallen puppet making it attack one of the other flying snakes, one that looks hurt the least (within range). I will amplify the curse, taking 6 damage, so it can move half its speed and +3 is added to the attack roll as a bonus.

When a creature you can see within 30 feet of you drops to 0 hit points, you can use your reaction to give that creature a final act of aggression. That creature immediately makes a single weapon attack against a target of your choice within its attack range.

Amplify. You can first move the cursed creature up to half their speed, and you grant a +3 bonus to the cursed creature’s attack roll.)

(What I sometimes forget btw, when my weapon is imbued with rite of the dawn: 

• Your weapon sheds bright light out to a radius of 20 feet.

This might draw attention to bow when we are in the dark etc.)

Quote from Secretfool >>

(What I sometimes forget btw, when my weapon is imbued with rite of the dawn: 

• Your weapon sheds bright light out to a radius of 20 feet.

This might draw attention to bow when we are in the dark etc.)

Interesting choice. So, RAW - as I understand it: bright light for 20ft, nothing beyond. You have no darkvision. So in a night fight, you light yourself up as an easy target, but get disadvantage on your own attacks beyond 20ft from your target being unlit (assuming they have darkvision or similar). Or am I missing something?

OOC:  Sorry guys, I am a bit lost here.  Is it Randall’s turn?  What attacks have landed and is anyone severely injured?

Initiative:

Tempe 24 Attack: 16 Damage: 7 at it 21 Damage: 7 disengaged. Seems if my initiative is higher and since my passive of 14 is higher than 7 was not surprised by its stealth I would of avoided it's crit attack. And attacked it doing 14 damage.

Petcan 24 Attack: 14 Damage:12 + 11 fire damage to the first second snake takes 7 fire damage. 

3 exotic flying snakes (left side) 20 If still alive not sure

 Randall 19 

 Zenodor 14 

Bow 11

4 exotic flying snakes (right side) 10