Red Dead Annihilation: Campaign Thread

Hew's Wasp is the only one to land a strike, its stinger piercing his hide armor and eliciting a cry of "Filthy gods-be-damned overgrown gadfly!" from the dwarf.  Hew CON save: 28

The rest all fail to connect, though the Wasp in front of Danica succeeds in picking up the barrel of Tej and it now hovers in front of her, clutching it in its legs.

1. Wasps
2. Velan
3. Meili
4. Danica
5. Inete
6. Hew 
7. Mica
8. Ran

[Anyone can post their turn when they have time... I will apply/resolve them by initiative order.]

((From the map, it looks like Ran can reach the giant wasp attacking Danica without having to move so no Athletics roll needed, correct?))

Ran watches the small animals swim out into the water. Distracted by trying to determine what the creature is carrying, he doesn't notice the giant wasps until they're buzzing towards the canoes.

"Crikey," Ran yells. "We'll need a lot more of that repellent if this is the size the bugs are going to be out here."

He catches his foot on the seat as he moves to draw his two longswords out at once. It takes him a moment to balance and that slows his reaction down.

Finally, he gets set and slashes at the big bug that tried stabbing Danica. He times the swing of his second sword to follow the first and to keep his balance without moving about in the canoe.

Action: Longsword: Attack: 18 Damage: 14  

Bonus Action: Longsword (Dual Wielder and Two Weapon Fighting Style):  Attack: 21 Damage: 11  

Danica nods in interest as Velan explains how his new companion works, but was especially focused on his answer to Hew's questions. Tactical advantage and all. Though it seemed to come at a cost of his own senses if he wanted to see and hear what she was directly. "I'll make sure to keep a watch over ya when you do." At Ran's question, the sailor couldn't help but chuckle a little. "I do. More familiar with things larger than these but have used em before. Just don't try to stand up or move too much and we'll be fine. The most important thing is that we're gonna need to learn how to sync up well." Her focus shifted to Velan now. "Us two are gonna be the ones rowing since I know how to steer this thing the best so I'll have to be in the back and if we put Ran at the bow it'll throw us off balance an make it harder to steer. And if we aren't goin' at the same speed, we won't move forward right. I'll try and sync up with you since you won't be able to see me."

Once they set under way, Danica tries to give a few pointers for Velan and tried to ease some of Ran's worries about the canoe's likelihood of capsizing. So it wasn't for a while that she saw how Hew was paddling and had to admire his resilience. She knew he was a good investment. Her attention was immediately redirected with Velan's warning and she told him, "Pull up the paddles, lest they get dropped into the river." Doing so herself as well. She almost wished it would've been the crocodiles that Hew had been leery of. Better than than wasps, giant or not. Seeing one land onto one of the barrels of Tej, she second guessed her first instinct of drawing her scimitar, not wanting to hit and break the container. As she dallied, another landed on her shield and she felt it try and pierce through her armor, thankfully to no avail. It only took a second of her looking away that the first one had managed to get the barrel off the canoe! "Oh no ye don't! That's our meal ticket tonight!" Her empty right hand rearing back behind her head before launching forward as the magical Thorn Whip materialized in her hand and launched out towards the wasp carrying the Tej. 

Attack: 13   Damage:  3

Turned out, Hew was right. Not the Meili doubted him but sincerely hoped the guide's prediction about attacks will not fire so soon. Oh, well.

Paddling was an unfamiliar activity but once you get the basics and catch the rhythm, the rest is easy enough (and Meili was not a delicate scholar, to begin with). Still, the movements could be a bit awkward which attract the wasp, but Meili was more ready than even she thought - the giant insect missed. Now it was her turn to see if she, herself, will fair better. In one move Meili pulled the paddle inside the boat (even a drylander can understand that losing it is dangerous) and attacked the attacker with her bare hands:

Attack: 12 Damage: 7
Attack: 7 Damage: 6
Attack: 17 Damage: 5

(Attack + BA - Flurry of Blows)

The division of the group between the two canoes was easy. Danica and Hew were the ones with experience navigating so they each took a vessel. Velan and Inete were spellcasters of the kind ill-suited for close combat, and so better divided. Ran was the stronger out of them, so it was better if Mica and Meili took seat in the boat without him. The fighter decided to travel with the druid and the wizard, maybe considering that the later would not be able to paddle while looking through Ninlil.

In fact, Velan was able to paddle and despite not being, by any means, a frontliner, he found no problem with the effort. He was used to working the land, growing herbs as much as collecting them. Through his familiar he watched, but a hundred feet forward. A limiting distance, but enough to avoid any surprise attacks. At least he hoped so.

“Giant wasps!” He shouts still watching the area through the owl. Ninlil herself returns to the party and it immediately put the other in alert. Keep away from the battle, he orders the familiar with the voice of his mind as combat starts. “Ignis!”

He shouts furling a mote of flame in the direction of the closest wasp, the same that soon enough Ran started to attack. It was best, after all, to deal first with the enemies more likely to strike him.

Notes: Velan casts Fire Bolt in the wasp Ran is facing.

Spell Attack: 14
Damage: 2

Mica was enjoying the canoe trip as best he could, watching the jungle along the riverbanks with interest.  The current was slow and the water was calm, the paddling was not hard work at all to this point.  At the others' warning cries, he looked around and quickly spotted the giant wasps heading toward his boat, attacking both Hew and Meili.  

Thankful that he placed his bow and arrows within easy reach, he pulled in his paddle and knocked an arrow.  Twisting around in the seat, and holding the bow at an angle due to the tight quarters, he pulled back a half-draw and fired an arrow over Meili toward the wasp attacking her. 

Attack: 7 Damage: 3.

Velan's mote of fire smacks squarely into the side of the wasp attacking Danica, causing its insectoid head and antennae to turn in his direction.  Ran attacks the same bug - its chitinous exoskeleton is tougher than it looks.  Ran's first attack glances off, but he applies bit more force on his offhand strike and draws thick, black ichor from the creature.

Meili's fists fly with furious speed and she connects twice.  The Wasp which had engaged her is left momentarily stunned, its wings fluttering as it tries to stay aloft.  Mica leans over to fire an arrow, but the wasp dips erratically and the arrow flies through a space it had been an instant before.

The wasp making off with the barrel of Tej is snared by Danica's Thorn Whip cantrip.  It drops the barrel into the river, but it bobs back to the surface and floats alongside the canoe.  The wasp turns back toward Danica, its wings humming at a faster frequency... it sounds angry.

Inete gasps at all the violence which has erupted around her so unexpectedly.  "Armaratis," she whispers, while reaching into her component pouch with one hand and holding the other hand in a fist over her heart.  A shimmering sheen of blue light briefly coats her skin.

Hew snarls and shouts a curse in dwarven at the wasp which had stung him.  He draws his rapier and lunges, paying no heed to his own safety in a bid to finish the creature off quickly.  

Attack: 16 Damage: 8

He spears the first Wasp right through its face and draws back his blade, the insect dropping lifelessly into the river.  Then he turns attempts the same to the Wasp Meili has so wounded.

Attack: 14 Damage: 7

 Again, Hew spears the creature and it falls into the turbid water.  In his zeal, he as to try to keep his balance to avoid joining them in the water.  DEX 5

Hew keeps from falling into the river, but only just.

A lone wasp continues to pursue to jungle rodents and once again attempts to sting one of them.  Attack: 23 Damage: 4

The wasp that Velan and Ran attacked last round turns its attention away from Danica and moves toward the back of the boat.  It ignores Ran entirely.  [Danica, you have an AoO as it flies off of your shield and out of reach.]  The wasp's antennae tremor as it darts toward Velan and tries to spear him in the midsection with its 6 inch long stinger.  Attack: 8 Damage: 3    On a hit, the target must make a DC 11 Constitution saving throw, taking 10 poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. If the poison damage reduces the target to 0 hit points, the target is stable but poisoned for 1 hour, even after regaining hit points, and is paralyzed while poisoned in this way.  [This attack doesn't occur if Danica's AoO does at least 6 damage to the wasp.]

The tej-stealing wasp lands on the side of the boat next to Danica and turns its abdomen toward her, thrusting upward with its stinger.  Attack: 20 Damage: 3   On a hit, the target must make a DC 11 Constitution saving throw, taking 13 poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. If the poison damage reduces the target to 0 hit points, the target is stable but poisoned for 1 hour, even after regaining hit points, and is paralyzed while poisoned in this way.

ROUND TWO:

1. Wasps
2. Velan
3. Meili
4. Danica
5. Inete
6. Hew 
7. Mica
8. Ran

Meili gasped when Hew had to catch his balance but the guide proved to be more dexterous than he looked. Now, with their enemies dispatched, the girl could check with another boat. She could not truly help from this distance but one maybe could distract at least one insect? A red-feathered dart flew towards the closest wasp:

Attack: 18 Damage: 5

@DM

@Ran

Seeing the Wasp buzz past her, Danica quickly unsheathes her scimitar to swipe at it, trying to take it down before it could attack Ran, or worse, Velan. 
Opportunity Attack:  21 Damage:  6
Giving a painted grunt as the one she had knocked the barrel of tej away from stung her right in the gaps of her leather armor, the elf couldn't help but wonder if the stinger would stay in like a honey bee. 
Constitution Save: 13

As the wasp moves to attack Velan at the rear of the boat, Danica cleaves its wings off and it splashes harmlessly into the murky Soshenstar.  Velan cannot know the world of hurt Danica just spared him.  [Nice - and very timely - rolls there, Danica.]

Mica cursed silently in frustration as his arrow sailed high of its intended target and disappeared into the jungle beyond.  He was already reaching for another arrow as Hew dispatched the wasp with a single blow of his rapier, then did the same with the second one.  Mica gave a low whistle of admiration Two down in as many strikes, there may be something to this old dwarf after all. 

He had little time to admire the guide's work, the other canoe was still in danger.  With more time to steady the canoe and aim, he drew his bow back and let his arrow fly at the wasp attacking Danica.

Attack: 11 Damage: Unable to parse dice roll..

Meili's dart lodges in the abdomen of the remaining wasp that was threatening Danica... and moments later Mica's arrow finds the segment linking the thorax and the head.  The wasp's head pops off like a cork and lands in the river next to the floating keg of tej.  The body remains in the boat in front of Danica, seeming to dance and thrust its stinger blindly about... before collapsing dead at the prow of the canoe.

The last wasp continues to chase the two mammals, oblivious to the fate of its nest-mates.  The two thieving rat-pigs scamper up the western bank and disappear into the jungle, the wasp in hot pursuit.  The droning of its wings fade into the distance and soon you are back to the lazy sounds of the river to which you had become accustomed.

[Combat over and we are out of initiative.  No need to Danica, Ran or Velan to take actions or expend resources at this time.]

Hew nurses a swollen sting to the stump of his missing arm.  He looks over Mica, Meili and Inete before calling over to Danica's canoe, "Did anyone get pricked?  Are ye alright over there?"

GM: Is the barrell of Tej lost in the river or is it possible for Danica to try and grab it?

The barrel of tej is still floating, though as your canoe's momentum is still slowly carrying you upstream (only 18 seconds or so having elapsed since paddles came out of the water), the barrel of tej is beginning what would be its epic voyage to the sea, and is now further back, between Ran and Velan, next to the canoe. 

There are also the bodies of three wasps, and the head of another, floating in the river around the boats.  As you watch, the bodies begin to bob and twitch unnaturally in the water.  Legs jerk out and down; abdomens spin counter to the current; the severed heads dips below the surface, like a cork bobber on a cane pole.  And then the frenzy begins in earnest.  Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of palm sized silver fish surge around the corpses, the water frothing and foaming from the ferocity with which they attack and sheer off bits and pieces of giant insect.

They ignore the canoes and the keg of tej.

Ran let’s out a breath once the wasps are gone and settles back down in the canoe. He reaches out to grab the tej barrel but before he can try pulling it back to the canoe he’s distracted by the frenzied feeding going on in the water.

”So, no swimming then?” Ran says.

He then works to bring the barrel alongside the canoe but doesn’t try dragging it in. He’s got no interest in upsetting the balance of the boat and falling in while those fish are feeding.

"I think we are all fine," Meili turned to the other boat to see how others are doing. "Looks like they on the other canoe are fine too. What about you?" She did not see Hew being stang, but everything happened too fast to be sure. But now, when the danger was over, the curiosity awakened. "Why were those insects after the tej? How did they even know to seal some?"

Mica lowers his bow and secures his paddle, nervously watching the water next to the canoe after seeing the feeding frenzy. “What are those fish?” he asks Hew, he was sure they did not have those in the rivers back home.  “Are either of you injured?” he checks on both Hew and Meili after the attacks.  Satisfied all is well after Meili’s comments, he laughs at the thought of the wasp stealing the Tej “Don’t try to take the Captain’s Tej, you can see what it got them.  Fish food, that’s what”  

He saw his target fall in the canoe and calls forward to Velan “Is the wasp carcass intact?  Can you examine it and see if anything can be recovered from it?  I can butcher it at the next stop.” He looked toward Hew, he wasn't sure what could be salvaged from the wasp, but he had long ago learned to make the most use of any creature he killed.

Velan/DM