"Fellow Embers, I believe we could delay or divert the horde by setting a fire between it and the ranch", he says with some urgency. "That could buy us time to find the source of the control".
"I am able to breathe fire, but it is limited, and the fire will need to be wide, hot and persistent. Do any of you have the ability to help? Do we have anything flammable amongst us?".
Oten approaches Ro with a small polished mirror in hand. He loops a cord through its frame and offers to hang it around Ro’s neck.
“I’ve rethought the mechanics of this process, and I believe I have managed to produce the desired effects in a more portable fashion. Hopefully at the very least, lighting a blaze will buy us enough time to get more intel.”
(Oten is ready to cast sanctuary on Ro whenever he says the word)
“This device only carries enough charge for one minute though, so you will need to move quickly.”
"Got it," Ro says to Oten. The elf-dwarf casts Detect Magic and gives Oten the command to cast Sanctuary on him.
Once preparations are complete, Ro darts towards the horde; trying to make full use of sanctuary's short duration. The elf-dwarf will start his observations by making his way near the large mass of undead; focusing on those with the red aura. He starts by getting within 50 ft of the horde and edges closer depending on the reactions of the undead and if his spell detects anything unusual.
Rum looks disappointed for a moment as the Twilight Embers come up short where setting a fire is concerned. The area they would need to set ablaze being far too large for their capabilities.
”It is a shame, but it seems that a fire that size is beyond us, fellow Embers”, he says.
As Ro starts towards the horde though, he re-focusses. He follows Ro, but stays behind the False Knight a short way. He creeps behind and keeps an eye on the horde for signs of any aggressive action, ready to dart in and help get Ro out if needed.
He stays hidden within the underbrush and in the gloom, not wanting to incite the horde himself.
Ro examined the horde and quietly communicates to the others, "The horde is indeed receiving magical instructions from a remote source periodically. But I can't seem to locate the source."
Hearing from Ro that he couldn't identify the source of the control, Rum thinks back to when Prim strafed the horde, and it formed into the arm. He creeps in nice and close, and then arches his back in the familar furball-esque way of the cat, stands, and a stream of fire explodes from his mouth. He makes sure that one of the Redders is in the stream.
He then quickly backs away, ready to run depending on the reaction of the horde.
Movement: Sneaks in so he is close to the horde, but not in melee. Action: Breath of the Dragon - Fire - 30 feet x 5 ft line. DC 19 Dex save or take 8 damage, or half on a success Movement: Back away 25 feet
Oten hears the message and responds back, "Periodically, you say? We may not be able to disrupt the source easily, but might it be possible to reverse engineer the magic behind the instructions and provide commands of our own in the space between the enemy's instructions? We could cause the force to divert course, or to turn on itself."
The Dragon's Breath arcs into the horde and several of the undead go down, collapsing in burning piles. Two of the red creatures are hit as well, with one showing signs of damage from Prim's previous attack. It catches on fire and continues to stagger forward, though it's body smolders and crackles from the extreme damage it has begun to accumulate. It screams.
At the same time, the foremost section of the horde surges into a sprint. They're fast. Horrifically fast. Too fast to be outrun...
Greko watches from the distance as Rum sets part of the horde on fire. He watches the horde wake and begins running at Rum. Greko shrieks and looks around for his other companions but realizes he is by himself. He is horrified at the scene but fears there's nothing he can do being several hundred feet away. He is not sure what to do and is frozen for a moment...Does he run back and warn the ranch while trying to find Lelith or does he try to save his companions whose deaths are almost certain? Perhaps this is his destiny to save his younger friends and prevent the horde from stopping their quest. He has lived a long life in this realm and walked in others. Perhaps the ultimate sacrifice is what is needed so his friends can save the realm.....He whistles for Gary, hops aboard, and charges to save Rum and the others.
Two Redead and a gaggle of zombies rushes forward with surprising speed, especially considering they went from a clumsy shamble to a dead sprint in one instance. They move at a breakneck pace in Rum's direction.
Post Order
Ro Rum Tuto Oten Lelith Greko Redead Redead Zombie Swarm
Ro is up!
In case anyone needs it, here is a link to the Chase mechanics!
Ro watched as Rum breathed fire onto the hoard. However, an errant zombie let out a gnarl that Ro swore he heard right next to him. The momentary distraction was enough to throw off the wizard's focus, and he failed to deem any worthwhile knowledge from Rum's attack. Ro watched as the horde reacted to his friend's attacked, as they all made a beeline towards them, "My god..."
The elf-dwarf turned to run with all his might. Though he wasn't the lightest on his feet and his plate armor weighed him down, Ro's stamina training as a knight kicked in. He ran in a direction perpendicular to the village's borders, so that if any zombies chased him they would be lured away from the village. As he sprints he calls out to Rum, "We can lead at least a few of them away from the village. So long as you stay within 90 feet of me, I can save you from the horde's grasps should they get ahold of you. For now we run like hell, friend!"
Action: dashing (1/7)
Total Movement: 50 ft away from the horde and perpendicular to the village borders.
Rum looks on in satisfaction as his fiery breath engulfs a swathe of zombies, then his ears flatten as he hears the scream. He can feel the terror build in him and his joints start to freeze, but through force of will and his monk training, he shakes the feeling off.
Wisdom Save (Disadvantage): (17, 10) + 5 = 15 (Success against DC 13)
It is then he sees the horde move, unfeasibly fast at that. He hears Ro shout as he spins around and looks to make his escape, loping across the ground away from the village and also away from his fellow Embers.
"I will try and lead them away, fellow Embers. Save yourselves", he calls in reply to Ro, hoping the others would also hear and stay out of the crosshairs of the mini horde.
Movement: 40' away from the village and his companions Action: Dash another 40' away from the village and his companions
"OOOOOO!" And thus, an unyielding swarm of courpses shall haunt the gnomes dreams for nights to come. But now was not the time to revel in horror, now was the time to flee. Alas, his kind was not built for speed, but prancing and dancing. Anything else would be better. And he saw it: the friendly automaton Oten. He seemed strong enough. Gods willing the gnome would feel like a bug to him. With that thought, Tuto lunged forward and clinged to Oten's side like a baby possum would to their mother, and prayed that he may feel the cold morning when this is all done.
Oten sees the horde pursuing Rum and pulls himself from his thoughts. He pivots on the spot, pulls a small device from the compartment on his back, bends down into a sprinter's stance, and takes off after Rum. Sensors blare as a sudden impact hits his side. He looks down to find Tuto hanging on for dear life. "Good, this is optimal,"Oten rumbles as the ground passes by under his heavy feet. "I need you to do three things for me."He holds up a small device that he had retrieved from his back moments ago.
"1. Keep passing anything from my storage that does not seem important." Oten fiddles with the device and tosses it behind him toward the zombies where it sparks briefly, and then begins emitting an "OOOOOO" sound quite similar to Tuto's recent utterance.
"2. Keep eyes on the situation behind us and inform me with three knocks if anything I do seems to slow or distract even a few of them. We are entering the experiment phase." He holds out his hand in anticipation of the next mechanical bauble from Tuto.
"3. Hold on tight."Steam begins to vent from his shoulders as the metal grows warm beneath Tuto's hands. A whirring sound begins to build from deep within Oten's chest.
"3a. Tighter."The plates on Oten's front shift and click into different positions, creating a nearly seamless, aerodynamic form, while plates on his back part to better vent heat. The whirring rises to a high whine.
"3b. TIGHTER!" Oten's volume increases as jets of flame flare out of his back and the warforged and gnome jolt forward suddenly moving at twice their original pace.
Action: Magical tinkering to create an object to possibly distract some of the zombies.
Greko charges toward the horde with his Staff of Flowers held high, getting ready to plow through the undead when he sees Tuto hop onto Oten. He watches Oten's plates and gears transform into this whirring machine. Greko watches in awe as little Tuto holds on for dear life, legs flailing out behind him as Oten quickly zooms after Rum. Greko slows Gary down to a stop and thinks of a better plan than charging into the zombies. He takes out his of his bag several small thorns and throws them to the ground. He waves his Staff of Flowers over the thorns and speaks in Druidic "Greko of the Istari Order asks Mother Hylia to grant him the power to pull from her soil twisted vines and thorns to slow down the horde."
With that thorns and vines sprout up across the field right behind Rum in front of the horde chasing after him spike growth
Greko stays 150 feet away and watches readying himself to charge once again into battle if needed.
The pursuing swarm doesn't even slow down as it hits Greko's wall of spikes. Instead it shreds itself tearing its way through. Both Redead emerge from the otherside looking the worse for wear; one has had almost all of the meat on its legs pulled away and stumbles forward on shredded limbs while the other is dragging its guts on the ground behind it, one of its arms still grasping feebely toward the Twilight Embers from its position impaled upon one of the spikes.
The zombies with them tear theirselves to shreds too but emerge in a stumbling, screaming wave as they continue to surge forward...
Post Order
Ro Rum Tuto Oten Lelith Greko Redead Redead Zombie Swarm
Ro feels relief as Oten, Tuto and Greko all spring into action. Now that's teamplay! However, he and his friends weren't out of the woods yet. With allies approaching to assist, Ro pivots and changes directions. He continues to run away from the village but does his best to stay within at least 90 feet of Rum.
Action: dashing (2/7)
Movement: 50 feet away from the horde, keeping himself within 90 ft of Rum.
Note: I'm not exactly sure where everyone is, but assuming Ro ran 50 ft on his previous turn and Rum ran 80 ft away from Ro; they would be 130 ft apart. In this turn, Ro closes that distance by 50 feet; this assumes he can run in a straight line, but if zombies are in the way he will use movement to avoid them. With the assumption that he can run in a straight line safely, this puts Ro 80 ft away from Rum).
Rum turns his head to look behind him as he runs, spotted the devastation the spikes cause, and shows his fangs in a wicked grin.
As he turns back, he checks on his companions positions, his grin disappearing as sees all but Greko making their way towards him. Oten, with Tuto astride him, at some speed. At least he was fast, and Ro was shifting some as well.
”Nicely done, friend Greko!”, he calls out. “Now if we can just finish off the redders without them getting too close, we can likely smash the mini horde, fellow Embers. Let them follow me while you whittle them down”, he adds loudly as he runs, before bounding to a halt and turning to face his pursuers.
He waits, crouched and ready, watching them. Judging their true speed, but ready to back away if they close the gap too fast.
The scene before him is terrifying, but the thrill and exhilaration of the chase gives him a buzz of excitement. The fang exposing grin is back!
Movement: 40’
Action: Ready - Dash - if they get to 20’ from him - 40’ at an angle keeping them away from the village, Ro, Oten, Tuto and Greko.
"OOOOOO-", a quick gasp for air, "OOOOO!" Well now, this was quick. Faster than any gnome has gone before. Possibly. Maybe. Tuto will play music of it regardless. Aside from that, Tuto's task was a simple one: keep Oten informed. Well, he couldn't say 'God's be damned, this is petrifiying', that's a bit too complex. And vague. His mask flared, and Tuto reached into his coat and pulled out his maracas. As he did, Tuto gingerly made his way up Oten's body so he wasn't clinging on his lower side any more, carful not to not get torched by the jets. When he believed he could straddle the automaton without using his hands, he played the instrument.
Just within Oten's peripheral vision, a translucent mote of blue fire illustrated the events behind the two. Including the device Oten threw that didn't seem to slow them down, and Greko's spikes that shredded the horde, but them still pressing on. With that, he retired the maracas and checked for any loose items to lighten Oten's load.
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Rum rushes back to the others.
"Fellow Embers, I believe we could delay or divert the horde by setting a fire between it and the ranch", he says with some urgency. "That could buy us time to find the source of the control".
"I am able to breathe fire, but it is limited, and the fire will need to be wide, hot and persistent. Do any of you have the ability to help? Do we have anything flammable amongst us?".
Greko pops a flame in his hand “I could hurl these at shrubbery and the ground to create a fire….May mother Hylia forgive me”
Oten approaches Ro with a small polished mirror in hand. He loops a cord through its frame and offers to hang it around Ro’s neck.
“I’ve rethought the mechanics of this process, and I believe I have managed to produce the desired effects in a more portable fashion. Hopefully at the very least, lighting a blaze will buy us enough time to get more intel.”
(Oten is ready to cast sanctuary on Ro whenever he says the word)
“This device only carries enough charge for one minute though, so you will need to move quickly.”
"Got it," Ro says to Oten. The elf-dwarf casts Detect Magic and gives Oten the command to cast Sanctuary on him.
Once preparations are complete, Ro darts towards the horde; trying to make full use of sanctuary's short duration. The elf-dwarf will start his observations by making his way near the large mass of undead; focusing on those with the red aura. He starts by getting within 50 ft of the horde and edges closer depending on the reactions of the undead and if his spell detects anything unusual.
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
Rum looks disappointed for a moment as the Twilight Embers come up short where setting a fire is concerned. The area they would need to set ablaze being far too large for their capabilities.
”It is a shame, but it seems that a fire that size is beyond us, fellow Embers”, he says.
As Ro starts towards the horde though, he re-focusses. He follows Ro, but stays behind the False Knight a short way. He creeps behind and keeps an eye on the horde for signs of any aggressive action, ready to dart in and help get Ro out if needed.
He stays hidden within the underbrush and in the gloom, not wanting to incite the horde himself.
Perception: 12+8=20
Stealth: 19+8=27
Ro examined the horde and quietly communicates to the others, "The horde is indeed receiving magical instructions from a remote source periodically. But I can't seem to locate the source."
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
Hearing from Ro that he couldn't identify the source of the control, Rum thinks back to when Prim strafed the horde, and it formed into the arm. He creeps in nice and close, and then arches his back in the familar furball-esque way of the cat, stands, and a stream of fire explodes from his mouth. He makes sure that one of the Redders is in the stream.
He then quickly backs away, ready to run depending on the reaction of the horde.
Movement: Sneaks in so he is close to the horde, but not in melee.
Action: Breath of the Dragon - Fire - 30 feet x 5 ft line. DC 19 Dex save or take 8 damage, or half on a success
Movement: Back away 25 feet
Oten hears the message and responds back, "Periodically, you say? We may not be able to disrupt the source easily, but might it be possible to reverse engineer the magic behind the instructions and provide commands of our own in the space between the enemy's instructions? We could cause the force to divert course, or to turn on itself."
The Dragon's Breath arcs into the horde and several of the undead go down, collapsing in burning piles. Two of the red creatures are hit as well, with one showing signs of damage from Prim's previous attack. It catches on fire and continues to stagger forward, though it's body smolders and crackles from the extreme damage it has begun to accumulate. It screams.
At the same time, the foremost section of the horde surges into a sprint. They're fast. Horrifically fast. Too fast to be outrun...
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Greko watches from the distance as Rum sets part of the horde on fire. He watches the horde wake and begins running at Rum. Greko shrieks and looks around for his other companions but realizes he is by himself. He is horrified at the scene but fears there's nothing he can do being several hundred feet away. He is not sure what to do and is frozen for a moment...Does he run back and warn the ranch while trying to find Lelith or does he try to save his companions whose deaths are almost certain? Perhaps this is his destiny to save his younger friends and prevent the horde from stopping their quest. He has lived a long life in this realm and walked in others. Perhaps the ultimate sacrifice is what is needed so his friends can save the realm.....He whistles for Gary, hops aboard, and charges to save Rum and the others.
Two Redead and a gaggle of zombies rushes forward with surprising speed, especially considering they went from a clumsy shamble to a dead sprint in one instance. They move at a breakneck pace in Rum's direction.
Post Order
Ro
Rum
Tuto
Oten
Lelith
Greko
Redead
Redead
Zombie Swarm
Ro is up!
In case anyone needs it, here is a link to the Chase mechanics!
https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dmg/running-the-game#Chases
And here is a video that may be helpful!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMUhkLT8rxU
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Ro watched as Rum breathed fire onto the hoard. However, an errant zombie let out a gnarl that Ro swore he heard right next to him. The momentary distraction was enough to throw off the wizard's focus, and he failed to deem any worthwhile knowledge from Rum's attack. Ro watched as the horde reacted to his friend's attacked, as they all made a beeline towards them, "My god..."
The elf-dwarf turned to run with all his might. Though he wasn't the lightest on his feet and his plate armor weighed him down, Ro's stamina training as a knight kicked in. He ran in a direction perpendicular to the village's borders, so that if any zombies chased him they would be lured away from the village. As he sprints he calls out to Rum, "We can lead at least a few of them away from the village. So long as you stay within 90 feet of me, I can save you from the horde's grasps should they get ahold of you. For now we run like hell, friend!"
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
Rum looks on in satisfaction as his fiery breath engulfs a swathe of zombies, then his ears flatten as he hears the scream. He can feel the terror build in him and his joints start to freeze, but through force of will and his monk training, he shakes the feeling off.
Wisdom Save (Disadvantage): (
17, 10) + 5 = 15 (Success against DC 13)It is then he sees the horde move, unfeasibly fast at that. He hears Ro shout as he spins around and looks to make his escape, loping across the ground away from the village and also away from his fellow Embers.
"I will try and lead them away, fellow Embers. Save yourselves", he calls in reply to Ro, hoping the others would also hear and stay out of the crosshairs of the mini horde.
Movement: 40' away from the village and his companions
Action: Dash another 40' away from the village and his companions
"OOOOOO!" And thus, an unyielding swarm of courpses shall haunt the gnomes dreams for nights to come. But now was not the time to revel in horror, now was the time to flee. Alas, his kind was not built for speed, but prancing and dancing. Anything else would be better. And he saw it: the friendly automaton Oten. He seemed strong enough. Gods willing the gnome would feel like a bug to him. With that thought, Tuto lunged forward and clinged to Oten's side like a baby possum would to their mother, and prayed that he may feel the cold morning when this is all done.
Oten sees the horde pursuing Rum and pulls himself from his thoughts. He pivots on the spot, pulls a small device from the compartment on his back, bends down into a sprinter's stance, and takes off after Rum. Sensors blare as a sudden impact hits his side. He looks down to find Tuto hanging on for dear life. "Good, this is optimal," Oten rumbles as the ground passes by under his heavy feet. "I need you to do three things for me." He holds up a small device that he had retrieved from his back moments ago.
"1. Keep passing anything from my storage that does not seem important." Oten fiddles with the device and tosses it behind him toward the zombies where it sparks briefly, and then begins emitting an "OOOOOO" sound quite similar to Tuto's recent utterance.
"2. Keep eyes on the situation behind us and inform me with three knocks if anything I do seems to slow or distract even a few of them. We are entering the experiment phase." He holds out his hand in anticipation of the next mechanical bauble from Tuto.
"3. Hold on tight." Steam begins to vent from his shoulders as the metal grows warm beneath Tuto's hands. A whirring sound begins to build from deep within Oten's chest.
"3a. Tighter." The plates on Oten's front shift and click into different positions, creating a nearly seamless, aerodynamic form, while plates on his back part to better vent heat. The whirring rises to a high whine.
"3b. TIGHTER!" Oten's volume increases as jets of flame flare out of his back and the warforged and gnome jolt forward suddenly moving at twice their original pace.
Action: Magical tinkering to create an object to possibly distract some of the zombies.
Bonus Action: Expeditious Retreat
Movement: 60' on an intercept course with Rum (30' base movement + 30' from Expeditious Retreat)
Greko charges toward the horde with his Staff of Flowers held high, getting ready to plow through the undead when he sees Tuto hop onto Oten. He watches Oten's plates and gears transform into this whirring machine. Greko watches in awe as little Tuto holds on for dear life, legs flailing out behind him as Oten quickly zooms after Rum. Greko slows Gary down to a stop and thinks of a better plan than charging into the zombies. He takes out his of his bag several small thorns and throws them to the ground. He waves his Staff of Flowers over the thorns and speaks in Druidic "Greko of the Istari Order asks Mother Hylia to grant him the power to pull from her soil twisted vines and thorns to slow down the horde."
With that thorns and vines sprout up across the field right behind Rum in front of the horde chasing after him spike growth
Greko stays 150 feet away and watches readying himself to charge once again into battle if needed.
The pursuing swarm doesn't even slow down as it hits Greko's wall of spikes. Instead it shreds itself tearing its way through. Both Redead emerge from the otherside looking the worse for wear; one has had almost all of the meat on its legs pulled away and stumbles forward on shredded limbs while the other is dragging its guts on the ground behind it, one of its arms still grasping feebely toward the Twilight Embers from its position impaled upon one of the spikes.
The zombies with them tear theirselves to shreds too but emerge in a stumbling, screaming wave as they continue to surge forward...
Post Order
Ro
Rum
Tuto
Oten
Lelith
Greko
Redead
Redead
Zombie Swarm
Ro is up!
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Ro feels relief as Oten, Tuto and Greko all spring into action. Now that's teamplay! However, he and his friends weren't out of the woods yet. With allies approaching to assist, Ro pivots and changes directions. He continues to run away from the village but does his best to stay within at least 90 feet of Rum.
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
Rum turns his head to look behind him as he runs, spotted the devastation the spikes cause, and shows his fangs in a wicked grin.
As he turns back, he checks on his companions positions, his grin disappearing as sees all but Greko making their way towards him. Oten, with Tuto astride him, at some speed. At least he was fast, and Ro was shifting some as well.
”Nicely done, friend Greko!”, he calls out. “Now if we can just finish off the redders without them getting too close, we can likely smash the mini horde, fellow Embers. Let them follow me while you whittle them down”, he adds loudly as he runs, before bounding to a halt and turning to face his pursuers.
He waits, crouched and ready, watching them. Judging their true speed, but ready to back away if they close the gap too fast.
The scene before him is terrifying, but the thrill and exhilaration of the chase gives him a buzz of excitement. The fang exposing grin is back!
Movement: 40’
Action: Ready - Dash - if they get to 20’ from him - 40’ at an angle keeping them away from the village, Ro, Oten, Tuto and Greko.
"OOOOOO-", a quick gasp for air, "OOOOO!" Well now, this was quick. Faster than any gnome has gone before. Possibly. Maybe. Tuto will play music of it regardless. Aside from that, Tuto's task was a simple one: keep Oten informed. Well, he couldn't say 'God's be damned, this is petrifiying', that's a bit too complex. And vague. His mask flared, and Tuto reached into his coat and pulled out his maracas. As he did, Tuto gingerly made his way up Oten's body so he wasn't clinging on his lower side any more, carful not to not get torched by the jets. When he believed he could straddle the automaton without using his hands, he played the instrument.
Just within Oten's peripheral vision, a translucent mote of blue fire illustrated the events behind the two. Including the device Oten threw that didn't seem to slow them down, and Greko's spikes that shredded the horde, but them still pressing on. With that, he retired the maracas and checked for any loose items to lighten Oten's load.