You hear a slight groan escape Zanoths throat at the end of Lucky’s ditty. “Indeed kind sirs, my name is Zanoth, the other accolades I cannot attest to. Lucky likes his words as much as women, food and ale”.
He takes in the three “newcomers”.. The Dragonborn seemed a little on edge, but he understood the feeling, albeit he refused to show it to those who had not earned the right. Maybe in time they would show their metal in deed and spirit and earn his trust as Lucky had.
The noise and chatter flowed around him, he smelled the air, and kept at the ready. Then he heard the scream, and as usual Lucky’s brusque approach to strangers made him wince; “Lizard man”… But then it had taken a while for the diminutive rogue to stop calling him “Grey Giant”.
Even so he was right, this sounded like danger, probably Evil, and that was something he understood, something he could deal with.
Leaving caution to the wind as well as food and drinks behind, more than half of the patrons of The Silver Feather’s once packed common room spill out into the snowy, muddy streets of Hyssop Ridge. As soon as they cross the threshold of the doorway everyone sees exactly what caused the scream. A skeleton, covered in bits of rotting flesh, decaying bits of armor, and wielding a rusty sword, animated through some kind of necromantic magic or unholy curse, has a slender young lady with long brunette hair scrambling back up against a wall in utter fear. Suddenly the entire town is full of movement, the grunts, groans, clanks, clangs, and scrapes of weapons and armor clashing in battle. There are skeletons everywhere, an entire horde pouring through the streets. Drax, Goraqull, Lucky, Zanoth, and Mills all turn simultaneously to see a cluster of five of the bastards drag stepping around the hillock where the town’s bonfire still burns brightly. Each looks to the other of their new companions for just a second, and then, as if they’d been friends for years, and not newly met, they all rush toward the group of five skeletons to keep them from making things in town worse.
Since this is our first combat, some things everyone should know about how I run Play by post combat. I use a “blocked” grouping of initiative. This means that all the PCs will always be able to act as a group, which means nobody has to wait around for somebody else to post before they decide their combat actions. It also means, though, that the bad guys also take their actions in one large group. Obviously there are pros and cons to this style. Pros are that nobody has to wait around to post combat actions. Con is that combat can turn deadly quickly when all the bad guys work as a group, especially if the dice are not in your favor. Speaking of dice… You can roll your dice on your DDB character sheet if you like. It will record those rolls in our game log, and I believe I’ve set up the game log so that everyone can see it. Otherwise you can use the built in dice roller here in the forum, but you’ll need to indicate what the rolls are for, so it’s easy for me to keep track.
For now I’d like to try just using theater of the mind for this combat to see how it goes. If it becomes difficult to adjudicate or people simply prefer to have a visual grid map, I can certainly do that, I’ve done it many times before. For now, though, since we’re trying theater of the mind first, please assume that the entire party is two Move actions away from being able to engage the cluster of five skeletons in melee. If you don’t think your character would engage those five skeletons coming around the bonfire bend, that is totally fine! You have complete agency here, I just wanted to try and set the scene for our first combat, and I figured that was a good way to do it. Narratively speaking, here, there are many more skeletons in town, but there are also some very capable warriors and woodsman in the town of Hyssop Ridge, and they’ll do well in defending it; they’ve done so many times before from greater threats. :)
If you have ANY questions, or need any kind of clarification about something, please don’t hesitate to throw those in our private message chat. Better to make sure you are clear on things and post usable actions than to post something and then have to retcon it later. :)
I realized I didn’t explain how I do the block initiative. To determine the block order, I simply roll initiative for everyone using DDB’s Encounter Builder tool, and whoever rolls the highest initiative overall, player character or enemy, their group gets to go first. In this case, Goraqull rolled highest, so you all get to go first. Have at them! And have fun!!!
Zanoth sees the Skeletons in the distance, equips his shield on his left arm, hoists his Spear ready to fight in his right, and starts moving towards the skeletons, making sure to stay with Lucky and give him his chance to stab one in the back if it comes close, or attack one if it comes in melee range of his spear.
/OOC
Action: Equip Shield
Bonus Action: N/Q
Free action: Equip spear in hand
Reaction: If a Skeleton comes within 5’ of me, I get my Polearm AoO.
Goraquell planned to not get involved but instead watch and learn about his maybe new companions. However, upon seeing the undead roaming the streets attacking, he could not stand to allow those abominations murder townsfolk. He slams his staff down into the ground and focuses his attack on the middle skeleton with a shard of ice. He moves 30 feet away from the action chasing townsfolk away who are not fighting
To hit: 10 Damage: 5 On Explosion Dex Save 14 or 3
At first the cluster of skeletons didn't seem to care much about the group that poured out of The Silver Feather, but Mills arrow, whizzing by their boney heads, and Goraqull's magical knife of ice exploding among them and piercing them with shards of ice, drew their attention. The five skeletons moved as a group, coordinated, as a unit, not something mindless undead usually had the capacity to do. Two of them immediately regretted that choice as the red-scaled dragon man Drax Khorne's axe slammed down hard turning one into a pile of rotting bones on the ground. Another stepped too close to Zanoth's mighty frame and caught a spear in the rib cage. Zanoth twisted and pulled the spear back shattering rusty bits of armor and several ribs. His spear head now had a rotten piece of cloth flapping around it like some horrible pennant.
Immediately the skeletons went on the attack slashing out with their old rusty swords. Two attacked Zanoth and two attacked Drax. Working in tandem made it harder for the warriors to defend, and one of each pair was able to score a superficial hit.
I'm hoping you can see the Game Log. One skeleton got a 22 to hit and did 3 damage to Zanoth. Another got a 16 to hit and did 3 damage to Drax. That damage has been recorded on both of their character sheets.
(OOC: That's the skeleton's block, back to you all!!! Drax, Zanoth, and Lucky are within melee attack range of the Skeletons. All others would need one move action to get within melee range. Don't forget if you have questions to make sure you're taking the best combat actions, don't hesitate to put them in our Private Message chat.)
Lucky sticking right next to Zanoth, pop out from behind him he will stab at the nearest skeleton with toothpick, then slash with the dagger in his off hand before tucking back behind Zanoth.
As the skeletons come within range of Zanoth’s spear he strikes out, piercing its body, followed up by Lucky ducking around his body and finishing it off, then ducking back behind him.
With one left on him Zanoth strikes out, piercing it with his spear tip, then spinning around and hitting it with the butt of his spear smashing it to pieces with the two blows. He then moves over to the pair on Drax, Lucky following beside him.
/OOC; Rolls in Log.
Action: 24 to hit, 5 piercing
Bonus Action: 14 to hit, 5x2 damage bludgeoning (vulnerable)
Move: Move over to pair on Drax
Reaction: (Refreshes beginning of my turn); Keep an eye out for any coming in range, if so; Polearm Master AoO.
Mills' arrow drops a skeleton that had little left holding him together. Lucky's flurry of blades drops a skeleton that had no idea he was even there. Zanoth spear but scatters the bones of another across the snow, and Goraqull's arrow is followed swiftly by Drax's axe dropping the last of the clustered skeletons to the ground. The undead warriors of bone dispatched, the group looks around for where they can be of more help. They all quickly see a group of the towns warriors being outmatched by a group another group of seven skeletons!
(OOC: You're group won the block initiative again! Group of seven skeletons are two move actions away again, and engaged in melee combat with some townsfolk. Have at them!)
Goraquell kicks at the bones at his feet before seeing the townsfolk in need of aid. He moves up 30 feet, takes out a stem of a rose and wraps it around his staff. He slams the bottom of his staff into the ground while speaking in Druidic and casts Thorn Whip
Seeing the townsfolk hard pressed by more undead, Zanoth shouts out a rallying cry to them; “Hold the line, help comes”, and charges towards the melee.
/OOC No ranged attack, try and get the skeletons attention, rally the villagers and move in,
Action: Dodge
Bonus Action: N/A
Reaction: If a Skeleton comes within 5’ range, Polearm Master|AoO
Mills holds his hand overtop his cup to protect it from spilling and heads out to see where the screaming is coming from
Paladin - warforged - orange
Guraquell takes note how they run out the door at the first sign of a scream and follows
Leaving caution to the wind as well as food and drinks behind, more than half of the patrons of The Silver Feather’s once packed common room spill out into the snowy, muddy streets of Hyssop Ridge. As soon as they cross the threshold of the doorway everyone sees exactly what caused the scream. A skeleton, covered in bits of rotting flesh, decaying bits of armor, and wielding a rusty sword, animated through some kind of necromantic magic or unholy curse, has a slender young lady with long brunette hair scrambling back up against a wall in utter fear. Suddenly the entire town is full of movement, the grunts, groans, clanks, clangs, and scrapes of weapons and armor clashing in battle. There are skeletons everywhere, an entire horde pouring through the streets. Drax, Goraqull, Lucky, Zanoth, and Mills all turn simultaneously to see a cluster of five of the bastards drag stepping around the hillock where the town’s bonfire still burns brightly. Each looks to the other of their new companions for just a second, and then, as if they’d been friends for years, and not newly met, they all rush toward the group of five skeletons to keep them from making things in town worse.
Since this is our first combat, some things everyone should know about how I run Play by post combat. I use a “blocked” grouping of initiative. This means that all the PCs will always be able to act as a group, which means nobody has to wait around for somebody else to post before they decide their combat actions. It also means, though, that the bad guys also take their actions in one large group. Obviously there are pros and cons to this style. Pros are that nobody has to wait around to post combat actions. Con is that combat can turn deadly quickly when all the bad guys work as a group, especially if the dice are not in your favor. Speaking of dice… You can roll your dice on your DDB character sheet if you like. It will record those rolls in our game log, and I believe I’ve set up the game log so that everyone can see it. Otherwise you can use the built in dice roller here in the forum, but you’ll need to indicate what the rolls are for, so it’s easy for me to keep track.
For now I’d like to try just using theater of the mind for this combat to see how it goes. If it becomes difficult to adjudicate or people simply prefer to have a visual grid map, I can certainly do that, I’ve done it many times before. For now, though, since we’re trying theater of the mind first, please assume that the entire party is two Move actions away from being able to engage the cluster of five skeletons in melee. If you don’t think your character would engage those five skeletons coming around the bonfire bend, that is totally fine! You have complete agency here, I just wanted to try and set the scene for our first combat, and I figured that was a good way to do it. Narratively speaking, here, there are many more skeletons in town, but there are also some very capable warriors and woodsman in the town of Hyssop Ridge, and they’ll do well in defending it; they’ve done so many times before from greater threats. :)
If you have ANY questions, or need any kind of clarification about something, please don’t hesitate to throw those in our private message chat. Better to make sure you are clear on things and post usable actions than to post something and then have to retcon it later. :)
I realized I didn’t explain how I do the block initiative. To determine the block order, I simply roll initiative for everyone using DDB’s Encounter Builder tool, and whoever rolls the highest initiative overall, player character or enemy, their group gets to go first. In this case, Goraqull rolled highest, so you all get to go first. Have at them! And have fun!!!
/OOC
With Tooth Pick already in hand. Lucky will pull out a dagger for the other and move to his usual position just behind Zanoth as he moves forward.
Mills tries to tuck the drink in between his belt and his shirt, knowing it will likely spill but doing his best to save it still.
Then the bow comes into hand and the guardian's training takes over. He turns to fire on the skeleton pursuing the woman first.
Attack: 12 Damage: 10
Paladin - warforged - orange
Oh no...
Paladin - warforged - orange
Drax draws his greataxe, and with complete trust in his companions, charges the skeletons.
move: 30 ft. Towards skeletons
reaction: when hit, attack the hitting skeleton. To hit: nat 20, damage: 16
Like being a player, love dming.
I AM YOUR DM! BOW DOWN BEFORE THE GODS! XD
Goraquell planned to not get involved but instead watch and learn about his maybe new companions. However, upon seeing the undead roaming the streets attacking, he could not stand to allow those abominations murder townsfolk. He slams his staff down into the ground and focuses his attack on the middle skeleton with a shard of ice. He moves 30 feet away from the action chasing townsfolk away who are not fighting
To hit: 10
Damage: 5
On Explosion Dex Save 14 or 3
At first the cluster of skeletons didn't seem to care much about the group that poured out of The Silver Feather, but Mills arrow, whizzing by their boney heads, and Goraqull's magical knife of ice exploding among them and piercing them with shards of ice, drew their attention. The five skeletons moved as a group, coordinated, as a unit, not something mindless undead usually had the capacity to do. Two of them immediately regretted that choice as the red-scaled dragon man Drax Khorne's axe slammed down hard turning one into a pile of rotting bones on the ground. Another stepped too close to Zanoth's mighty frame and caught a spear in the rib cage. Zanoth twisted and pulled the spear back shattering rusty bits of armor and several ribs. His spear head now had a rotten piece of cloth flapping around it like some horrible pennant.
Immediately the skeletons went on the attack slashing out with their old rusty swords. Two attacked Zanoth and two attacked Drax. Working in tandem made it harder for the warriors to defend, and one of each pair was able to score a superficial hit.
I'm hoping you can see the Game Log. One skeleton got a 22 to hit and did 3 damage to Zanoth. Another got a 16 to hit and did 3 damage to Drax. That damage has been recorded on both of their character sheets.
(OOC: That's the skeleton's block, back to you all!!! Drax, Zanoth, and Lucky are within melee attack range of the Skeletons. All others would need one move action to get within melee range. Don't forget if you have questions to make sure you're taking the best combat actions, don't hesitate to put them in our Private Message chat.)
Mills tries to get his head in the game and fires again at the skeleton
Attack: 12 Damage: 8
Paladin - warforged - orange
Lucky sticking right next to Zanoth, pop out from behind him he will stab at the nearest skeleton with toothpick, then slash with the dagger in his off hand before tucking back behind Zanoth.
If Zanoth moves Lucky will follow.
Attack: 22 on game log. 12 damage. Piercing
Sneak attack: 2 damage
Off hand. 6 to hit. I'm sure that's a miss
/OOC; Rolls in Log.
Goraquell pulls out his longbow and takes aim at one of the skeletons doing his best to aid those in melee combat
13 to hit
4 damage
Dara’s spins, now fully engaged in the combat, his eyes blazing, and swings at the nearest skeleton.
To hit: 23 (not crit) damage: 7
Reaction: if hit by skeleton, attack that skeleton to hit: 10 damage: 15
Like being a player, love dming.
I AM YOUR DM! BOW DOWN BEFORE THE GODS! XD
Mills' arrow drops a skeleton that had little left holding him together. Lucky's flurry of blades drops a skeleton that had no idea he was even there. Zanoth spear but scatters the bones of another across the snow, and Goraqull's arrow is followed swiftly by Drax's axe dropping the last of the clustered skeletons to the ground. The undead warriors of bone dispatched, the group looks around for where they can be of more help. They all quickly see a group of the towns warriors being outmatched by a group another group of seven skeletons!
(OOC: You're group won the block initiative again! Group of seven skeletons are two move actions away again, and engaged in melee combat with some townsfolk. Have at them!)
Goraquell kicks at the bones at his feet before seeing the townsfolk in need of aid. He moves up 30 feet, takes out a stem of a rose and wraps it around his staff. He slams the bottom of his staff into the ground while speaking in Druidic and casts Thorn Whip
HIt:8
Damage: 4
Lucky will follow Zanoth then run up his back jump off his shoulder throwing his dagger. Yelling to try and get their attention.
Eh bone head! Over here! Catch!
Thrown attack: 9.
Lucky will end his turn by pulling out his spare dagger.