Keeping this slow pace while watching for goblins and their traps was more taxing than Berry had thought. Just yesterday he flitted through this passage in no time but today it seemed to just continue eternally. Marten inspected some goblin foot steps and had told him to wait a moment and not touch anything, Berry used to opportunity to test his wings. And there just happened to be a soft spot that looked like a bed made of leaves that just waited for him to jump into. Oh, how much fun it will be to stride through leaves, just was is needed against this anxiety that’s been fostered so far. With a hearty jump, Berry attacks the patch of leaves, which go much deeper than it had looked! No, the whole patch was collapsing! In the last moment, Berry took flight in a spray of leaves and shot up into the air to look at the pit trap that presented itself below him (Acrobatics: 10). “Insidious goblins,” he lets out, “They made it look all comfortable, well knowing someone would rest their tired bones on it!”Filled with adrenaline, Berry forgot about his mental fatigue and was eager to continue and get even with those goblins.
Once the sticks and canvas and sprinkling of soil and coat of leaves fall into the pit, you see that there is a narrow trail loop which you can take around the spot, and doing so, you are subsequently able to continue on another two miles
The trail then crosses a meadow beside a pond, and skirts a bog, then continues across another wide meadow through which a creek flows where a family of beavers are gnawing on trees and where a pond swells. From here, you continue another quarter mile into a further copse of trees at the base of a line of low hills, the spot where Berry last saw the escaping goblin from yesterday. From here, you continue up a slope under tree cover, pass a lookout point, from which you can see both the Triboar Trail and The High Road, and the place where the two meet. Then the path turns under tree cover once more, and in another quarter mile, after following another small creek, you arrive at a cave entrance.
Here, sharp stone shards extend from the cave roof and from its base, to either side of the creek, for it is from this cave that the creek flows.
Daphyra’s nose wrinkles. Goblins live in the cave, she has no doubt. The smell is unmistakable. The hillside is screened by dense briar thickets
A narrow dry path leads into the cave on the right-hand side of the stream. The scene looks something like this, as I posted at the top of the chapter:
You are now situated like so:
(OOC: Experience points! Defeating the goblin ambushers and finding the Cragmaw hideout completes a story milestone. Each character receives 75 XP.)
"Well well well, look at this."Nosam takes a deep inhale, "bah, I've gone a month without bathing and smelled more pleasant than this, and that shouldn't be possible."Up until this point Marten and Berry have handled point and Nosam has no issues with their leadership or guidance. He feels the group is making smooth progress and working well together. "What are your thoughts boys? Give the order and I'm ready to throw down! Lets go get Mister Gundren."
"This looks like goblins right enough" vidruth looks more angry than you would expect "yeah lets head in, although i am not trained in tactics so i will wait for someone who knows to giive instructions" he agrees also taking a drink from his waterskin and leaning on his staff, hand still hovering by his pouch
This Mug immediately shared with me a transcendental tale of an Infinite Mug that anchors the Universe and keeps it from folding in on itself. I filed this report under "illogical nonsense" and asked why its sign is in Times New Roman font, when it is basic knowledge that Arial Black is a far superior font. I wondered: How did this mug even get past the assembly line with its theistic beliefs and poor font choices?
quote from Romantically Apocalyptic byVitaly S Alexius
Marten listens to his companions silently as he surveys the scene. His gaze shifts from the briars to the creek and then to the hillside and the cave entrance and finally to the briars on the reverse side of the creek. His intuition tells him that they're in more danger here than they were on the trail.
Marten has been carrying his bow in one hand as they made their way up the trail, but now he draws one of the goblin arrows from a quiver as he scans the the briars again. While he was ready to scout ahead on the trail, he feels more exposed here. The briars would make it difficult for him to find cover, especially if the goblins are behind the briars.
Marten prefers to be the one who is shooting from cover. When he's in the open like this, he'd rather be much farther away from the enemy. Since he has practiced hitting targets from 200+ feet away, Marten can use that range to his advantage against other archers. But the narrow approach to the cave makes that kind of distance impractical.
Marten steps slowly backwards and toward the bank of the creek, saying, "I don' like it, Berry. Walkin' up to the cave...makes me feel like a fly acceptin' a spider's invitation to her web. If this is their front door, why no guards? More like: hidden guards, waitin' for a signal. I'd put archers in them there briars, on both sides o' the crick. Gives 'em good cover 'n' leaves us exposed here like a sheep after shearin'." He glances at Kiselina and Nosam as he passes them, saying, "If they got archers on both sides, we don' wanna get stuck, fightin' our way into the cave with archers at our backs."
Marten ends at J9. Then he nocks the black-feathered arrow and starts scanning the briars again, saying, "I like my angles here. Maybe a couple of th' fighters wanna get closer, see where t' cross the crick an' check the mouth o' the cave." Marten gestures toward the end of the briars on the far side of the creek and N5. "See what's 'round the corner of the briars there. Just know thacha might be walkin' into a trap. We'll hang back and cover you from here. Keep the whole group from gettin' surrounded."
That last part was meant to encompass him and Vidruth and any others who want to hang back in case of a surprise attack closer to the cave.
Nosam acknowledges Marten and advances to K7 (nw corner). "Don't be shootin' me in the back now Mister Marten." He sneaks gingerly while remaining in a defensive posture, eyes scanning the banks of the creek, and expecting the big "surprise" any second.
Berry was prepared to enter the cave as soon as they saw it but Marten's words made a lot of sense. He'd run right into the spider's web! Though, that would not have been his first time, albeit the other spiders were actually small spiders and not vicious goblins. "You're right, Marten, I didn't even think of that. These ratbags would hide of course! But what should we do? Want me to fly up and get an aerial view over the situation at hand? I won't be able to see inside through the canopy, but I might get an idea how big the patches are and if we could approach one of them from another angle." Thinking on the arrows that might come his way soon, Berry decides to take up his shield. "I could try and sneak to the entrance to see if something's waiting inside. Instead of walking there, I could fly and approach from above the entrance coming down the mountain face, they might not be looking out for someone coming from that direction making it possible to get a sneak peek. What do you think?"
Otherwise, if his suggestions don't convince Marten, he would accompany Nosam and flies over the little stream next to him (L7) and looks into the briars.
Stealth for either getting to the entrance from above, or going with Nosam: 16
Kiselina likewise was ready to enter straight away. He prefers negotiations to fighting, but also prefers fighting to sneaking, he’s not good at it. This situation though, there probably won’t be much diplomacy.
Being as far back as he is, he pushes forward as far as he can, but also stays more to the left hand side, out of direct line (as he figures) of the cave entrance. He knows he will probably have to cross the steam at some point, but will do so only if a target presents itself, or when the group is ready.
He tries to move as quietly as possible, (Stealth:3) and keeps his attention as focused as possible (Perception:13).
(Free Action) Whispering to Vidruth and Daphyra’s “I’ll take up a position on the left flank.” Gently touching Marten’s shoulder as he passes, he points to where he will position himself, pole arm still in hand. (Move) He will move his full 30’ from G9 to J5. (Action) Ready attack if a target presents itself within 10’. (Bonus) n/a (Reaction) Readied Action if triggered.
But what should we do? Want me to fly up and get an aerial view over the situation at hand?
Marten mumbles something noncommittal and shrugs, looking to Kiselina for the dragonborn's opinion.
When Marten was employed by local armies, his job was to scout ahead quietly and report back to a captain or sergeant about possible dangers. That leader was the one who decided what to do with Marten's information. Marten is not used to directing other people, and he defers to Kiselina, who reminds him of a sergeant: heavily-armored, confident, and good with words.
And, specific to Berry's question, Marten has never known anyone who could fly. He's just beginning to realize that his experience with battle tactics is limited to troops on the ground. What do terrain or cover or a river mean if the opponent can fly? Marten's just glad that Berry is on their side.
Vidruth remains near marten, standing directly beside him and preparing to fire a small bolt of flame at anything that makes itself an appealing target
"sound decisions, at least as far as I can tell" he agrees with martens choices "good idea berry, nobody looks up, even on the mountains its not too common, though you should watch your shadow, goblins can be a canny bunch when you least expect it and a shadow's the easiest tell somethings flying above"
what little he knows about combat mostly applies to either open combat, or them doing the ambushing, and all of it in the mountains, or at least the foothills, so little of it applies here, knowing this he is happy to follow orders from marten, who seems to be taking the lead, he is quickly falling back into a role half remembered, that of an advisor
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This Mug immediately shared with me a transcendental tale of an Infinite Mug that anchors the Universe and keeps it from folding in on itself. I filed this report under "illogical nonsense" and asked why its sign is in Times New Roman font, when it is basic knowledge that Arial Black is a far superior font. I wondered: How did this mug even get past the assembly line with its theistic beliefs and poor font choices?
quote from Romantically Apocalyptic byVitaly S Alexius
Daphyra whispers quietly to the others, “I’can go ahead as scout/bait if that will help. I have solid armour and can move quickly out of the way if needed.”
"Hmm," Berry considers his options uncertain as to which one is the most useful. Between Marten's indecision and Vidruth's warning, he decides to go with what appears to be the safer course, "Perhaps, for now, I stick with all of you until we see a clear advantage for splitting up." He moves silently next to Nosam (L7) and tries to peek into the woods (as mentioned above).
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Marten ends at J9. Then he nocks the black-feathered arrow and starts scanning the briars.
Vidruth remains near marten, standing directly beside him
Nosam moves to K7, Stealth 15 (12+3) [n.b. - Nosam must roll stealth at disadvantage due to his armor. The roller does not do this automatically. I rolled for Nosam a second time, a higher roll. Due to disadvantage, the lower roll is maintained, 15.]
Berry: accompany Nosam and flies over the little stream next to him (L7) and looks into the briars. [Stealth 16]
Kiselina: move to J5
Daphyra: no movement
Nosam wades carefully into the creek, silently, despite his armor, and attempts to peer through the briars as Berry buzzes overhead, also looking through the briars. Nosam cannot see through the dense underbrush. However, Berry can.
Through the thick growth, Berry sees the very same goblin who ran away yesterday, behind the briars, his back to him, scratching deep in one of its ears with a stick. Its tongue lolls out as it moans in pleasure. It removes the stick, with a large gob of earwax, which it flicks across the little clearing where the briars have been flattened out under rough cut planks. Nosam doesn’t see the goblin, but Berry and Nosam both hear it speaking. To the others, the sound of the creek covers the speech.
“Like it was my own fault,” the goblin is saying in a whining, gruff tone which seems quite unhurried. “I killed at least three of them, and their mounts. No one could have known they could carry so much on their backs. Anyhow, Butsch and Flop were lousy bandits. And Zuzz ate more than his fair share of grub. Good riddance I say.”
Berry doesn’t see anyone on the receiving end of this monologue. That’s unfortunate, because there is indeed another goblin there who rolls 20 on his Perception check vs Berry & Nosam’s Stealth. The goblin sees Berry, nocks an arrow, and has the drop on him.
G5 short bow attack at Berry: Attack 11 Damage 8 piercing.
“Look out you idiot!,” it shouts. “They must’ve tracked you back here!!”
They both hide as a bonus action.
Following the surprise round, you have the initiative and can go before the goblins.
Again, they are both Hiding, so to attack them without disadvantage requires a perception roll (not passive) higher than their Stealth roll.
If you attack: roll Perception, two attack rolls, and damage. If your perception is high enough, I will use the first attack roll. If your perception is too low, I will use the lower attack roll.
Goblins 4 & 5 currently enjoy half cover and are hidden. I have indicated on the map where they were last seen. If you attack one of them, roll your attack normally and I will give them +2AC if attacked through the thickets.
Any square marked with thickets or water is difficult terrain. You may push through the thickets or creek, in other words, at half speed.
(OOC: I'm not sure whether I can use that perception check. ⤴️ If not, here's a new one for round 1: Perception15.)
Marten hears the twang of a bow and turns toward the sound. Marten tries to peer through the thicket and releases his own arrow. If he spots one of the goblins through the thicket, he attacks that one. Otherwise, he tries to aim wherever he heard the sound of G5's bow. As soon as the arrow is loose, Marten says curtly to Vidruth, "Hit and move."
Marten then crouches and jogs north toward that thicket. He doesn't want to present a sitting target for the goblins, and he's unsure of how many goblins are hidden in the clearing. He wants to make it to cover before any more goblins pour out of the cave.
(OOC: Reminder - with sharpshooter, Marten's "ranged weapon attacks ignore half cover and three-quarters cover." RAW, it seems to be true even when attacking a hidden target through half cover.)
Movement: 20' + 5' difficult terrain to end at J4 Action: Attack, Shortbow (80/320): 17 Damage: 8 (Second attack roll, if attacking with disadvantage: 17) Bonus Action: None Free Action: Talking to Vidruth
Kiselina is not the quietest of the group, but apparently he did not attract the attention of the goblin ambushes. He hopes he won’t attract the attention of any observers in the cave entrance as he moves to close with the attackers he knows about. At least if he does draw their attention, they will be focused on him and not the others.
He knew he would have to cross the stream eventually, he didn’t plan on doing it so soon. He also didn’t plan on breaking brush, yet in quick strides he does so.
(Perception:15). (Free Action) Announce his intention as Mateen passes him. “Ambush, two Goblins, in the underbrush across the river, moving in!”(Move) He will move his full 30’ from J5 to N6, or as far as he can get to there (going through K5-5’, L6-10’, M6-10’, N6-5’) (Action) Attack G4 Attack:24 or 10, Damage:11 (Bonus) n/a (Reaction) Opportunity Attack on any target moving out of reach. Attack: 23, Damage:10
(Ooc: Rolled one to many attacks when writing the Reaction.)
Berry heard voices behind the brambles, there was someone. He tried harder to spot anything behind the vegetation and concentrated on the conversation, when a rustling alarmed him and made his shield go up quickly. But too late, the goblin arrow grazed his shoulder sending a flash of pain through his body, but restraining himself from letting out so much as a groan. Berry tightened his grip on his shield and scimitar and he pushed himself through the bushes to his left trying to get a bit closer to the cave exit in order to cut their escape route but also towards the voices that he heard. His intentions are clear, he'll cut at the first goblin he sees or for lack of that he will just cut a wide arc through the foliage hoping to find them screaming.
Move: He presses through difficult terrain to M6 and continues on to N6. He keeps flying at about 5ft above the ground but lands at N6. Free: Perception: 3 Action: Attack with scimitar at where he suspects the goblins (and if he sees them, he'll try to get in melee with one of them). to Hit: 11/8; Damage: 6 Bonus: None
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"hit and move" vidruth nods silently, he fires a bolt of flame at a goblin and follows, staying within five feet of marten the whole time. he coughs slightly, and keeps scanning the brush and cave entrance for more foes
perception 9
attack: roll 1: 14 / roll 2: 14 / damage: 6
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
This Mug immediately shared with me a transcendental tale of an Infinite Mug that anchors the Universe and keeps it from folding in on itself. I filed this report under "illogical nonsense" and asked why its sign is in Times New Roman font, when it is basic knowledge that Arial Black is a far superior font. I wondered: How did this mug even get past the assembly line with its theistic beliefs and poor font choices?
quote from Romantically Apocalyptic byVitaly S Alexius
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Keeping this slow pace while watching for goblins and their traps was more taxing than Berry had thought. Just yesterday he flitted through this passage in no time but today it seemed to just continue eternally. Marten inspected some goblin foot steps and had told him to wait a moment and not touch anything, Berry used to opportunity to test his wings. And there just happened to be a soft spot that looked like a bed made of leaves that just waited for him to jump into. Oh, how much fun it will be to stride through leaves, just was is needed against this anxiety that’s been fostered so far. With a hearty jump, Berry attacks the patch of leaves, which go much deeper than it had looked! No, the whole patch was collapsing! In the last moment, Berry took flight in a spray of leaves and shot up into the air to look at the pit trap that presented itself below him (Acrobatics: 10). “Insidious goblins,” he lets out, “They made it look all comfortable, well knowing someone would rest their tired bones on it!” Filled with adrenaline, Berry forgot about his mental fatigue and was eager to continue and get even with those goblins.
|| Oriace - Halfling Bard - Dragon Heist || Valerian - Elf Rogue - Wildnis || b'Reh - Stig Cleric - Humblewood || Rowan - Halfling Giant - Runewarren || Khazela - Spiritfarer Dervish - Tribute || Arista - Frost Sorcerer - Old Keep || Zephirah - Demonic Bard - Sands || Merry - Gifted Surgeon - Short || Marasatra - Blood Mage - Avernus || Lan - Dwarf Dragon - Wuxian ||
Once the sticks and canvas and sprinkling of soil and coat of leaves fall into the pit, you see that there is a narrow trail loop which you can take around the spot, and doing so, you are subsequently able to continue on another two miles
The trail then crosses a meadow beside a pond, and skirts a bog, then continues across another wide meadow through which a creek flows where a family of beavers are gnawing on trees and where a pond swells. From here, you continue another quarter mile into a further copse of trees at the base of a line of low hills, the spot where Berry last saw the escaping goblin from yesterday. From here, you continue up a slope under tree cover, pass a lookout point, from which you can see both the Triboar Trail and The High Road, and the place where the two meet. Then the path turns under tree cover once more, and in another quarter mile, after following another small creek, you arrive at a cave entrance.
Here, sharp stone shards extend from the cave roof and from its base, to either side of the creek, for it is from this cave that the creek flows.
Daphyra’s nose wrinkles. Goblins live in the cave, she has no doubt. The smell is unmistakable. The hillside is screened by dense briar thickets
A narrow dry path leads into the cave on the right-hand side of the stream. The scene looks something like this, as I posted at the top of the chapter:
You are now situated like so:
(OOC: Experience points! Defeating the goblin ambushers and finding the Cragmaw hideout completes a story milestone. Each character receives 75 XP.)
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
"Well well well, look at this." Nosam takes a deep inhale, "bah, I've gone a month without bathing and smelled more pleasant than this, and that shouldn't be possible." Up until this point Marten and Berry have handled point and Nosam has no issues with their leadership or guidance. He feels the group is making smooth progress and working well together. "What are your thoughts boys? Give the order and I'm ready to throw down! Lets go get Mister Gundren."
Daphyra looks a little ill. "I think we've found it. Definitely the stench of goblins."
She sits down on the grass briefly to take a drink from her waterskin.
Past characters:
Cariadne - Forest of Celador
Daphyra Fuffletail - The City of Cats
DM - Geek Legends - Wild beyond the Witchlight
Leela Steadystone - Adventures in the Sands
Mirri Goldenhorn - Journeys through the Radiant Citadel
Lola Smythe-Whyte - Larkin Expedition
Daphyra - Deathworld: Lost Mine of Phandelver
Vanja - Binder's Hold and the Problem with the Mine
"This looks like goblins right enough" vidruth looks more angry than you would expect "yeah lets head in, although i am not trained in tactics so i will wait for someone who knows to giive instructions" he agrees also taking a drink from his waterskin and leaning on his staff, hand still hovering by his pouch
This Mug immediately shared with me a transcendental tale of an Infinite Mug that anchors the Universe and keeps it from folding in on itself. I filed this report under "illogical nonsense" and asked why its sign is in Times New Roman font, when it is basic knowledge that Arial Black is a far superior font. I wondered: How did this mug even get past the assembly line with its theistic beliefs and poor font choices?
quote from Romantically Apocalyptic by Vitaly S Alexius
(OOC: if the map doesn't show a scale, can we just assume 5' squares? For example, is the creek roughly 5' wide or 10' wide as it leaves the cave?)
Marten listens to his companions silently as he surveys the scene. His gaze shifts from the briars to the creek and then to the hillside and the cave entrance and finally to the briars on the reverse side of the creek. His intuition tells him that they're in more danger here than they were on the trail.
Marten has been carrying his bow in one hand as they made their way up the trail, but now he draws one of the goblin arrows from a quiver as he scans the the briars again. While he was ready to scout ahead on the trail, he feels more exposed here. The briars would make it difficult for him to find cover, especially if the goblins are behind the briars.
Marten prefers to be the one who is shooting from cover. When he's in the open like this, he'd rather be much farther away from the enemy. Since he has practiced hitting targets from 200+ feet away, Marten can use that range to his advantage against other archers. But the narrow approach to the cave makes that kind of distance impractical.
Marten steps slowly backwards and toward the bank of the creek, saying, "I don' like it, Berry. Walkin' up to the cave...makes me feel like a fly acceptin' a spider's invitation to her web. If this is their front door, why no guards? More like: hidden guards, waitin' for a signal. I'd put archers in them there briars, on both sides o' the crick. Gives 'em good cover 'n' leaves us exposed here like a sheep after shearin'." He glances at Kiselina and Nosam as he passes them, saying, "If they got archers on both sides, we don' wanna get stuck, fightin' our way into the cave with archers at our backs."
Marten ends at J9. Then he nocks the black-feathered arrow and starts scanning the briars again, saying, "I like my angles here. Maybe a couple of th' fighters wanna get closer, see where t' cross the crick an' check the mouth o' the cave." Marten gestures toward the end of the briars on the far side of the creek and N5. "See what's 'round the corner of the briars there. Just know thacha might be walkin' into a trap. We'll hang back and cover you from here. Keep the whole group from gettin' surrounded."
That last part was meant to encompass him and Vidruth and any others who want to hang back in case of a surprise attack closer to the cave.
Squares will always be 5’ across unless unless I post otherwise.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Nosam acknowledges Marten and advances to K7 (nw corner). "Don't be shootin' me in the back now Mister Marten." He sneaks gingerly while remaining in a defensive posture, eyes scanning the banks of the creek, and expecting the big "surprise" any second.
Movement: 25' to K7, Stealth 15 (12+3)
Action: None
Bonus Action: None
Free Action: Scanning the corner of the briars specifically, Perception Passive 10
(ooc- wasn't sure which roll, included both. Please use whatever applies.)
Berry was prepared to enter the cave as soon as they saw it but Marten's words made a lot of sense. He'd run right into the spider's web! Though, that would not have been his first time, albeit the other spiders were actually small spiders and not vicious goblins. "You're right, Marten, I didn't even think of that. These ratbags would hide of course! But what should we do? Want me to fly up and get an aerial view over the situation at hand? I won't be able to see inside through the canopy, but I might get an idea how big the patches are and if we could approach one of them from another angle." Thinking on the arrows that might come his way soon, Berry decides to take up his shield. "I could try and sneak to the entrance to see if something's waiting inside. Instead of walking there, I could fly and approach from above the entrance coming down the mountain face, they might not be looking out for someone coming from that direction making it possible to get a sneak peek. What do you think?"
Otherwise, if his suggestions don't convince Marten, he would accompany Nosam and flies over the little stream next to him (L7) and looks into the briars.
Stealth for either getting to the entrance from above, or going with Nosam: 16
|| Oriace - Halfling Bard - Dragon Heist || Valerian - Elf Rogue - Wildnis || b'Reh - Stig Cleric - Humblewood || Rowan - Halfling Giant - Runewarren || Khazela - Spiritfarer Dervish - Tribute || Arista - Frost Sorcerer - Old Keep || Zephirah - Demonic Bard - Sands || Merry - Gifted Surgeon - Short || Marasatra - Blood Mage - Avernus || Lan - Dwarf Dragon - Wuxian ||
Kiselina likewise was ready to enter straight away. He prefers negotiations to fighting, but also prefers fighting to sneaking, he’s not good at it. This situation though, there probably won’t be much diplomacy.
Being as far back as he is, he pushes forward as far as he can, but also stays more to the left hand side, out of direct line (as he figures) of the cave entrance. He knows he will probably have to cross the steam at some point, but will do so only if a target presents itself, or when the group is ready.
He tries to move as quietly as possible, (Stealth: 3) and keeps his attention as focused as possible (Perception: 13).
(Free Action) Whispering to Vidruth and Daphyra’s “I’ll take up a position on the left flank.” Gently touching Marten’s shoulder as he passes, he points to where he will position himself, pole arm still in hand.
(Move) He will move his full 30’ from G9 to J5.
(Action) Ready attack if a target presents itself within 10’.
(Bonus) n/a
(Reaction) Readied Action if triggered.
Marten smiles wryly and says, "Nawp. Never!"
Then he adds with a wink, "If I ever shoot ye', Nosam, I'll be sure 'n' hit ye' in th' chest."
Marten mumbles something noncommittal and shrugs, looking to Kiselina for the dragonborn's opinion.
When Marten was employed by local armies, his job was to scout ahead quietly and report back to a captain or sergeant about possible dangers. That leader was the one who decided what to do with Marten's information. Marten is not used to directing other people, and he defers to Kiselina, who reminds him of a sergeant: heavily-armored, confident, and good with words.
And, specific to Berry's question, Marten has never known anyone who could fly. He's just beginning to realize that his experience with battle tactics is limited to troops on the ground. What do terrain or cover or a river mean if the opponent can fly? Marten's just glad that Berry is on their side.
Marten nods in acknowledgement.
If needed: Perception 16
Vidruth remains near marten, standing directly beside him and preparing to fire a small bolt of flame at anything that makes itself an appealing target
"sound decisions, at least as far as I can tell" he agrees with martens choices "good idea berry, nobody looks up, even on the mountains its not too common, though you should watch your shadow, goblins can be a canny bunch when you least expect it and a shadow's the easiest tell somethings flying above"
what little he knows about combat mostly applies to either open combat, or them doing the ambushing, and all of it in the mountains, or at least the foothills, so little of it applies here, knowing this he is happy to follow orders from marten, who seems to be taking the lead, he is quickly falling back into a role half remembered, that of an advisor
This Mug immediately shared with me a transcendental tale of an Infinite Mug that anchors the Universe and keeps it from folding in on itself. I filed this report under "illogical nonsense" and asked why its sign is in Times New Roman font, when it is basic knowledge that Arial Black is a far superior font. I wondered: How did this mug even get past the assembly line with its theistic beliefs and poor font choices?
quote from Romantically Apocalyptic by Vitaly S Alexius
Daphyra whispers quietly to the others, “I’can go ahead as scout/bait if that will help. I have solid armour and can move quickly out of the way if needed.”
Past characters:
Cariadne - Forest of Celador
Daphyra Fuffletail - The City of Cats
DM - Geek Legends - Wild beyond the Witchlight
Leela Steadystone - Adventures in the Sands
Mirri Goldenhorn - Journeys through the Radiant Citadel
Lola Smythe-Whyte - Larkin Expedition
Daphyra - Deathworld: Lost Mine of Phandelver
Vanja - Binder's Hold and the Problem with the Mine
"Hmm," Berry considers his options uncertain as to which one is the most useful. Between Marten's indecision and Vidruth's warning, he decides to go with what appears to be the safer course, "Perhaps, for now, I stick with all of you until we see a clear advantage for splitting up." He moves silently next to Nosam (L7) and tries to peek into the woods (as mentioned above).
|| Oriace - Halfling Bard - Dragon Heist || Valerian - Elf Rogue - Wildnis || b'Reh - Stig Cleric - Humblewood || Rowan - Halfling Giant - Runewarren || Khazela - Spiritfarer Dervish - Tribute || Arista - Frost Sorcerer - Old Keep || Zephirah - Demonic Bard - Sands || Merry - Gifted Surgeon - Short || Marasatra - Blood Mage - Avernus || Lan - Dwarf Dragon - Wuxian ||
Nosam wades carefully into the creek, silently, despite his armor, and attempts to peer through the briars as Berry buzzes overhead, also looking through the briars. Nosam cannot see through the dense underbrush. However, Berry can.
Through the thick growth, Berry sees the very same goblin who ran away yesterday, behind the briars, his back to him, scratching deep in one of its ears with a stick. Its tongue lolls out as it moans in pleasure. It removes the stick, with a large gob of earwax, which it flicks across the little clearing where the briars have been flattened out under rough cut planks. Nosam doesn’t see the goblin, but Berry and Nosam both hear it speaking. To the others, the sound of the creek covers the speech.
“Like it was my own fault,” the goblin is saying in a whining, gruff tone which seems quite unhurried. “I killed at least three of them, and their mounts. No one could have known they could carry so much on their backs. Anyhow, Butsch and Flop were lousy bandits. And Zuzz ate more than his fair share of grub. Good riddance I say.”
Berry doesn’t see anyone on the receiving end of this monologue. That’s unfortunate, because there is indeed another goblin there who rolls 20 on his Perception check vs Berry & Nosam’s Stealth. The goblin sees Berry, nocks an arrow, and has the drop on him.
G5 short bow attack at Berry: Attack 11 Damage 8 piercing.
“Look out you idiot!,” it shouts. “They must’ve tracked you back here!!”
They both hide as a bonus action.
Following the surprise round, you have the initiative and can go before the goblins.
Again, they are both Hiding, so to attack them without disadvantage requires a perception roll (not passive) higher than their Stealth roll.
If you attack: roll Perception, two attack rolls, and damage. If your perception is high enough, I will use the first attack roll. If your perception is too low, I will use the lower attack roll.
Goblins 4 & 5 currently enjoy half cover and are hidden. I have indicated on the map where they were last seen. If you attack one of them, roll your attack normally and I will give them +2AC if attacked through the thickets.
Any square marked with thickets or water is difficult terrain. You may push through the thickets or creek, in other words, at half speed.
Here is an updated battle map.
Please post actions for round 1 in any order
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
(OOC: I'm not sure whether I can use that perception check. ⤴️ If not, here's a new one for round 1: Perception 15.)
Marten hears the twang of a bow and turns toward the sound. Marten tries to peer through the thicket and releases his own arrow. If he spots one of the goblins through the thicket, he attacks that one. Otherwise, he tries to aim wherever he heard the sound of G5's bow. As soon as the arrow is loose, Marten says curtly to Vidruth, "Hit and move."
Marten then crouches and jogs north toward that thicket. He doesn't want to present a sitting target for the goblins, and he's unsure of how many goblins are hidden in the clearing. He wants to make it to cover before any more goblins pour out of the cave.
(OOC: Reminder - with sharpshooter, Marten's "ranged weapon attacks ignore half cover and three-quarters cover." RAW, it seems to be true even when attacking a hidden target through half cover.)
Movement: 20' + 5' difficult terrain to end at J4
Action: Attack, Shortbow (80/320): 17 Damage: 8
(Second attack roll, if attacking with disadvantage: 17)
Bonus Action: None
Free Action: Talking to Vidruth
Kiselina is not the quietest of the group, but apparently he did not attract the attention of the goblin ambushes. He hopes he won’t attract the attention of any observers in the cave entrance as he moves to close with the attackers he knows about. At least if he does draw their attention, they will be focused on him and not the others.
He knew he would have to cross the stream eventually, he didn’t plan on doing it so soon. He also didn’t plan on breaking brush, yet in quick strides he does so.
(Perception: 15).
(Free Action) Announce his intention as Mateen passes him. “Ambush, two Goblins, in the underbrush across the river, moving in!”(Move) He will move his full 30’ from J5 to N6, or as far as he can get to there (going through K5-5’, L6-10’, M6-10’, N6-5’)
(Action) Attack G4
Attack: 24 or 10, Damage: 11
(Bonus) n/a
(Reaction) Opportunity Attack on any target moving out of reach. Attack: 23, Damage: 10
(Ooc: Rolled one to many attacks when writing the Reaction.)
Berry heard voices behind the brambles, there was someone. He tried harder to spot anything behind the vegetation and concentrated on the conversation, when a rustling alarmed him and made his shield go up quickly. But too late, the goblin arrow grazed his shoulder sending a flash of pain through his body, but restraining himself from letting out so much as a groan. Berry tightened his grip on his shield and scimitar and he pushed himself through the bushes to his left trying to get a bit closer to the cave exit in order to cut their escape route but also towards the voices that he heard. His intentions are clear, he'll cut at the first goblin he sees or for lack of that he will just cut a wide arc through the foliage hoping to find them screaming.
|| Oriace - Halfling Bard - Dragon Heist || Valerian - Elf Rogue - Wildnis || b'Reh - Stig Cleric - Humblewood || Rowan - Halfling Giant - Runewarren || Khazela - Spiritfarer Dervish - Tribute || Arista - Frost Sorcerer - Old Keep || Zephirah - Demonic Bard - Sands || Merry - Gifted Surgeon - Short || Marasatra - Blood Mage - Avernus || Lan - Dwarf Dragon - Wuxian ||
"hit and move" vidruth nods silently, he fires a bolt of flame at a goblin and follows, staying within five feet of marten the whole time. he coughs slightly, and keeps scanning the brush and cave entrance for more foes
perception 9
attack: roll 1: 14 / roll 2: 14 / damage: 6
This Mug immediately shared with me a transcendental tale of an Infinite Mug that anchors the Universe and keeps it from folding in on itself. I filed this report under "illogical nonsense" and asked why its sign is in Times New Roman font, when it is basic knowledge that Arial Black is a far superior font. I wondered: How did this mug even get past the assembly line with its theistic beliefs and poor font choices?
quote from Romantically Apocalyptic by Vitaly S Alexius