As the first rays of dawn pierce the canopy, painting the leaves with a soft, golden glow, a flurry of activity stirs within the campsite. The dying embers of the fire crackling their last goodbyes, wisps of smoke curling towards the awakening sky. Alistair, despite a restless night fueled by creative fire, has a determined glint in his eyes. The encounter with the stag had left its mark, a secret melody weaving its way into the ballad he composed through the night. Alistair kneels beside his bedroll, meticulously packing his supplies. "Zeke," he began, a thoughtful glint in his eye, "perhaps you should take the lead again today. The terrain might be tricky, and your experience would be invaluable. Red can scout ahead; I can take up the rear," he declares. "Keep an eye out for anything that's following us. If Krog and Brockes flank Zeke, they would form a formidable vanguard and rearguard." The forest looms ahead, a tangled mass of ancient oaks and pines. Sunlight dapples the forest floor in a mosaic of light and shadow, the air thick with the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves. Alistair, his hand instinctively hovering near the hilt of his rapier, feels a thrill of anticipation course through him. The wilds hold secrets, dangers, and perhaps even a chance to test the limits of his newfound power. He traces Fierna's sigil on his lute before he packs it into its case, it seems to pulse with powerful purpose in the morning sun. He slings it over his shoulder, ready for whatever the forsaken forest holds.
(OOC Haha lol! Does that encounter conclude Krog's portion, the first watch of the evening?)
(The Stag arrived during the second hour of Krog's watch. In the interest of moving things along...)
The rest of the night passes uneventfully, with only the ordinary sounds of ordinary animals to break the monotony for those keeping watch. You awake the next morning fully refreshed and ready to continue your journey into the woods, after a quick discussion amongst yourselves about who will be leading the way...
(Leader will need to make a Survival check, with advantage from the map, to keep you on track. If I could get a rough "order of march" for the group and a perception check from everyone else as well, please.)
“Alistair’s plan has merits. Red scouting far enough ahead to not hear us, followed by the main group in diamond formation, with me in the lead, followed by Krog and Brockes, with Alistair following and checking behind us. To the extent possible, the diamond should be relatively close together - say about 10 to 20 feet apart - so we can easily support each other. Those that have ranged weapons, please have them at the ready in case Red gets in trouble. Red, if you find anything , you will need to decide whether to get back here or to make lots of noise so we can run to catch up with you.”
Zeke also spreads the map out so all can see. He is happy to carry the map since it makes him feel important in his informal leadership role but believes that it is not information to hide from the team.
“It looks like a relatively decent route if we follow this hill line and head towards the river coming down the mountain. I’d guess we will find more beasts near the water but we could always stumble across anything at any time off the road. I don’t know how far we will get today before needing to set up camp again. At least we won’t need to hunt!”
So with the suns light transforming the forest from a dark gray to mottled green and brown, the party leaves the loggers path and goes deeper into the forest.
You start off making pretty good headway as you journey through stands of old growth pine. There's nothing particularly unpleasant about the trip, in fact the soft bed of pine needles that carpet the ground around your feet is an improvement over the muddy logging road, but the thick canopy of branches overhead dims the light and leaves you feeling somewhat closed in...
Your only about an hour into your journey when a massive wolf, nearly as big as a horse, charges out of the undergrowth quite unexpectedly.
(Roll for Initiative to determine combat order. For almost every character, including all of our current characters, this will be the same as a dexterity check. It can be found on your character sheet, near the top, between your walking speed and your Armor Class)
Zeke broaden his stance, throws back his shoulders, and bellows in his deep voice, “To the Nine Hells with you, beast!” He cast his Sacred Flame cantrip.
(ooc- Flame-like radiance descends on a creature that you can see within range. The target must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 1d8 radiant damage. The target gains no benefit from cover for this saving throw.)
(Normally, each character/enemy would go in the order of their actual initiative, but I'm going to use a rule that I've seen other DMs use in PbP. I'm going to group the PCs based on their initiative relative to the monsters.)
Initiative Order:
Red (21)
Krog (20)
Dire Wolf (19)
Zeke (18)
Alistair (15)
Brockes (9)
(Using the group rules; Red & Krog will go in any order, depending on who is able to post first, then the Dire Wolf, then Zeke, Alistair, & Brockes, also in any order.)
On your combat round you get a free action (drawing a weapon, yelling to a team mate, etc.), an action (usually an attack or casting a spell), a movement, and a bonus action (if your character has one available).
You may do these things in whichever order you choose during your turn. You can split up your movement between your action/bonus action/free action.
Combat rules, including some non-attack options for your actions, can be found here.
If you have any questions before you take your character's turn, please post them in the OOC.
Krog drop his sling, then will move 2 squares right 3 squares up, and one diagonal up right. He draws his sword and readies an attack if allowed. If the Wolf moves next to Krog he will attack 17 damage 12 versus large creature. (rolled from character sheet.)
Krog Survival with Adantage 11
(OOC - Krog has a +3 Survival. But only a +1 Perception. He can point the way, but somebody else would be better to lead.)
(OOC: I forgot about my perception check, I want to use stealth while scouting, I will leave my stealth check as well here)
Perception check: 7
Stealth check: 18
( OOC: this must be a joke, I have +7 on stealth :( )
Perception: 6
“Alistair’s plan has merits. Red scouting far enough ahead to not hear us, followed by the main group in diamond formation, with me in the lead, followed by Krog and Brockes, with Alistair following and checking behind us. To the extent possible, the diamond should be relatively close together - say about 10 to 20 feet apart - so we can easily support each other. Those that have ranged weapons, please have them at the ready in case Red gets in trouble. Red, if you find anything , you will need to decide whether to get back here or to make lots of noise so we can run to catch up with you.”
Zeke also spreads the map out so all can see. He is happy to carry the map since it makes him feel important in his informal leadership role but believes that it is not information to hide from the team.
“It looks like a relatively decent route if we follow this hill line and head towards the river coming down the mountain. I’d guess we will find more beasts near the water but we could always stumble across anything at any time off the road. I don’t know how far we will get today before needing to set up camp again. At least we won’t need to hunt!”
So with the suns light transforming the forest from a dark gray to mottled green and brown, the party leaves the loggers path and goes deeper into the forest.
Zeke: Survival: 16+2=18
You start off making pretty good headway as you journey through stands of old growth pine. There's nothing particularly unpleasant about the trip, in fact the soft bed of pine needles that carpet the ground around your feet is an improvement over the muddy logging road, but the thick canopy of branches overhead dims the light and leaves you feeling somewhat closed in...
Your only about an hour into your journey when a massive wolf, nearly as big as a horse, charges out of the undergrowth quite unexpectedly.
(Roll for Initiative to determine combat order. For almost every character, including all of our current characters, this will be the same as a dexterity check. It can be found on your character sheet, near the top, between your walking speed and your Armor Class)
Krog Initiative 4
Red Initiative 4
Zeke initiative 18
(Ooc: if it comes to this:)
Zeke broaden his stance, throws back his shoulders, and bellows in his deep voice, “To the Nine Hells with you, beast!” He cast his Sacred Flame cantrip.
(ooc- Flame-like radiance descends on a creature that you can see within range. The target must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take 1d8 radiant damage. The target gains no benefit from cover for this saving throw.)
Alistair initiative 14
(Dieheart, Initiative?)
Initiative: 8
(OOC: Sorry :) )
(Normally, each character/enemy would go in the order of their actual initiative, but I'm going to use a rule that I've seen other DMs use in PbP. I'm going to group the PCs based on their initiative relative to the monsters.)
Initiative Order:
Red (21)
Krog (20)
Dire Wolf (19)
Zeke (18)
Alistair (15)
Brockes (9)
(Using the group rules; Red & Krog will go in any order, depending on who is able to post first, then the Dire Wolf, then Zeke, Alistair, & Brockes, also in any order.)
The combat round:
On your combat round you get a free action (drawing a weapon, yelling to a team mate, etc.), an action (usually an attack or casting a spell), a movement, and a bonus action (if your character has one available).
You may do these things in whichever order you choose during your turn. You can split up your movement between your action/bonus action/free action.
Combat rules, including some non-attack options for your actions, can be found here.
If you have any questions before you take your character's turn, please post them in the OOC.
And, finally, reposting the map down here for convenience.
Krog drop his sling, then will move 2 squares right 3 squares up, and one diagonal up right. He draws his sword and readies an attack if allowed. If the Wolf moves next to Krog he will attack 17 damage 12 versus large creature. (rolled from character sheet.)
Red will rush 4 spaces to the left and on space down and will attempt to hide.
Stealth check: 9