When the gnoll moved the little stability the thundering energy inside its body enjoyed was broken. Sound broke in the creature, tearing its flash, and the warlock weaved his blade. The shielding fangs caught the steel and the crowded enemy used a spell of his own. Or at least Veldruk fought that the summoning of the creatures was a spell. Ruthmum’s words seemed to reinforce the notion. Demons. Make sense, the dark elf thought as an acid explosion happened by his side.
He was a moment too late to notice and expected to be a moment too late to rise his shield, but reflex saved him. Surprisingly unharmed he moved his eyes towards the crowned foe, only to find it dead. The dark elf had heard Evelyn’s voice last so he deduced her spell ended the monster. But why’s the other carrying its corpse? Whatever the case, it didn’t seem like a good idea to allow it to scape.
“Prone targets are harder to hit from range!” The warlock shouted towards the wizard while running at the running colossus. With the eye of his mind he saw the enemy, wounded and dying. He wished for it, called for it, and his sword answered making necrotic energy flow through the darkness. A curse cast upon the large enemy. “Not so fast.”
When the enemy was withing the range of his weapon, Veldruk stroke.
Notes: Veldruk moves towards the gnoll carrying the crowned corpse, spends his bonus action to use Hexblade Curse (+2 necrotic damage on hit) on it then uses his action to cast Booming Blade (23 to hit, 13 magical slashing damage + 2 necrotic damage + 7 thunder damage if the target moves). All rolls made on the campaign log (the second longsword roll was because I forgot the advantage from darkness).
(The summoning was prevented by the blindness, that's why she provoked the opportunity attack and took the booming blade damage, she had no other spells besides shield that didn't need sight)
The giant gnoll cackles in pain (or pleasure? hard to tell) as Veldruk's blade bites into its flesh.
Threl, it's actually your turn, since the crowned gnoll is down! Olan, you also still have your action, if you like.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
Looking around, Olan realises that there's a lot going on. Enemies are dead, there's a huge ball of darkness, and for some reason there's a very localised thunderstorm, not to mention a giant vulture which seems to be helping them!
Thankfully nobody seems to be taking any notice of him so he moves south into cover and takes a shot at the gnoll carrying Nodjeim. If he can bring it down he may still be able to revive the monk which was how this all started!
Threla's face twinges for a second, but he shakes his head and is fine. He moves southeast, poking his head out of the cloud of Darkness, in order to look around at whatever the nine hells is happening. She looks around, and sees the fallen Nodjeim in the arms of the massive beast. Committing to this whole "pretending to be a necromancer" thing, she does the following:
Appearing out of the roiling gloom and shadow, the elves purple skin is wreathed in tendrils of shadow. With a maniacal cackle, he steps forward slowly, raising his hands skywards. His fingertips crackle with blueish eldritch energy, and the sky darkens, the flicker of blue lightning apparent in the sky.
With an audible hum, the energy pulses through the atmosphere, gathering above Nodjeim and the Giant Gnoll. Azure electricity shoots down from the sky, striking the unconscious monk. As onlookers clear their eyes, they see the body of the mummy-like man crackling with energy, tendrils of blue writhing along the body.
With a jolt and a burst, the light disappears, and everything is still.
Stepping fully out of the darkness, Threl sweeps his hands, and intones in a booming voice "No matter how many times you strike my minions down, I will always return their souls. Your fight is futile, for I am shadow! I CONTROL THE DEAD!"
And Threl also casts Healing Word on Nodjeim for 6 HP of healing. "Rise again my servant! RISE ONCE MORE!" Hoping Nodjeim plays along.
And...(yes, and. I'm not done), Threl waves his hand once more, drawing his dagger from the folds of his clothes. He raises it into the air, and blue energy surrounds it as he casts Minor Illusion, causing a horrible wail to emanate from the jagged weapon. He yells one final thing "THIS IS THE BLADE OF SPIRITS! IT SHALL RIP YOUR SOUL TO SHREDS! FEAR ITS WRATH!" As he says this, he melts back into the shadows of the gloom ominously, returning to where Veldruk is.
Nodjeim twitches and grunts and begins to stir, eyes fluttering open slowly and unsure of their surroundings or situation... ((Just acknowledging the brought back from death again... I'll wait on DM to advise if he would be aware of Threl's words or not, or just that he's awakened again.))
Threl isn't sure if the gnolls can comprehend what he's saying, though the rest of the group certainly hears and sees the drow casting some rather necromantic, foul-looking magic. They do seem to focus their attention to Threl, at the very least, keeping attention off of the rest of the party. However, as Threl fades into the darkness, their attention goes elsewhere (though Threl wouldn't know this, being blind himself).
OOC: Random Thought: if Drow worship Lolth, does that mean that the Abyss is their heaven? Weird.
(Generally, it doesn't matter what alignment you are in the base 5e cosmology, it just depends on how committed you were to that alignment. The more good you are, the better position you get in a good-aligned plane, whereas the more evil you are, the better position you get in an evil-aligned plane. As it stands, only centrists go to hell. As it should be.)
The last remaining giant gnoll makes another strike on Chakka, nearly killing the thri-kreen fighter with a powerful blow of its greatclub. Bits of chitin and insectoid blood spray across the sand as they reel, psychic emanations of pain radiating from them.
Ruthmum, meanwhile, attempts to take the giant gnoll out with a flame conjured from the tip of his walking stick. He unfortunately misses, cursing and fixing Threl with a wary glare.
Nodjeim, it's finally your turn! You're grappled by the giant gnoll, but it's on its last legs - a single hit from you will almost certainly be enough to kill it, considering your ability modifier.
Having been killed, awoken and summarily killed again, Nodjeim wants nothing other than to get the hell away. It's not that he is a stranger to death, but he much prefers the more active and mobile version he has grown accustomed to. As such, Nodjeim doesn't take a moment to asses the Giant Gnoll's health but rather just tries to slip out of the grapple and run east since he can see Olan there and he seems relatively un-endangered.
Dexterity Check to escape Grapple: 7 (sigh)
If somehow Nodjeim succeeds on that contested check then he uses Bonus Action to spend a ki point on Step of the Wind to disengage and then use his movement to book it east. If he fails the contested check... Well, he is still grappled with nothing to do.
One gnoll archer fires on Olan, one fires on Ruthmum, and the two others fire on Evelyn.
Olan is hit for 4 piercing damage, but stays up. Ruthmum takes 16, but similarly stays standing. Evelyn takes two hits, taking 4piercing and staying up, but another 7 piercing takes down her last hit point.
Chakka desperately attempts to take down the giant gnoll before them, and finally manages it. They then sling a chatkcha into the shoulder of one of the gnolls on the hill above. The vulture then goes after the same gnoll, nearly killing it. Another hit from nearly anything and this gnoll will die. Ruthmum attempts to be that hit, but just barely misses.
Olan, Veldruk, Threl, Nodjeim, you're up! Evelyn, give me a death save!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
(Sorry, I was dead... What are the shapes? Blue Circle is Darkness? Is White Square covered in web? Green Square is...?)
((And hey! I haven't died in a whole turn now, back off!))
Nodjeim, still clearing his head and getting his bearings, is unsure of just what all the chaos is around him. But he knows he wants to gnolls dead... Stepping north about ten feet, he takes a moment to gather his inner strength and then with a few quick, precise movements he pushes it out of him and unleashes a pair of Radiant Sun Bolts against the closest gnoll he sees - the one north of the top left corner of the white square...
Radiant Sun Bolt Attack: 25to hit for 8Radiant damage
Ki Point spent to Bonus Action two more bolts... RSB Attack: 26to hit for 9 Radiant damage RSB Attack: 11to hit for 8 Radiant damage
Once he releases his bolts, Nodjeim backs away and attempts to put the darkness between him and the gnolls he can see, without actually entering the darkness.
For a moment the dark elf thought himself crazy, doubting if there was some hint of pleasure in the voice of the ogre-like gnoll. The thought gave a new and unpleasant meaning to the expression kiss of the blade. One he forgot as the enemy fell dead. If by his slash or the attack of his companions he was not sure for his eyes were soon drawn towards Evelyn. She was unconscious while Nodjeim and Olan were back in the fight. Good thing we finished the hyenas yesterday, he concluded scanning the field of battle. To defeat the beasts with their masters would have been nigh impossible.
Ruthmum should be able to heal her, Veldruk pondered noticing, as more enemies fell, that they didn’t seem to emit weird grunts. Great. I’m the only one who can arouse the interest of gnolls. Something the warlock was happy to put aside as he started running towards the closest enemy.
As he left the Darkness the dark elf closed his eyes. Immediately his focus turns to other senses - the reflecting sound of his steps drew a scenario to his ears, his nose caught the scent of blood and beast. A target towards which he thrusted the steel. As soon as the strike was made he retreated to the area of his spell.
Notes: Veldruk discovers he's too sexy for the gnollsregrets his 20 charisma moves towards the enemy one square from the Darkness AoE, then spends his actions to make a melee attack (18 to hit, 13 magic slashing damage), and moves back into the Darkness AoE hoping the absence of Booming Blade maybe dissuades the creature to follow.
When the gnoll moved the little stability the thundering energy inside its body enjoyed was broken. Sound broke in the creature, tearing its flash, and the warlock weaved his blade. The shielding fangs caught the steel and the crowded enemy used a spell of his own. Or at least Veldruk fought that the summoning of the creatures was a spell. Ruthmum’s words seemed to reinforce the notion. Demons. Make sense, the dark elf thought as an acid explosion happened by his side.
He was a moment too late to notice and expected to be a moment too late to rise his shield, but reflex saved him. Surprisingly unharmed he moved his eyes towards the crowned foe, only to find it dead. The dark elf had heard Evelyn’s voice last so he deduced her spell ended the monster. But why’s the other carrying its corpse? Whatever the case, it didn’t seem like a good idea to allow it to scape.
“Prone targets are harder to hit from range!” The warlock shouted towards the wizard while running at the running colossus. With the eye of his mind he saw the enemy, wounded and dying. He wished for it, called for it, and his sword answered making necrotic energy flow through the darkness. A curse cast upon the large enemy. “Not so fast.”
When the enemy was withing the range of his weapon, Veldruk stroke.
Notes: Veldruk moves towards the gnoll carrying the crowned corpse, spends his bonus action to use Hexblade Curse (+2 necrotic damage on hit) on it then uses his action to cast Booming Blade (23 to hit, 13 magical slashing damage + 2 necrotic damage + 7 thunder damage if the target moves). All rolls made on the campaign log (the second longsword roll was because I forgot the advantage from darkness).
(The summoning was prevented by the blindness, that's why she provoked the opportunity attack and took the booming blade damage, she had no other spells besides shield that didn't need sight)
The giant gnoll cackles in pain (or pleasure? hard to tell) as Veldruk's blade bites into its flesh.
Threl, it's actually your turn, since the crowned gnoll is down! Olan, you also still have your action, if you like.
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
OOC: Fixed the post and the plan was not to conquer the enemy like that. Not like that! (The narration was funny and I am enjoying it.)
Looking around, Olan realises that there's a lot going on. Enemies are dead, there's a huge ball of darkness, and for some reason there's a very localised thunderstorm, not to mention a giant vulture which seems to be helping them!
Thankfully nobody seems to be taking any notice of him so he moves south into cover and takes a shot at the gnoll carrying Nodjeim. If he can bring it down he may still be able to revive the monk which was how this all started!
Attack 18 Damage 5 Sneak attack 6 (Barbed arrow).
Nyli Bemblade - Gnome Arcane Trickster
Portia Thornleaf - Halfling Rogue
With just enough damage to bring it down, Olan's arrow sings neatly between the giant's ribs. It twitches, and collapses.
Threl, you're up!
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
OOC: so many people to save! First, imma roll a quick CON save for something. Also, could I get the current version of the map?
CON save: 7
Hi, I'm Raccoon_Master, a young genderfluid actor, writer, explorer, and bass vocalist. Pronouns They/Them/Theirs
My Characters: Brormin the Devout Crusher; Ellora the Romantic Rookie
Check out my EXTENDED SIGNATUR (hasn't been updated in forever, fyi) and don’t forget to join the Anything but the OGL 2.0 Thread!
"I don't make sense to you, and I don't make sense to myself. Maybe the only one I make sense to is God" ~ Me, trying to sound smart
Map:
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
Threla's face twinges for a second, but he shakes his head and is fine. He moves southeast, poking his head out of the cloud of Darkness, in order to look around at whatever the nine hells is happening. She looks around, and sees the fallen Nodjeim in the arms of the massive beast. Committing to this whole "pretending to be a necromancer" thing, she does the following:
Appearing out of the roiling gloom and shadow, the elves purple skin is wreathed in tendrils of shadow. With a maniacal cackle, he steps forward slowly, raising his hands skywards. His fingertips crackle with blueish eldritch energy, and the sky darkens, the flicker of blue lightning apparent in the sky.
With an audible hum, the energy pulses through the atmosphere, gathering above Nodjeim and the Giant Gnoll. Azure electricity shoots down from the sky, striking the unconscious monk. As onlookers clear their eyes, they see the body of the mummy-like man crackling with energy, tendrils of blue writhing along the body.
With a jolt and a burst, the light disappears, and everything is still.
Stepping fully out of the darkness, Threl sweeps his hands, and intones in a booming voice "No matter how many times you strike my minions down, I will always return their souls. Your fight is futile, for I am shadow! I CONTROL THE DEAD!"
And Threl also casts Healing Word on Nodjeim for 6 HP of healing. "Rise again my servant! RISE ONCE MORE!" Hoping Nodjeim plays along.
And...(yes, and. I'm not done), Threl waves his hand once more, drawing his dagger from the folds of his clothes. He raises it into the air, and blue energy surrounds it as he casts Minor Illusion, causing a horrible wail to emanate from the jagged weapon. He yells one final thing "THIS IS THE BLADE OF SPIRITS! IT SHALL RIP YOUR SOUL TO SHREDS! FEAR ITS WRATH!" As he says this, he melts back into the shadows of the gloom ominously, returning to where Veldruk is.
OOC: I think that calls for a...
Intimidation check: 7
OOC: Random Thought: if Drow worship Lolth, does that mean that the Abyss is their heaven? Weird.
Hi, I'm Raccoon_Master, a young genderfluid actor, writer, explorer, and bass vocalist. Pronouns They/Them/Theirs
My Characters: Brormin the Devout Crusher; Ellora the Romantic Rookie
Check out my EXTENDED SIGNATUR (hasn't been updated in forever, fyi) and don’t forget to join the Anything but the OGL 2.0 Thread!
"I don't make sense to you, and I don't make sense to myself. Maybe the only one I make sense to is God" ~ Me, trying to sound smart
Nodjeim twitches and grunts and begins to stir, eyes fluttering open slowly and unsure of their surroundings or situation... ((Just acknowledging the brought back from death again... I'll wait on DM to advise if he would be aware of Threl's words or not, or just that he's awakened again.))
Threl isn't sure if the gnolls can comprehend what he's saying, though the rest of the group certainly hears and sees the drow casting some rather necromantic, foul-looking magic. They do seem to focus their attention to Threl, at the very least, keeping attention off of the rest of the party. However, as Threl fades into the darkness, their attention goes elsewhere (though Threl wouldn't know this, being blind himself).
(Generally, it doesn't matter what alignment you are in the base 5e cosmology, it just depends on how committed you were to that alignment. The more good you are, the better position you get in a good-aligned plane, whereas the more evil you are, the better position you get in an evil-aligned plane. As it stands, only centrists go to hell. As it should be.)
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
The last remaining giant gnoll makes another strike on Chakka, nearly killing the thri-kreen fighter with a powerful blow of its greatclub. Bits of chitin and insectoid blood spray across the sand as they reel, psychic emanations of pain radiating from them.
Ruthmum, meanwhile, attempts to take the giant gnoll out with a flame conjured from the tip of his walking stick. He unfortunately misses, cursing and fixing Threl with a wary glare.
Nodjeim, it's finally your turn! You're grappled by the giant gnoll, but it's on its last legs - a single hit from you will almost certainly be enough to kill it, considering your ability modifier.
(no map changes, besides that Nodjeim is up)
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
Having been killed, awoken and summarily killed again, Nodjeim wants nothing other than to get the hell away. It's not that he is a stranger to death, but he much prefers the more active and mobile version he has grown accustomed to. As such, Nodjeim doesn't take a moment to asses the Giant Gnoll's health but rather just tries to slip out of the grapple and run east since he can see Olan there and he seems relatively un-endangered.
Dexterity Check to escape Grapple: 7 (sigh)
If somehow Nodjeim succeeds on that contested check then he uses Bonus Action to spend a ki point on Step of the Wind to disengage and then use his movement to book it east. If he fails the contested check... Well, he is still grappled with nothing to do.
No good, Nodjeim fails to wiggle free.
One gnoll archer fires on Olan, one fires on Ruthmum, and the two others fire on Evelyn.
Olan is hit for 4 piercing damage, but stays up. Ruthmum takes 16, but similarly stays standing. Evelyn takes two hits, taking 4 piercing and staying up, but another 7 piercing takes down her last hit point.
Chakka desperately attempts to take down the giant gnoll before them, and finally manages it. They then sling a chatkcha into the shoulder of one of the gnolls on the hill above. The vulture then goes after the same gnoll, nearly killing it. Another hit from nearly anything and this gnoll will die. Ruthmum attempts to be that hit, but just barely misses.
Olan, Veldruk, Threl, Nodjeim, you're up! Evelyn, give me a death save!
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
Map:
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
Olan moves away from the cliff face and launches an arrow at the gnoll being attacked by the vulture.
Attack 22 Damage 8 Sneak attack 3
He then moves back against the cliff face.
Nyli Bemblade - Gnome Arcane Trickster
Portia Thornleaf - Halfling Rogue
OOC: Please! Stop almost dying! I can only heal one person per turn! Too many people to heal... *groan of frustration* :p
Hi, I'm Raccoon_Master, a young genderfluid actor, writer, explorer, and bass vocalist. Pronouns They/Them/Theirs
My Characters: Brormin the Devout Crusher; Ellora the Romantic Rookie
Check out my EXTENDED SIGNATUR (hasn't been updated in forever, fyi) and don’t forget to join the Anything but the OGL 2.0 Thread!
"I don't make sense to you, and I don't make sense to myself. Maybe the only one I make sense to is God" ~ Me, trying to sound smart
(Sorry, I was dead... What are the shapes? Blue Circle is Darkness? Is White Square covered in web? Green Square is...?)
((And hey! I haven't died in a whole turn now, back off!))
Nodjeim, still clearing his head and getting his bearings, is unsure of just what all the chaos is around him. But he knows he wants to gnolls dead... Stepping north about ten feet, he takes a moment to gather his inner strength and then with a few quick, precise movements he pushes it out of him and unleashes a pair of Radiant Sun Bolts against the closest gnoll he sees - the one north of the top left corner of the white square...
Radiant Sun Bolt Attack: 25 to hit for 8 Radiant damage
Ki Point spent to Bonus Action two more bolts...
RSB Attack: 26 to hit for 9 Radiant damage
RSB Attack: 11 to hit for 8 Radiant damage
Once he releases his bolts, Nodjeim backs away and attempts to put the darkness between him and the gnolls he can see, without actually entering the darkness.
(You're correct on all of that, the green is Ruthmum's spell, it's difficult terrain.)
Olan's arrow neatly punctures the throat of the gnoll near the vulture, while Nodjeim lands two solid hits on the gnoll that just fired on Olan.
Still need that death save, Veldruk and Threl are up!
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."
For a moment the dark elf thought himself crazy, doubting if there was some hint of pleasure in the voice of the ogre-like gnoll. The thought gave a new and unpleasant meaning to the expression kiss of the blade. One he forgot as the enemy fell dead. If by his slash or the attack of his companions he was not sure for his eyes were soon drawn towards Evelyn. She was unconscious while Nodjeim and Olan were back in the fight. Good thing we finished the hyenas yesterday, he concluded scanning the field of battle. To defeat the beasts with their masters would have been nigh impossible.
Ruthmum should be able to heal her, Veldruk pondered noticing, as more enemies fell, that they didn’t seem to emit weird grunts. Great. I’m the only one who can arouse the interest of gnolls. Something the warlock was happy to put aside as he started running towards the closest enemy.
As he left the Darkness the dark elf closed his eyes. Immediately his focus turns to other senses - the reflecting sound of his steps drew a scenario to his ears, his nose caught the scent of blood and beast. A target towards which he thrusted the steel. As soon as the strike was made he retreated to the area of his spell.
Notes: Veldruk
discovers he's too sexy for the gnollsregrets his 20 charismamoves towards the enemy one square from the Darkness AoE, then spends his actions to make a melee attack (18 to hit, 13 magic slashing damage), and moves back into the Darkness AoE hoping the absence of Booming Blade maybe dissuades the creature to follow.Veldruk decapitates the gnoll with a single blow. Quick, simple, and efficient. Not very clean.
Threl's turn, Evelyn needs to save! (the save will happen before Threl's turn, so no chance of healing)
"Ignorance is bliss, and you look absolutely miserable."