This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
As Dabbert rushes forward he hears The Aspirant's footsteps right behind him, bringing the light down into the musty air, the temperature cooling with every step down. As the light from RBA's shield starts heading down the stairs just steps ahead of Dabbert, the creaking of a large door can be heard. Just as the light reveals the room the sound of the door slamming is heard and a large wooden door can be seen on the other side of the room, across from the stairs. This large stone chamber is in a similar state of destruction and mess to upstairs though it is obvious it once held more grandeur and decoration. Amongst the litter and the rubble is about a dozen moldy bedrolls and some of the Goblins who use them. There is a brazier in the middle of the room. It appears as it's fire was recently put out as a small tendril of smoke still rises from it. On the northern and souther walls there are intricate scenes carved into the walls... But perhaps right now is not the time to study them. The bodies of the two Goblins Jordgubb managed to kill in retaliation for his own wound still lie just a bit north from the end of the stairs...Three living goblins are to the south, and one to the north.
Recognizing the closest Goblin and being the one just around the corner to the south, Dabbert heads there directly, shield up and ready to strike. His polearm chops down in a vicious arc and cleaves the poor creature's shoulder all but entirely away from it's torso. A deft play of the weapon's momentum brings it's blunt bottom swinging up and striking the goblin under the chin, throwing it's head back and delivering a killing blow.
It's the Goblin's turn now...
The remaining Goblins in this room (oddly A, B and C) each take aim at the intruders with their shortbows and let loose... ((Evens they target Dabbert, Odds they target RBA))
A targets 1 and rolls a 13 to hit for 3 damage B targets 3 and rolls a 20 to hit for 7 damage C targets 3 and rolls a 19 to hit for 7 damage
(Kind of hopping those two targeted different people...)
"Hurry, hurry!" one of the three can be heard shouting. "Tell them to start! Start now!" another is shouting. "Send backup!" the last calls out, though he does not sound hopeful... And soon after you hear a rhythmic pounding sound begin and some disturbing chanting.
((Oh... and the yellow lines on the map are a door, if you cannot read my labelling it as such.))
Krumar had no time to react to what was happening. He went to hide but then saw RBG and Soulja Boy charge across the bridge. Before he could even open his mouth for a snarky comment, he is nailed with an arrow. "Oh, why have the God's forsaken me!? Am I dead? I am dead....I must be dead." Krumar remembers suddenly that he has magics! He hides along the wall pushing Jordy out of his way "You look hungry, go get them" He casts healing word on Jordy +7 HPs
Nefire rolls her eyes, "No you're not dead!" then without missing a beat, "Wait for me! Don't kill them all before I get a chance!"
Nefire runs down the stairs after Dabbert and the acolyte, secretly impressed that the acolyte is following directly into battle, swinging her axe above her head in a big arc.
Seeing that the gobbos are further than her little legs can typically carry her, she grunts and dashes all the way to goblin B and swings..
She crits!! Attack: 27, Damage: 21- that gobbo is toast!
After taking an arrow to knee Krumar wails and whines and hides. He uses his action to shove Jordgubb out of the best hiding spot (you two can feel free to roll a contested grapple if you wish but mechanically I just don't care about the slight positioning difference! lol) but uses his quick wards and smart(assed) tongue to throw some healing the Dragonborn's way.
Meanwhile, the littlest giant bellows and does her best to catch up! She races with speed nobody would believe and wields her axe similarly... (despite forgetting to add Bless to her attack? Not that it would change anything...) Goblin B becomes Goblin B1 and Goblin B2, both half the Goblin they used to be, Nefire's axe bisecting the poor Gobbo lengthwise with a butcher's precision...
Round 2!
There is the briefest lull in hostilities as those present take in the bloody yet poetic death of Goblin D. In this lull the drumbeat and the chanting can be heard coming muffled through the closed door on the eastern wall...
The red robed Aspirant momentarily closes his eyes and whispers a quick prayer. As he does so he thumps his staff down upon the stone floor and a slightly booming effect echoes forth... The sound hits Dabbert like a warm wave and he finds himself healed for 8 HP. The robed one then backs up a bit and slumps slightly against the staircase wall, gaining some cover from the remaining living Goblins but continuing to hold his shield forth in order to illuminate the area.
Dabbert and Jordgubb are up!
Red Outline = Dead Green Outline = Blessed (still on 2/10)
Jordgubb moves his base 30ft down the stairs but with no extra movement or ability to attack if he moves any more, he simply takes the Dodge action which consists of his looking like he's the victim of a shadow boxer.
Dabbert moves, working his way down to Goblin C and attacking with his spear. The spear jabs out, and then swings around for a second strike before returning to the side of the shield, ready for whatever is next.
Turn Summary
Movement: To Goblin C (If he kills C, he'll move on to Goblin A) Action- Attack w/ Spear: Targeting Goblin C. 14 to hit, 10 damage Bonus Action- Polearm Master Bonus Attack: 19 to hit, 7 damage Readied Reaction- Polearm Master Opportunity Attack: 8 to hit (MISS)
Jordgubb moves down the stairs and, seeing the mayhem and bloodshed, takes a defensive position.
Dabbert is otherwise minded. Dabbert is on the offensive. Moving from one kill to, hopefully, his next, he attacks with his polearm once again. His first swing misses but he is able to swing around and take the goblin out with the follow through with the butt end. Another Goblin down...
"You're too late!" the remaining Goblin screeches out as they toss aside their shortbow, draw their scimitar and rush in and attack Dabbert, he being the closest target.
Goblin A Scimitar vs Dabbert: Nat 1... No going out in a blaze of glory for this sad Gobbo...
Up Next: Krumar & Nefire! Red Outline = Dead Green Outline = Blessed (still on 2/10)
Krumar peeks out from behind the wall and sees the bloodbath....He swallows the bile that formed in the back of his throat and decides to get into the game....well sort of....He moves north a bit to give himself an angle for a shot, aims his bow as to not hit Dabbert, probably not hit Dabbert, maybe hit Dabbert....He yells out "Fortune favors the bold!!!" And lets loose an arrow (19 to hit 8 damage).
After splitting the goblin in two, Nefire smiles with the blood splattered on her face. She spins around and charges at Goblin A, "No, like this!" And brings her axe down on this one as well, not needing the bless again as she relishes the feeling of her axe digging into goblin meat and bones.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Krumar sneaks along the wall until he sees it is safe to scramble a bit north and let loose and arrow at the lone, sad, scrawny goblin that still survives.
Nefire turns on a heel and leaps over the brazier in her eagerness to get to the last vicious, nothing to lose, bloodthirsty goblin which still tries to kill you all.
Everyone else just watches what was inevitable... Th felling of the last foe under overwhelming odds...
Does arrow strike first or is it the ace which brings down Irt the Goblin? Does Krumar claim fame and glory or does Nefire continue her bloody rampage? Can the truth ever be known?? Yes. Yes it can. Nefire gets the kill on a roll of Evens, Krumar gets it on the roll of 1...
Round 2 Ends with the Goblin threat (of this room) wiped out and the party still alive...
Faint rhythmic drums and chants continue to seep through the door to the east, the room is otherwise still and quiet except for perhaps some heavy breathing and racing heartbeats from amongst the party. For the Red Branch Aspirant this is by far the most combat he has ever seen and he is, quite frankly, not overly fond of it. Nor of the wound in his side. Though another muttered prayer and thumping of his staff into the floor stones helps alleviate that, at least. ((Anyone else need healing that didn't get it? Jordgubb got hit but I think Krumar tossed him some healing?))
Three of the four statues in the corner of the room are shattered and broken, the last chipped and smeared with... Well, best not to question it too much. The brazier has had it's fire dampened but a string of smoke still trails up from it to the roof before spreading out and disappearing into the air. The walls are covered with carvings which seem to depict knights in various scenes though these are faint with age and hidden by grime and dirt. There is, of course, the bedrolls and such comforts the Goblins had strewed about the room as well as the large, heavy wooden door to the east...
Krumar walks over to the Goblin he shot right in the eye and collects his arrow "Did you see that shot? Right by ole Dabbert here and through the lil guys eye. I am quite the expert marksman...You are lucky that I didn't get that arrow pierced in your back Nef. If you were a little taller....well good thing you're not eh?"
Completely ignoring the situation they find themselves in, Nefire stamps her foot like a tantruming toddler and glares at Krumar. "You dare take away my kill? You know damn well it was my axe that slew him, your arrow just pierced a dead body."
She quickly reaches out and wipes the blade of her bloodied axe on Krumar's pants. "Next time you take away one of my kills as yours, I'll just kill you and then my count will be right."
She turns her back on him and faces the door. "So they know we're coming, any plans on the door or just bust it open?"
Krumar mutters under his breath while wiping the blood off with one of the goblins who’d not been cut in half “We could just use you as a battering ram”
Jordgubb creeps further down the stairs and marvels at the piles of goblin bodies, "I think we all did quite well, regardlessss of who struck last." He clicks his fingers and the dampened flame in the brazier jumps back to life shedding better light on the situation. "I say we stay clear of the door and see if we are welcome hmm?" And then knocks hard several times on the door shouting something in a gravelly mock goblin voice.
(In goblish he yells, "we got 'em, the attackers is all dead, we mighty goblinses killed the lot of 'em!" Deception if needed 4)
Even as he attempts his mimicry Jordgubb knows he made his voice to caricature like... Too "cartoony" so to speak.
But with the brazier lit once more the flames of it dance off the walls and bring new life to the carvings upon them. One wall tells the story of a band of knights swarmed by hoards and hoards of goblins. Feral, vicious goblins! Though some of that may be artistic license as the goal of the depiction is clearly to show the heroics and determination of the brave band of knights against overwhelming odds. Another wall seems to depict the same band of knights pledging an oath to their leader. There is an inscription under this image which reads: "I swear to fight chaos in all of its forms, to uphold order, by honor of my word" The statues in each corner of the room, though largely broken and defaced, depict the same knights as the carvings.
"I think this may be the tomb of the Delian Order," the Red Branch Aspirant says with some awe and reverence as his shifts his shield this way and that to further illuminate the walls. "I... I read about them. Lord Delius lost his daughter to monsters in the woods. This would have been a hundred or two years ago? Ancient history. Lore. Legends. The story tells that Lord Delius led his most loyal men in a mission to cleanse the woods of all evils, vowing to not return until they were safe for all. And that is where Lord Delius and the Delian Order more or less fell out of the histories."
The Aspirant shifts he shield a couple more time to point out things of interest - The Delian Sign, a sigil used to designate those who follow Lord Delius; The similar likeness between a couple of the etchings and the statues; a couple other items of more interest to academics than any of you probably care about. "To think, they came here so long ago to clear the woods of the evils which are now living here and retaking the woods..." he says with some wonder.
The drumbeat and chanting seems to grow louder in a momentary lull in the history lesson.
"creatures of nature both good and bad will alwayssss take over, civilisations and citiesss crumble and fall, the forestsss merely wait to welcome the stones and bonesss of those who tried to stave her off... These Delian knights simply died trying to prevent the inevitable, foolsss really." Jordgubb gives the aspirant a bit of a sneer but doesn't hold it against the city boy, not too much anyway.
"So which of you brave fightersss wants to volunteer to open the door?" He offers, looking between before and Dabbert in an attempt to goad them into danger, Jordgubb steps to the side of the doorway as to not catch a stray arrow should the door be opened.
As Dabbert rushes forward he hears The Aspirant's footsteps right behind him, bringing the light down into the musty air, the temperature cooling with every step down. As the light from RBA's shield starts heading down the stairs just steps ahead of Dabbert, the creaking of a large door can be heard. Just as the light reveals the room the sound of the door slamming is heard and a large wooden door can be seen on the other side of the room, across from the stairs. This large stone chamber is in a similar state of destruction and mess to upstairs though it is obvious it once held more grandeur and decoration. Amongst the litter and the rubble is about a dozen moldy bedrolls and some of the Goblins who use them. There is a brazier in the middle of the room. It appears as it's fire was recently put out as a small tendril of smoke still rises from it. On the northern and souther walls there are intricate scenes carved into the walls... But perhaps right now is not the time to study them. The bodies of the two Goblins Jordgubb managed to kill in retaliation for his own wound still lie just a bit north from the end of the stairs...Three living goblins are to the south, and one to the north.
Recognizing the closest Goblin and being the one just around the corner to the south, Dabbert heads there directly, shield up and ready to strike. His polearm chops down in a vicious arc and cleaves the poor creature's shoulder all but entirely away from it's torso. A deft play of the weapon's momentum brings it's blunt bottom swinging up and striking the goblin under the chin, throwing it's head back and delivering a killing blow.
It's the Goblin's turn now...
The remaining Goblins in this room (oddly A, B and C) each take aim at the intruders with their shortbows and let loose... ((Evens they target Dabbert, Odds they target RBA))
A targets 1 and rolls a 13 to hit for 3 damage
B targets 3 and rolls a 20 to hit for 7 damage
C targets 3 and rolls a 19 to hit for 7 damage
(Kind of hopping those two targeted different people...)
"Hurry, hurry!" one of the three can be heard shouting. "Tell them to start! Start now!" another is shouting. "Send backup!" the last calls out, though he does not sound hopeful... And soon after you hear a rhythmic pounding sound begin and some disturbing chanting.
((Oh... and the yellow lines on the map are a door, if you cannot read my labelling it as such.))
Krumar and Nefire are up to finish round one...
Krumar had no time to react to what was happening. He went to hide but then saw RBG and Soulja Boy charge across the bridge. Before he could even open his mouth for a snarky comment, he is nailed with an arrow. "Oh, why have the God's forsaken me!? Am I dead? I am dead....I must be dead." Krumar remembers suddenly that he has magics! He hides along the wall pushing Jordy out of his way "You look hungry, go get them" He casts healing word on Jordy +7 HPs
Nefire rolls her eyes, "No you're not dead!" then without missing a beat, "Wait for me! Don't kill them all before I get a chance!"
Nefire runs down the stairs after Dabbert and the acolyte, secretly impressed that the acolyte is following directly into battle, swinging her axe above her head in a big arc.
Seeing that the gobbos are further than her little legs can typically carry her, she grunts and dashes all the way to goblin B and swings..
She crits!! Attack: 27, Damage: 21 - that gobbo is toast!
After taking an arrow to knee Krumar wails and whines and hides. He uses his action to shove Jordgubb out of the best hiding spot (you two can feel free to roll a contested grapple if you wish but mechanically I just don't care about the slight positioning difference! lol) but uses his quick wards and smart(assed) tongue to throw some healing the Dragonborn's way.
Meanwhile, the littlest giant bellows and does her best to catch up! She races with speed nobody would believe and wields her axe similarly... (despite forgetting to add Bless to her attack? Not that it would change anything...) Goblin B becomes Goblin B1 and Goblin B2, both half the Goblin they used to be, Nefire's axe bisecting the poor Gobbo lengthwise with a butcher's precision...
Round 2!
There is the briefest lull in hostilities as those present take in the bloody yet poetic death of Goblin D. In this lull the drumbeat and the chanting can be heard coming muffled through the closed door on the eastern wall...
The red robed Aspirant momentarily closes his eyes and whispers a quick prayer. As he does so he thumps his staff down upon the stone floor and a slightly booming effect echoes forth... The sound hits Dabbert like a warm wave and he finds himself healed for 8 HP. The robed one then backs up a bit and slumps slightly against the staircase wall, gaining some cover from the remaining living Goblins but continuing to hold his shield forth in order to illuminate the area.
Dabbert and Jordgubb are up!
Red Outline = Dead
Green Outline = Blessed (still on 2/10)
Jordgubb moves his base 30ft down the stairs but with no extra movement or ability to attack if he moves any more, he simply takes the Dodge action which consists of his looking like he's the victim of a shadow boxer.
Dabbert moves, working his way down to Goblin C and attacking with his spear. The spear jabs out, and then swings around for a second strike before returning to the side of the shield, ready for whatever is next.
Turn Summary
Movement: To Goblin C (If he kills C, he'll move on to Goblin A)
Action- Attack w/ Spear: Targeting Goblin C. 14 to hit, 10 damage
Bonus Action- Polearm Master Bonus Attack: 19 to hit, 7 damage
Readied Reaction- Polearm Master Opportunity Attack: 8 to hit (MISS)
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Jordgubb moves down the stairs and, seeing the mayhem and bloodshed, takes a defensive position.
Dabbert is otherwise minded. Dabbert is on the offensive. Moving from one kill to, hopefully, his next, he attacks with his polearm once again. His first swing misses but he is able to swing around and take the goblin out with the follow through with the butt end. Another Goblin down...
"You're too late!" the remaining Goblin screeches out as they toss aside their shortbow, draw their scimitar and rush in and attack Dabbert, he being the closest target.
Goblin A Scimitar vs Dabbert: Nat 1... No going out in a blaze of glory for this sad Gobbo...
Up Next: Krumar & Nefire!
Red Outline = Dead
Green Outline = Blessed (still on 2/10)
Krumar peeks out from behind the wall and sees the bloodbath....He swallows the bile that formed in the back of his throat and decides to get into the game....well sort of....He moves north a bit to give himself an angle for a shot, aims his bow as to not hit Dabbert, probably not hit Dabbert, maybe hit Dabbert....He yells out "Fortune favors the bold!!!" And lets loose an arrow (19 to hit 8 damage).
After splitting the goblin in two, Nefire smiles with the blood splattered on her face. She spins around and charges at Goblin A, "No, like this!" And brings her axe down on this one as well, not needing the bless again as she relishes the feeling of her axe digging into goblin meat and bones.
Attack: 22, Damage: 13
Krumar sneaks along the wall until he sees it is safe to scramble a bit north and let loose and arrow at the lone, sad, scrawny goblin that still survives.
Nefire turns on a heel and leaps over the brazier in her eagerness to get to the last vicious, nothing to lose, bloodthirsty goblin which still tries to kill you all.
Everyone else just watches what was inevitable... Th felling of the last foe under overwhelming odds...
Does arrow strike first or is it the ace which brings down Irt the Goblin? Does Krumar claim fame and glory or does Nefire continue her bloody rampage? Can the truth ever be known?? Yes. Yes it can. Nefire gets the kill on a roll of Evens, Krumar gets it on the roll of 1...
1
...
Round 2 Ends with the Goblin threat (of this room) wiped out and the party still alive...
Faint rhythmic drums and chants continue to seep through the door to the east, the room is otherwise still and quiet except for perhaps some heavy breathing and racing heartbeats from amongst the party. For the Red Branch Aspirant this is by far the most combat he has ever seen and he is, quite frankly, not overly fond of it. Nor of the wound in his side. Though another muttered prayer and thumping of his staff into the floor stones helps alleviate that, at least. ((Anyone else need healing that didn't get it? Jordgubb got hit but I think Krumar tossed him some healing?))
Three of the four statues in the corner of the room are shattered and broken, the last chipped and smeared with... Well, best not to question it too much. The brazier has had it's fire dampened but a string of smoke still trails up from it to the roof before spreading out and disappearing into the air. The walls are covered with carvings which seem to depict knights in various scenes though these are faint with age and hidden by grime and dirt. There is, of course, the bedrolls and such comforts the Goblins had strewed about the room as well as the large, heavy wooden door to the east...
What Next?
Krumar walks over to the Goblin he shot right in the eye and collects his arrow "Did you see that shot? Right by ole Dabbert here and through the lil guys eye. I am quite the expert marksman...You are lucky that I didn't get that arrow pierced in your back Nef. If you were a little taller....well good thing you're not eh?"
Completely ignoring the situation they find themselves in, Nefire stamps her foot like a tantruming toddler and glares at Krumar. "You dare take away my kill? You know damn well it was my axe that slew him, your arrow just pierced a dead body."
She quickly reaches out and wipes the blade of her bloodied axe on Krumar's pants. "Next time you take away one of my kills as yours, I'll just kill you and then my count will be right."
She turns her back on him and faces the door. "So they know we're coming, any plans on the door or just bust it open?"
Krumar mutters under his breath while wiping the blood off with one of the goblins who’d not been cut in half “We could just use you as a battering ram”
Jordgubb creeps further down the stairs and marvels at the piles of goblin bodies, "I think we all did quite well, regardlessss of who struck last." He clicks his fingers and the dampened flame in the brazier jumps back to life shedding better light on the situation. "I say we stay clear of the door and see if we are welcome hmm?" And then knocks hard several times on the door shouting something in a gravelly mock goblin voice.
(In goblish he yells, "we got 'em, the attackers is all dead, we mighty goblinses killed the lot of 'em!" Deception if needed 4)
Even as he attempts his mimicry Jordgubb knows he made his voice to caricature like... Too "cartoony" so to speak.
But with the brazier lit once more the flames of it dance off the walls and bring new life to the carvings upon them. One wall tells the story of a band of knights swarmed by hoards and hoards of goblins. Feral, vicious goblins! Though some of that may be artistic license as the goal of the depiction is clearly to show the heroics and determination of the brave band of knights against overwhelming odds. Another wall seems to depict the same band of knights pledging an oath to their leader. There is an inscription under this image which reads: "I swear to fight chaos in all of its forms, to uphold order, by honor of my word" The statues in each corner of the room, though largely broken and defaced, depict the same knights as the carvings.
"I think this may be the tomb of the Delian Order," the Red Branch Aspirant says with some awe and reverence as his shifts his shield this way and that to further illuminate the walls. "I... I read about them. Lord Delius lost his daughter to monsters in the woods. This would have been a hundred or two years ago? Ancient history. Lore. Legends. The story tells that Lord Delius led his most loyal men in a mission to cleanse the woods of all evils, vowing to not return until they were safe for all. And that is where Lord Delius and the Delian Order more or less fell out of the histories."
The Aspirant shifts he shield a couple more time to point out things of interest - The Delian Sign, a sigil used to designate those who follow Lord Delius; The similar likeness between a couple of the etchings and the statues; a couple other items of more interest to academics than any of you probably care about. "To think, they came here so long ago to clear the woods of the evils which are now living here and retaking the woods..." he says with some wonder.
The drumbeat and chanting seems to grow louder in a momentary lull in the history lesson.
Round 3 is over...
"creatures of nature both good and bad will alwayssss take over, civilisations and citiesss crumble and fall, the forestsss merely wait to welcome the stones and bonesss of those who tried to stave her off... These Delian knights simply died trying to prevent the inevitable, foolsss really." Jordgubb gives the aspirant a bit of a sneer but doesn't hold it against the city boy, not too much anyway.
"So which of you brave fightersss wants to volunteer to open the door?" He offers, looking between before and Dabbert in an attempt to goad them into danger, Jordgubb steps to the side of the doorway as to not catch a stray arrow should the door be opened.
"And here we are another daughter stolen.." Nefire adds and then turns towards the large door.
And to Jorgubb, "You're a ray a sunshine, you know that?" and attempts to open the door.
Athletics if needed? 23
Krumar raises a finger to protest but instead stands a ways out of the way, along the wall, clear or danger....he thinks.
Jordgubb makes an overly exaggerated bow to Nefire and sarcastically replies "well, one triessss".