Hoard of the Dragon Queen [IC. 2014 rules]

Draylin

Blood ran freely from a pair of deep slashes across the monk's chest and arms.  Cultist 3, blade dripping Draylin's own crimson blood, stands before him.  His eyes narrowed, he could kill the fool, he knew it with complete certainty.  But, so too did he know that he would be left exposed, vulnerable to another hit; a hit he couldn't afford to take.  

Focusing his mind, calling upon hours beyond counting spent in training, Draylin put his practice to the test.  Dipping into a low defensive position, the half elf used his left arm in a sweeping low right to high left block.  His forearms caught the the flat of the cultist's scimitar, guiding it harmlessly high and left. He dropped back, away from the cultist and out of his reach.  With a little more room to move, Draylin put his dagger to task.  His left hand dropped, pulling the blade free in one fluid motion.  He snapped his wrist, sending the dagger whirling towards the traitorous guard.  Even as the weapon is in the air, Draylin is dropping back and looping back around, using enough movement that if a cultist chased him someone would get an opportunity attack.  He then drops into a low crouch, breathing heavily and looking for the best place to jump back in.  

***B/A ki point: step of the wind (disengage) - attack action dagger throw  15  damage  5  piercing    movement E, S, W:  dropping back behind Thistlewick to catch his breath***

Tam rolls backward again, putting herself outside of melee range and firing off another crossbow bolt at C2. 

[same move as before. Disengage and move back 5’ then fire at C2. 19 to hit. 8 damage.]

Draylin’s dagger sinks deep into the traitorous guard’s chest, piercing the lung. The man gasps, his eyes rolling back as he collapses into the mud, dead before he hits the ground. At the same moment, Cultist 2 takes a heavy bolt to the sternum from Tam’s crossbow. He is still standing, but he is pale and blood is already beginning to pool beneath his boots.

TRAITOR GUARD IS DEAD.

Seeing his leader fall, Cultist 3 lets out a guttural hiss of desperation and lunges for the dwarf. He cuts the distance in a blur, bringing his scimitar down in a jagged arc towards Montar's neck.

Attack: 8 Damage: 2

Over to Thistlewick

Thistlewick steps forward, ignoring the initial thrust of the spear, as his body erupts in a shimmering, grey-green aura of fungal spores. While he does not wear heavy armor, yet the druid moves with a terrifying confidence, his skin taking on a pale, moss-like texture as the symbiotic fungi take root, providing a thick layer of temporary, protective health.   

The attacker's thrown spear connects with Thistlewick's shoulder, cutting into the mossy texture layered on his body and armor. With a grunt, he stops to stomp on the spear that now lays on the ground - looking up to see who he can 'greet' as Draylin dances back behind the advancing gnome.

(( spear attack -->  7 pts vs tmp hp protection ))

As soon as Thistlewick gets within ten feet of the closest foe, the enemy immediately starts hacking and coughing, their eyes watering as the air grows thick, tasting of rot and decay. The druid's eyes glow with a faint, unnatural necrotic energy, and a faint halo of spores swirls around them, instantly attacking the spear-wielder.

Halo of Spores -- 4 pts necrotic dmg  (( CON saving throw (DC 13) ))

With a calm, unsettling smile, the druid adjusts his shield while raising his club - now a fungal-covered weapon of death - which rapidly lashes out as it connects with the attacker, a burst of pale, necrotic spores explodes upon impact, causing the attacker's muscles to wither and weaken.

Shillelagh - to hit: dirty 20

Damage:   11 bashing + 6 necrotic == 17 pts

The druid embraces this, showing that they are not a bringer of life, but a guardian of the necessary, beautiful decay.

C2 CON SAVE 14

Thistlewick’s spores erupt in a sickening cloud. Cultist 2 tries to shield his face, but the necrotic rot is instantaneous. His muscles wither, his skin greying. Next to him, a sickening crack comes from Cultist 3's head as the druid's staff connects with it.

C3 IS DEAD.

Cultist 4 lets out a desperate whimper and attempts to cut the druid with his scimitar Attack: 22 Damage: 7, while Cultist 2 does the same with Montar Attack: 11 Damage: 2

Over to Montar

Montar's chain deflects the second cultist's clumsy blow. The dwarf draws his maul and ignores his injured foe, instead eying the last uninjured cultist. "We don't ye return back to yer camp," he growls, and then takes a swing with his hand-crafted weapon. Unfortunately, his balance is off, and the weapon sails wide. (Atk: 8)

Draylin darts back into the fray.  He doesn't so much seem to step between Tam and Thistlewick as he flows.  His left arm leading, his lithe frame moved back into combat like water flowing downhill.  His bloodied short sword came in in a flash.  Left arm up, fist balled, and showing defense or a left jab, the cultist never saw the sword coming, but he surely felt it.  The blade whistled in low right and slashing up left. A crimson arc flew up following the blade; the man was open from hip to shoulder.   ***move back into melee: he should be directly in front of Tam, with access to either or both cultists.  attack on C2 short sword 21  piercing damage 7***  Allowing the momentum of his swing to pull him around, Draylin spun on the ball of his right foot.  As he whipped around he snapped out his left arm delivering a powerful spinning backfist.   ***B/A unarmed strike on C4  attack 15   bludgeoning damage 7***  He quickly steps out of the spin, moving to flank C4, pinning him between the monk and druid if he remains upright.  Based on how solidly his fist connected with the cultist's face, he doubted that would be the case.

***with C1 dead, it's back to Tam and Draylin, correct?***

Thistlewick gets a reaction response from being sliced (barely) by Cultist 4 --  

Halo of Spores -->  3 necrotic damage as the spore fly into his face...   unless they don't  (( CON saving throw (DC 13).  ))

C4 CON SAVE 6

Draylin moves like water, his blade opening C2 from hip to shoulder while his backfist catches C4 flush in the jaw. As the monk spins, Thistlewick’s spores finish the job, rotting the last cultist's breath in his lungs. Both bodies hit the mud.

C2 and C4 ARE DEAD.

The street is clear and a handful of people make it to the keep, but the silence is immediately shattered. Forty feet ahead, through a gap in the smoke, a woman holding a round shield is desperately swinging a broken spear to protect a fallen man and three children.

A pack of four kobolds and a cultist are circling them, hissing as they prepare to close in for the kill.

We are still in initiative. The raiders are focused on the family and haven't seen you yet. You have a Surprise Round to act.

Over to Tam, Thistlewick and Montar. Draylin can use whatever movement he has left too.

Montar closes to within 15 feet of the kobolds, rests his maul on the ground, and flings two handaxes (one action, one bonus action w/o damage bonus) at two kobolds (Atk 11, Dmg: 6, 19, Dmg 3).

Tam runs up behind Montar, putting whatever she can between herself and the raiders. She takes aim at the cultist and lets loose with her crossbow.

[i'll move up to 15' range, keeping half cover if she can find it. Dirty 20 to hit, 3 damage. I don't think this gets sneak attack]

***OoC:  surprise round = ADV if they don't see us coming?***

Thislewick moves alongside Draylin as they head toward their companions.  "I wish this could be slow and comfortable, however..."   Thistlewick's hand seizes Draylin's side as best he can and send forth a cloud of spore that immediately nestles down into the monk's open wounds.

Cure Wounds   11 hp recovered.

The spores immediately send forth mycelium 'threads' into the wounds to forceably close gaping wounds and speed the coagulating process.  Given a bit of time, barely a scar will show.

"Now then, shall we go help that damsel in distress?"

Draylin's eyes go wide.  In the brief time that he had known this group he had come to trust them, but his knee jerk reaction was to recoil from the unusual magic that druid possessed.  Leaning into trust, he pauses and lifts his right arm, offering up several deep wounds in need of closing.  He watches in morbid fascination as the tiny fungal spores begin to pull his wounds back together!  It was an odd feeling, but not painful.  When the skin was reconnected, he was 100% pain free.  The strange magic had completely healed both wounds.  "Thank you, Thistlewick.  I don't need to understand your magic to appreciate it!  Lead on my friend, these brutes just found more sport than they bargained for."

Draylin runs after Thistle, headlong into another fight.  He glanced once more at the "wounds" he recieved.  He was still a bloody mess, but he felt like a million gold pieces.  As he jogged past the dead traitor, he dipped down low to pull his dagger from the deadman's chest, dragging it across his shirt to clean it up a bit before slipping it back into it's sheath.

(( OOC:   Darlyn & Thistlewick also get an advantage 'surprise attack' or was the surprise over with Tam & Montar's attack?  ))

Correct

Kobold 1 initiative 5

Kobold 2 initiative 9

Cultist 1 initiative 6

Linan initiative 20

Kobold 3 died from Montar's attack, Kobold 4 runs away bloodied. The cultist is very bloodied.

Initiative Order

Cultist 1 - 19 (very bloodied)
Kobold 2 - 19 (healthy)

Draylin - 16
Tam - 15

Linan - 12 

Thistlewick - 10

Kobold 1 - 4  (healthy)

Montar - 2

Cultist 1, blood seeping around the bolts in his chest, snarls and sweeps his scimitar in a desperate arc toward Linan. He’s trying to finish her before the party can close the gap. Attack: 21 Damage: 6

Nearby, Kobold 2 lets out a piercing screech as it sees its companion go down. It whips its sling in a frantic circle, launching a stone directly at Montar's head. Attack: 21 Damage: 4

Over to Draylin and Tam