Once she's safe on the other side, huffing and puffing and coughing up a little blood into a handkerchief, Ilena says, "Could... could it be... griffon... leavings? We're near... the Aerie af... after all."

Pascal, having recovered from his blunt force trauma, fishes around in his bag for a small knife as he cuts his hand. As he does so, two droplets of lizard-blood drop onto his hand and condense into two perfect marble-like candies. He holds out one for Jorin, “Eat this.” Meanwhile, he swallows his own. These candies contain the spell Enlarge/Reduce. Pascal does the Mario Mushroom noise.

Ilena reaches the other side, huffing, and stands, hands on her knees. Hildi returns to examine the droppings. Using his book learnin', the Halfling muses that it could be lion scat... and that's the business end of a griffon, after all.

Pascal twins his spell, and he and Jorin (assuming Jorin is willing) grow to twice their height, along with their equipment! They can easily step over the ravine now, but the path is pretty crowded over there, and Jorin has to take a step into the ravine (not a problem at his size) to avoid falling off the path, or pushing someone else.

• On the far side, Hildi and Ilena are preparing to move forward.
• In the ravine, giant Jorin has found some solid footing, though because it is lower, his torso is now at a normal height relative to Ilena and the rest.
• On the near side of the ravine, prodigious Pascal is sharing space with normal sized Drusk, who is coiling his rope up after helping Ilena across.

There is a small patter of loose rocks somewhere up the ravine, and as everyone is on edge, you all look up, and are not surprised. Horrified, sure, but not surprised. In the air 100 ft up, is a winged lion... thing, not a griffon though, the wings are bat-like, the head is...some sort of monstrous human face? And the tail. As the thing beats its wings, staying 100 ft away, its long, spiked tail whips around, sending spikes flying in your direction!

Combat!

(Boy, it has been long time.)

Party vs. Bat winged lion monster!

Round 1 DECLARATION phase

Starting Map: Gonna try without a map (at least for a while).

Sitrep: It is 100 ft away, up the mountain, flying. The mountainside is too steep to climb easily (Athletics check to climb, please), but the ravine is rougher, you can clamber thirty feet up it, if you like. But the thing is flying, not sitting on the mountain 100 ft up, so it probably won't do much good. Ilena and Hildi are together on path on the left. Giant Jorin is in the ravine in the center. Prodigious Pascal and Drusk are on the path on the right.

           M

         100'

        |        |
        |        |
        |        |
        |        |
H I   |  J  |  D P
        |        |
        |        |

Drusk - AC 18 - 24/24 hp
Hildigrim - AC 14 - 21/21 hp
Ilena - AC 16 - 15/15 hp
Giant Jorin - AC 17 - 30/30 hp (two axes out for AC)
Prodigious Pascal - AC 14 - 16/26 hp
-----
Bat-winged lion monster - not visibly injured

Start of round: ongoing effects are Embiggening on Jorin and Pascal, concentration (Pascal), for this round and 9 more

Monsters declare! The critter is throwing several tail spikes at you!

Next: Everyone please declare. As a quick reminder, that means you tell me what your character intends to do in the next six seconds, you roll for those actions, and you also give me an initiative roll, just in case. Then I resolve it (cinematically!).

• Declare Delay or as many of Action, Move, Bonus Action and/or Reaction as you want
• Roll initiative (just in case)
• Roll an extra d20 (just in case)
• Roll for your declared actions (to hit, damage, etc.) if any
• Concurrent Initiative explainer https://mingofaust.com/dnd/concurrent.html

Giant Jorin is beyond excited about being huge. When Pascal gave him the blood candy, he relayed some story about eating hearts and how "a little blood does the body good", then gobbled it down.

Having no ranged attacks of his own, Jorin is going to generally menace the creature (delay) and see what his friends do.

Initiative: 16

Extra d20: 12

Drusk has nothing (spell or weapon) that can reach a manticore at its spike range. He will have to wait 8-ish rounds for the manticore to run out of spikes, unless it already used some.

He looks around for any boulders, trees, or shrubs that can be used for cover. (Even half cover will improve his AC.) He will then go prone, even if he can't find cover. (Ranged attacks are at disadvantage vs. prone.)

He will be ready to cast a cantrip. If the manticore (or any other foe, like the rockslide pusher from earlier) gets within 60', it gets a faceful of Sacred Flame. (DEX save vs. DC 12)

Initiative: 8, extra d20: 20

OOC > There is one wee shrub Drusk can lie down behind, being normal sized, still. The far side (Hildigrim and Ilena) has little cover, and the ravine offers no cover at this angle (the bat-winge... fine, the manticore is straight on with the ravine ;)

Quote from Mingofaust >>

OOC > There is one wee shrub Drusk can lie down behind, being normal sized, still.

(If there is naught but a wee shrub, then Drusk will go prone next to the ravine. Start looking into the ravine, to see if there are any openings or overhangs within sight. While the ravine in general won't provide cover, maybe there is a passage opening that would protect.)

Could I possibly join?

Ilena shifts her fish to one hand and lowers herself into horse stance facing the maticore preparing to deflect any ranged weapon it might sling her way. If she can move to a space to provide Hildigrim with cover, she will. If not she stays put.

initiative : 19
deflect missile : 13 damage reduction

Quote from SubAtomic >>

Could I possibly join?

(This thread has the red "Private" tag. What you want is to search for threads that have the brown "Recruiting" tag, sometimes with the "Public" tag.

Use this link to filter for PbP threads that are Recruiting. )

Hildigrim draws his shortbow, but doesn't fire. Instead, he prepares to dodge the oncoming onslaught of spikes.

Initiative: 15

Bonus d20: 18

Upon seeing Hildi's great idea, Jorin will also take the dodge action...although i may be misremembering how delay works in concurrent initiative.

OOC > You are, Delay lets everyone else go before you, then you can declare and go. Delay lets you see what everyone does, and seeing Hildi juke and jive gives Jorin that great idea, but only after the manticore has already had its go (unless it Delays, but it doesn't seem the sort). :(

(Looks back to encounter I ran a while ago, Oh no...)

Pascal raises his now giant maw toward the *mumbled DM noises* and releases a Pepper Breath toward the beast in a burst of flame!

Initiative: 5

Attack: 17 Damage: 4 fire damage

Ah, my curse for knowledge 

Quote from Mingofaust >>

OOC > You are, Delay lets everyone else go before you, then you can declare and go. Delay lets you see what everyone does, and seeing Hildi juke and jive gives Jorin that great idea, but only after the manticore has already had its go (unless it Delays, but it doesn't seem the sort). :(

Ah ok, yes...strike my post and I'll take my turn after the manticore in proper delay fashion.

DM rolls...

1 - 12
2 - 15, 5
3 - 11, 6
4 - 12, 11

Party vs.  Bat winged lion monster!  Manticore

Round 1 RESOLUTION phase

Resolution:

Everyone looks up, and immediately starts scrambling, except Jorin, who waits a moment to see what happens. The manticore flings three spikes at you, aiming for the giants (Jorin and Pascal) and the scrambling half-orc (Drusk). Giant Jorin calmly bats it aside with one of his enormous axes (15). Prodigious Pascal hunkers down, and the spike flies wide (11). Drusk slides into the ravine, lying down, and the spike skitters off the rocks where he used to be, missing (12). The flying monstrosity roars in frustration.

With everyone setting or dodging or scrambling, Pascal is the only one returning fire, but his burped up stream of magical fire misses wide (5)!

End of round: no end of round events...

Notes: Not much happened, everyone missed, though Drusk lying prone saved him from getting hit.

Round 1 DELAYED DECLARATION phase

Next: Jorin, you may declare for round 1, since you delayed. Everyone else wait.

Giant Jorin, having watched the rest of the combatants take thier actions, will stride towards the Manticore, and dash as his action, covering 60 feet of ground.

Athletics if needed: 18

(The manticore strange bat-lion beast is flying 100’ up. What is Jorin doing?)

Jorin can climb the ravine about 30’ easily, then make Athletics checks to climb the side of the mountain, but after 30’ he sees that the manticore is going to fly outwards to triangulate and keep Jorin and the party each at about 100’.

Would he like to keep climbing? You have the Athletics check to do it, but until you reach another ledge of some sort, you’ll have to make Athletics checks to hold on and do another thing at the same time, like swing an axe.

With his “extra” d20 roll of 2 applied to a Perception check, he does not spot any ledges ahead. But he might be distracted...