Strength Save: 15

Round 1: Salty Joe takes a wild swing but misses the little creature, while Bankur knocks one almost completely apart. Unfortunately, his spiritual weapon is not able to finish the twig blight off. In the smoke you see a different kind of plant creature, one about the size of a large dwarf or small human. Instead of arms it has two bundles of vines that reach out across 10' of space to grab at 1 - Attack: 21 Damage: 9. (If you are hit, the creature has grappled you, DC12 Athletics or Acrobatics to escape. If you fail his, you are also restrained)

Penumbra -- Rand -- Creature 1

Strength: 7

"Ahhh! Confounded shrubbery!" Penumbra exclaims as her feet become entangled. Distracted, she lets her arrow fly at the nearest blight.

Attack: 7 Damage: 7

After releasing her arrow she stows her bow draws her swords and prepares to attempt to cut herself free.

Athletics Check: 24

Athletics Check: 13

Rand stumbles back as he is hit with the power of these vines, but is able to swipe them away before get caught up in them. "Ouch. that hurt! And Now you've made me mad."

If I can move to attack the new creature, I do. (Attack: 24 Damage: 12) 

As Rand's sword swipes into the creature, he channels some of the Divine Powers granted to him from his faith, in an attempt to smite it (Divine Smite damage: 11) 

Round 1 (con't): Penumbra gets her feet caught in the grasping vines, but manages to destroy the twig blight attacking her with a well placed arrow! Rand takes a nasty walloping from the Vine Blight, but easily fights off the creature's clutching appendages. Stepping closer, he deals a massive blow to the medium-sized plant creature, nearly hacking through it with his sword! The four remaining twig blights attack relentlessly, unfazed by the writing mass of vines and roots.

Twig blight 1 vs Penumbra:

Twig blight 2 vs Bankur: Withdraws to the thicket, limping and trailing a broken limb...

Twig blight 3 vs Rand: Attack: 7 Damage: 4

Twig blight 4 vs Bankur: Attack: 8 Damage: 3

Twig blight 5 vs Salty Joe: Attack: 6 Damage: 2

Round 2: Salty Joe & Bankur are up! -- Vine blight (-23) -- Penumbra -- Rand -- Twig blights

As the wounded creature in front of Bankur retreats and crawls back to the thicket to nurse its wounds, Bankur deftly sidesteps the next incoming attack, then takes a large striding step to the side of the attacking creature. Once offline from it's frontal attack, Bankur chops his mace in a backhand swing at the creature's head.

Attack: 22 Damage: 6

Sensing the enhanced danger from the larger creature, Bankur wills his spectral mace to attack it.

Attack: 12 Damage: 10

Bankur takes a mighty backswing at the last twig blight in front of him, launching the creature into the next town! Then, with his spiritual weapon, he knocks the larger vine blight to the ground, where it twitches once and then lies motionless. (Two for the price of one!! Well played, sir =)

(Well done indeed!)

Salty will move and stab at a remaining twig blight. 

Attack: 7 Damage: 6

Round 2 (con't): Salty Joe takes a stab at the twig blight attacking him, but misses the creature. Bankur is a big hitter this round! With the vine blight now dead, it's Rand and Penumbra's turn. There are three twig blights left - one attacking Salty Joe, one attacking Rand, and one attacking Bankur (he had two - one ran away.)

Seeing that she is no longer in immediate danger Penumbra decides to try to help out Salty rather than attempt to free her feet. Moving quickly she sheaths her swords draws her twin daggers and throws them at the blight currently engaged with the bard.

Attack: 10 Damage: 6

Attack: 10 Damage: 2

Rand turns his attention to the blight that is attacking him.

(Attack: 22 Damage: 10)

" And you, I haven't forgotten you! Take that, you Fitheldink!"

Rand destroys the creature in front of him, slashing through it like dry tinder. With the vine blight destroyed, Penumbra's feet are released. Her first dagger misses, but the second one hits true and damages the creature in front of Salty Joe. The last 2 blights continue their mindless attacks.

Twig blight 4 vs Bankur: Attack: 5 Damage: 5

Twig blight 5 (-2) vs Salty Joe: Attack: 6 Damage: 3

Round 3: Salty and Bankur!

Salty will give stabbing the blight in front of him a third try. 

*Le Stab* 18 Damage: 6

As the twig blight's latest attack slides past his defenses, Bankur immediately counters with an upward swing of his mace at the blight's midsection.

Attack: 20 Damage: 6

Attacking my twig blight with Spiritual Weapon if it is still standing, otherwise Salty's: Attack: 21 Damage: 6

Salty Joe and Bankur quickly finish off the last two plant creatures, ending the melee! (55 XP each - 1,775 total!) A search of the two cottages reveals an old chest buried among the roots of the tree growing up through the eastern house. Apparently the life's savings of one of the town's merchants, the chest contains 700 cp, 160 sp, and 90 gp.

Continuing on, the party investigates the western-most cottage, which has seen better days (building #1). Cowering in the shadow of an old tree is a crumbled stone cottage with no roof. Weeds are rampant here, although there are no plant-creatures or anything else of interest. (Need a short rest, or continue on?)

North across the road, a weathered signboard by the door of this large building shows the faded image of a workhorse holding a flagon of ale. The building is sagging and dilapidated, but it is more intact than the ruins across the road. (building #3) The structure is a rectangle 40' long by 20' wide, with a door on the southern and northern walls, roughly in the center of the 40' sections.

Penumbra recovers her daggers. "Everyone ok? Looks like the next one is a tavern, maybe the zombies will be to drunk to put up a fight."

"Ha! I am doing fine. Hell if there aint any drunk zombies maybe a cask of well aged whiskey?" 

That Vine Blight hit me pretty hard. I am glad we dispatched everything quickly. Another hit or two would have left me in serious trouble. Does anyone have healing to spare?

I'm finding it difficult to keep up with everyone's current hit points, and I can't always tell by Rhan's posts when someone is hit and takes damage. As the primary healer I'd like to be able to tell who is down health and how much without having to weed back through (sometimes) 2-3 pages of posts. Can anyone fill me in on how I can do this? Thanks!

"Of course friend Rand, I have plenty of healing spells left. And I agree with the group decision - let us investigate the tavern next."

With a prayer to Ilmater Bankur reaches out to Rand, causing a white healing light to pass between them and dissipate quickly, leaving Rand looking a bit healthier than before.

Casting Cure Wounds on Rand: 4