It's too much for Spider 3; it doesn't realise how much damage it's taken, or how much the spikes are drawing from it, until it collapses on the ground, shivers, and stops moving.
Spider 4 manages to get away, stumbling and bleeding, it's a horrific sight. You see it vanishing into the forest.
Boar hops out from underneath the collapsing spider and dodges another head. She sheepishly looks back at the group, hoping no one from the cultist group makes connections to beheading battle tactics from before (then again, I think all her beheading around Greenest happened with no witnesses).
She looks around the spider corpses for anything useful to harvest (nature: 17) and walks back to the caravan, cleaning off her blade.
Nate will grin at Soar when no one is watching (he called that decapitation shot when they were running together towards the battle!) and hopes that Soar catches on.
He will then walk up to Boar, in Cowboy Nate form "Well Ma'am, I see you might've been bitten by that varmint spider... are you poisoned at all?"
Nate will also offer his healing services as usual to the front line, focusing on Jalt after Soar if he needs it and then anyone else.
Jalt turns to Elspeth Impressive work out there.He looks to the caravan and whispers Again it looks like the cult didn't even make a move. Getting hard to get a read on them, it seems this strike force of ours is taking care of things but at the same time making it hard to figure out exactly what they're doing.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Hoard of the Dragon Queen - Jalt Rhogar - Dragonborn Cleric (9)
"Well heck let me take care of that for you then Ma'am"
Nate would cast Lesser Restoration to cure the poison from Soar/Boar's veins.
While he is doing this, he will say under his breath to Soar, similar to what Jalt said "Wow, a lot of help the cultists were... again... I wonder what the hell is up with these guys..."
Though Nate speaks under his breath, you get a sense that there are others who are unhappy with the Bastards, as the cultists are know being called. At the beginning of the journey, they made some token efforts to fit in, or at least not to draw attention by being standoffish. Now, as the caravan members become more hostile towards them, they've retreated amongst themselves, and taken to camping even further from the rest of you, maintaining a strong guard at all times.
Soar, you're able to extract some venom from the spiders, but unless you can find someone with a poisoner's kit and the knowledge of its use, you won't be able to make anything from it. You can keep some teeth as souvenirs if you wish.
Exciting is bad, says Eldkin. But yes, good work. All of you, she says, extending that to include the guards who are looking pleased as punch to have gotten some kills and generally performed like an actual disciplined group of guards. She then points to the spiky area from Elspeth's spell: This safe to walk yet?
Elspeth sags at the end of the battle, letting go of the spell she'd been holding over the area. She nods, sweeping loose strands of hair away from her face before answering Jalt. "Thanks." She says loudly, before murmuring. "Yes, they're maintaining their distance, worse luck, but we're so close to our destination. That's what we need to focus on. Besides, behavior like this is akin to them digging their own grave."
"Should be fine now."She affirms to Eldkin, managing a sloppy mock salute. "Do you want to check over the corpses?"
Without much delay, as the spiders never really got close to threatening the caravan, everyone prepares to move on. A fair number of people come to gawk at the spiders and the ettercap, which few have seen before. As before, you all get praise and pats on the back; if you want to lean into that, you can, but if you prefer not to, Albit and Gethyn will happily take your share of the adulation.
The caravan picks up and continues the day's travel, and settles down to camp for the night. You all complete a long rest and recover from the day's battle.
The following day the caravan moves through a rough stretch of road. It's slow going, and the merchants are irritable and moan a lot about their precious cargo as wagons and people move across bumpy terrain, avoiding holes as best they can. There was a light shower overnight, not too much but enough to make everything a little slippery.
And in the late afternoon, almost as if the Gods had heard Elspeth's words that day, there's a loud thump. Jalt and Elspeth, you hear it from behind you and turn, but Soar and Nate, you are in a position to see exactly what happens. One of the cultists' wagons has got into trouble; both wheels on the left have slipped into holes, and the wagon has thumped down onto the road, almost tipping over. The canvas covering cannot take the strain and it snaps, and three large crates spill out on the road, as well as some larger items that were not packed away - a golden candelabra, a statue of a religious figure, a curious hoop, all solid gold, now lie in the mud with the cultist guards moving frantically to collect them and re-seal the wagon's covering.
A couple of the travellers walk up to get a clearer look, as does Achreny who is now driving his wagon just behind the cultists. Impressive stuff there. You folks transporting some noble's furniture? Hey, is everything in that wagon this valuable?
One of the cultists, dressed in regular guard leathers, walks up to the onlookers. Mind your business, friends. And keep your distance. We don't want any trouble.
No trouble here, Achreny replies in an amiable tone. Just some friendly concern. If your cargo is as valuable as all that, that's a magnet for every bandit in a hundred miles, no? That concerns us all.
The cultist walks up directly in front of Achreny and leans down. Mind. Your. Business.
Other cultists come up and form a wall around where the rest are gathering their spilled material and repairing the wagon.
Nate would say to Soar once all the issues start with the wagon "maybe this is our chance to get a closer look?"
Without really thinking about it, Nate would go up to the cultists and offer help with the wheel and wagon. He won't say anything at all about the items that have fallen about, seeing how they are reacting when Achreny inquires about the items.
"Ohhhhh betsy, now that looks like quite the situation we got here. Those wheels I think look in pretty bad shape. How about I give y'all a hand gettin' that there wagon out of the holes then we can assess the damage?"
Nate's hoping one of them might bite on his offer to help, then he will go from there.
Stay back, says one of the cultists with a scowl on his face. He moves his body to block your progress, Nate. And he puts a gauntleted hand on your chest. We've no need of your healings. Stay out of our business.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Boar catches Elspeth's gaze and wiggles her nose like a mouse, then raises her eyebrows and briefly frowns in a "up to you" sort of expression.
She otherwise hangs back, exactly as frustrated-yet-curious as the other members of the caravan. She looks at the other two cultist wagons to see what the other guards and drivers are doing and how they're acting. She remembers the larger clawed hand that was concealed in the palanquin-carrier thing in the city, and is now curious if its owner could possible be secreted in one of the other wagons, after all this time. Perception, I guess, for any disturbance in the other wagons? 19
Cowboy Nate sighs "I was offerin' to help with the wagon and wheels, not to heal you, but you can go ahead and kiss my arse my good man."
Nate will see if this arouses the cult at all, perhaps at minimum to get more of their upset attention so one of the others can go look at the unguarded wagons.
E;speth catches sight of Soar's signal, almost nods, then thinks for a while, then shakes her head. She heads towards the stranded wagon, intent on getting a closer look, and if she passes Soar/Boar on the way, she'll mutter, under her breath, "I don't want to risk it unless they're distracted", hoping she interpreted Soar's look correctly.
"What. A. Shame." Elspeth breaths, once she is closer to the wagon and trusting that the number of people coming to gawk means her interest in the wagon wouldn't seem out of place. She tries to skirt around the cultists for a closer look at the wagon."This looks pretty hopeless. We'll probably have to camp here for the night, it'll take that much time at least to haul it up and get everything fixed up. Probably you shouldn't have tried to shift so much weight in one wagon."She assumes the guards will stop her from approaching, and if they do, she stops trying to approach and stays where she is, speaking as loudly as she can without trespassing into shouting, trying to attract the attention of as many people, particularly her party members as possible.
Okay, so either Elspeth or Nate can make a Deception or Performance check with advantage to try to distract the cultists, and whoever is approaching the other wagon should make a Stealth check.
The lead cultist reacts with mounting frustration at the growing crowd of gawkers and interferers. We will handle this. Please... he becomes more polite as more and more of the caravan's members approach... we will handle this. I doubt, he scowls at Elspeth, there will be a need to wait so long. Our apologies for the delay, but please back away. Give us space to work.
Nate, your moonbeam hovers over the spider, and it seems not to understand what it means.
Elspeth, your bolt hits some thorns in the ground. The spider doesn't notice.
Both spiders decide that this would be a good time to retreat.
Spider 4 CON save: 4 It takes a little damage, but not much.
The spiders then move away.
Spider 3 takes four thorn hits before it can get away.
5 4 4 6
Spider 4 takes only two, as it is nearer to the edge of the spell's effect.
7 5
It's too much for Spider 3; it doesn't realise how much damage it's taken, or how much the spikes are drawing from it, until it collapses on the ground, shivers, and stops moving.
Spider 4 manages to get away, stumbling and bleeding, it's a horrific sight. You see it vanishing into the forest.
Eldkin and the guards shoot:
Attack: 21 Damage: 4
Attack: 19 Damage: 7
Attack: 9 Damage: 4
Attack: 7 Damage: 2
Attack: 7 Damage: 6
It's Albit who gets the final killing shot. The spider's corpse fall to the ground.
You are out of combat, with the caravan safe and people slowly starting to creep out and inspect the battlefield.
Boar hops out from underneath the collapsing spider and dodges another head. She sheepishly looks back at the group, hoping no one from the cultist group makes connections to beheading battle tactics from before (then again, I think all her beheading around Greenest happened with no witnesses).
She looks around the spider corpses for anything useful to harvest (nature: 17) and walks back to the caravan, cleaning off her blade.
Nate will grin at Soar when no one is watching (he called that decapitation shot when they were running together towards the battle!) and hopes that Soar catches on.
He will then walk up to Boar, in Cowboy Nate form "Well Ma'am, I see you might've been bitten by that varmint spider... are you poisoned at all?"
Nate will also offer his healing services as usual to the front line, focusing on Jalt after Soar if he needs it and then anyone else.
Her eye twitches in an almost-wink when Nate grins.
"Yes, I suppose it did get a chomp at me. This trip's getting... exciting. I'm trying to remember if this is normal."
Jalt turns to Elspeth Impressive work out there. He looks to the caravan and whispers Again it looks like the cult didn't even make a move. Getting hard to get a read on them, it seems this strike force of ours is taking care of things but at the same time making it hard to figure out exactly what they're doing.
Hoard of the Dragon Queen - Jalt Rhogar - Dragonborn Cleric (9)
"Ive heard it both ways."
"Well heck let me take care of that for you then Ma'am"
Nate would cast Lesser Restoration to cure the poison from Soar/Boar's veins.
While he is doing this, he will say under his breath to Soar, similar to what Jalt said "Wow, a lot of help the cultists were... again... I wonder what the hell is up with these guys..."
Though Nate speaks under his breath, you get a sense that there are others who are unhappy with the Bastards, as the cultists are know being called. At the beginning of the journey, they made some token efforts to fit in, or at least not to draw attention by being standoffish. Now, as the caravan members become more hostile towards them, they've retreated amongst themselves, and taken to camping even further from the rest of you, maintaining a strong guard at all times.
Soar, you're able to extract some venom from the spiders, but unless you can find someone with a poisoner's kit and the knowledge of its use, you won't be able to make anything from it. You can keep some teeth as souvenirs if you wish.
Exciting is bad, says Eldkin. But yes, good work. All of you, she says, extending that to include the guards who are looking pleased as punch to have gotten some kills and generally performed like an actual disciplined group of guards. She then points to the spiky area from Elspeth's spell: This safe to walk yet?
Elspeth sags at the end of the battle, letting go of the spell she'd been holding over the area. She nods, sweeping loose strands of hair away from her face before answering Jalt. "Thanks." She says loudly, before murmuring. "Yes, they're maintaining their distance, worse luck, but we're so close to our destination. That's what we need to focus on. Besides, behavior like this is akin to them digging their own grave."
"Should be fine now." She affirms to Eldkin, managing a sloppy mock salute. "Do you want to check over the corpses?"
No, replies Eldkin gruffly. Your friend's got that covered. She turns and calls out to the caravan. Time to get moving!
Without much delay, as the spiders never really got close to threatening the caravan, everyone prepares to move on. A fair number of people come to gawk at the spiders and the ettercap, which few have seen before. As before, you all get praise and pats on the back; if you want to lean into that, you can, but if you prefer not to, Albit and Gethyn will happily take your share of the adulation.
The caravan picks up and continues the day's travel, and settles down to camp for the night. You all complete a long rest and recover from the day's battle.
The following day the caravan moves through a rough stretch of road. It's slow going, and the merchants are irritable and moan a lot about their precious cargo as wagons and people move across bumpy terrain, avoiding holes as best they can. There was a light shower overnight, not too much but enough to make everything a little slippery.
And in the late afternoon, almost as if the Gods had heard Elspeth's words that day, there's a loud thump. Jalt and Elspeth, you hear it from behind you and turn, but Soar and Nate, you are in a position to see exactly what happens. One of the cultists' wagons has got into trouble; both wheels on the left have slipped into holes, and the wagon has thumped down onto the road, almost tipping over. The canvas covering cannot take the strain and it snaps, and three large crates spill out on the road, as well as some larger items that were not packed away - a golden candelabra, a statue of a religious figure, a curious hoop, all solid gold, now lie in the mud with the cultist guards moving frantically to collect them and re-seal the wagon's covering.
A couple of the travellers walk up to get a clearer look, as does Achreny who is now driving his wagon just behind the cultists. Impressive stuff there. You folks transporting some noble's furniture? Hey, is everything in that wagon this valuable?
One of the cultists, dressed in regular guard leathers, walks up to the onlookers. Mind your business, friends. And keep your distance. We don't want any trouble.
No trouble here, Achreny replies in an amiable tone. Just some friendly concern. If your cargo is as valuable as all that, that's a magnet for every bandit in a hundred miles, no? That concerns us all.
The cultist walks up directly in front of Achreny and leans down. Mind. Your. Business.
Other cultists come up and form a wall around where the rest are gathering their spilled material and repairing the wagon.
Nate would say to Soar once all the issues start with the wagon "maybe this is our chance to get a closer look?"
Without really thinking about it, Nate would go up to the cultists and offer help with the wheel and wagon. He won't say anything at all about the items that have fallen about, seeing how they are reacting when Achreny inquires about the items.
"Ohhhhh betsy, now that looks like quite the situation we got here. Those wheels I think look in pretty bad shape. How about I give y'all a hand gettin' that there wagon out of the holes then we can assess the damage?"
Nate's hoping one of them might bite on his offer to help, then he will go from there.
Stay back, says one of the cultists with a scowl on his face. He moves his body to block your progress, Nate. And he puts a gauntleted hand on your chest. We've no need of your healings. Stay out of our business.
Boar catches Elspeth's gaze and wiggles her nose like a mouse, then raises her eyebrows and briefly frowns in a "up to you" sort of expression.
She otherwise hangs back, exactly as frustrated-yet-curious as the other members of the caravan. She looks at the other two cultist wagons to see what the other guards and drivers are doing and how they're acting. She remembers the larger clawed hand that was concealed in the palanquin-carrier thing in the city, and is now curious if its owner could possible be secreted in one of the other wagons, after all this time. Perception, I guess, for any disturbance in the other wagons? 19
No disturbances, but the other wagons are less well guarded than usual as the cultists gather around the one that is in trouble.
Cowboy Nate sighs "I was offerin' to help with the wagon and wheels, not to heal you, but you can go ahead and kiss my arse my good man."
Nate will see if this arouses the cult at all, perhaps at minimum to get more of their upset attention so one of the others can go look at the unguarded wagons.
Where is Carlon at this point??
Hoard of the Dragon Queen - Jalt Rhogar - Dragonborn Cleric (9)
"Ive heard it both ways."
If Nate is deliberately trying to distract attention from the other wagons, then make a Deception or Performance check.
Carlon is around, but hanging back and not attracting attention.
E;speth catches sight of Soar's signal, almost nods, then thinks for a while, then shakes her head. She heads towards the stranded wagon, intent on getting a closer look, and if she passes Soar/Boar on the way, she'll mutter, under her breath, "I don't want to risk it unless they're distracted", hoping she interpreted Soar's look correctly.
"What. A. Shame." Elspeth breaths, once she is closer to the wagon and trusting that the number of people coming to gawk means her interest in the wagon wouldn't seem out of place. She tries to skirt around the cultists for a closer look at the wagon. "This looks pretty hopeless. We'll probably have to camp here for the night, it'll take that much time at least to haul it up and get everything fixed up. Probably you shouldn't have tried to shift so much weight in one wagon." She assumes the guards will stop her from approaching, and if they do, she stops trying to approach and stays where she is, speaking as loudly as she can without trespassing into shouting, trying to attract the attention of as many people, particularly her party members as possible.
Okay, so either Elspeth or Nate can make a Deception or Performance check with advantage to try to distract the cultists, and whoever is approaching the other wagon should make a Stealth check.
The lead cultist reacts with mounting frustration at the growing crowd of gawkers and interferers. We will handle this. Please... he becomes more polite as more and more of the caravan's members approach... we will handle this. I doubt, he scowls at Elspeth, there will be a need to wait so long. Our apologies for the delay, but please back away. Give us space to work.