*Sorry to be a downer, but with Searing Smite and Rage both taking a Bonus Action, only one can happen in round 1, otherwise everyone, including enemies, would get to cast spells once Initiative is called but before Round 1 actions.*
A number of Redbrands start to come out of the woodwork, including a notably large, ugly, bald man wielding a greataxe. Many of the rest are men you've seen around town here or there and brandish scimitars. A few young men to the West have small crossbows as well.
*Will see what Arvel would like to do before taking actions for the Redbrand leader and the greataxe wielding one.
No problem at all on the Bonus double dipping - that's why I called it out, to make sure it was ok.
I'm going to hold off on my action until everyone ahead of me (or at least the Redbrands) takes their turn - thinking Zeke will need to react to movement by the Redbrands
While the Redbrands to the West start to draw crossbows and those to the North begin drawing their scimitars, it is the apparent Redbrand leader with the red vest who makes his move first, followed quickly by the large man with the greataxe. The latter rushes into the fray from back near the Stonehill Inn, quickly closing the gap with Ethan and winding up for a big swing of the greataxe (Action: Dash).
Grinning and looking eager to test his mettle against the imposing Zeke, the leader moves in with precise footwork and agile feints, looking for an opening against the large tiefling. Drawing a dagger at the last moment, he strikes with both blades. "I was looking forward to this."
Scimitar 1: Attack: 9 , 6
Scimitar 2: Attack: 21 , 8
Dagger: Attack: 14 , 4
Everyone else can of course go before the rest of the thugs.
Ethan's eye's go wide as the large axe wielding Redbrand runs directly at him, but calms a little as he feels the warmth of Elra'sBless spell take effect.
With a press, Ethanpulses magic into his gauntlet and a familiar disc pops up out of it.
Ethantosses the disc beside and behind himself.
As the disc falls, it transforms into the familiar spider-like Eldritch Canon.
Ethansights the Large Redbrand through his view finder and the Eldritch Canon turns and lets of a pulse of force energy with a whine and a womp.
Action: Summon Ethan'sEldritch Canon into the square North-East of Ethan
Bonus Action: Activate Eldritch Canon: Force Ballista
AttackLarge Redbrand: Attack: 19(Advantage from Bless) - Damage: 10 force damage and the target is pushed 5ft away from the Eldritch Canon.
edit: oops, not advantage from bless, 1d4 instead: 4
Seeing the redbrands draw scimitars, Tarja tosses a handful of thorns towards them. They burrow into the ground, which grows sharp, spike-like plants between her and the assailants.
Cast Spike Growth. It's got range 150 ft so I can put it anywhere I can see I think; It's a 20-ft radius circle, which looks wide enough that it can cover the whole distance between the two buildings to the left and right of the road. I'm facing north and putting the center of that radius 20 ft in front of me, which if I've counted right puts the five scimitary-redbrands right in the northern tip of it, and having to go through some of sharp thorns if they want to get to me, even if they try to skirt the edge.
The area is difficult terrain and deals 2d4 damage for every 5 ft someone passes through it. Since they all saw it as it was being created, they don't need to make a save to notice that the terrain is dangerous.
Zeke steps in to meet the attack from Redbrand, baring his teeth and letting out a deep guttural growl. The first strike glances off his shiny new armor, but the second catches him along his forearm before his shield slides into place and catches the follow up from the dagger.
Spinning the glaive around his head, the barbarian lashes out at the Redbrand leader.
Fae's eyes will dart between the Redbrand Captainand his large axe-wielding right-hand man. She'd clench her jaw as they'd barrel their way in to clash head to head with Zeke and Ethan. Feeling blessed by Elra's calming magic washing over her, the wizard will narrow her eyes on the battlefield before her. Bringing her hands together, Fae will summon three glowing arcane bolts, one of which glowed a little brighter than the other. With a flick of her left hand, she'll send two missiles towards Ethan's target. Then with the flick of her right hand she'll send her blessed missile into Zeke's foe.
The party jumps into action, each member continuing to perfect their role within their still relatively newly formed group of heroes. Arvel's attack hits home on the Redbrand Captain, partially distracting him from his duel with Zeke. Fae adds to his issues as her bolts spread out and impact the two most imposing threats to the party. Blessings from Ohgma with Elra as the conduit make much of the party feel a guiding hand in their efforts, both in attacking their foes but also avoiding danger. Zeke is about to channel this into a strike on the Captain when his skilled opponent suddenly twists his own blade and spins it in an arc in from of him just in time to Parry the barbarian's attack at the last second. Grinning, he seems to be enjoying facing a worth opponent.
Meanwhile the large, charging man seems a bit surprised at Ethan's gadgetry and the impact of the cannon that suddenly sprung up almost out of nowhere. With a grunt he is knocked back two steps away from the artificer. With Tarja's magic the ground between several buildings erupts with spikes, sending the Redbrands to the North into a bit of a panic. Armed only with their swords they look unsure of what to do, until one of them makes a decision not to try to advance through the spikes, instead leading the others back behind one of the houses. A few step gingerly out of the spiked area, but Tarja can see at least a couple suffer wounds as they had been trapped with spikes all around them. One lone Redbrand to the south remained, but he followed the lead of the largest man, charging up to get ready to attack Ethan.
To the West several very young looking Redbrands, potentially just teenaged boys, raise their crossbows nervously and fire at Zeke. Missing high and wide and almost striking their Captain he yells back at them, "not this one!" "Take care of the mouthy one!"
*Arvel's up before RC and LR!*
Minor Notes:
The 'Captain' used his Parry feature vs Zeke's attack from the 'Bandit Captain' stat block. Unfortunately your attack roll was right where that ability makes the difference, but hey, it makes for a good duel!
Ixi, no big deal, but FYI Bless does not apply to damage rolls, just attacks (for which Magic Missile requires none, of course) and saving throws for Fae.
Nice fix Paradox, taking the first (and lower) roll from your mistaken Advantage. I too would just go grab the first roll if I had to correct it, regardless of which was higher. Not bad that you still hit with a good modifier and a great Bless roll!
I hope my Spike Growth circle is close enough to being the right dimensions. Happy to edit if I messed up. (Note that I didn't put a S square over buildings intentionally.). Nice crowd control spell for this! I did state (I believe) and picture the Redbrands to the West having X-bows, but not the ones to the north, so they're in trouble already!
No damage to anyone in the party from the 'regular' redbrands this round as Tarja forced many to move/Dash and the three young crossbowmen missed terribly.
I hope my Spike Growth circle is close enough to being the right dimensions. Happy to edit if I messed up. (Note that I didn't put a S square over buildings intentionally.). Nice crowd control spell for this! I did state (I believe) and picture the Redbrands to the West having X-bows, but not the ones to the north, so they're in trouble already!
Yep, that looks pretty much where I'd imagined the spell going. And you did say that the ones to the north had scimitars and the ones to the west had bows, that's why I put this spell there! I'm trying to stall/delay the various small redbrands until our big guns can deal with Large Redbrand and Redbrand Captain.
Seeing that the Redbrands are taking the long way around instead of charging through the spikes, Tarja moves to intercept them in the alley and lets out a fierce roar. (It's probably not too intimidating, since she's currently a dwarf and not a large animal of any kind.)
Since no Redbrands are within biting range, she takes out her [Tooltip Not Found], quietly hoots at it as its command word, and it on the road towards the crossbow-wielding redbrands to the west. When it strikes the ground it expands and unfolds into a huge marble-colored elephant with gleaming tusks.
Horton! Protect us from the ones in red, in front of you!
Movement to get towards the alley and between Gundren and anyone who might come down that alley, ending 4 spaces east of where I started.. The action is summoning the elephant and giving it a command to go for the crossbow-wielding redbrands to the west. Not sure where exactly I can place it because it depends on whether the trees/bushes block line of sight; it's huge so it takes a 3x3 area, I'd like to get it close to the crossbow-brands if I can, and into the middle of the road where it can successfully summon. I think the 60-ft summoning range isn't an issue here, but LoS could be.
Not sure how the summon's gonna play out - does it need its own initiative? 1 if so. Do I control it or DM?
[edit] The "tooltip not found" above should be the Figurine of Wondrous Power (Marble Elephant) that I got
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Reckless Attack: 18 Damage: 12 Bless 2
Searing Smite 4
Standing toe-to-toe with the Redbrand Captain, Zeke continues to get the worse end of the exchange. As his foe dips under his defenses and lands blow after blow, the barbarian swings his Glaive in a crashing arc, bringing the heavy blade down against the Captain's shoulder. As the blade bites deep, purplish fire flares and flows into the Captain.
Chest heaving, the teifling takes the moment to push back from the combat. Taking in the full scope of the ambush, his growl dies on his lips as he begins the deep slow breathing he learned in the temple (Rage).
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Arvel's bolt strikes home against the Captain but it is his shifting form that really catches his attention. "YOU?! No... Why...?" The Redbrand Captain seems to lose a bit of his fervor for his duel with Zeke, his focus partially replaced by confusion at the appearance of the Spider. He continues to make lunging attacks against the mighty warrior, however.
(Was almost tempted to give the Captain a penalty to attacks or AC temporary because of the distraction, but Disguise Self should be an Action, conflicting with the Eldritch Blast so sticking with it as pure RP for now. Happy to consider mechanical advantages/disadvantages if you use your action economy for such things in the future though.)
Sword vs Zeke: 18 , Damage: 5
Sword vs Zeke: 7 , Damage: 8
Dagger vs Zeke: 13 , Damage: 7
The large man with the greataxe sees this odd turn of events and rounds the Captain, swinging wildly at the 'Spider' instead of tangling with the heavily defended Ethan and his odd cannon again.
Believing in Zeke's ability to spar with the Redbrand Captain, Fae will concern herself with the big lumbering bully hacking around the battlefield. The wizard will gesture an arm towards the large redbrand, "Hold it right there." Fae's eyes will ink over black as they'd stare directly into the eyes of the axe bearer.
Spell: Hold Person Wis Save DC 14 or be paralyzed for the duration. At the end of each of its turns, the target can make another Wisdom saving throw. On a success, the spell ends on the target. Portent use: 9 He fails.
Ethangrits his teeth in anger and frustration as he sees the Redbrand Captain landing attacks on Zeke, and then the Large Redbrand charging over and attacking Arvel.
Ethanpulls out his Programmable Caster, and slots a cartridge into the handle, raising his hand for a swing at the Redbrandin front of him.
As Ethanswings the butt of the handle down onto the Redbrand, he sighting the Redbrand Captain through his view finder, directing his Eldritch Canon to shoot.
The Eldritch Canon and Ethan release their magic at the same time, a whine and a womp from the Canon and an electrical crackling from between the two spikes in butt of the Programmable Caster.
Action: Cast Shocking Grasp at Redbrand 6: Attack: 3(Bless) + 10 - Damage: 1 lightning damage and the Targetcan't take reactions until the start of its next turn.
Bonus Action: Activate Eldritch Canon: Force Ballista
AttackRedbrand Captain: Attack: 3(Bless) + 15 - Damage: 11 force damage and the Targetis pushed 5ft away from the Eldritch Canon.
*Sorry to be a downer, but with Searing Smite and Rage both taking a Bonus Action, only one can happen in round 1, otherwise everyone, including enemies, would get to cast spells once Initiative is called but before Round 1 actions.*
Initiative
Arvel 21
Redbrand Captain & Large Redbrand - 20 (*won tiebreaker)
Fae 20
Elra 16
Zeke 13
Ethan 12
Tarja 11
Redbrands 3
A number of Redbrands start to come out of the woodwork, including a notably large, ugly, bald man wielding a greataxe. Many of the rest are men you've seen around town here or there and brandish scimitars. A few young men to the West have small crossbows as well.
*Will see what Arvel would like to do before taking actions for the Redbrand leader and the greataxe wielding one.
"I warned you about the curse I laid upon you, Captain. Now see it cripple you!"
Bonus Action: Hex (Targeting Dex)
Action: Eldritch Blast the Captain. Attack: 22 Damage: 12
DCI: 3319125026
No problem at all on the Bonus double dipping - that's why I called it out, to make sure it was ok.
I'm going to hold off on my action until everyone ahead of me (or at least the Redbrands) takes their turn - thinking Zeke will need to react to movement by the Redbrands
While the Redbrands to the West start to draw crossbows and those to the North begin drawing their scimitars, it is the apparent Redbrand leader with the red vest who makes his move first, followed quickly by the large man with the greataxe. The latter rushes into the fray from back near the Stonehill Inn, quickly closing the gap with Ethan and winding up for a big swing of the greataxe (Action: Dash).
Grinning and looking eager to test his mettle against the imposing Zeke, the leader moves in with precise footwork and agile feints, looking for an opening against the large tiefling. Drawing a dagger at the last moment, he strikes with both blades. "I was looking forward to this."
Scimitar 1: Attack: 9 , 6
Scimitar 2: Attack: 21 , 8
Dagger: Attack: 14 , 4
Everyone else can of course go before the rest of the thugs.
Elra looks to her friends and begins whispering a prayer to Oghma that her friends aim is true during this very unfair fighting.
Elra Skylash - Human Cleric | Vanzaren Tanidoni - Half Elf Wizard
Mindartis Liadon - Eladrin Barbarian | Naivara Siannodel - Half Elf Ranger
Arrila Evenwood - Half Elf Paladin | Callaphe of Setessa - Human Rogue
Katernin Nemetsk - Aasimar Cleric | Melody - Tiefling Bard
Ethan's eye's go wide as the large axe wielding Redbrand runs directly at him, but calms a little as he feels the warmth of Elra's Bless spell take effect.
With a press, Ethan pulses magic into his gauntlet and a familiar disc pops up out of it.
Ethan tosses the disc beside and behind himself.
As the disc falls, it transforms into the familiar spider-like Eldritch Canon.
Ethan sights the Large Redbrand through his view finder and the Eldritch Canon turns and lets of a pulse of force energy with a whine and a womp.
Action: Summon Ethan's Eldritch Canon into the square North-East of Ethan
Bonus Action: Activate Eldritch Canon: Force Ballista
Attack Large Redbrand: Attack: 19 (Advantage from Bless) - Damage: 10 force damage and the target is pushed 5ft away from the Eldritch Canon.
edit: oops, not advantage from bless, 1d4 instead: 4
original roll was 7, so new Attack = 17
sorry
David Gearlock | Human | Artificer | Revenge Heist
Knox | Warforged | Cleric | Shadowthorn's Out of the Abyss
(bless isn't advantage, it's a +1d4 to attack rolls and saving throws)
Elra Skylash - Human Cleric | Vanzaren Tanidoni - Half Elf Wizard
Mindartis Liadon - Eladrin Barbarian | Naivara Siannodel - Half Elf Ranger
Arrila Evenwood - Half Elf Paladin | Callaphe of Setessa - Human Rogue
Katernin Nemetsk - Aasimar Cleric | Melody - Tiefling Bard
Stay away from us!
Seeing the redbrands draw scimitars, Tarja tosses a handful of thorns towards them. They burrow into the ground, which grows sharp, spike-like plants between her and the assailants.
Cast Spike Growth. It's got range 150 ft so I can put it anywhere I can see I think; It's a 20-ft radius circle, which looks wide enough that it can cover the whole distance between the two buildings to the left and right of the road. I'm facing north and putting the center of that radius 20 ft in front of me, which if I've counted right puts the five scimitary-redbrands right in the northern tip of it, and having to go through some of sharp thorns if they want to get to me, even if they try to skirt the edge.
The area is difficult terrain and deals 2d4 damage for every 5 ft someone passes through it. Since they all saw it as it was being created, they don't need to make a save to notice that the terrain is dangerous.
Zeke steps in to meet the attack from Redbrand, baring his teeth and letting out a deep guttural growl. The first strike glances off his shiny new armor, but the second catches him along his forearm before his shield slides into place and catches the follow up from the dagger.
Spinning the glaive around his head, the barbarian lashes out at the Redbrand leader.
Reckless Attack: 15 Damage: 7
Bless 1
Bonus: Searing Smite 4
Fae's eyes will dart between the Redbrand Captain and his large axe-wielding right-hand man. She'd clench her jaw as they'd barrel their way in to clash head to head with Zeke and Ethan. Feeling blessed by Elra's calming magic washing over her, the wizard will narrow her eyes on the battlefield before her. Bringing her hands together, Fae will summon three glowing arcane bolts, one of which glowed a little brighter than the other. With a flick of her left hand, she'll send two missiles towards Ethan's target. Then with the flick of her right hand she'll send her blessed missile into Zeke's foe.
Magic Missile
LR: 5 | 2
RC: 4 + Bless: 1
just an unstable unicorn.
The party jumps into action, each member continuing to perfect their role within their still relatively newly formed group of heroes. Arvel's attack hits home on the Redbrand Captain, partially distracting him from his duel with Zeke. Fae adds to his issues as her bolts spread out and impact the two most imposing threats to the party. Blessings from Ohgma with Elra as the conduit make much of the party feel a guiding hand in their efforts, both in attacking their foes but also avoiding danger. Zeke is about to channel this into a strike on the Captain when his skilled opponent suddenly twists his own blade and spins it in an arc in from of him just in time to Parry the barbarian's attack at the last second. Grinning, he seems to be enjoying facing a worth opponent.
Meanwhile the large, charging man seems a bit surprised at Ethan's gadgetry and the impact of the cannon that suddenly sprung up almost out of nowhere. With a grunt he is knocked back two steps away from the artificer. With Tarja's magic the ground between several buildings erupts with spikes, sending the Redbrands to the North into a bit of a panic. Armed only with their swords they look unsure of what to do, until one of them makes a decision not to try to advance through the spikes, instead leading the others back behind one of the houses. A few step gingerly out of the spiked area, but Tarja can see at least a couple suffer wounds as they had been trapped with spikes all around them. One lone Redbrand to the south remained, but he followed the lead of the largest man, charging up to get ready to attack Ethan.
To the West several very young looking Redbrands, potentially just teenaged boys, raise their crossbows nervously and fire at Zeke. Missing high and wide and almost striking their Captain he yells back at them, "not this one!" "Take care of the mouthy one!"
*Arvel's up before RC and LR!*
Minor Notes:
The 'Captain' used his Parry feature vs Zeke's attack from the 'Bandit Captain' stat block. Unfortunately your attack roll was right where that ability makes the difference, but hey, it makes for a good duel!
Ixi, no big deal, but FYI Bless does not apply to damage rolls, just attacks (for which Magic Missile requires none, of course) and saving throws for Fae.
Nice fix Paradox, taking the first (and lower) roll from your mistaken Advantage. I too would just go grab the first roll if I had to correct it, regardless of which was higher. Not bad that you still hit with a good modifier and a great Bless roll!
I hope my Spike Growth circle is close enough to being the right dimensions. Happy to edit if I messed up. (Note that I didn't put a S square over buildings intentionally.). Nice crowd control spell for this! I did state (I believe) and picture the Redbrands to the West having X-bows, but not the ones to the north, so they're in trouble already!
No damage to anyone in the party from the 'regular' redbrands this round as Tarja forced many to move/Dash and the three young crossbowmen missed terribly.
Seeing that the Redbrands are taking the long way around instead of charging through the spikes, Tarja moves to intercept them in the alley and lets out a fierce roar. (It's probably not too intimidating, since she's currently a dwarf and not a large animal of any kind.)
Since no Redbrands are within biting range, she takes out her [Tooltip Not Found], quietly hoots at it as its command word, and it on the road towards the crossbow-wielding redbrands to the west. When it strikes the ground it expands and unfolds into a huge marble-colored elephant with gleaming tusks.
Horton! Protect us from the ones in red, in front of you!
Movement to get towards the alley and between Gundren and anyone who might come down that alley, ending 4 spaces east of where I started.. The action is summoning the elephant and giving it a command to go for the crossbow-wielding redbrands to the west. Not sure where exactly I can place it because it depends on whether the trees/bushes block line of sight; it's huge so it takes a 3x3 area, I'd like to get it close to the crossbow-brands if I can, and into the middle of the road where it can successfully summon. I think the 60-ft summoning range isn't an issue here, but LoS could be.
Not sure how the summon's gonna play out - does it need its own initiative? 1 if so. Do I control it or DM?
[edit] The "tooltip not found" above should be the Figurine of Wondrous Power (Marble Elephant) that I got
**Mouthy one?!**
"Keihäs!"
Attack: 19 Damage: 10
"How dare you, Captain. After all, I am the puppet master controlling all of your strings!"
The charlatan's visage shifts to that of the Spider.
Deception: 24
DCI: 3319125026
Reckless Attack: 18 Damage: 12
Bless 2
Searing Smite 4
Standing toe-to-toe with the Redbrand Captain, Zeke continues to get the worse end of the exchange. As his foe dips under his defenses and lands blow after blow, the barbarian swings his Glaive in a crashing arc, bringing the heavy blade down against the Captain's shoulder. As the blade bites deep, purplish fire flares and flows into the Captain.
Chest heaving, the teifling takes the moment to push back from the combat. Taking in the full scope of the ambush, his growl dies on his lips as he begins the deep slow breathing he learned in the temple (Rage).
Arvel's bolt strikes home against the Captain but it is his shifting form that really catches his attention. "YOU?! No... Why...?" The Redbrand Captain seems to lose a bit of his fervor for his duel with Zeke, his focus partially replaced by confusion at the appearance of the Spider. He continues to make lunging attacks against the mighty warrior, however.
(Was almost tempted to give the Captain a penalty to attacks or AC temporary because of the distraction, but Disguise Self should be an Action, conflicting with the Eldritch Blast so sticking with it as pure RP for now. Happy to consider mechanical advantages/disadvantages if you use your action economy for such things in the future though.)
Sword vs Zeke: 18 , Damage: 5
Sword vs Zeke: 7 , Damage: 8
Dagger vs Zeke: 13 , Damage: 7
The large man with the greataxe sees this odd turn of events and rounds the Captain, swinging wildly at the 'Spider' instead of tangling with the heavily defended Ethan and his odd cannon again.
Attack vs Arvel: 22 , Damage: 4
Believing in Zeke's ability to spar with the Redbrand Captain, Fae will concern herself with the big lumbering bully hacking around the battlefield. The wizard will gesture an arm towards the large redbrand, "Hold it right there." Fae's eyes will ink over black as they'd stare directly into the eyes of the axe bearer.
Spell: Hold Person Wis Save DC 14 or be paralyzed for the duration. At the end of each of its turns, the target can make another Wisdom saving throw. On a success, the spell ends on the target.
Portent use: 9 He fails.
just an unstable unicorn.
Elra looks at the younger redbrands holding crossbows and focuses on two of the, channeling divine power into her voice she commands, "Flee!"
Elra Skylash - Human Cleric | Vanzaren Tanidoni - Half Elf Wizard
Mindartis Liadon - Eladrin Barbarian | Naivara Siannodel - Half Elf Ranger
Arrila Evenwood - Half Elf Paladin | Callaphe of Setessa - Human Rogue
Katernin Nemetsk - Aasimar Cleric | Melody - Tiefling Bard
OOC: (but Disguise Self should be an Action, conflicting with the Eldritch Blast so sticking with it as pure RP for now. Meant it that way, thanks!)
DCI: 3319125026
Ethan grits his teeth in anger and frustration as he sees the Redbrand Captain landing attacks on Zeke, and then the Large Redbrand charging over and attacking Arvel.
Ethan pulls out his Programmable Caster, and slots a cartridge into the handle, raising his hand for a swing at the Redbrand in front of him.
As Ethan swings the butt of the handle down onto the Redbrand, he sighting the Redbrand Captain through his view finder, directing his Eldritch Canon to shoot.
The Eldritch Canon and Ethan release their magic at the same time, a whine and a womp from the Canon and an electrical crackling from between the two spikes in butt of the Programmable Caster.
Action: Cast Shocking Grasp at Redbrand 6: Attack: 3 (Bless) + 10 - Damage: 1 lightning damage and the Target can't take reactions until the start of its next turn.
Bonus Action: Activate Eldritch Canon: Force Ballista
Attack Redbrand Captain: Attack: 3 (Bless) + 15 - Damage: 11 force damage and the Target is pushed 5ft away from the Eldritch Canon.
David Gearlock | Human | Artificer | Revenge Heist
Knox | Warforged | Cleric | Shadowthorn's Out of the Abyss