Pizazz's Ravenloft and Beyond

(just give Meepo a bit longer to post his initiative before we start with all the horrible death and destruction...)

Sorry guys I was not online much at all yesterday...

Meepo initiative: 7

vampire spawn init : 12

Ulthan says, "Come on guys!"  and puts his shoulder solidly into the gatehouse door.  The aging oak door crumbles and topples.  He goes to take a step in, but dark shadows within shriek and leap at him, as horrid vampire spawn who were waiting now leap to the attack. While more burst through the door behind him and attack him.

The vampire spawn all leap at him trying to drag clutch onto him and bite him with their blood stained mouths.... Attack: 8 Damage: 0. Attack: 16 Damage: 0. Attack: 26 Damage: 0. Attack: 20 Damage: 0

Attack: 7 Damage: 0.

All four grab him (Ulthan is now grappled by 4 targets, with DC 13 to escape each one).  Three of them try and sink their teeth into him.....

Attack: 20 Damage: 4 + 9 necrotic damage (HP maximum reduced by necrotic damage amount). 

Attack: 10 Damage: 6 + 5 necrotic damage (HP maximum reduced by necrotic damage amount). 

Attack: 26 Damage: 10 + 3 necrotic damage (HP maximum reduced by necrotic damage amount). 

The wolves meanwhile close in.  The ones from the left come racing across the ground through the trees to close in on the nearest skeletons.  (double moves).

The ones along the south road comes charging down the hillside, and up to the skeletons behind you. (all movement)

The bats come shrieking up from the cliff face, and attack the skeletons on the cliff side.

S1 : Attack: 13 Damage: 7 Attack: 21 Damage: 5  Attack: 5 Damage: 8 

S2 : Attack: 14 Damage: 6  Attack: 7 Damage: 5  Attack: 11 Damage: 5 

S3 : Attack: 6 Damage: 5 

Everyone's turn (including Ulthans' 2nd turn)!  (Meepo, feel free to ask questions and I'll answer, it's a complicated lay out of monsters on the map....)

[ Round 1/2:  Ulthan : 24, Vampire Spawn : 23, Bats: 18, Wolves : 17, Ketch : 11, Ezz : 9, Lionel : 8, Mordekai : 7, Meepo : 7 ]

     "By Gruumsh's hairy bag of holding!" Ketch spits out in frustration seeing the group being swarmed by, seemingly, a little bit of every damned thing Strahd had any control over... Excepting his cowardly self.  Hefting his shield into place and reaching for his battle axe, Ketch hesitated for a moment... Nothing was in immediate melee range and Ulthan seemed the one in potentially the most dire situation.  Ketch began moving in his direction ((while avoiding getting into melee with anything - basically NE, NE then North?)) and kept his hand free...

     "Pāhū iā ʻoe" the Half Orc shouts, thrusting his hand at the first wolf to get close to him and sending two swirling, sizzling beams of orange and yellow energy towards the beast.

Eldritch Blast Attack: 4 Damage: 1

Eldritch Blast Attack: 6 Damage: 6

Sigh... the one time I go first, and don't perceive the frickin undead. Some undead hating ranger I am.

"hrmpfh tower bad hrmpfh" is heard from the tower as bright light emanates from his sword shortly. Ulthan tries to free his hand 13 and having done so grabs and plunges the Short sword of light and smartness into one of the closest one Attack: 14 Damage: 7.

Second round. He then swings again and again as fast as he can to free himself. If managing to free myself then I'll disengage and flee downthe cliff side on the party's right.
 17 Damage: 5
 7 Damage: 3

((Where is Ulthan? On the top of the tower or on the ground level?))

((I am no Zorg, but here is your if-thenz))

If Ulthan is by the gates on the ground:

Warhorse  Trampling Charge: Attack: 7 Damage: 10

( If vampire is hit, then must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone and get another Attack: 9 Damage: 13 )

Then Lionel attacks.

If Ulthan is at the top of the tower - Lionel uses horse movement only to get closer then Misty Step to him and attack the closest spawn:

Attack: 22 Damage: 11 + 6 (for undead-ness)

Attack: 22 Damage: 10 + 6 (for undead-ness)

All damage is radiant and we are fighting in the sunlight.

(Firstly, Ulthan, did you add your 13 temp hp before taking all of that damage?  And Meepo, don't forget you have them too.)

Mordekai sees the Eldritch Blasts from Ketch come fizzing past from behind him, and, baffled at first, he looks down at his own hands to see if they've malfunctioned, then briefly turns to see who has joined in the Eldritch Blast fun.  Mordekai would like to move north towards the gatehouse, if he can get between the wolves and the bats without giving them an Opportunity Attack?  He's trying to get within 30ft of Ulthan just in case he needs extracting next turn.

With that in mind, before he moves, he's going to fire off a couple of his own Eldritch Blasts at the wolf nearest to the path ahead, hoping to clear the way a little and widen the gap between the wolves and the bats

Attack: 23 Damage: 15

Attack: 12 Damage: 10

Meepo raises his staff, drawing a line in the air with it, to wehre the skeletons are fighting with the wolves. He will cast wall of ice trying to put it up to block the wolves from reaching the skeletons there.

he then has his skeletons use their bows on the bats...
#1 Attack: 9 Damage: 11
#2 Attack: 11 Damage: 9
#3 Attack: 19 Damage: 8
#4 Attack: 24 Damage: 12
#5 Attack: 23 Damage: 6
#6 Attack: 5 Damage: 8
#7 Attack: 8 Damage: 11
#8 Attack: 6 Damage: 9
#9 Attack: 12 Damage: 11
#10 Attack: 19 Damage: 8

((Just a minor feat dip into Eldritch last level up, needed long range attack and Hexmay be handy.  But Ketch prefers melee... ))

Esmerelda leaps into action, running full steam towards Ulthan and the vampires, "I'm comin big guy!"

But, Lionel the dwarf comes riding past her in a flash, to Ulthan's rescue, the horse charges through the closing lines of bats and wolves to reach the bottom of the gatehouse.  The horse swings its hooves but misses one, while Lionel leaps off, his hilt letting loose it's blazing light....the scream of victory in Lionel's head almost dims the exciting shouting of a dozen voices yelling a dozen different things....including one yelling "come on..lemmme try!".... but the light erupts from the blade and the vampires on Ulthan all shriek as their skin begins to turn black, while smoking and making a terrible sizzling noise.  They all shriek. 

Ketch moves forward, also trying to win past the gap, letting loose two blasts of magic that no one has seem him use before, but they both miss....he must still be learning. 

Mordekai moves forward as well, but suddenly the small kobold slams his icy shard staff into the ground and a massive twenty foot tall wall of ice erupts between the closing wolves and the skeletons on the eastern flank.  Four wolves get hit by the forming wall and get frozen place, locked in the wall frozen with growling faces covered in ice.  The two trailing wolves that seemed closer than the others turned out to be further, and are actually just huge, two dire wolves.  The wall stretches almost all the way to the gate house, but due to the angle, can't seal them off without cutting off Lionel and Ulthan.  

Ulthan, still clutched by all the creatures manages to pull out his short sword and stab one of them...

The skeletons all turn and begin unleashing arrows that rip into the bats, the swarming bats dropping like flies as arrows tear through their midsts. But there are still many bats....

The vampire spawn shriek in pain and let go of Ulthan, fleeing from the sunlight.  (Ulthan and Lionel may both take an Attack of Opportunity on them.).   The run for the edge of the cliff face and then spin about and crawl down the sheer cliff face, scrambling down it like spiders, clinging to the wall unnaturally...smoking as their burning flesh is seared by the sunlight. 

The two dire wolves halt abruptly and turn to Lionel...clearly Strahd influencing them...and they charge the dwarf with jaws open and ready....along with the last remaining wolf on this side...

The wolf goes for the dwarves leg first.... Attack: 18 Damage: 8 if hit you must succeed on a DC 11 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.   Then the two large dire wolves attack. Attack: 23 Damage: 9 if hit you must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.    Attack: 22 Damage: 12 if hit you must succeed on a DC 13 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

Meanwhile the wolves near the back of the group begin attacking some of the skeletons there.....

First skeleton is attacked by two : Attack: 13 Damage: 5 if hit you must succeed on a DC 11 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. Attack: 24 Damage: 9 if hit you must succeed on a DC 11 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

Another skeleton is attacked by three:  Attack: 16 Damage: 7 if hit you must succeed on a DC 11 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. Attack: 15 Damage: 6 if hit you must succeed on a DC 11 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. Attack: 11 Damage: 5 if hit you must succeed on a DC 11 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone.

Meanwhile, some bats swarm one of the skeletons on the edge:

First skeleton:  Attack: 22 Damage: 2

Second skeleton: Attack: 14 Damage: 5 Attack: 21 Damage: 4

Third skeleton: Attack: 15 Damage: 7

(Meepo, do you want me tracking your skeletons or you?  If me, I need to know their AC and HPs....thanks!  FYI, 5 of your skeletons are now in melee and will have disadvantage to ranged attacks)

You all see the pale elf, Rahadin, walk out from behind the wall of the castle....standing on the far side of the 50 long bridge out in the open, his sword drawn.   He pulls out two darts from a bandolier and throws them in a long arc....both at Lionel. 

Attack: 19 Damage: 7 + 5 poison damage. Attack: 14 Damage: 7+ 8 poison damage. 

Map below is correct, except Ezz is next to Lionel...and Meepo is missing, oops!....and is 10 feet south of Ketch. 

Everyone's turn. 

Opportunity Attack: Attack: 27 Damage: 13 + 7

Str save: 18

The wolf's teeth sunk into dwarf's leg, but even in this body Lionel could not be dismounted so easily, he remained in the saddle.

The steed dropped both front hooves on the wolf's back: Attack: 21 Damage: 13

While Lionel raised up Shield of Faith and tried to cut gray menace down:

Attack: 13 Damage: 13 

Attack: 26 Damage: 13

Ulthan swings his blade at the fleeing vampire spawn Attack: 19 Damage: 3.
Next action - Ulthan puts his bow away and draws his dagger in his main hand and attacks the bad doggy that's pulling on the dwarf in his saddle. A single tear falls dramatically slow and a bare whisper flows from Ulthan "hrmpfh we could have been friends hrmpfh".
Stabs with the dagger: 19 Damage: 6
Stabs with shortsword in his offhand: Attack: 26 Damage: 10
Stabs again with dagger: 11 Damage: 6

     “They was warning shots!” Ketch insists.  “Trying to scare the damnable things off...”

     Then Ketch sees him.  That cursed pale elf...  Ketch forgets everything else and rushes straight towards him. “hōʻino wau iā ʻoe” Ketch shouts out, dropping a Hex on the putrid elf...(affecting dexterity, cause why not.)

     "Pāhū iā ʻoe" the Half Orc shouts, punching his free hand forward at his target and unleashing two sickly orange beams or bubbling, popping energy at the elf...

Blast 1 Attack: 5 Damage: 4 Plus 2 Necrotic if hits.

Blast 2 Attack: 6 Damage: 5 Plus 4 Necrotic if hits.

     Ketch ignores any wolf or bat attacks.  He’s focused on payback...

((but the RNG hates me here so much that it’s freaking hilarious...))

Ezz looks about as magic blast past her at misses Rahadin by a mile...."Were they warning shots too? No more warnings, just kill him!"  She laughs brackishly and turns to run with Ketch across the rickety wooden drawbridge towards the waiting elf...but..she doesn't wait, and mutters arcane words and holds out her hand, and a blast of lightning rips across the space striking Rahadin!  32 DC 14 save for half.  Rahadin 13. The blast takes him by surprise, and hits him in the chest, he stumbles back, twitching and smoking. 

Lionel's horse comes down on the smaller wolf and crushes it beneath it's steel clad hoof, it's back snapping and it dying instantly.  Lionel lays into the bigger dire wolves with Ulthan as they both hack at it. 

 Mordekai and Meepo. 

Mordekai will advance through the gatehouse, past the end of Meepo's wall of ice, and, seeing Rahadin, mutters "I swear, I've killed you at least once already." 

Like Ketch, he casts Hex on Rahadin, and sends his own Eldritch Blasts (which are a dark purple colour, to differentiate from the ones that miss their targets) towards the cursed elf. 

Attack: 10 Damage: 14

Attack: 9 Damage: 13

Ezz stops running and looks back at Ketch and Mordekai with a baffled look on her face, "Wow. Just....wow."  Then she turns back to the elf....

S4 tries to resist being pulled downn by the two wolves...
Str check: 8
Str check: 4

S5 tries the same
Str check: 17
Str check: 20
Str check: 10

Both fail in the end.

((Maybe they have a Ring of Eldritch Blast deflection?))

Meepo sends a blast of ice at one of the wolves fighting S5... ray of frost

Attack: 23 Damage: 17

He then moves towards the others of the group, heading into the castle.

His skeletons strike at the enemies around, five shooting with disadvantage due to range attack in melee...
S1 Attack: 14 Damage: 8
S2 Attack: 19 Damage: 9
S3 Attack: 16 Damage: 8
S4 Attack: 7 Damage: 7
S5 Attack: 20 Damage: 6
S6 Attack: 16 Damage: 10
S7 Attack: 8 Damage: 9
S8 Attack: 18 Damage: 9
S9 Attack: 11 Damage: 6
S10 Attack: 19 Damage: 9

The skeletons, regardless if they are in melee or not, then move to follow Meepo towards the castle. I am sure there will be attacks of opportunity here.