Pizazz's Ravenloft and Beyond

The four vampire spawn clinging to the outsides of the tower leap off onto the ice bridge, skuttling across the icy surface with little trouble and reaching the skeletons at the back. 

The first one tries to give one of the skeletons a firm shove off the bridge. Athletics check vs skeleton : 18  if it fails, it pushes again, otherwise it turns and pushes another skeleton off the bridge.  Athletics check vs skeleton : 19 

The vampires seem to get into it, running up and giving the skeletons firm pushes, cackling as they do so. 16. and another. 16. 

Two more....from the 3rd vampire 19, 20. .... while the 4th stays back a bit. 

Meanwhile, on the other side...two darts whistle down from a window up in the gate house...as Rahadin appears long enough to whip darts at Lionel.  Attack: 25 Damage: 10 + 3 poison damage.  Attack: 11 Damage: 9 + 5 poison damage.

He then ducks out of the way from the window taking full cover. 

Then they're Strahd....just within the sunlight, his wounds not healing, he hisses at Lionel...and moves back 30 feet, dragging Ezz has he goes.  He attempts to bite her again as she squirms helpless in his grasp, ...as well as his claws running down her back...

Claw Attack: 11 Damage: 9 + 18 necrotic.   Bite attack : Attack: 26 Damage: 8 + 15 necrotic. 

His claws drag along Ezz's studded leather armor as she squirms, and she gets a shoulder up to block his attempt to bite her once more. 

Somehow she's still alive and squirming in his grasp. 

Ketch, your action. 

(Strahd is now 50 feet from Lionel and Ulthan, 60 feet from Ketch, 80 feet from Mordekai, and 90 feet from Meepo.)

[ Round 7:  Ulthan : 24, Vampire Spawn : 23, Strahd : 20, Rahadin: 18, Ketch : 11, Ezz : 9, Lionel : 8, Mordekai : 7, Meepo : 7 ]

(Map error, Ulthan is just in front of Lionel)

     Ketch moves his Spiritual Weapon back towards the bridge.  The coward Strahd will keep running so it’ll never catch up to him, but perhaps it can be used to hit a couple of these approaching vampire minions...

     For his own action, if possible, Ketch would just like to wait until the pale elfboy appears in the window again and unleash Eldritch Blast on him when he does...  ((is this an actual thing allowed? Seen it on streams, not sure if actual rule though...))

Looks like I need 6 saves...

STR check: 17
STR check: 13
STR check: 4
STR check: 21
STR check: 8
STR check: 19

subtract 1 from each of the above, as I added 1 for some crazy reason...

Three of Meepo's skeletons (s1, s3, and s6) are pushed off of the bridge by the vampire spawns. This leaves him with 4 skeletons left. Only one of which should be within melee reach of a vampire spawn.

Ulthan continues "foreshadowing" the dwarf then reaches back with a slightly green glowing hand Cure wounds 9. This has got to be the round we get into combat with Strahd.

Quote from DragonDenn >>

Looks like I need 6 saves...

STR check: 17
STR check: 13
STR check: 4
STR check: 21
STR check: 8
STR check: 19

subtract 1 from each of the above, as I added 1 for some crazy reason...

 You so crazy!  Remaining skeletons can be in melee range, or just out of melee range in order to fire without negatives. Your choice. 

Ketch - Yes, that is a thing.  It's called "Ready".  It uses up your "Reaction" in addition to your action, and can involve you moving in response to something OR taking an action in response to something. (not both).   NOTE: It's a little unclear, so I'm going to rule, for now, that you can use your movement during your normal turn, then "READY" an action.  But...if the ready action is to move, the readied movement plus any normal turn movement can't exceed your normal amount of movement.   Quote from book below. 

Ketch looks around, moving his magical hammer back towards the incoming vampires, while glaring up at the window, waiting for Rahadin to pop back out. 

Strahd drags Ezz back yet another 30 feet, moving in a strange bursty "blur" of movement, like something from a nightmare....now 80 feet from Ulthan and Lionel.  Ezz struggles and attempts to break free of his hold.....20... and does, putting a firm elbow into his mid section and then spinning away from his grasp.  She backs away from him, bleeding horribly....he takes a swipe at her as she moves. Attack: 26 Damage: 7 + 13.  His claws rake off of her magical armor as she dodges and moves 30 feet back towards the glowing sphere of light that is quickly approaching.

Lionel, Mordekai, Meepo, Ulthan, your actions. 

(Strahd is now 80 feet from Lionel and Ulthan, 90 feet from Ketch, 110 feet from Mordekai, and 120 feet from Meepo.)

[ Round 7:  Ulthan : 24, Vampire Spawn : 23, Strahd : 20, Rahadin: 18, Ketch : 11, Ezz : 9, Lionel : 8, Mordekai : 7, Meepo : 7 ]

Not so fast, monster! Lionel did not say it but do you even need to state obvious?

He did said fast "thanks" for the healing to Ulthan, but then rushed straight forward feeling the amulet sending the impulse of a holy power:

Fly (30ft) + Misty Steps (30 ft more) I believe it would get him into daylight radius for disadvantages for on saves/abilities?

Action: Holy Symbol of Ravenkind

Hold Vampires. As an action, you can expend 1 charge and present the holy symbol to make it flare with holy power. Vampires and vampire spawn within 30 feet of the holy symbol when it flares must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save, a target is paralyzed for 1 minute. It can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns to end the effect on itself.

((Ok, Ketch not readying an action as he’s not giving up his Hex on the stupid elf...  Ketch will either just Eldritch Blast Strahd that turn, or just stand there trying what to decide and lose the action if you don’t want to retcon it.  I’m ok with either.  Blast rolls in case we do that...

Attack: 6 Damage: 2

Attack: 4 Damage: 8

Or just move on if not... probably misses and don’t matter anyway.  Oh, and thanks for clarifying the rule!))  :)

Mordekai, firmly believing he's dialling his accuracy in (having crit last round, only to roll a 1 and a 2 on the d10s for damage), closes the gap 30ft and unleashes another couple of Eldritch Blasts purple bolts of magic fizzing from the fake lookalike Strahd, straight towards the real Strahd's head.

Attack: 22 Damage: 10 

Attack: 28 Damage: 16 

(Note, "ability checks" are not "saving throws" or vice versa.  So, disadvantage on ability checks doesn't affect his saves.) 

Two blasts of magic fly past Strahd from Ketch...who is obviously still learning how to use his new magic...

DC 15 Wisdom: 16

Strahd's eyes open wide as Lionel teleports forward and flies....leaving Ulthan behind.  The bright daylight immediately begins to char his skin as it touches him, smoke pouring off of him, and a sickly sizzling sound.  He hisses in pain but resists the affect of the cross. 

Ulthan rushes to catch up to the dwarf.... (double move?) . Mordekai advances, his face transforming to look like a mocking Strahd, as he blasts Strahd twice with two beams.  Strahd takes the blasts against his charred skin and looks hurt, stumbling back...

Meepo? 

Sorry, I need some more information again. How far are the skeletons from the end of the bridge? If they did a double move last round, that would have been 30 feet, as it is difficult terrain. If they do a double move this round, that is another 30 feet, which should get them off the bridge. If so, then Meepo dismisses the bridge, sending the vampire spawns falling however far it is to the ground below.

Meepo himself will move in closer to Straud, then send a set of four magical darts rocketing into the vampire...

Force damage: 18

The skeletons move forward, slipping and sliding as they go, attempting to flee the vampires that, on all fours, seem to move with easy, sticking to the icy surface.  It's a close thing the skeletons clattering, but they had a good lead and didn't stop as the vampires were pausing to push their allies off the icy bridge.  The reach the lip of the Ravenloft stone and Meepo gives a little smile....then stops concentrating on the ice bridge.  There is no comic scrambling for a grip in mid air or anything...the ice suddenly just evaporates and the four vampire spawn plummet out of site in an instant...their screams of rage echo up the chasm until they stop suddenly. 

Meepo turns and unleashes magic missiles...the glowing darts race across the open courtyard and slam into Strahd, one, two, three, four, five....pelting him as he staggers back, gasping in pain.

Rahadin peeks out, seeing Lionel has somehow traversed most of the courtyard and is now out of range of his darts... throws two darts at Ketch instead....and then ducks back into the window. 

Attack: 29 Damage: 9 + 5 poison damage.  Attack: 26 Damage: 10 + 6 poison damage. 

Strahd meanwhile, burning, hurt, unleashes a fireball across Ulthan, Ezz, and Lionel... DC 18 Dex save for half damage ...35 fire damage.  Then he backs up 30 feet, walking backwards into the entrance way of the castle and through the main foyer...now 20 feet inside the castle....as he backs away and gets out of the bright sunlight....his skin stops sizzling and smoking and the grimace of pain on his face lets up with a small measure of relief. 

Ezz Dex save: 23.  Ezz collapses in a heap, her body smoking as the flame ripples around her.

(Strahd is now 20 feet inside the castle:  50 feet from Lionel, 55 feet from Ezz's body, 80 feet from Ulthan, 100 feet from Mordekai, 110 feet from Meepo and Ketch.)

Ketch, Ezz (unconscious) and Lionel are up!

Courtyard Map: 

Inside Map as you close in on the Castle: 

Ulthan's first thought is hrmpfh not again hrmpfh as he attempts to futilely dodge out of the way of the fireball 10. As he passes by Ezz he does cure wounds thinking that if she's dirt then the spell just won't fire 3. If spell fails he'll just continue his rush of tackling the vampire because he first thinks of a bearhug then he remembers the whole fang thing and doesn't really want fangs near his neck Tackle 17. Of course in his mind it goes well beyond that and he imagines picking up the vampire by his legs and just spinning in the middle of the hallway bashing vampires head in the corridor walls as he spins.

Sadly because she's alive I mean yay, and more importantly because he's still 30 feet away, I make burning noises, but am otherwise ready to kill... or the opposite... hopefully not the opposite.

Dex save: 21

Lionel made his peace with the burned out beard and now cared about only one thing - to keep Strahd vulnerable. He flew after the vampire:

Movement+Misty Steps to keep Stragh "enlightened"

Action: last 20 points of Healing on himself.

     Ketch snarled, plucks out the dart that struck him, and tossed it aside like it’s nothing.  He wants that coward elf dead... but he’s a secondary concern.

     Ketch casts Spirit Guardians (dropping the Hex) and runs full speed towards Strahd...

The bright light from the sword continues to radiate outwards, as Lionel pops forward yet again, and rushes towards Strahd, the light burning Strahd once again, burning him, hurting him, he can tell....as Strahd is hunched, his skin burning....

Strahd suddenly stands up straight.  He's hurt. It's true. His very flesh is burning. This is also true. But...he's been playing it up it's suddenly obvious to Lionel.  Strahd makes a small waving motion with his hand, and grins a grin of pure malice.  Even now he taunts you with each motion. He says in his whispering evil voice, "See you inside. Oh...and...don't fall asleep."  He begins laughing, a laugh that echoes through the whole building behind him, bouncing off the walls, and in a blur of movement he steps through through the wall to your left...moving through it as if it were nothing.....vanishing from view. (no AoO)

Lionel stands there...burnt...charred, poison coursing through his veins...but worse...a bitter taste of frustration thrumming in his head....

Then he hears the growling.  Overhead, in the vaulted entry foyer, where before you saw four statues of dragons glare down, instead Lionel sees four red dragons hunched above. Young.  Nothing more than wyrmlings really.  But fully alive, and glaring down at Lionel like a snack. 

Red Dragons : 6  (eeesh, that's incredibly unlucky...)

The dragons come crashing to the floor around Lionel, surrounding him..... 

Mordekai, Meepo, your actions. 

(Mordekai is currently 80 feet from the front door of the castle.  Meepo is 90 feet.  Lionel has been rushing ahead and teleporting which is why he's so far ahead of you...)

[ Round 8:  Ulthan : 24, Strahd : 20, Rahadin: 18, Ketch : 11, Ezz : 9, Lionel : 8, Mordekai : 7, Meepo : 7, Dragons : 7 ]

Seeing no targets for his Eldritch Blast as Strahd vanishes, Mordekai breaks into an uncharacteristic sprint, moving and dashing towards the door. 

Ulthan grunts "hrmpfh no win today go back kill rahad today hrmpfh" and heads back out stumbling, grabs Ez and her weapons putting her over the shoulder, using shield as cover. He keeps his eyes on the tower, but in an indirect way as if he's forgotten about it. Regarding the flying darts, where they physical darts or magical dart sthat Rahad was throwing?

Clarification needed... Last round the vampire moved 30 feet away from Meepo, to get out of counterspell range, meepo moved 30 feet closer this past round, getting back into counterspell range. I don't see how Meepo could be 110 feet away. Should have been 60 feet from him, at the end of Meepo's turn, and able to counterspell the fireball that was cast, unless the vampire moved prior to casting the fireball, then still should only be 90 feet away from the vampire now.

Ya, that's a very reasonable question.  Strahd is able to take additional actions at the end of other people's turns. One of those actions is the ability to move 30 feet. So, he moved back an additional 30 feet during someone else's turn last round. The slippery sunnuvagun. This happened after Ketch's turn... "Strahd drags Ezz back yet another 30 feet, moving in a strange bursty "blur" of movement, like something from a nightmare.."