This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
As Gnippen glances up to Feredir, he sees the wood elf has already drawn his bow and is holding along the length of the yew riser a ash bolt with a glimmering onyx point and a white-green fletching. He doesn't turn his head to answer, but takes his free hand to gesture caution and silence.
He wispers to Sia in Elvish "Can you see their tribal marking?Have you seen these ones before?"
With the information Sia passes, I want to use my Favored Enemy skill to recall what I know about Orcs raiding parties (numbers, ambush tactics, weapons, etc.).
INTELLIGENCE (w/ ADV) - 15
With the same skill I want to track the Orc that Sia found and if I can discover anything else about their numbers or positions around the party.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Sia follows suit, taking out her shortbow and nocking an arrow.
"He had small blue stripes from eyes to chin. Not sure the clan."
Feredir:
Hmm. Not enough information to go on, or at least, not markings you've heard of before.
As you look around the immediate surroundings, you catch glimpse of several tracks crossing the stream just to the south (along the K-L lines). Seems like multiple orcs, and possibly a wolf or warg. You can't tell anything else without moving from your current position.
"I'm assuming we don't intend to negotiate?"
I'm going to go ahead and get initiative rolls for everyone, whether or not we are picking a fight, shooting an arrow, sneaking around, or shouting out to parley, just so it's out of the way.
Elyham - 22
Feredir - 6
Gnippen - 14
Sia - 4
Orc(s) - 15
??? - 4
Sia will act first, then ???. Then the other three in a block, then the orc(s).
Elyham quietly reaches around her side, unbuckling the strap that holds her crossbow tight to her back. "Best we not take any chances with these orcs. I'd say we draw them down to the river and pick them off as they approach."
Elyham slides a bolt out of her case and locks the armature in place on the crossbow. This isn't the first time she's had to defend herself against orcs, and likely won't be the last. At least this time, she's not alone.
So I've got detect magic, but the range is garbage - 20ft. Not really anything else i can cast at this time that would be beneficial to the party. I could try to sleep any other orcs that decide to crash this party once they've become visible. We could also try to persuade or intimidate them, but I'm game to loose some arrows and see what shakes down.
She quickly slides along the limestone cliffside, shortbow and arrow in hand, and looses an arrow at the orc when she has a clear shot.
Move I18, Attack on Orc at O13 - (Attack: 8, Damage: 7)
Unfortunately, the arrow gets caught up in the branches of the tree that the orc is hiding behind, and Sia lets out a curse in Elvish. She sprints to the bushes at H22 and hides in the cover.
An additional orc, which had previously been hiding behind the rocks at S12, spots Sia after her arrow goes wide. He shouts in Orcish, <"Ey, there they are! Charge, ya gits!">
He draws a longbow, and lets loose an arrow at the bush Sia disappeared behind.
Disadvantage from Sia's stealth, advantage from his hidden position, straight roll.
Longbow Attack - (Attack: 9, Damage: 8)
The arrow sails long into the bushes, and the rest of you hear a cry of pain as it finds purchase. Sia crouches down, the black shaft jutting from above her collar bone, face grimaced in pain.
Gnippen mutters to Tim, "I guess this is the plan now boy." Feeling the reigns tighten, Tim lets loose a howl and charges. As they charge, Gnippen unhooks his lance from his back. Leaning forward in his saddle, he points it in the direction of the Orcs.
Tim / Gnippen rush 40ft forward staying as close as they can to the limestone wall on their west, and ending at J17. During the move, Gnippen equips a lance in his free hand. Tim takes the dodge action for himself. Gnippen readies an attack with his lance in the event an Orc charges them.
Readied rolls for any enemy entering a 10ft radius:
Perhaps due to the fury at seeing your possibly only surviving friend take a heavy blow, your aim is hasty and off target. The arrow clatters near the archer-orc, and you hear a guttural laughter.
Sia looks up at you, and snaps off the arrow. Through gritted teeth, she says, "Lucky hit... I'll be alright, for now..."
Feredir:
It doesn't look great. Another solid hit and she'll likely go down, but she could survive a glancing blow or two.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Elyham barely escapes the charge of the gnome and his mastiff, pressing herself up against the limestone rock to her right. Hastily, she follows behind the pair, keeping tight to the wall for cover. Elyham stops right behind Gnippen and Tim, and steadies her crossbow for a shot at their foe. She looses a bolt in the direction of the orc closest to her, behind the tree just to the south of their position.
Elyham's crossbow bolt strikes true, sailing between the gaps in the foliage and just over the squat form of Tim and Gnippen before ducking alongside the limestone escarpment. The orc grunts in pain, a solid shot to the chest. Before the bolt has even landing, Elyham shouts a word of encouragement at Sia, and a wisp of magical energy surrounds the wound, pushing out the bolt and mostly closing the rend.
The first orc, the one that Sia spotted and the one with white fletching sticking out of his chest, now charges the position Elyham and Gnippen, a gutteral warcry on his lips and a massive greataxe in his hands. He bats aside the readied lance of Gnippen with the haft of his axe and makes an attempt to strike the mounted gnomish knight.
Orc 1 moves to K17. Gnippen's readied attack misses.
Perhaps surprised by the ferocity of his opponent, Gnippen fails to get his shield up in time, and takes a blow to his armor that leaves him winded.
Another orc, previously unseen, charges across the river in the direction it saw Feredir's arrow fly from. With a great overhand cleaving motion, he tries to swing his axe at the elven archer.
Orc 2 moves to L19, bonus action Aggressive moves H21.
Sia jumps back, evading any potential attacks by the orc, and quickly lets loose an arrow.
Sia cunning action: disengage, move I23.
Shortbow Attack (Attack: 14, Damage: 7)
The arrow finds its mark, sinking into his abdomen past the rough hide armor that the orc is wearing. She then sprints and takes cover from the orcish archer behind one of the trees to the south.
Gnippen raising his shield back into position, cocks his head to the side slightly and tries to say to Elyham, "Great thinking with the healing, Feredir and Sia are getting pretty beat up over there. I'll try to hold the ugly one in front of us so that you can lend them a hand!"
Instead only a grunt leaves his mouth as he attempts to re-center his lance towards the Orc. Tim deftly dances a few steps back into the creek. Gnippen attempts to gather his remaining might and makes another thrust with his lance.
Tim's action: disengage. Tim moves himself and Gnippen to M19.
With a tap of his heels against Tim's side, Gnippen delivers a well-practiced short charge into the Orc, driving his lance straight through the orc's stomach. The orc crumples and slides off, before Gnippen repositions.
As soon as the bolt leaves the crossbow, Elyham dashes towards the stream and across, stopping at F22 beside Feredir.
"Hold on my friend! We'll get through this.... Get up and finish this brute off!" Elyham says to Feredir, hoping her words of encouragement provide some respite given the current situation.
As the hulking orc prepares to swing his massive axe another time at Feredir, his head suddenly slams forward, the bolt from Elyham's crossbow emerging from the back of his skull. He falls forward, dead.
The fire in Feredir's emerald eyes, once blazing and wild, have cooled to a faint glow. His heart beats rapidly at the sudden loss of blood, his breath quickens. The slender elf clutches at his grim wound to find that the bleeding has been stopped and the wound gleams a pale blue. He struggles to stand fully upright, his stamina depleted. From the corner of his still keen gaze he spots the orc archer and beckons to Elyham.
"Hold tightly and pull, release on my command."
With a slight gesture of his head and eyes, he motions to his quiver. Elyham removes a dull white arrow, onyx tipped and a fletching of crimson brown. Hard to tell if the feather was always this color or if the ranger's own blood now painted his weapon. Feredir finds a small root and using pressure from his foot, braces and steadies the large golden bow. With one hand holding the bow and aiming the bolt, he takes aim at the foul creature. Elyham draws the arrow, bending the wooden weapon to it's limit, and waits. Feredir's shallow breaths cease, as he readies his attack. Calmly and smoothly does the elf position his aim, draw a slow deep breath and command Elyham. "Now."
Longbow Attack (on S12) - 21Damage - 7
As the arrow flies, Feredir crouches down behind the foliage.
Feredir's aimed arrow sails across the forest, and the steel broadhead imbeds deep in the chest of the orcish archer. You hear a guttural curse of pain.
Can't hide without using your action to do so. Sia has the Rogue Level 2 ability, Cunning Action, which lets her do it as a bonus action.
Sia shouts, "Nice shot, you two!" She sprints behind the broad trunk of the tree at S23, taking advantage at the archer's distraction to slide behind a new piece of cover.
Sia bonus action: cunning action (hide), Stealth - 14
Feeling like the orc did not notice her sprint into a flanking position, she takes aim with her shortbow.
Shortbow - (Attack: 16, Damage: 5)
The arrow strikes true, and the orcish archer, reeling from the first arrow and reaching for a long curved horn, drops like a sack of potatoes.
So ends the first combat. What would you like to do?
Gnippen surveys the party, though the Orcs weren't particularly well organized they managed to do quite a bit of damage. Elyham appears to be tending to the wounds of Sia and Feredir.
"Tim, looks like that just leaves the two of us for the grunt work."After latching his lance onto his back, Gnippen jumps down from Tim. They walk over to the furthest away Orc. Using a rope, Gnippen and Tim drag the Orc back to the group, and repeat the task twice more for the other two Orcs.
"I doubt these savages carried anything of use, but it is better to be thorough than hasty. A closer inspection by someone with more knowledge could perchance gain information regarding whether these Orcs were solitary raiders or part of a local tribe that we must be wary of."
"Sia and Feredir, do you recall any potential sources of shelter when your guild passed through this area? We will need to rest soon, the sun is starting to hang low. I would prefer to put a little distance between myself and this recent battle, who knows what eyes the commotion may have drawn or whether anyone will come looking for their three dispatched friends. A campfire in the open might not be a luxury we can afford tonight."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Gnippen easily drags the orc bodies over to a pile, collecting their loose weapons in the process.
You find a crude longbow, a hide quiver with 12 arrows, and two chipped, crudely forged greataxes. If you want to search their bodies further, identify someone for an investigation check.
Gnippen Perception - 20
Gnippen:
You see the entrance to a natural cave about 50 feet to the northeast of where the orcish archer had been hiding. While it was difficult to see from the streambed, due to the foliage and height difference, you can see it clearly as you tie the rope to the archer's body.
As Gnippen glances up to Feredir, he sees the wood elf has already drawn his bow and is holding along the length of the yew riser a ash bolt with a glimmering onyx point and a white-green fletching. He doesn't turn his head to answer, but takes his free hand to gesture caution and silence.
He wispers to Sia in Elvish "Can you see their tribal marking? Have you seen these ones before?"
With the information Sia passes, I want to use my Favored Enemy skill to recall what I know about Orcs raiding parties (numbers, ambush tactics, weapons, etc.).
INTELLIGENCE (w/ ADV) - 15
With the same skill I want to track the Orc that Sia found and if I can discover anything else about their numbers or positions around the party.
SURVIVAL (w/ ADV) - 12
Sia follows suit, taking out her shortbow and nocking an arrow.
"He had small blue stripes from eyes to chin. Not sure the clan."
Feredir:
Hmm. Not enough information to go on, or at least, not markings you've heard of before.
As you look around the immediate surroundings, you catch glimpse of several tracks crossing the stream just to the south (along the K-L lines). Seems like multiple orcs, and possibly a wolf or warg. You can't tell anything else without moving from your current position.
"I'm assuming we don't intend to negotiate?"
I'm going to go ahead and get initiative rolls for everyone, whether or not we are picking a fight, shooting an arrow, sneaking around, or shouting out to parley, just so it's out of the way.
Sia will act first, then ???. Then the other three in a block, then the orc(s).
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Elyham quietly reaches around her side, unbuckling the strap that holds her crossbow tight to her back. "Best we not take any chances with these orcs. I'd say we draw them down to the river and pick them off as they approach."
Elyham slides a bolt out of her case and locks the armature in place on the crossbow. This isn't the first time she's had to defend herself against orcs, and likely won't be the last. At least this time, she's not alone.
So I've got detect magic, but the range is garbage - 20ft. Not really anything else i can cast at this time that would be beneficial to the party. I could try to sleep any other orcs that decide to crash this party once they've become visible. We could also try to persuade or intimidate them, but I'm game to loose some arrows and see what shakes down.
Sia nods. "Well, no time like the present..."
She quickly slides along the limestone cliffside, shortbow and arrow in hand, and looses an arrow at the orc when she has a clear shot.
Move I18, Attack on Orc at O13 - (Attack: 8, Damage: 7)
Unfortunately, the arrow gets caught up in the branches of the tree that the orc is hiding behind, and Sia lets out a curse in Elvish. She sprints to the bushes at H22 and hides in the cover.
Sia Stealth - 16
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
An additional orc, which had previously been hiding behind the rocks at S12, spots Sia after her arrow goes wide. He shouts in Orcish, <"Ey, there they are! Charge, ya gits!">
He draws a longbow, and lets loose an arrow at the bush Sia disappeared behind.
Disadvantage from Sia's stealth, advantage from his hidden position, straight roll.
Longbow Attack - (Attack: 9, Damage: 8)
The arrow sails long into the bushes, and the rest of you hear a cry of pain as it finds purchase. Sia crouches down, the black shaft jutting from above her collar bone, face grimaced in pain.
Up Next: Feredir, Gnippen, Elyham (any order)
On Deck: Orc(s)
Map:
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Gnippen mutters to Tim, "I guess this is the plan now boy." Feeling the reigns tighten, Tim lets loose a howl and charges. As they charge, Gnippen unhooks his lance from his back. Leaning forward in his saddle, he points it in the direction of the Orcs.
Tim / Gnippen rush 40ft forward staying as close as they can to the limestone wall on their west, and ending at J17. During the move, Gnippen equips a lance in his free hand. Tim takes the dodge action for himself. Gnippen readies an attack with his lance in the event an Orc charges them.
Readied rolls for any enemy entering a 10ft radius:
Attack Roll: 10
Damage Roll: 17
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
Red and yellow rays of color ignite in Feredir's eyes as he hastes to Sia's side (G22).
Impetuously, he stands, nocks and lets fly the deadly bolt.
Longbow Attack (against S12) - 21
Damage - 8
He ducks behind the same foliage, and inspect's Sia's wound.
Stealth - 15
Perhaps due to the fury at seeing your possibly only surviving friend take a heavy blow, your aim is hasty and off target. The arrow clatters near the archer-orc, and you hear a guttural laughter.
Sia looks up at you, and snaps off the arrow. Through gritted teeth, she says, "Lucky hit... I'll be alright, for now..."
Feredir:
It doesn't look great. Another solid hit and she'll likely go down, but she could survive a glancing blow or two.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Elyham barely escapes the charge of the gnome and his mastiff, pressing herself up against the limestone rock to her right. Hastily, she follows behind the pair, keeping tight to the wall for cover. Elyham stops right behind Gnippen and Tim, and steadies her crossbow for a shot at their foe. She looses a bolt in the direction of the orc closest to her, behind the tree just to the south of their position.
Crossbow Attack (against O13) - Attack: 8 Damage: 9
I ended up in space I17, north of Gnippen and Tim. As a bonus action, I'm going to cast healing word on Sia.
Bonus action Healing Word on Sia, range 60ft, speed instant - 7
Josh just had to go all Leeroy Jenkins on these dudes.....
Elyham's crossbow bolt strikes true, sailing between the gaps in the foliage and just over the squat form of Tim and Gnippen before ducking alongside the limestone escarpment. The orc grunts in pain, a solid shot to the chest. Before the bolt has even landing, Elyham shouts a word of encouragement at Sia, and a wisp of magical energy surrounds the wound, pushing out the bolt and mostly closing the rend.
The first orc, the one that Sia spotted and the one with white fletching sticking out of his chest, now charges the position Elyham and Gnippen, a gutteral warcry on his lips and a massive greataxe in his hands. He bats aside the readied lance of Gnippen with the haft of his axe and makes an attempt to strike the mounted gnomish knight.
Orc 1 moves to K17. Gnippen's readied attack misses.
Greataxe Attack (against Gnippen) - (Attack: 18, Damage: 5)
Perhaps surprised by the ferocity of his opponent, Gnippen fails to get his shield up in time, and takes a blow to his armor that leaves him winded.
Another orc, previously unseen, charges across the river in the direction it saw Feredir's arrow fly from. With a great overhand cleaving motion, he tries to swing his axe at the elven archer.
Orc 2 moves to L19, bonus action Aggressive moves H21.
Greataxe Attack (against Feredir) - (Attack: 25, Damage:11)
Crit Additional Die: 4
The axe slams into the chest of Feredir, a massive hit that coats the nearby foliage in blood.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Sia jumps back, evading any potential attacks by the orc, and quickly lets loose an arrow.
Sia cunning action: disengage, move I23.
Shortbow Attack (Attack: 14, Damage: 7)
The arrow finds its mark, sinking into his abdomen past the rough hide armor that the orc is wearing. She then sprints and takes cover from the orcish archer behind one of the trees to the south.
Sia moves to N22.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
The orcish archer tracks Sia as she runs for cover, and attempts a follow up shot.
Longbow Attack (Attack: 12, Damage:3)
The arrow imbeds itself into the bark of the tree trunk that Sia hides behind.
Up Next: Feredir, Gnippen, Elyham (any order)
On Deck: Orcs again.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Gnippen raising his shield back into position, cocks his head to the side slightly and tries to say to Elyham, "Great thinking with the healing, Feredir and Sia are getting pretty beat up over there. I'll try to hold the ugly one in front of us so that you can lend them a hand!"
Instead only a grunt leaves his mouth as he attempts to re-center his lance towards the Orc. Tim deftly dances a few steps back into the creek. Gnippen attempts to gather his remaining might and makes another thrust with his lance.
Tim's action: disengage. Tim moves himself and Gnippen to M19.
Gnippen Lance Attack: (Attack: 19 Damage: 13)
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
With a tap of his heels against Tim's side, Gnippen delivers a well-practiced short charge into the Orc, driving his lance straight through the orc's stomach. The orc crumples and slides off, before Gnippen repositions.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Seeing the amount of blood splatter from the elf, Elyham quickly calls out a healing word spell.
Bonus action Healing Word on Feredir, range 60ft, speed instant - 7
Elyham nocks another bolt and aims for the orc, careful not to hit Feredir after healing him.
Crossbow Attack (against H21) - Attack: 25 Damage: 11
As soon as the bolt leaves the crossbow, Elyham dashes towards the stream and across, stopping at F22 beside Feredir.
"Hold on my friend! We'll get through this.... Get up and finish this brute off!" Elyham says to Feredir, hoping her words of encouragement provide some respite given the current situation.
As the hulking orc prepares to swing his massive axe another time at Feredir, his head suddenly slams forward, the bolt from Elyham's crossbow emerging from the back of his skull. He falls forward, dead.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
The fire in Feredir's emerald eyes, once blazing and wild, have cooled to a faint glow. His heart beats rapidly at the sudden loss of blood, his breath quickens. The slender elf clutches at his grim wound to find that the bleeding has been stopped and the wound gleams a pale blue. He struggles to stand fully upright, his stamina depleted. From the corner of his still keen gaze he spots the orc archer and beckons to Elyham.
"Hold tightly and pull, release on my command."
With a slight gesture of his head and eyes, he motions to his quiver. Elyham removes a dull white arrow, onyx tipped and a fletching of crimson brown. Hard to tell if the feather was always this color or if the ranger's own blood now painted his weapon. Feredir finds a small root and using pressure from his foot, braces and steadies the large golden bow. With one hand holding the bow and aiming the bolt, he takes aim at the foul creature. Elyham draws the arrow, bending the wooden weapon to it's limit, and waits. Feredir's shallow breaths cease, as he readies his attack. Calmly and smoothly does the elf position his aim, draw a slow deep breath and command Elyham. "Now."
Longbow Attack (on S12) - 21 Damage - 7
As the arrow flies, Feredir crouches down behind the foliage.
Stealth - 20
Feredir's aimed arrow sails across the forest, and the steel broadhead imbeds deep in the chest of the orcish archer. You hear a guttural curse of pain.
Can't hide without using your action to do so. Sia has the Rogue Level 2 ability, Cunning Action, which lets her do it as a bonus action.
Sia shouts, "Nice shot, you two!" She sprints behind the broad trunk of the tree at S23, taking advantage at the archer's distraction to slide behind a new piece of cover.
Sia bonus action: cunning action (hide), Stealth - 14
Feeling like the orc did not notice her sprint into a flanking position, she takes aim with her shortbow.
Shortbow - (Attack: 16, Damage: 5)
The arrow strikes true, and the orcish archer, reeling from the first arrow and reaching for a long curved horn, drops like a sack of potatoes.
So ends the first combat. What would you like to do?
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Gnippen surveys the party, though the Orcs weren't particularly well organized they managed to do quite a bit of damage. Elyham appears to be tending to the wounds of Sia and Feredir.
"Tim, looks like that just leaves the two of us for the grunt work." After latching his lance onto his back, Gnippen jumps down from Tim. They walk over to the furthest away Orc. Using a rope, Gnippen and Tim drag the Orc back to the group, and repeat the task twice more for the other two Orcs.
"I doubt these savages carried anything of use, but it is better to be thorough than hasty. A closer inspection by someone with more knowledge could perchance gain information regarding whether these Orcs were solitary raiders or part of a local tribe that we must be wary of."
"Sia and Feredir, do you recall any potential sources of shelter when your guild passed through this area? We will need to rest soon, the sun is starting to hang low. I would prefer to put a little distance between myself and this recent battle, who knows what eyes the commotion may have drawn or whether anyone will come looking for their three dispatched friends. A campfire in the open might not be a luxury we can afford tonight."
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
Gnippen easily drags the orc bodies over to a pile, collecting their loose weapons in the process.
You find a crude longbow, a hide quiver with 12 arrows, and two chipped, crudely forged greataxes. If you want to search their bodies further, identify someone for an investigation check.
Gnippen Perception - 20
Gnippen:
You see the entrance to a natural cave about 50 feet to the northeast of where the orcish archer had been hiding. While it was difficult to see from the streambed, due to the foliage and height difference, you can see it clearly as you tie the rope to the archer's body.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag