distant rumblings

Zax is mostly sure that his friends are speaking in some sort of military short hand code, but he isn't positive he takes their meaning. "Is a turtle really going to talk to trees or get his shell polished?" Daz wonders if either are real.... both?

Dax will make his way towards Brock. "Glory to you, goat master. Does the old woman's words have any meaning to you? I am new to these lands, so her... poetic phrases... are lost in translation to me. What old ones or witches are you familiar with as adversaries?"

“We’ll be back Zax. Buy us time.”

Assuming Warhol can make it to the perimeter of the town, he will look for animals to befriend.  “Hey guys, did anyone see the really big two-legs as big as that (rock or tree) there?” He points to something approximately the size of the giants. “ Was there someone with them who was different or special?”

Brock doesn't have an answer for you Gor'Zax.  He seems as mystified as you.  "There are tales of corrupted creatures from many centuries ago... but that was long before the time of my grandfather.  Wise women are still consulted on occasions (as oracles) but actual witches are usually killed by my people... they are corrupters and servants of dark powers."

Warhol knows that witches are still to be found on the periphery of some kingdoms but they are generally shunned or only consulted by 'less-civilized' peoples.  That you know of, there hasn't been an actual witch seen in Merciana in a very long time.

Warhol and Marvin head outside. The storm that was raging earlier hasn't let up yet.  The only buildings that you can go into are the great hall, the stables or the armory (just behind the great hall).

Warhol - your efforts with the rams and goats that are kept by these particular dwarves aren't very helpful. They communicate that they saw what you speak of (the giants, not anything else) but they don't have any further information. But then you come to a raven that is perched on a peak of the great hall... this raven eyes you curiously. "Dark woman, dark woman was here when large men came... then she was gone."

navyik wrote:“We’ll be back Zax. Buy us time.”

Since Brock doesn't know anything useful, Zax will attempt to buy time by entertaining the Earl and his company. He walks towards the end of the table near Duncan. "I offer an epic poem by the Shadar-Kai poet G'Trok entitled "The fall of Kang". It is best enjoyed in the native Shadarese, but I will make translation for you:

The Fall of Kang

We fought with swords,
before Boring-holmi.
We held bloody shields:
we stained our spears.
Showers of arrows brake the shield in pieces.
The bow sent forth the glittering steel.
Volnir fell in the conflict,
than whom there was not a greater king.
Wide on the shores lay the scattered dead:
the wolves rejoiced over their prey.

Zax pauses, "the final lines must be spoken in true Shadarese"

'etlhlIj bIngDaq Heghbogh yoHwI' tIquvmoH,
'ach Hoch jaghpu'Daj HoHbogh SuvwI"e' yIvup.

Honor the brave ones who die under your sword,
But pity the warrior who kills all his enemies

The earl applauds your poem and so do his advisors.

After the applause has died down, the earl nods off to sleep.  Gor'zax notices Brock trying to get his attention...  he motions off to a corner of the hall.

Zax attends Brock in the corner, " I trust putting the lord to sleep with my poem should not be taken as criticism, har har"

Brock says “just go with me here…. (then in a louder voice) and this one time, this dwarven woman, what a hairy gal that was, anyway” he then drops his voice. “I was afraid to tell you this earlier but I think I can trust you… (he looks over both shoulders) I had a dream the other night about a woman with dark skin and horns. She made me see things… terrible things! I saw this hall in fiery ruins, I saw my men dead before me and the Earl’s body being sacrificed… there was nothing I could do!” He looks very downcast and worried about this.

Warhol will cast Divination as a ritual. It is a new day since he last used it. “How do I find the Dark Woman of whom the raven spoke?”

I should have been more clear. You need to actually sleep for a bit before the long rest is accomplished.  My mistake and I'm sorry about that. The long rest will be in affect after another 6 hours rest or trance in the case of elves. This will put it about an hour before dawn.

Do you have another way to cast the Divination?

whit10 wrote:I should have been more clear. You need to actually sleep for a bit before the long rest is accomplished.  My mistake and I'm sorry about that. The long rest will be in affect after another 6 hours rest or trance in the case of elves.  This will put it about an hour before dawn.

Do you have another way to cast the Divination?

The trees get annoyed when Warhol uses it too often and they get inaccurate when pestered too much. Warhol will ask in the morning.

“She was here during the attack. We should see whether Zax learned anything and compare notes.”

ok, no worries

Zax gives a hearty laugh at the feigned joke. He leans in closer to Brock when he whispers. Zax replies, "I will not betray your trust; we ARE here to help. Let me consult with my companions. Wait.... A horned woman... do you mean a Tiefling? They are a race of humans with fiendish ancestry. Did you see which way she went or from where she came? Do you have any scouting reports on giant camps nearby?"

Marvin will see what tracks he can pick up, either from the invading giants or any other creatures that seem out of place. He laments the raging downpour making this a difficult task, but he leans into it with his typical gusto:
Survival/Tracking
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 5 to total : 13, + 5, TOTAL: 18

Brock looks at you with a very confused look... "what's a Tiefling?"

And now that he says that... you have not seen one of those in Merciana anywhere.

Marvin's check for tracks: you see where tracks begin outside the town but no origin point for them.

And the other questions?

So, tracks leading into town but nothing from further out?

Marvin will take a closer look at where he picks up the tracks at the edge of town:
Investigation:
Sun Jul 31 2022 09:21:50 GMT-0500 (CDT)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 5 to total : 14, + 5, TOTAL: 19

no idea where she came from; she just appeared

there are no giants that live near this town... they tend to live many miles away.

Marvin - no further information can be found. It appears that they just appeared outside the town... but the continuous rain isn't helping your efforts.

“She’s traveling with magick, Marvin, and taking giants with her. I know of something like this. Do the tracks start as if coming out of a tree or bush? Let us return to the Earl’s hall. There is a ritual I can perform with the rising sun to find her.”

they appear to come out of a small copse of trees

Ok, so are you all going to sleep to complete the long rest?

I think we are done for the night

Chris wrote:I think we are done for the night

I’ll second that.

Summon an owl familiar to help with the watch of the town.

ok, but just to point this out from your character page - "When you cast the spell in this way, the familiar is a fey instead of a beast, and the familiar disappears after a number of hours equal to half your druid level."

so it will disappear in 3 hours.

Marvin, anything else for you before bedtime?

Nope. Was hoping to find something residual from their appearance, but that appears to be a dead end. Marvin is done for the day.

ok, all of you go to sleep.... while your sleep is uninterrupted, you have very strange dreams that make you think you're being watched. There is a ghostly image of a woman with dark skin that you can see but you can never quite make out her form or why she's there... she does not seem to be trying to communicate.


You wake up about an hour before dawn (long rest is completed) to the sound of shouts and commotion. As you get up to find out what's going on... there is a thundering explosion from the eastern wall of the great hall and then flying stone debris from a giant hole that's been blasted in the wall. You see two hill giants, covered in those purplish-black veins coming through the wall with other shapes behind them.

Brock yells out 'defend the Earl' and his warriors arm themselves.

I have placed you where there was the best area for sleeping; which is fortunately away from the wall that just exploded (no damage to you)



Initiative rolls please (no surprise)

Warhol

as a Tortle
Ac 20
Hp 56/56
passive Perception 18

Initiative
Result of the throw of dice "1d20 -2" :

13 - 2 = 11

Marvin Initiative:
Sun Jul 31 2022 16:55:50 GMT-0500 (CDT)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 9 to total : 11, + 9, TOTAL: 20

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 0 to total : 3, TOTAL: 3

Oof

we'll start tonight. I have to start at UPS today, ugh

Congrats!

Thanks!

ok,

Initiative order:

Marvin: 20
Hill Giants: 18
Warhol: 11
??: 4
Gor'zax: 3

There are two giants that you can plainly see... you can also see two huge shapes right behind them. One of them looks to have entirely black skin and a deformed face. (I just can't fit them all on the map yet)

FYI: the dwarves are going to go at the end of the round and will basically fight one giant. They will not roll and will progress in the battle based on how the PC's do.  If you kick ass, they kick ass.  If not, well...  this way we don't have to bog things down with them.



Marvin is up!

So which giant is ours and which will the stubbies fight?

On the road from IL to CO today. Will post Marvin’s turn tonight if I’m not totally knackered from the drive.

ah, the first one that came through to the north Chris.

No worries Mike

Wait... you were in IL?!?
We are in Rockford right now too, geez lol

Yep. Quick trip Thursday-Tuesday to pick up my kid from Camp Grandma. Had a fun blast from the past Friday, we went to Magic Waters. Hadn’t been there since about 1997. They’ve expanded it a lot. If y’all get time you should take the boys.

Whitey wrote:Yep. Quick trip Thursday-Tuesday to pick up my kid from Camp Grandma. Had a fun blast from the past Friday, we went to Magic Waters. Hadn’t been there since about 1997. They’ve expanded it a lot. If y’all get time you should take the boys.

Next time tell me. I hosted a gathering. You could have been there. . That goes for everyone out of town Josh.

Are you freaking kidding me?
We were at Magic Waters all day on Friday. What are the odds....

lol.. yeah, I don't know when I'll make it back again. And if I do, I would want to bring Hobbes with me and stay. I am heartily sick of CO

Alan, had limited social time this trip, but will for sure let you know next time.

Chris, that’s wild. Surprised I didn’t see you as it wasn’t very crowded.

Marvin’s turn:

As a bonus action Marvin will cast Hunter’s Mark and place it on the northern giant. He will attack twice with his short bow:

Wed Aug 03 2022 08:14:26 GMT-0600 (MDT)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 10 to total : 18, + 10, TOTAL: 28

Wed Aug 03 2022 08:14:25 GMT-0600 (MDT)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 10 to total : 17, + 10, TOTAL: 27

Damage1 W/ HM:

Wed Aug 03 2022 08:16:19 GMT-0600 (MDT)
Rolling line 1 : 2d6 + 6 to total : 2, 5, + 6, TOTAL: 13

Damage 2 w/ HM & CS:

Wed Aug 03 2022 08:17:20 GMT-0600 (MDT)
Rolling line 1 : 2d6 + 6 to total : 3, 3, + 6, TOTAL: 12
Rolling line 2 : 1d8 + 0 to total : 3, TOTAL: 3

Total damage: 28

Marvin will advance to take cover behind the chair nearest his position (map coords please and thank you Mr. GM).

Done

fookin' hell... sorry. I always seem to forget the map coordinates. I'll get it fixed

Marvin, is this the right position for you?

Sorry about the left side of the map coordinates, it's just not working the way I need it to (but I think this will work for our purposes)




I will take the Hill Giant turns this evening. Kinda busy today

That looks to be correct.

Hill giants go.... there will be some random attacks: for this purpose, the Earl is "1", Marvin is "2", Zax is "3" and Warhol is "4"

two swings at the dwarves

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 8 to total : 8, + 8, TOTAL: 16

Wed Aug 03 2022 17:21:10 GMT-0600 (Mountain Daylight Time)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 8 to total : 9, + 8, TOTAL: 17

two dwarves get tagged by the northern most one

the next giant down the line takes two swings...

Wed Aug 03 2022 17:21:48 GMT-0600 (Mountain Daylight Time)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 8 to total : 4, + 8, TOTAL: 12

Wed Aug 03 2022 17:21:46 GMT-0600 (Mountain Daylight Time)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 8 to total : 20, + 8, TOTAL: 28

one dwarf is dead, three get hit but are still up for the moment.

another giant enters the room and hurls a rock at:

Rolling line 1 : 1d4 + 0 to total : 1, TOTAL: 1

... the Earl.

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 8 to total : 5, + 8, TOTAL: 13

he just missed the Earl.


Map is current - you can now see this guy standing just before the hole in the wall but he hasn't advanced yet






Warhol is up!

Warhol

as a Tortle
Ac 20
Hp 56/56
passive Perception 18

Warhol moves to G-4 and casts conjure animals, hoping for a pair of dire wolves.
They get an extra 2hp per HD and their natural weapons are magical because Warhol is a shepard Druid.

As a bonus action he summons the unicorn spirit

Unicorn Spirit. The unicorn spirit lends its protection to those nearby. You and your allies gain advantage on all ability checks made to detect creatures in the spirit’s aura. In addition, if you cast a spell using a spell slot that restores hit points to any creature inside or outside the aura, each creature of your choice in the aura also regains hit points equal to your druid level.


Dire Wolf
Armor Class 14 (natural armor)
Hit Points 37 (47)
Speed 50 ft.
Skills Perception +3, Stealth +4.
Senses passive Perception 13.
Challenge 1

Keen senses: Adv. hearing and smell

Pack Tactics: advantage on its attack roll if one of its allies is within 5 feet of its target (and the ally isn’t incapacitate).

Bite (+5 to hit, 2d6+3 piercing damage), when used against a creature, knocks that creature down on a successful attack unless the creature makes a DC 13 strength-saving throw.

“Go get ‘em boys!”

Initiative
Result of the throw of dice "1d20 +2" :

11 + 2 = 13

So do they go now?

yes, let's keep them on your turn. Proceed good sir

The Direwolves appear at AB 10-11 and BC 7-8 and attack the top giant as Marvin did.  They have advantage.

First wolf
Rolling "1d20 +5" 2 times

1: 6 + 5 = 11
2: 3 + 5 = 8

Second wolf
Rolling "1d20 +5" 2 times

1: 9 + 5 = 14
2: 20 + 5 = 25 crit!!

Damage for the crit

Result of the throw of dice "4d8 +3" :

2 + 5 + 5 + 3 + 3 = 18

Giant must make a str save DC 13 or be knocked prone and subjected to another attack.

ok, the map is updated and the one giant took quite a gash from the wolf's jaws... (the first one missed)

Str. Save for the giant:

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 6 to total : 13, + 6, TOTAL: 19

he makes the save

Marvin: 20
Hill Giants: 18
Warhol: 11
??: 4
Gor'zax: 3

The Formorian now enters the fray....  he fixes his green eye on:

Rolling line 1 : 1d4 + 0 to total : 2, TOTAL: 2

Marvin.  Marvin needs to make a Charisma Save, DC 14 (this is a nasty effect and Marvin has Halfling's luck, so I'm not taking a generic roll or anything like had been previously discussed; besides, our fights have been going pretty fast)

The Formorian also swings his club almost with distain at the dwarf at the southern end of the table

Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 9 to total : 3, + 9, TOTAL: 12

lol... he misses anyway.

Map is current



Gor'Zax is up!

Does the Formirian’s effect cause the Frightened condition? If so Marvin has Advantage…

nope

Marvin does indeed need his Halfling Luck to overcome a 1…and gets a 5

Fri Aug 05 2022 06:44:27 GMT-0600 (MDT)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 0 to total : 5, TOTAL: 5

Fri Aug 05 2022 06:44:23 GMT-0600 (MDT)
Rolling line 1 : 1d20 + 0 to total : 1, TOTAL: 1