The Cranstonian Expedition (RPG)

[Poli]

I'm here!

[Raven Hawk]

I'm here also, I just figured that I was still charging over the hill and won't get an action until next turn.

[Blade6119]

Me too...was awaiting the result of the next round. i stated this about two rounds ago for the combat since i guess im getting involved now:
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WSU, id like to use all my mounted comabt feats if possible(can i use them however many times i need, or should i save them?)
Mounted combat (ride)*
>Ride-by attack*
>>Spirited charge*

And also my ride skill and my intimidate skill if it manages to stop the beast from charging Nightion.

Ill leave it up to you oh mighty gamemaster how it unfolds and what i can use(i dont know about limits or what not, but if none i would use them all to aid in this battle.)

[Vince]

Heh...I'm also waiting to hear what happens when I get to the crest of the hill. I wanted to prepare an instance of Magic Missile, so I'm ready to fire it off if necessary when I get to the top. I figure with all the charging and stuff going on on the other side of the hill, that's a prudent thing to do without knowing what's going on over there.

[Poli]

You can't count on those Azarans anyway. Mush!

[WSUCougar]

As the enraged badger lunged at Reod, Nightion scrambled for footing, but for whatever reason he failed to attack the open flank of the beast. Up the rise, Kallash grunted with satisfaction at the impact of the bolt, then tossed his crossbow aside and drew his short sword. Not the weapon of choice against a dire badger… he thought grimly, but the Rhyllan warrior was on the defensive now that the wounded animal had closed in on him. The Cranstonian moved in to attack, his eyes following the mounted charge of Dereth just ahead of him.

Although relatively low to the ground, the badger’s great bulk presented a substantial target for Dereth’s ride-by attack. Sword-arm outstretched, the young fighter laid an ample stroke across the beast’s head, splitting its scalp open in a burst of foamy blood. The badger turned to snap its jaws at the passing horse, and Reod saw his opportunity. With a deft lunge of his longsword he pierced the creature’s exposed throat.

Again, Reod found his sword imbedded deeply, and the weight of the badger thrashing about dislodged his grip upon the weapon. He was tossed aside, and took a slight rip across his armor from one of the beast’s massive claws.

As Jadrich, Xypheus, and Brayden reached the crest, the bloody scene had almost been played out. Reod, on the right, was on the ground and unarmed. In the rear, Dereth was wheeling his horse, while Nightion stood ready close by. Kallash was poised to strike the dire badger, which was a hideous form drenched in blood and with Reod’s sword stuck in its throat. Yet it seemed lost in the agony from its wounds, writhing in fury but blindly so.

[Poli]

Reod looked up in amazement. He'd been sliced and tossed before. He'd never been thrown like that. It wasn't too amazing the dire badger was still fighting. It wouldn't live much longer now, but it would fight until it's death, that was for sure.

Perhaps the greatest concern for Reod was the fact Hellantic was still lodged in the badger's neck. Reod had left his other weapons and supplies with the horse, so he was momentarily weaponless.

He quickly decided to scramble away (not having a weapon will make that decision quick regardless), hoping to let the others finish this one off. Perhaps, he thought as he began to move, he could locate the unknown horse rider's corpse.

[Raven Hawk]

Jadrich crested the hill and quickly assessed the situation. Noticing Reod scrambling away from the beast, Jadrich raised his crossbow to eyelevel. While continuing his verses, Jadrich picked a line and loosed a bolt at the dire badger.

"Camdich, Mordren, and Danya stood
Looking out their hoods;
Kendrar was amassing evil force
In the Brocklynn Woods.

Mordren sent his hounds to lead
As they spurred their steeds;
Down the hill toward evil horde
Onward to the bleed.

They brought their gods and their horses,
With them to the fight,
Tooth and steel and hoof and arrow
Rung out through the night,
The Heroes of Scalla stood 'lone
With the coming of the light . . . ."

[Vince]

Does it seem that anyone is in dire need of help? Based upon the description above, just staying away from the Badger as it dies seems like a good enough strategy...eh, better safe than sorry.

If I have a clear line of fire...

As Xypheus clears the crest of the hill, he lets fly with a Magic Missile at the Badger, hoping to end this encounter immediately.

[Blade6119]

Dereth was impressed by this badgers resolve. Dereth had killed many creatures and men with one ride by attack, but this badger had taken a attack to the head, the mouth, and a few arrows to the side...and it was still standing. "Ahhh, the gods bless us early with entertainment i see, for this is sport in its best form. Best finish the deed now as if we do not i fear for Reod's life." Dereth hoped to instill a bit of confidence in his fellow companions with this comment, as he knew that seeing Reod flee would make a few of the others waver. Dereth was also well aware of what might happen if the beast charged after reod,or returned his attention to nightion. It all led to only one possible decision, and his horse was already charging the beast without even needing a kick from Dereth.

Dereth figured it was about time to attempt to bring this beast down, and he saw a couple ways to do that. He could aim for the hind legs and hit both in a ride by attack, he could go for the neck and attempt to woiund it badly ebough where he would bleed to death or even cut off this monsters head, or lastly he could go for the head and either slash it again or stick his sword in as well. The last option didnt feel prudent, as that would leave both warriors in the party unarmed(except for the shield dereth still carried from lady del var), and if the beast still was capable of fighting, Dereth could not think of a worse situation then having both the parties tanks in flight unarmed. The neck attack also presented considerable risk as Dereth would have to ride by the horses head, exposing himself and his horse to attack.

So with that dereth rode to the rear of the Badger, sword fully outstreched pointing at the monster, knowing that Reod's life was in his hands. "CRY HAVOC, AND LET LOOSE THE DOGS OF WAR!!!!!!!" Thoughts fell from dereth's mind...all that mattered know was bringing the beast to the ground so it could be finished off, and taking out its hind legs seems like a perfect way. In the background behind the badger, Dereth saw the last of his companions charge the top of the hill. The magic missle was a sight to behold flying directly in his direction, and Dereth just hoped that the missle and other shots fired did not hit him or change the beast's stance for fear of his attack not working and simply exposing himself to mutilation.

[Blade6119]

BUMP

[Poli]

Darn indoor.

[MacroGuru]

Brayden surveys the situation, and he had taken oath to these men, like he would on a ship. His word is his life.

With a bit of a gusto, he steps in to help Roed, stepping over the body to protect it from the Badger.

"Shake it off man!" He yells to Roed, and moves forward with his Rapier, attacking with speed.

[WSUCougar]

Careening side to side in a wild frenzy, the dire badger spewed blood like a geyser but did little else to affect those engaged in battling it. Reod was thus able to scramble away to a safe distance, while Brayden the Azaran stepped forward in a protective posture, steeling himself to strike the beast with his rapier. Kallash back-peddled to avoid the massive form, as did Nightion.

With a hearty song still on his lips, Jadrich let fly with his crossbow. The bolt imbedded in the badger’s flank, yet seemed to have little impact given the presence of the longsword still stuck in its throat. On the other side of the enraged creature, Dereth spurred forward once more to the attack, just as Xypheus let fly with a pair of magical charges. With eerie predilection, the magical energy laced through the short space and laid into the badger’s form. With sudden silence, the badger stiffly thrust itself up on its haunches, and there it remained momentarily as it teetered slightly from side to side as the mounted Rhyllan galloped toward it from behind. Just as Dereth poised himself to strike at the beast’s rear leg, it collapsed dead in a cloud of dust upon the crimson-spattered ground.

[Raven Hawk]

Jadrich's song came to a premature end as the legs of the badger gave way to its dead weight.

"Nice shot, Mage!"

Jadrich assessed the situation from horseback at first, checking over his companions.

"Is anybody hurt?"

Looking around and making sure that they were all alright allowed him to proceed to his next question.

"Anybody see the victim?"

If anybody points me in the right direction (or if I happen to see it), I'll head over to the body that the badger was dragging and try to figure out if the person is dead or alive and if alive, if they have any hope of survival with my healing talents.

[MacroGuru]

Looking at the dead creature upon the ground, a look of shock and awe appears on Braydens face.

"That looks like a right nasty beastie there."

Glancing over at Roed.

"I doubt you want to hear this from an Azaran, but you did a damn fine job."

[Poli]

Reod ate a bit of humble pie. His gut reaction was to cast a snide remark to the Azaran, but he bit his tongue instead.

"Thanks, Brayden, I'm glad you were there" he replied as he took his time getting up, then he directed the next statement to the group, "it's a dire badger, if any of you didn't know. Nasty fellows. I've fought one in my day, but I had a lot more help."

Reod then inspected his armor. Seeing the slice in the armor, "I got lucky to get away with this. Their claws are absolutely lethal. Our unit lost two men to the badger I fought before."

With that Reod went over to the dire badger and began the work of removing Hellantic. It was neither easy or hard to do, but took a minute of time.

[Vince]

"If you gentlemen are finished patting yourselves on the back, we've got a 'victim' to find," Xypheus retorted as he lowered himself down the slope.

"I don't know much about dire badgers, but do they normally go out of their way to attack travellers? It would be nice to know beforehand if we were likely to stumble accross a group of dire badger cubs."

[WSUCougar]

Reaching down to pick up the crossbow he'd cast aside in the midst of battle, Kallash grunted with exertion. Still a tough one in a fight, he was a graybeard compared to the others nevertheless, and was breathing heavily. He was also pleased that he had not had to get any closer to the dire badger with his short sword.

"Well fought, all," he said, exhaling again.

Turning downslope, he gestured to the mangled corpse of what presumably was the horse's rider, not far away.

"There's our missing friend..." he said irreverently. He then began to look around slowly, and then a bit more quickly. "Where is Jupp?!?"

[Poli]

Reod had just removed Hellantic from the badger when he heard Kallash's cry. He turned in surprise. His next thought was that this was not good.

"Get back to the top of the hill, now! We need to find him!", he shouted as he himself took off running.

Bad enough to lose Jupp (Lady Del Var would likely hold both Kallash and Reod responsible), but to lose the horses and their packs would be a tremendous loss to the expedition in itself. Reod was determined not to let that happen.

[Raven Hawk]

Jadrich gave the corpse a quick once-over from horseback before he heard Reod call for people to return over the hill. Horribly mangled as it was, Jadrich knew that there would be no saving this unlucky person.

Jadrich let out a brief sigh, "A pity . . ."

Jadrich quickly turned his horse about and spurred it on in a dead sprint toward the hill, when he reached the crest, he pulled back to reign in the horse a little to survey the situation on the other side of the hill.

[MacroGuru]

Looking around and seeing people running blindly over the hill again, Brayden thinks to himself....


"This bravery stuff is quite overated." and moves over the hill, acting as rear guard for the group.

[WSUCougar]

Jadrich, on horseback, was the first to reach the crest, trailed by Reod and Brayden scrambling up on foot. Xypheus and Kallash, also on foot, waited at the bottom of the slope, near the dead dire badger. Nightion and Dereth were still positioned on the other side of the dead beast.

A distressing scene greeted Jadrich’s eyes. A quick sweep of the area noted that Jupp’s body lay crumpled in the ground aways off, three sizable rocks strewn about near the head of his prone, bulky form and a large, dark-stained blotch in the torn cloth and armor between his shoulder blades. Not far from this, three ragged figures - all wrapped in flapping animal hides and one with some kind of pelt draped over its head – were making hurried attempts to pull the remaining horses and mules (save for Dereth’s and Jadrich’s) away. Each bore a crude looking spear or club of some kind, with which they were menacing and rapping the frightened animals to propel them along.

As Jadrich opened his mouth to speak, all thoughts of warning were quickly lost when a crazed shriek suddenly rang out from seemingly beneath his mount. The noise was hideous to the ears, both in its primal savagery as well as its sheer loudness. Things then began occurring in the span of mere heartbeats; the horse, spooked to the utmost, reared up and threw itself back in a loud, whinnying recoil. Fighting to control the terrified animal, Jadrich still was able to look directly into the face of what assailed him: a man of some accursed breed, with what appeared to be massive boils on his cheeks and forehead, and large bulging eyes raging at him. A thick rat’s nest of coarse black erupted upward from his head, and what oddly struck Jadrich more than anything were the countless nits and other tangles evident in the hair. He was garbed in some filthy skin of some kind.

Again, all thoughts were dissipated as the hill-man (for surely this must be one) screamed fully into his face once more, and raised his arms above his head like a madmen. “BEEEGLAAAAGHHHH!”

[Raven Hawk]

Jadrich narrowed his eyes to see the true hideousness of the Hill Man. Jadrich shifted his gaze as the spooked horse shifted its weight uncomfortably to keep the Hill Man's own gaze. Jadrich called out to his comrades, still attempting to hold the gaze of the Hill Man:

"Man down. Four foes. Hill People . . . Dereth with me. All others . . . come slowly."

With that the barkeep began to walk his horse down toward the disgusting individuals, doing his best to keep his mount steady. He called out to their leader as he kept his pace slow enough for Dereth to possibly catch up.

"How now, good Hill Person? What's your business with my horses and my mules?"

If Jadrich can hold his gaze, he will attempt to cast Charm Person amidst my conversation. If they get spooked and start running, Jadrich will run his horse wide to cutoff their escape route, instructing Dereth to do the same. If they charge him, Jadrich willl cast Sleep.

Edit: Meant to say Jadrich would stay out of "rock throwing" range, but inside communication range.

Edit 2: To correct the number of hill people that Jadrich saw.

[JeffNights]

Nightion had put away his short sword and had picked up his longbow when the shrieks of horses turned his attention back over the hill, immeadiately he readyed another arrow and advanced toward the horses...

[Poli]

"HILL PEOPLE, KALLASH!"

Reod continued on his way up the hill, readying Hellantic with his right hand at the same time. The hill people would pay for this little diversion.

I'll use all of my feats (except the obvious two weapon fighting) if need be.

[Blade6119]

Dereth heared the call and was off at a pace even greater then his charge on the beast...to ride to kill a foe is one thing, but to ride to save a comrade in arms is quite another. Dereth reached the pinnacle of the hill a short time after the others, as he had already been charging in that direction before the beast died, and had the advantage of horseback to the other's foot travel. He quickly noticed jadrich in conversation with Jupp assailants and presumed theives. The tone in his voice was suprising, as dereth heared no hint of anger or rage. If it had been him, the hill people would be hearing worse things then the cry of the horse. Dereth wondered if Jadrich's form of diplomacy would work, and if not he was willing to use his intimidation skill to attempt to scare off the hill people. He rode at full pace to gain jadrich's side, and hoped that the two of them could handle the .4 hillmen until other helped arrived or just alone in combat. Dereth thought it best to be silent and keep his sword at his side, as a warrior of Dereth stature riding to you full speed with a sword outstretched is enough to lead any many into fight or flee, and for now dereth wanted to follow along with Jadrich's current plan. There would be time for brute force soon it appeared, especially after catching Jupp's body in his perepheral vision.

What did worry dereth though, was the fear that these three might not be alone. Dereth had lived in the woods of cranstone, and his dealings with forest men of those parts had taught him to always expect more enemies to come from places you would never expect. Dereth let his eyes wander the surrounding area during the gallop, and hoped nightion and the others on foot could alert the two mounted men to any threat. Dereth knew they had to save the horses, for without them they might as well not even try to beat the other party to the candle mage. For now though, jadrich seemed a commanding figure and in controlof the situation to some extent. He would let jardich's actions determine his, and be ready to intimidate or attack at a moments notice.

[WSUCougar]

Quick note:

There are actually four hill-people present. The three bearing off with the horses, and the one in very close proximity to Jadrich (right in front of him). Please edit posts as needed.

[Vince]

Xypheus starts back up the hill upon hearing Jadrich's call.

Coug, once Xypheus gets to the top, is the group of hill people taking off with our mounts within range of my Grease spell? If so, I'd like to target the area right underneath them/slightly in front of them, so that they have trouble getting away quickly.

[Raven Hawk]

Blade-

It's like you're reading my mind . . .

Good job!

[Blade6119]

i try lol

Just trying to go along with what i think i would do realistically in the situation...or maybe its my X-com days coming back to me when we used to team up

[Raven Hawk]

Bump.

[WSUCougar]

Amidst the crazed shrieks and immediate proximity of the hill-man, Jadrich’s coolness was exceptional. And remarkably, amidst the chaos, the Scallite’s mesmerizing charm incantation began to take hold of his foe. The hill-man’s hairy arms slowly lowered, and his bellowing ceased. His face, crinkled up with tense rage, gradually began to relax. Even the other hill-people, occupied as they were in driving the horses with their spears, cast nervous glances backward toward the slope to see what had happened.

Yet the hold was a tenuous one. The fierce eyes, flitting from side to side, flinched visibly at the arrival of Jadrich’s comrades. First Dereth, mounted on horseback, then Reod, Xypheus, and finally Brayden. A guttural gurgle began to sound in the hill-man’s throat as he took a small step back, those his eyes kept returning to Jadrich’s calm face.

The three other foes were struggling to control any of the remaining animals, and appeared on the verge of panicked flight. On the left, Xypheus began to quietly intone his Grease spell, just as Kallash and Nightion reached the rank of adventurers deployed across the crest. Upon the sight of Jupp's battered body, Kallash let forth an impassioned "Ohhh..."

[Raven Hawk]

"Do not fear, friend," Jadrich said in a calming tone, "Tell your friends to stop what they are doing, we wish to barter."

Jadrich maintained a steeled focus on the lead hill person as he held up a closed fist to his company behind him. Slowly, he dismounted his horse and made his way to where Jupp's body lay.

"It appears as though my friend had a little mishap here. Does he still breathe?" said in his soft tone.

He squated down and put his hand over Jupp's nose and mouth to feel if there was any breath left in him, all the time never letting the Hill Man escape his gaze.

[Poli]

Reod knew the barkeep was up to something, and he knew exactly what it was. It angered Reod quite a bit, but he took Jadrich's fist in the air to mean the situation was at least partially in control. He sheathed (sp?) Hellantic slowly, in the process he began to drift towards Dereth.

Reod supposed if this didn't work out and he was to catch the hill people, he'd need a ride.

[Vince]

Coug - Will Jadrich finish his charm person before I can finish my Grease spell? And if possible, can I delay my casting so that Jadrich finishes? I don't want to stop casting...just want to see where this is going.

[WSUCougar]

Originally Posted by Vince

Coug - Will Jadrich finish his charm person before I can finish my Grease spell? And if possible, can I delay my casting so that Jadrich finishes? I don't want to stop casting...just want to see where this is going.

Sorry, Vince, I forgot to mention that the three other hill-people are beyond your Grease spell's range. Consider Xypheus in the initial stages of intonation such that you can start again or move as necessary without penalty.

[Vince]

Hm. Well how far out of range am I? If I can move in range without distracting Jadrich too much, I'll start moving that way...otherwise, I'll hold off for a minute.

[Blade6119]

Dereth moved forward in pace with jadrich but kept a close eye on the three pulling away the horses

[WSUCougar]

With great force of will, Kallash fought the urge to unload his crossbow at the hill-man in deference to what Jadrich was trying to do. His whole life he had been trained and tested in the role of fighting these wild bastards, and the broken body of Jupp only enflamed his hatred further. Yet wisdom had carried him far in life, and he would not yield so quickly to the obvious, passionate, and aggressive course.

“They do not speak our language!” he hissed at Jadrich.

Despite this obstacle, the Scallite barkeep’s calm demeanor was carrying the moment. The hill-man was seemingly mesmerized, and the scene was thus a remarkable one when he furrowed his brow with uncertainty as Jadrich checked on Jupp. Alas, the lad was still and gone, his head bearing the brute marks of the rocks and his back pierced deeply and puddled with oozing blood. Jadrich’s hand quickly became wet with it.

The other three hill-folk had abandoned several of the animals, and were now making better progress with one horse and two mules. Something had to be done soon, or they would be too far to intervene in their escape. With a watchful eye on the bizarre drama unfolding closer at hand, Xypheus was already moving off in their direction. The two Rhyllan warriors were poised to move that way as well.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

100 paces and widening.

[Raven Hawk]

ooc: are the three others and the horses outside the range of my sleep spell?

[WSUCougar]

Originally Posted by Raven Hawk

ooc: are the three others and the horses outside the range of my sleep spell?

Er...I don't have my book with me. Anyone?

[Raven Hawk]

From what I can gather, it is a medium range spell with a 15' radius from where ground zero is placed. http://www.raflar.com/fantasyrpg/SpellsBard3-0.pdf

If you trust this source.

[Blade6119]

i couldnt tell you either...is Reod on my horse, or am i still mounted alone?

[WSUCougar]

Originally Posted by Blade6119

i couldnt tell you either...is Reod on my horse, or am i still mounted alone?

Alone.

Raven Hawk, I'm going to assume you are out of range at the moment for the Sleep spell.

[Poli]

Reod watched as the hill people decided part with some of the spoils. It wouldn't take long for them to disappear, or reappear with reinforcements, for that matter. He looked at the other Rhyllan warrior, who was beside him. He looked at the rest of the group and decided that the lone hill man here could be taken down rather quickly.


"Dereth, quickly now! Let's go!"

With that, Reod hopped on to Jadrich's steed and galloped towards the departing hill people.

[Raven Hawk]

Jadrich took his eyes off of the hill person for only a moment to look down at his bloodied hand. He rubbed some of the blood between his thumb and index finger before looking back up at the hill person. Now Jadrich's peaceful look only vanished for a moment under a grim visage before it returned quickly. It was obvious, now, that this brute of a man did not understand the common tongue. What was the point of speaking in it. Jadrich began singing a dirge that was quite solemn, yet beautiful in its own right. Slowly walking around the hill person that was under his influence, Jadrich waved his companions in.

The peaceful melody that Jadrich sang in his own tongue was so much so, that it might put one to sleep . . . {sleep spell on the one hill person nearest Jadrich who is still charmed}

Vun nas aeoli, nas aeoli,
Ush ven luminai
Arro cosh sen verili
Ush ven alvenai.

Vun nas pulimi, nas pulimi,
Ush ven luminai
Arro cosh sen caroli
Ush ven alvenai.

Ven alvenai . . .

[Raven Hawk]

Dola,

Not sure if Reod was aware or not, but Jadrich's horse is unoccupied.

[Vince]

Xypheus picks up the pace a little bit, while continuing his incantation of the Grease spell.

I'll unload the spell as soon as I'm in range, Coug...and I'll center it a little in front of the group (that is, in the direction they are already travelling). Dereth and Reod better be careful if they're charging into a puddle of Grease, though...I believe Grease is conjuration, not illusion, so they're going to be at its mercy as well.

[Raven Hawk]

Heheh. This is the fun of fighting together for the first time. You have no clue what everybody else is going to do.