The adventurers begin moving quickly in the direction of the cornered animal.
Whisper flies ahead to quickly find a location and assess the situation and report back, giving a “first glance” image to Jaliera before returning for a more detailed inspection.
The gold-horned reindeer is cornered at the end of a ravine, with the only exit blocked by three barbairans. A lone barbarian closer to it, armed with an axe. At least at the moment, all combatants are alive and moving.
In addition to the three barbarians blocking the ravine exit, there are several more lining sides of the ravine, watching the combat from above. It looks like about six on each side. All attention seems to be on the action in the ravine...
As they continue, she picks up the pace as she describes Whisper's vision.
"We might get the element of surprise but will need to be careful of those watching from above, unless we can take them out or distract them somehow. Just to be clear, we are trying to rescue this reindeer, yes?"
After the initial direction-and-distance circuit, Whisper makes a more detailed survey of the situation, giving Jaliera a clear picture of what to expect.
There are a total of sixteen barbarians. All but one are armed with spears, and in addition have hand axes at their sides. Twelve surround the edge of the ravine on top, where there is about a ten foot drop to the base. Three barbarians guard the only exit with two rear holding a cloth between their spears to give the appearance of a wall. Combined, the fifteen barbarians make somewhat of a circle around the two combatants.
In the middle of this circle, the two combatants are moving around each other, attempting to strike or dodge. This barbarian is visibly larger and stronger than the others, is wielding a greataxe, and is wearing a bit more protective hide-and-fur armor.
The reindeer appears to be mostly dodging, with an occasional attack, while the barbarian is the more aggressive one.
The landscape around where the barbarians stand is dotted with enough foliage that a group could likely approach as close as they wanted as long as they didn't make any stupid noises.
OOC:
1. For any group approaching within 60 feet before combat starts, all do DC 10 stealth check; if majority pass check you will have surprise.
2. Jumping down 10 feet into the ravine is free movement (just count the horizontal movement) but make a DC10 athletics check and take 1d6 damage if you fail. Falling or being knocked into the ravine takes 1d6 damage.
3. If you want to jump down on top of a target, you'll both do athletics checks. If you win they are knocked prone.
4. Climbing back out is 10 feet difficult terrain.
5. Those above do not have line-of-sight to those in the ravine for range attacks until they are within 2x the distance from the target to the edge. For example, if the target is 20 feet from the ravine edge you must be within 40 feet of the ravine edge (60 feet of target) to see them. Attacks not in line of sight will be at disadvantage.
Running along with the rest, he slows up and shifts back to his human form as he figures he will use his summon animal spell to help even out the numbers here.
"I can get eight of the barbarians with a swarm of bats. That should provide some distraction for the rest of you. Bats will be noisy as they fly in so I'll have them all come from one side. The rest of you can deal with the other side."
She describes the situation in detail to everyone.
"I think some should go down and give the main opponent some competition. He could easily kill the reindeer if left to his own devices. I can colour spray the far side, maybe?"
She considers range?
"And we can use missile weapons on those at the top?"
Jaliera initiative/stealth Gypsy rolled 1d20+4,1d20+10 and got 5, 19
"It looks to me like some sort of individual manhood challenge. I would prefer if we could succeed without killing. They are simply following their culture. I can Web them while we allow the deer to escape. And, yes, I know once we leave they can simply hunt it down again, but we can't do everything. If I first Web the ones blocking the exit one of us can go down and drop the tarp. If Jaliera can stun the one fighting the deer it should be able to run off."
He decides that it is safer for the group if he takes a longer shot than trying to be 'stealthy' and filing that, so he stops a good 100 feet out where he can target the guys blocking the animal's escape.
"I agree that it's some personal trial, and my intent is mainly to distract enough of the barbarians so that the animal can escape. I'll call off the bats once the deer escapes."
Davroar will plan to circle off to the south east, staying back far enough to avoid having to be too stealthy yet close enough so that it will only take the bats a short distance to cover the distance to attack.
The party is able to sneak into position undetected. Most remain more than 60 feet from any target, while Zindra and Jaliera are able to sneak even closer.
[[ hate to make work for you ... but Roll20 and I do =not= 'get on' <sigh> Bern wants to be where he can get a bow shot at the two keeping the 'exit' blocked. ]]
[[ hate to make work for you ... but Roll20 and I do =not= 'get on' <sigh> Bern wants to be where he can get a bow shot at the two keeping the 'exit' blocked. ]]
Moved you to a point 65 feet away with clear line of shot to the two with the tarp and the third one right behind the tarp.
Originally Posted by Zeim
(OOC - Zhu is going to try to immobilize/web the ones blocking the exit but she'll need someone (Arus or Kriv maybe?) to knock down the tarp.)
You've put Zhu within 60 feet of the tarp-holders. If you want to use your first move to move there that's fine but need to start the turn > 60 feet, or roll stealth.
Perhaps having spent many hours conversing with Kriv, perhaps sharing stories of Tymanther and Serôs, Arus's voice is well exercised but his eagerness for activity is not. A combination that invites trouble.
The triton won't tolerate jumping a group of local hunters and murdering them. Arus respects his companions and trusts their instincts. If they want the golden hind saved, then he will do his damnedest to swerve the hunters from their course.
So dropping into the gulch without fuss, Arus approaches casually, one hand resting on his belt buckle, the other swinging freely. He walks right up to them, forcing them to give him their fullest attention.
Zindra Before sneaking up she whispers to Glork, "Watch this pal. If they want a piece of me I'm gonna to get the plants to tangle them up. Don't laugh too hard watching them squirm!" She then makes her way towards a nearby tree and hides behind the trunk waiting for the right time to cast her spell.
She sneaks up the edge of the ravine so that she is in spell range of the combatant. She is on the same side as her friends (OOC about that first bend I think?). She prepares her sleep spell, hoping that Arus, Davroar, Zhu and the other provide enough of a distraction so she is not spotted. On her turn she will cast sleep and then either hide on run back to the others, depending on what happens.
(OOC - Aqua - Note I placed Zhu where she needs to be for her spells. She does not need to approach.)
Zhu
Seeing Arus drop down into the gulley and begin to speak to the Barbarians, she decides to see if he can resolve this without unnecessary killing. However, in order to protect Arus she readies a spell and watches carefully, ready to cast it if needed. Hopefully, Jaliera can stun the one fighting the Elk so it can run past if it comes to fighting and Arus can take care of the one he is speaking to. She is careful in her targeting to leave a 5 foot path along one side so the Elk can escape and bypass the Webs.
(OOC - Aqua - Ready Action - Cast Web across the Gulley. Trigger is any attack on anyone in the party. I drew a box for the 20x20x20 spell on the map in Roll20. I know it only covers 2 of the foes but in order to leave an escape path for the Elk and not target Arus that was the most she could get.)
I totally missed that Arus dropped in. I should have been reading more closely and I didn't see that in the token movement on Roll20.
Arus can't just wander into the ravine without the stealth roll and risking counterattack by barbarians.
Stealth roll is required for breaching the 60-foot border, and movement beyond that needs to follow turn-based rules per initiative.
So if the intent is for Arus to "drop in" and negotiate we need to back up, have a stealth roll that allows Arus inside the 60 foot boundary at the start (but only up to movement speed) and have Arus then make a further move on his turn in initiative order for these negotiations.
To be more clear, I think we're fine with the current plan, just, Arus can't be where he is just yet and the previous "speaking" pose can't have happened yet. "Seeing Arus drop down" won't have happened yet, it will be a "Seeing Arus approaching and preparing to drop down".
Sorry for missing this, I should have called it out earlier.
(OOC - OK. I can leave Zhu's Readied Action in case Arus is attacked as he approaches. I will delete the spell target box for now as if Arus is attacked before he reaches the three Barbarians I could move it a bit and get all three of them so for now she will just prepare and see what happens....... Edit: Apparently I am allowed to draw shapes on the map but not delete them. Aqua/Nep, can you delete the spell AOE box? I will place it again at the time the trigger happens.)
The half elf watched the Triton approach and waited. He consider what insult he might hurl if necessary but for the moment it was merely playful thoughts. He remained out of view as best he is able. No point in springing their trap too early.
[Arus made his Athletics check to climb down, assuming DC was 10. But yeah, he's not trying to stealth up to the barbarians tbh, quite the opposite.]
OOC: That's fine but they may have noticed you before you got to the jumping point, and that's what initiative order is for. For now assume you are 65 feet from the nearest barbarian to you, and on your move you can spend your movement trying to get to the ravine.
Davroar will have his summon animal spell at the ready to conjure 8 swarms of bats in order to occupy as many of the barbarians he can in case the barbarians turn hostile.
While the newcomers to the pit fight may be avoiding combat, that is not the case for the two combatants who are the center of attention.
While the gold-horned reindeer is unaware of potential assistance arriving, it is still engaged in somewhat of a "who will strike first" dance with its opponent. There's enough room for it to maneuver away from the hunter chasing it, and it engages in a "warning shot", backing away about 25 feet from the target and then breathing a cone of fire towards him... ending just short of where it would do damage. But enough to raise the temperature in the pit slightly and alert the barbarian leader that he might be barbecued if he insists on attacking this creature.
The deer exhales fire in a 20-foot cone. Each creature in that area must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 3d10 fire damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one.
The deer intentionally does not harm its potential attacker. Perhaps there is motivation by both opponents not to strike first.
He remains ready but does not fire ... yet. The barbarians had not actually attacked, so he was willing to wait a bit and see how things progressed. Apparently their pray had a similar feeling since it had not actually attacked ... only threatened.
(OOC - Remember if you don't take an attack action you can do a double move.)
Right, so a move from >60 with a double move of 30x2 gets him >0 away from a barbarian. Which he'll still get the jump on (literally) next turn with initiative order.
Originally Posted by nem
[Perfecto, thanks Aqua. Can you shuffle my token to where Arus will be in Roll20?]
I'm leaving you exactly where you placed yourself, 5 feet from two barbarians, assuming you approached from the southeast and used your double move.
Since people may need this turn to ready actions, let's just go back to what everyone thought was the plan before I insisted on following the rules, except Arus is now in position and there will be a full turn for everyone before he speaks.
Zindra's turn!
Initiative Order
Has moved (or not): Zhu 26 Sindar 21 Davroar 20 Kriv 19 Goldenhorns 18 Bern 18 Arus 18
Zindra After watching the scenario unfold, she didn't waste time trying to put a stop to it. Reaching into her pockets she pulled out seven twigs that had been sharpened into a point and began an incantation. When she was done, the area that the barbarian leader and several other barbarian were now standing fills with in twists and sprouts of hard spikes and thorns. This, she hoped, would stop the attack on Goldenhorns.
ooc: Spike growth. I drew the 20' radius area on the map. And since I can, I placed it on the map layer.
The barbarians cheer and laugh when the reindeer breathes fire. It's moving a lot more than their leader, who's mostly just threatening it for now, either patiently tiring it or waiting for an opening. They remain blissfully unaware of the party moving in on them or the spells being cast.
(OOC: I know that Jaliera is not cleared yet but Glork will be making this move regardless of what happens. Also since Glork did not see Zindra's casting land anywhere (trees), I am guessing he also needs to make a save throw on Wisdom once he gets close to the spike growth. For this purpose he rolled a natural 16 on a base Wisdom of 7. Glork will be moving up regardless. Just curious how big are the grids on the map?)
Glork could hear Zindra but could not see. He moves up to see. "Want to see squirm!"
She watches as the reindeer breathes fire. Zhu was right, it is magical!
She will cast sleep at the one challenging the reindeer.
[OOC not the reindeer, so if I get other tribesmen, so be it. She will centre the spell more towards herself so that she definitely gets the leader and maybe only one tribesman.]
ooc: Might I suggest that odds are Jaliera would have selected the same targets as Zindra because they used the same logic?
And since speaking is a "free" action and Glork was speaking to Zindra ... Zindra She hears Glork and says to him quietly, "Be patient friend. Let's have some fun with them first. This will be funny. You'll get your turn."
Jaliera's sleep spell is effective on the two barbarians between her and the leader (B3 and B4). They collapse to the ground, unconsious, their spears clattering to their sides.
They don't even feel the bed of nails Zindra prepared for them. Maybe when they wake up a minute from now...
OOC: Glork has pre-moved.
The barbarian leader is unaware two of his audience have fallen asleep out of boredom from lack of combat, and continues to wave his axe menacingly at the reindeer, feinting one way and then the other, but not actually moving any squares, his goal to get the deer to dodge and tire itself out...
[OOC: I did originally state that Jaliera would cast and hide? but that got a bit lost in follow ups ]
OOC: You indicated hide as one of two options. If you'd rather run than hide, that's fine too, feel free to move your token. If you want to hide, you'll need to make a DC 10 stealth check roll.
I’m not sure if you are allowed to take two actions on the same turn though. I’d allow a retcon of hiding last turn and casting sleep while hidden but still need that roll.
OOC: Jaliera can take a regular action, move and a bonus action. As a rogue with cunning action she can do stealth as bonus action. Aqua, also note that you can break up your move. So the rogue can step out from behind a tree, cast her spell, move behind a rock and hide.
I was going to say this earlier, but we really all should get in the habit of providing our rolls when we declare our action. It would really speed things up is the sleep and stealth were posted in This post
I know that there was a "depending on what happens" statement because of where Jaliera was in the initiative order but it's also usually good to wait for your turn before declaring any action because the tactical situation can change rapidly.
Thank you oh wise one grin Trouble is I forget what rolls I'm supposed to make. Will try to do better! grin
OOC: It's easy to not remember! I have a newbie player in my FTF game. He's playing (of all things) an arcane trickster. It was becoming frustrating for everyone when it was his turn to go. So, at the start of one of the sessions, I handed him a bunch of dice and a card and said, "when it's your turn, roll these. We'll figure it out. That made him and the other players happy.
So, for Jaliera, the following looks like her rolls when she's doing a sneak attack using either her rapier or short bow:
Oh, BTW, I'm going to add all PCs to D&D Beyond so that they are easier to maintain, print and use. I'll get back to you all about that when I'm done, which won't be for a while.
This was a situation in which setting people on fire seemed an undue escalation. Sleep spells and web spells were relatively benign compared to Kriv's spell repertoire, and thus it would be counterproductive to start torching people just yet. Kriv refrained from action.
The deer is observant enough to see the web snaring three of the barbarians, including one who was part of a pair who fell asleep, much like had happened earlier. Something is clearly happening, and the creature moves as far away from the sleeping barbarians as possible, maintaining a line of sight down the gap between the web and the ravine wall, where someone has just "dropped in", possibly to clear a path.
"See," she says to Glork as she moves to the ogre's side. "They're falling asleep and now there's a big wall of water! When they move, they will bleed or drown! Let's let them harm themselves. This is soooo funny! Stay with me. If they attack any of us, you should fight back."
She doesn't move but she does notch an arrow and aim it towards the leader. If he moves aggressively towards anyone, including the golden horned deer, she will let it fly.
Things are certainly getting interesting for the cage match audience, as it turns into a water show.
While the triton has demanded they lay down their arms, that's direction they would normally take from their leader who hasn't yet given any orders, likely spending a few seconds trying to figure out what's going on. So they react instinctively. Meaning they aren't going to attack (yet) but they'll do everything they can to minimize the threat.
And minimizing the threat posed by Arus is, at this moment at least, an attempt to shove him to the ground; and if that's successful, grapple him.
The two adjacent to him react first, while others nearby (who are awake) may move in as backup if necessary.
OOC: There are 5 barbarians close enough to enact this plan. B1 and B15 will go first, followed by B2, B14, and B13 moving first and then shoving if necessary, each shoving (prone) until successful and then attempting to grapple.
Quote
Using the Attack Action, you can make a special melee attack to shove a creature, either to knock it prone or push it away from you.
The target must be no more than one size larger than you and must be within your reach. Instead of making an Attack roll, you make a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the target’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check (the target chooses the ability to use). You succeed automatically if the target is Incapacitated. If you succeed, you either knock the target prone or push it 5 feet away from you.
Quote
When you want to grab a creature or wrestle with it, you can use the Attack Action to make a special melee attack, a grapple. If you’re able to make multiple attacks with the Attack Action, this attack replaces one of them.
The target of your grapple must be no more than one size larger than you and must be within your reach. Using at least one free hand, you try to seize the target by making a grapple check instead of an Attack roll: a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the target’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check (the target chooses the ability to use). You succeed automatically if the target is Incapacitated. If you succeed, you Subject the target to the Grappled condition.
Arus Opposed Str Athletics rolls nem rolled 1d20+6,1d20+6,1d20+6,1d20+6,1d20+6 and got 7, 9, 17, 12, 19
Btw, wouldn't B13 and B14 have to make Str(Athletics) to jump down without damage? And B2 has to climb up, then jump down again but also is moving through difficult terrain so can only move three squares. Cheers!]
Last edited by AquaDyne; Sun 12/03/2317:26 UTC. Reason: Copypaste the rolls
Btw, wouldn't B13 and B14 have to make Str(Athletics) to jump down without damage?
Yes, I made that roll for B14. B13 didn't need to pile on so didn't jump down.
Originally Posted by nem
And B2 has to climb up, then jump down again but also is moving through difficult terrain so can only move three squares.
1. Really it would move diagonally through a nonhostile (to it) creature's space. 2. Or it could move diagonally along the lower edge of the ravine without climbing out at 3 squares. 3. Only the first 2 steps are difficult terrain and cost double, leaving 2 more steps for a total of 4.
One barbarian next to Arus (B1), despite being restrained in the web cast by Zhu, doesn't need to move to powerfully shove Arus, knocking him prone.
Another barbarian (B15), holding one side of the tarp barrier, attempts to grapple Arus to hold him down, nearly succeeding, but ultimately falling short in his task. A third barbarian (B2), who had been holding the other end of the barrier, drops it and manages to avoid being caught up in the web, making his way close enough to also attempt a grapple but doesn't even land a hand on the triton.
Meanwhile, two barbarians are approaching from above the ravine. One (B14) jumps into the Ravine, landing poorly and grunting at the pain.
B14 Jump into ravine (DC10 str+athl)+damage AquaDyne rolled 1d20+1 and got 6 AquaDyne rolled 1d6 and got 4
Despite this stumble, he uses his momentum to help him get a solid grip, and is successfully able to grapple Arus, keeping him from moving.
The other barbarian above the ravine (B13) stops short before jumping, instead raising his spear threateningly and calling out in common, "Stay down!". (Ready action: Spear Ranged Weapon attack if Arus's grappled or prone condition ends.)
Elsewhere around the ravine:
Two barbarians (B3 and B4) doze peacefully, their spears laying beside them.
One (B3) is restrained by the web, not that they notice.
The barbarian closest to the non-webbed sleeper takes a step toward him, not realizing that there are magical spikes on the ground there! He yelps in pain!
B5 Perception (spike growth) + damage AquaDyne rolled 1d20 and got 5 AquaDyne rolled 2d4 and got 5
Still, he achieves his goal of being close enough to retrieve the fallen spear in one hand, while aiming it toward the nearest opponent, which happens to be Glork.
"Stay back!" he shouts. (Ready action: Spear ranged weapon attack if anyone approaches within 20 feet of him.)
The barbarian next to him (B6) also moves closer and raises his spear as well, lucky enough to not step into the spikes. (Ready action: Spear ranged weapon attack if anyone approaches within 20 feet of him.)
The other two barbarians on the western side of the Ravine (B7 and B8) move in a southwesterly direction, and also prepare defensively for any battle. (Ready action: Spear ranged weapon (long range) attack if anyone approaches within 20 feet of B5 or B6.)
The remaining four barbarians on the eastern side of the ravine also move closer to where they perceive the attackers. The closest one (B12) moves to within 20 feet of Arus, backing up B13's stay down threat with the same raised spear. (Ready action: Spear Ranged Weapon attack if Arus's grappled or prone condition ends.)
The others (B9, B10, B11) keep their spears at the ready if combat begins. (Ready action: Spear ranged weapon (long range) attack if anyone is within 60 feet of them and attacks any barbarian.)
Summary: B1 Successful shove action, restrained B2 Not restrained, failed grapple B3 Sleeping 1 of 10, restrained B4 Sleeping 1 of 10 B5 Picked up B4's spear, spike damage, ready action @ 20 foot approach B6 Ready action @ 20 foot approach B7 Ready action @ 20 foot approach to B5 or B6 B8 Ready action @ 20 foot approach to B5 or B6 B9 Ready action @ attack, target within 60 feet B10 Ready action @ attack, target within 60 feet B11 Ready action @ attack, target within 60 feet B12 Ready action @ Arus ending prone or grapple B13 Ready action @ Arus ending prone or grapple B14 Damage on jump into ravine, successful grapple action B15 Failed grapple
Initiative Order
Up now: Jaliera 5
Next: Glork 4 Barbarian Leader 3 Zhu 26 (web) Sindar 21 (inspiring music) Davroar 20 (summon animal spell at the ready - bats) Kriv 19 (deciding it's not the right season for barbecue) Goldenhorns 18 (backed up away from the obvious magic) Bern 18 Arus 18 (wall of water) Zindra 16 Barbarians 9
Her biggest concern right now is Arus as she sees him go down. Whilst she doesn't want to escalate matters, she doesn't want to see Arus get hurt either. She decides that maybe her best option is to try to charm one of those holding Arus. She stands and casts at one of the barbarians holing him.
OOC: 1. I assume "one of those holding Arus" is the one grappling him because the instructions wouldn't mean anything to anyone else. 2. I actually re-measured and B14 is within 30 feet. Ignore my previous post. 3. Making a DM call to tweak the two NPCs with readied actions on "ending grapple condition" to be a nonvoluntary ending of the condition. 4. Assuming all of the above, B14 will have a DC13 Wisdom save at advantage.
B14 save vs. Charm Person AquaDyne rolled 1d20,1d20 and got 17, 12
While the barbarian grappling Arus glances up at Jaliera as she speaks, there's no evidence that he's following her instructions.
Glork's movement takes him closer to the very barbarian (B5) who had aimed a spear at him and shouted "Stay Back!"
He's already feeling the pain of stepping on spikes, and has a spare spear from his sleeping fellow tribesman that he can use for melee. So he doesn't hesitate to hurl a spear directly at Glork, with all his might.
Well, not "directly at". Whether off balance due to foot pain or trying to hold two weapons, the barbarian's throw is inaccurate and the spear ends up missing the large target, despite the close range. Too bad, as he threw it hard enough to have done some serious damage if it had hit!
Someone has probably earned a new nickname.
The other barbarians near enough to Glork to throw at him elect not to; the closer one (B6) preferring the accuracy of closer range, and the farther ones (B7 and B8) perhaps waiting for a more aggressive attack.
The barbarian leader looks around at the chaos unfolding around him.
An unwelcome intruder at the exit. A magical wall of water between he and his carefully trapped opponent. A magical web entangling two of his tribe members. And magical spikes surround his feet. To top it off, he sees an ogre approaching.
Time to bring some order to the chaos.
"HOLD!" he shouts, his booming voice echoing through the ravine and clearly audible to those above.
He had heard Arus's words shortly before his men pinned the triton to the ground, and their intention to free the reindeer was clear. It wasn't worth losing lives over, but today's challenge had been long planned and he wasn't about to just let it go away, either.
"I will let the beast go if you send a Champion to take its place!" he calls out. "Single combat. No magic."
He remains standing where he is, but makes a hand gesture toward the gang crowded around Arus, perhaps intended to prevent them from further attacks until the hand is lowered... which might happen if the party's response to his offer is less than satisfactory.
OOC: posted the initiative order to preserve the state of things in the event things escalate.
If the party is intent on de-escalating and wants to initiate a conversation/parley I don't see the need to talk in turn-based increments. So if everyone thinks their move is going to be a "wait and see" thing, I'm ok with pausing the initiative order and handling things conversationally for now.
She sees the spear fly at Glork and is about to cast an attack spell in return when the Barbarian shouts out his challenge. ***Hmmm. They have been restrained so far....***
So she decides to wait to see if any of the group take up the challenge. This is right in the wheelhouse of at least two members of the group so she expects they will. In the meantime, she readies a spell just in case anyone in the group is damaged by the Barbarians.
She moves over next to Glork. "Hey. Do you know that we won already? Because of you? They saw you and realized that they were going to die. You Glork are the WINNNER!"
As at least two of the party expresses interest in single combat, and the leader decides either an ogre or triton satisfies his desire for a challenge, things seem to be de-escalating.
With a few short shouted commands, the barbarian leader orders those restraining Arus to release him, and the command is immediately obeyed. Not only do they release Arus, but clear a path for the animal to leave... once the wall of water around it is removed.
The barbarians surrounding the ravine still look a bit suspicious, but given the original plan for the day -- their leader's single combat against a worthy foe -- is still in play, they follow his orders, waiting for the party intent on saving the reindeer to sort things out amongst them just who he will face.
Seeing the matter resolve into a contest of champions, Kriv duly approaches. The terms, however, specified no magic. Not necessarily a problem for the Dragonborn, adept as he was with his maul, but with Arus and the ogre volunteering as well, it was an interesting call as to whom they put forward.
"Traditionally to this point, I have been the one of our number to engage in challenges of single combat. I am willing to do so again. Given Arus' acceptance, I will yield if he wishes to press his case, given his handling."
Hefting his maul, the Dragonborn Noble stood ready, sizing up the Barbarian's champion with a practised eye. Ogre, Triton or Dragonborn, who was their best bet against him?
The barbarian who had thrown a spear at Glork studiously ignores the ogre, hoping the creature will forget about him. He does nudge his sleeping companion awake with the comment "Your spear's over there," pointing to a spot behind Glork.
This is obviously confusing for the now-spearless warrior, who wonders why there's an ogre so close to him and why nobody is fighting. "What..." he starts to ask, and then decides not to finish the question.
The other barbarian sleeping in the web is still blissfully aware unaware of anything that has happened.
Last edited by AquaDyne; Fri 17/03/2306:58 UTC. Reason: obvs typo
The triton isn't the kind of person to hold a grudge against an enemy simply for being in opposition. War is sport, only with higher stakes.
So with Kriv Norixius wanting to share the party's traditions with these barbarians, it seems uncouth to Arus to deny the dragonborn.
"Then, twould be my honour to second thee, Kriv Norixius." Arus says with breezy charm, turning to the barbarian's spokesman, "The first one on their knees, loses. Sound fair?"
It's prudent to define the victory condition before crossing blades, but while the barbarians are talking they aren't hunting and so Arus dismisses the wall of water. It turns into a vapor, carried away on the wind and the deer can go where it chooses.
As the magical obstructions to its travel disperse, along with a path being made clear by its captors, the golden-horned-deer departs.
It does not seem in a hurry at first, pausing for a moment near the barbarian leader, its head lowered somewhat in a sign of respect. Whatever interaction was going on appears to have been at least an honorable match in the creature's eyes.
It pauses a second time near Arus, close enough for the triton to make contact with its head if he chose. While no words are exchanged, there's a clear implication that the creature understood Arus's intent on saving it.
After these two acknowledgements, however, the deer speeds away quickly from the field of battle. Those experienced in tracking might notice it runs faster than most creatures they've ever encountered.
He lowers his bow a bit so as not to confuse the deer as it headed out to freedom. But he didn't put it away ... yet. There was still a lot that needed sorting out.
The Dragonborn respectfully inclines his head in the human fashion as Arus graciously steps aside, the Triton of a far more forgiving nature.
"So be it. I am honoured to have you as my second, Arus."
Turning to the leader of the barbarians, the Dragonborn noble sized him up. "Death comes to us all at some point. We who live by violence know and accept this. Though you have handled this... situation... with wisdom, and I would not deprive your people of that."
The barbarian leader nods respectfully to Kriv, whom it seems has stepped up. "That will be your choice," he replies.
"I have intentionally sought out an opponent stronger than myself and will fight as long as I am able."
He looks around at the others, particularly Glork. "Should others wish a fight with some of my men, that could probably be arranged? I would not deny them the chance to train in combat against an ogre."
Another nod in the human fashion as the leader outlined his reasoning, he understood that need to test oneself against what was out there.
"Iron sharpens iron. I hight Kriv Norixius, of Norixius Keep: With this maul, I have faced down giants, monsters from the depths of sea and land, half a dozen ogres at one time, even drove off a dragon. I trust that is a sufficient challenge. Choose the area of battle and let us begin."
While he thought it would be an interesting fight to watch, he was going to keep watch on the others in case they plan to use the fight to distract his group.
The leader gestures around him to the area at the end of the ravine where he was already prepared to battle. The barbarians at the end re-hoist their tarp, more to create a natural boundary for the "arena" than to actually obstruct passage. And the barbarians atop the ledge make room for other party members who want to spectate.
They make a lot of room for Glork.
With a nod toward Kriv, the leader readies his greataxe, preparing to begin.
[OOC: keeping the old initiative order here so Kriv goes first; nobody is surprised; nobody has a turn to create readied actions.
If you want to update movements on Roll20 we can, but given the confined space it seems we're probably either in adjacent spaces, or within movement of being adjacent, so I'm expecting a back-and-forth set of attack rolls. LMK if you have other ideas.]
Whilst he did not intend to kill the barbarian, to provide anything less than his full talent would defeat the point of the exercise. Thus he demonstrated his mastery of his weapon with a series of rapid, brutal strikes as an opener.
Using Great Weapon mastery, -5 to hit, +10 to damage. Using the Knocking a creature out rule if target hits zero hp. Kriv Attack Barbarian Leader with maul, GWM -5 AJ rolled 1d20+2 and got 3 Kriv Extra Attack Barbarian Leader with maul, GWM -5 AJ rolled 1d20+2 and got 6 Action Surge Kriv Attack Barbarian Leader with maul, GWM -5 AJ rolled 1d20+2 and got 14
Kriv damage AJ rolled 1d6,1d6 and got 4, 2 Kriv GWF reroll AJ rolled 1d6 and got 3
21 damage if 14 hits.
Kriv Extra Attack Barbarian Leader with maul, GWM -5 AJ rolled 1d20+2 and got 11
Kriv damage AJ rolled 1d6,1d6 and got 1, 5 Kriv gwf reroll AJ rolled 1d6 and got 6
The barbarians surrounding the ravine cheer as combat begins. This may be better than the deer even! Most of the tribe is watching the battle, except for the one next to Glork, who is wondering if he should move elsewhere.
The tribal leader carefully prepares for the oncoming attack, attempting to measure the skill of his attacker. He also doesn't intend to kill his foe.
The first attack lands, drawing first blood with an effective, but not debilitating, hit. The second attack misses. (OOC: AC 13)
The damage is enough to give the leader an idea that this battle is going to be short, and he takes the advice of an ancient warrior to heart. "He who will not risk cannot win." He's going all in.
Reckless. At the start of its turn, the berserker can gain advantage on all melee weapon attack rolls during that turn, but attack rolls against it have advantage until the start of its next turn.
He swings his axe with all his might, hoping to slice Kriv in two! Or, at least, draw blood.
Greataxe. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: (1d12 + 3) slashing damage.
AquaDyne rolled 1d20+5,1d20+5,1d12+3 and got 14, 16, 14
The swing would have inflicted some serious damage had it landed well. But it succeeds only in scratching the dragonborn. And the move leaves him open to a counterattack...
Ever the scholar, ever the keen student, Kriv was intrigued by the clash of styles. Whilst he was trading precision for power, getting the most out of the size of his weapon, his opponent was trading defence for accuracy, getting into dangerous positions where only the superior nature of Kriv's equipment kept him from harm, but at the cost of leaving the leader somewhat exposed. The Dragonborn wasn't going to turn down the opportunity thus presented.
Using Great Weapon mastery, -5 to hit, +10 to damage. Using the Knocking a creature out rule if target hits zero hp. Kriv Attack Barbarian Leader with maul and advantage, GWM -5 AJ rolled 1d20+2,1d20+2 and got 12, 10 Miss, no damage.
Kriv Extra Attack Barbarian Leader with maul and advantage, GWM -5 AJ rolled 1d20+2,1d20+2 and got 22 (Crit!), 10 Kriv Critical hit damage AJ rolled 1d6,1d6,1d6,1d6 and got 4, 3, 6, 2 Kriv GWF reroll AJ rolled 1d6 and got 2
29 damage, GWM bonus attack procs on a crit.
If the Barbarian leader is still conscious after that and does not yield:
Kriv GWM Bonus Action attack Barbarian Leader with maul and advantage, GWM -5 AJ rolled 1d20+2,1d20+2 and got 20, 9 Kriv damage AJ rolled 1d6,1d6 and got 3, 2 Kriv GWF reroll AJ rolled 1d6 and got 6
To the barbarian leader's credit, he never wavers or shows any sign of backing down.
Of course, he ends up on the losing end of the battle, his risky move opening him up to two blows, the second of which sends him to the ground, unconscious.
And it seems Kriv chooses not to impart a death blow.
The barbarian tribe members watching the battle seem initially stunned at how fast the battle played out, as their leader is felled... and yet, it seems that laying unconscious after a valiant, if futile, effort, seems respectable to them. It starts slowly, but a cheer erupts honoring Kriv for not just his victory... but his honor in refraining from further attack.
One of the barbarians climbs down into the ravine to tend to the leader's wounds, offering Kriv a nod of appreciation, while the others start to talk amongst themselves about the warriors facing them, a few fingers pointing toward other members of the party, including Arus and Glork, and of course the still-unharmed Kriv.
It might seem a strange point of commonality, between the noble-born and occasionally ruthless Dragonborn scholar and this human who had risen to the top of a savage band of his kind, but Kriv had always strongly valued self-improvement, backed by a will of iron that was never satisfied with 'Enough'. He understood the drive to see how oneself measured up against potential threats. Kriv himself had once dangled the prospect of single combat in front of a captured Orc sentry to get it to talk, and had been true to his word. He did not usually respect humans, and the relative ease with which he had bested this one wasn't going to reshape that opinion, but he absolutely respected both the ambition of this one, and the intelligent, efficient solution that minimised risk to the group as a whole in the face of a greater threat.
He looked askance of Arus. With honour satisfied on both sides, perhaps an offer of more effective healing could serve to indebt the barbarians before they parted ways, perhaps granting them an opportunity to glean information.
An impressive showing by the dragonborn and his maul technique. By now the party have triumphed over many, varied monsters. Giants, abominations, undead, but a warrior should never underestimate another warrior.
Arus watches over Kriv's back during the duel and as Kriv's second is on hand to support in the aftermath.
The triton nods to his companion as if to say Well fought and then approaches the unconscious challenger, saying to the other barbarians. "Let's help this stalwart soul to his feet."
When Arus clasps the man's hand, he channels a wave of healing power into the brave fellow.
[Lay on Hands to heal 15 hp]
As for the deer, Arus wished it well. Although he's always been drawn to life on land and its vast array of cultures, Arus still doesn't have a strong affinity with its wildlife.
Under the sea, you could get a conversation out of whale but not a fish. An octopus showed personality, loyalty and made a great animal companion. But how should one feel about a deer? Arus doesn't look at a deer and see steaming venison on a plate. It's just another inscrutable creature to him.
He has a sense of Golden Horn's gratitude though, so it might be a few steps above a surgeonfish.
Walking over to Jaliera, he gives her a thorough look and says, "I'm glad you're not hurt, and thankful that we saved the deer without having to fight everyone." Looking over at the Barbarian leader wounds, he walks over and asks, "If you want, I have healing spell?"
The barbarian tending to his leader makes way for Arus to heal, reviving him. A nod of his head assents to Davroar's additional healing, bringing him well back to a reasonably healthy, if a bit hurt, state.
"Thank you," he says, nodding in order first to Kriv, and then to the two healers.
Whether an excuse or some tradition in his tribe, he continues.
"My armor has proven insufficient to the task and I will be making a better set. You have earned this," he gestures to his hide armor, speaking to Kriv.
"Although it looks like you may not need it, but perhaps one of the other members of your tribe can use it." A hand gestures toward the two healers who are closer, while his eyes scan the ravine edge where others are watching.
"It probably won't fit your ogre. I would love to hear that story," he adds.
Glork is quickly growing tired of the two groups being nice to each other. He starts grumbling under to himself wanting nothing more than to twist the neck of the nearest barbarian. He holds these feelings to himself though not wanting to anger the party who helped him. He kicks a rock at his feet sending it skittering towards a couple of barbarians growling his displeasure. He grumbles loudly, "I want fight."
Once the combat ends, she moves closer to the main gathering. She hears the Barbarian's offer and does her best to repress a shudder at wondering what sort of pests might infest hide armour worn by a Barbarian. She simply shakes her head negatively. "I cannot wear armour, so perhaps someone else?"
The thought occurred that letting the ogre and barbarians occupy each other’s attention would be the ideal cover for the party’s departure, neatly solving two potential problems. Kriv didn’t expect the hulking, brutish thing to have enough nous to avoid killing the ogre and vice versa. Still, there was one last thing to resolve.
“Thank you for your generosity, I’m sure our people can make good use of it.”
Kriv’s own armour, taken from the depths of the mine they now owned, dwarf-forged in ancient days, was to his mind far superior, but the enchanted hide was certainly good enough for one of the humans, perhaps.
Even though he just purhased armour to replace his old furs that were soiled from the fight in Yartar's sewers, Davroar speaks up, "I would gladly accept the better hides than what I currently have, if no one objects?"
However, with Glork trying to incite a fight, Davroar quickly says to him with displeasure, "I, we, shared our food with you Glork. Do not taunt them any more. I will not join in your fight if you do, and you will surely die."
The Dragonborn looked the human druid up and down, and nodded. "It seems a perfect match," he said, indicating the sweaty mishmash of dead animal pelts enchanted for protection.
She walks over to Glork before he decides to bonk someone on the head with his club. "Hey, lets find our from these barbarians if there are any giants to beat up on? Whatcha say pal?"
Despite their challenges, the barbarians around Glork scatter when he threatens with his club, learning a lesson about life in the process, and remaining out of club reach.
The barbarian leader can't help but overhear the party's interest in fighting giants. And getting them off somewhere else ... particularly that unruly ogre ... would let them return to hunting in (relative) peace. Another day, of course, he's still bruised from Kriv's maul.
"Just which type of giants are you wanting to go fight?" he asks, eyes on Zindra, although other members of the party are closer.
How interesting, not just a giants or no giants option, but a menu to choose from!
The barbarian leader finds his way over to a rock on which to sit and rest, gesturing toward and calling over two of the tribe members to offer commentary.
"Fire Giants are more likely to find you than you are to find them," he states flatly. "They're on the move, looking for something. Or somethings. Valda, tell them what you've seen." He turns to one of the men he called over, to give a report.
Valda
"Two groups you'll see. One or two at a time, looking around and digging for things. I see them everywhere, they don't have any territory. They run away if threatened. Seems soemtimes they find things and then a much larger group comes in to get it, and them you don't want to mess with," the scout explains.
Leader
"Tell them about the other giants."
Valda
The barbarian nods. "Something else is going on with all the giants. Something... big. We see the Fire Giants most because they are going everywhere, but we've seen more. The Hill Giants are really active down by the river, claiming more territory than they usually do. I've seen stone giants at some of the ruins. And I saw a cloud giant float overhead once. You'll see more of them the further east you go, based on what I've heard."
He shrugs. "I don't know what's going on, or who's on what side, or what anyone's digging for or fighting over, but whatever's happening is not normal."
There it is, the information payoff. So, could that add context to their earlier encounter on the road to Triboar? The fire giants ranging far and wide, digging up adamantine. Scouting groups and raiding groups. The hill giants trying to obtain food for something big, getting territorial along the waterway. Stone giants in the ruins, perhaps looking for something else, or guarding? Was this part of a greater gestalt, all kinds involved? Even a cloud giant, of all things.
"Which ruins were the Stone Giants in, did they seem to be doing anything in particular?" queried the noble. They had some sense of what the others were doing, if it was one task per group. But this was the first mention of these.
"Giants indeed." Arus assures the party's own giantkin, then looks to the sky.
A cloud giant's castle is something Arus wants to see, even though he's never given it any thought before.... No time for day-dreaming though. The party are burning daylight as they stand still and have to be moving on.
"And if we're to find them, Glork, we had better push on."
OOC: OK, so where are we going next? Back to the road? In search of the Hill Giants that chased Glork from food? In search of Glork's burning "home"? In search of ruined settlements where Stone Giants were? Hang out with the barbarians and have more cage matches?
Glork will go with them wherever. He said he'd help them fight, but doesn't see how he helped yet. He does want to move on all the magic is leaving him unsettled.
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but that got a bit lost in follow ups 
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Trouble is I forget what rolls I'm supposed to make. Will try to do better! 
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