DreamLyrics™ Play-by-Post Forums Fantasy SKT: The Storm King's Thunder 3T - Who ya gonna call? Troll hunters!

Zhu

"Did you see the source of the heat?" She asks, and if the answer is yes she will add, "Is it something that can be used against us?"

Pavel

He listened on as the frog that is Davroar is interrogated watching the bulging eyes blink repeatedly. His companions had asked the most important questions so far and he had nothing to offer so let it play out. he Possibly the most important question is the one from Zindra. He stares at the eyes ready to count blinks. The more eyes counting the better he believes.

Davroar

He is going to need some eyedrops after all of these questions.

Blinks once for "How many giants were there?"

Blinks once for "How many trolls were there?"

One blink (No) to answer Aubric's question "Did any of the creatures notice you were there?" Davroar feels he was not seen at all, but he can't be one hundred percent certain of that.

Zhu's first question on spotting the hear source is a bit of a guess by Davroar, but he blinks twice (Yes) going by past experience with the runes that have found so far. He blinks twice (Yes) for Zhu's second question.

Jaliera

She cannot help herself.

"Is it fire?"

"Is it magical?"

Davroar

He is not sure how to answer Jaliera's questions with just a yes or no answer, as he would be making some rather big assumptions he would rather not do.
If a frog can shrug his shoulders he would to show his indecisiveness.

Jaliera

She looks around at the others for help.

<Bern>

He shrugs not having a helpful suggestion.

Zhu

"I think we have to assume so", he says to Jaliera. "I would suggest we protect at least one of us, who doesn't already have any protection, from Fire, and then we might as well proceed." Looking at frog/Davror he says, "It might be good if you came into the cavern thru the river, on the Giant's flank. If this is magical fire that can be used against us then spreading out to limit how many can be harmed at once seems prudent."

Zindra
"Whatever it is, yes, taking it out of service will be an advantage. Let's ask Davroar what he thinks," she replies to Zhu.

"Do you think that you can extinguish the fire somehow? If not, do you think it might be a natural source of fire, like lava?" he asked Davroar.

Aubric

"A natural source might heat the water," the wood elf notes. "But the heat in the air? I doubt that's naturally occurring. I suspect either a really hot fire or some magical fire, to either keep a fire giant comfortable or keep a troll contained, or both..."

Davroar

He is not completely sure that the firepit he saw could generate the heat they can feel in the air nor heat the water flowing past it. Listening to Zhu suggestion to flank the giant, he will blink twice to agree with her plan. To Zindra's question about extinguishing the fire, he will blink twice. He is not sure if the fire is magical or natural, but he has two ideas of how to do put it out in either case. To Zindra's second question about it being lava, he did not see any so he will blink once for his answer.

Zindra


"Enough with the yes/no answers."

She casts speak with animals.

"So tell exactly about what you saw inside?"

She will translate to common for all to hear.

Davroar

He kind of wishes Zindra did the spell right from the start, but as a frog his attempt to roll his eyes is probably lost. Nevertheless, he answers Zindra in a matter of fact tone, "There was a fire giant talking with a troll in the large cavern a bit of swim in. The fire giant was angry with the troll. Yelled something like Grodak! Rogada skogur!. Then hand slapped the troll to the ground."

Davroar goes over what he saw in his mind and adds, "There was a large fire pit in the center. I imagine it is giving off a lot of the heat, but the fire giant also held a large rod with runes on it. I suspect the staff could be giving off heat too. I could not really tell which one."

Zindra

She translated the meaning of what the giant words said for everyone, "The troll was being yelled at for being a poor worker and failing at some sort of task."

She then follows up with another question for Davroar. "Is it just one room with one giant and one troll or were there other exits? Side rooms? Crevices where there might be other dangers?"

Pavel

Pavel listens in as the situation is discussed. Not having anything to add so far.

Davroar

"Saw three exits. Where I stopped in the water there was a left passage. I think that loops back to a land bridge I swam under, and probably where we would enter from. On my right the stream went under another land bridge. Don't know where that goes. Third exit was at the back of the cavern. I think it meets up with the stream heading deeper in."

<Bern>

He listens to the report from Davroar and begins to think on the best plans for entry and control ...

Zindra
She had hoped that Davroar would have scouted more than the single cavern. Basically he went into one room with three exits.

"Well, I would try and take out the fire giant first, hopefully with a coordinated surprise range ambush ..."

She stopped and looked at the others and before going on with her rest of her thoughts she asked "We're attacking, right?"

Aubric

"Well, you can," the cleric notes, a hand waving toward the rest of the group in general. "I think I can serve best by trying to keep you alive and not attacking personally."

<Bern>

He turned to Aubric. "So what is =your= plan then", he asked.

Zhu

She nods agreement to Aubric's statement. "Might be best to cast the Fire Protection on you so you stay alive to heal the others."

Kriv

"We have the numbers and we have the capability. This should not be beyond us."

Aubric

Bern's question gets a wry smile from the elf cleric. "Well, I'll just sit out here and listen to the frogs and cicadas, and be prepared to inform your loved ones of your demise," he replies with a chuckle.

"Or, more seriously, I'll put everything I have into helping your attacks or helping keep you alive, and putting my own life at risk in ways that don't involve using a weapon, because this mace is just for show," he continues, his demeanor growing more serious.

"I've mentioned it before, but I'll summarize again while you come up with our plan. I can choose one of you to keep from being killed... once, at least. The same effect as that potion you collected at the troll encampment. Tell me who to protect," he begins. [OOC: Death Ward]

"I can give one of you resistance to fire," he begins. [OOC: Protect from Energy, 3rd level, requires concentration] "But concentrating on that spell would prevent me from possibly doing more useful things like improving the attacks of several of you, which may be more useful." [OOC: Bless, 8 people at 3rd level, requires concentration]

"Most useful, if one of you thinks you'll lead and take the brunt of the attacks, I can share a bond with you which will give you resistance to all damage, not just fire... plus a bit more shielding, but I'd share your damage. Quite effective, but I'd need to remain somewhat close to you and I'd obviously need one of the other healers among us to keep me alive," he concludes. [OOC: Warding bond]. "A risk I'm willing to take, but it would imply one of you is going to be taking the brunt of the impact."

He shrugs. "Plus a smattering of other less useful healing skills. But all these choices depend on your plan."

[OOC: As I'm DM'ing this and know what's ahead, I am leaving the choice of what you do with Aubric's spells to the rest of the party.]

Jaliera

"My best option is to use my bow and rely on hiding to keep me out of trouble."

She swallows the desire to ask for protection because even with it, she still might run.

"Can a human get in via the water and with enough room to keep a bow dry?"

Might offer a flanking option and she would feel much happier in the water.

<Bern>

There were some good ideas in his reply. He smiled and nodded acknowledging Aubric's suggestions.