One of the disadvantages of rear guard is that you cannot always see ahead and cannot get a view of what is happening. From the noise and Kriv's shout she can guess though not numbers, strength or opponents.
"Iarno, command them to cease their attack."
She calls out in the hope that not only will the wizard help but also that the assailants might respond to his name.
[Chandan's not at the top of the initiative order anyway. So if he's not attacked, he'll have no need to return fire. My posts always assume the bad guys attack. Grognard Rules Football.]
Grabbing the Bugbear by the rope tying his wrists together behind his back, she shoves him forward. "Get in there with the Wizard and get them to lay down their weapons", she says.
With their initiative, the only Redbrand that does anything is the one at the door at the top of the steps. He pushes the door open and runs through, hollering "INTRUDERS!!!"
Iarno, feeling the push from Davroar, and the bugbear, reacting to Kallista's prodding, stumble, hands tied behind their backs into the room along with Chandan. The monk, was going to throw his spear, but is able to hold back as the man disappeared through the door.
OOC: No time to map it up but the Bugbear and Iarno are both in the room with Chandan. I'll allow anyone else who has done nothing but speak, to act before we move onto the next round of action. That means Jaliera and Kriv. Remember that you can move through the space of allies (as they give way) and for this, both the wizard and bugbear are able to get into the cellar that way. There will be space in the hallway for others to move up.
Iarno, Bugbear initiatives Neptune rolled 1d20+2,1d20+2 and got 19, 17.
With a wary eye on the untrustworthy monk, he advanced cautiously into the room, maul at the ready, trying to get an angle to the northern corner to see what was hidden there.
(Between the southern barrels and the southeastern corner of the cistern.)
Still not able to see and weighing up the danger she decides that moving forward to get sight and maybe her bow into play is probably a good idea. She still keeps a watch behind them though looking for that familiar.
She hears the shout calling for reinforcements, knowing from what had been said that there are already several in the room.. and wonders how a town this size could maintain so many brigands. There must be some sort of external funding. If so then the town may suffer with them gone but better surely than having lives at risk?
ooc: This starts at the end of the first round and continues to the start of the second round....
Having moved into the cellar, the room behind the secret door, Mosk and Iarno join Chandan and Kriv there. The wizard was given very specific orders by Davroar, to call off his men.
As he stumbles into the chamber, arms tied behind his back, the wizard addresses the men there.
"KILL THE ONE-EYED BUGBEAR! KILL MOSK! HE BETRAYED US!!!"
This is where round 2 starts... And with that, some of the Ruffians expose themselves and take aim. The door just north of the secret door opens and two ruffians emerge from there. Two others, at the top of the stairs, peek out from behind the cover they had taken. Mosk is their target and they all focus fire on him. With his hands tied behind his back, Mosk is at a disadvantage. He cannot use his otherwise ample dexterity to its full effect and becomes a very vulnerable target. And there were more ruffians than were first seen. There were the two ruffians that were hiding on the landings of the left and right steps. There was the one ruffian that had run through the door at the opposite end of the room. All three of these foes have cover behind walls or the door. Two other men came rushing out of the door to the north of the secret door. All five archers hit their targets and with five arrows jutting from him, he falls to the ground with a big thump, dead from the wounds.
I am treating both Iarno and Mosk as being under the "restrained" condition with the caveat that they both can move. The 5th Redbrand is behind the door opposite the party and is not visible in the tactical map.
ruffian 1 Fire shortbow, advantage Neptune rolled 1d20+4,1d20+4,1d6+2 and got 20, 5, 6 ruffian 2 Fire shortbow, advantage Neptune rolled 1d20+4,1d20+4,1d6+2 and got 21, 11, 5 ruffian 3 Fire shortbow, advantage Neptune rolled 1d20+4,1d20+4,1d6+2 and got 22, 7, 7 ruffian 4 Fire shortbow, advantage Neptune rolled 1d20+4,1d20+4,1d6+2 and got 18, 21, 7 ruffian 5` Fire shortbow, advantage Neptune rolled 1d20+4,1d20+4,1d6+2 and got 16, 22, 7
Iarno had been cornered and captured. When he realized that it would be futile trying to win them over, trying to save his own life. He knew that once he was turned over to officials, his days were numbered. The world was a brutal place and he had nothing else to lose. The bugbear was his enemy and if he survived this battle he needed the Black Spider to know he was loyal.
Only Jaliera goes now. Iarno gets his turn immediately after her.
Initiative order: Redbrands 21 Jaliera 20 <----- She goes and nobody else Iarno 19 Bugbear 17 DEAD Chandan 15 Davroar 10 Kriv 5 Kallista 4
As far as she is concerned the wizard has just placed himself on the target list but a lower priority than those more active in the room. As he has condemned himself, she expects he will try to use any means to get free, be that Redbrand or familiar. Either will make a good target for her arrows but she needs to be in a position to use them. She will try to move forward and fire. Target order: Redbrand, familiar, wizard last unless he does anything to promote himself to the top.
[OOC In case she can see a target, here is her attack]
Jaliera Arrow Gypsy rolled 1d20+5,1d6+3 and got 7, 5
It's always easier when evil-doers undo themselves. Chandan doesn't doubt that Mosk earned his death just as much as any of the slaving, murdering, thieving scum in this hideout. And it's safer for the good folk of Phandelver if the Redbrands are annihilated.
So he gets busy doing just that. Chandan dashes along the edge of the cistern, then jumping up onto the lip he uses its height for a flying spear-thrust at the nearest ruffian [21,5].
[Chandan attacks ruffian with spear and kick. Rolled 22 and 9. Hit and miss. Damage rolled 7]
The wizard dives, headfirst into the cistern. It is deep, but he can be seen swimming to the other side. When he gets there he bobbs his head out and asks the Redbrand on the other side "Help me out of here if you want me to help you beat these intruders."
OOC: This occurs before Chandan goes. Kriv gets an opportunity attack with advantage on the wizard as he makes his escape. Advantage because his hands are tied behind his back.
With a 'tsk', he tries to cripple the wizard, looking at the very least to shatter a knee and if possible pin him or a large part of him to solid ground with the maul.
Kriv Opportunity attack with advantage AJ rolled 1d20+5 1d20+5 and got 15, 22 Kriv Damage, reroll 1 or 2 AJ rolled 1d6 1d6 and got 5, 2 Kriv Damage reroll AJ rolled 1d6 and got 3 11 damage. If lethal, do not kill.
DM Jaliera's arrow misses the mark and the Redbrand has gone through the door. As the wizard dives into the cistern, Kriv reacts by swinging his maul at the wizard. The weapon hits the wizard but is unable to stop him as he is already in mid-dive as Kriv's maul strikes him. Iarno arches his back in pain but does get to the other side. Chandan races around the cistern and flails at the ruffian there.
Knowing that he was charged to keeping a close watch on Iarno, Davroar anger rises as he does not want him to get away.
With the alarm given again, and not knowing just how many Redbrands might be coming to help, he shape changes back into his brown bear form to pursue Iarno.
Entering the room he sees the wizard in the water and leaps in after him. Davroar does not care whether or not landing on top of Iarno forces him under the water or merely knocks him off to the side. Davroar is intent on not letting him escape and will climb out and lash out at the ruffian that was about to help Iarno out of the water.
Davroar Claw attack on R4 Dugan rolled 1d20+5 and got 19
Davroar Claw attack damage on R4 Dugan rolled 2d6+4 and got 11
As per discussion, Davroar will attack the Redbrand
Last edited by Neptune; Tue 24/11/1503:32 UTC. Reason: GM edit
He advanced to the edge of the pool, muttering words of power in his native tongue before unleashing a cone of flame across the cistern. There was a possibility Davroar would be caught in it, but the druid was tough enough, and taking out their enemies before the wizard could escape mattered more.
Move diagonally one square to the northeast, from 20:1 to 21:2. Burning hands, angle the 15ft cone back so that R5, R4 and the hopefully flammable door are in the area of effect, whilst Chandan is not. Looking to cover 21:3, 21:4, 21:5, 20:4, 20:5 and 19:5 under the cone. If lethal, do not kill the wizard. If possible, set the door on fire. Kriv Burning hands AJ rolled 3d6 and got 10
(OOC - Not sure what "if lethal do not kill the wizard" means? You cannot do non-lethal magical or ranged damage. Only hand-to-hand melee weapons can do non-lethal damage.)
Moving up into the room (move to 20,2), she casts a Fire Bolt at one of the Redbrands across the pool from her (either one is fine, working form left to right). After missing badly (Natural 1!), she steps back into the hallway to gain some cover (19,1). Kallista Fire Bolt Zeim rolled d20+5,d10 and got 6, 7
[Nep, I think your last GM post got truncated, it ends mid-sentence? (Of course, just as you were about to describe how Chandan pummels his way through every bad guy in the room and accidentally unearths a treasure trove at the same time. )]
[ooc: Sorry about disappearing for a couple of days. It 's been stupid busy. Anyhow, I fixed my last post to complete the sentence.
Dugan, there's a problem with Davroar's declaration so I need you to make a decision. He can bite and claw at the same time with his multi-attack but you declared a claw and a grapple and on different targets. Davroar can either try to grapple Iarno (which is what leaping on top of him means). The second attack is to lash out at the ruffian that is helping him. You need to choose one or the other.]
Davroar the bear leaps after the wizard and makes a big splash in the cistern. Water goes spraying all over the place as he belly-flops in. He sees the ruffian on the other side reach out to help Iarno and as soon as the bear sees that, it swats Redbrand with it's giant claw and rakes him across the face.
See below. Tentative Kriv focuses his attention on the disobedient wizard. He holds his hand forth and a cone of flames shoot out at the wizard. The flames spread, engulfing the wizard and both Ruffians on the other side. Iarno, the main target, is roasted to within a thread of his life while the two ruffians are able to do dodge it somewhat. That keeps one of them alive, but the one that was hit by Davroar's claw, drops.
The warlock points her fingers at the same ruffian that got smacked by Davroar but the fiery bolt of magic that flows from her fingers misses the mark.
R4,R5,Iarno Dex Save vs Burning Hands (DC 12) Neptune rolled 1d20+2,1d20+2,1d20+2 and got 19, 19, 10
ooc: I struggled with this attack because Davroar the bear ran into the line of fire. In a table-top face-to-face game we would resolve or prevent this but alas, this format presents tactical challenges. Kriv's burning hands is going to get Davroar. Since Davroar goes first, his move is resolved before Kriv.
So AJ, your choice. 1) Abandon your action 2) Complete your action and get the foolhardy druid in the area affect of your spell.
If you decide on option 2, Davroar would normallyget a save with advantage for half damage (based on my way of doing AOE spells in 5e). In this case I'm making the save automatic so Davroar would take 5 damage.
(WWAEPDD? (What would an evil, pragmatic Dragonborn do? Action stands. The net benefit in terms of enemy removal outweighs the unfortunate minor injury. Any melee attack which specifies not killing Iarno should take the biggest threat out of the equation and ensure we can still take him back alive.))
The Redbrands see their compatriot fall and attack with fury. The two archers drop their bows and pull out their swords and rush into the fray. One attacks Chandan but the monk performs one of his drunken dodges and he makes it seem like an accident that both swings miss. The other one runs down the steps and charges Kriv with his sword. His first swing slices into the Dragonborn but the second swing hits armor instead.
The Redbrand at the top of the steps on the far side of the room emerges to fire an arrow at Davroar but it falls just short of the bear. But that is not the only ruffian that is focusing in on him. The one on the other side of the cistern just saw his buddy die from a combination of a bear claw and a fire. The bear is too close to comfort so after he drops his bow, he swings twice and connects both times.
Finally, a new combatant emerges from underneath the staircase to the north. It's plain to see that there's a passageway underneath there. He emerges with his bow out and fires an arrow at Kallista but it misses.
Just on the other side of the secret door, Jaliera has been surveying the ambush and is preparing to act but she is also vigilant and off in the distance she sees the mouse running out of the same underpass that the new archer emerged from. The rat scurries across the floor and out of sight.
R1 Attacks Davroar with arrow Neptune rolled 1d20+4,1d6+2 and got 10, 8 Misses R2 Attacks Chandan - multiattack 2 swords Neptune rolled 1d20+4,1d20+4,1d6+2,1d6+2 and got 13, 9, 7, 8 Misses R3 Attacks Kriv - multiattack 2 swords Neptune rolled 1d20+4,1d20+4,1d6+2,1d6+2 and got 17, 15, 3, 8 One hit, 3 pts damage R5 Attacks Davroar - multiattack 2 swords Neptune rolled 1d20+4,1d20+4,1d6+2,1d6+2 and got 16, 21, 3, 4 Two hits, 7 pts damage R6 Attacks Kalista with arrow Neptune rolled 1d20+4,1d6+2 and got 7, 3 Misses
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Grognard Rules Football.]
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