Monday, April 22, 2013

The Wilds - Mayhem in the Fields


As they enter the sixth round of the fight, the party is worried. Several party members are down, including Grit, and Raúguey is badly wounded. There's some shouting about spells as combat continues against the last four foes. Also I've discovered I've been handling spell-casting incorrectly so far as timing in the round, so that'll be fixed as we move forward...


"Nissa cast sleep!" shouts Maro as he tries desperately to bring down his foe.

"That's a bad idea brother, but OK."

Round Six (enemy initiative)

Ohwatoo begins casting magic missile!
Nissa begins casting sleep! (Maro better hope this doesn't backfire...)

Before Raúguey can charge to Durego's aid, the nearest creature closes with the wounded fighter, snarling some epithet (or was it orders?) in its foul tongue. Ohwatoo hears the same thing, and with the tiny fragment of his consciousness that is not focused on the spell he is casting thinks, "Uh oh. It saw me. Or Nissa. I hope it was Nissa." The last trailing foe goes wide around the center group, spots Rawon and Ingvild, and heads for the thief. The four creatures attack, striking at Raúguey, Maro, Durego, and Ingvild. All four miss!

"Lucky, lucky," mutters Ingvild as he drops his sling and sweeps out his sword. Rawon debates doing the same but decides to release one more arrow at the nearest foe, an unfortunate miss. Urúvion, already half-dead, shifts position, and fires at the creature attacking Raúguey, knowing that the big guy is sorely wounded. A hit, but only a nick [1 damage]. Locky sees spell casters on either side and multiple targets in front of him, just in range. He trots forward and hurls another sling stone at the nearest foe, a very solid hit! [6 damage] The creature shudders and falls over, whack! dead!

The ever-watchful Dagmarten sees his brother in trouble and runs to his aid.

Ohwatoo's magic missile spell goes off, and streaks toward Raúguey's foe. [4 damage]. Nissa's sleep spell goes off, affecting the two creatures on the right, but also Ingvild, Dagmarten, Durego, Maro, and Locky! [Important note: Sleep has no save, and no area of effect, so it affects the closest targets. Be very very careful with it.]

The sudden silence to his right is disconcerting, but Raúguey can't waste his limited mental resources trying to figure out what's happened. He's in a fight for his life! He unleashes a hard blow at his foe, and strikes true! [7 damage] He grins at the sold blow, then gasps as the low buzzing from his sword rises to a sudden fever-pitch and a swarm of glittering golden bees streams forth! The swarm swirls around the creature's head, buzzing and stinging!.

Round Seven (party initiative)

"Ohwatoo, kill the downed creatures! Cut their throats!" Rawon's shout disturbs the magic-user's contemplation of the buzzing, golden swarm. Rawon runs forward, bow at the ready. Urúvion shifts position as well, and the two elves fire at the last target standing. Nissa prepares to fire as well. All three miss!

Ohwatoo moves up, and with a shudder of disgust, slits the throat of the creature near Dagmarten, while on the far side of the battle-line, Raúguey presses his advantage and strikes again at his distracted foe, but the creatures unpredictable movements make it a difficult target, a miss.

With a howl of pain, frustration, and fear, the creature dodges away from Raúguey and starts running away, its will to fight broken. The distraction caused by the bees allows Raúguey and the three elves a free attack at the fleeing creature's back! Urúvion manages to nick it again [1 HP] but the other shots go wide. "Stay put Raúguey!" shouts Urúvion as the three elves, the fleetest of the conscious party members, set off in pursuit.

Round Eight (party initiative)

The pursuit is short lived. With bees buzzing around its head, the creature stumbles over a pile of brush, and the elves close for the kill. Arrows fly [3 hits, lots of damage], and the thing drops in a heap. As it does the cloud of golden bees swirls away from the remains and stream back into Raúguey's sword.

As Ohwatoo wakes the sleeping members of the party, Raúguey and Rawon carry Grit back to the camp site. Nissa and Urúvion perform the grisly but necessary throat-slitting and body looting. Once Durego and Maro are awake they move swiftly, carrying Gorvil back to camp.

The thin line of gray along the eastern horizon is growing, and the breeze has freshened to a strong wind that flattens the grass. Dagmarten peers at the sky. "Clouding up... odd. I could have sworn it was going to be clear today."

The elves, meanwhile, are focused on the distant woods, where movement and light presages the arrival of more foes...

OOC:

By your best estimate, the next group of foes is ten or more minutes away at their best speed. It's still dark out, but dawn is very close. The wind has really picked up, and there is a thick clot of clouds forming to the north.

Wound status:

Durego: 5 damage
Raúguey: 11 damage
Grit: 15 damage (DOWN)
Urúvion: 2 damage
Gorvil: 6 damage (DOWN)
Saurabh: 2 damage (DOWN)

And yes, Raúguey's sword is the SWORD OF BEES!

1 comment:

  1. Good stuff. Action packed, with plenty of surprises. What will they do next?

    ReplyDelete

Note: all comments are moderated to block spammers. Please be polite.