Re: Adventure #5 - March of the Frost Giants

Malazek Sat May 10, 2014 5:40 pm

Jeremiah wrote:Looking to Lindy...

"Would you so kindly start to move the troops gear from the baily to the barracks? We should have this place looking tip top when the captain arrives."

"Sure thing!" Lindy starts picking up the soldiers' gear and dragging it to the barracks.

Glitz Sat May 10, 2014 6:22 pm

"I'll help Lindy move the gear, and then I am going to make some rounds around the ziggurat to try to give us a little extra warning when the giants head our way. If you decide to send troops back to purchase pitch, please allow Lindy to stay here at the ziggurat."

Elodie will then help Lindy move the gear, asking her more questions about the goat-man as they work. "Music, eh? Did he play for you? How did you get the spear, exactly?"

After they have moved the gear, Elodie instructs Lindy to join the troops on the wall. Before they part, Elodie hands Lindy a potion. "This will allow you to talk to me for a few minutes if I'm still in animal form...if it's ever necessary. I'll be back in a bit."

She heads to the gate, transforming into a wolf as she leaves the base. She makes a wide loop around the ziggurat, covering several miles as she attempts to sniff out the potentially-incoming giants.

Survival (tracking): 33, 26, 39, 31, 42

Alpha Omega Sat May 10, 2014 6:28 pm

Halvar wrote:"Yes! I shall! From where should I get the pitch? Should we chop down some pine and haul the lumber here to be distilled? Or would you like us to ride to the city and just buy some?"

"As soon as the captain gets here we will ask her to provide some men to process the tress into pitch, we might as well try to put them to use while they're here."

Malazek Sat May 10, 2014 6:56 pm

OOC: This is the outside map. I didn't map the inside of the ziggurat, yet, and I haven't re-mapped the underground passages yet ... but the ziggurat is only so big and the underground areas are stilled laid out the same. Note that the grid does not start at A1; that's because I kept the original coordinates for the sake of reference (the two red squares representing the entrances to the dungeons are still on the map, as well, but you cannot access them from the outside; they are only there for point of reference).

Remember, too, that all of this was built with existing materials from the area (trees, rocks, pieces of ruins) ... nothing was created from nothing.

Adventure #5 - March of the Frost Giants - Page 5 ZigguratArx_zps3d7ef307

Swifthand Sat May 10, 2014 10:30 pm

Awesome map, Mal! Is that a garden on the inside of the east wall?

Malazek Sat May 10, 2014 10:35 pm

OOC: It is a garden. Not a very big one, but still ...

OOC: I'll post again early tomorrow. I'm exhausted and headed to bed.

Malazek Sun May 11, 2014 11:13 am

OOC: Just to make sure the new stronghold still "fit" (in relationship) to all the previous maps (interior and exterior), I went through and looked at all the old dimensions that were posted for hills, rooms, etc. I created this "cutaway" view of the new Arx. The green curvy line represents the "original" hill that the ruined keep was built on. The dungeons are colored in gray, black, and purple. Everything else should be self-explanatory.

Malazek Sun May 11, 2014 12:03 pm

Elodie wrote:"Music, eh? Did he play for you? How did you get the spear, exactly?"

"Yeah, he played for us. His music was enchanting, and not in a good way. He made us ... do ... things. Thankfully, Talmut showed up to save us. Once the goat-man was dead, I took his spear." Elodie senses that Lindy is reluctant to go into detail about the experience.

Elodie wrote:She heads to the gate, transforming into a wolf as she leaves the base. She makes a wide loop around the ziggurat, covering several miles as she attempts to sniff out the potentially-incoming giants.

Travelling several miles, Elodie patrols the region around the Arx. In the hills to the east of base, she spots a band of giants creeping along between the foothills. Fortunately, they are still pretty far and don't seem to pay any attention to the "lone wolf" skulking the hills. She watches them for a moment and determines that five of them are frost giants and three are either hill giants or ogres. There is another giant with them, however, that she isn't familiar with; its complexion is much darker and its features much more finely chiseled, as if it were carved from stone.

The band seems to be moving cautiously, as if they expect trouble. Also, one of the frost giants appears to be a tracker, occasionally stopping to investigate the ground.

Jeremiah wrote:"As soon as the captain gets here we will ask her to provide some men to process the tress into pitch, we might as well try to put them to use while they're here."

"Excellent idea, Leftenant!" Halvar exclaims. "That's what I'll do then."

Glitz Sun May 11, 2014 12:13 pm

OOC: Can I get a layout of their marching order, please?

Malazek Sun May 11, 2014 12:37 pm

Glitz wrote:OOC: Can I get a layout of their marching order, please?

OOC: Their movement is too fluid for strict military formations, but it would be something like this ...

Glitz Sun May 11, 2014 12:52 pm

Elodie casually moves to the rear of the pack of giants, approximately 150 feet back from the larger group. She is attempting to find a hill, bush, or large tree to hide behind. If she feels like she has found a place where she will not be seen by the giants, she will transform back into a human.

Perception +18

OOC: If she doesn't feel like she can do this without being seen, she will not transform.

Once she has transformed, she will step out from her hiding place and summon a large, flaming circle that traps most of the giants.

Cast Wall of Fire in a circle, 20 ft. radius, centered from the lower right corner of J6. The "inner" part of the circle is the side dealing heat damage.

As soon as Elodie has cast her spell, she transforms back into a wolf and sprints back to the ziggurat. Once there, she will transform back to her human and call for Jeremiah, Talmut, and Gumphrey. "There's a pack of giants heading this way, five frost giants, three hill, and one that I didn't recognize. I tried to scorch them a little before I came back..."

Swifthand Sun May 11, 2014 3:02 pm

"Let us not tarry, then. Perhaps there is a good spot to ambush them between there and here, yes? The magicks I have left at my disposal today can be cast from a fairly great distance." Talmut looks to those with knowledge of the surrounding wilderness for confirmation of his suggestion.

Malazek Sun May 11, 2014 4:15 pm

OOC: I guess I should respond to Elodie's attack, now, just in case she doesn't make it back to camp.

Elodie finds a grassy knoll from which to execute her attack. There is just enough shrubbery to hide her from view, as she retakes her human form.

Surprise Round ...

Calling upon the fire spirits to surround the giants with standing flame. As the magical fires spring to life, some of the giants are caught in the fire; others are trapped inside with the blistering heat. Those caught in the actual flames are burned the worst, but only the rear guard really manages to escape this fate.

Initiative ...
- Frost Giants 14
- Hill Giants 14
- Other Giant 8
- Elodie 6

Round 1 ...

Init 14
The rearguards looks around for the attack and quickly spots Elodie on the hillock behind them. They immediately throw their enormous spears at her and start chasing in her direction. Both spears fall wide of their mark.

- Attack Rolls = 11, 5 (-14 due to range). Then, move 40 feet towards her.

The giants caught in the fire immediately jump to safety. After gathering their wits, they to turn to chase Elodie.

Not wanting to be trapped in the blistering heat, the leader rushes through the wall, as well.

Dumb as rocks, the two remaining hill giants stand their ground, hoping the fires will pass.

- OOC: The giants suffered varying amounts of damage, from 11 to 21 hit points worth.

Init 8
The "other giant" utters a spell of some sort, rendering himself (effectively) immune to the flames.

Init 6
Elodie transforms back into a wolf and flees.

The giants have no hope of catching her.

END COMBAT

Malazek Sun May 11, 2014 4:22 pm

Talmut wrote:"Let us not tarry, then. Perhaps there is a good spot to ambush them between there and here, yes? The magicks I have left at my disposal today can be cast from a fairly great distance." Talmut looks to those with knowledge of the surrounding wilderness for confirmation of his suggestion.

Halvar suggests "If we are to ambush them in the field, then we should look for a place that will protect us from the boulders they hurl. I would suggest a cave, but then we would have no hope of retreat. If we could get on top of a very high cliff, that would allow us to rain down arrows upon them (much like we would from this wall), but if they've already left the mountains, then I don't know where we would find a cliff of that height."

Alpha Omega Sun May 11, 2014 5:22 pm

Does Jeremiah feel there is a good spot to ambush the giants rather than fight them from the Arx?

Perception +24
Knowledge (Geography) +16

Malazek Sun May 11, 2014 7:16 pm

Alpha Omega wrote:Does Jeremiah feel there is a good spot to ambush the giants rather than fight them from the Arx?

While marching to the mountains and back, Jeremiah did notice a few spots that would be good for staging an ambush. A ruin or two on top of a wooded hilltop would provide places to hide and take cover. His men could certainly get the jump on a few giants if they hid there. If he was lucky, he could place his men on opposing hills and the giants would walk right between them, allowing the ambushers to surround the giants after getting the jump on them.

Of course, there's no guarantee that the giants will pass through any of those areas (there is no road, after all). Based on the giants' current direction of travel, Jeremiah could probably predict the "most likely" place to meet them. And if they are tracking the party, as Elodie reported, then staging an ambush along your previous route would probably work best ... But, if the giants changed their course even a little, then they would miss the ambush altogether (or worse!) and end up at the Arx ahead of the ambush team!

Still, Jeremiah knows that fighting giants out in the open is a bad idea; they are faster, stronger (a lot stronger), and tougher than humans. A defensive keep offers some obvious advantages. Still, if he is determined to stage an ambush, then he will want to find a spot that offers many of those same advantages (such as hard cover and a means of slowing the giants). Steep hills with plenty of trees and a few scattered ruins might do the trick, but not as well as a crenelated wall surrounded by a moat and palisade.

So, in order for an ambush to really be successful, his team would have to exploit the "element of surprise" to its absolute fullest potential.

Glitz Mon May 12, 2014 9:34 am

OOC: Assuming that Jeremiah is thinking out loud, or sharing some of his thoughts with the group...

"I like the idea of an ambush. If we hide in ruins on the hill, they will have a much harder time throwing rocks at us. Talmut will be able to use his ranged magicks to their greatest benefit. It appeared that the giants were following the footprints of the troops, so hopefully they will continue on that path. I must warn you, though--one of the giants appeared to use some sort of spell to make himself immune to my fire while I was out tracking. He might be even tougher than the other giants."

Alpha Omega Mon May 12, 2014 10:50 am

"To be honest, I think we would be better off fighting the giants from this fortified position. Besides, I don't think we have the element of surprise anymore. The giants know they have been spotted, so they will be on extra alert. Possibly even avoiding areas that would leave them vulnerable to ambush. Leaving the protection of high walls, palisades and a moat for the possibility of an ambush seem to far great a risk. Especially considering that the giants know they have been spotted. But I am not above taking a vote..."

Swifthand Mon May 12, 2014 3:05 pm

"I defer. Now that we have examined the circumstances before us, I agree with you, Jeremiah. A spell-casting giant, you say, Elodie? That does not bode well. The only thing I have to add is that we do not want those scouts getting back to the larger force, giving them intelligence on us. I will be engaging them from the air, so where we make our stand matters very little to me."

Glitz Mon May 12, 2014 3:13 pm

Elodie listens carefully to both Jeremiah and Talmut. "I understand your reasons for wanting to stay at the keep, and that plan sounds like our best course of action. I think that either would be successful, though, if planned well. So what preparations shall we make at the keep for this ambush?"

Malazek Mon May 12, 2014 3:55 pm

Jeremiah wrote:"I think we would be better off fighting the giants from this fortified position"

Talmut wrote:"I agree with you, Jeremiah."

Elodie wrote:"So what preparations shall we make at the keep for this ambush?"

Gumphrey agrees, as well. He adds, "If the enemy was right behind you, Elodie, then we won't have a lot of time to get ready. I suggest we send some volunteers to patrol on horseback; if they spot the giants, they can just ride back and let us know. If they don't get killed. I would volunteer, myself, but I think my bow would be put to better use on the wall. Maybe the assistants? They don't carry bows, anyway; just a few spears and whatnot ... and if they die, they get to be Dwarves, too, right?"

Swifthand Mon May 12, 2014 4:13 pm

"Hmm...no time to make pitch for this battle. I plan to engulf the giants in poisonous gas, so best we stay at range until the gas clears. I am a bit worried that this spellcasting giant will be too smart to engage the Arx and he and the scouts will retreat. Gumhprey is right: we could use further information, though I am loath to send the companions out alone. Could you scout them out again in wild-shape, Elodie, or are your resources exhausted? Thought it is perhaps too dangerous with the spellcaster with them, you may be able taunt them close to us; considering the damage you have wrought, I am sure you have already angered them."

Glitz Mon May 12, 2014 4:56 pm

Elodie cackles a bit at the memory of the ring of fire, and then says to Talmut, "I am a little worried that they will attack a little more ferociously if they spot me in wolf form again...however, I can take the form of an eagle and attempt to spot them that way."

Unless anyone objects, Elodie will once again head to the gate and transform on her way out.

Use Wild Shape, transform into Eagle.
Survival (Tracking) +24
Perception +28

Alpha Omega Mon May 12, 2014 5:51 pm

Talmut wrote:I am a bit worried that this spell casting giant will be too smart to engage the Arx and he and the scouts will retreat

"I agree, either plan has the potential to fail or succeed."

OOC: Are you able to teleport the group? If they do retreat, I believe, they will most likely go back the way they came. We can always teleport ahead of them to the mountain pass.

Swifthand Mon May 12, 2014 6:24 pm

OOC - I could, but I haven't actually seen the mountain pass, so the miss chance will be higher.

"There is an excellent lookout atop the ziggurat. Anyone care to join me?"

Talmut will go to the perch atop the ziggurat to watch for Elodie, the giants, or the Captain's approach.

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