Chapter 16 - Tempus' recruiting drive

[Storm11]

Tempus calls his animals to him to run, and once they are there he pours the bottle of Greek fire type oil he has in front of the company. i will Throw the torch upon the oil and we may catch those charging in at us, as well as setting the other sleeping ones alight. the halfling Druid calls as he does so.

[AleBelly]

Lumenor holds his position, unwilling to flee the scene of combat. He has his bow ready should an opening for a shot present itself.

Hi Zeromancer, please give me a couple of rolls for bow shots

Also, the Shield spell can only be cast upon the caster him/herself in both OSRIC and 1e AD&D, so Lumenor wouldn't be able to help Lucas out this way.

[CAI4]

Lucas will begin a fighting retreat to the point behind where Tempus spreads the Greek fire. "Lumenor, if you're going to shoot at someone shoot at the muscular one!"

Morningstar attack init [1d6] = 4, to hit [1d20] = 7, damage [2d4] = 5

[Zeromancer]

Seeing an opening as the frontline inadvisedly withdrew, Lumenor lets a pair of arrows fly in the general direction of the closest night-man.

Attacks w/ bow: [1d20+3] = 7+3 = 10, [1d20+3] = 4+3 = 7

OOC: Very unlikely to hit, AC 10 and AC 13.

[AleBelly]

So many rolls - I just did these on my table at home

The animals are able to turn tail and run to Tempus before they can be attacked from the rear. They take positions next to their halfling companion as he shatters two clay pots of Greek fire in front of him!

please deduct 2 flasks of Greek fire - necessary to make a 10' x 10' pool.

As the halfling is about to touch his torch to the pool in front of them, a wave of nightmen attack!

Two assault Azor. The dog manages to avoid the first stone axe strike, but the other finds its mark, slicing a wound into the side of the beast -4 hp. It howls in pain as its counterattack misses.

Two nightmen step forth into the pile of sulfury oil. Tempus dodges the attack aimed his way, but Clarence suffers a blow, taking 2 points of damage! He lacerates it deeply with a paw NM10, -6 hp. Then, Tempus finishes it off as the sticky sludge bursts into flame! Tempus' attacker also cries out in agony as it is badly burned by the fire underneath it! -7 hp. It looks set to back up out of the flame to save itself.

Lucas' swipes with his morningstar are ineffective as he retreats, fighting. He's attacked by a pair of nightmen, one of whom manage to inflict a light wound on the boy. -3 hp.

The retreat is not without strategic implications. The fallback of the line means that more nightmen can now run around the west flank. One of the nightmen realizes this, and charges Lumenor. The elf lets loose an errant arrow, but is able to dodge his assailant's attack. Zo, hoping the party can retreat far enough to enable missile attacks, runs carefully along the ledge and makes it halfway to the other side of the pit.

Actions? The flames will burn for several minutes, so Lucas should be able to retreat fighting to where he only faces one nightman from the front. Clarence and Tempus can't be attacked from the front unless their assailant is willing to get burned.

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Date: 4 Grasses (April), Year 44
Time: 19:34
Conditions: 44F, damp
Known Spells in Effect: Two nightmen sleeping through 19:37
Light bearers: Tempus holding Lucas' torch, burns through 20:20
Injury status: Tempus barely wounded, Azor, Lucas and Clarence lightly wounded
Nightmen Situation: 2 asleep (NM3, NM5), 2 dead (NM2), 3 moderately wounded (NM4), 9 more ready to fight

[Storm11]

Azor attacks the nightman in front of him NM4

[1d20] = 11 : [2d4] = 8

Tempus calls to Clarence and orders him to move around Azor and attack the nightman next to Azor NM10 to try and plug the gap left by the others.

Clarence rushes to attack

[1d20] = 6 : [1d3] = 3 : [1d20] = 3 : [1d3] = 1 : [1d20] = 12 : [1d6] = 5

Tempus attacks with his sling through the flame wall aiming at NM11

[1d6] = 5 : [1d20+5] = 10+5 = 15 : [1d4+1] = 2+1 = 3 : [1d100] = 25

[Zeromancer]

Lumenor saw that there was no recourse but to retreat as the group's flank was now completely exposed. He wished the others had listened to his advice and held their original line, but it was too late now, the tactical blunder had already been made - one that he hoped would not cost him his life.

OOC: Lumenor is worried that the flanking enemies may be about to charge him, so he's going to disengage and cover as much ground as possible towards the cave entrance.

[CAI4]

Lucas continues his fighting retreat, hoping to take advantage of the flames to reduce the number of foes he faces. He looks over his shoulder anxiously at Lumenor, hoping the elf will be OK.

Init [1d6]: 6
To hit [1d20]: 17
Crit [1d100]: 37
Damage [2d4]: 5

[AleBelly]

Lumenor sees the odds stacked against him, and the nimble elf flees towards the entrance. His opponent is blind, but still senses the opportunity for an easy attack...

Nightman opportunity attack Lumenor [1d20+4] = 5+4 = 9 crit[1d100] = 2 dmg

fumble! -> Result was 72 ->weapon breaks (base 100% chance -20% for each “+” or ability of weapon

...but in its zeal, it swings much too forcefully...its axe slips from its hand and flies into the pit well behind Lumenor. It growls and chases the elf. Zo continues his retreat, but sees an opportunity to put his plan in place for missile fire across the pit. The elf loads a stone in his sling, and lets it fly with excellent precision.

Zo slings at nightman [1d20-2] = 20-2 = 18 crit [1d100] = 37 dmg [1d4] = 4

The stone cracks off the skull of Lumenor's pursuer. The creature is surprised by the stone seemingly coming out of nowhere, and stops its pursuit at the edge of the pit; confused, dazed and moderately wounded.

The rest of the party fights valiantly to avoid being overwhelmed. Lucas continues his fighting retreat, hoping to reduce the number of enemies he faces simultaneously. He swings his morningstar, cracking ribs as the tines cut into the chest of a nightman. It strikes back savagely, but the teenager knocks its stone axe away with his shield.

Nightman attack Lucas [1d20] = 11, crit [1d100] = 69, damage [1d6] = 4

Tempus hurls a sling bullet towards a nightman as it jumps away from the flames. He wounds it gravely. It hisses in rage, but is unable to counterattack, and his way forward is blocked by his companions that are attacking the animals.

Blood pours from Azor’s wound as the dog lunges at the legs of a nightman. His teeth fail to penetrate the nightman’s thick skin, and the nightman opens another huge gash on the hapless dog -6 hp!.

Nightman attack Azor [1d20] = 17, crit [1d100] = 94, damage [1d6] = 6

It emits a piteous yelp as it backs up. The dog is now near death but its instinct is to fight on.

Three nightmen attack Clarence, perhaps because the blind creatures find the smelliest member of the party the easiest to track. But this proves to be a mistake. With incredible dexterity, the bear dodges three stone axes, and retaliates by biting through the neck of one of his opponents, killing it!

The creatures appear to be too stupid, or too disorganized, to realize that the creatures attacking Clarence are blocking others from getting in on the fray. But this could change quickly...

Actions?

Date: 4 Grasses (April), Year 44
Time: 19:35
Conditions: 44F, damp
Known Spells in Effect: Two nightmen sleeping through 19:37
Light bearers: Torch burning near Tempus' feet, burns through 20:20; Greek fire burns through 19:38
Injury status: Tempus barely wounded, Azor heavily wounded, Lucas and Clarence lightly wounded
Nightmen Situation: 2 asleep (NM3, NM5), 3 dead (NM13 + others), 1 heavily wounded (NM6) 3 moderately wounded (NM4, NM8, NM9), 7 more ready to fight

[Storm11]

Tempus sends another missile flying at the retreating nightman. [1d6] = 2 : [1d20+5] = 13+5 = 18 : [1d4+1] = 1+1 = 2 : [1d100] = 28

Azor cries allowed and lunges again at his attacker, but as wounded as he is he misses completely.

[1d20] = 3 : [2d4] = 8

Clarence tears at the next one, blood lust in his eyes as the former nightman falls, his throat ripped out.

[1d20] = 17 : [1d3] = 3 : [1d20] = 14 : [1d3] = 1 : [1d20] = 3 : [1d6] = 4

[Zeromancer]

Lumenor continues to back off in a defensive manner toward the ledge, but holds position before he reaches the edge of the pit. He then prepares his bow for a volley of shots aimed at the night-man who had taken a swing at him moments ago. "Eyes on your flank." he calls out, trying to prevent the front line from being surrounded.

Initiative: [1d6] = 6
Attacks w/ bow: [1d20+3] = 8+3 = 11, [1d20+3] = 6+3 = 9
AC 9 and AC 11, possibly 1 hit?
Damage?: [1d6] = 4

[scottjen]

If Zo has a clear shot at the confused nightman, he will take it (AB roll for me if so).

[CAI4]

Lucas swings his morningstar at the nightman facing him.

Initiative [1d6]: 6
To hit [1d20]: 16
Crit [1d100]: 22
Damage [2d4]: 5

[AleBelly]

The pitched battle beneath the surface continues.

The two elves are now separated from their party, so I'll include each update in spoilers.

For Zo and Lumenor only:

The dazed nightman seems ready to attack the others deeper in the cavern. Lumenor quickly fires off an arrow, but it whizzes past the head of the blind humanoid. Zo loads another stone in his sling and, amazingly, hits again! The nightman does not survive this blow, and it falls dead just where the ledge meets wider ground.

The elves can only speculate as to what takes place around the wall. The sound of pitched battle, and the smell of burning Greek fire, are their only clues. Below them in the pit the giant centipede-like creature continues to feed.

Do the elves continue their retreat, hold their ground, or something else?

Also, as they look at the pit, they realize that if they dropped down, a climb check would determine whether or not they could climb back up to the ledge.

For Tempus and Lucas only:

The halfling and human are dimly aware of the nightman at their back, and are relieved to hear it fall dead after the sharp crack of a sling stone on skull.

Lucas is quick to move on his attacker, and finishes off his nightman foe, puncturing a lung with his morningstar. It gasps and wheezes as it falls to the ground, dying in seconds. The large nightman cocks his ear towards the fray, and pushes another nightman towards the boy ranger. Quaking with fear, the nightman's feeble hack with stone axe is easily dodged.

Tempus loads a sling bullet and flings it true, killing the nightman on the other side of the flaming pool. The large leader hears this too. Nostrils flaring, it paces about the flames, looking for a way to attack the intrepid druid. But Tempus is protected by the fire for another minute or two.

Meanwhile, the plight of the animals continues. Azor savagely attacks the nightman that had wounded him so grievously. His jaws cause no damage, but throws off his attacker enough that the loyal dog is able to evade danger.

Clarence continues his heroics. He rakes the back of a nightman with both claws. It screams in pain but continues to fight. The bear dodges two of three attacks but the third stone axe catches his flank, drawing a stream of blood -4 hp!.

Two nightmen (NM7 and NM12) snarls as they pace about, looking to join the fray at their earliest opportunity.

Actions?

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Date: 4 Grasses (April), Year 44
Time: 19:36
Conditions: 44F, damp
Known Spells in Effect: Two nightmen sleeping through 19:37
Light bearers: Torch burning near Tempus' feet, burns through 20:20; Greek fire burns through 19:38
Injury status: Tempus barely wounded, Lucas lightly wounded, Clarence moderately wounded, Azor heavily wounded
Nightmen Situation: 2 asleep (NM3, NM5), 6 dead (NM8, NM6, NM9 + others), 3 moderately wounded (NM4, NM9, NM15), 5 in full health

[Storm11]

Tempus casts a faerie fire spell, (if the nightmen are human sized he affects four and chooses number 14, 4, 1 and the big guy! If they are his size he will also affect the other two battling Clarence and the other two battling Lucas.

Azor attacks his foe. [1d20] = 7 : [2d4] = 8

And Clarence his foe [1d20] = 9 : [1d3] = 3 : [1d20] = 6 : [1d3] = 1 : [1d20] = 16 : [1d6] = 2

Its consistent I will give it that. My dice curse that is.

[scottjen]

Zo draws his shot sword. (to Lumenor): I'm going to see what is happening. If you are staying here: If I come back around the corner and one is chasing me I will duck if you call my name. Zo moves to the corner and attempts to move silently around it to see how the battle fares.

[Zeromancer]

Lumenor nodded in agreement as Zo moved past him. He held position near the edge of the pit, an arrow nocked, and eyes on the area just ahead of his elvish companion, ready to fire should something with hostile intent appear.

"Proceed with caution, cousin." he advised.

[CAI4]

Lucas will bludgeon a nightman with his now gory morningstar.

Init [1d6]: 2
To hit [1d20]: 9
Crit [1d100]: 21
Damage [2d4]: 5

[AleBelly]

In this barren underworld, Tempus calls upon the natural gods to aid him and his companions in battle.

Máithreacha an dúlra, bímid ag iarraidh ort do radharc agus do threoir!

Suddenly, four foes begin to glow with a bright, fiery light! The subject of the spells, unaware of their status, continue to fight. Azor snarls and snaps at his foe, holding it at bay but causing no damage.

Clarence continues to fight valiantly against three foes. He tears slashes into the chest of the glowing nightman he faces, but it fights on. The bear is again hacked by a stone axe -5hp and is now close to death, streaming blood from several wounds!

Lucas' foe, still shaking with fear, seems to be listening for attacks from the boy. Indeed, the nightman is able to dodge the boy's morningstar but his feeble counterattacks are also ineffective.

Zo and Lumenor creep back towards the battle to take stock of things. They see their comrades fighting bravely, but are dismayed to see the two formerly slumbering nightmen groggily climb back onto their feet.

Those with thieving abilities in the group realize that with the din of battle and the lack of sight from their enemies, a backstab opportunity presents itself.

With the added light, Lumenor realizes he can get two bow shots off against the 'big guy,' at least during the next round while the fire is still burning and keeping it from attacking Tempus.

For successful backstab, really only available against NM14, a successful move silently roll with a 30% bonus must be executed (I'll make that roll). If a PC chooses to do this, please roll for double damage with two rolls. That is, 2d6 for a short sword as opposed to a 1d6 x 2.

Actions?

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Date: 4 Grasses (April), Year 44
Time: 19:37
Conditions: 44F, damp
Known Spells in Effect: NM 1, NM 4, NM 11, 'big guy' affected by Faerie Fire through 19:53
Light bearers: Torch burning near Tempus' feet, burns through 20:20; Greek fire burns through 19:38
Injury status: Tempus barely wounded, Lucas lightly wounded, Azor and Clarence heavily wounded
Nightmen Situation: 6 dead, 4 moderately wounded (NM4, NM9, NM14, NM15), 6 in full health

[Storm11]

Tempus calls upon his nature magic to call forth insects to attack the big guy. casts summon insects upon the leader.

Azor continues to attack the nightman before him.

[1d20] = 20 : [2d4] = 2. Not including the +2 to hit from faerie fire spell

Clarence counties to fight as well the same nightman he injured before. No. 14

[1d20] = 4 : [1d3] = 3 : [1d20] = 1 : [1d3] = 1 : [1d20] = 11 : [1d6] = 5 not including +2 to hit from faerie fire spell.

Once the flaming oil has died the Druid will order a slow fighting retreat to his animals and Lucas, moving backwards towards the ledge.