Chapter 2a - Old Man River

[enn.in.me]

Apparently our underwater communication skills are not so good. No prob.

[AleBelly]

Date: 17 Rituals, Year 41
Time: 10:45
Conditions: underwater, 1/3 normal movement, 50' visibility with shield
Known Spells in Effect: Light (Yenny's shield until 11:25)
Light bearers: Sun, Yenny's shield

In response to Yenny's gestures (I'm assuming the wax was put back in your characters' ears), Jana holds up one finger and points to the arch. As the party approaches, they see the mass of sea grass rises at the limit of their vision; it looks as if the ceiling of this structure begins to rise 40' or so into the distance. The party also sees the grass structure juts out to the left in 30'.

Sev enters the archway, and the party follows. Walking within the mass of underwater foliage is unsettling. The stands of grass are woven together, but sway back and forth, as if they could reach out and grab the party.

The front rank makes it 30' in. They see an entry to a large room 10' or so ahead of them. To their left is a room. Eight to ten beds hanging from the walls, made from the same sea grass as the walls. A couple wooden chests are on the ground, but otherwise the room appears empty. Small silvery fish, much like the ones that blocked Yenny's shield, swim about throughout this lair.

Within this structure, those without infravision think they could probably see 10' in the distance. Some light does filter through the gaps in the grass above.

Map:

photo-2.JPG (82.99 KiB) Viewed 511 times

Actions?

[enn.in.me]

That map is huge!

[enn.in.me]

Yenny moves her shield back and forth, trying to help the front guard see as much as possible in both directions.

[Zorroroaster]

Eduard points to his eyes, and then to their surroundings, hopefully miming "keep a look out."

Left, or straight?

[enn.in.me]

Yenny nods her head towards the left, but then looks back towards Inga to see if s/he makes any indication.

[AleBelly]

Inga offers no guidance.In response to Yenny's glance, she taps her left shoulder twice. Perhaps this means something to a nixie, but not to anyone in the party.

[Zorroroaster]

Eduard gently taps the two in front on the shoulder, and points towards the room leading left out of the corridor.

[tkrexx]

Hyde jumps at being tapped on the shoulder, so intent was his focus on the hostile surroundings. He nods at Eduard's direction and heads the way indicated, dirk in hand. He has been struggling with his infravision in the murk.

[KingOfCowards]

I agree with going left first. But Jaspar probably doesn't see well down here.

[CAI4]

Chet nods to the group to go left. He points to the chests and then his head.

[OGRE MAGE]

Sev also looks confused by the lack of communication but goes along with Hyde and the others.

[AleBelly]

Date: 17 Rituals, Year 41
Time: 10:55
Conditions: underwater, 1/3 normal movement, 50' visibility with shield
Known Spells in Effect: Light (Yenny's shield until 11:25)
Light bearers: Yenny's shield

The party enters the room to the left. The vegetable beds are attached to the walls. It's clear that this is a bunk room of some sort, but it's completely unoccupied at the moment. The party proceeds through the room, making a mental note of the wooden boxes.

As the party exits the room through an arch in the north, then find themselves entering a large room. The light from Yenny's shield does not illuminate its entirety, but it does show the ceiling rising from 12' to about 18' at the limit of light. As soon as the entire party enters the room, a wave of nixies attacks! There are over a dozen, organized in three small groups with daggers out. A handful of them show recent wounds from the battle just an hour earlier. Among the nixies are dozens of silvery fish, swimming in concert as if controlled by an external force.

Those with leather armor or lighter can swim. The nixies can too, and can attack from the top.

Actions? And please include an extra d20 with your action...
I'm attaching a battle map and a dungeon map. The paper map is more accurate, but I'm providing the battle map to help clarify instructions for your PC

Battle map:

022115 nixie battle.png (70.27 KiB) Viewed 482 times

Dungeon map:

022115 nixie lair.jpg (31.95 KiB) Viewed 482 times

[CAI4]

Chet attacks the nearest nixie with his hands.

[OGRE MAGE]

Sev instantly moves to his right and attacks one of the nixies on our flank.

Bastard sword [1d20+1] = 4+1 = 5 Dam [2d4+1] = 3+1 = 4 large [2d8+1] = 10+1 = 11

Random d20 [1d20] = 17

[enn.in.me]

Yenny steps left and will attempt to aid in defending the left flank of the party (esp. Jaspar if he seems dulled by the charm). She will move her shield about if the fish try to smother it.

Initiative [1d6] = 2
Requested d20 roll [1d20] = 9

[Zorroroaster]

Eduard moves forward to attack the nixie swarm directly in front of the party.

Initiative: [1d6+2] = 2+2 = 4

He thrusts his sword into the swarm, hoping to impale something with it.

{Long Sword} Attack: [1d20+2] = 17+2 = 19 | Critical chance: [1d100] = 54 | Damage vs. S/M: [1d8+3] = 8+3 = 11

Extra d20: [1d20] = 10

[tkrexx]

Hyde will wait until a swarm comes to him. He fears if the party is spread out they will each be carried off by the much better swimmers.

Init: [1d6+1] = 6+1 = 7

To hit: [1d20+2] = 4+2 = 6

D20 roll: [1d20] = 16

[KingOfCowards]

Jaspar does a good job of getting in the way.
Attack with Shortsword: [1d20] = 7 Crit Chance: [1d100] = 34 Damage (S/L): [1d6] = 2/[1d8] = 1
Random 20: [1d20] = 14

[AleBelly]

Date: 17 Rituals, Year 41
Time: 10:56
Conditions: underwater, 1/3 normal movement, 50' visibility with shield
Known Spells in Effect: Light (Yenny's shield until 11:25)
Light bearers: Yenny's shield

The nixies swarm fast and furious, descending on the party in groups.

Nixie swarm target [1d6] = 4 alphabetically (Jaspar)

Nixie swarm target [1d5] = 3 alphabetically (Hyde)

Nixie swarm target [1d4] = 4 alphabetically (Yenny)

Nixie swarm target [1d3] = 2 alphabetically (Eduard)

The first swarm hits Hyde. Five converge on the half-orc. The activity distracts him, and his thrust with his dirk slices only water. The first two nixies arrive. One draws back its dagger to attack, and hits one of its companions with the pommel of its dagger, stunning it for several rounds fumble!. Its strike still scrapes Hyde, drawing a small stream of blood. Another moves in, stabbing his leg. Hyde is able to fend off the other two attacks with his shield. Hyde still looks strong. See private forum for damage. Sev moves to Hyde's aid, but his sword fails to strike an enemy.

Before Yenny can move, five more nixies converge on her, taking advantage of her sole position in the third rank. She bashes one with her shield, the bright light blinding it temporarily another nixie fumble. Several daggers bounce harmlessly off her armor, and she remains unhurt. Chet moves over to grab one with his bare hands, but the nixies are too fast for him.

Two more descent on Eduard. He is waiting, thrusting his sword through the chest of an attacker, killing it instantly. The other's dagger hits nothing.

The final swarm attacks Jaspar. He's old, but nimble. All three strikes hit air. His return is equally ineffective.

A final nixie faces off against Inga. Both of their daggers find flesh - her opponent wounds her, but her strike is more effective, killing her opponent.

As the final strikes are resolved, the individual silvery fish begin to act in concert. One group covers Yenny's shield (saving throw vs spells failed), another swarms about Chet's head, obscuring his vision (saving throw also failed) and another targets Sev's head. He is able to swat them away, and they disperse.

Actions?

Map (I didn't portray the reduced light from the fish surrounding Yenny's shield):

022115 nixie battle 2.png (71.53 KiB) Viewed 466 times