2. The Asanda River

[saalaria]

Joffrey

Joffrey chafes slightly at the subterfuge but can see the strategic benefit so is willing to go along with the plan. Zephyr contentedly munches hay.

[tumblingdice]

The raft slips past the last of the reeds just as the three orcs reach the ford. The trio starts poking around the tall grass, looking for signs of a passing animal. "It was probably a crocodile, one of them growls."

The man with the tiger tattoos, glaring down from the bank, appears to be looking in your direction. His glare softens into a frown. He stoops down, picks up a rock, and with a strong arm hurls it in your direction. It sails through the air, then disappears as it passes within the radius of the invisibility spell. You cringe in anticipation. Where will it land? What if it hits one of your mounts?

The rock lands on the wooden deck with a thud-thud-thud as it rolls to a stop. The orcs look up in astonishment, and you see the reeds wave and shake as they spin around in circles looking for the source of the noise.

The man atop the bank snarls, then begins to change right before your eyes. Orange fur sprouts all over his body, his teeth stretch into fangs, and his fingers into claws. Suddenly he is down on all fours, a sleek tiger bounding down the rocky river bank toward you!



Aristide 44/44
--Max 19/19
Tasrem 15/15
Taranna 34/34
Zelaz 15/15
Sir Joffrey 51/51
--Zephyr 19/19
Roikos 50/50
--Peny 16/16

Actions?

[badams30]

Aristide - Thief

Aristide winces as the rock hits the raft. He shakes his head and mumbles "Dammit." He waits for someone on the raft to make the first move, then he'll fire an arrow at tiger-man-thing.

[connivingsumo]

ROIKOS: Cleric
The Cleric, without even giving thought to his actions, mounts his horse, rearing her to face the river bank, and then begins to cast his Flame Strike at the tiger-man... thing.

OOC: Go-Go Gadget Bazooka!!!

[saalaria]

Joffrey
Joffrey too fires his bow at the tiger man.

"Time to hit then with everything we've got he mutters to the spellcasters. "

[kwll]

As instructed, Tasrem was about to cast a lightning bolt at the running creature but, for no particular reason, decides to cast a Charm Monster spell instead.

[greyarea]

Zelaz holds his position in the centre of the raft keeping his spell. If he is attacked directly, he will fly straight up and reevaulate.

[Spanningtree]

Taranna

Unloads a lightning bolt at the creature.

[tumblingdice]

Combat round 1

Initiative: party 3, bad guys 1

Zelaz holds still, keeping the invisibility, 10' radius spell in place as Pormas continues to propel the raft upstream.

Roikos clambers atop Peny, no easy feat when you can't see anything. Since the casting of a spell takes a complete round, precluding any movement, the cleric will have to wait until next round to launch his flame strike.

Aristide fires an arrow at the advancing weretiger, hitting it for 4 hp dmg. The creature doesn't take much notice.

Sir Joffrey unloads a second arrow, but it sails over the great cat's head.

Tasrem incants a charm monster spell. The weretiger skids to a stop at the edge of the back, seemingly confused.

Seconds later, Taranna's lightning bolt (32 hp dmg) blasts the confused creature into oblivion. Thunder booms across the river valley.

The three orcs down in the reeds scramble to raise their bows and fire at...something. "Over there!" one shouts, pointing to where Taranna's lightning bolt came from. They'll be firing at -4 to hit due to your invisibility. The first orc's arrow plops into the water. The second arrow flies, then Roikos feels something bounce off his armor. The third arrow hits...something. Interesting...

N-n-n-n-neigh! There is a scraping of hooves on wood, and the floor buckles violently beneath your feet as the front of the raft dips into the water. A leaping horse blinks into view off the port side as it plunges into the river with a loud splash, an arrow buried in its rump (2 hp dmg). It's Horace! A few large bags and crates emerge from the radius of invisibility, only to disappear again under the surface of the water as they plunge overboard.

You struggle to keep your footing as the raft pitches to and fro. Time to make some dexterity checks. The war horses are used to hardship and the chaos of battle, and manage to stay put, as does Max the camel. It's unclear whether Tasrem owns a horse, so nothing happens on that front. Taranna loses her footing, and hits the deck, prone. She'll need to spend the next round getting to her feet. Everyone else stays on their feet, except...

A long pole blinks into view behind the stern, standing upright in the river for just a moment, with Pormas clinging to it with both hands as it tips over. The old man lands in the shallows with a splash. And a curse.

More than a dozen orc archers appear atop the right bank, scrambling into position, bows poised as the pilot-less raft slows to a halt. A handful of bugbears wielding giant mauls are scattered among them, as is another tiger tattooed human.

Behind you, on the left bank, a dozen human archers move into position. Another dozen behind them race to mount their horses. Despite the chaos, both sides are strangely quiet, not sure what to make of the dead weretiger, spooked horse and waterlogged Pormas.

Aristide 44/44 - hair slightly tousled
--Max 19/19
Tasrem 15/15
Taranna 34/34 - prone
--the horse she rode in on xx/xx
Zelaz 15/15
--Horace 8/10 - in river
Sir Joffrey 51/51
--Zephyr 19/19
Roikos 50/50 - mounted
--Peny 16/16

Actions? Please deduct any spells or missiles used.

Three things:
1. For the duration of this combat, Zelaz's invisibility, 10' radius will continue to cover the 30' raft, as long as the mage doesn't attack. But, I made a mistake earlier. While the range of spells and missile weapons in the wilderness is measured in yards instead of feet, the area of effect is still measured in feet. Otherwise, a fireball cast outside would be 90' feet across!
2. When I determine the results of character's actions, I go through the standard categories of movement, missiles, magic and melee. Within each of those categories, I order actions based on character's dexterity scores. This means that unless they purposefully delay their actions, Tasrem's (DEX 15) spells will come before Taranna's (DEX 13), which will come before Zelaz's (DEX 11), which will come before Roikos' (DEX 9).
3. Joe, does Taranna have a riding horse or a war horse? Your choice. Kwll, does Tasrem even own a horse?

[greyarea]

Zelaz holds for now, same action (or inaction, as the case may be). The others should be thankful, he's not normally this much of a team player.

OOC:
Poor Horace.
Are you telling me that a fireball cast outside isn't 90' across?!?