D&D Arena: The Tale of the Piano Duo, Ebony and Ivory
 

Welcome to the first iteration of D&D Arena. It is my first time on the other side of the 'screen'. If I do anything wrong, don't hesitate to tell me in the discussion thread :)

I'd like to have an introductory prologue of sorts. It's more of a learning experience for me, rather than a "getting-accustomed-to-your-characters" for Shin and lurker (well, since both are veterans of Pang's game). I promise we'll get to the real arena soon enough.

House Rules
- 100% resale value on all items
- 4 encounters per level
- 1 action point per encounter; action points cannot stack
- No limitation on use of item powers



Mounts:
RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH, a Level 5 Dire Wolf.
Stat Card



Resource Tracking (always updated)

EBONY: HP 43/49 Surges: 3/9
ENCOUNTER: Action Point | Second Wind | Hurling Charge | Avenging Charge | Tumbling Dodge
DAILIES: Scything Blow | Wounded Beast
ITEM POWERS: Flesh-seeking Hand Axe | Shared-suffering Hide Armor | Brooch of No Regrets
CONSUMABLES: 1x Healing Potion, 1x Dragonfire Tar, 2x Clockwork Bomb, 1x Acid Elixir of Dragonbreath, 2x Fire Blastpatch, 2x Acidic Fire, 1x Caustic Whetstone

IVORY: HP 15/47 Surges: 2/7
ENCOUNTER: Action Point | Second Wind | Healing Word (2/2) | Destined Duel | Exacting Utterance | Channel Divinity
DAILIES: Virtue's Touch (4/5) | Shield of the Gods | Return from Death's Door | Iron to Glass | Cure Serious Wounds
ITEM POWERS: Swiftshot Crossbow | Dwarven Finemail | Hearth of Bordrei | Catstep Boots
CONSUMABLES: 1x Healing Potion, 1x Tethercord, 3x Dragonfire Tar, 3x Clockwork Bomb, 1x Acid Elixir of Dragonbreath, 2x Fire Blastpatch, 2x Acidic Fire, 1x Caustic Whetstone, Harbinger of Death

RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH: HP 39/67 Surges: 0/1
ENCOUNTER: Second Wind

Ivory was feeling tired. For 45 years he had travelled across the lands, slaying foul demons where ever they reared their ugly head in the name of protecting what little good there was left in the land but lately things had change. He was finding it harder and harder to get up in the mornings and where once he relished the prospect of a day filled with cart chases and aprehending perpetrators, now all he longed for was a nice hot bath and some soft fruit. The full moon was just three days away and Ivory had decided that would mark his reitrement. He would go back to his old village and settle down with his long suffering wife, Trish, finish building that lean to, go fishing on his underused boat and relax into his twilight years.

His desire for retirement was in no way lessened by his new companion, Ebony. The young Kobold seemed slightly unhinged and was far too enthusiastic about murdering monsters and worse, he was into all that flashy sword fighting nonsense that Ivory had never been able to get the hang of.

Ivory lay stil, refusing to open his eyes and admit the presence of a new day just yet. Aah, three more days to retirement.

The sadly all-too familiar sound of shouting broke his reverie and he rolled painfully to his feet. A bunch of scruffy looking robots were running towards them muttering something about a boar. Ivory knew that the most sensible thing to do in these situations was to kill the ringleader. He also knew that Ebony would relish the opportunity for a long, drawn out battle with the guy and as usual, his role would be to keep the others off his back.

He trudged forward a few steps and gave the closest robot his best possible angry scowl, which was enough to stop a rampaging dragon in it's tracks at times.

Move to L9, Gaze of Defiance on Soldier in range

At this proximity, the roast smells undeniably delicious, but prolonged exposure to a still active fire might result in bodily injury.

In any case, food is the farthest thing from the cleric's mind. Ivory's extremely stentorian gaze momentarily freezes one of the soldiers in his tracks.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/warforge-decrepit.pngCaptain, the subject resists apprehension and is glaring at me! Query, what is the best course of action?
http://upload.jetsam.org/images/warforge-soldier.pngThe usual. Surround and flank!

The mechanical soldiers rush to obey, one of them breaking into a run in order to surround the lycanthrope. The logs were difficult to traverse, after all. Alas, the the exertions were too much for the aging machine, and it collapsed into a pile of gears and strange flesh - quite dead.

Longsword vs. Ivory, +9 vs. AC 21 (additional +1 bonus due to battlefield tactics), 11+ to hit.

Ivory takes 16HP damage.

The warforged captain strides towards Ivory, and suddenly...

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/warforge-soldier.pngCHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGE!

He launches full tilt into a bull rush towards the kobold, but the speedy lizard dodged the attack. A pity. Maybe he can pick up the little squirt and throw it down the well during his next turn.

:savepoint: Ebony (6), Ivory (20), Soldiers (16), Captain (15)

Ivory is marked by Soldier 1.
Ebony has a +3 attack bonus against Soldier 2.
Soldier 2 has a defense penalty of -2 from running.
Soldier 2 dies.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images//training02.jpg

Yo this is your boy Ebony here, K-dawg up in the house, straight up from the D1, every nigga wants a piece of me. They ain't got shit, though. I've been runnin' around the block, hustlin' since i was in knee pants; hell, since old man Ivory had his original knees I was gettin' money, fuckin' bitches, smokin' trees2. I did my crimes3, times were tough and we had to make do. Now, I ain't into that no more. I am a changed man, I'm working with the system to build a better world for my brothers and my sisters of all colors.

See, look at what the establishment wrought upon us. Let your eyes fall on old man Ivory here; shriveled, slow, got pants hiked up to his goddamn ribs. Ain't nobody gonna take him seriously. This is a man who cares more about his peonies than his pee pee, you hear me? His dick, son. And the force is full'a these old timers waiting to be picked off by thugs. Well, I ain't about to let that shit happen. Nigga's a little slow but he got the wisdom and we ain't goin' nowhere unless we stand on the shoulders of giants in order to touch the stars.

F'real.

So when I see dem tin can niggas roll up I was all hell naw

Marauder's Rush on captain
move to n8 (I don't have to shift do I? Since I'm out out of the guy's range for AoO)

1: From the suburbs.

2: Frequently, oregano.

3: Mostly petty larceny or vandalism.

Ivory gave the youngster his best angry scowl but the robot acted like nothing had happened. That was the problem with kids these days, they'd get jacked up on Avandra only knows what potions and powders then cavort around like they owned the place with no damn respect for their elders and betters.

The old man waited for the inevitable flash of blades as his enthusiastic companion rushed past him to attack their foes, as was his wont, but nothing happened. A quick glance over his shoulder and Ivory's heart sank as he saw that today was one of the days the damn fool lizard chose to start the battle tossing his hair about and making daft comments, rather than run ahead and protect him like he's supposed to. He turned back to the oncoming robots just in time to see three swords swinging towards him. Once upon a time he would have avoided such clumsy strokes with ease but old as he was and so soon after waking up his refelxes were dulled and two of the strokes drew blood.

Well if these fool robots wanted a fight then a fight they would get. Ivory backed away from the mob of robots carefully, edging around the remains of the fire which was barely smouldering by now, putting enough distance between himself and his assailants to give him time to gather his wits.

The rush of blood to his head as he ducked under the swinging weapons gave him enough energy to try another scowl, becuase damn it he wasn't ready to give up on an old, tried and tested formula just yet.

Maybe robots are immune to angry glares. :(

Shift to M8, move to O7 (We are using the house rules about moving round corners, right?), Divine Fortune, Action point, Gaze of Defiance on Soldier 1

The little ranger strikes hard and true, plunging its challenge-seeking short sword deep into the warforged's gut.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/warforge-soldier.pngInitial threat assessment inaccurate. YOU are the greater threat! It is most fortunate you chose not utilize your quarry ability.

18 damage to Warforged Captain.

Ebony danced around the captain, not presenting any chance for an opportunistic attack.

The soldier marking Ivory swings his longsword as his marked foe shifts away, but hit only air. The old shifter responded to this affront with another withering look, but the warforged is unaffected.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/warforge-decrepit.pngCOME BACK. WE HAVE NOT YET CHASTISED YOU APPROPRIATELY!

Both soldiers pursue, but found their path blocked by a cute little kobold which their commander just called the greater threat. A longsword swing seems appropriate, but both attacks miss the speedy ranger.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/warforge-soldier.pngEnough of this. To the well with you!

Grab: Standard. Strength (+6) vs. Reflex.

More swiftly than is thought possible, the senior warforged successfully grabs hold of the ranger with a chokehold on his throat. He can no longer move, but can still attack freely.

Ebony immobilized. Escaping a grab is a move action. Make an Acrobatics check against Reflex or Athletics Check vs. Fortitude, your choice. If successful, you shift 1 square.

:savepoint: Ebony (6), Ivory (20), Soldiers (16), Captain (15)

Is... is this fuckin' rusted piece of junk mocking me? That dog won't hunt, bitchass.

I thought back to this one time when I was expelled from school. My momma loved Oprah, so that's all we'd watch all day. She was doing this special week on self-defense, just an excuse for all dese bitches to kick these faggot-ass men in the junk. So, I kick this faggot-ass in the junk.

While he's distracted I tell him I got a little bitchass sword for a little bitchass nigga, and i put that shit to his fuckin' face.

Then I kindly remind old man Ivory that his

Athletics v Fortitude to get this nigga out of my personal bubble
12 (athletics) + 14 (roll) > 17 (fortitude)
shift to 08

hunter's quarry on captain

another marauder's rush
11 (weapon attack) + 19 (str) + 4 (roll) > 20 (captain's ac)
6 (roll 1) + 2 (roll 2) + 8 (short sword) + 4 (str modifier) + 2 (wis modifier) = 22

I'm gonna try doing the dice this time so if I did it wrong please reroll for me :(

Ivory's erstwhile companion was doing what he loved best, poncing about like a lunatic doing all those fancy, schmancy sword attacks kids these days seem so fond of. He had the right idea though, wailing on the ringleader and Ivory begrudgingly admitted that he had perhaps been a little hasty in his deisre to chastise the impudent younglings rather than formulating something approaching a plan of combat.

Backing further away from the swirling melee, the old wolf pointed a gnarled finger at the Warforged Captain and uttered a challenge.

"You know sonny Jim, once upon a time people like you had some respect for your elders and betters but if it's trouble you want, you just come over here and I'll put you across my knee like you were one of my own"

His words seemed to form almost tangible barbs of light as he spoke them which shot towards the robot, stabbing through him in several places and knocking him off balance somewhat.

Move to O6, Destined duel on Captain (+9 vs relfex requires a 6 to hit) with bonus to Ebony (I don't really need to say that I guess).
Hit (barely). Opponent takes 1D10+7 radiant damage and Ebony gains +2 power bonus to attacks againt the Captain until my next turn.
Woohoo, 8 unmodified damage!

You don't need to say it Shin, but I appreciate it when you do remind me!
Ebony aims a kick at the captain's crotch. Startled, the Warforged instinctively shields his nonexistent genitals, and released his grip from the kobold.

Ivory further disengages from melee by pressing his back into the wall, squeezing himself somewhat.

Ivory's words stab at the captain like a half-dozen pinpricks. He was immediately reminded of his childhood. Oh, his old grandpappy used to say the same things to him. Once, he even carried it out. He still has the dents to prove it.

But wait. Wasn't he built in a factory? This bears more thinking.

The soldiers find the old shifter beyond their reach once more, and satisfy themselves by stabbing his pet lizard. The captain, distracted as he is, makes a halfhearted stab which barely penetrates the creature's hide.

8 + [1 + 4] = 13 damage to Ebony.
Ebony has +2 power bonus to hit against Captain until end of Ivory's next turn.

:savepoint: Ebony (6), Ivory (20), Soldiers (16), Captain (15)

http://mangospoon.com/tmp/RapeTime.jpg

at-will: Shifty to P-9
move: to R-9 (does this put me at 2 squares or 3?)
Throw and Stab Captain
Free Charge converted to Marauder's Rush, also on Captain
EBONY TIME

The ranger powers up, and launches a devastating strike at the Captain. But not before he takes a swing at the kobold.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/warforge-soldier.pngAha! Think you can move away from me, do you?

The sword catches Ebony by surprise.

Ebony takes [3 + 4] = 7 damage.

The ranger's retaliation was far, far worse. The construct staggers back, vital fluids leaking from wounds opened up by a particularly vicious axe.

Throw and Stab: 6 + 2 = 8
Marauder's Rush: 1 + 8 = 9
Bonus from mixing attacks: 2
Hunter's Quarry: 1

Warforged Captain takes 20 damage. Bloodied, f'real.

Lurker, R9 is considered 2 squares. Normally you won't be able to shift onto difficult terrain, so do take note next time :)

:savepoint: Ivory (20), Soldiers (16), Captain (15), Ebony (6)

The only map change is Ebony is now at P9.

Ivory continued to skirt around the swirling melee, impressed by the brutallity of his partner's attack. He had taken a light hit but nothing serious enough to warrant patching up just yet. Instead the old cleric treated the Captain to one of his withering glares, hoping the senior robot was more susceptible to them than his underlings.

Move to P7 (That's under an overhanging tree branch rather than in a bush, right?), Gaze of defiance at Captain.
+9 vs Will, requires a 5 to hit

Apparently the Captain was no more bothered about being stared at than the other robots had been.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/warforge-soldier.pngI... REFUSE to be brought down by a tiny lizard!

The Captain activates Warforged Resolved, gaining 14 temp HP.

Inspired by their leader's show of defiance, the soldiers mercilessly bring their swords to bear on our heroes. If Ivory thinks he can take cover under a tree, he's got another thing coming!

Ivory takes 8 HP damage. Bloodied and marked by Soldier 3.
Ebony takes 8 + [ 4 + 5 ] = 17 HP damage. Bloodied and marked by Soldier 1.

Blood is drawn all around. Ebony looks to be in particularly bad shape and may not be able to survive another such mauling.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/warforge-soldier.pngIt is obvious that continuing this battle is futile. Surrender now and save yourself some pain.

:savepoint: Ebony (6), Ivory (20), Soldiers (16), Captain (15)

Ivory was perplexed that what had initially looked like a relatively open area to stand and fight in was apparently impossible to run around in and the walls were all twice as thick as they looked, meaning one had to squeeze to stand next to them. Had he known about this from the start of the fight, he probably would have stood somewhere else.

It was too late for regrets now though, the robots needed killing and if his run of bad luck continued, he might never live to see his retirement party.

Noticing that Ebony was looking a little the worse for wear, the cleric muttered a few words of encouragement to him that seemed to perk him up a bit. The smile of gratitude on the little guy's face made Ivory feel a fair bit better himself.

Healing Word on Ebony, Second Wind.
Ivory regains 10hp, +2 to all defences until next turn.
Ebony regains surge +1D6 (1)hp

Hootie hoo, Ivory! I ain't done with this wack-ass nigga yet.

Delay move until Ivory (in case that wasn't implied)
Marauder's Rush on Soldier 1, hoping he gets nixed
Shifty onto non-difficult terrain, O10
Move onto O11
Action Point
Throw and Stab captain
Free Charge converted to Marauder's Rush
feel the burn

A few words of inspiration is enough to grant Ebony renewed vigor, a vigor he now applies towards his opponents. Hampered as he is by the blood running down his eyes, the kobold somehow manages to land a hit on the Soldier who marked him.

The decrepit warforged collapses immediately into a pile of metal and acid.

Ebony regains [ 11 + 1 + 5 ] 17 HP. No longer bloodied.
Soldier 1 killed.
Square O8 is now difficult terrain.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/warforge-decrepit.pngNo! R66-X! His retirement's tomorrow, you MURDERING LIZARD!

The remaining soldier shifts away from Ivory and stabs at the ranger mercilessly. The captain, sensing that the fight might not be as easy as he initially thought, takes one last whack at the kobold before moving far away.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/warforge-soldier.pngHold the line, soldier, while I will go for reinforcements!

All attacks, including Ebony's parting shot at the fleeing coward, miss. How sad.

:savepoint: Ivory (20), Ebony (6), Soldier (16), Captain (15)

With his comrades dead and leader gone, Ivory hoped that the last robot would be a bit more susceptible to angry glares.

Gaze of defiance on remaining bad guy

Bitch you think you can just leave this curbstomp? Hell naw. Just cause you suddenly got all fast an' shit, dodging my deadly blows don't make you hot shit.

Shifty to O10
Move to O11
Throw and Stab Captain
Free Charge converted to Marauder's Rush, also on Captain

Ebony enthusiastically pursues the fleeing warforged captain, but both attacks miss by a hair's breadth.
Throw and Stab: 10 + 8 + 1 = 19 vs. AC 20
Marauder's Rush: 11 + 7 + 1 = 19 vs. AC 20
Ahaha

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/warforge-soldier.pngS-stay back!

The captain continues his escape, risking a very painful opportunity attack from the ranger. He takes [ 6 + 2 + 5 = ] 13 HP damage, all but obliterating the HP gained from his earlier resolve.

His double-move takes him past a corner of Ivory's hut, and out of Ebony's sight.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/warforge-decrepit.png DO NOT LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT. IT MAKES MY VISUAL RECEPTORS FEEL ODDLY UNCOMFORTABLE!

The soldier's subsequent perfect hit, fueled by indignation at being constantly glared at, re-bloodies the shifter.

8 damage to Ivory. Bloodied.

:savepoint: Ivory (20), Ebony (6), Soldier (16), Captain (15)

Tiring of his continued inability to glare at a barn door from 20 paces, Ivory smashes his fist into the face of the unruly robot.

Punch soldier, shift to P8

I tear off after the captain, chucking my axe as he turns the corner. It's cool, I saw this in a movie once.

Move to Q7, or R7 if Q7 is blocked
Throw and Stab at Captain

Ebony briefly thinks about going after the soldier. But Ivory punches the machine with his fist as a signal, prompting the ranger to re-devote his full attention to the captain. The axe strikes hard and true, but the resulting stab was ineffective.

Warforged Captain takes [ 2 + 1 + 6 = ] 9 HP damage.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/warforge-soldier.png I---I'm not long for this world. But I... *wheeze* will go down *gasp* fighting!

The soldier takes an ineffective swipe at the old werewolf, while the Captain mounts a last-ditch effort to incapacitate his foe.

Maximum damage to Ebony: 8 + 4 = 12.

:savepoint: Ivory (20), Ebony (6), Soldier (16), Captain (15)

With his young partner off in hot pursuit of the leader, Ivory ducked back from a clumsy swipe and gathered his will for his most withering stare of the day so far. By the Gods this impudent curr was going to be affected by one his stares before this day was through!

Shift one square NE, gaze of defiance on soldier

I wonder what old man Ivory's doing. I don't hear him yelling at the other guy to get off his lawn; he must've just fallen asleep or something. Ain't no thang, Ebony here is just gonna get shit done like usual.

Shifty to N23
Move to P23
Throw and Stab Captain
Free Charge converted to Marauder's Rush on Captain

As the captain collapses right in front of old man Ivory's shed, Ebony could only ponder how his elder will react to the new trash heap he just made. In fact, Ebony spends the next six seconds thinking of a good rejoinder to forestall any complaints about how abusive "kids these days" are.

Without a valid enemy to charge, the second half of Throw and Stab is invalidated. Ebony stays at P23.

The old shifter's glare, while ineffective, has finally unnerved the soldier. What's left of his resolve crumbles as his audio receptors pick up the sound of metal crumpling to the ground, mere seconds after Ebony hurled his axe at the captain. He decides to flee.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/warforge-decrepit.pngS-STOP IT! I-I-I-YA-YA-YA-YAI!

Ivory feebly tried to kick the fleeing robot. Alas, his arthritis made it impossible to connect. Ivory watches helplessly as the soldier turns the corner and disappears from both his and Ebony's view. (He's at H15, both of you will be able to see him if you move north at full speed.)

:savepoint: Ivory (20), Ebony (6), Soldier (16)

Ivory was seriously having a crisis of confidence. Throughout his long and illustrious career as a slayer of monsters and banisher of evil, he had destroyed countless foes with no more than a miffed glance, let alone the full on angry stares he had been throwing at these robots.

With a surprising turn of pace for such an old codger, the lycanthrope stomps off in pursuit of the fleeing miscreant, catching sight of him as he rounds the corner of the hut and shooting his most choleric look in months at the coward's back.

Move to I12, Gaze of Defiance at soldier

Finally, after a long and fruitless morning, the sheer ignomy of being stared at by an old man as he turned tail and ran became to much for the young criminal and he exploded in a shower of nuts and bolts.

Ivory slumped against the wall of the hut, he was definitely getting too old for this shit.

VICTORY! The warforged troupe has been vanquished, and it doesn't seem like they were able to call for reinforcements.

For now.

If indeed the boar that Ivory and Ebony are now just sitting down to enjoy IS indeed property of the king, they may very well find it prudent to expect company sooner than later.

The delectable scent of roast boar imbues our protagonists with one temporary healing surge . Actually sitting down at the table and eating it will restore yet another healing surge to each.

You have ten minutes to prepare for the next round, still utilizing the same 'arena' and carrying over the difficult terrain posed by the warforged corpses. You can do anything that's doable in this time, and may position yourself anywhere you wish.

The old man caught his breath, tearing off a strip of boar meat and devouring it hungrily. Carrying his meal. he picked a spot halfway along the side of the hut to slump down and rest, nobody would sneak up on him here.

After a moment's thought, he had a better idea. Dragging the table over from by the fire, he clambered on top of it and from there, onto the roof of the hut, kicking the table over behind him. He was going to offer a hand up to the kobold but remembered that last time the young lizard had been on top of a building, attempting to stop a disturbed hobgoblin from leaping to his death, he'd jumped off himself. Ivory certainly wasn't ready for any more of that kind of excitement, certainly not this close to his retirement anyway.

Eat some food, use table to climb on to the roof of the hut, kicking over the table behind me, burn some healing surges (Full hp)

Who says the captain isn't a valid target? I go over there and kick him in the face.

Yeah, that outta do it.

I sit down for a nice breakfast 'cause momma didn't raise me in no barn. Pretty soon I hear huffin' and puffin' like old man Ivory wanna blow down his own damn house. Sheeit, he's just trying to climb on the roof. Beats me why; maybe he reckons he'll fix up that leak he's always bitchin' about. Whateva, if he sees any more rusting tin cans come our way, he can holla.

Eat breakfast at the table for free surgez
use surgez for full hp
Decides to tidy the place up; chuck warforged bodies into a heap in the corner of the yard

Our heroes tuck into a delicious breakfast - the exact same breakfast that caused them a lot of grief. Like all good responsible youths, Ebony assisted the elderly by taking out the trash. The southwest corner of Ivory's yard is now the repository of four rusting and utterly acidic corpses. To step into the acid-filled section would be tempting fate.

Square R25:S26 is now difficult terrain and any creature entering it or beginning its turn within it gets hit with 1d6 acid damage.

Scarcely had the kobold finish his chores when he hears loud growling coming from the north. Apparently the delicious pot roast has attracted some unexpected guests. Five gray wolves, led by a rather large wolf, have picked up on the scent of the roast. Worse, they have now caught Ebony's scent, a small creature which they would surely consider easy prey.

Passive Nature 19: As a well-read ranger, Ebony knows that members of a wolf pack growl, howl, bark, and use body language to communicate. These howls can carry several miles. The lead wolf is double the size of the others, but without actively checking his nature knowledge, nothing comes to mind for Ebony.

Passive Perception 15: By the way it moves, and based on the discoloration of its hide, Ivory is almost certain the lead wolf has once spent part of its life as a tame mount. However, this is clearly no longer the case, as it has descended once again into its natural animal savagery.

The wolves eye Ebony hungrily, fangs completely bared. But they made no indication of either moving or attacking... yet!

Initiative:
:savepoint: Ebony (13), Gray Wolves (12), Dire Wolf (10), Ivory (4)

I am wondering no more.

actively check nature against the wolves
delay action until I get word back from zerg

Ebony's Nature knowledge check: 7 + 9 = 16.

Ebony identifies the large wolf as a dire wolf. Try as he might, he cannot remember particular information about the beast (DC 20).

The ranger does know the following tidbits about wolves:

1. They are fast sprinters and move faster than him.
2. They are pack hunters and do bigger damage when hunting as a team.
3. It is a bad idea to be prone when attacked by wolves.
4. It is possible, though not easy, to domesticate dire wolves into mounted beasts.

Oh yeah, you can make these bitches your bitch! I knew a guy who used to breed these and have 'em fight other wolves in his basement.



What, he had a big basement.

Yeah anyway Imma hit them scrawny ones first. I wonder what their deal is?

Can a nigga get a nature check up in dis for them smaller wolves?
I can't wait to act; Throw and Stab at the one in K-23
Free Charge converted to Marauder's Rush on K-25
Shifty to M-25
Move back to O-18; I ain't being a pussy, I'm being practical.

Lurker, you only get one shot at a knowledge check, unless new information comes to light. The check for gray wolves was already given as part of your passive nature check. I shall treat your roll as an attempt to domesticate the smaller wolves.

Ebony eyes the snarling wolves, and declared grandiosely to the pack: "Imma gonna make youse mah bitches, bitches!"

The wolves look unconvinced. The dire wolf glares at the kobold, almost... almost as if it understood what he said.

One would think any attempt to befriend wolves would be to not attack them, offer them food, and display your dominance by challenging the pack leader. But no, Ebony impatiently tosses his axe at the nearest gray wolf wolf, and launches into a charge against another. This possibly wrecks any chances of ever getting himself a gray wolf as a pet mount, but it is probably for the best. It looks like the wolves would be able to eat him up in one bite anyway.

Defenses:
Gray Wolves: AC 19, Fortitude 17, Reflex 17, Will 17
Dire Wolf: AC 19, Fortitude 18, Reflex 17, Will 16

Throw: 5 + 10 = 15 vs AC 19, miss.
Stab: 7 + 11 + 1 from charging = 19 vs AC 19, hit.

While Ebony's axe missed, his sword struck true, and the emaciated wolf cub collapsed with a whimper. The other wolves react to this affront by baring their fangs and snarling menacingly at the lizard. If he doesn't make it out of there, he'd likely be mauled to death right there and then.

:savepoint: Gray Wolves (12), Dire Wolf (10), Ivory (4), Ebony (13)
I assume you want to move away by using an action point. Post in the thread if you wish to stay where you are.

Fuck what ya herd.

stays where I'm at

Ivory had sensed the wolves long before they appeared. The hairs on his neck hadn't been this erect since he was last caught outdoors in a thunderstorm and his canine teeth were itching. Was this some last, cruel trick of the fates, to challenge his resolve one final time before he hung up his hunting hat for good? Ivory found his lycanthropy hard to control at the best of times and in the presence of other wolves, the urge to release his inner beast and run with the pack was almost unbearable.

He knew he could waste no time in dispatching these new foes, if not for his own well being then certainly for the benefit of the young kobold who was likely to fair badly fighting off a pack of wolves single handedly.

The old man shuffled across the roof to get a better look at the rapidly developing melee below him. Surmising that his friend was unlikely to escape a mauling, he lifted his holy symbol and, as he had done to so many monsters over so many years of righteous anger, enveloped the nearest wolf in an Astral Seal, ready for his partner to slay the ever living shit out it in a minute.

Move to L22, Astral Seal on Wolf A.
+11 to hit vs reflex, requires a 6 to hit
Wolf A suffers -2 penalty to all defenses, if Ebony hits it before my next turn she regains 5hp

The ranger bravely (or is it foolishly, hard to tell) stands his ground as the wolves swoop in for the kill.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images//dire-wolf.pngSNARL!

Gray Wolf bite: +10 vs AC, 3 damage, 2d6+2 against prone targets
Dire Wolf bite: +10 vs AC, 1d8+4 damage, 2d8+4 against prone targets

The nearest wolf swoops around the ranger setting up a flank. Although its bite wasn't worse than its bark, the distraction afforded to its packmates knocks the young kobold flat on his back -- making him extremely vulnerable now.

Gray Wolf A hits vs. Ebony, inflicting 3 damage.
Gray Wolf C misses.
Gray Wolf D hits vs. Ebony, inflicting 3 damage. Due to combat advantage from flanking, Ebony is also knocked prone .
Dire Wolf hits vs. Ebony, inflicting [6 + 4 =] 10 damage.
Ebony takes [3 + 3 + 10 =] 16 damage and is prone.

Horrified at seeing his companion gradually ripped to shreds, Ivory rushes over to lend a hand. Deciding that his evil eye is not functioning today, the cleric opts for a less damaging at-will.

Gray Wolf A takes -2 penalty to all defenses for 1 round. Next person to hit it regains 4 HP.

Balancing on the roof is proving tougher than what the shifter anticipated. In fact, it is extremely possible that he might slip and fall should he fail a DC17 acrobatics check to remain balanced on his next turn.

:savepoint: Ebony (13), Gray Wolves (12), Dire Wolf (10), Ivory (4)

Old man Ivory pointed out a nice weak spot in one of the wolves. He better keep his balance though; I need that fucker alive to buy me beer and smokes.

Stand Up (is this a minor or a move?)
Marauder's Rush on Wolf A
If A is killed, shift to M24; else, shift to M25

Standing from prone is normally a move, but Pang has given you a feat which lets you do so as a minor action.

The wolf-killing ranger stands up and continues his rampage, stabbing poor hungry Wolf A to death before shifting right over its corpse.

Gray Wolf A killed.
Ebony regains 4 HP.

The remaining wolves close in to rip out more chunks of rare kobold steak, with the dire wolf taking the lead.

Gray wolves delay move.
Dire Wolf misses.
Gray Wolf C hits with combat advantage, inflicts 3 damage and knocks Ebony prone.
Gray Wolf D hits, inflicting [5 + 2 =] 7 damage.
Ebony takes a total of [3 + 7 =] 10 damage. Bloodied and prone.

Blood spurts from Ebony's wounds; the sight of blood whips the wolves into a frenzy. Today they dine on delicious kobold.

:savepoint: Ivory (4), Ebony (13), Dire Wolf (10), Gray Wolves (12)


Shin, when you enter or remain on the tight sloped area of the roof (squares J22:M22 and J13:M14 basically), make a DC 17 Acrobatics check to remain balanced. If you fail, you fall into unoccupied ground, take 1d10 damage, and are proned. If you pass, you don't have to take the check again until you move into another sloped area.

The little kobold was in trouble, seemingly unable to keep his feet in the face of the wolves' onslaught. Ivory was about to say a few kind words to help the little guy feel abit better but then thought better of it, choosing instead to hurl abuse at the big wolf, hoping to distract the beast long enough for his partner to scrabble out of harm's way.

Having not realised how precarious the roof was near the edges (Much like how he never realised how much a small puddle hampered his movement, the old man then stepped back on to the shallower gradient.

Destined Duel on Dire Wolf, Healing Word on Ebony, move to M21
+9 to hit vs reflex, requires an 8 to hit
Miss (For a change), Ebony can spend a healing surge and gain +1D6 (2) additional hps

I struggle again to my feet. Fuckin' dogs, I never liked them anyway. I kicked one of them while old man Ivory shouts on. He's probably telling them to get off his lawn or some shit.

Stand up again
Use healing surge for extra hps as directed by Ivory
Marauder's Rush against Wolf C
Shift over to N23

While Ivory continues to ineffectively glare at opponents, Ebony engages in the practice of gleefully dispatching poor innocent hungry wolves. Has there ever been a more heartless ranger?

With little other recourse, and having not actually noticed the old lycanthrope on the roof at all, the remaining wolves continue biting at the little ranger. In time, he should be able to regenerate his tail. Hopefully.

Ebony is healed by [2 + 5 + 11 =] 18 HP and receives [6 + 4 =] 10 damage and is knocked prone.

:savepoint: Ivory (4), Ebony (13), Gray Wolf (12), Dire Wolf (10)

After this morning's encounters, the old man decided it was definitely time to get his eyes checked. He had wandered the lands for decades, slaying creatures of evil wherever they reared their heads with little more than a sideways glance at yet here, today, he had been giving out some of his best ever nasty stares and nobody had paid the slightest bit of notice.

Maybe he was trying too hard he thought to himself, affecting a somewhat forced air of nonchalence, turning his back on the melee below him before shooting a quick glance over his shoulder at the remaining, smaller wolf.

Gaze of defiance at Wolf D
+9 vs Will, requires an 8 to hit

To the old man's surprise, the wolf caught him glancing at him, looked slightly unsure of himself then became disoriented, staggered around a bit then collapsed, dead. OK, so it wasn't the most convincing death by staring ever, certainly far short of the gib showers he'd experienced when he stared down an entire local chapter of the Night Queen's Angels, a halfing pony riding club from a town a short ride from Freeport who had been terrorizing local farmers back in the days when big city life had seemed so exciting and appealing to the lycanthrope, but the wolf was at least dead. Feeling a bit better about himself, the cleric cracked his knuckles, furrowed his brow and prepared to lend his support to his embattled colleague in finishing off their last enemy.

Wolf is hit (barely) and killed
Divine Fortune
Ivory recieves +1 to next attack roll or saving throw

My vision swims with blood. AIN'T MY BLOOD THO WHAT NOW
WHAT
WHAT
WHAT
WHAT
WH-oh that is my blood.

Second Wind
Shifty to O22
Move to P22
Action Point: Throw and Stab at big wolf
Free charge converted to Marauder's Rush on big wolf

The lycanthrope feels a tiny pang of regret as he stares the last remaining gray wolf to death. But still, with the lupines lurking about and nipping at the shin of his companion, it had to be done.

Meanwhile, Ebony merrily mauls the big wolf with his overpowered combo that is bound to lose its potency in due time.

Throw and Stab: 8 + 1 (divine fortune) + 10 = 19 = 19 HIT
Marauder's Rush: 4 + 1 (charging) + 1 (running attack) + 10 = 16 < 19 MISS.
Wolf takes [6 + 2 =] 8 damage.

The dire wolf gives a start as the ranger's handaxe penetrates his hide. During Ivory's successful attack, it caught a glance of the old wolfman hiding on the roof of his house. His scent was strangely familiar to the wolf, having been trained by longtooth shifters in its youth.

Completely ignoring the kobold, the dire wolf scratches at the wall of Ivory's hut, whining as it vainly tries to take a better sense of the cleric. Its first attempt was clumsy, inviting a stab from the merciless ranger. Undettered, it tries a second time to great success.

Climb check (Athletics 8 + 4 = 12 vs DC20) fails.
Wolf takes [6 + 6 =] 12 damage (sorry, rolled wrong sized die)
Second attempt (Athletics 8 + 19 = 27 vs DC20) succeeds.

The dire wolf reaches the roof and sets itself right next to Ivory, sniffing at him suspiciously.

Strictly speaking Ebony was prone and could not have shifted. A minor's needed to stand up. Since I've already rolled, may I request the invalidation of Second Wind, so we just assume you stood up instead? Thanks.

:savepoint: Ivory (4), Ebony (13), Dire Wolf (10)

The wolfman froze as the big wolf sat itself down next to him. Unable to back away due to the edge of the roof and not fancying a fist fight with such a big creature, he decided diplomacy might be the way forward. Despite his revulsion at the proximity of the creature and the blinding headache he was developing to go with his itchy teeth, he reached out gingerly and patted the beast on the head.

"Who's a good doggy then?"

Reaching slowly into his pack, he grabbed a bit of dried jerky from his stock of trail rations and handed it to the wolf.

Diplomacy check

I didn't know that wolves could jump on buildings. I.......... sheeit.

second wind again

I'm kind of winging this as there are no hard and fast rules. Be forewarned!

Ivory's Diplomacy check: 13 + 9 + 5 (offering food) = 27 vs Dire Wolf's Will 19 + 5 (damaged by an ally) = 24. SUCCESS!

The dire wolf greedily wolfs down Ivory's proffered food, regaining strength from nourishment. Giving the longtooth shifter a long lick, the wolf has decided that the old wolfman is not a threat. His little companion, however, has hurt it and killed its companions, and so remains a threat.

The wolf gives a high-pitched whine. Unfortunately, the jerky was not nearly enough to satiate the lupine - clearly more is needed if Ivory wishes to tame the beast. For his part, Ebony might have to find ways to make amends somehow, if old man Ivory decides to keep the wolf.

Dire wolf regains 16 HP. Still hungry.

:savepoint: Ivory (4), Ebony (13), Dire Wolf (10)


All options are open: continue fighting, send away the wolf, tame the wolf. Some of your skills are clearly inapplicable for taming purposes (for example religion, dungeoneering, thievery, stealth, and insight) for this purpose. Tell me what you want to do, and I'll try to match it to the most appropriate skill.

Despite his innate hatred of wolves, the old man reasoned that any ally was better than an enemy, especially the way his luck had been panning out today. The wolf was clearly distrustful of the little kobold who just a second ago had been chopping it up, which could cause a problem. Maybe if Ivory could patch up a few of those wounds, the wolf might be a little more friendly...

The cleric then decided that as he and Ebony had already eaten breakfast, it wouldn't hurt to let the wolf have some of that, although he gave a sharp gesture to the kobold to suggest he stays out of the way for the time being.

Er, healing word on the wolf? I've only used it once this encounter but I'm not sure it would work if the wolf has no healing surge things. If not, then use general healing skills to dress it's wounds. Then move towards roast pig, which we clearly never ate all of and let the wolf have a go on that

What in the hell, that wolf was trying to eat me and now Ivory wants to give him our breakfast? Fuckin' bullshit man.

"What the fuck Ivory, did you not see the part where he was trying to kill me? The fuck do you want a pet for!" I shout up at the roof. Fuckin' cocksucker does what he wants, be damned if I get a say in any of it. Wants a dog with the taste for kobold blood? fuckin' horseshit.

Despite the kobold's loud protests, Ivory is dead set on befriending the wolf. After all, he reflects, dire wolves often hunt in the wild with longtooth shifters, and are often called upon to serve as mounts.

Shin, he has only 1 healing surge. Do you want to use it now?

Deciding to offer more substantial food to his new wolf friend, Ivory gingerly makes his way from the roof. As he has kicked away the most immediate means of support, he has no choice but to carefully jump down. The 15-foot drop is not kind to Ivory's arthritic joints.

!!%#%$^%# wrong sized die again.
Ivory takes 1d10 [19 * 10/20 = 9.5 = 9] falling damage.

Ivory leads the dire wolf towards their now-cooling boar, eliciting loud protests from Ebony. The large animal gracefully bounds down to the roast, and starts eating with gusto. It is delicious!

:savepoint: Taming the Wolf Skill Challenge begins now! :savepoint:
Requires 5 successes before 3 failures.
Primary skills: Nature is the primary skill here. You can use Athletics and Acrobatics to physically overpower the wolf as well and show it who's boss.
Other skills: You're free to use other skills if you like, as long as you can make it sound reasonable. Success might improve your chances with primary checks. Depending on how you portray it, non-primary skill checks may count as successes, but only once.
Limitations: Until Ebony succeeds on a DC20 diplomacy check, he takes a -5 penalty to all checks.

The old man lowered himself off the edge of the roof, before dropping gracefully to the floor. Having patched up the wolf and fed it, he tried to remember what he knew about wolves like this in an attempt to bond with the beast.

Ivory shouldn't be trying to jump down from the roof. At his age, he'd probably break his hip or something. I try to help him best I can.

"Ey Ivory, bend your knees when you jump!"

Athletics aid to Ivory's roll

I winced as he probably didn't take my advice. I ain't exactly sure how to tell. Well, this whole situation here is fuckin bullshit but I reckon I ain't got no choice in the matter. Ivory always made the decisions for us, on account'a his being on the force longer an' shit. It's fuckin bullshit, but I guess I'll play nice.

I attempt to respect knucks the wolf.

Diplomacy check since I basically have to
Holy crap I was this close :mad:

The Kobold's attempts at pacifying the wolf didn't seem too effective, causing the beast to bare it's teeth and growl at the lizard. Ivory figured some discipline was in order and bopped the wolf on the nose.

Er, athletics?

Also, the old cleric said a brief prayer for the soul of the wolf, in order to calm it's spirit.

religion

I attempt to respect knucks the wolf with food

drop some food for the wolf, move away in case he tries to snap cause this is not a friendly dog

Despite Ebony's best advice, old man Ivory landed on the ground with a sickening thud. Oh well, at least lycanthropes regenerate fast.

Deciding to make the dire wolf his very own, the longtooth shifter bandaged up the animal's remaining wounds, taking advantage of his intimate knowledge about wolfen anatomy to apply gentle, but decisive restraining force to just the right spots.

Old habits die hard, and the old cleric finds himself saying a prayer to the beast's spirit. The wolf looks at him quizzically, head cocked in a questioning diagonal position. But the cleric appears to know what he's doing - the prayer has visibly calmed down the animal.

Religion check succeeds! The next two skill checks made in this challenge gain a +2 power bonus.

For his part, Ebony is extremely leery of befriending a creature that is over four times his size - and especially one that tried to eat him whole. Still, the mild-mannered and obedient ranger defers to his elder and gives a peace offering (consisting of select boar back ribs and the best beef jerky in his pack) to the dire wolf. Still, he keeps a safe distance, fearful of the wolf's intentions.

It sniffs at the food, looks at the kobold curiously, and lopes over to it. Without warning, the wolf opens his jaw, and starts licking the frozen-in-place Ebony. Apparently hungry dire wolves have poor memories.

Diplomacy check succeeds! -5 skill check penalty on checks to tame the wolf removed.
I still need a few more checks from either/both of you.

"Oh my god he wants to eat me," I think. I remember Kobold Scouts - well, I remember watching an episode of the Andy Griffin Show a few times and his boy was in scouts - and I'll be damned if they ain't had a show about this very thing! Course I switched the channel halfway through cause Ghetto Thugz was on...

Oh shit I know what to do. I mark my territory around the hut. Fuckin' try and stop me, you old gizzard*.

Nature Check

* Ebony doesn't know what a gizzard is.

The old man remembered a few things about how magic can make Dire Wolves more friendly...

arcana

then turned to the beast and asked it straight up "So are you coming with us or what?"

diplomacy

Ivory tries to recall any magical cantrips or hypnotic trick that might make dire wolves friendly, but he can't think of any. Dire wolves are deeply rooted in the natural world, and have far too little intelligence compared to its worg cousin, to fall for any such chicanery.

The wolf tilts its head as Ivory issues his ultimatum. It wags its tail enthusiastically, mouth lolling from its own mouth. It doesn't seem to understand Common. Perhaps something more physical might yield better results.

Scratch nuts, waiting to see if my nature check was successful

Additional Spam:
This wolf needs to know who's boss, and there's really only way to determine that.

I grab dick. Athletically.

:savepoint: Skill Challenge complete! :savepoint:

Difficulty Class 15.
Ivory's Heal check, with roll of 4 and skill of 14... PASS!
Ivory's Nature check, with roll of 8 and skill of 7... PASS!
Ivory's Athletics check, with roll of 15 and skill of 5... PASS!
Ebony's Nature check, with roll of 9, skill of 4, and power bonus of 2... PASS!
Ebony's Athletics check, with roll of 14, skill of 12, and power bonus of 2... PASS!
Final tally: 5 successes with 0 failures. I need to set a bigger DC next time:(

The kobold shows the wolf who's boss by marking his territory and fondling the dire wolf's his own genitals. It is super effective - Ivory and Ebony are now the proud owners of a genuine dire wolf mount ! Now, to give it a name (or not).

Because Ebony is not a beast ranger (and the wolf is not his animal companion), the wolf can only be controlled by either Ivory or Ebony when they are mounted on it.

You have ten minutes in in-game time to prepare for the next encounter. Again, you may position yourself wherever you want.

No homo. I grabbed my own dick. What DMs do with dogs in their own time, I ain't wanna know.

"Eh Ivory, 's your call dawg."

surge to full

The wolf appeared friendly enough, despite a trickle of blood still running down it's leg from where the Kobold had stabbed it. Ivory decided the creature needed a name and figured that the name his daughter had given to her pet terrier would suffice, so the beast was named "RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH". That his daughter had named her pet during a full moon was a bone of contention when it was time to call the mutt in for dinner.

The old man had ridden a few creatures in his time but being so close to a wolf was uncomfortable and he had a horrible feeling that his own animal side might make an appearance before the day was out. He tentatively climbed astride RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH, thinking that maybe they'd be better served picking up a battle chariot somewhere. They needed transport anyway since the Kobold had crashed their last one during a particularly reckless chase a month back. He had told his partner it was his turn to drive...

Sit on RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH, hope there's a chariot shop nearby

The first post in this thread will always be updated for player resources. Here's the latest update.

EBONY: HP 41/44 Surges: 3/7
ENCOUNTER: Action Point | Second Wind | Hurling Charge | Avenging Charge
DAILIES: Scything Blow | Wounded Beast
ITEM POWERS: Flesh-seeking Hand Axe | Shared-suffering Hide Armor
CONSUMABLES: 1x Healing Potion, 1x Alchemist’s Fire

IVORY: HP 29/40 Surges: 6/7
ENCOUNTER: Action Point | Second Wind | Healing Word (1) | Exacting Utterance | Destined Duel | Channel Divinity
DAILIES: Virtue's Touch (5) | Shield of the Gods | Return from Death's Door | Iron to Glass
ITEM POWERS: Symbol of Shared Healing | Swiftshot Crossbow
CONSUMABLES: 1x Healing Potion, 1x Tethercord

RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH: HP 41/44 Surges: 1/1
ENCOUNTER: Action Point | Second Wind

I will be traveling during this time and may not have Internet access for a few days. Stand by for Round 1-3, coming soon!

Ivory sits on the newly-christened RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH, contemplating the thought of acquiring a grand chariot for the wolf to pull. As it turns out, the old codger who lives a few kilometers away has been looking at letting go of his repurposed wagon.

For a fee, of course. Currently short on disposable funds, Ivory contemplates breaking into the nest egg he has accumulated for himself and the missus, which is locked tight in a chest bolted to the old shifter's hut. She probably wouldn't mind.

RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH nuzzles Ivory's hand, interrupting his reverie. He wouldn't have sensed it on his own, but the wolf is reacting to something. Then it hit him - the forest is entirely too quiet. Something has scared all the animals away, and it wasn't the wolf pack. What could it be?


Enemy stealth check beats all your passive perception scores, with RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH having the highest result. You have one action to use.

I sat there picking at my teeth, when I noticed the wolf sniffing at old man Ivory's hand. That bastard means to take a bite while Ivory ain't lookin', I fuckin' knew that thing couldn't be trusted! Just what's his game anyway?

Active perception check on the surroundings, please, not on the fucking wolf, that is just color text

The old man's senses, heightened through years of slaying things that often tried to hide from himhad, on this occasion seemingly dailed him. He wasn't having a good day at all what with having barely landed a blow and now being snuck up on. He edged his new mount away from the fire to see if what was coming was hiding round the corner, expecting that it was probably going to jump him no matter where he moved to.

Move to H10:I11

Ebony gazes around his immediate environment, straining to pick up any sign of activity. Everything seems to be in order.

Sensing trouble, the more paranoid Ivory leads his pet wolf north and take a peek around the cottage corner.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/bugbear%20strangler.pngWe've been spotted! Attack! Attack!
http://upload.jetsam.org/images/bugbear%20warrior.pngH-he's got a wolf!
http://upload.jetsam.org/images/bugbear%20strangler.pngQuick! Flank them! Makes 'em easier to hit!

One of the intruders rush up in front, and lets loose with a morningstar. It glances off harmlessly after impacting the old shifter's armor. The distraction was, however, fast enough for the band's apparent leader to run around and flank.

Ivory reacts too late to prevent the goblinoid's garrote from circling around his neck.

Ivory takes 11 HP damage and is immobilized.
Strangler grants combat advantage due to running.

Initiative: Ivory (18), Bugbear Warrior A (16), Ebony (5), Bugbear Warrior B (22), Bugbear Strangler (19)

Defenses:
Bugbear Warriors: AC 17, Fortitude 17, Reflex 15, Will 14
Bugbear Strangler: AC 21, Fortitude 18, Reflex 18, Will 16

Once again, a fight had started with the ranged attacker in the thick of things and the close combat guy away from the action. Planning had never been the pair's strong point.

Ivory quickly found himself surrounded. This might have been a problem, but for the fact he was sitting astride a massive wolf. The wolf backed away from his attackers, snapping at the one holding the Shifter by the neck.

Wolf attacks Bugbear Strangler (Does it have a choice of attacks or just plain attack?)

Wolf attempts to break hold, athletics check

Rrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwgghh snaps ineffectively at the Strangler, and its headbutt to loosen the creature's grip on his new master failed similarly.

The laggard warrior rushes forward to thump Ivory on the noggin, but misses by a mile due to his haste.

Bugbear Strangler and Warrior A are granting combat advantage due to running.

:savepoint: Ebony (5), Bugbear Warrior B (22), Bugbear Strangler (19), Ivory (18), Bugbear Warrior A (16)

I was thinkin' about da club, aight, got dem booties that go damn and shit, but then old man Ivory fuckin' interrupted my flow. Ain't he do nothin by himself?

Move to L12
Hunter's Quarry on B
Throw and Stab B
Free charge converted to Marauder's Rush: if B is dead, rush A; if not, rush B

The ever dutiful Ebony sees a friend and mentor in need of assistance, and immediately engages the most proximate foe. His fearsome attacks carve out substantial chunks of flesh from the bugbear.

Warrior B takes [ 6 + 2 + 5 + 8 + 5 = ] 26 HP damage.

The bugbear instinctively lashes out with his morningstar, while the strangler tightens his noose around the old shifter's throat.

Ivory takes [ 1 + 4 = ] 5 HP damage. Still immobilized.
Ebony takes [ 11 + 6 = ] 17 HP damage.

I will be delaying Warrior A's turn until after Ebony's move.

:savepoint: Ivory (18), Ebony (5), Bugbear Warrior A (16), Bugbear Warrior B (22), Bugbear Strangler (19)

Ivory couldn't disengage from the melee while the creature had it's noose round his neck. Once again he urged his new steed to break the hold which it did, with an angry bite to boot.

Wolf attempts to break hold again, athletics check. Wolf attacks warrior B

I've been daydreaming about beaches and beer and all kinds of debauchery. And... oddly, the mountains?

Whatevs.

SHifty to K12
Move to L12
Throw and STab B
Marauder's Rush at B if he's not dead; A if he is dead

Ebony continues carving chunks out of the hated bugbear warrior. Torrents of blood pour out of the wounds inflicted by the cunning ranger.

Unhappy at his brand new piercing holes, the warrior brings his morningstar crashing down on the kobold's skull. It's going to leave a mark.

The other warrior fruitlessly expends its encounter attack on the wily old man. He did, however, provide enough distraction for the strangler to again loop his garrote around the shifter's throat. And he pulled rather tightly.

Warrior B takes [ (2 + 4) + (1 + 2) + (1 + 8) + 4 = ] 16 HP damage. Bloodied by Marauder's Rush.
Ebony takes [ 8 + 6 = ] 14 HP damage.
Ivory takes [ 4 + 4 = ] 8 HP damage. Grabbed again.

:savepoint: Ivory (18), Ebony (5), Bugbear Warriors (16), Bugbear Strangler (19)

One again, the big wolf attempted to break the strangler's hold, before turning and snapping at the heavily injured warrior. Ivory was getting increasingly frustrated with not being able to use any of his powers but with the damned bugbear hanging off his neck he was unable to break away to safe range. :(

Wolf tries athletics to break hold, then attacks warrior B

B MUST DIE.

ONCE I'M NOT DYING.

shifty to K12
move to L12
Second Wind
Action Point: Throw and Stab at B if he's still standing; A if not
Free Charge converted to Marauder's Charge on B if he's still standing; A if not

Blood drips liberally as the heavily-injured ranger digs into his last reserves of energy. The kobold's savage ferocity tears the bugbear in half. He didn't even have a chance to scream.

Warrior B takes [ (4 + 4) + (5 + 3) + (2 + 9) + 2 = ] 21 HP damage and dies.

Frustrated at the wolf's superior strength always breaking his strangles, Ivory's tormentor circles the wolf to get into an advantageous position against the kobold. Alas, the manuever failed to gain any material advantage.

Strangler takes [ 7 + 4 = ] 11 HP damage from opportunity attack.
Both attacks against Ebony miss.

:savepoint: Ivory (18), Ebony (5), Bugbear Warrior (16), Bugbear Strangler (19)

With a bit of clear space around him and with nobody trying to strangle him for the time being, Ivory took the opportunity to hurl abuse at the blighter who'd been hanging off his neck, before nudging his wolf away from immediate danger. As the beast danced back, the old man said some rather kinder words to his companion to bolster his spirit.

Destined duel on Bugbear Strangler, Healing Word on Ebony, move north as far as possible

13 damage to Strangler, Ebony gets +2 to hit and +4 to damage Strangler. Ebony cans spend a healing surge and regain an extra 5hp.

If I didn't know better, I would've swore that old man Ivory just told me to straighten up and fly right. I don't even know what I'm doing wrong here, man...

You bet I'm burning that extra healing surge!
Shifty to I12
Marauder's Rush on Strangler

Destined Duel does 15 damage, actually.

Retreating far beyond the strangler's reach, Ivory lets loose a scathing remark that shocks the bugbear to his very core. The revelation was so shocking that the sniggering Ebony temporarily lost his focus and misses his attack by ever so little.

11 (to hit) + 6 (roll) + 2 (destined duel) + 1 (bonus from charging) = 20 < AC 21. Miss, sorry.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/bugbear%20strangler.pngNo! T-that's a bald-faced lie! And you, reptile! Stop that! I-I'll show you!

The retaliation was devastating, to say the least. The kobold finds himself unable to move, as the slightly coppery taste of his own blood wells up in his mouth.

Ebony takes [ (10 + 6) + (8 + 4) = ] 28 damage, and is bloodied again. Immobilized.

:savepoint: Ivory (18), Ebony (5), Bugbear Warrior (16), Bugbear Strangler (19)

The little Kobold was suffering badly at the hands of the Bugbears and tempting though it was to leave the little guy to his fate and sod off home to a happy retirement, Ivory didn't want to end his glittering career by leaving his partner to die, no matter how annoying his constant chattering was.

Giving another shout of encouragement to the little guy, Ivory steered the massive wolf back into the fray at full speed, smashing into the strangler in a flurry of teeth and claws.

Healing words on Ebony again, move to J11, bullrushing Strangler to knock it back and break hold

I'm stuck in a bad spot :(

Scootch over to I14
Let's Hunter's Quarry on A
Marauder's Rush on A

Ebony dances around the hapless warrior, designating it as his quarry. He needn't have bothered - the neophyte crumpled at the kobold's merest touch. What a shame.

Bugbear Warrior minion dies.

The strangler is now all alone, and without any allies to distract his opponents, will be unable to strangle anyone. He lets loose a parting shot at the pesky gigantic wolf that foiled all his strangleholds, hobbles away, and disappears out of sight after rounding the corner. The jingle of what appears to be a purse full of gold coins ring with every step that he takes, as he frantically tries to escape.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/bugbear%20strangler.png-- me enough for all this grief. Not when retirement's so close!

Critical hit! RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH takes 16 damage.
RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH's opportunity attacks inflict 6 damage.

:savepoint: Ivory (18), Ebony (5), Bugbear Strangler (19)

Not wishing to leave such a bastard running around loose, Ivory nudged his mount into a trot round the corner after the bugbear.

Spotting his quarry, he gave it an evil look!

Follow Bugbear but not directly round the corner so I don't end up in melee range. Do that shouty move I can't be arsed to look up the name of right now if I spot the Strangler

Rounding the corner, Ivory spots the fleeing Bugbear. The indignant shifter looses a withering glare that causes his quarry to wince.

12 damage to Strangler. Ebony gets +1 to attack rolls against it until end of Ivory's next turn.

:savepoint: Ebony (5), Bugbear Strangler (19), Ivory (18)

Your speed is 7 squares. So yes, you can!

Speedy little bastitch

I watch A crumple immediately, even though B took like ages to die. What gives? Who cares, that bastard is getting away! That giant wolf ain't no thang, he can't even kill that guy. I don't know why Ivory wants him around.

Move to N14
Mark Strangler
Throw and Stab Strangler
Free Charge converted to Marauder's Rush on Strangler
bring on the pain

Lurks, please post all questions in the discussion thread next time. Thanks.

Ebony launches his trademark combination at the fleeing strangler, briefly pondering why one warrior was squishier than the other. Concluding that he and Ivory ought to examine their opponents more carefully beforehand, the kobold resolves to inflicts major damage on his quarry.

Marauder's Rush: 11 + 6 (roll) + 1 (charging bonus) + 1 (gaze of defiance) + 1 (impending victory) + 1 (running attack) = 21. Blasted situational modifiers.
Bugbear takes ( [ 2 + 2 ] + [ 2 + 8 ] + 3 (Quarry) + 2 (Manticore's Fury) = ) 19 HP damage. Bloodied by Throw & Stab.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/bugbear%20strangler.png You! (wheeze) I-it wasn't personal! There was a bounty! G-get off my face!

Grabbing hold of the ranger, the strangler flings him like a rag doll towards the mounted shifter. As the kobold bullet impacts both Ivory and RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH, the strangler limps away, dripping blood all over the old shifter's front lawn.

Throw a ranger. Projectile (Ebony) takes 12 damage and bloodied and prone.
Ivory takes 6 damage and is bloodied, but makes the saving throw to remain mounted.
RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH takes 6 damage.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/bugbear%20strangler.png An old cleric and his pet. Easy pickings my arse. Hah!

:savepoint: Ivory (18), Ebony (5), Bugbear Strangler (19)

The old man saw little point in wasting much more effort on the bleeding beast and simply glared at him again, which made him feel better.

Gaze of Defiance again, second wind

Now, it could be because I just got chucked by the bugbear and I ain't thinkin' straight, but it sounded like he said somethin' about a bounty... wonder what old man Ivory thinks of that?

Also, I ain't gonna tell it to his face or nothin' but he reeks of Bengay. Ain't they got some spice or something what for old people? Damn, son.

Move to N20
Let's switch it up; Hurling Charge!
Free charge converted to Marauder's Rush
Shifty back to N23

Shaken but not stirred, the kobold presses the attack on its fleeing quarry. The strangler's eyes went limp as Ebony's shortsword pushes its way past his armor, and perforates several vital organs. The bugbear collapses to the ground with a loud thud ... and a jingle?

Bugbear takes ( [ 4 + 6 ] + [ 2 + 8 ] + 2 + 3 = ) 25 HP damage. And dies.
He had 25 HP left, heh.

VICTORY! Get the Flash Player to play this audio file:
Against all odds, Ebony and Ivory have survived three consecutive fights, and are still on their feet. Though it does seem the kobold is dangerously close to his last legs.

Why the sudden interest from both warforged and bugbear antagonists? And why is there a bounty on the pair? The cleric ponders these questions as his heart rate gradually returns to normal.

Five minutes rest. Reposition wherever you want, explore the rest of the map if you want to. The next battle will be the last battle for level 5, and in Ivory's hideout.

I ain't feelin' too great. Usually, them niggas ain't no thang, but today, man...

Surge back to full
Ebony ain't thinking too well. Whatever Ivory's strategy is, follow that.

The old man checked out the corpse in the hopes of finding out who was trying to kill him, mainly so he could go and kill them. Sure he was only a couple of days from retirement but it didn't pay to have people putting bouties on your head.

Move over to where Ebony is, search the bodies, heal up, get back on the wolf

Although being outside gave him more room to maneuver, the old man figured maybe being indoors would stop them getting ambushed again.

Go in the hut (If the wolf fits) back from the door and away from the walls, have Ebony inside at the doorway looking for trouble, ready to move back a bit for charging room at the first sign of danger, the plan being we funnel them in the doorway and Ebony can charge in and out with his combo whilst Ivory sits back and unleashes his dailies...

An examination of the bugbear warriors' corpses proved unprofitable. Other than the tattered hide rags they wore as armor, and a couple of morningstars that Ivory was very acquainted with, there was nothing else of interest.

The strangler was a different story. In addition to his bloodsoaked leather armor, a morningstar, and a harmless-looking rope garrote, he had a leather pouch bulging with jewels and gold. Around 2,400 GP worth, by his reckoning.

Ivory also found a piece of parchment - a bounty notice apparently. Large portions were obscured with blood and bugbear viscera. An imprint of a shiny mace on the upper-right side of document, but little else can be seen.

Wary of being ambushed, Ivory ushers both the kobold and wolf inside the hut. There isn't much in the way of furnishing - Ivory rarely stayed here for extended stretches of time. Ivory's well-made bed lies at the very end of the hut, while a recent trophy spear lies across Ebony's considerably messier bed.

Four windows, two on the north and two on the south, provide much-needed ventilation to the otherwise suffocating structure. A locked wooden chest containing various memorabilia and Ivory's life savings is the only other furniture in the room.

Ivory's new pet begins to whimper, apparently uncomfortable at such cramped quarters. But soon the whining stops, and the wolf's ears perk up. Silly wolf. Did it think the barely-audible rustling sound coming from the northeast was anything other than the wind blowing through trees? Evidently, RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH is claustrophobic and needs his space.

Special considerations: The wolf takes an additional -2 penalty for all attacks and checks while inside the room.
Window lovers take note: line of sight is pretty much in effect.

Not wishing to abandon their secure-ish spot, the pair sat and waited for something to move into view.

Ready Shielding Strike or whatever the daily shield power thingy I have is.

The old man also retrieved his spear which he had somehow completely forgotten was in his hut all this time.

The hard-pressed pair decide to play it safe and quiet, which is just as well. In short order, the rustling intensified, and is accompanied by the sound of more than a half-dozen thuds. Someone or something -- and a lot of them -- have trespassed on the old man's property.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images//hob...-commander.png Keep in tight formation, all of you! Those two can be -- well well well! What do we have here? Well boys, looks like ol' Gus had a go prior. Never send a bugbear to do a hobgoblin's job, I always say! 'Least they softened 'em up for us, and we don't have to share!

From his vantage point, Ebony catches a glimpse of the speaker. Apparently the hobgoblin commander. Behind him marches what appears to be an entire line of soldiers, although the kobold can only see one of them.

The hobgoblin troupe does not appear to have looked inside the hut, so intent are they on ogling the ill-fated bugbear corpses.

The group marches past Ivory's hut, while our heroes and their pet wolf cowered in fear. Ivory was very visible - no one with a functioning set of eyes would miss him - perched on a gigantic wolf as it is. Fortunately, none of the hobgoblins paid attention to the house contents... for now.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images//hob...-commander.pngWe're dealing with a very dangerous striker here. Has to either be a ranger or a rogue.
http://upload.jetsam.org/images//hobgoblin-archer.pngCouldn't it be the werewolf, sir?
http://upload.jetsam.org/images//hob...-commander.pngLook closely. See the pattern of the cuts here? It's clean, and short. Only possible with striking weapons like daggers and short swords. Not like the blunt force trauma or massive slashing a defender's sword would inflict.

The commander continues to lecture his troops about proper tactics and the perils of being caught in the open if you're a ranged combatant. All the while, the pair waited patiently with baited breath, using the opportunity to study their foes. There are eight hobgoblins in total: the commander, five warriors, and two archers.

On and on droned the commander - so long was the lecture that each of the five hobgoblin warriors seem to have nodded off awhile - one after the other - and drop their longswords with a thud. Evidently a schoolteacher in a previous life, the commander paid no heed to the slacking miscreants. Finally, the he winds down, reminding the two archers to always surround themselves with "meat shields".

http://upload.jetsam.org/images//hobgoblin-warrior.pngLooks like they ain't home, commander!
http://upload.jetsam.org/images//hob...-commander.pngOh, they're here all right. We've seen to that with the boar and the wolves we herded here. Between the royal stable guard and Gus' fuck-up, I'd say they're exhausted and ready to drop. Besides...
http://upload.jetsam.org/images//hob...-commander.pngThis bugbear was killed no more than half an hour ago. We'll do a methodical search for them as a group. Let's start with the front yard. Stay sharp if you want to live!

And with that, the hobgoblins prepare to move on.

Realising they were unlikely to remain undiscovered for very long once the gobbos started a thorough search, the old man readied himself for a surprise attack, thinking to destroy the big fella's sword before he could start hitting people with it.

Ready Iron to Glass to use on Commander when he walks past the window so as to incur no penalties to hit and still count as a surprise attack

The hobgoblin commander was chuckling in his mind. He knew where their quarry were. Did they somehow think they've eluded suspicion, hiding in plain view of the window without even crouching down? He caught the cleric with his peripheral vision the moment he walked past.

It was all he could do to distract his men from prematurely attacking. Oh, Ivory and Ebony were most likely grievously injured, but why take chances? After all, a cornered creature with nothing else to lose is when it's most dangerous.

Under pretense of a lecture, he had all five warriors climb up the roof, hoping his droning voice would mask the noise they'd make. On a pre-arranged signal, he'd flank the pair from two sides. it would be painful for him, but nothing he couldn't handle.

Of course, the best-laid plans of men and hobgoblins go often askew. Just as he walked past a window, the old cleric sends an enfeebling beam at his spear. Although the beam misses, the ricochet impacts the spearhead, and rust quickly forms. At the same time, a hand-axe sails out in the window, fortunately deflected by his shield. Too bad for him, his shield arm wasn't fast enough to parry a charging kobold.

The commander's startled yelp was taken by his men as a signal to attack. The warriors smash at Ivory's roof, sending shrapnel flying everywhere before dropping down into the house. The kobold was too slow to dodge the projectiles, and suffered further damage.

Hobgoblin Commander takes ( [ 2 + 8 ] + 2 = ) 12 damage.
Ebony takes 6 damage. For purposes of daily power triggers, you were bloodied by all the warriors.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images//hob...-commander.pngWell played, my friends. But you are outnumbered. Surrender, and we won't hurt you too badly.

Both archers take up positions adjacent to their leader, longbows drawn to the fore.

Archers ready action: Longbow vs. nearest enemy that attacks a hobgoblin.

:savepoint: Ebony (24), Ivory (15), Hobgoblin Commander (11), Hobgoblin Grunts (9), Hobgoblin Archers (26)

Defenses:
Archers: Armor Class 17, Fortitude 13, Reflex 15, Will 13
Commander: Armor Class 21*, Fortitude 21, Reflex 18, Will 19
Grunts: Armor Class 17*, Fortitude 15, Reflex 13, Will 12

* bonus +2 to AC when a hobgoblin ally is adjacent.


Terrain Considerations: All melee and ranged attacks through windows take -2 penalty.

As the creatures defiled his hut, the old man's eyes started glowing and he rocked back and forth with anger. "GET OUT OF MY GOD DAMN HUT YOU SLIMY FUCKS" he yelled at the intruders, the very force of his anger tossing the intruders about and causing no end of discomfort.

Sure they could have talked about it but it was always going to end in a fight anyway.

Shield of the Gods, bonus to lurker

In a remarkable fit of high rolling I make that 11 damage to everything except the commander plus they're all knocked prone, commannder takes 6 damage and Ebony gets +3 AC and Reflex.

How'd you like them apples eh?

I was carefully weighing my options when the shit hit the fan. I knew nobody ever got nothin' from thinking before actin'. I immediately react against the commander, dodging the arrows that surely were aimed at my bro Ivory for that fantastic display of old man rage, and then make with the pain on some random faggot.

Immediate Reaction: Wounded Beast on commander
do not spend healing surge
delay move until Shin's fury
then: Throw and Stab at, say, D
free charged turned into Marauder's Rush on B (I think I can do it at that range)
Shifty to the left one square
Move to K21

Incensed with the distraction of his roof, Ivory glared at the hobgoblin trespassers. Naughty grunts like these must be punished.

Sensing he was not about two surrender, the archers let loose their readied arrow. At the same time, Ebony flails about like a wounded beast, and jabs at the commander through the window.

Critical hit! Commander takes [ ( 3 * 6 ) + 6 + 6 = ] 30 HP damage. Bloodied. (This damage assumes Commander is Ebony's quarry)
Ivory takes [ ( 7 + 4 ) + ( 4 + 4 ) = ] 19 HP damage. Bloodied.

The arrows now sprouting from his arm only served to further fuel the old shifter's rage.

HAOH GADOUKEN!!!

The force of the blast catapults two unlucky hobgoblins off their feet, and their heads impacted the roof with a sickening crunch. Gravity soon reasserts its pull, and the pair slump into the ground, dead.

Awed by Ivory's awesome badass grandpa display, Ebony completely fumbles his attacks, and limps out after the fleeing wolf and its master.

His "ambush" starting to fall into pieces, the commander quickly realigns his forces.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images//hob...-commander.pngTake him down, boys. Before his cleric partner is out of range! Pincer formation, I'll head him off at the door!

hurrying double-time towards the door left open by the fleeing cleric, the commander intercepts Ebony. From the rear, the grunts attack with their long swords. Miraculously, the ranger is still standing.

Tactical Deployment: All allies in close burst 5 shift 3 squares to the right.
Commander uses a double-move to get to the door.
Ebony takes 5 damage. HP down to 8.

Unable to get a bead on the little kobold, both archers continue west and unleash a barrage at Ivory's steed.

RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH takes ( 2 + 4 = ) 6 damage.

:savepoint: Ivory (15), Ebony (24), Hobgoblin Commander (11), Hobgoblin Grunts (9), Hobgoblin Archers (26)


Note: I misread the Tactical Deployment power. Only allies shift; the commander does not. Please disregard his attack roll. I also belatedly realized that you cannot perform any action after a charge unless you spend an action point (so no shifty and move). Since Throw and Stab gets changed into a move instead of a charge next level, we'll overlook it this once.

As the arrow sinks into his shoulder, the cleric found his concentration slipping. Maybe it was the proximity to the massive wolf or maybe it was the onset of the full moon but he felt the itching under his skin worse than ever.

Usually he would have fought the urge but with his companion looking the worse for wear, there seemed little option. The old man's skin seemed to ripple and stretch as the transformation took hold of him and a few moments later, any wolf enthusiast who liked wolves would have seen a wolf on a wolf so they could something something.

He gave an evil look at one of the archers then charged towards them to stop them shooting at him.

Longtooth shifting, Gaze of Defiance at Archer A, move to stand next to both archers (L24:M25), taking a route that doesn't involve going next to the commander.

WHO EVEN KNOWS

drops grenade on L21
Action Point Marauder's Rush (presuming I can do this in close quarters) on B
Shifty to J20
Move to L17

The little kobold, beaten within an inch of his life, looks around with a detached sardonic despair. He's surrounded, and there's no way for him to survive unmolested. But if he's going down, he's going to fuck up as many of these stinky homos as he possibly can. With a calm and smooth motion, he plunges it deep into the Commander's guts. And with his free hand, he takes out his flask of Alchemist's Fire - a birthday gift from the shifter - and drops it.

The falling flask shatters into a ferocious fireball which envelopes the area surrounding the kobold. When the flame clears, not a single creature is left standing.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images//hob...-commander.pngGgggg.....

Commander takes ( 8 + 4 + 6 = ) 18 damage from Marauder's Rush.
Alchemist's Fire hits everyone for 9 damage.
Commander killed. Grunts killed. Ebony swoons but makes his death saving throw.

To the credit their deceased Commander's training, the archers did not attempt to flee. But it was evident the deaths of their party members shook them hard, as both arrows loosed against the wolfman missed their mark.

:savepoint: Ivory (15), Ebony (24), Hobgoblin Archers (26)

Seeing his companion make yet another insanely suicidal move illiceted little more than a shrug of over-familiar disappointment from the wolfman. It was only a month ago that the little kobold's attempt to talk down a dragonborn about to commit suicide from the roof of the temple of Kord in town had ended in the pair of them jumping off, only to land safely on the roof of a fortuitiously passing wagon.

The little guy was down but not out and the old man thought it his duty to finish this battle and save his friend.

He hurled a scathing challenge at the nearest archer, before charging his wolf towards them once more.

Destined Dual on archer A, shift one square south east

So intent was old man Ivory in slaughtering hobgoblins, so focused was he on grinding them to a fine paste before Ebony wakes up on his own, that the cleric fumbles his attack and inconveniently forgets that a well-targeted Healing Word would be sufficient to wake up Sleeping Beauty Ebony.

The archers gamely continue their mission, although deep in their minds they know it is a foregone conclusion. One of them gets marginally lucky, and lands a single arrow on the wolfman's arm.

Meanwhile, blood is beginning to pool in the unconscious kobold's throat, threatening to cut off circulation to his reptilian brain.

Ivory is damaged for ( 1 + 4 = ) 5 HP but regenerates 2.
Ebony has failed 1 out of 3 death saving throws.

:savepoint: Ivory (15), Ebony (24), Hobgoblin Archers (26)

Hearing the little lizard choking on his own blood, the wolfman snarled at him to pull himself together and wake up. Returning his attetion to the fleeing archers, he informed the closest one of exactly what his friend was going to do to him just as soon as he woke up. Feeling particularly energetic, the old man attempted to seal up the enemy's aura while he was at it.

Healing word on Ebony, Exacting Utterance on Archer A, action point, Astral Seal on Archer A, move to melee range on both archers.

Exacting Utterance Hit! Archer A has +5 vulnerability to all damage until the end of my next turn and any ally who attacks it gains 5 temporary hp

I think Astral Seal hit too, meaning Archer A also has -2 on all defences and next ally to hit it gains an extra 5hp

It was... beautiful. 72 bitches leading me down a tunnel towards a brilliant light...

that old faggot always ruins my best dreams

stumble back to my feet
move to L22
chuck a Throw and Stab over at Archer A
Marauder's Rush at A

The kobold regains consciousness in a fit of coughing, death reverie still buzzing in his head. He charges the archer with devastating results.

Ebony regains ( 11 + 5 + 5 =) 21 HP from Healing Word, 9 Temp HP from Astral Seal, and ( 5 + 5 =) 10 Temp HP from Exacting Utterance.
Archer A takes ( [4 + 2] + 5 + 1 =) 12 damage from Throw and Stab, and is bloodied.
Archer A takes ( [1 + 8] + 5 + 1 =) 15 damage from Marauder's Rush, and is killed.

The last remaining archer shrugs helplessly as his comrade keels into ground. It is not the hobgoblin way to flee in the face of death, and he will fight the good fight. His unit's sacrifice will not be in vain, he thinks, as he takes out a lightning arrow and shoots it into the sky. The arrow's blue and white streak crackles with electricity, momentarily lighting up the morning sky in a brilliant flash. The others will have no problem finding this place now.

Glaring defiantly at the massive wolf and its master, the archer muttered:

http://upload.jetsam.org/images//hobgoblin-archer.pngHobgoblins fight with honor. Bring it.

:savepoint: Ivory (15), Ebony (24), Hobgoblin Archer (26)


See how effective you are when you fight as a team?

His buddy back up and fighting, the werewolf shot a look of pure contempt at the hobgoblin, before steering his steed round behind it for hilarious flanking fun.

Gaze of defiance at archer, move the long way round to get behind (R21:Q22) archer without triggering an AoO

Hit! 11 damage, Lurks gets +1 to hit hobgoblin as a result

http://i.bnet.com/blogs/finish-him.gif

Move to N-23
Quarry on B
Throw and Stab on B
Marauder's Rush on B
if he's still alive, Action Point
Scything Blow on B: shift to Q-24 to take advantage of the flank

Reinvigorated and finally starting to mesh well on the battlefield, our heroes continue heaping abuse on the hapless archer.

Throw and Stab does ( 2 + 2 + 2 = ) 6 damage.
Marauder's Rush does ( 6 + 8 + 2 = ) 16 damage.
Hunter's Quarry does 6 damage.
Hobgoblin Archers have a total of 39 HP. Damn.

The hobgoblin collapses into the ground, mouth gurgling with blood from the kobold's attacks. He raises his arm to the sky, and his mouth moves as if to croak his dying words. Alas, too much blood has been lost, and the arm falls limp onto the acid-strewn grave of the warforged soldiers.

Ivory and Ebony are triumphant!

But surely, someone must have seen the archer's makeshift flare by now. With his hidden refuge exposed, the pair has no choice but to vacate the premises - the kobold is in no condition to weather another fight.

Hastily opening the chest in his now-roofless hut, Ivory takes out his life savings of 3,000 GP, while Ebony scavenged 340 gold pieces from the fallen hobgoblin commander. Casting a last wistful look at his home away from home, Ivory, with Ebony beside him riding the dire wolf, hop over the fence and gallop off into the forest.

Level Up!

Both of you have a feat and a power choice to make. You may choose to retrain one feat, power, or skill. All your expended dailies and healing surges are now restored.

I give you the option to level up the wolf to Level 6. The cost for this is two healing surges total, distribution up to you. Benefits are, all defenses and to-hit bonuses increase by 1, and HP increases to 76.

Lurker, the errata to Throw and Stab

http://upload.jetsam.org/images//Throw%20and%20Stab.jpg

will now take effect. It no longer gives you a free charge - instead, you may move wherever you like, and then make a basic melee attack (this means no more Marauder's Rush chaining). Furthermore, you can't Throw and Stab the same enemy.

Shin, please choose a deity to worship for Ivory.

Ivory is carrying ( 5 + 2,400 + 3,000 = ) 5,405 GP. Ebony is carrying 340 GP. Spend it on anything you want. Here's a list of items and their prices: Codex of Magic Items

Staying out of site, while perched on a gigantic wolf and all the while nursing an exhausted kobold, was more difficult than Ivory imagined. Still, it could have been worse. Their escape was made in the nick of time - only a few minutes after RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH leaps the fence, hordes of warforged Royal Guard descended on the building. Undoubtedly they won't be too pleased about the disposal of Epsilon Squad like garbage, but no trace of the pair remain.

Fourteen hours onward, the kobold managed to recover somewhat, even managing to devise a new technique to use on the battlefield. Still, night was falling, and the dire wolf was getting tired. It was a cold night - they would need to find some sort of shelter soon.

RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH soars through the air in a graceful bound, and then landed in a clearing. Too tired to remain paranoid, Ivory and company followed the path until stumbling on a lighted hut. Daring to knock on the door to beg for food and shelder, Ivory's summons was responded to by the strangest old hermit he's ever seen.

There was nothing remarkable about the frail man himself, with a crooked back and puttering about with a walking stick. No, Ivory's eyes felt drawn to the seven luminescent canaries perched on his back. The well-trained birds provide the only source of illumination for the hut.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images//old...e-canaries.pngHoo hoo hoo, visitors? At this time of night? And this forsaken place?

Ivory quickly explained their predicament. How they were framed, and came under a mysterious bounty that had two different sets of goblins running after them. The old man studies the bounty poster with interest, although he does not appear to recognize the seal either.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images//old...e-canaries.pngOutlaws, eh? Well, you don't look like the criminal type to me. In fact, you look like a decent fellow to me, wolfish looks aside. Why don't you stay the night?

Upon noticing Ivory's jangling purse, the old man's lips come together in a broad smile, and shows the cleric a scarred mark which he recognizes as the Dragonmark of Making.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images//old...e-canaries.pngI have some reagents lying around which we could surely use to synthesize any enchanted item of your choice. It'll cost you, of course - I can't give them away for free (I need to eat). But I can have them ready tomorrow.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images//old...e-canaries.pngOh yes. This part of the forest is infested with trolls, hoo hoo hoo. You might want to bring along some fire or acid alchemical items just in case.

The old man was loathe to part with his retirement fund but reasoned that the money would be no good to him if he was dead. Trading in his spear, armour and holy symbol, he forked over enough cash to persuade the hermit to magic him up some Dwarven Finemail, a Belt of Vigour and a Hearth of Boldrei. He had been at most a notional follower of his chosen god for years, seeing it more as a lifestyle choice rather than a true religious calling but after the day they'd just had, he'd take any advantage he could and being an ordained priest he felt his god might favour him a shade if he was carrying the proper adornments. Mindful of the hermit's warning of trolls in the area, he also bought two flasks of Dragonfire tar and a clockwork bomb.

Just outside the hut the old wolf spotted a small cart. It was hardly a proper battle chariot but the yolk looked the perfect size for RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH and he reasoned that with the two of them moutned up, any escape plan would be much easier to implement. He gave the hermit a few coins for the cart and set about fashioning some suitable reins. If only he were a better craftsman he'd have added some big blades to the wheels but it'd do for the time being.

"Before you get any funny ideas, youngling" he growled at the Kobold "I'm driving".

With that he tossed the remainder of his money to his partner, assuming that the lure of new, shiny ways to impale people would appeal to the impetuous youth.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images//old...e-canaries.pngAhh, you want something of Boldrei's. Interesting choice, that. Good fr'old ladies and homebodies. Not that it's wrong of course!

Watching Ivory turn over a whopping amount of gold to his understudy, he turns to the little kobold.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images//old...e-canaries.pngHow about you, my boy? Would you like to buy anything with your (don't tell me, I'll guess) - your 8,395 gold? Can I suggest a necklace, something for your head, maybe an arm band? And a half-dozen flasks of Alchemist's Acid (or Fire, s'the same)? Buy 5 flasks, get 1 free!


Shin, here's Ivory's shiny new character builder file.

The old man stood with his hands on his hips, waiting patiently for his buddy to finish his shopping...

"Don't rush me, bro! I'm shoppin' over here."

I settle for some sweet Armbands of Power, a bitchin' sweet Horned Helm and some bloody Gauntlets. I get the brief feeling that a power higher than me is not happy with this, but fuck yeah kicking a man while he's down.

I reckon we can get some more grenades and some bad breath potions an' shit, too.

Warming to the idea of riding around on a chariot, blowing things up, the old shifter bought four Elixirs of Dragonbreath, four (Lvl 10) Acidic Fires, four (Lvl 9) Blastpatches, four (Lvl 9) Clockwork bombs and two (Lvl 8) Dragonfire Tars. He grabbed two Caustic Whetstones in case of troll attacks and finally a set of Horseshoes of Speed for the big wolf, which looked quite fetching held on by string. He tossed half the grenades and stuff to his young companion.

If they weren't ready for any eventuality now, they really never would be. Thanking the weird hermit for his help, the old man slumped in the corner and fell asleep.

Hoo hoo hoo. That's quite an arsenal, young man. Are you really a worshipper of Boldrei? She would not look so kindly if you start burning down the forest!

Well, I'll have those items ready by tomorrow. So don't you worry, just rest up nice and easy!

And so it was that Ebony and Ivory laid themselves to rest, snuggling next to the quite-docile dire wolf. The old man went into a flurry of activity, intoning arcane things such as "Ipso facto, meeny moe...MAGIC-O!" well into the night.

_____


Ivory suddenly awakens with a start. This was not the familiar bed he was expecting. Where was he?

The previous day's events came flooding back into his mind. So it wasn't a nightmare after all, the shifter bitterly recalls. But... but where was the old man... his house... and most of their money?

Ivory cursed himself at length for his naivete - his retirement savings... gone!

It took Ebony ten minutes to calm the old shifter down. Undoubtedly, it was helped by the former's discovery of everything the pair has ordered from the old man with the canaries were neatly stacked out on a roofless wagon hitched to the wolf. They haven't broken the bank either, as the old man feared - the kobold still has 545 gold pieces remaining in his pack.

_____


Determined to put as much space between himself and their pursuers, Ivory hurries everyone through breakfast. Finally ready to depart, the pair set off at a fairly rapid clip deeper into the forest.

A few hours in, the skies suddenly darken... with birds. The noise is palpable as a flock of ravens descend from the sky. They are under attack!

The ravens swoop down upon the hapless wolf, swirling around like miniature dervishes.

5 damage to Dire Wolf. It is blinded until the end of the ravens' next turn.

DEFENSES
Unkindness of Ravens: AC 21, Fort 14, Ref 19, Will 17
Halfling Prowler: AC 18, Fort 14, Ref 17, Will 15

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS

1. HOUSE RULE: Being on higher ground (but not when flying) gives combat advantage.
2. The "2" on the raven token means that the ravens are floating 2 squares above the ground, that is, ten feet in the air.
3. Squares containing a piece of the wagon are considered "Difficult terrain". If you occupy the square, you are "squeezing".
4. The ravens block line of sight. This means they count as obstacles when making ranged attacks (usually a -2 penalty).

:savepoint: Ebony (23), Halfling Prowler (16), Ivory (12), Unkindness of Ravens (26)

My eyes widen as the wolf gets attacked.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_i7IqN0dMk7...oathing004.jpg

"We can't stop here!"

Hop out of the chariot, which seems like a good idea...
haul ass to Q12
Throw and Stab on that halfling hiding in the bushes
Normal charge on that halfling too

Instead of taking care of the more immediate threat, Ebony hops out from the relative safety of his wagon. He launches into his signature Throw and Stab.

But... but... the halfling was safely hidden up a tree!

And yet, the kobold's aim was so good, his flesh-seeking hand ax cuts through the tree's superior cover. But the impact obviously slowed the ax such that it merely glances off the halfling's leather armor. It'll bruise, but that's just about it.

Pivoting back, the kobold moves toward the ravens and stab at a few birds with his blade. The kobold was just tall enough to reach the birds with his sword, and a few of the birds promptly drop into the ground dead.

Prowler hit for 3 HP damage. Ravens hit for 8 HP damage (half damage from melee).
Remember, Throw and Stab + Melee Basic Attack can't be used against the same target anymore.

That barely tickled, chuckled the prowler. The cute li'l ranger is obviously no threat to him, despite dropping a few of his pets. No, the more dangerous of the two has to be that wolfman cleric. After all, the bounty called for Ivory first. The old man looks to be out of range for his hand crossbow, but he'd try a far shot first before whistling for his ravens to peck the shifter to unconsciousness!

The shot was perfect! Yes sir, today was going to be most profitable.

Critical hit! Ivory takes 1d6+4 (10) HP damage.
Secondary attack hits! Ivory takes ongoing 3 poison damage at the beginning of every turn and is slowed (save ends both).

:savepoint: Ivory (12), Unkindness of Ravens (26), Ebony (23), Halfling Prowler (16)

Wanting to close the gap to the tree-bound halfling before killing the little wretch, Ivory steered his blind wolf towards the trees with a sharp tug on the reins. Knowing full well how futile using normal weapons on a swarm was, the old man grabbed an elixir of Dragonbreath from his pack and knocked it back, ready to toast the birds out of the sky.

Wolf moves south as far as possible whilst keeping me within three squares of ravens. Draw elixir of Dragonbreath. Drink elixir of Dragonbreath. Spend Action Point. Fire breath on Ravens

Ivory tries his best to steer his wolf towards the trees, stopping him only to prevent the wagon from crushing Ebony to fine paste.

Unfortunately, with the animal blinded, the path it took was far less than optimal than Ivory would have preferred. The wolf endures ferocious scratching from the ravens, with its master enduring the same ordeal upon entering the ravens' space.

Deciding to down a flask of firewater, the (very liberal) cleric belches fire at the ravens. They flinch, but are otherwise unaffected.

5 damage to Wolf due to Claws and Beaks (Aura 1) at the beginning of its (Ivory's) turn.
5 more damage to Wolf due to Opportunity Attack. It is blinded until the end of the Ravens' next turn.
Ivory is currently blinded and takes 3 poison damage. Cured from poison and slow.
Ravens delay until after Ebony.


:savepoint: Ebony (23), Unkindness of Ravens (26), Halfling Prowler (16), Ivory (12)

Well, that's rotten luck. I wonder if normal attacks will hurt against them, though...?

Have I marked my quarry yet? If not, mark halfling
Throw and Stab at unkindness
Charge at halfling, running up the fucking tree if necessary I don't give a fuck

Lightly scratched by beaks and claws, Ebony launches into his trademark move yet again. Arching his arm back to throw his weapon into the flock, he gets a faceful of claws for the trouble. The little guy is temporarily blinded, but his hand axe finds its mark.

Ebony takes 5 damage from Aura.
Throw and Stab being a ranged attack, Opportunity Attack vs. Ebony. 5 damage, and blinded until end of ravens' next turn.
Critical Hit! Throw and Stab deals (1d6+2+5)/2 = 7 damage to the ravens.

Pivoting on his heel, the ranger designates the prowler as his quarry, and moves his speed directly towards the hiding halfling. Unfortunately, he is out of range, as the prowler is 15 feet up a tree -- and 35 feet away from the kobold.

Climbing trees is possible with Acrobatics. However, you climb at half your speed. So even when running, you are unable to reach him.

Cute as it is, the little kobold ranger is getting too close for the prowler's liking. Signaling his ravens, the prowler instructs them to ground level, while he takes potshots at blinded reptiles too big for their britches. Unable to see to dodge well enough, Ebony gets hit squarely in the chest.

Ivory hit by Unkind Attack: 5 damage and blinded until end of Ravens' next turn.
Ebony hit by Hand Crossbow: 10 damage, and 3 ongoing poison/slowed until save ends both.


:savepoint: Ivory (12), Ebony (23), Unkindness of Ravens (26), Halfling Prowler (16)

The old man laid his hands on his eyes, curing the blindness with a thought before once again belching a gout of flame over the ravens.

Virtue's touch on self to cure blindness, shift north back up the wagon, firebreath on ravens.

http://pds20.egloos.com/pds/201007/1...afc0dd5f9a.jpg

Immediate reaction: shared suffering hide armor on the annoying midget
Then, on my turn:
Climb up the tree
Since I'm blinded, I can't really attack that prick too well, but surely I can grapple him and push him out of the tree?

watch Zerg insist that he's open to creative thinking outside of the box, but so unfortunately the prowler just so happens to have tied himself to the tree and so u loos lurks :(

Ivory's Paladin training came in handy as he automatically cures himself of blindness. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to improve his aim at all. His Breath of Fire shoots straight up into the air, completely missing the swarm. Clearly, there has to be a trick to it!

Ivory takes 5 aura damage, but is no longer blind.
Wolf takes 5 aura damage.
Fire breath misses again.

Gathering his wits about him, the slowed kobold combines a move and a charge to climb up the tree. He culminates his assault by roughly shoving the prowler out of his perch. The halfling tumbles out of the tree, and lands on the ground with a thud, but miraculously lands on his feet without injury.

Ebony takes 3 poison damage.
His Bull Rush pushes Halfling Prowler out of the tree.
Halfling Prowler would have taken 6 falling damage, but absorbs twenty feet of falling damage thanks to Catfall trait.
Ebony fails to save against slow and poison.

The ravens mercilessly pursue the cleric, merrily clawing and scratching away - drawing blood in the process.

Impressed with the reptile's audacious move, the prowler attempts to replicate what he just did. After all, it was an excellent hiding spot to ambush unwitting victims. Plus, what's sauce for the kobold is sauce for a halfling, right?

Alas, the kobold wasn't as movable as he was. The two small creatures stare at each other for a few seconds. Deciding that switching to melee combat is more prudent, the prowler stashes his hand crossbow and pulls out a short sword from his pack.

Ivory takes 7 damage and is blinded till the end of the ravens' next turn. Bloodied.
Ebony and Wolf are no longer blind.
Halfling takes 3 damage.
Halfling successfully climbs the tree, but fails to dislodge Ebony.
Halfling successfully saves from ongoing damage.


:savepoint: Ivory (12), Ebony (23), Unkindness of Ravens (26), Halfling Prowler (16)

With the wolf's eyesight restored, it lurched forward towards the halfling, carrying the cart and his master away from the ravens before lunging at the Prowler. The old shifter in the back muttered something about annoying birds under his breath. Nobody heard what he said but it seemed to make him feel better.

Move south five square, wolf bites halfling, Healing Word on self

Completely disregarding his own safety, Ivory instructs the wolf to head due south. The shifter gets a faceful of beaks and claws as the wagon lurches through the swarm.

5 Aura damage to Ivory.
Opportunity Attack against Ivory (+9 vs Reflex) deals 4+3=7 damage. Blinded until end of Ravens' next turn.
Ivory recovers 12+5+3=20 HP from Healing Word. Not bloodied anymore.

The wolf springs towards the halfling, but misses. Its attack is sufficient to send the branches swaying precariously, knocking both the prowler and Ebony to the ground. The prowler's cat-like agility saves him from injury, while the kobold mitigates his fall with an incredible display of gymnastics.

Ebony takes 9 - ( [19+8]/2 ) = no damage from the fall, and doesn't fall prone.
3 poison damage to Ebony as he begins his turn. Still slowed/poisoned.


:savepoint: Ebony (23), Unkindness of Ravens (26), Halfling Prowler (16), Ivory (12)

Hay lurks
**Hidden Content**

That last fall must've hit me hard (even though I landed on my feet); I swear I could hear a voice! Now, although I ain't much like being told what to do, he did have a point. So I's try it.

Shifty back one square
Move back one square
Hurling Charge at the midget
Basic charge converted to Marauder's Rush

The kobold listens to an imaginary voice, and uses his Hurling Charge attack for the very first time ever.

Hurling Charge does 2+6+2=10 damage.
Marauder's Rush does 1+10+1+2=14 damage. Prowler bloodied.
Ebony still slowed and poisoned.

Not so harmless after all, the halfling realizes belatedly as he bleeds like a stuck pig. Bringing up his short sword, he winds back for a retaliatory stab, while his ravens pursue and peck the rotter's partner. The kobold can dish it out, but can he take it?

Unkind Attack: 3+3=6 damage to Ivory. Bloodied; blinded UEONT.
Short Sword: 4+4=8 damage to Ebony. Bloodied.
Being hit comes with a secondary attack, but why bother? Ebony still slowed and poisoned :tpg:


:savepoint: Ivory (12), Ebony (23), Unkindness of Ravens (26), Halfling Prowler (16)

Ivory was getting grumpy. He couldn't stand ravens at the best of time and ravens that blinded and poisoned him was simply taking the piss in his opinion. He staggered back from the birds, hoping that his own unbelieveable misfortune over the last couple of days when it had come to hitting people would at some point transfer to his adversaries. In his blinded and poisoned state, he lost control of his inner wolf and changed into his lycanthrope form almost without realising.

The wolf continued to snap away at the beleagered halfing, the harness impeding him somewhat but doing nothing to lessen his thirst for blood. Grabbing the halfling by the shoulder, the wolf ripped away a large chunk of flesh and devoured it noisily.

Personal shift south, wolf attacks halfling, Longtooth Shifting

It's a hit, yay! 11 damage to Halfling Prowler (I don't think he's prone is he?), Ivory gains regen 2 and adds 2 to all damage rolls until the end of the encounter

Also, I'm sure you remember but the wolf is currently has combat advantage against the halfling. Remind me again what that actually does?

You know what I like? running into things.

Shifty back one square
Move back one square
Basic charge a Marauder's Rush on that little twerp

The wolf chews a chunk of halfling prowler meat in retaliation for its master's continued death by a thousand unkind cuts.

5 damage to Ivory from Aura.
11 damage to Prowler from Bite.

Stepping back from his quarry, the kobold looses its fearsome Marauder's Rush. Luck is not with the little guy. The ranger's murderous charge rips him clean in two. With the prowler's death, Ebony experiences a surge of joy that immediately clears his veins of poison and lethargy.

3 poison damage to Ebony.
Second Chance fails. Really badly :(
Halfling prowler suffers TERRIBLE TERRIBLE DAMAGE over twice his current HP of 11. Dies.
Ebony saves from poison and slow.

Eager to avenge their fallen master, the ravens go on a rampage, and swirl around the cleric, completely blotting out the sun.

4 damage to Ivory. Blind until further notice.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/arena2-1-08.jpghttp://upload.jetsam.org/images/arena2-1-09.jpg

:savepoint: Ivory (12), Ebony (23), Unkindness of Ravens (26)

Not wishing to get pecked as he ran away, the old wolf burped up a gout of flame over the increasingly annoying birds.

Firebreath on birds

Ha ha, eat that bitches. Don't forget Ivory has regen 2 at the moment, Zerg.

Third time's the charm: old man Ivory's whiskeybreath tears its way through the swarm, dropping a substantial number of smoldering ravens onto the wooden wagon. The swarm is now at half strength.

Ivory regenerates 2 and takes 5 aura damage.
Critical hit! The swarm receives 18 damage and is bloodied.

Swirling wildly, the unkindness disperses into numerous individual birds, moving too fast for anyone to target.

Scattering of Feathers triggered. The swarm cannot be attacked until it reforms.

:savepoint: Ebony (23), Unkindness of Ravens (26), Ivory (12)

uh....

second wind on account'a being bloodied
scratch ass

Ebony scratches his ass, releasing endorphins which sooth the pain he suffered during the encounter.

Alas, respite was fleeting. A few seconds after, the ravens worked themselves into a frenzy, gathering right next to the ranger and the wolf.

Ebony dodges the attack nimbly, but is forced to close his eyes to protect them from being pecked.

Ebony is blinded so long as he occupies a square the swarm is occupying.
Ivory is no longer blind.

:savepoint: Ivory (12), Ebony (23), Unkindness of Ravens (26)

The ravens re-convened and straight away started harassing the young kobold. With the wagon at rest, the old man jogged forward, hopping over the front to get within breath range of the angry birds before blowing a gout of flame upwards at them. He swore under his breath, which made him feel better, again.

Move south to stand one square south of the front of the wagon, flame breath on birds (Angled up to miss all my allies), healing word on self

I.... I don't know what to do. How do you kill a flock? Well... we're in a forest; I know what Smokey Ye Old Bear says about me and forest fires.

Plus, it's a dry season...

gather up as many sticks as I can reach into a pile right next to the treeline
shifty back one space
shift back another space, so I'm not adjacent to the flock either

Angling up to incinerate the ravens but not his allies, Ivory looses another flaming belch on his quarry. Poor RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH, as large as he is, could not duck in time to avoid getting singed.

Ivory regenerates 2 health.
5 damage to wolf from aura.
Healing Word regains 19 HP.
Fire Elixir deals 10 damage to wolf, bloodied; 15 damage to ravens.

Despite the unkindness' pecking and scratching, Ebony manages to gather as much kindling as one can possibly find in 4 seconds. Given the dry conditions, it shouldn't be too difficult to start a forest fire. Although, one must wonder what the forest's inhabitants and protectors may have to say about it.

Ebony shifts away, but the birds pursue the fleeing kobold. He must pay for killing their master.

5 damage to Ebony from aura. Bloodied.
Unkind Damage deals 6 damage to Ebony. Blinded until end of ravens' next turn.

:savepoint: Ivory (12), Ebony (23), Unkindness of Ravens (26)

Pretend there's a pile of sticks at V12.

Realising that fire breathing was the best way to kill the birds before his buddy's irational fear of aura effects caused him to torch the whole bloody forest, the old man followed the birds and unleashed another almighty belch.

Move left a bit so I'm three squares from the birds without hitting any allies and firebreath on swarm

Huh. They had 17 HP left. Dang.

Ivory's belch incinerates every single raven that's swarming his partner.

Victory!

The three bloodied compatriots take a moment to catch a breather and recover from the beating they just received from a bunch of birds and their midget master.

"Irrational fear? IRRATIONAL FEAR? You ancient hick THIS IS ME"

YouTube Video

Bees are a kind of unkindness.

Additional Spam:
anyway fuck dis I'm checking the midget for any gear and also I'm checking around to see if there's any obvious traps or loot or shit lying about cause I was a klepto in high school.

Ebony approaches the halfling he so mercilessly gored to death. For such a portly fellow with a beer belly, the prowler was quite agile, Ebony reflected. The ranger's examination of the corpse was brief - telltale white crusted lesions on the decedent's skin indicates the halfling was afflicted with, or perhaps newly-recovered from a disease Ebony would rather not deal with.

Digging into the prowler's clothes, Ebony finds a rolled parchment hidden inside. While it is written in a script he cannot read, it's clear that this was a bounty notice. Perhaps the etching of his and Ivory's faces has something to do with this conclusion.

The kobold's eyes are quickly drawn to a handsome brooch hanging on the halfling's neck, on which is inscribed a name which he does not recognize. The kobold's experienced eye quickly identifies the artifact as a Brooch of No Regrets .

This was the only magical artifact among the halfling's possessions. After a quick inventory of his pack, Ebony lays out the following mundane items:

1. A short sword, tipped with now-inactive bloodstinger poison
2. A crossbow, with bolts of ammunition
3. An old-looking set of thieves' tools, inscribed with the name Griddley
4. Plain leather armor, branded with a stylized H-shaped mark
5. 510 gold pieces

A quick check of the immediate surroundings show no traps of any kind. And after slitting open a few fried raven corpses, there was nothing of interest to note.

For the moment, Ebony and Ivory are safe and alone in the woods with their big bad wolf.

The old man gathered up the gold in their communal purse, tossed the thieves kit to his partner and left the remains for the creatures of the forest. Hopping back onto the cart and helping up the young kobold, he nudged the reins, sending his tame wolf off in a gentle, restful amble through the woods, taking the most open route available.

He was largely unconcerned by the note. Clearly someone wanted the two of them dead and from the length of the description, whoever it was had pretty up to date information. Ivory had spent his life battling the forces of evil (Although strangely he had learnt as much about fighting in the last day as he previously had in ten years) and had a string of "Arch-enemies" and "Ultimate nemeses", most of whom were pathetic minor demons or disgruntled necromancers.

Ivory lay back on the cart and started to doze off, confident that whoever was behind these latest attempts on his life would reveal themselves once they ran out of cronies, they always did.

And he was still two days from retirement.

Mount up, surge up to full health, wolf uses it's surge, head somewhere nice and open so this time we won't start the fight already in melee range >=(

Can't believe Ivory forgot to take the brooch. Sounded like something he'd want, too. Oh well, I can hawk it if nothing else.

Surge to full, pocket brooch, chill with ivory

The kleptomanic kobold pockets the halfling's tools of the trade, and carelessly tosses his brooch inside his pack. Who needs that tiny +1 bonus to Fortitude, Reflex, or Will that comes with equipping it on your neck? Certainly not Ebony, the most macho kobold who ever lived.

Unlike the previous day, no other foe was in sight - the prowler apparently chose his ambush location well.

Guiding the massive wolf towards more open spaces, the pair soon escapes from the forest canopy. The tree line rapidly thins, as the forest gives way to the numerous hilly caves strewn about the area.

Just as the old werewolf lets his guard down, the cart lurches to a stop. Immediately springing to his feet, Ivory frantically looks around for signs of attack. He only sees the dire wolf sitting on the ground, growling at what appears to be thin air.

Suddenly, the 'air' solidifies into a massive fist, and slams the wolf away. Vibration from the impact dispels the stealthy camouflage employed by the creature, and the pair could only stare at the biggest gelatinous cube they have ever seen.

Slam - +11 vs Fortitude - against Wolf. Wolf takes 9 damage and is immobilized (save ends).

The huge ooze surprisingly leaves the immobilized wolf alone - apparently it is too big to digest. Drawn by the pair's frantic scramble to their feet, it lunges towards more agreeable prey.

Defenses: AC 21, Fort 21, Ref 19, Will 18

:savepoint: Ivory, Ebony, Massive Gelatinous Cube

Ebony will be using a minor to equip the brooch. That leaves you with a standard and move action, lurks.

Hey. I ain't a pussy. I don't wear girly artifacts.

wait until Ivory's back is turned, and then hurriedly put on brooch, tucking it under my fly jersey

That done, I suggest we take a path around the cube. I mean, it's not like cubes are in on bounties and shit. They just sit there, wiggling away, waiting for the jello factories, right?

The old wolf cursed his luck at moving to a spot where he could see enemies coming only to get attacked by a blob with a cloaking device.

Scrambling backwards away from the oozy thing, he grabbed a molotov and tossed it at the beast, more to slow it down while the wolf got it's legs back than from any real desire to fight the thing.

Shift north, draw an elixir of dragonfire tar, chuck it at the blob

Hit! Blaze up the batty-man! Blob takes 5 ongoing damage

I ain't exactly sure what that is, but I ain't ready to run headlong into it. So...

Hunter's Quarry on Blob
Throw and Stab on Blob
stay on the chariot for now

The cube wobbles at first as the flask containing dragonfire tar shatters against a shard of bone inside it. Then, a spark bursts forth, and seemingly devouring the curious monster from the inside-out. Something's feeding the conflagration - is it possible that acid which composes the gelatinous cube is easily combusted?

15 fire damage to cube.

The ranger wracks his memories for any information he might know about a gelatinous cube. What he remembers isn't encouraging.


Nature 25 (Ability scores and traits)
Nature 30 (The entire monster card)
Nature 35 (Combat strategies)

Well, ranged attacks it is, the kobold decides. He winds up for his savage hand axe throw. completely forgetting he's right next to it. Sensing his movement through the ground, the blind ooze attempts to interrupt Ebony's attack. The ranger handily dodges the creature's attack of opportunity, but his point blank attack merely glances off the cube's smooth 'skin'.

Launching himself into a move, Ebony looks for some other creature to stab, moving all the way to the chariot's back. Alas, the cube is the only opponent in sight. Oh well, maybe next time, cube!

Its meal prospects appear to have moved back. The cube follows after Ivory's careful footsteps, and forms a rather large fist to sock him in the jaw. Sensing danger to its master, the dire wolf reacts to the cube's movement with a bite. The wolf quickly realizes that gelatinous cubes are not tasty, and quickly spits out a chunk of goo from its mouth.

The huge fist dissolves back into the cube, thanks to vibrations from the opportunity bite. Still, the cube's move releases much-needed adenosine triphosphate that quenches the dragonfire tar that was hithereto burning the ooze alive.

Wolf is still immobilized.
Cube's Opportunity Attack against Throw and Stab: Miss.
Throw and Stab: Miss.
Cube moves to A6:B7 and takes opportunity attacks from wolf and Ivory (damn).
Wolf's Opportunity Attack: hit for 7 damage.
Ivory's Opportunity Cripple Punch: miss.
Slam against Ivory: Miss.
Cube saves vs. ongoing fire.

:savepoint: Ivory, Ebony, Massive Gelatinous Cube

Ivory took a cautious step back away from the blob. Clearly setting fire to the thing was the way forward but he was wary of setting fire to his new chariot in the process. For the time being, he contented himself hurling insults at the big lump of goo, offering up a quick prayer for luck first.

Shift southwest, divine fortune, exacting utterance on cube

Hit! Blob has vulnerability 5 to all damage until the end of my next turn, if ebony attacks it he gains 5 temp hp

I hop out of the chariot and stand next to the wolf. I ain't exactly sure if I'm ready to waste a perfectly good fire item; maybe chucking shit will be good enough?

Move to E5, avoiding the cube
Throw and Stab the cube
I get a move action after that, right? If so, move me to F3

Ebony nimbly dances around the chariot, throwing his axe at the cube and quickly darting away.

Cube sustains 16 damage
Ebony gains 5 temp HP

Although gelatinous cubes have technically no emotion, being brainless and all, this one seems awfully frustrated with its quarry being out of reach. Or maybe it was hurt by Ivory's insults. Who knows?

Wagon Stats: HP 40 AC 4 Fort 12 Ref 4 Will [immune]
Wagon sustains 12 HP damage. It creaks.

:savepoint: Ivory, Ebony, Massive Gelatinous Cube

Terrain Considerations:
People taller than kobolds consider the wagon yoke (D4:E5) difficult terrain.
If wagon reaches 0 HP, it becomes immovable, flipping over and turning into impassable terrain. It blocks line of sight entirely (so no melee or ranged attacks).
Woe betide anyone crushed by it, for its fortitude makes it a very formidable foe.

Whilst it was a nice enough wagon, Ivory had no qualms about using it as a distraction while he topped up his chim's reserves of energy.

Shift north, Astral Seal on blob

The old wolfman turns his trademark gaze upon the ooze, yet it scarcely noticed him. Perhaps blind monsters don't care if they're stared at?

Wolf still immobilized.
Throw and Stab hits for 6 damage. At this rate, it'll take over two dozen more hits to kill it!

The cube slams the bulk of its mass against the wagon. The vehicle takes the 8 damage stoically, but lists just a little bit from the cube.

Wagon takes 8 damage and is bloodied, to the extent that a wagon can bleed.

:savepoint: Ivory, Ebony, Massive Gelatinous Cube

The only map change is that Ivory is now at A4.

Ivory hopped off the wagon, circling the blob to try and distract it a bit before trying another sealing manouver.

Move to A7, Astral Seal again

Hit! Blob has -2 to all defences until the end of my next turn. When Ebony attacks it he regains 7hp

If this is gonna take so much time, I might as well get a beer.

Move to H6
pull out Fire Elixir of Dragonbreath
Drink that mofo
Action Point Fire Breathin' on the Blob

Actually Astral Seal lets Ebony regain 4, not 7 hp. But it doesn't matter since Ebony is not injured.
Also lurks, Fire Elixirs have a range of 3, so I'm moving you to G6 so you can hit the cube.

Wolf is no longer immobilized.

Bored by the fight that they could easily win by kiting the lumbering cube, Ebony imbibes the elixir of dragonbreath. The results are, of course, predictable. Curiously weakened by Ivory's astral light, the cube suffers considerable fire damage.

33 damage to gelatinous cube.

Finally able to 'see' its quarry again, the cube lumbers towards the closest tremor. The shifter is caught unaware, and is dragged inside the cube to be digested. Perhaps it's not Ebony's healing surges he needs to be worrying about?

Engulf: 11 vs Reflex. Auto-hit on immobilized creatures.
Ivory is grabbed. Until the grab ends (Escape: Move Action. Athletics vs Fortitude or Acrobatics vs Reflex), take 11 ongoing acid damage and be dazed (take only 1 standard/move/minor action during your turn unless you spend an action point) and immobilized. When grab ends, shift to 1 square of your choosing adjacent to the cube.

:savepoint: Ivory, Ebony, Massive Gelatinous Cube

The cube, acting against all it's natural instincts moved away from the source of heat and vibration and engulfed the shifter who was stood head bowed in silent prayer. Not expecting such a biologically implausible move from the blob the old man was caught unawares and engulfed. He thrashed around a bit, trying to get out.

Try and escape, use which ever skill is more likely to pass

Success, shift to D8.

:BELCH:

Fire breathin'

Ivory manages to wriggle himself free, though not before sustaining some damage from the cube's digestive juices.

11 acid damage to Ivory.
Save succeeds; no longer grabbed and dazed.

Ebony inches closer for another round of flame breath. Forced to choose between burning his friend or his all-too-(in)flammable ride, the inebriated ranger reluctantly chooses to sacrifice the latter. He's going to need the old man's soothing hands to heal him, after all.

Gelatinous Cube takes 39 fire damage.
Wagon takes 7 fire damage and gains 10 fire vulnerability. 13 HP left.

The cube instinctively lumbers closer to the kobold's footsteps, allowing Ivory to punch it in the cell wall. He misses entirely; the shifter's fists rebound off the tough exoplasm and hits him in the nose.

Barely noticing the punch at all, the cube launches a full frontal assault at the little ranger.

Ebony takes 7 damage and is immobilized until save ends.

:savepoint: Ivory, Ebony, Massive Gelatinous Cube

Note: Tokens awarded to date
Ivory: +1 token, 4x
Ebony: +1 token,1x

Not wanting to risk standing next to the blob any longer than need be, Ivory ducked back out of range before fishing around in his sack for another molotov and casualy chucking it at the cube.

Shift NE, draw Dragonfire tar, chuck Dragonfire tar

11 vs Reflex to hit

Hit! Blob takes all kinds of ongoing fire damage

"Sorry about the chariot, old man! I'd move if I could!"

More fire belchin'

With a whoomph, the dragonfire tar disappears into the gelatinous cube, and immediately sets it on fire.

15 ongoing fire damage to Cube.

The kobold hiccups another blast of fiery whisky breath. It had a beneficial side effect of stirring him from his cube-induced stupor. Fortunately for the wagon, Ivory shifting away allowed the kobold to angle his blast to his right.

Lurks, till now, I've been interpreting the close attacks in your favor. Please specify the area of effect next time. :)
51 damage to Cube. Bloodied.
Ebony saves from Immobilized.

Thrashing about wildly now, the gelatinous cube inches over to Ivory's proximity, and attempts to engulf both allies.

15 fire damage to Cube.
Engulf succeeds! Ebony and Ivory pulled into cube space. 11 ongoing acid damage, dazed, grabbed.
Cube saves vs. ongoing fire. Man, these were awesome rolls.


:savepoint: Ivory (5 tokens), Ebony (4), Massive Gelatinous Cube

Engulfed again, the old man once more struggles to free himself.

Try to escape again, if successful, shift east

The pair struggle to be freed from the tyranny of the gelatinous mass. Will they succeed?

Yes.

But most unfortunately, the cube plucks the adjacent creatures right back in. It could do this all day.

11 acid damage to both Ebony and Ivory
No map changes.

:savepoint: Ivory (6 tokens), Ebony (4), Massive Gelatinous Cube

FUCK DIS

Fire breathin' centered on C6. That'll hit the cube and not either of us, right? And the chariot, it'll hit that. Alas, poor chariot. I knew him well.

Getting bored of being swallowed now, the old man put extra effort into getting away.

Escape NE, if successful, Action point and shift away in the same direction

The old werewolf tries to struggle mightily to escape the blob's grab, and succeeds while his companion breathes fire on the monster.

11 acid damage to both Ivory and Ebony. Ivory bloodied.
42 damage to Massive Gelatinous Cube. 4 HP left, wrap it up.

The blast from within is doubly effective; the cube starts to shake violently, as if it's almost on the verge of disincorporation. Mindlessly wobbling towards the cleric/paladin while keeping an iron grip on the kobold, the cube spasms uncontrollably, sending chunks of itself flying in the air.

Tired from his exertion, Ivory could only watch as a massive glob of protoplasm smacks into him. A second hit sends the shifter into a strangely serene gout of unconsciousness.

Slam against Ivory: 9 damage. Immobilized.
Action Point. Slam against Ivory: 11 damage. Prone, dying.


:savepoint: Ivory (7 tokens)*, Ebony (5), Massive Gelatinous Cube

* If you roll your death saving throw, that counts as a complete turn that earns tokens.

Ivory lay back in the blob, trying not to die.

He did it pretty well.

Critical throw! Ivory did his "not dying" act so well, he could spend a healing surge and regain consciousness. That is, if he wanted to... since he doesn't have many of them left. Who'd want to regain consciousness when they're bloodied, prone, and immobilized? Maybe it's better to just lie down, relax, and let oblivion overtake the pain.

Content to just be not dead, the old man lay quietly where he was, trusting in the blob's natural urge to hunt down moving things to keep him safe long enough for his partner to finish the thing off.

What's going on? I can't see, I have goop in my eyes.

Fire breath centered on D10

The kobold endures one last acid attack, and then unleashes his super-effective fire breath. Ebony finds himself freed from the gelatinous menace's clutches, as it disintegrates into a pile of harmless warm pudding. A veritable treasure trove of undigested substances clatters on to the ground, possibly the property of the poor unfortunate skull that's among them.

11 damage to Ebony, bloodied.

Victory!

Ebony ministers to his fallen friend before turning his attention to their wooden chariot - it's cracked and singed in a few places, but nothing a few thumps in the right place wouldn't fix.

I deliver a swift kick in Ivory's shin to wake him, then I go poke at what was in the cube. Maybe there's something in there that we can use to fix the chariot?

The old man picked himself up, feeling rather groggy. He began sifting through the junk on the floor to see what the blob had eaten lately.

Spend a surge, search for lootz

Shin, you have unused Healing Words after the encounter. I'll assume you used one to heal yourself this time.
Ivory heals 21 HP.

The pair enthusiastically sift through gelatinous entrails, hoping to find something of value. Everything organic is either entirely digested (like the fellow's innards), or in a severely brittle state - the skull crumbles to dust the moment the now-conscious shifter picked it up.

Ebony did manage to sort through the goopy residue, finding 70 gold coins scattered around the remains of the cube. He also finds a corroded longsword, an almost-digested leather belt pouch, and a strangely-intact pair of normal-sized boots too big for him to wear .

After a few moments of banging on their chariot, it looks none the worse for wear. Still, it's probably not a good idea to breathe fire in its vicinity anytime soon.

Do whatever you want. Next encounter coming after your posts.

The old man tugged on the boots, just in case he fell off any more roofs. Other than that, there seemed little else to do but head on. He looked inside the ruined pouch just in case it hid any valuables, tossed the sword onto the cart and mounted up, nudging the wolf towards the middle of a big open area. Upon reaching a point where he could see at least a hundred yards in any direction, he pulled up and drew his crossbow, intent on sitting still and watching out for any further pursuers. He was buggered if he was going to start yet another fight in hand to hand combat range.

Chuck everything in the cart, wear boots, move a short distance to somewhere with clear fields of fire, sit tight so as not to step on anymore invisible monsters

Ivory tosses all and sundry into his chariot, including a completely worthless half-digested pouch and a mundane rusty sword, adding seventy slightly-corroded gold pieces to their collective wealth. Ebony, for his part, decides to take an extended rest, only to be roused by his partner and forcibly dragged to the chariot.

Resolving never to be surprised by an enemy in melee range, Ivory steers the wolf out of the forest into a large wide expanse. The field is devoid of any cover, and there is the real risk of capture considering the bounty on the pair. Still, the cleric/paladin reasons that he would rather tackle threats head-on, rather than get ambushed again.

And so, while Ebony twiddles his thumbs, the shifter takes out his crossbow and waits for an enemy to show.

And he waits.

And waits some more.

His patience is finally rewarded when he hears a faint *clop clop* of hooves. The source of the noise is revealed moments later as he makes out four horses, mounted by humans, speeding towards them. The lead horse rears to a stop, as its armored rider catches sight of the gigantic wolf.

Any question about the horsemen's intent was answered moments as the armored horseman brings a horn to his mouth and lets out a piercingly loud blast.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/human-veteran.png IT'S THEM! SEND OUT THE HOUNDS!!!!

His leather-clad companions shouted excitedly as they draw their longbows, and prepare to spur their horses towards our beleaguered duo.

Being crazy prepared, Ivory gets to act in a surprise round (take a standard, move, or minor action; can't spend action points).

:savepoint: Ivory (surprise; 8 tokens), Bowmen (22), Ivory (22), Veteran (20), Ebony (12; 6 tokens)

Relishing the prospect of a bit of mounted combat, the Shifter spurred his wolf off across the field, hoping to keep just one of his pursuers in range at a time.

Full speed NE!

The shifter guns his massive wolf into action, in an attempt to outdistance their pursuers. However, while the wolf is naturally stronger, he's also carrying more weight and is marginally slower than the warhorses their pursuers are riding.

Speed notes:
Dire Wolf 9+1 (item) = 10/2 (encumbrance; chariot) = 5 + 2 (if running) = 7.
Warhorse: 8.
Hounds: 8.

The longbowmen give chase, and rain a fusillade of arrows down on the wagon. One of the arrows hits the kobold.

6 damage to Ebony

:savepoint: Ivory (9 tokens - 10 max), Veteran , Ebony (6 tokens), Bowmen

Defenses:
Veteran: AC 22, Fort 19, Ref 18, Will 17
Bowmen: AC 19, Fort 17, Ref 17, Will 15 (+2 all defenses if another bowman is within 5)

Handing the reins to his buddy, the shifter moved to the back of the wagon and drew a bead on the nearest pursuer. He had been energised by all this fighting and frankly was feeling pretty lucky today.

The movement of the chariot was upsetting his aim a little and the first one was just a ranging shot to be fair. :(

Expend requisite tokens for a roll on the wheel of fortune. Move to -M29. Shoot crossbow at northmost bowman (A is it?)

Please note that the wolf acts on the same initiative order as Ivory, so Ebony can't move him on his own turn.

The shifter fires back a crossbow bolt of his own. But at this range? Impossible for someone as nearsighted as the old codger.

Gunning his horse into a mad dash towards the chariot, the veteran gets within 65 feet of our intrepid duo. Still too far for his longsword, so the armored human stows his weapon. He'll draw out those throwing knives and catch these fugitives, yes he will. Even if they have to come back with him in pieces.


:savepoint: Ebony (6 tokens), Bowmen, Ivory (1 token), Veteran

"Why are there more guys? WHY ARE THERE MORE GUYS?!"

Since I can't move the wolf myself, delay action until bowmen. If any of them get into range, Hunter's Quarry on that guy then Throw and Stab him. Don't leave the chariot.

If none of them can get into range yet, then I dunno, don't do anything?

Ebony hesitates long enough after Ivory hands him the reins for the bowmen to catch up.

The first two fire painful arrows at the chariot, one of which embeds itself deep inside the shifter's shoulder. The third forces his horse into a gallop in an attempt to head off the fugitives. He moves in close enough to realize what the little kobold is truly capable of.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images/human-bowman-lackey.pngThe kobold's a Marauder Ranger! Listen, we don't want to get too close to him. Stay at least 40 feet away, where he can't charge you easily. Let's whittle them down from longbow range first!

Ivory takes 6 damage. He's already bloodied prior to the fight.

:savepoint: Ebony (6 tokens; delaying don't count), Ivory (1 token), Veteran, Bowmen

Ebony makes a motion to gun the wolf as far as he possibly can. But a quick glance northeast put pat to the preposterous notion that the pair could possibly escape from the battle. For coming in the opposite direction of their pursuers were three more human bowmen, along with a swarm of hounds.

The kobold tightened the reins, motioning for the wolf to slow down.
---


http://upload.jetsam.org/images/human-veteran.png You've certainly led us on a merry chase. But at least the extent of your crimes will be mitigated by your wise decision to surrender. Now, as customary, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you...

As the Veteran launches on his monologue, the kobold casts a fleeting glance at his bleeding partner. They haven't known each other for very long, and Bordrei knows that the ranger has given the paladin-cleric extra gray hairs thanks to his antics.

The old geezer would never survive the resulting trial and incarceration. That, Ebony knows for sure. It was different for young niggas like him - he'd be drafted to fight to the death in arena battles as a gladiator, and might even one day earn his freedom again. But Ivory? He'd be so lucky as to last a few hours in the 'hood.

No. Ebony knew what had to be done. What he was about to do could result in his death, but the ranger figures he'd be kept alive by the powers that be. He'll just have to make sure that he doesn't kill any of these humans.

Ebony briefly catches the cleric's eye, and winks before turning away, the scent of acid-laced whiskey evident on his breath. The kobold suddenly launches his handaxe at the wolf's backside, resulting in RRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWGGHH bellowing out its name and launching into a pain-fueled gallop. Ebony completes his signature move by launching himself off the chariot, short sword pointed right smack into the startled veteran's face.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images//shin.png No! Ebony!!! Stop!

The cleric tries to steer the wolf back towards his partner, but the pain drove it non-responsive. He barely had enough time to launch a divine shield that blasted several archers into unconsciousness.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images//alurker.png Old geezer! Give my regards to Trish!

A tear streams down the shifter's face as his bold partner unleashes an acid blast on the cluster of enemies. The cleric's Shield of the Gods seems to be holding, but the kobold would be no match for an angry veteran, a few surviving archers, and a pack of hounds.

Ivory pauses momentarily, wrung by a desire to aid the kobold by leaping off the wagon, but equally mindful of wasting his friend's heroic sacrifice. By the time he's thought of something to say, it was too late. Ebony was out of sight and out of shouting distance.

http://upload.jetsam.org/images//shin.png Ebony. Thank you... Thank you my friend. I'll never forget you. Until we meet again, stay safe.

The End
of the Tale of
:savepoint: IVORy & EBONy :savepoint:

Epilogue

(to be optionally written at the discretion of Shin and lurker)