Part 7: Return to the Moathouse Dungeon

Round 2 begins! Turn order is as follows:
1. Bors (7)
2. Turuko - P2 (6)
3. Maloria - P1, Ghoul #1 (5)
--> 4. Gilly, Eltrezar, Ghoul #2 (4)
5. Ghoul #3, Ghoul #4 (3)
6. (vs P) Kobort (2)

Hmm... I would say at the moment option B is more feasible choice due to a couple of circumstances:

Kobort is blocking the area right now, presumably doing likewise already for Turuko (assuming he even passes his save vs Paralysis on his turn) as Gilly wants to do for Mal. So she'd essentially have to squeeze past Kobort and Turuko in the narrow corridor. Then she'd have to grab hold of a dwarf wearing heavy plate who's currently being straddled by a ghoul, and then try and drag her back past Kobort and Turuko again. I think that would be pretty difficult to do, especially in one six second Turn.
IF Kobort and Turuko weren't in the way I think an argument could be made that Gilly could take a Move Action, and then use her other Action to make a penalized Strength Ability Check to left the larger dwarf in heavy plate armor, and then on her next turn she could start dragging her back slowly (Encumbrance rules would have to be taken into consideration), assuming the ghouls don't get a piece of her in the time between the two rounds. But I think with Kobort in full plate holding back a number of ghouls while half-heartedly trying to drag Turuko back as well, all in a narrow 5' hallway, would just be too big of a cluster-fart.

I do allow PCs to drop weapons on the ground and draw weapons as a Free Action, but stowing weapons in their appropriate scabbards/sheaths/etc. or looking for and picking up dropped weapons is a regular Action.
So if Gilly wants to drop her bow on the ground (Free Action), draw her sword (Free Action), and then Move 20' forward, Attack, and use the rest of her move to make a 10' Fighting Retreat, she would essentially dash past Kobort, slash the ghoul he's fighting with her sword, and then back up to the space directly in front of Bors.


I would also say it's worth noting that Gilly saw Maloria fall as a result of the Paralysis these things do, and also would have seen that once Mal fell, the ghoul seemed to ignore her and went directly after Kobort, who was next in line. As did another from around the corner. They seem to have little interest in dealing with already fallen/paralyzed victims, at least for the time being, being more drawn to attack those that are an immediate threat to them.
Or that's what it seems might be the case, granted you've only had a couple of rounds to get a read on them...

Round 2 continues! Turn order is as follows:
1. Bors (7)
2. Turuko - P2 (6)
3. Maloria - P1, Ghoul #1 (5)
4. Gilly, Eltrezar, Ghoul #2 (4)
5. Ghoul #3, Ghoul #4 (3)
--> 6. (vs P) Kobort (2)

Round 2 ends with Maloria and Kobort falling victim to the ghouls' paralyzing attacks, but one of the four falling to a combination of Eltrezar's Magic Missile Strive and Gilly's blade! Three ghouls remain now pressed in a narrow corridor.

Round 3 continues! Turn order is as follows:
1. Turuko - P3 (7)
2. Kobort - P1, Ghoul #2 (6)
--> 3. Gilly, Eltrezar, Maloria - P2, (5)
4. Bors, Ghoul #4 (2)
5. Ghoul #3 (1)

I accidentally hit "edit" on @KCC's last post, instead of "Quote". Hopefully I fixed it back, but if not, sorry.

Yep. Make sure to pass a Save vs Paralysis first. You need to roll a "10" or better on a d20 or you join your other fallen companions for a duration determined by the dice.

Yeah sorry, I forgot to update the battlemap. Yes, there's one directly in front of Gilly.

Round 3 begins! Turn order is as follows:
1. Turuko - P3 (7)
2. Kobort - P1, Ghoul #2 (6)
--> 3. Gilly, Eltrezar, Maloria - P2, (5)
4. Bors, Ghoul #4 (2)
5. Ghoul #3 (1)

Round 3 continues! Turn order is as follows:
1. Turuko - P3 (7)
2. Kobort - P1, Ghoul #2 (6)
3. Gilly - P1, Eltrezar, Maloria - P2, (5)
--> 4. Bors, Ghoul #4 (2)
5. Ghoul #3 (1)

Bors's and Ghoul #4's Actions technically happen at the exact same time this Round, but I'm going to let @nezzaraj decide if they want to take their Turn before or after the ghoul.

Good grief, you guys...

From what I see on this side of the DM's screen, based on what I know about the monsters, the PCs and Hirelings, and what the module dictates regarding how to run this encounter, I would say you're still in this, but it's gonna be close. You definitely need the dice to start getting their act together, though. If Bors can't hold these monsters at bay, you're gonna be in trouble.

When I get home tonight I'll try and slam out at least one more post covering the monsters' Turns and start a new Round, but I'm pretty lousy about ever actually getting that done when I get home in the evenings. But we'll see.

Unlike some undead creatures, Ghouls are pretty dumb, and I don't think they would be sentient enough to think to Move into Melee, Attack, and then make a Fighting Retreat back to an open square again, like I allow smarter tokens to do. They would most likely just try and press forward and attack whenever possible, and since they can't end their turn on an ally's space that basically means they can only come at you one at a time in this narrow hallway. So...

Round 3 ends and the party continues to suffer bad die rolls all around and another two cases of Paralysis to Gilly and the hireling Kobort. No ghouls took any damage.

Round 4 begins! Turn order is as follows:
-->1. Bors (7)
2. Turuko - P3, Kobort - P1 (6)
3. Gilly - 1P, Maloria - 2P, Ghoul #4 (5)
4. Eltrezar (2)
5. Ghoul #2, Ghoul #3

Oh wow, that was a HUGE round for Bors...

Round 4 continues with Eltrezar up next!
1. Bors (7)
2. Turuko - P4, Kobort - P2 (6)
3. Gilly - P2, Maloria - P3, Ghoul #4 (5)
--> 4. Eltrezar (2)
5. Ghoul #2, Ghoul #3