Ch. 1 - The Keep on the Borderlands

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Aug 22, 2024 12:24 am
At the sound of Kraagor's voice, the rats stop in their tracks and become defensive. The biggest one rears up almost to Kraagor's height and hisses! (Even though the rest of the party can't see this, they can assume as much from what they hear.)
Aug 22, 2024 8:59 am
Hearing his companion, Farem immediately takes hold of his bow and aims an arrow at the first rat he sees. He does not shoot yet, though.
Aug 23, 2024 3:48 am
OOC:
Right now Kraagor is the only one who can see the rats. The dwarf is half-outside of the party's 30' circle of light (technically 25' away), and the rats are 45' further. If Farem wanted to target a rat, he would have to stand at most 30' away with the lantern (in that case, Delfarious or the whole party might want to tag along).

Since it's a standoff, initiative has not yet been rolled. If combat breaks out, I will attempt an On the Fly Battle Map.
Aug 23, 2024 6:55 am
OOC:
Headed to a con this weekend so posting time will be at a premium... if the party asks, Delf will absolutely move 10' or more towards the rats to illuminate them.
Aug 23, 2024 8:40 am
OOC:
Farem heard Kraagor mention rats, thus his decision to bring out his bow. Let's say he won't move until he sees one.
Aug 24, 2024 2:23 pm
Kraagor whispers loudly (hardly a whisper, truly), "Bring the light closer, man. Or stand back and let me crush some bones."
Aug 25, 2024 4:12 am
Delfarious does as requested, moving closer to Kraagor with mincing steps, clearly worried about what lurks in the dark!
Aug 25, 2024 8:07 pm

Delfarious moves the light closer to illuminate the giant rats (let's say the whole party moves together to maintain rank and vision). As soon as the rats are in the light, their beady eyes gleaming, they screech and attack! Morgan recoils in disgust.
OOC:
Above is the encounter map. Between the walls, the golden box represents the light from Delfarious's lantern. It will be impossible for the human PCs to see (and therefore attack) outside of this range. Rat 1 is the biggest one that hissed at Kraagor.

EDIT: Reminder that Kraagor will always go last in this combat because of his heavy warpick.

Rolls

Party initiative - (1d6)

(5) = 5

Giant rat initiative - (1d6)

(2) = 2

Aug 26, 2024 7:39 am
Farem shoots at the nearest rat!

Rolls

Shortbow shot, damage - (1d20, 1d6)

1d20 : (16) = 16

1d6 : (4) = 4

Aug 26, 2024 3:27 pm
Darlene follows suit, releasing an arrow at the nearest rat she can see.

Rolls

Darlene vs. Rat (short bow) - (1d20, 1d6)

1d20 : (19) = 19

1d6 : (3) = 3

Aug 27, 2024 1:21 am
Holding his lantern aloft, Delfarious pulls a vicious-looking throwing knife from a vest pocket and takes aim... before he too joins in the barrage, hurling the knife with a flick of his expert wrist!

Rolls

Knife Throwing! - (1d20)

(13) = 13

Throwing Knife Damage - (1d4)

(1) = 1

Aug 27, 2024 10:06 pm
Farem skewers the biggest and meatiest rat with an arrow before it can even put its front legs back on the ground. Darlene similarly skewers the rat behind that (rat 3). Delfarious tosses his knife. It almost misses but slashes the rat (rat 2) across its flank. Rat 2 stumbles weakly.

Morgan targets rat 2 with an arrow from her shortbow, finishing it off. Petronius slings a stone at the last rat (rat 4). The rat's head explodes from the impact, its lifeless body thumping to the ground.
OOC:
Combat over! This encounter is worth 20 xp total, but remember that the party has to get back to the Keep first.
"Good riddance to bad rubbish," Morgan says, stowing her shortbow.

Rolls

Secret Roll

Giant rat morale check

Giant rat morale check #2

Morgan shortbow attack, damage - (1d20+2, 1d6)

1d20+2 : (14) + 2 = 16

1d6 : (6) = 6

Petronius sling attack, damage - (1d20+1, 1d4)

1d20+1 : (14) + 1 = 15

1d4 : (3) = 3

Aug 28, 2024 1:43 am
OOC:
Should we be keeping track of ammo expended? Darlene would gather arrows that could be reused.
Aug 28, 2024 1:43 am
OOC:
Should we be keeping track of ammo expended? Darlene would gather arrows that could be reused.
Aug 28, 2024 2:25 am
"Well done, everyone!" Delfarious says as he moves forward cautiousness, throwing more light down the corridor, aiming to retrieve his throwing knife...
Aug 28, 2024 3:27 am
DragonDweller62 says:
OOC:
Lacking a rule from OSE or BECMI (that I know of), it will take a [turn] to collect 50% of the arrows you fired (rounding down) after combat ends. E.g. if you fired one arrow, you can't retrieve any. If you fired 2, you get 1.
OOC:
You should be tracking ammo in conjunction with the rule above. (I'll add it to the rules thread so it's easy to find.) This counts for bolts as well. Since stones are free from the ground, you should never run out barring exceptional circumstances. Unfortunately, this means that you can't recover any arrows from this combat.
While the archers find only broken arrows, Delfarious can easily retrieve his trusty knife. Morgan smiles wryly at him. "You can say that again. We're damned lucky no one got bit."

The hallway continues to the east past the lantern light, so when the party is ready they may continue exploring. The lantern gutters a bit, and the party (especially Kraagor) gets the sense that about two hours have passed underground.
Aug 28, 2024 9:03 am
Farem is at the same time relieved the combat was so short and thrilled that he was able to contribute positively. Seeing his broken arrow and the morbid sight of dead rats, he frowns, tries to shake the image from his mind and falls in line to continue the underground exploration.
Aug 28, 2024 1:05 pm
"Save one for me next time," grumbles the dwarf who moved too slowly to get any of the action. Arrows were an elf's game, and had no place in a dungeon!
Aug 29, 2024 6:08 am
"These rodents were of rather unusual size," Delfarious says aloud, to no one in particular. But then he turns to Morgan when she mentions it was lucky no one was bitten.

"You're suggesting these vermin are diseased? I suppose you are quite possibly right! Kraagor! We will doubtless have need of your axe and shield, but be in no hurry to be gnawed on by the likes of these!"
Aug 31, 2024 6:01 am
Morgan Ironwolf
"Very unusual size; must have come in from the swamp. It seems they didn't get any of us. . . ." Morgan takes a quick count of the party. "Say, what happened to that little thief friend of ours? Not Ezra, the half-elf Robin—if that is her name. I suppose we may run into her on the way out . . . or we may not.

"Anyway, shall we press on, companions?"
OOC:
Next post will see the party advance down the hall. That will be coming later today or tomorrow.
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