Assuming nothing immediately jumps folks when they enter the clearing, Lex will stay hidden in the treeline and circle the clearing, looking for any sign of tracks or evidence of what was previously here and where it might have gone.
Let me know if you want new stealth and percep rolls
Pausing at the edge of the treeline, Ellandryn pauses, placing one hand on Bos's (much higher) shoulder, stills his mind, and reaches out with his magical senses. A few moments later, he removes his hand from Bos's shoulder; he has sensed no magic in the clearing.
Geth, roll 1d20+12 for Arcana detect magic
EDIT: Unless there's an active conjuration or zone that I'm currently looking at, I don't see nuffin'. At some point, I will roll > 10.
The clearing is irregular, but roughly 30-35 feet wide.
As Lexan’dar circles the clearing, he begins to encounter sections of the forest that are flattened. At one point you find a particularly clear imprint that appears to be circular, two feet wide and with some sort of singular claw mark at roughly three equidistant points.
Ellandryn and Yona’s arcane search reveals no enchantments or creatures in the clearing, but beneath the earth. Several items of magic nature, perhaps five feet below ground.
Bos, it becomes more apparent when you stand at the entrance to the clearing, but there are the faintest traces where the clearing runs up to the path looks off, as though the dirt has been smoothed over, it’s a little too uniform compared to the trail you have been following.
As Lexan’dar circles the clearing, he begins to encounter sections of the forest that are flattened. At one point you find a particularly clear imprint that appears to be circular, two feet wide and with some sort of singular claw mark at roughly three equidistant points.
I'm imagining a circle with a claw mark at the edge of the circle at each point of a line from a peace sign (if that makes sense). That right? Like such(apologies for crappy paint pic)?
Also does the 2 foot circle aprox match the size of the stone in the clearing?
Lex will continue circumnavigating the clearing looking for any other signs and will let the others know what he found when he gets back around to them.
has anyone entered the clearing yet? Doesn't seem so.
Sinnder takes a closer look at the stag skull. Is it chipped or damaged like it was being smashed into this rock? How about the boar skull?
The stag skull is cracked and missing the points of some of it's horns, but it's impossible to tell the cause given it's age. This is true for all the bones in the clearing from what you can see.
Seeing that nothing has lept out to devour Bos, Yona sighs. With perhaps a hint of disappointment. "Well whatever is here, perhaps we should leave it be and continue on our way. We have no reason to linger here, and the path forward remains open."
I am standing at the edge, letting the people who are better woodsbeings and trackers and wearing much heavier armor go first. Pragmatism!
Ellandryn whispers, "Yona? Do you feel that? There's ... something ... underground here."
"Are we thinking Creature or Relic? Cause one of those definitely makes me want to take a closer look, though maybe it would be better to return with spades of some kind... Our quarry is still out there and possibly injured and digging by hand will take quite a bit of time."
I'm fine moving on if everyone else wants to, we can always come back and re-investigate
Yeah, we are here to find knowledge and relics, so I definitely think we need to come back if we decide to move on right now. I'm good either way basically, dig now or return and dig.
Sorry, that was my sleeping time. The me waking up and reading this thread was a riot of emotions!
As Bos strides up to the stag skull and raises his shield, grass, earth and skull erupt from the ground and clash against it. As the dirt clears and settles, you see the skull now rests around six feet in the air, attached to muscular human like chest and arms that end in long, sharp claws. The lower half of the body is a single column like leg that expands and contracts lightly as the creature bobs about. (Lex immediately recognises that this would produce the imprints he discovered surrounding the clearing)
Roll for initiative!
I'll have a hand drawn one up shortly we'll use for combat.
I've put you in spots that I think make sense given where things were at previous to Bos digging in, if anything is egregious let me know.
Okay, so just a reminder since this is a play by post, for initiative everyone goes in groups, so you'll go collectively as a group as will like-monsters.
For initiative, we'll see how everyone rolling goes. Straight up highest score goes first.
I'm going to experiment with that, if it turns out it's a bit too powerful/stacked we'll try taking the average. But that's a later down the track thing.
Squares on the grid that have a triangle in the upper right corner are difficult terrain. They cost twice the normal amount of movement to pass through, but provide light cover. (a -2 attack roll penalty for ranged attacks)
A quick bit on cover if you haven't played 4E:
If you can draw a straight line from a corner of your character's square to all four corners of an enemy's square without being blocked by an obstacle or enemy it does not have cover.
Allies don't count as interfering/grant enemies cover from you. Enemies do provide cover for each other. And vice versa.
The map
Edit: Yes, the rock is cover and cannot be passed through. Meant to mention that.
Question about group initiative and stuff like Flanking: What if I want to move to flank #1 with Bos, but he wants to move somewhere else? Normally if my initiative was higher i could just move first, get my CA, and then he can move away. Or if I'm slower I have to move based on his new location (which i may not know if we are doing group execution of orders). How are we handling that?
Question about group initiative and stuff like Flanking: What if I want to move to flank #1 with Bos, but he wants to move somewhere else? Normally if my initiative was higher i could just move first, get my CA, and then he can move away. Or if I'm slower I have to move based on his new location (which i may not know if we are doing group execution of orders). How are we handling that?
Once initiative rolls are determined, I think the best way is to say you have a plan to mention in general terms "hey Bos, if the monsters move up on their next turn, can you wait for me to get a flanking attack in before you move."
He can delay his turn to wait for you to take your action, then move on to engage another monster.
In this format, turn delays never push you out of group order, so Bos would just be one slot lower in intiative order unless someone else delays. I'll post the initiative order in spoilers each round to keep things current.
I'm open to suggestions if anyone would like to do it differently.
Edit: Same goes if you have an interrupt action, just let me know if there is one you're prioritising outside of your turns so that I can take it into account. If you forget, that's no problem, I'll correct it.
I'll also notify you when enemies become bloodied (1/2 hp) so that you know that too.
As you react to the creature explode out of the earth in front of Bos, two more also leap out from nearby, one headed with the boar skull, the other with some sort of large cat.
Posts
@Kelor
Geth roll 1d20+7 for Eyes Up Mouth Shut
Let me know if you want new stealth and percep rolls
Pausing at the edge of the treeline, Ellandryn pauses, placing one hand on Bos's (much higher) shoulder, stills his mind, and reaches out with his magical senses. A few moments later, he removes his hand from Bos's shoulder; he has sensed no magic in the clearing.
Geth, roll 1d20+12 for Arcana detect magic
EDIT: Unless there's an active conjuration or zone that I'm currently looking at, I don't see nuffin'. At some point, I will roll > 10.
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
e: She fares no better than the wizard.
Geth, roll 1d20+6 for Arcana detect magic
As Lexan’dar circles the clearing, he begins to encounter sections of the forest that are flattened. At one point you find a particularly clear imprint that appears to be circular, two feet wide and with some sort of singular claw mark at roughly three equidistant points.
Ellandryn and Yona’s arcane search reveals no enchantments or creatures in the clearing, but beneath the earth. Several items of magic nature, perhaps five feet below ground.
Bos, it becomes more apparent when you stand at the entrance to the clearing, but there are the faintest traces where the clearing runs up to the path looks off, as though the dirt has been smoothed over, it’s a little too uniform compared to the trail you have been following.
I'm imagining a circle with a claw mark at the edge of the circle at each point of a line from a peace sign (if that makes sense). That right? Like such(apologies for crappy paint pic)?
Also does the 2 foot circle aprox match the size of the stone in the clearing?
The stone is quite large, six or seven feet wide at the base.
The claws are about 10 inches long.
Lex will continue circumnavigating the clearing looking for any other signs and will let the others know what he found when he gets back around to them.
has anyone entered the clearing yet? Doesn't seem so.
Ellandryn whispers, "Yona? Do you feel that? There's ... something ... underground here."
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
Bos moves confidently into the clearing, gesturing towards the ground, awaiting confirmation from Ellandryn and Yona.
Here? Or here?
Lex continues to find imprints in the vegetation, they do not seem regular enough to be footprints and are scattered all about.
Other than these marks, his circumnavigation of the clearing is uneventful and he rejoins the group at the edge of the track.
Not quite sure where they are - clumped up in one location or if there're several spread around. DM?
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
Three are clumped roughly under the stag skull, one under the boar.
The stag skull is cracked and missing the points of some of it's horns, but it's impossible to tell the cause given it's age. This is true for all the bones in the clearing from what you can see.
"Are we thinking Creature or Relic? Cause one of those definitely makes me want to take a closer look, though maybe it would be better to return with spades of some kind... Our quarry is still out there and possibly injured and digging by hand will take quite a bit of time."
I'm fine moving on if everyone else wants to, we can always come back and re-investigate
The shield cuts deep into the ground...
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
As Bos strides up to the stag skull and raises his shield, grass, earth and skull erupt from the ground and clash against it. As the dirt clears and settles, you see the skull now rests around six feet in the air, attached to muscular human like chest and arms that end in long, sharp claws. The lower half of the body is a single column like leg that expands and contracts lightly as the creature bobs about. (Lex immediately recognises that this would produce the imprints he discovered surrounding the clearing)
Roll for initiative!
I'll have a hand drawn one up shortly we'll use for combat.
Okay, so just a reminder since this is a play by post, for initiative everyone goes in groups, so you'll go collectively as a group as will like-monsters.
For initiative, we'll see how everyone rolling goes. Straight up highest score goes first.
I'm going to experiment with that, if it turns out it's a bit too powerful/stacked we'll try taking the average. But that's a later down the track thing.
Squares on the grid that have a triangle in the upper right corner are difficult terrain. They cost twice the normal amount of movement to pass through, but provide light cover. (a -2 attack roll penalty for ranged attacks)
A quick bit on cover if you haven't played 4E:
Allies don't count as interfering/grant enemies cover from you. Enemies do provide cover for each other. And vice versa.
The map
Edit: Yes, the rock is cover and cannot be passed through. Meant to mention that.
1= Stag skull
2= Boar skull
3= Feline skull
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
Geth, roll 1d20+3 for Initiative
Once initiative rolls are determined, I think the best way is to say you have a plan to mention in general terms "hey Bos, if the monsters move up on their next turn, can you wait for me to get a flanking attack in before you move."
He can delay his turn to wait for you to take your action, then move on to engage another monster.
In this format, turn delays never push you out of group order, so Bos would just be one slot lower in intiative order unless someone else delays. I'll post the initiative order in spoilers each round to keep things current.
I'm open to suggestions if anyone would like to do it differently.
Edit: Same goes if you have an interrupt action, just let me know if there is one you're prioritising outside of your turns so that I can take it into account. If you forget, that's no problem, I'll correct it.
I'll also notify you when enemies become bloodied (1/2 hp) so that you know that too.
Geth, roll 1d20+1 for initiative
Initiative order:
Even if it's not your turn, feel free to lay out what you're roughly planning so others can work around or delay their turn.
Delay my turn until Lexan'dar gets into position.
"Good morning beastie. I'll be right with you."