Tests and Trials

[Dlover]

Insight: 1D20+8 = [5]+8 = 13

Lurn lowers his chin, shifting his feet into a ready stance, "Not need nother arm. Not gobbins offered, didn't want. Can't eat old meat same as you, either, would get sick."

[Rodgeir]

She shuffles slightly forward extending a clawed arm. Still growling softly,

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Giant

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"Give good arm! Better arm You also eat small food you make. Come. No hurt you, no eat others."

Lurn can tell without too much effort she is trying her best to convince him to come along without a fight. Beyond that he can't read her ultimate intent.

The soldiers are both very tense now and the half-elf asks,

"What is it doing? What does it want?"

[Dlover]

In common: "It's trying to convince me to stay with them and produce food in exchange for not starting a fight. I'm trying to defuse the situation."

In Giant: "Don't need arm, don't want stay. You choose fight, you fight demon killers. Not smart fight."

I'll be dodging every turn from this point on.

[spiderwrangler]

Kroshav was sure she was hitting on Lurn.

Insight: 1D20+1 = [5]+1 = 6

[Rodgeir]

The troll's posture changes to, somehow, become more aggressive and threatening. The soft growling is gone, replaced by a more menacing version.

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Giant

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"Demon? No real. Now no ask. Tell. Weak one arm. We protect, you make food. Come now or kill lizard and not gobbins.

She punctuates whatever she said by baring her teeth and crouching, somehow making an unpleasant grinding noise which is echoed by the other trolls who mirror her posture.

Kroshav still thinks this might be some sort of troll mating ritual. Looks like maybe Lurn is playing too hard to get though.

[spiderwrangler]

"Maybe if you tell her you're not ready for a relationship right now?"


<Ealu, can you get Jolly or Celus' attention please? Take Charlie with you, that may help them get that I'm asking. Lurn's flirting with the troll, but I think he's out of practice.>

[Rodgeir]

<Sure hold on... Mating is complicated, Charlie has tried to explain but he mostly just wants to show...Okay I bit one of them. He is angry... Now I bit another. And that other one. Gonna to... need to...okay kicked that one. Charlie is helping! He bit the one with horns. Now we are running...and stopping to let them almost get us... running again! Wait, where are you?>
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After the last interview Cary speaks briefly with Ghram about the evidence but comes to no solid new conclusions. Joe has nothing new to add either and returns to Gray's family wagon to find a note from Ves explaining she has headed back east to find the others if she can and to provide any assistance she is able. Gray's sister and dad explain she waited but wasn't sure how long Joe would be and wished her well. They welcome Joe to stay another night with them.

Cary finds Mer Kibbler deep in his cups at the boarding house but well enough otherwise. She has the rest of the evening to herself.

The next morning Joe is woken by a frantic son-in-law to the victim,

"Sorry to wake ya but where was ya tracker friend? I need her help! My wife, my wife she wandered into the woods early this morning an ain't come back."

Cary is woken by a polite inquiry outside her tent,

"Ma'am? Sorry to disturb you but the Captain sent me to check if you have any tracking skills? It seems a new mother may have gotten lost or injured in the woods."

((You doing anything with your evenings? Joe is learning her new spell I imagine? Anything else?))

[spiderwrangler]

<Oh.. ummm, well, good job getting their attention. I don't know of we need you yet, Lurn might pull through, but we're towards the river [insert directions]. Jolly was here before, if you're able to lead them this way, he might catch on. >

((If it looks like a fight, he'll tell her to bring them as fast as she can, but if Lurn is managing to diffuse it, he'll have her keep them in a holding pattern.))

[The Lost]

(Joe did want to check on her before going back to camp to see how she was doing but it’s a bit late for that now.


Ruby is helping her with the spell. (Too bad I didn't know you can actually copy from other wizard’s books until after getting the scroll...)

[Dlover]

In common: "A fight it is then."

In giant: "Don't need two arm. You seen magic already when make food. Magic good for kill too." Lurn casts Bane on the three trolls.

[spiderwrangler]

<Ealu, bring 'em! There'll be shouting soon, just follow! >

[Rodgeir]

<Okay! I don't know directions so well but I will go the direction I saw you go. Yep. They are following!>

The big troll roars out,

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Giant

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"-coughing choking noises and gagging- get furry not gobbin way. I and -hissing spitting- get others. Watch -shrieking gagging-.

((Roll initiative! And roll me a d10 someone.
Dlover, you mean the little trolls? There are four total.

I will get a map up later tonight, believe it or not but I thought you might avoid combat!))
---
((Depending on when she went, Joe would have found a woman in labor or a sleeping woman holding a baby. Either way the midwife wouldn't have allowed Joe to stay long. In the latter case the son-in-law would have been happy and relieved.))

[spiderwrangler]

Initiative; d10: 1D20 = [13] = 13

1D10 = [7] = 7

[Dlover]

Misread the counts, but I'll put one on the big one and two on small ones.
Initiative: 1D20+1 = [20]+1 = 21

((Lurn would very much have preferred to avoid combat, but he's no negotiator, and with creatures that evidently eat humanoids he's not going to recoil from violence. And evidently the dice agree that he's not going to be reluctant when initiating.))

[The Lost]

(She’ll use detect magic tosee if there is anything that might be blood related to victim)

[Rodgeir]

Order:
Lurn 21
Little troll 1 18
Big troll 17
Half-elf soldier 16
Little troll 2 15
Kroshav 13
Little troll 3
Human soldier 2
Jaq ???

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Soldiers init: 1D20+1 = [15]+1 = 16
1D20+1 = [2]+1 = 3

Big troll init: 1D20+1 = [16]+1 = 17

Little trolls init: 1D20 = [15] = 15
1D20 = [6] = 6
1D20 = [18] = 18

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(Hmm. This a tricky case of my giving it away and meta knowledge sneaking in. Going to say that if Joe was that interested she would have checked earlier as the daughter was leaving/just getting to the midwife's. Feel free to find her and check though!)

[NotStickFigures]

Init: 1D20+5 = [18]+5 = 23

[NotStickFigures]

Longbow attack: 1D20+9 = [19]+9 = 28

Longbow damage with sneak attack from attacking while hidden.: 1D8+6+2D6 = [3]+6+[1, 3] = 13

Jaq will fire an arrow at whichever target has no cover from him. If both the large and a smaller troll have the same non-cover, he will aim for the smaller troll that is closer up to his allies.
He will then move 25 feet (bit further away), again behind some trees or such and use his bonus action to hide again.

Stealth: 1D20+11 = [4]+11 = 15

[The Lost]

(I tried that though, trying to ritually cast detect magic earlier, but she left at that time when Joe was casting. )

[Rodgeir]

((Okay here is the map, squares are five feet. The second map gives a distance idea. How do everyone's positions look?

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The trolls were approaching Lurn so wherever he is they are going to be right at the edge of his bright light, so 20'. Which reminds me, is Lurn's shield his spell focus? Otherwise things are going to get tricky for him. Bane is going to be cast on Lurn's turn, they were not surprised by his action. Does that change your action?

@NSF, I have put you at the extra 25' away but at that distance all the trolls have half cover from you simply from the trees in between. Is that what you want? Around 50' is the sweet spot for avoiding cover for your targets from the tree, but you can dash in and out of that?

I made a bunch of overlapping areas that show where there is light. Not sure it is helpful as it hides the distance squares? Also the blue line is the stream and is difficult terrain.))

Order:
Jaq
Lurn
Purple troll (-13 hp)<-----
Big troll
Soldier 1
Red troll
Kroshav
Orange troll
Soldier 2

[NotStickFigures]

Let's have Jaq be 25 feet east of where he is, and 10 feet south, please.

[spiderwrangler]

((Looks reasonable to me/Kroshav.))

[Dlover]

Positioning seems fine to me, lack of surprise won't change Bane. And yeah, we agreed on Lurn's shield being a casting focus a fair while ago now.

[Rodgeir]

((@NSF, done.
@Spider,
@Dlover, thought so just didn't remember for sure.))

Jaq releases a held arrow into the armpit of the purple troll. It doesn't sink very deep and the troll brushes it away without even a glance before closing on Lurn and wrapping it's arms around the firbolg and attempting to lift him. The red troll joins it, hissing and snapping, and also grabs Lurn and tries to lift him.

((Two opposed athletics or acrobatics from Lurn!))

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Purple troll grapple: 1D20+3-1D4 = [9]+3-[2] = 10

Red troll grapple: 1D20+3-1D4 = [16]+3-[2] = 17

The large troll charges past Lurn, roaring. She reaches Kroshav and claws and bites furiously at the paladin. Claws screech on metal armor and shield but her teeth find dragonborn flesh. Soldier 1, the half-elf, moves to support Kroshav and moves south around the troll to flank her before attacking. Unfortunately the troll twists away with surprising dexterity.

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Big troll claws: 1D20+7-1D4 = [6]+7-[3] = 10
2D6+4 = [1, 6]+4 = 11
1D20+7-1D4 = [9]+7-[3] = 13
2D6+4 = [2, 1]+4 = 7

Big troll bite: 1D20+7-1D4 = [18]+7-[1] = 24
1D6+4 = [3]+4 = 7

Soldier 1 attack: 1D20+4 = [3]+4 = 7
1D8+2 = [6]+2 = 8

Order:
Jaq
Lurn
Purple troll (-13 hp)
Big troll
Soldier 1
Red troll
Kroshav (-7 hp)<-----
Orange troll
Soldier 2

((Map later, Kroshav's got a troll right on him to the east.))

[Dlover]

Athletics: 1D20+3 = [4]+3 = 7
1D20+3 = [6]+3 = 9

(Well hell, even with identical modifiers and them debuffed by Bane, the Dice just hate me on that. I guess the question is going to be whether a pair of trolls can drag 350lb or Firbolg and loot around or not. >.>)