A Faerie Affair - IC III: In the Court of the Faerie King

[Ninja_Prawn]

Spoiler: Previously, on A Faerie Affair...

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Astra, Korialstrasz, Opal and Orianna swept the gnolls out of their cave, ending the threat to the humans of Cershire. Buried deep in the cave's treasure chamber, they made a surprising discovery: a pixie sorceress named Kyu Sweetbreeze had been imprisoned there in a magical bottle! The mage joined the party as they headed north towards the Sea of Fallen Stars.

On the way, they met a band of humanoid adventurers whose patron offered passage across the Sea and a fey spy in Elversult who provided some potentially useful intelligence. Aboard the fast galley Meteor, the party made swift progress, reaching Feather Falls on their 26^th day out of Queen Lydia's court.

There they met a pair of humans who happened to be heading upriver as well. After a desperate fight against a giant octopus and a nighttime encounter with some hooded figures, it became clear that the fey courts of Cormanthor were under siege by an army of monsters under the direction of a well-organised drow force. The party hurried on, fearing that Kyu's hometown may be in danger.

Another chance encounter saw the party brought face-to-face with Larynda Claddath, a drow mage and senior figure among the raiders. The next day, the fey travellers came to a druid circle, recovering from a fiendish raid. They helped save a magical tree that apparently helps keep a dimensional portal sealed, winning the friendship of the druids. The fey prince Hefeydd also appeared in person, leaving Orianna with a cryptic riddle.

From there, our intrepid band marched to Pinkleaf, which was celebrating Greengrass when they arrived. The celebrations did not last long, however, as the village was attacked by a horde of monstrous spiders!

And now... we are at the top of Round 4 in the struggle to defend Pinkleaf!

Revised Initiative Table
21 Ferb
15 Swarm 2
14 Kor
13.5 Orianna
13 Swarm 1 & Phase Spider
11 Astra & Opal
6 Giant Spider
4 Kyu

In the middle of the village, Kyu's missiles batter the giant spider, bloodying it. Over by the medical tent, Ferb lunges at the phase spider, swinging his battleaxe two-handed.

Attack: (1d20+5)[7]
Disadvantage (due to exhaustion): (1d20+5)[16]
Damage: (1d10+3)[13] slashing

...but it parries the tired attack with its legs. The second swarm of spiders then starts crawling up Opal's legs, looking for a gap in her armour...

Attack: (1d20+3)[20]
Damage: (4d4)[13] piercing

...and they finally succeed!

It is Korialstrasz and Orianna next.

[tgva8889]

Orianna Blossomheart, Initiative 13.5
AC: 18 (with shield), HP: 32/32; Save DC: 13, Passive Perception: 11

The spider's sudden appearance surprises Orianna for a moment, but she has enough presence of mind to pull her shield in front of her and knock its blow away. In retort, she shouts a battle cry and swings her flail overhead at the beast. Then she shouts to Ferb, "I'll try to keep its attention." She then steps a bit around the spider, trying to stand between it and Ferb.

Attack: (1d20+6)[19]
Damage: (1d8+6)[12]

[Majin]

Korialstrasz, HP: 26/26
AC: 15, PPerception: 15, Spell Save: 14, Concentrating on: Flaming Sphere

Kor notices Opal pouring oil on the spiders. "Oh, that's a good idea. Just watch out for the flames". He rams the flaming sphere agains the spider swarm. Then casts a coldness spell on the giant spider.

Spoiler: OOC

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Ram the flaming sphere against the swarm as a bonus action. Damage: (2d6)[11]

[Ninja_Prawn]

Ori's flail deals a heavy blow to the target, but it keeps fighting, aiming another bite at her...

Attack: (1d20+4)[11]
Damage: (1d10+2)[12] piercing plus (4d8)[12] poison (DC 11 Constitution save for half)

...before it once again vanishes. No matter how hard you strain your senses you can hear no sounds from it and, though it appears to move while vanished, it leaves no footprints. At least it doesn't seem to be able to hit you.

The giant spider resists Kor's magic ((rolled in Roll20)), but his Flaming Sphere sets light to Opal's oil, destroying one of the swarms in a dirty orange flash. (1d20)[17] Some nearby leaf litter catches fire, but not enough to pose any real threat.

Over to Opal and Astra.

[Stan]

Opal AC 18, hp 27/40, pp 13 Opal whips out her hammer and tries to use it on the giant spider. She hopes to extricate herself from the situation.

Spoiler: ooc

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Opal attacks the giant spider, then is going to push it away. Will use precise attack if she misses by 3 or less. She'll use a bonus action to shove the spider. If the spider dies or is pushed back, she'll move 30' away.

attack (1d20+5)[18]
damage (1d8+3)[5]
shove (1d20+5)[15] (melee attacks and athletics rolls happen to have same mod)

[WindStruck]

Astra isn't sure what to do at the moment, so she makes sure to keep out of the way, giving Kor's flaming sphere plenty of girth and also staying off the ground and not too close to any trees.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Opal's attack is accurate but not quite strong enough to kill the spider, which also manages to nimbly dodge her attempted shove ((rolled on Roll20)).

Realising its back is against a wall, the spider tries to pick on a softer target, shooting a web at Kor despite his altitude.

Attack: (1d20+5)[16]
Disadvantage (due to long range): (1d20+5)[23]

The webbing hits - Kor is restrained!

Kyu's turn.

[Pyon]

"Just, stop already you big dumb spider!" Kyu yells as she casts her spell. "Run away, stop attacking, something!

Spoiler

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Kyu stats: 21 HP, 13 AC, 13 Spell Save, 11 Passive Perception,
Used spell slots: 1st: 3 2nd:, Sorcery Points: 4 Concentration:

Casting Magic Missiles to hopefully slay the big dumb spider!
Wild Magic (1d20)[2]

Damage 1: (1d4+1)[3]
Damage 2: (1d4+1)[4]
Damage 3: (1d4+1)[5]

[Ninja_Prawn]

Top of Round 5

Initiative Table
21 Ferb
15 Swarm 2
14 Kor
13.5 Orianna
13 Swarm 1 & Phase Spider
11 Astra & Opal
6 Giant Spider
4 Kyu

Kyu's spell slays the giant spider and also damages the remaining swarm, which assaults the grounded Korialstrasz, but fails to hurt him.

Attack: (1d20+3)[9]
Damage: (4d4)[12]

Meanwhile, Ferb looks dumbfounded when the spider disappears. He pokes around a bit, then shrugs at Orianna.

Kor & Ori... away!

[Majin]

Korialstrasz, HP: 12/26
AC: 15, PPerception: 15, Spell Save: 14, Concentrating on: Flaming Sphere

Kor feels a stab of guilt as the spider swarm goes up in flames. It's not like the beasts themselves wanted to attack, but...

Kor's pondering was cut off as he was wrapped in the spider web. As he hit the ground hard, he didn't feel as bad anymore.

It seemed like the webbing wouldn't come off very easily, so Kor changed into something that could deal with it better.

Spoiler: OOC

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Use action to transform into a black bear

[tgva8889]

Orianna Blossomheart, Initiative 13.5
AC: 18 (with shield), HP: 32/32; Save DC: 13, Passive Perception: 11

Orianna grumbles. "This spider has some sort of magic that lets it fade in and out of existence. Quite the nuisance." She takes a ready stance, swinging her flail in preparation for an incoming strike. "Be careful. I'm not sure if it has retreated or if it has moved on."

(Ready action: "If the phase spider appears within Orianna's melee range, make an attack with her flail on it." No move.)

[Ninja_Prawn]

Orianna is right to be cautious. The phase spider pops back into existence right in front of her, so she strikes with her flail... which somehow gets tangled on her shield! ((rolled in Roll20, critical miss))

The spider tries to take advantage, biting with its huge fangs...

Attack: (1d20+4)[21]
Damage: (1d10+2)[5] + (4d8)[21] poison (DC 11 Con save for half (10))

...and hits!

Opal, Astra and Kyu can go now, while Orianna needs to make a Constitution saving throw.

[Stan]

Opal steps over to Kor and tries to help, wrenching at the webs. She feels bad that one of the little ones is in the brunt of the battle but tries to make light of it. "Hey Kor! Fancy seeing you down on this level. Bear with me and we'll have you eating bugs n' berries in no time."

After giving it a try on the webs, Opal takes off for the medical tent to see what's going on over there. She yells over her shoulder, "Astra, try putting these little ones to sleep."



ooc: strength check on webs (1d20+3)[14]

[Stan]

edit: forgot me bonus action.

All the little bites had stung but Opal didn't seem to be affected much by their poison.

ooc: second wind (1d10+4)[14]

[WindStruck]

Astra all but gritted her teeth. Opal had like no idea how her magic worked!

"I.. I can't do that right now!" Astra complained. She followed Opal more or less, ascending higher into the air once more to see what the heck was going on over here. Surely Kor and Kyu could take care of that one swarm of spiders?

---

* post roll count doesn't match database

[Pyon]

"I did it!" Kyu cheered in relief at the defeat of the giant spider. She focused her attention at the swarm now.

Spoiler

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Kyu stats: 21 HP, 13 AC, 13 Spell Save, 11 Passive Perception,
Used spell slots: 1st: 4 2nd:, Sorcery Points: 4 Concentration:

Casting Magic Missiles to destroy the swarm of spiders.
Wild Magic (1d20)[14]

Damage 1: (1d4+1)[4]
Damage 2: (1d4+1)[3]
Damage 3: (1d4+1)[5]

[Majin]

Korialstrasz, Bear HP: 19/19
AC: 11, PPerception: 15, Spell Save: 14, Concentrating on: Flaming Sphere

Kor just grunts at Opal. He then tries to stomp and bite the remaining spiders in the swarm dead. If that's not enough he will move and ram the flaming sphere on the swarm.

Spoiler: OOC

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Attack the swarm.

Bite: (d20+3)[20]
Damage: (d6+2)[7]

Claws: (d20+3)[17]
Damage: (2d4+2)[7]

If that doesn't kill the swarm, then move out of the square and ram it with Flaming Sphere. If it dies, extinguish Flaming Sphere. Damage: (2d6)[8]

In any case, then move towards Orianna and the phase spider.

Edit: I'd guess the initial attacks killed it. So just extinguish Flaming sphere and move towards Orianna.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Opal frees Kor from the webbing, then Kyu's missiles thin out but don't quite destroy the swarm that's attacking him.

Top of Round 6

In the centre of the village, the oil burns out without setting fire to anything else. Ferb attacks the phase spider...

Attack: (1d20+5)[7]
Disadvantage: (1d20+5)[14]
Damage: (1d10+3)[12]

...but misses again. Then the last remnants of the swarm attack Kor, purely out of spite...

Attack: (1d20+3)[5]
Damage: (2d4)[6]

...before Kor rips them apart.

Ori's turn

[WindStruck]

From up higher again, Astra could see something sinister looming beyond the borders of the village.

"Ettercaps!" she yelled, pointing in their general direction. "They must be the ones controlling the spiders!"

[tgva8889]

Orianna Blossomheart, Initiative 13.5
AC: 18 (with shield), HP: 17/32; Save DC: 13, Passive Perception: 11

Constitution Save: (1d20+1)[13]

Orianna is pushed back as the spider digs into her with its fangs. Pulling her flail free, she swings it again, hoping this time to finish the spider for good.

((Use move to presumably pull flail free from its impossible position, attack with flail. See OOC thread for rolls.))

[Ninja_Prawn]

Ori still can't hit the spider, which makes one last attack against her...

Attack: (1d20+4)[23]
Damage: (1d10+2)[12] + (4d8)[23] (DC 11 Con save for half)

...before disappearing, apparently for good. You each gain 183 XP for seeing off these monsters.

Orianna is poisoned, paralysed and unconscious, but stable.

Although you seem to have seen off this first wave, it soon becomes clear that this victory is only temporary. Aside from a pocket of resistance in the north of the village, where a small group of satyrs, sprites and dryads are fighting back-to-back, there are no more fey creatures standing up to the invaders. Everywhere you look, spiders are advancing, herded by foul ettercaps. To the southwest, civilians are trying to escape past the monsters, but have been penned in by webbing.

Ferb looks dismayed. He says "we have to get out of here! Someone get the antitoxins from the tent - I'll carry this one." By which he means Ori.

[Stan]

Opal sighs and looks around. She nods to Ferb. "I'll get the stuff, get going."

She yells to Astra, "Can you fly ahead and scout a safe path?"


Opal looks over to Kor. "Ferb is exhausted, keep an eye on him and carry Ori if he can't handle it."

Opal rushes into the tent and grabs as much as she can that's useful and shoves it into her bag. If there is anyone in the tent, she informs them of the situation and tells them to grab the antitoxin and run.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Opal sighs and looks around. She nods to Ferb. "I'll get the stuff, get going."

She yells to Astra, "Can you fly ahead and scout a safe path?"


Opal looks over to Kor. "Ferb is exhausted, keep an eye on him and carry Ori if he can't handle it."

Opal rushes into the tent and grabs as much as she can that's useful and shoves it into her bag. If there is anyone in the tent, she informs them of the situation and tells them to grab the antitoxin and run.

Opal finds three antitoxins, a potion of healing, a healer's kit with (1d10)[2] uses left in it and a terrified pixie flitting around in a panic.

[WindStruck]

"Scout a safe path?! We're surrounded!! Let's just take Kor's flaming sphere and punch through towards those ettercaps!"

Astra curses seeing Orianna felled by the weird spider. She flies up and uses a tiny healing kit of her own, imbued with awesome magic and pixie dust or something.

Spoiler: Healing??

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(1d6+4)[9] + Orianna's HD.

[Ninja_Prawn]

Orianna regions consciousness and recovers 13 hit points.

An ettercap steps out before the massed villagers, brandishing a black wand with a spidery design...

[Pyon]

Kyu looks back at her village, and then back at her friends. "We can't do anything else can we?..."*Kyu said with a voice of sadness. "Astra is right if we are going to make it out we'll need Kor's fire. I can try and scare anyone off who approaches us with magic."

[Majin]

Kor transforms back into his normal form and flies to Orianna's side. "Did you get bitten? Let's take care of that". Kor lightly touches Orianna, letting druidic magic to purge the poison.

"If we can't defeat them, we should at least see that as many villagers can escape as possible", Kor says. "The flaming sphere will burn for a while, and I can make one more, but then I can't cure poison. So... don't get bitten"

Spoiler: OOC

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Cast Lesser Restoration on Orianna. And bring Flaming Sphere closer. I guess burning the village doesn't really matter anymore.

[tgva8889]

Orianna shakes her head as she slowly comes to. Turning to Astra, she gives a small smile. "Thank you, Astra. The creature caught me by surprise this time." She then lays down and closes her eyes, visibly breathing but tired from her recent exertions and yet another touch with death.

As the others discuss the situation, Orianna raises a hand. "I should be able to help a few who are poisoned, but as I am still recovering a bit myself, if they could be brought here or I could be brought there with some help that would probably be for the best."

[Ninja_Prawn]

Kor purges the poison from Ori once Astra has bandaged her up - Ferb too is grateful to get her weight of his shoulders. Kyu flutters nearby, watching ugly, brutish spiders swarm into her village: the remaining defenders have fallen. Dumpling the mule runs to join you, eyes wild with panic.

The lot of you get ready to break out of the encirclement, while Opal bull-rushes the one ettercap that is in the open...

(1d20+2)[9]

...and overpowers it! The monster is knocked to the ground, the strange wand slipping from its grasp. In response, half a dozen giant spiders clanber down the wall of webs, hissing furiously and forming a half-circle around you all.

[WindStruck]

Astra swoops in and grabs the wand, then she quickly flies back to join the others.

"I got it! Uh... now what?? I hope this thing does something useful... like... command the spiders away or something..."