Giantslayer: The Hill Giant's Pledge [IC]

[lostsole31]

R3T25: Phaevin squints and brushes his nose attempting to ignore the irritating stench, but it is too sickening (sickened). He goes to shoot the mass of brambles directly to the south with a fiery arrow, but he is struck in the chest for 12 + grappled!

R3T18: The primary horror wriggles and makes strange noises, and a third animated bramble (3) rips out of the hill between itself and Phaevin, and moves south to attack Galakhar. Galakhar tries to parry but ends up having to do more dodging to avoid the attack. Animated Bramble #1 closes on Aasgar and slams him in the chest (12 mod DDP) and holding him fast (grappled) and taking him out of stance. Meanwhile, Animated Bramble #2 constricts Phaevin for 23.

R3T17: Abenor rallies past the sickness and gets into his long-armed stance so as not to impale himself. He drops his wakizashi and attacks the main bramble monster two-handed, hitting for 25 + 9 force.

R3T12: Aasgar, this is a place you don't want to be a as a two-hand stylist - grappled - because you can't use a weapon two-handed, and without any grappling skill you can't use any of your stances or maneuvers. At least the wretched stink of rot will no long bother you. What do you do?

Galakhar on deck, Cici in the hole ...

[BuckGodot]

Aasgar concentrates and calls on the spirit of Uskroth to infuse him with power and then tries to break the grapple.

Spoiler: Technical Information

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Using Uskroth's Armour and activating Righteous Might.

Breaking free of Grapple roll: (1d20+14)[19]

[lostsole31]

R3T12: Aasgar concentrates and calls on the spirit of Uskroth to infuse him with power. Though he doesn't have the focus to try to get out of the grapple, the bramble strains to keep him held as the dwarf is now 8'10" tall, and weighing in well over 3/4 ton!

Spoiler: Inspiration

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Warning Roar.

R3T10: Galakhar brilliantly tumbles away from his animated bramble and downs an extract which causes his entire musculature to swell up.

R3T9: Cici recovers from the blighted aura's sickening effects and concentrates on a spell, and a blast of golden particles covers two of the servitor brambles and the main one. It appears both servitors are wiggling more erratically. Unfortunately, even though Phaevin technically was outside the effect, his grappled condition and being brought close to an animated bramble means he is blinded as well. She then repositions to the east.

R3T6: Ivilva's voice is heard casting right next to Aasgar, but she is not seen. It is not a quick incantation, for she continues it ....

End Round 3, Begin Round 4 ...

R4T25: Phaevin, roll a Fort save to get over being sickened. You have a bow in hand and are currently blinded by friendly glitter. What do you do? At the end of your round, you then get a Will save to no longer be blinded.

Enemies on deck and in the hole ...

[Admyral]

Phaevin mutters a nasty curse in Dwarvish, mainly because they have the best curse words, and tries to push down the sickness.

He twists and bends attempting to free himself from the brambles and draw his sword.

Spoiler

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Fort Save versus sickness (1d20+6)[20]
SA: Attempt to break grapple
IF successful, MA: Draw Rapier keeping bow in off-hand
Will Save versus Blindness (1d20+4)[21]

[lostsole31]

R4T25: Phaevin mutters a nasty curse in Dwarven, mainly because they have the best curse words, and that vitriol rallies him past the sickness. He twists and bends attempting to free himself from the brambles. Normally, trying to beat such mass with brute force is a foolish proposition, and he does still fail, but his adrenaline at least makes it difficult for the bramble as it fights to maintain its hold. Despite still being held, Phaevin then manages to wrench free his rapier .... at least he has partial success, even as the flakes of gold clear from his eyes and he sees again.

R4T18: There is a tearing and squelching sound as yet another bramble frees itself from another mound ... the one SW of Aasgar. It disappears west and south, to where the indirect glow of the lantern is that Galakhar holds. Aasgar's bramble continues to hold him, more branches wrapping around him to constrict for 3 mod (+15 DDP). Phaevin has a better hold against the smaller aiuvaran, squeezing Phaevin for 30, though the bramble still seems to have problems from the golden dust, even as #3 thrashes wildly.

R4T17: Abenor slashes at the primary bramble to strike it for 20.

R4T12: Aasgar, you are still grappled, but mighty and powerful in a way you've never enjoyed now that Uskroth's armor is activated, but you are still limited from using your greataxe with both hands in the grapple. What do you do?

Galakhar on deck, Cici in the hole ...

[BuckGodot]

Aasgar struggles mightily to break free of the hold while calling out tactical advice to his allies.

Spoiler: Technical Information

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SA: Break free from grapple

(1d20+13)[30]

SwA: Defending the Pride: Grant all allies w/in 60' a +4 morale bonus to AC for 1 rd.

[lostsole31]

R4T12: Aasgar struggles mightily and breaks free of the hold while calling out tactical advice to his allies, his voice carrying farther than normal with his prodigiously large lungs. He is inspired with his last withheld maneuver, but at the cost of his wounds showing ever more (13).

R4T10: Galakhar, probably unseen by most as he is against the southern wall midway into the room, is heard calling out, "If you can bypass the base brambles to do so, make your way to the leader and cut it down and the others will fall as well! These servitor-brambles aren't even real plants, but animated plant-like constructs."

Despite his own advice, he is limited by his available path and is seen coming in to engage the blinded bramble (#3). He takes a quick sense of the thing and then hits it with an upwards thrust that does 21.

R4T9: "Got it! Thanks, Gal," says Cici. "But that big one Abenor is fighting is definitely some type of plant. Fits the description of something I've heard called a 'brambleblight' before, but that's all I know of them."

Now that Aasgar got away from his, Cici has to be more careful and aerobatically moves from Bramble-1, but then exposes herself to the brambleblight itself even as she was taking out a small amber stick. The brambleblight misses Cici thanks to Aasgar's advice, and Bramble-1 also tries to attack her but misses wildly. Cici goes down to a height of 10' and the southeastern corner before casting her spell. With a loud crack and a flash, a lightning bolt goes partly through the brambleblight (11 electricity) to hit Bramble-3 squarely (20 electricity).

R4T6.1-.0: Ivilva's voice finally ends the long casting she made. A rat with thick, gnawing teeth appears to the east of Bramble-1, flanking with Aasgar. It bites and gnaws the servitor bramble for 4.

End Round 4, Begin Round 5 ...

R5T25: Phaevin, you are in a very bad way, barely conscious and grappled by Bramble-2. What do you do?

Brambleblight and all animated brambles on deck and in the hole ...

[Admyral]

Pushing down the panic, Phaevin says as loud as he can, "Need... some... help!"

He then hums a song of healing attempting to keep himself conscious.

Spoiler: tech info

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MA: None SA: Cast Cure Moderate Wounds on Self (2d8+5)[16]

[lostsole31]

R5T25: Pushing down the panic, Phaevin says as loud as he can, "Need... some... help!"

He then hums a song of healing attempting to keep himself conscious, working past the thrashing about from being grappled, only to realize with horror that he had expended all of his best spells already.

R5T18: Being pressed by the little creatures, the brambleblight whips out a set of thorns at Abenor and Cici. The elf cuts the thorns coming at him out of the air, but Cici gets hit in the chest for 8 and her left shoulder for 8. Bramble-1 swings at the rat. Bramble-2 constricts Phaevin for 28, squeezing his body in half, and then it releases the halves of the half-elf to fall to the ground in wet, glumpy sounds. Bramble-3 swings wildly in Galakhar's direction. Bramble-4 comes up behind Galakhar and hits him in the lower back for 10 mod + grappled.

R5T17: Mercifully for his focus, a mound was in the way, keeping Abenor from seeing Phaevin's gruesome death. He still fails to get past outer branches with a long-armed swing.

R5T12: Aasgar, Phaevin was on the other side of the mound, which means you didn't see his death, either ... only hearing his call for help, and unidentifiable wet sounds.

Galakhar on deck, Cici in the hole ...