Dusk Eclipse's Eyes of the Lich Queen IC

[CoffeeIncluded]

Soren pauses and twiddles his fingers together. "I thought we could make an illusion of another dragon invading to scare them off or something," he mumbles. "Is it really that bad of an idea?"

[CWater]

"I think it sounds hilarious", says Kaarna and leans her back against the stone wall. After a moment spent thinking she continues. "One thing about that torching plan though. What if they've got tinies around? Call me a softie, but I don't like the idea of slaying cubs, or whatever those are for lizards, tadpoles? It just ain't right."

[rypt]

Athard regards Soren incredulously. "And is your illusion capable of producing sound?" he asks, in a tone that suggests he already knows the answer.

[CoffeeIncluded]

"I think it sounds hilarious", says Kaarna and leans her back against the stone wall. After a moment spent thinking she continues. "One thing about that torching plan though. What if they've got tinies around? Call me a softie, but I don't like the idea of slaying cubs, or whatever those are for lizards, tadpoles? It just ain't right."

Soren's face goes dark. "I'm not doing that," he mutters.

Athard regards Soren incredulously. "And is your illusion capable of producing sound?" he asks, in a tone that suggests he already knows the answer.

"Actually, it is," Soren says. He sings something too rapidly to make out the words, moves his fingers in a blur, and suddenly a silhouette of a dragon appears overhead in the cave. It circles around them, roaring something somewhat distant once or twice, and then lands between Athard and Kaarna and seemingly drapes its wings over the two. It growls again and breathes an illusory tongue of flame at Scholar and Adrianna.

[CWater]

"That's still a bit silent for a dragon", Kaarna says and eyes the beast, "Still... I'm not really convinced of the war machine's extermination plan either", she looks back at Scholar, "What makes you think we could take out all of them anyway? Someone is bound to run, some always do."

[Kish]

"In your adventuring career, you've never fought a group of enemies where none of them ran away during the fight, even if you didn't magically compel them to run?" Scholar looks at the others. "Is that your experience as well, Soren, Athard?"

[CWater]

"In your adventuring career, you've never fought a group of enemies where none of them ran away during the fight, even if you didn't magically compel them to run?" Scholar looks at the others. "Is that your experience as well, Soren, Athard?"

"Uh... That's not really what I meant", Kaarna says, with a dumb look on her face.

Spoiler

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Scholar takes things very literally doesn't she ;)

[CoffeeIncluded]

"Uh...what?" Soren blinks and tries to work out the multiple double negatives in his head. "I was usually the one running..." He's clearly still trying to work out the double negatives when the dragon roars in Kaarna's ear. "I can't do loud noises until I get stronger with illusions, but I can make them do basic sounds."

[CWater]

Kaarna twitches at the sudden sound. "Hey, watch it with the toy dragon", she swats the air in the illusions direction. "So folks, what do we do? After all this talk I'm leaning on the most simple approach possible, we just walk over there and see what happens."

[CoffeeIncluded]

The dragon sticks its tongue out at Kaarna. Turns out illusions can make a raspberry blowing noise pretty well. Soren, for his part, smiles.

"I don't think we should just march up and say, 'Hi, how are you, can we run into your temple and take your treasure please?'"

[rypt]

"Magically aided or not, I don't know how you expect to sneak this" --he raps a knuckle on Adrianna's plate armor-- "past anyone. They make quieter airships."

[Kish]

Scholar looks back and forth between the three of you. "So, our proposed approaches for dealing with the lizardfolk at the huts you saw are: Try to kill them all. Try to frighten as many of them as possible off. Walk up to them and hope that the lizardfolk we spoke to earlier was lying about their unfriendliness."

[CWater]

Scholar looks back and forth between the three of you. "So, our proposed approaches for dealing with the lizardfolk at the huts you saw are: Try to kill them all. Try to frighten as many of them as possible off. Walk up to them and hope that the lizardfolk we spoke to earlier was lying about their unfriendliness."

"Two right, one wrong", Kaarna says, making a small spark with her fingers, "Never thought they'd be friendly."

[CoffeeIncluded]

"Magically aided or not, I don't know how you expect to sneak this" --he raps a knuckle on Adrianna's plate armor-- "past anyone. They make quieter airships."

Soren concentrates, and suddenly the illusion of a dragon turns to an illusion of an airship. "Well, maybe we could go under the cover of an airship. I am a half-elf after all, even if I don't have a dragonmark. And I have met the house before, a little bit."

Scholar looks back and forth between the three of you. "So, our proposed approaches for dealing with the lizardfolk at the huts you saw are: Try to kill them all. Try to frighten as many of them as possible off. Walk up to them and hope that the lizardfolk we spoke to earlier was lying about their unfriendliness."

"Walk up to him?" Soren shakes his head. "The lizardfolk we saw was sharpening weapons, I never said we just walk up to him. That...I was being sarcastic. And I don't think Kaarna meant we walk up there with the intent to kill everyone. Though..." He pauses and trails off in thought. "What if we do a hit and run thing? Don't stay, but run straight through, maybe cover our tracks so they don't know where we've gone? I might be able to cover our tracks with an illusion but can any of you cast a anything that would outright not let them see us?"

[rypt]

Soren concentrates, and suddenly the illusion of a dragon turns to an illusion of an airship. "Well, maybe we could go under the cover of an airship. I am a half-elf after all, even if I don't have a dragonmark. And I have met the house before, a little bit."

Athard scoffs. "You think these savages are going to respect the authority of a marked house?"

"Walk up to him?" Soren shakes his head. "The lizardfolk we saw was sharpening weapons, I never said we just walk up to him. That...I was being sarcastic. And I don't think Kaarna meant we walk up there with the intent to kill everyone. Though..." He pauses and trails off in thought. "What if we do a hit and run thing? Don't stay, but run straight through, maybe cover our tracks so they don't know where we've gone? I might be able to cover our tracks with an illusion but can any of you cast a anything that would outright not let them see us?"

"This is absurd. What were you expecting to do here? Why in Khyber's depths did you even accept the job if this is how you planned you see it through? There is an entire temple filled with lizardfolk over there and every single one of them wants you dead. Do you really intend to guile your way past them all?"

[CoffeeIncluded]

Athard scoffs. "You think these savages are going to respect the authority of a marked house?"

"No, but airships are big and--"

"This is absurd. What were you expecting to do here? Why in Khyber's depths did you even accept the job if this is how you planned you see it through? There is an entire temple filled with lizardfolk over there and every single one of them wants you dead. Do you really intend to guile your way past them all?"

"Hey!" Soren's tone turns sharp. "Obviously I know that we're going to have to fight at some point--we're tomb robbing, for V-Olladra's sake, and that means I'm going to need to use my bow, but I DON'T see violence and shooting things as a first option! We can't bash our way through everything all the time. And if we can't sneak past and there's too many to fight through then why not cover our escape? I doubt well be able to rest an regain spells easily once were inside, so we shouldn't burn eberytjibg outside."

[rypt]

Soren spoke as though Athard was a hammer rather than a scalpel. Amusing, but irrelevant. "And your alternative is what, a hit and run strike where we somehow disguise our withdrawal? Why would they even bother trying to track us when they can simply fortify their encampment at the temple? There's only five of us, in case you've forgotten, and Mockery knows how many of them. We're not going to win a battle of attrition here. Surprise is our greatest, if not our only advantage and I will not see it wasted."

[CoffeeIncluded]

Soren blinks in confusion, and then in clarity. Oh, that's the problem! "I think I said the wrong thing. When I said hit and run I didn't mean we attack and then run back here. I meant we hit them, and then run straight through to the temple, without wasting time and magic killing everyone. Maybe we use an illusion or cover to make them think we headed back instead of going straight through to the temple, which is what were actually doing, to confuse them and buy us some time?"

[Silverraptor]

Adrianna speaks up.
"I'd just thought I'd inform you all that my armor is calling enchanted. At command I can have it instantly donned upon me fully suited up. Will that allow for more options?"

[CWater]

"So, what are we going to do?", Kaarna asks in a lazy voice, she is growing bored with all the tactical talk. "We go there, try to be sneaky, but as it likely won't work, we'll probably have to fight our way in. Does anyone have anything to add to that?"

"Oh, Soren, you'd probably do better to save those invisibility spells if you can. That way at least a few can hide if the fight goes really bad."

Spoiler: OOC

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I'd like to note, just in case, that it is only Kaarna who is bored, not me.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Soren nods at Kaarna's comment. "That's a good idea. And hm, if we can go in while They're still sleeping that could give us an advantage."

Spoiler: Kish

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should I roll to know when they'll likely be sleeping or active?

[Kish]

Spoiler: Soren

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Pretty sure you can autopass the Knowledge: Nature roll to know that lizardfolk are diurnal, and none of the subraces that immediately come to mind are exceptions.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Soren licks his lips. "The lizardfilk are all diurnal, so if we leave before dawn they'll still be asleep and the might not run into all of them."

[Kish]

You leave the cave about an hour before dawn, and stumble through the darkness toward the cluster of huts you scouted last night.

Spoiler: OOC

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Make Stealth checks, and let me know what you're doing.
(1d20+1)[4]
(1d4)[2]
(1d20)[18]
(1d20)[11]

[CoffeeIncluded]

When you dance, unless you're tapdancing, you need to be light on your feet. You need to flow, and sway, and seem almost part of the scenery until you aren't. Some of the strategies apply to sneaking too. Hopefully it's enough, Soren thinks to himself as he draws his bow and slips through the jungle, trying to keep to the undergrowth as far as it can help him.

Spoiler: Stealth

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Soren doesn't stay in plain sight, but f going through the undergrowth gives him a penalty he doesn't do that either.

Stealth: (d20+9)[22]

[Silverraptor]

Without her armor on, Adrianna tries to make as little noise as possible.

Spoiler: Stealth

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Stealth: (1d20+1)[10]

[Kish]

Spoiler: OOC

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They see you, and you know they're there. Initiative rolls:
Soren: (1d20+4)[14]
Kaarna: (1d20+8)[20]
Scholar: (1d20+1)[16]
Athard: (1d20+6)[26]
Adrianna: (1d20+1)[3]
Lieutenant: (1d20+3)[8]
Soldier 1: (1d20+2)[4]
Soldier 2: (1d20+2)[19]
Soldier 3: (1d20+2)[19]

Red is the fire pit, which provides bright illumination within 20 feet and shadowy illumination out to 40 feet.

If you go any significant amount toward the northwest you'll run into the cluster of larger huts the scouts saw earlier.
Each square is five feet.
While I couldn't mark this on the map, each hut has an opening facing toward the firepit, so from the west you can see into the two eastern huts--not the ones closer to you.
Athard, Kaarna, you're up.

[CWater]

Almost at the moment when they're spotted, Kaarna retrieves a piece of charred wood from her pocket and rubs its surface with her hand. Without stopping to ask questions, she makes a few quick hand movements, pointing at the sky and then at the lizardfolk soldier. A crackling cloud of electricity appears above them.

Spoiler

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Casting Aggressive Thundercloud on S1.
Damage: (3d6)[14]
Ref save DC 15 to negate.
If she can't reach him from her current position, Kaarna moves to the south as many squares as needed.

[rypt]

"Armor, now!" Athard growls, sparing a moment's glance back towards Adrianna. As Kaarna's magic rumbles over the firepit, the Cyran assassin darts forward, using the nearest hut as cover while he invokes a spell of his own.

Spoiler

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Move action: Athard moves to Q6.
Standard action: Athard casts empowered shocking grasp via his spellshard and holds the charge on his longsword.
Swift action: Athard expends a point from his arcane pool to add another +1 enhancement bonus to his longsword.

[Silverraptor]

Adrianna quickly calls her armor, which magically appears around her, perfectly fit. She then pulls out her sword and tries to position herself between the lizard folk and those she's charged to protect.