Aleksandra Wakes the Beetles ~ Round 1

Continued From Under the Barrow

Summary

Aleksandra begins attacking the beetles while the party continues to descend.

Original Page

The barrow with beetles emerging

The DM: As Aleksandra steps forward into 1107, she sees three large beetles, each about two feet in length, with glowing patches on their backs. These emerge quickly from the hole in 1205.

Aleksandra: I must have misunderstood the stealth entry on the wiki. My bad.

I rolled a 6.

The DM: Although you are an assassin, "stealth" has become part of the sage abilities ~ therefore, you do not automatically get that ability. I rush to point out that in the old system, as an assassin, you would not get the chance to "move silently" until 3rd level anyway.

The wiki is probably out of date ~ but even so, it would read that you would need to roll 3d6 and subtract 1 per level ~ that means the minimum you could approach anyone at your level would be 2 hexes, with only a 1 in 216 chance of getting that good.

You're not surprised!

Please roll a d6 again.

Aleksandra: Thank you for the update.

I roll another 6.

The DM: [my error; this is what comes of rushing the sage abilities. Stealth was meant to be included under sure-footedness. The wiki has been updated to include this note, but the Stealth page is still due to be updated. Did you want to change your sage preferences? Gudbrand still hasn't even chosen his]

I rolled a 1. You and the rest of the party have initiative.

Now, take your time in calculating your action points. Please, all party members, let me know how many you have before acting. Remember that it takes 2 AP to attack and that you have to be in an adjacent hex to attack hand-to-hand. The beetles are really light so if you want to overbear and force one out of a hex it won't be hard.

It also takes 2 AP to throw a weapon. It takes 1 AP to move 1 hex, with a penalty of moving out of a hex in which the enemy is adjacent. Beyond that, we'll just take our time and learn the system.

Engelhart, it will take you two rounds to descend into the barrow. You can't see anyone to attack at this time. Gudbrand, Lothar and Aleksandra, you can all take an action.

Rowan: You've described the ground as matted by foliage. Is there any reason to assume this would make the 15ft drop less painful?

I am still waiting for Engelhart to descend.

The DM: I had expressed the possibility of that earlier, Rowan ~ but no one down in the burrow has taken a moment to assess that possibility nor to communicate it to people up top ~ so just at the moment, you have no idea.

However, I did already make the point about you deliberately jumping the distance, making a dex check and possibly taking no damage.

Aleksandra: I will throw my rock at the lead beetle (-2) and retreat to 1108 (-1). With my remaining 2AP, may I ready an attack with my bo stick against the first fire beetle to enter melee with me?

The DM: Aleksandra,

Your character gets your action points and then the enemy gets theirs. You can't save up your AP, nor get attacks of opportunity to spend it. You must use your AP in your round or it counts at time used doing nothing. So if you don't use those AP right now for something, it is assumed that you spend the time waiting for the beetles to 'come on.'

The DM: Oh, and roll a d20 to see if you hit the lead beetle with your rock. You're not proficient in 'rock,' so you're -2 to hit; but you get a +2 on account of your dexterity, so it cancels out.

Engelhart: (ooc: sorry for staying logged into my regular gmail but I'm exchanging emails with my advisor and can't log out of it right now)

I still have no penalty for encumbrance, so I have 5 AP.

2 AP: walk 1008; walk 1009 1 AP: draw sling from belt 1 AP: yell "Aleksandra, what is it?" I end my turn here, 1 AP unspent.

I have some questions relevant to my next turn. No need to answer them yet. 1 - What cost is there, if any, to open my belt pouch which has my bullets in it? 1 AP to pull the drawstring/lift the flap? 2 - Is the cost for actually drawing a bullet from the pouch integrated into the 4 AP cost to load and aim? As far as I know this is how it is for bows. If said cost is not part of the 4 AP for "load and aim" then what is the cost to draw each bullet?

Aleksandra: Thank you, Alexis.

Then, I use my remaining AP to answer Maxwell's question: "Three fire beetles!"

And I roll another natural 15.

The DM: Gudbrand,

The cost for opening your pouch and drawing a bullet IS integrated into the cost to load and aim.

Take note; you meant to write that you were moving into 0909 to get to 1009. You're two hexes from 1008. Look at the posted map and please be more careful.

Aleksandra ~ the rock bounces off the beetle's hard shell.

Engelhart: I begin my descent.

Having 4 AP, will the two-round descent cost the full 8 or will there be anything left afterward?

Rowan: I have 3 AP

I drop my spear with a gentle toss, aiming for hex 0707.

Then I descend behind Engelhart.

A note: letting go of the spear will reduce my encumbrance to 4 AP. For future reference, would this gain me that AP to use immediately, or will it be available next round, assuming I do not gain encumbrance between now and then?

Lothar: My pack is up in the ruined farmhouse, so the only things I'm carrying at this point are my boots, weapons and armor. Total worn/carried load: 35.7 lbs currently, so I have 5 AP.

I move to 0908 and climb up on top of the sarcophagus, leaving my quarterstaff at my feet on the sarcophagus lid. If I have any AP left after that, I begin loading my bow.

The DM: Engelhart,

Calling the descent two full rounds, yes, that means all your AP.

Rowan,

Because you said a "gentle toss" I won't make you roll to hit. It will be somewhere abouts 0707. There's no AP cost for dropping a weapon, so if you wish to do so to gain the extra AP, you can do so immediately.

The DM: Lothar,

The rule is that it will take 4 AP to load your bow; you'll be using three AP to move to 0908 and then Climb onto the mat-covered hex atop the sarcophagus, which would be 0907 (unmarked). This would leave you enough time to "load your bow without aiming," meaning you could fire at -4 to hit the next round or wait yet one more complete round without moving (in which case, it would still cost you 4AP that round) to finally fire your bow in round 3.

Knowing this, do you wish to reconsider your action?

Lothar: Ah, hrm. I had hoped I could use 2 AP this round to start loading, and finish loading with another 2 AP next round and then fire.

Ok, I move to 0908 now and load my bow for firing next round. That should be 5 AP right?

My quarterstaff I'll drop at my feet once I'm in hex 0908.

The DM: Correct, Lothar. 5 AP.

Now, that is all on the ground: I'll repost your positions on this blog post, with errors, and begin the next blog post with the beetle's movement and attacks.

Beetles are non-intelligent, so attacks will be random, with closer targets being more likely to be approached/attacked.

Continued on Aleksandra Gets Bitten ~ Round 2