Immersive Ink

If the ogres make any move to close the distance between them, Desmond will flee at the fastest possible speed.

There's a bit of a commotion as the Ogres quickly rise; knocking back their stools in their eagermess to get a look at whomever might be speaking, but not so eager as to rush out to meet him. They reply from well within the cave.

"Show yer sneaky selves!" snarls one.
"It'll be more of 'em pesky Dwarfs!" mutters another.
"Men too, I'll wager," says the nearest Ogre, and then, "Wot manners is that? Introduce yerselfs--proper like--an' we can see bout them stones you want."

Ref rolls a reaction check 2d6=8 adjusted by -2 for the suspicious disposition of the Ogres, being snuck up on, and also for (generally) chaotic Ogres reacting to the "gentile/lawful" voice of a (generally) lawful Hobbit = 6; an uncertain reaction. This leaves open the option of another reaction roll next turn.

"What manners is eating my friend? Seriously, whichever one of you got his middling bits has a handful of sapphires in his gut right now. They're worth a good bit of coin, you know..."

He turns to Dhren and directs him to pour the oil at the entrance to the cave and get ready to light it.

ehiker133 wrote:He turns to Dhren and directs him to pour the oil at the entrance to the cave and get ready to light it.

Dorgan will do the same with his oil, taking care to stay out of sight.

Dhren nods at Desmond's silent instruction, and goes forth right beside Dorgan to do just as the halfling calls for. He quietly gets into place and begins dousing the entrance area with a flask of oil; His tinderbox in hand and ready for the lighting. Once the oil is poured, he will hide on one flank of that puddle and get ready to set it aflame. During this time, he's careful to pour his oil so that it forms one big puddle with Dorgan's, so that all of it will light quickly.

If he has the time to do so, he will light two torches, and give one to Dorgan to hold onto on his side of the puddle.

Yeah, the normal/heroic/superheroic tier here for these guys concerns me, too. Four attacks at 1hd against those of us who are not heroic tier are going to be trouble! I do think oil might be a great way to go. Otherwise, there's nothing for it than to engage these things to the best of our ability.

Or, we can try to tie these boneheads up in parley, and sneak inside to find out what we can. Dhren is something of a sneaky fellow, and could do that. I just don't want to split up too much with such powerful creatures at hand, though!

I was really thinking of just keeping them in their lair while we run away and calling the loot-gathering a bust for now. Four ogres against the full party? Yeah, I'll take those odds. Four ogres against a sick dwarf, a halfling, and two 1st levels? Mmmm... maybe not.

Ashtad gets into the best position to have a clear shoot in range at the entrance of the cave with room enough for the others to fight in between, and draws he bow with an arrow ready to give support to the coming battle. If need be her position will allow a shoot into the cave if required.

Desmond/Mondes points at the dirt near his feet emphatically while Mondes glares at Dhren and Dorgan, and Desmond continues to parley with the Ogres.

Dorgan and Dhren take the hint and creep up to the cave mouth with their oil flasks in hand, while Ashtad strings an arrow and takes aim at the cave mouth, about 80ft away.

"Ere, ee says there's loot in 'is friend's belly." growls one voice.

"Well oo et 'is friend?" says another, incredulously. "Did ya bite any stones?"

"Weren't me, was it?" says a third.

"Tha only stones around 'ere is tha rocks in yer head!" scathes the fourth. "Tha burrahobbit is playin' y'all!"

By this time Dhren and Dorgan have crept up to Desmond's position, and make ready to empty their flasks.

At the beginning of the turn Desmond is outside the cave, peering in. Dorgan and Ashtad are 20-30 yards down the path. Dhren is hiding 10 yards further back. Nobody has direct sight of any foe; Desmond can risk peering in, but I'm assuming he is staying in cover and talking to them from just outside.

The ref rolls another reaction check for the Ogres, and once again 2d6=8; another uncertain result. Looks like Desmond's delaying tactic is working out...

Meanwhile, Drhen and Dorgan are allowed two 90ft moves per turn so they can make the distance to the cave mouth comfortably. If they want to empty their oil directly in the cave mouth, they will likely have to stand there in plain sight while the oil is poured out. Alternatively, they could empty the oil slightly off to the side, just out of sight.

What next?

Dorgan will follow Desmond's non-verbal orders and attempt to pour his oil as close to Des' feet as possible, without actually pouring it on him or on his escape route.

"Playin' you, is it?" Desmond replies. "You think I'm so daft as to to walk half a day to a den of ogres and just pretend like one of you doesn't have a gut full of shiny stones that my unfortunate friend stole from our master? Look, quit stalling in there. Figure out who it was and send him out here so I can get the stones back, OK? We don't want to keep Ulrich Firestarter waiting all day. When he gets cranky, he removes heads with the flick of his wrist. Personally, I'm rather fond of both my heads."