Immersive Ink

Desmond attempts to sneak up the rest of the way to the cave entrance to see if he can get a glimpse of what is making the noise and how many whats their might be. He assumes they are ogres, given Ashtad's description of what they fought earlier... maybe there was more than one and the others were just out hunting that day. Or maybe they heard the other ogre was dead and are claiming his spot by the bridge. Whatever the reason, he wants to find out what they're up against.

Dhren remains in his hidden place, awaiting further developments, or news from Desmond.

Sorry for my extended absence, fellows... The above post is mainly meant to show that I'm active online again.

Ashtad and Dorgan exchange a few words before Ashtad fossicks through her gear to produce an oil flask for Dorgan. Drhen remains hidden off the path further back.

Meanwhile, some 20-30 yards nearer the cave Desmond/Mondes slinks up to the cave mouth and dares a peek in...

The Hinterland wilderness is not a place to let one's guard down; especially not after one of your fellows has recently been put to the sword! The resident Ogres--for Ogres they are--are a suspicious lot with nerves on edge and are taking no chances.

...Desmond/Mondes cringes as a buckle on his pack scrapes minutely over the rock face.

"Whassat?" blurts one of the Ogres. In that instant our burglar spots a knot of four figures squatting sullenly about a miserly cook fire just inside the dim cave. In that same instant four Ogre necks snap sharply toward Desmond/Mondes and their beady eyes meeting his across a gap of 40ft.

Desmond's sneaky roll 1d6=1 indicates things go awry.

Ref determines the number of Ogres present (1-8 are encountered out of a lair, or 3-18 in a lair).

Neither party is surprised. Ref therefore determines the encounter distance: 2d6=4 so 40ft indoors.

What are your instructions for the upcoming turn?

How wide is the cave entrance? If Desmond and Dorgan tried to hold fast there, could they keep the ogres bottled up inside?

Hoping to keep them busy with chatter for just a moment, Desmond keeps his sword sheathed and tries to start a conversation.

Speaking rather loudly so the others know he has been spotted, he says, "Which one of you four ogres here has eaten my friend Beringar? I'm wondering, because he'd swallowed some gems and I wanted to get them back, if at all possible."

Dhren's heart rises painfully into his throat as he hears Desmond's obvious warning to everyone. From his hidden place, he quickly but quietly gets an oil flask and his tinderbox ready; His sword still in sheath. Once he has them, he will try to move in all silence to whatever side of the cave entrance that he's nearest and that will offer the most cover against being seen. He's going to try to get to one flank of Desmond, but unseen, so he can throw a lit oil flask at the ogres when/if the opportunity arises or is needful.

If, however, he determines that throwing an oil flask is either impossible or not useful, he will drop them on the ground and draw his sword to fight at Desmond's flank if that becomes necessary. He says nothing, but as he goes, he will watch his friends Dorgan and Ashtad to see how they are preparing, too.

Dhren is getting ready to offer any help he can. My idea is that he's best to toss an oil flask, but that might change depending on what you do, Ehiker, with Desmond, or what the Ogres do, etc. I'm trying to move Dhren to a place where he still can't be seen but can toss that flask to good effect from a side of the cave entrance.

WOTE, please correct me if I'm wrong...

The way I understand it, ogres are 4HD creatures and would get 4 attacks vs a 1HD target. But if they are fighting a 4HD target, they would just get the one attack.

Is that correct? Or am I mixing up old rules and new rules?

Dorgan will slowly and quietly move to the side so that he's not immediately visible from the cave mouth. Then he will just as slowly and quietly move forward.

sully wrote:How wide is the cave entrance? If Desmond and Dorgan tried to hold fast there, could they keep the ogres bottled up inside?

From Dorgan's position the entrance is half-concealed at an oblique angle; but the entry looks to be roughly 10ft wide. It's certainly broad enough for an Ogre to pass through.

Whether a 3ft Hobbit and a sub-4ft Dwarf could hold the entry against an 8ft Ogre would be an interesting question... it would come down to the turn by turn combat results. If the Ogres "won" a turn of combat they would be entitled to push outward as a result.

ehiker133 wrote:The way I understand it, ogres are 4HD creatures and would get 4 attacks vs a 1HD target. But if they are fighting a 4HD target, they would just get the one attack.

Is that correct? Or am I mixing up old rules and new rules?

Against normal-types an Ogre has four attacks as a 1 HD monster; hits deal 1-6 hp. Against heroic-types, an Ogre has one attack as a 4 HD monster; hits deal 3-8 hp.

I think we're all following Desmond's lead here. If he fights, we fight. If he runs, we run. At least, that's what Dorgan is gonna do.