Meanwhile, Highbough, Torben, and Armando clamber into some of the sturdier trees further back; Armando having the forethought to position himself in a tree near enough to climb out on a limb and--possibly--leap from there to the wall?
On the ground, Gustave, Beringar, and Dorgan for a defensive line (of just three!) ahead of Josiane and Ulric and prepare to take the wolf-tide head on~!
Behind them Josiane intones a poignant benediction, while Ulric keeps himself out of harm's way...
The wolves throw themselves at our heroes, and impact with a cacophony of howls and yelps and squeals as our doughty trio of fighters deal them a brutal lesson in butchery! Five wolves are gutted or incapacitated in the bloody press, but the yellow-eyed beasts come on with uncanny ferocity; Beringar somehow avoids harm, but Gustave and Dorgan each suffer wounds worth 4 and 3 hit points, respectively.
At this point, Josiane's spell would come into effect | but see my comment below |.
Those in the trees above can quickly figure there are approximately one-score wolves involved--only a few linger about the tree trunks, snapping at those secured in the branches above. Most of them are charging and leaping about our hard-pressed trio--surely they will overrun them next turn and get at Ulric and Josiane too?
| I'll use the misspelling of Thuul as an opportunity to explain that the clerical Bless spell is primarily about a positive morale adjustment. PCs are not (usually) subject to morale checks and there are no hirelings/retainers present (aside from Josiane's owl) to benefit from this morale adjustment. True, there is an additional effect of the same spell (a +1 attack adjustment), but this isn't likely to be decisive against AC 7 wolves. DoctorX do you want to use your turn to invoke the Benediction of THUUL, or not?
Combat Resolution...
With weapons set and ready, and the advantage of reach, our trio will have the initiative in the first round. Wolves are 1 HD normals, so the fighters will each have one attack per hit die.
The referee can use "normal" combat resolution (with d6s), or "heroic" combat resolution (the more "familiar" D&D combat method with d20s) for the players' attacks. He decides to do both and compare outcomes...
Normal combat resoltion:
Berignar 1d6=5, Gustave 4d6=1,6,5,2, Dorgan 4d6=6,3,4,6, and our stalwart fighters slay five of the savage beasts!
Heroic combat resolution versus woves (AC7):
Beringar 1d20=13 = 1 hit: set spear for two dice damage, 2d6=5 damage.
Gustave 4d20=12,14,13,8 = 2 hits: 2d6+2=6 damage.
Dorgan 4d20=20,4,15,2 = 2 hits: 2d6+2=9 damage.
Total damage = 20 hit points. 1 HD wolves have mean of 3.5 hit points: 20/3.5 = 5.7 wolves slain.
Same result with either method
The players include heroic types, so the wolves' attacks must be resolved with the D&D's familiar heroic combat system:
Four attacks against each of Beringar (AC4), Gustave (AC2), and Dorgan (AC4):
12d20=4,8,1,5,and 20,5,2,17, and 15,6,1,16.
Beringar somehow escapes harm, but Gustave and Dorgan are each hit once for (1d6=4 and 1d6=3) 4 and 3 damage, respectively. |
