(02) The Moat House

[rredmond]

They could have just ate and let us be!
Is Garamon still in thrall of the harpy song. Not sure if the eating/hissing/axing interrupted anything. My guess is "no", which in that case I guess he heads to help Stern with the portcullis!

[waysoftheearth]

They could have just ate and let us be!

Perhaps... but then you shot at them
Besides, they despise humans. Only fit for the dinner plate.

Is Garamon still in thrall of the harpy song. Not sure if the eating/hissing/axing interrupted anything.

Apologies if my rambling obscured the important parts; my only defense is that national internet infrastructure works means my ping is too awful to play other games atm... i amuse myself thusly

From my second last post:

I have given it some thought, and decided the harpy has to maintain her song in order to continue to draw victims toward her. If she stops singing before a victim reaches her, the compulsion automatically ends.

And from the MISSILES section of my last post:

The harpy song is interrupted! But exactly when its compulsion effect ends is undefined... let's assume it will finish at the end of the turn.

So in summary, Stern, Witherun, and Garamon are all freed of the compulsion by Flin's axe throw. That is not to say the harpies won't sing again next turn!

[mushgnome]

Stern and Garamon find themselves tangled in a pile of limbs! Stern helps his friend to his feet and says, "Thank you for stopping me from raising the portcullis! I'm going to help Flin; he has the right idea."

Stern briefly considers clamping his hands over his ears and simply walking away, leaving the harpies to finish their meal. But as a Knight he cannot bear to see even the corpses of his enemy desecrated, so he reloads his crossbow and takes another shot at the scavengers.

Not sure whether or not Stern would be aware that he's been charmed, so I flip a coin: heads he was conscious during his time as the harpy's puppet; tails he has amnesia. The coin comes up heads meaning Stern remembers everything and is aware that the intrusive thought was planted by the harpy. Referee is free to overrule the coin toss.

[Tonneau]

Wraislin continues to juggle his bedding, managing finally to create himself an eye-hole from which to monitor proceedings.

He also keeps an eye on the effects of harpies song, and will Charm Person on any fighter-types which succumb.

[zygarti]

Flin will once again throw his Axe at whichever Harpy is singing, hoping to once again break the song while his (friends?) gather themselves.

probably a bit risky to just keep attacking but I'll give it a go

[ehiker133]

Goldwen realizes her attempts at stopping Riverun failed because she had to try and block her own ears. Learning from her lessons (hopefully), Goldwen takes a moment to grab a rag or scarf and wrap it around her head/ears in an attempt to block or at least thwart the harpies' calls from ensnaring her.

[waysoftheearth]

The three harpies leap into the air--a dismembered corpse still pulled between two of them--and with a wild flapping of noisome wings, vanish from the sight of those sheltered in the moat house tunnel.

Flin and Stern strain to aim their missiles upward, but are thwarted for lack of any line of sight by the tunnel ceiling, and the lowered portcullis prevents them from immediately stepping out to improve their field of view.

A moment later, a grey-ish, severed forearm bounces awkwardly off the moat house battlement above, to land with a soft thump before the gate. Unmoving.

Then, there is... repose.

The harpies' movement breaks off contact as well as line of sight.

By the time there is a chance to shoot, there is no target to shoot at.

Then... nothing happens.

So, what now?

[rredmond]

"That could have been worse I guess," Garamon shrugs. Have we checked this place out fully, it's small, yes? Checked for secret doors, trap or otherwise and etc?

Just to reiterate, I like the ramblings! Especially coming from such a decades-long 1e background. Which reminds me there's an OSRIC pbp playtest module I need to get up and running... soon. Hopefully

[waysoftheearth]

Mmm, yes, a fight between part of the party and 3 harpies could have dragged on for a while. However, there's nothing much to be gained from a protracted fight for either side, particularly when the harpies could simply fly off with their breakfast. The bigger lesson here would be: be careful about splitting the party

The moat house was thoroughly searched last evening and again this morning. There is really not much to it; just a 30x30ft stone gatehouse with an archway/portcullis controlling access to the bridge. There is a single inside level (over the archway/tunnel) which accommodates the garrison and a sergeant, and where the party slept last night, and access to the exterior roof battlement which provides good oversight of the immediate surrounds.

Probably, it won't be long now before the wood cutters appear at the opposite side with their first load of the day, and get wind of the recent carnage, so let's get to the dungeon

[Tonneau]

Wraislin watches the wretched winged wenches waft into the sky before removing his bedding from around his skull.

Packing this away wordlessly (though with much unidentifiable mumbling), he then proceeds to sit cross-legged against the wall, opens a large tome from his pack, and immerses himself in it.

Wraislin reminds himself of the necessary procedures to lay waste to foes with the dreaded arcane energies under his mastery (ie he learns the days spells)