The Heroes' Journey Begins (in Merivale)

@Kessa: You can see how the Cheat was designed to be high DPS against a single target, like an assassin. If this had been against a tougher opponent, you could have used your Sneak Attack and possibly Vicious Opportunist abilities to really crank out the pain. Just for kicks and giggles - and b/c this will probably (hint, hint) come up later - I'll try it out here:

Quote:

*Vicious Opportunist: (1/turn) When you hit a Distracted target with a melee attack, you may change the Primary Die roll to whatever you like (changing it to the max value counts as a crit). A target is Distracted if it is adjacent to or Taunted by an ally, or if it cannot see you. In this case, the foe would have been considered Distracted, so unless you rolled 1, you have a guaranteed crit!

Sneak Attack. (1/turn) When you crit, deal +1d6 damage.

Side note: Also, since you have dual daggers, you can Dual Wield/1 turn, giving you advantage on that attack. Not really a help on your first attack here since your opponent is distracted, but if you were to make a second attack this round, that would offset the disadvantage for a Rushed Attack.

So you'd be doing a base damage of 4+1d4+1d6+2 for Dex. If the d4 maxes out again, it explodes and keeps going. Also, on a crit, you ignore monster armor, which is *HUGE* when fighting a heavily armored foe (they usually only take half damage with no stat bonus). Let's see what you might have ended up with.... Kind of a meh roll, but you can see how that could escalate quickly.

@Thorne: That is exactly right. :)

In quick succession, Kessa and Thorne drop two of six creatures. Four remain, three somewhat encircled between Caldra and Kessa, the last standing a few feet away considering his life choices and calculating the odds of escaping.

Caldra and Vilde are up!

Moving to finish the flight Caldra slams her mace into the most dangerous of the the remaining enemy. A simmering energy fading from her eyes, only to flash from her weapon


Don't let any of them get away. she grunt, in pain from the earlier blow, a fierce determination to stop any more useless harm to be done by the villains driving her on.

Caldra brings her mace around in a sweeping upward arc, catching one of the Gerblings square in the chest and propelling it a good ten feet into the hardpacked earth of the square. As her weapon makes contact, there is a flash of golden light which briefly outlines the fiend as its limp body flops to an ignominious end.

The initial look of rabid frenzy that had once filled the Gerblings' eyes is beginning to give way to fear and mortal terror. Clearly, such staunch resistance from the common folk of Merivale was not something they had anticipated.

@timplausible: Yes, I'll make a copy of the page its on and post it in the Q&A thread!

Seeing Caldra being swarmed by Gerblings, Vilde steps up.
As she moves up, she swings fire magic at a Gerbling swarming Caldra and immediatelly follows up with magical words to hasten Caldra'a actions.

@VIlde: My reading is that Spellcasting works like other actions in combat - spells that require a damage roll accumulate a Rushed Attack penalty just like any other attack. Since you only made the one attack (Heart's fire just grants a boon with no damage roll needed) there's no disadvantage. :)

Vilde's fingers weave an arcane pattern in the air as she intones the eldritch words and summons her flame dart. A bolt of blazing energy arcs from her staff to the nearby Gerbling. It disappears in a flash of flame that is almost immediately replaced by a curling cloud of greasy black smoke, leaving behind nothing but a tattered and singed pair of small boots and a rusty dagger lying in the dirt.

The last remaining Gerbling utters something unintelligible, but which sounds like a profanity, and then turns and runs, heading the same way that the Ratrider and his companions went.

There is a moment of silence, and then the town square erupts in cheers. Villagers, who must have been watching the goings on from behind the slits in their window blinds, pour out of the nearby buildings and surround you.

"That was amazing!"

"They really are heroes!"

"Did you see?!?!"

You see Abram walking towards you, holding his hands up to the crowd, with a broad smile on his face. "What did I tell you?" he calls out to the assembling crowd, and steps forward to clap you on the back, beaming widely.

The spirit of celebration lasts for a few glorious moments, and then a small voice, the voice of a child, a little girl who's face is not looking celebratory, but worried and on the point of tears, cuts through the din. "But... what about Moonblossom?"

A hush falls over the crowd as all eyes turn to the Golden Oak in the center of the square and then back to you.

"Moonblossom?", Thorne asks, confused.

It sounds like a name, but he is not sure who they are talking about.

We heard a scream earlier. Did they abduct someone? Caldra asks, recalling the squirming sack on the back of the leaders as he rode away.

Kessa wipes her daggers off and sheaths them. Then she picks up her sling. She seems to pointedly check her gear while all the cheering is going on, as if trying to ignore it. But she looks uo when the child asks about Moonblossom. She lets the others ask the questions, but she listens intently to the answers.

Looking around to ensure the danger is past Caldra kneels for a moment and recites a private prayer as she invokes a touch of her healing gift to stem the flow of blood from her wounds. She then asks one of one of the village woman if there are any bandages and healing ointments in the village for her use or purchase. Looking over the rest of the party and villagers she examines them for any wounds.

Abram steps towards you and nods. "Moonblossom is the fairy who lives in the Golden Oak, a kind and benevolent spirit who grants blessings and watches over the folk who live here. The village was literally built around her tree, and she's watched over generations of its residents since then." In a more hushed voice, he whispers to just the four of you. "Whether it be true or not, many of the folk here believe their prosperity and even the harvests are dependent on her blessings."

A murmur of disquiet trending towards panic begins to spread among the villagers.

"Help us please! We can't let anything happen to her!"

"What will we do without her? The harvest!"

"What could those fiends possibly want with her?"

Finally, the child who called your attention to the abduction comes up to you, tears welling in her eyes, and gently tugs on the hem of Caldra's robes. "You'll save her, won't you? please?"

Thorne slid his bow back over his shoulder. His eyes moved from the trembling child, to the tree at the square’s center, then to the shadowed path where the last Gerbling fled.

He didn’t speak—he didn’t need to. His expression said enough: steady, resolute, already calculating tracks, distance, and how long those creatures could run. So he waited—calm and patient—as he always did.

When the little girl tugged Caldra’s robe, Thorne stepped half a pace back, giving Caldra room to kneel, to speak, maybe even to promise. She would likely speak for them. And when Caldra did, Thorne Underbough would follow.

Kneeling next to the child Caldra replies gently to comfort the child, and others of course we will save Moonblossom. Thorne is already looking into it.

Standing back up she looks around So can tell up of the goblins? And where does that path lead?

One of the townsfolk speaks up, an elderly gentleman with a tuft of thinning white hair, bushy muttonchops, and a pair of emerald green suspenders holding up his well-made but clearly not new blue breeches. "I'm Mayor Tills, and pleased to make your acquaintance, although I wish it had been under better circumstances."

He steps forward, slightly favoring his right leg, and adjusts his trousers before continuing. "We've heard tell of Goblins prowling the King's Reach and harassing travelers, but they've never dared to venture close to Merivale, much less raid our town." His voice rises in pitch at the end of the last sentence as he is clearly trying to hold in his outrage. After a moment he composes himself and continues. "Everyone knows the Goblin King resides somewhere in the Elderwild, but for as long as I can remember, they generally haven't ventured terribly far from it - except for the occasional raid on the King's Reach, but always much further north. I don't understand.... They didn't ransack the village or raid the farms. What could they possibly want with Moonblossom?"

Thorne waits for Kessa to speak next. She will likely ask the mayor for supplies and a reward in gold, like she did before, in another town.

If it depended only on him and Caldra, they would be penniless and starving. Kessa brought a much-needed "financial awareness" to the group, so Thorne respected that.

Kessa nods as she listens to the mayor. She slides a little closer to him after he finishes and speaks in a voice intended for him and not the gathered townsfolk. "So, we're glad to help. But helping people doesn't put food in our bellies or a roof over our heads. Some compensation would be much appreciated. And some supplies would be helpful."