Ripple Fire (immediate reaction)
Trigger: Dealing damage from ranged attack to target on archer’s turn.
Effect: Allow one adjacent skeletal archer to make an ranged attack against the same target.
The original post has already been updated with these changes and it’s noted there.
The encounter was intended as a ‘standard’ difficulty, one of those resource sappers and went like so:
DM: “The wide corridor of the ancient temple still shows its finery in places. Gold leaf murals line the walls depicting life in the temple and the surrounding lands. Moldy heaps of rotting fabric lay in clumps at regular intervals where wall hangings have fallen down over the years. Every ten or so feet niches in the walls hold the shallow copper basins that you’ve seen through the temple that still emit a faint reddish glow, enough to light the way but not enough to chase the shadows off.
You’ve come to the far end of the corridor and a set of massive gilded doors, one ajar opened into the room beyond sit in heavy stone frames. Â Through the opening you can see what you think is the antechamber of the main hall. Heavy stone pillars run from floor to ceiling in a wide spread row on each side of a layer of black rotten cloth that was once royal purple. Four squat stone pedestals hold more copper braziers that light a circle in the room with the dim light. Each side and the far end are cloaked in heavy shadows but you get a feeling the walls are no more than 5 or 10′ outside the edge of the light.”
Ruwadah (Human rogue, known as Rue): “I’ll slink inside and around the left using the pillars, pedastels as best I can to block myself from sight from the right and other end. I’m going to move to that first pillar on the left.”
Hidden in the shadows at the far end of the room are 8 skeletal archers and 2 skeletons. They stand motionless waiting for anything to enter the room at which point they will attack. Â If the room is empty as far as they can tell, they will return to their guard posts and wait again.
The archers get surprise by default as Rue or the others have no way to detect them and shoot at Rue although for most of them its merely reactionary fire as they can’t see her but for the 3 ahead of her they have a clear line of fire. Unfortunately for the skeletons, they miss.
DM: “Arrows, many arrows come sleeting out of the dark to the south and pepper the walls and pillar, two or three come from straight ahead, barely missing.”
Rue: “Time to backpeddle! I run back to the entrance.”
Rue ends up running straight back to the entrance unlike her entry which has her passing over a trigger stone in the floor which sinks slightly under her foot.
The archers stand down as Rue leaves the room and the two skeletons which would have started forward step back into place.
DM: “Behind you about 30′ down the corridor with a rusty grating noise iron bars drop from the ceiling and crash against the floor scattering sparks that leave an afterimage on your eyes.”
Group: A universal “Well [bleep]” goes up.
The party which consists of Rue, Layus our ranger from the goblin fights, Erica a cleric, and Ull, a warlord listen intently using the closed side of the double doors as cover from the contents of the room. As seconds tick away they hear nothing. Layus pulls out a clay jar of lamp oil, ties a strip of oil soak cloth to it, lights the cloth and steps inside to pitch it toward the dark shadows of the far side. The clay shatters and flames spread out over the floor lighting up a goodly portion of the end and left of the room revealing the skeletons.
Triggered by Layus’s entry into the room the skeletons nock arrows and draw swords. Â The initiative order after rolling is:
- Archer group A, aka AA
- Ull
- Erica
- Layus
- Archer group B, aka AB
- Rue
- Skeletons, aka SA and SB where appropriate.
Round 1:
AA: Loose arrows at Layus still inside the room. All four miss. “Arrows thud into the door and wall around you striking sparks even as the rusted barbed heads shatter. You feel a tug and a small wisp of hair floats down to the ground from an arrow slicing through the space above your right ear.”
Ull: “We can’t get trapped against those bars, I move in to the left and use a pillar to get some cover. I’ll throw a hand axe at one of the archers when I get there.” Ull moves in and gets to the pillar and smashes an archer into fragments with a well hurled axe.
Erica: “I can’t do anything from here, I follow Ull” With her powers at a 5 range and the skeletons at 10+ she can’t do anything right now but close the range. She moves twice moving past Ull and closer to the rank of archer group A.
Layus: “I’m good right here. Let’s show these foul spawn of a necromancer’s fantasy how you really use a bow.” He Twin Strikes at two of the skeletal archers, gets a critical hit on one, misses the other. Archer goes down.
Archer Group B (AB): “With a rattle of bone and creak of sinew four skeletons armed with archers step into the light from the far right corner in the room and advance forward with military like precision. At the same instant in eerie sync they all loose a flight of arrows that shatter and break on the pillar and walls around Ull and Erica.” 4 rolls at 10 or better to hit and all miss. Skeltal archers need to hit the range and practice some more.
Rue: “I follow the crowd stopping near Ull and flip a bullet at the next in line.” She smashes another archer into splinters of bone with a Deft Strike.
Skeleton A & B (SA/SB): “Erica the two larger skeletons armed with longswords, bones lit by the flickering but dying light of the oil fire charge at you bones rattling and swing around so that each is on a side of you and swing. Erica you parry one rusted longsword to the side but leave yourself open to the one behind you and a blow lands heavily on your right side, possibly cracking a rib.” SA ran to get an extra +2 movement to get on the far side of the cleric even though that grants combat advantage against him but gaining it for the two of them is part of their directive. Both ready their action, triggered on gaining combat advantage and both swing. The skeleton rolled and did almost half her health in one hit.
Round 2:
AA: “An arrow passes over your shoulder and clatters somewhere far down the corridor behind you.” The last archer in group A is feeling forlorn and alone.
Ull: “Don’t worry lass! I’ll move up and you step back to my side!” Ull moves up behind SA and uses Wolf Pack Tactics to shift Erica one square even as he smashes his longsword into SA breaking some of the bones away.
DM: “Erica as you shift the skeleton lashes out with unnatural speed clipping a bit of your cloak away but otherwise missing.” One had her Marked which provokes a basic attack even on a shift.
Erica: “Oh no you just didn’t! BACK FOUL UNLIFE, GET THY UNCLEAN PRESENCE AWAY FROM ME!” She uses Turn Undead and hits both, blasting them with the power of her faith in a flash of white light. The two skeleton’s are flung away from her for 25′ smoking and crackling. It’ll be several seconds (end of her next turn) before they can move again.
Layus: “Whoa, flying skeleton. I try to nail it in the air!” Layus Twin Strikes at SB but misses with both shots.
AB: “Rue the four archers on the right side of the room are all staring at you and as one their strings go back and release. Three of them shatter on the wall behind you but another cuts a path through the side of your leg.” The archers are fixated on Rua as is part of their mindless tactics and hit once out of four shots. At slightly better than 50% to hit.
Rue: “Damnit and these are new pants! I duck behind the pillar and fire off another sling bullet.” Rue uses the pillar to gain cover to gain combat advantage against a archer on the far side of the room, she Stealths without any problem and then destroys one of the B group with a bullet through the skull. A better tactic might have been using stealth > combat advantage > sneak attack on the non-minions but she was the only one in position to hit archers. Ull and Erica being out of range, Layus unable to see them due to LOS of issues from where he was standing still in the corridor shooting through the one open door.
Round 3:
AA: “Layus another arrow thuds into the closed door to your left from the archer ahead of you.” Archer fires and misses. Monsters are rolling fairly badly and characters fairly well turning a ‘hard’ encounter into a semi-trivial one so far.
Ull: “I send a hand axe flying across the room at one of those archers and move to stand in front of Erica.” Trying to give Rue some relief for a round Ull heaves a heavy hand axe toward an archer in group B, hits (of course) and breaks into three major pieces and then does the manly thing and puts himself between the cleric and the other skeletons.
Erica: “I don’t need protecting you big oaf. I step up and burn that thing to the ground. Layus! Hit the one that lights up!” Erica moves two squares closer and uses Lance of Faith to call down holy fire onto SB and grants Layus a bonus to hit on his next attack roll.
Layus: “As you wish milady!” Layus shoots with Twin Strike, getting +2 on the first roll and hitting with both. Bones splinter and break on SB.
AB: “The two archers left across the room jerk at the holy light and their arrows track the cleric’s form and lance across the room. Erica, you’re hit once, twice, three times. You noticed one of the archer’s seem powered by the hit of the archer next to him and in a blur of motion released a second arrow at you.” Finally the archers are rolling well and Ripple Fire actually got a chance to work now that the monsters are down to a singleton archer and one duo.
Rue: “I’ll ring around the rosy with this pillar again and keep taking out the archers.” She stealths easily and then nails another archer with a sling bullet. And there goes the duo archers so Ripple Fire isn’t useful any longer.
SA & SB: “The two blasted skeletons recover and advance on both Ull and Erica, Ull parries the blow easily but Erica with three arrows sticking out of you, you’re not as quick as you should be and you’re hit in the same side as before.” That’s four hits in this round for our doughty cleric and she’s down to 4 health.
Round 4:
AA: “Layus that single archer seems determined to pin you to the wall but its eyes are bigger than its aim and it misses again.” Of course.
Ull: “Bolster your courage Erica! Those are mere flesh wounds! Alright my bony friend, dodge this!” Ull uses Inspiring Word on Erica letting her use a healing surge and uses Leaf on the Wind against SA but rolls low doing minimal damage compared to the possible total and rolling a 1 on the bonus health for his words of inspiration.
Erica: “Mistress of the Glens, let thy cooling hand touch my fevered brow! Now burn you bony bastard!” Erica uses Healing Word on herself and Lance of Faith on SB. She rolls well for the bonus die on healing and recovers herself to full but misses with LoF.
Layus: “And now you die my friend, now you die.” Layus Twin Strike’s SA and destroys it.
SB: “Erica the shock of recovery jolts through you as flesh heals, wounds mend but the skeletons sword in front of you rings off your helm whipping your head to the side with a wrenching pain.” SB hits but minimal damage really.
Rue: “Lather rinse repeat is going to be my battlecry.” She stealths behind the pillar and then destroys another archer leaving one left from each group.
AB: “The arhers remain focused on you Erica. Your faith and goodness is like a flame for a moth and an arrow burns through your calf.” Archer hits. Now they hit. When they’re down to minimal forces.
Round 5:
AA: “Ull the single archer to the front of the room shifts into sight from around a pillar and an punches into your side.” The elvish ranger is proving just too hard a nut to crack so the single AA remaining breaks his rut and goes after someone bigger and closer although numbers wise it’s the same shot.
Ull: “Buck up little trooper! We’ll get out of this yet!” He uses Inspiring Word on Erica again, burning both of them and does a basic attack against SB hitting for pretty good damage. Given the situation his basic attack was the best option over his at-wills.
Erica: “Damn these things! Burn in the 9 hells!” She tries to Lance of Faith SB but misses.
Layus: “Let me help you with little one!” He fires and lands two arrows on SB destroying it just he did its twin.
Rue: “And that’s the last one of those!” She slings the last of the AB group.
Round 6:
AA: “Another arrows flits past your head Ull.” AA misses.
Ull: “Why you little!” Ull moves up to the last archer, the last non-dead undead so to speak but misses.
Erica: “And you’re ended you bony bastard!” A Lance of Faith and the fights over.
Debriefing:
As mentioned in terms of game play Ripple Fire may work out or not, I’ll have to try it with the new change and see if mechanically its sound. This also goes to show you just how fragile minions are and I was using my Mook rule which gave these minions 6 hit points but not once did I need to have a bloodied mook. I may have to up that again and make it 6+1/2 level. But in this case they were getting hit by 1d10 arrows and 1d6+4+2d6 sneak attacks. Â So really they never stood a chance regardless.
So nothing definitive there in either case.
Also the rolls were pretty bad in any case for the minions to start with, they were down to half forces without hitting once. And 3/4 gone before they hit much at all.
The benefit of two healers, the warlord and cleric really showed as Erica’s health went up and down like a rollercoaster. She ended up using Inspiring Word x 2 and Healing Word x 1. One of those should have possibly been a Second Wind both to save the useable on other powers and gain the defensive bonuses but if you played every encounter in the most optimized possible way then you might as well be doing end game content in World of Warcraft or something of that ilk.
Anyway, good fun against the undead.
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