RED OAK: Return to the Pass of the Hounds

[Woe]

That looks like a very small, very cute millworm. Does Kilian think the party can hold the door shut to keep the snake at bay, or is the monster so big|door so flimsy that it's not a feasible idea?

[Longman]

Kilian thinks it could probably bash the door down. But, it didn't do it last night after it seems to have smelled you out. So, maybe it is just coiled up there waiting.

It would be a lot cuter if it were not enormous.

What does he do? It's his go and the door is still partly ajar. It opens inwards, right?

[Woe]

Uh... no. The door opens outward. Kilian was mistaken last time.

He's going to hold the door as shut as he can for the rest of this round, axe and shield still out. If the party gets initiative first next round, he'll swing it open for the volley of arrows. Otherwise, the purple worm can use its round to bash the door down.

[Longman]

It's a giant caecilia. And the door opens inwards.

Kilian slams the door closed. And everyone readies their bows.

The party do win initiative.

Kilian reopens the door.

Freya fires - she could barely miss - and does 6hp.
Talin fires and also hits, doing 3hp.
Anna fires and does actually miss somehow.
Abiall hits for 3.

That's about all you have room for in the tiny kitchen. Bruce readies his action. Tiana can't act that round, the room is simply too small, there's not enough space for everyone to get a look at it.

The monster lunges through the doorway and tries to attack Kilian, hitting him for 5 hit points. It didn't swallow him, but it tried to.

It is now 5' inside the door, which means you can't close it.

Bruce attacks it and does 4 hp.

Next round - you win initiative again - Bruce and Kilian are in stand up combat with it in the doorway and entry tunnel to the room.

Bruce attacks it again and misses.

What does Kilian do?

One more person can engage in hand to hand and that's all.

Two more people can fire or cast spells at it, from 10 or 15 feet away. If you do fire, you run a very serious risk (a roll of 1 to 6) of hitting your friends in the back. (You can buy off that risk with a penalty of between minus 1 and minus 6 on your rolls.)

It's taken 16 hp and looks kinda beat up. Lots of goo is dripping out of its mouth.

[Woe]

Kilian and Bruce will slaughter it with his axe while the archers make it into a pincushion (-5 to hit, since IIRC a 1 is always a critical failure anyway right?)

[Longman]

OK - my post above was very specific and you haven't really dealt with it in detail so you're asking me to decide for you who does what. Here goes.

Kilian attacks and hits it for 7 points.

Talin fires, taking a -4 safety penalty, and misses. He nearly hits Kilian anyway.
Freya does the same thing - she hits it and does 6 hp.

No one else can act. There's room for another melee participant but no on is offering.

It's taken 29 hit points and is on its last legs but it attacks Kilian again, missing.

In the following round, Talin beats it for initiative. He fires and kills it, without the need for any further combat.

It wasn't that hard to hit but it seemed to have a lot of hit points. It's lying in a pool of blood and white goo, its body filling up a fair portion of the mess hall room with the long table.

Bruce goes to 2nd level. Kilian goes to 3/2.

[Woe]

Oops, I forgot that Anna was an archer. You understood what I meant to say , though I wanted a -5 on the roll not a -4. Mechanics-wise, how would a -6 affect the roll? It'd be "normal fumble" rules opposed to "automatic fumble" rules? Just curious.

Out of morbid curiosity, Talin wants to cut it open to see what its appetite has been. Something that big will need a healthy amount of food. Everyone else will collect spent arrows.

Once done with cleanup, they'll move down mess->balcony->empty, with the dwarves and woodsmen trying to figure out how it entered into this area. How is the old barricade by the bridge doing?

[Longman]

Anna would not have been able to fire. You only had space for 2 archers / spellcasters. I think it worked out OK, anyway.

Normally, firing into a melee will hit your friends on a 1-4. You can 'buy' off some or all of that risk with a penalty on your roll of 1-4. (The core BF rules would assume you are always taking a -4 penalty.). In this situation I made it a range of 1-6 because you were in a crowded area, firing past your friends into a tunnel.

No matter if you buy of the whole risk, you can still critically fail on a 1, and you might hit your friends anyway. See the rules thread.

The creature looks like it has been eating rats, a rabbit, some toads, and some smaller lizards. Unfortunately there are no gems or magic items in its stomach.

Kilian's barricade has clearly been disturbed / pushed out of the way by the creature as it made its way inside. Tracking rolls are tough down here because it is not very dusty. Neither Freya or Talin can manage the feat and there is no way of telling if it has been in here before, or, if there are any others.

You'd guess, in all likelhood, it climbed in through the archway up the wall of the chasm, and didn't get onto the bridge.

I could give you a hint here about something but I'm waiting to see if you can work it out, for extra EXP. If you want the hint, let me know.

[Woe]

Blocked because I want to do accounting/maintenance before my next post, and doing accounting/maintenance is sooooo motivating.

[Woe]

I could give you a hint here about something but I'm waiting to see if you can work it out, for extra EXP. If you want the hint, let me know.

No hints! I haven't worked out a thing.