4.0 A new beginning

[at]

Barbatos nods, "we could strike at them from the entrance but we would have little chance to prevent them from withdrawing and alerting others. What you say of the room though, with the sand piled higher at the edges, suggests some kind of pit into which the sand has fallen"

He shrugs, "whatever the nature of the trap, if there is one, it seems that it would be safest at either end of the room and not caught in the middle. I may be able to knock them off their feet and buy you time to cross but there is no accounting for tripwires or touchplates - if you possess anything that might speed your advance then I would suggest its use"

[rhinobullet]

Vetch scratches his head and thinks (though he knows time is running short). "What if we tried to lure them closer? Perhaps by making some sort of noise. Might be they would investigate it. Or at least one or two might. I can use my armor to sneak into the room and position myself close to their doors to attack any that don't investigate. That is, if there are no traps."

[(George) 3.5./ ZEM ( 4.0)]

staying silent til now and in a wispier " what we lack is ranged, im not that fast, and are friend here is metal so they can attack first with us in the middle and that is not good so a rush option is out. what we need to do unlike the first time is all attack at once the how i don't know, we need to take out the back first, and draw them out so they are all the way to our side but all 3 have to come. yet they know this place better then we do. we need to take that advantage away from them somehow.

[(George) 3.5./ ZEM ( 4.0)]

Vetch jumping in could get u killed, i have seen your skill and i give you credit but 3 on 1 is not good odds. for it would take a bit for us to back you up but a better idea is can you help me disable the trap without them seeing us?" I'll have better eyes so i could try and see where it could be, vetch help me stealth like u did the last time.
I go up the stairs and stay out of sight of the Gnolls and use a mirror around the corner .
looking for places that could trigger a trap
passive of 22

[dice=20]+1= 10 .

( if we can still use are previous stealth i would like to do that instead or a group stealth may be better as well let me know what we can do for this)

If i can't use passive and must roll perception use this [dice=20]+12= 13

ya i don't see much lol.
sry guys bad rolls[rand=4007742856629193038902940694242716206434246152639438231133623048663]

[harknail]

At this point anyone can sneak up and take a peak as long as their careful. Also, all but Vetch do have ranged attacks. And the Gnolls do not seem to have any weapons at all (ranged or melee).

Zem doesn't see any obvious triggers for a trap, though he does see the what Vetch was talking about how the back of the alcoves looks like something that moves. Also Zem notices a skull sitting on the ground near the back wall (it's on the map at M3).

[harknail]

Harknail points out, "Vetch be good at charging. Ye both have spells to attack at a distance. And I haveth javelins. They haveth just teeth and claws. Fight not be 3 on 1 long."

[at]

"I can hit them from here, just about, but we'll need to push up quickly to block any retreat - I don't think we can do this quietly"

Barbatos moves further up the stairs - the choice to charge or to stand and shoot left to those who would risk themselves in any assault.

[rhinobullet]

Vetch considers andsays "Okay, I will use my armor to get into position to charge them. I will get in position to charge the one on the far right. You two focus on hitting the other two. What do you think?"

[at]

Barbatos nods, "when we are ready I will step out and seek to knock them to the ground, it will give the others time to close the distance"

Turning to Harknail and Zem, "your thoughts?"

[(George) 3.5./ ZEM ( 4.0)]

" Still i think attacking first is not good until we know what they can do and why their here. I will note that there is a big skull rock thing next to them. It is rather hard to see but kinda big so enough to take cover behind. I could make it out as one not many. I have no idea what it is for and to get to it well bad things go down so that option is out. i honestly don't think it is here just for show but it could be but if it was why the one in the way back and not the middle. Why here and not the main hall. even more odd is why only 3 unarmed guys are around if it was worth anything. If not worth guarding then why have it with guards?"

[(George) 3.5./ ZEM ( 4.0)]

" Their logic does not fit with what we are seeing is what i am getting at, we are missing key elements here. It just does not add up for me and i wish it did, but for here i have no explanation for you."

" They may use it for cover among other things. still dose not solve the how do u defend with no weapons, u outsmart the attackers but not brute strength yet they are not smart at all. Meaning that there is a low chance they will be able to cast magic. they could be clerics of a newer god? it could be... bait?"

[at]

Barbatos pulls an apple out of his pack and makes an underarm throwing motion, "we could test their response, allow Vetch to study their reactions up close, but we surrender the element of surprise."

[harknail]

While the skull is 2 or 3 times as large as a human skull, it is nowhere near being big enough to provide cover.

[rhinobullet]

Vetch frowns and says "time to make a decision. I will invoke my armor's magic and stand near the corner of the gnoll on the right. Barbatos will toss the apple or some such and try to draw them closer to the rest of you. Once they respond, however it is they respond, I will then wait on barbatos to strike. I will then charge the one closest to me, and hopefully give the rest of you time to engage."

[harknail]

Vetch fades from view, then moves into position. The Gnolls don't seem to notice him.

Reminder that on the surprise round you get just a standard action, you cannot move and then attack.And only one person can be at the top of the stairs ready to attack (and of course the invisible Vetch).

[at]

Barbatos motions the others to move to the top of the stairs and reaches out for the mirror Zem used to look around the corner without exposing himself.

Once Vetch has had a chance to move into position he throws the apple blindly around the corner intending to clear the chasm by a yard or two and silently hopes that Vetch was experienced enough to skirt the edges of the room less his footprints alert the gnolls to his location.

Watching through the mirror Barbatos holds up his other hand to wait...

[rhinobullet]

Vetch sees the apple rolling, and silently moves into position to strike, with his blades out, waiting to see what the gnolls do.

[harknail]

Nov 30, 2013 16:07:52 GMT -5 rhinobullet said:

Vetch frowns and says "time to make a decision. I will invoke my armor's magic and stand near the corner of the gnoll on the right. Barbatos will toss the apple or some such and try to draw them closer to the rest of you. Once they respond, however it is they respond, I will then wait on barbatos to strike. I will then charge the one closest to me, and hopefully give the rest of you time to engage."

Not sure from the description as to which square Vetch will be waiting in, since this could make a big difference I thought I better check first. Did you mean O7, M9, or something else?

[(George) 3.5./ ZEM ( 4.0)]

Barbatos would be in B5 with the mirror, Zem should be in B4 because they had to change places, with harknail being in A4, for the stairs look like there wide enough for people to stand side by side, not single file.

[rhinobullet]

I meant O7, though if the gnolls move towards the party, I would follow behind them