I really like this PBEM game I’ve signed up for. I signed up a couple weeks ago, and the posting is absolutely top quality stuff. Someone said it reads like a fantasy novel, and he was right. I’m hooked. Here is the latest quote (as of this writing, of course). I, of course, play Charla, the rogue/cleric. The poster here is playing a fairly intelligent fighter, something rarely seen anymore.
Yahoo! Groups : 3edndpbem: RE: Turn 55, The Trogs Take A Beating
“Eldrick is impressed with Charla’s combat performance. A Cleric of
Pelor, yes. But the clothes. The sneak attack. Something rogue-
ish about this one. What is here story, her background? But there
will be time for pleasantries later. Hopefully.
Eldrick heads back into the library, and motions Charla and T’Len to
follow him. He closes the wood door behind him, and pushes a
bookcase or two in front of the door. Simultaneously, he instructs
Osha to close the iron door and place the bookshelf across the L-
brackets, to lock the door. The party’s area is now semi-secure,
and they can hold a quick strategy session. Caedras and Alderos
continue to hold the trapped trog in check.
Eldrick monitors the two outside doors, and speaks to the
group. “We have several options. We have to establish our
priorities.” Eldrick believes the top priority should always be to
negate any immediate threat. That has been done, for the moment,
with their victorious battle.
The next priority should be to negate any medium-term threat. He
agrees with Alderos (and in fact has suggested this before) that the
hatch be sealed. (He turns to Charla: “There is a grave hatch on
the other side of this level from which several trogs have
surfaced.”) But the party should not be split up to accomplish
this. This has been tried before, to tragic consequences. The
party must stay together, continuing to mass its firepower. So,
first, we should clean up the loose ends right here. Question the
trapped trog. And determine who is banging on the far door. Is it
one of the monks? Is it Kaelibeth? Or an enemy? Then the party
can return to searching for Kaelibeth, the monks, and ultimately
Fennil and Maur’tsan.
So, short-term goal #1, Eldrick believes, should be to question the
trog. Aldreros and Caedras are doing this now, quite well, in their
respective styles, Eldrick believes. Eldrick adds his own bit of
Draconic to the discussion. “If he doesn’t cooperate, kill him.”
Eldrick isn’t a fan of killing for killing’s sake, but there is no
other good option here. Their lives are at stake. Eldrick knows
that he didn’t even have to add this bit of advice, as Caedras will
no doubt finish the beast whether he talks or not.
Short-term goal #2, Eldrick believes, is to deal with the banging
from the opposite room. “Charla, you’ve been in that room. Who do
you think is in there?” Eldrick wants to find out if she believes
the odd-looking trogs [isn't that redundant?] are still in there.
Eldrick asks T’Len to accompany him to the door, melee weapons
readied. Eldrick first speaks Draconic through the door, doing his
best to imitate the barks of a troglodyte. “Who is in there?” He
will wait for a response. His next sentence will be in common,
asking the same thing.
Eldrick remembers the banging from the upstairs room, the livestock
holding room. If his navigational skills serve him correctly [and
Eldrick has spent two points on the cross-class skill Intuit
Direction, and fancies his nav skills as sharp from his military
training], that room is directly above the room in front of him.
Could it be the same banging? Eldrick’s mind continues to churn.
Charla reported seeing a monk up through the secret passageway,
laying motionless. That should be about where the monk was lying
prone in the same livestock holding room. Perhaps the same monk?
Charla’s report of dripping blood is not a good sign.
If there are trogs in the room, Eldrick will likely be content to
leave them there, trapped. They can be dealt with later. If a
potentially friendly voice comes back through the door, however,
that will likely warrant further attention.
After these two short-term goals are resolved, Eldrick feels the
party should venture down the corridor, secure the grave hatch, then
up the stairs to the livestock room to check on Kraiger or whichever
monk is at the top of the secret passageway. Eldrick recommends a
download otis dvd marching order of T’Len and himself in the front, Alderos and Osha
in the middle, and Caedras and Charla in the rear. Osha should be
positioned between the brawny T’Len and her crush Caedras to reduce
her level of fear. If and when the party does venture down the
corridor, they should move silently, weapons readied (Eldick with
his crossbow), keeping a keen lookout. The ruby that Charla found,
being further down the hallway, indicates that the trog(s) that
found the sword likely went in that direction. Perhaps the jewel
fell out as they retreated with the sword. Or perhaps the steel-
loving beasts discarded it, thinking that it ruined the beauty of
such a handsome specimen of steelwork.
During any idle time, Eldrick will ask Charla to expound on the
firetrap that they triggered earlier. He will also encourage
Alderos to read the parchments from the table, and Osha to aid
Charla in performing a search in the library (especially of the
books) and of the dead trogs’ bodies.
One more thing is on Eldrick’s mind. The fact that Caedras did not
target the trog attacking Alderos but instead targeted the trapped
trog did not escape his notice. Caedras has his own motives, to be
sure, but for the party to survive, no one can be distrusted in
battle. Eldrick does not know if this was done intentionally, or
was merely a tactical mistake [or, Adam, an innocent action]. But
Eldrick feels as though something should be done, however
ineffective on the independant Caedras. As he makes his way toward
the banging, Eldrick brushes up lightly against Caedras. He pauses,
and let’s the glint of his longsword from the torches dance across
the elven sorcerer’s face. “Next time, friend, I trust you’ll make
a better tactical decision.” Eldrick and T’Len continue toward the
door to put his plan into action.
OOC: Mitch, a small logistical clarification. Earlier, Eldrick did
not bring an entire bookcase from the library to block the iron
door. He used the bench just inside the door, on the right. He
used a single shelf from the bookcase to lay across the L-brackets,
securing the door in place.
Still OOC: Ok, I know that was a long post. But we’re at a sort of
branch in the decision tree as to what to do next. You have my
thoughts. Any different/better ideas?”
