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Warthog Run

2023-Apr-09

  • Kleb stays at the doorway with Fallon to lay down suppressing fire and give the others time to retrieve the cart
    • When Fallon hops in, Kleb sets off on his broom for a more direct escape route. He flies over the compound, keeping pace with the cart as it loops around the outer wall, and drops a mixture of Lozenge Gules pamphlets and caltrops at the exit of the Avorio stables and paddock
    • A series of arrows assail Kleb as he looses a Parthian piercing bolt, wounding multiple enemies and horses, but he takes return fire
    • Kleb drops in as the cart rounds the corner of the southern wall. Rowan takes a break from laboriously donning his armor to patch up Kleb’s wounds a bit
  • As the party gains a bit of distance from the manor, Fallon loads his “Getaway” mixtape into the cart’s sound system, and Rulkorf notices multiple self-propelled sleighs gaining on them as well as a pair of airborne hostiles of some sort
    • The point of safe exit, a covered bridge, is about 1/3rd of a mile away
    • The enemies quickly catch up to the party, even as Rowan takes the reins and drives aggressively. There are 5 sledges, each with a trio of guards inside and some sort of mounted armament on back, and 2 flying beasts above, each with a rider
  • Round 1
    • The first sledge pulls up alongside the cart and deals a grievous blow to its structural integrity with a ballista bolt
    • The second one launches a net at the riders in the back of the cart, but fails to ensnare either Rulkorf or Kleb. However, the third sledge fires scorching rays at the passengers, striking both of them
    • Our adventurers scramble to equip their weapons and gear, and Rulkorf dispels the magic propelling the sledge alongside them. As it drops back into the cluster of sledges on their tail, Kleb tosses a firebead into the group. The depowered sleigh is taken out of the chase entirely, two more are in rough shape, and two manage to escape largely unscathed
      • Rowan switches to evasive maneuvers and pays closer attention to the terrain coming up ahead. He also feels a divine presence, likely Tactus Avorio, still nearby
    • One of the flyers, revealed to be a hippogryff, swoops down and shoots a lightning bolt at Rowan’s head, but the paladin swerves out of the way. The other hippogryff stays a higher elevation and keeps the party illuminated
    • A second ballista bolt punches through Rowan’s left shoulder
  • Round 2
    • A harpoon misses the cart but another round of Gauss cannon fire lights up Kleb and Rulkorf
    • Rulkorf spins his staff, shooting off magic missiles at each driver in addition to the rider of the closer hippogryff. The damage is minimal but the second ballista sleigh loses control and crashes into a tree. Rowan heals himself, and the adrenaline is for an instant drowned out by a divine sense of calm and relief as Tymora’s influence washes over him. He tosses his shield into the back, feeling that the others will need it more than him
      • Rulkorf drops his staff and ducks under the second shield, turtling up defensively. Kleb braces his crossbow on top of Rulkorf’s stout ball of armor and takes out the driver of the scorching gauss sledge, which causes some collateral damage and slows down the troop transport
      • Fallon readies a thunderwave in case anyone gets too close and Rowan returns to an aggressive driving posture
  • Round 3
    • Another harpoon strikes the cart, followed closely the hippogryff rider’s approach, who places an immovable rod at head-height. Rowan dodges
    • Avorio dives down, revealing himself to be the remaining rider. He is furious, badly singed, and riding a griffon
    • Fallon suggestion for last remaining sledge crew to fire their nets at flying hippogryffs and griffons within range
      • The other occupants of the cart then perform a combined drive-by attack against the two flyers, who are both close to ground level. Both Tactus and his comrade are dangerously low on health after a barrage of sword swings, mace blows, and a cloud of noxious gas
  • Round 4
    • Tactus jams his glaive into the spokes of a back wheel of the cart, desintegrating the corner of the structure and cutting the party’s speed in half
    • The launcher sledge fires its netting and takes out the hippogryff and its rider
    • Rowan draws his flaming sword and activates it, beheading Lord Avorio in one clean rocket-powered swing