The fuck? Mouse thought as they noticed the rather rapid appearance of the eggs and then their sudden hatching. They weren't an expert on birds, but Mouse was very certain that they weren't supposed to lay that many eggs that fast nor were they supposed to hatch that fast.

And that was when they noticed the bird sneaking up on the baker of their favorite chowder stand. For a moment Mouse was torn. On one hand the baker would be out of commission for a long time if that bird succeeded and might struggle to keep the stand open. On the other, if the weird big pelican didn't die soon Mouse suspected they would be quickly overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

And Mouse really preferred to not die. Especially if it was at the wings? Beaks? of birds. So, with a sigh Mouse darted from their hiding place at the large bird's back.

Mouse has decided to attack the big one...and flubs it even if you'd count it as surprised

19:52, Today: Mouse rolled 2 using 2d6.  attack.

Mouse, since you are hidden you can just roll for damage without having to make an attack roll. Alternatively, since you are a thief, you could choose to roll for your Backstab move imstead. Feel free to modify your actions if you would like.

That was intended for a backstab but I wasn't certain if the bird would be surprised or not so I rolled a flat 2d6 and was going to let you decide if it's a +2 or a +1 and it turned out that it didn't matter since it wouldn't succeed with either modifier.

As Eryn stabbed at the birds flying by, she skewered through one, killing it instantly.  Her spear tip also stuck into the wing of another, causing it to become trapped on the end of her weapon.  It flapped in a furious panic, and flailed like crazy.  The length of Eryn's weapon protected her from the bulk of its thrashing, but its long beak did get in one good scrape before she could shake it loose or finish it off.

Ilura had her own bird problems to deal with as well.  When she threw the food, they seemed to fall for the ruse at first, but quickly ignored it again as the ranger neared their queen.  With a lunge, Ilura reached for the queen bird just as she was tackled by four of its underlings.  She hit the ground hard with the smaller pelicans pecking at her back. [Save the queen!] [Protect our chief!] [Attack!] [Don't let harm befall the mother!] But on the bright side, her outstretched hand was resting on the rubbery webbed foot of the enormous queen sea buzzard.

Simultaneously, on the opposite side of the queen bird, Mouse made their surprise attack.  The halfling spotted an opening that would surely cause the big bird to bleed out if they could stab it just right.  And the thief's aim was perfect too!  Unfortunately, their footing was not.  The cobblestone street was slicked with fish juices that had spilled over from the monstrous bird's gluttonous feast.  Mouse's footing only faltered for a moment, but it was enough time for the huge pelican to whip its head around and grab Mouse by the ankle.

The huge bird pulled the thief into the air and threw them just above its head.  It then opened its beak around the halfling and prepared to let them drop into its gullet.  As Mouse cartwheeled through the air, about to be swallowed whole, the halfling still managed to spot the old chowder man just as he was attacked by a pelican from behind, taking his legs out from under him with considerable damage to his limbs.  This was not a good day...

What do you do?

---

Eryn
You killed one bird and impaled another. (you can release it or kill it as you see fit. No roll necessary)  It scratched you with its beak in its panic though. Take d6 damage, 1 piercing.

Ilura
You touched the queen, but were also tackled by four of the grunts. Take d6+3 damage, 1 piercing.

Mouse
You were grabbed by the big pelican and it tossed you into the air.  It is about to try and swallow you whole.  What do you do?

quote:

09:57, Today: Ilura rolled 6 using 1d6+3.  damage from pelicans.

Ilura realized that while Hiran had explained what the bracelet was supposed to do, he hadn't explained how it actually activated.  She tried to concentrate on the image of the enormous pelican while rubbing the piece of jewelry and trying to avoid being eaten.

This thing had better work...

quote:

10:00, Today: Ilura rolled 7 using 2d6+3.  Activate bracelet.

Eryn huffed, bothered by the scratch she had received from a dying foe. She flicked her weapon in an arc and let the bird carcass slide off the sharp tip and roll some distance away on the ground.

In the corner of her eye she saw the halfling from before get grabbed by the pelican, and without hesitation she struck at its throat.

"Don't bite over more than you can chew, fatty" she grunted with a smirk, satisfied as she could tell she had struck exactly where she wanted from the blood that spurted from a stab wound on the creature's neck.

---

19:08, Today: Eryn rolled 3 using 1d6.  Damage from bird.
1 piercing leaves me with -2 from armor = 1 dmg taken.

19:14, Today: Eryn rolled 13 using 2d6+2.  Hack n Slash the big bird again.
19:14, Today: Eryn rolled 3 using 1d10+1d4.  Damage to big bird.
19:14, Today: Eryn rolled 10 using 1d10+1d4.  Fighter's damage reroll ability.

Mouse whooped in surprise as the pelican flipped them into the air. For a moment the thief tumbled and flailed in midair before falling back toward the ground. As soon as they felt gravity reassert itself, Mouse tucked into a ball and attempted to drop rapier first.

Does it count as a Defy Danger with acrobatics? Or is it a backstab because it's expecting to eat Mouse and not a rapier? Or is it an attack?
2 damage if it's backstab. Failure otherwise

18:29, Today: Mouse rolled 2 using 1d8.  Backstab?
18:24, Today: Mouse rolled 4 using 2d6.  ?

This seems more like a Defy Danger or an Attack, so unfortunately that is a failure.  But you get +1XP! Don't forget to add XP for your previous 6- as well if you haven't already. At this rate you will be at level 2 in no time, assuming you survive.

---

Mouse managed to keep their head as they tumbled through the air and aimed an attack at the pelican's vulnerable throat.  The halfling's rapier aimed squarely at the tender flesh on the inside of the pelican's throat.  Except, it turned out the flesh wasn't very tender at all.  The halfling's rapier glanced off of the toughened hide and slid effortlessly down the huge bird's throat, with Mouse following closely behind.

And then Mouse hit a crossbar in the pelican's throat and stopped abruptly.  No, not a crossbar.  The red ribbon marked it as Eryn's spear! The fighter's own attack had halted Mouses journey into the sea buzzard's massive gullet!  The bird let out a gurgley half-screech, then toppled over dead, with Mouse still in its throat.

Outside, Eryn could see that her piercing strike had had a tremendous effect and caused the huge bird to go into its death throes.  It toppled over and gave weak screeching sounds as its dying body twitched a few last times.

With the queen dead, the warrior would have thought the smaller birds would begin to disperse. However, the opposite was true. They began to circle around in the air, eyeing the warrior as they considered Eryn.  She could tell they were planning a swarming attack and would strike at any moment.

Just then, Ilura burst up from the ground in the form of a huge pelican herself.  She looked almost identical to the queen, except not as rotund and her eyes remained as cat-like as ever. The four pelicans that had been accosting her retreated momentarily in surprise. [Our liege is dead!] [False queen!] [Avenge her!] [For the younglings!] Despite their big talk, the four pelicans went to join the rest of the swarm, whom were busy spouting similar sentiments from up above.  It was clear that this fight was not over just yet.

What do you do?

---

Mouse
You are still in the bird's throat, but it is dead.  How do you escape? (If that is what you want to do. It will probably require some sort of defy danger to escape efficiently/quickly/safely.)

Eryn
You can tell the smaller birds are planning to swarm you. It is only a matter of time.

Ilura
You may add both the big and little sea buzzard to list of animal forms. You took the form of the big pelican and have two Hold.  Your moves are:
Swallow whole
Regurgitate stomach acid

Does flying count as a move, or do I get that for free?

You can automatically do anything a normal pelican could do. The moves are like extra talents, and they may change each time you transform into the same animal.

"Dumb birds. I bet all they are looking for is a meal, and to protect their mother on instinct. Well, if the mother is gone, let's see if they are more keen on food." Eryn yanked the polearm towards her while speaking, but felt something heavy lie upon it inside the bird's gullet. The halfling's body... who was hopefully still alive and not bleeding out from any wounds sustained while being swallowed. In order to save the oddly familiar stranger and retrieve her weapon properly, she would have to proceed to plan B immediately.

The warrior - still not confident in her aptitude at magic - placed the flat palm of her left hand on the slowly collapsing bird carcass and muttered one of the simplest spells she had learned: "Gustum mutatio." She sneered when she felt the magic force twist into every force but the one she wanted. For a moment Eryn tried to focus harder on it, but there was no time to confirm it the spell had worked or not. Instead she placed one foot on the bird's large beak and used her hand to wrest it open. She caught sight of the halfling's clothes inside and grasped the first piece of it she could reach. "Great strategy we had here," she muttered through clenched teeth.

---

I am casting Prestidigitation to flavor the bird as if it was a really tasty fish in the hopes that the birds will get off our cause for a moment.
22:22, Today: Eryn rolled 2 using 2d6.  Cast a Spell (Prestidigitation cantrip: change flavor).
Marked XP.
22:28, Today: Eryn rolled 8 using 2d6+2.  Defy Danger: Strength (Pull Mouse free from the bird).

Ilura took to the air - amazed that the bracelet made the process feel so instinctual.

[Stupid birds.  To avenge, you must catch me.  Too slow and dumb!]

She flapped around, taunting to see if she could gode them into taking up the chase.  As soon as some started to follow, she flew out towards the ocean - hoping that she'd be faster than her 'subjects'...

Not sure what, if anything I should roll there.  But it feels like I should roll something, so:

quote:

15:30, Today: Ilura rolled 9 using 2d6.  Lead birds away.

Defy danger charisma maybe?

Yeah, let's go with Defy Danger +Cha.

Mouse, you can get out without having to roll now, thanks to Eryn.

"Aww shit" was the last thing Mouse managed to get out before taking a deep breath right before the bird swallowed them whole.

Logic dictated that it should have been pierced through by the rapier, but no, it instead swallowed halfling and rapier like a hungry sword-swallower at a carnival. Stuck inside the pelican's gullet, Mouse attempted to punch it repeatedly with their free hand in the throat from the inside but punching when you have no room to move. Just as Mouse was contemplating kicking something grabbed them around the ankle and hauled. There was a bit of a wet sucking sound before Mouse came free of the bird's gullet with a pop.

---

XP added to the character sheet and Mouse is halfway to level 2
This message was last edited by the player at 10:14, Tue 16 Oct 2018.

Illura beat her huge wings and took to the air, causing the awnings of the nearby shops to sway in the artificial wind. It wasn't long before Ilura was above the buildings, goading the pelicans into following her. Roughly half of them took the bait and Ilura soon had 16 smaller pelicans chasing after her. Some of the nearer ones managed to catch up to the transformed ranger before she managed to pick up enough speed and clamped their serrated beaks onto her wings. It wasn't enough to really hurt her or make her fall from the sky, but it was enough to slow her down. The rest of her pursuers would catch up shortly if something wasn't done about her handful of stowaways.

Down on the ground, Mouse and Eryn were left to deal with the remaining twenty or so pelicans still focused on their queen's killer. As Eryn pulled Mouse from the pelican's corpse, she noticed that there really was a delicious fish smell present.  The tastiest fish smell that had ever graced her olfactory senses! And just as Eryn was about to take pride in her spell well-cast, a grim realization befell her. The smell was coming from herself...

The pelicans up above seemed even more interested in the fighter now, and as one, they dove.

What do you do?

---

Ilura
Three pelicans latched onto your wings and are slowing you down. The remaining 12 will catch up quickly if something isn't done about them.

Eryn
Perhaps you pushed your spell too hard, or not hard enough. But for whatever reason, it backfired and gave yourself the tasty fishy smell instead. You have about 20 pelicans diving straight toward you. (Or at least trying to. They won't all be able to strike simultaneously.)

Mouse
Even though you are only a few feet away, you can tell the pelicans are not currently focused on you. For the moment, you can act freely.

Ilura had gained about 20 feet over the top of the buildings, despite her "hangers on".  Trading height for speed, she dove at a solid looking stone tower and at the last minute twisted and tucked her wings so as to dash the attached birds against the solid surface.  She figured there were 3 possible outcomes:
 - the smarter birds might realize what was about to happen and let go
 - the dumber birds might let go on pain of the impact
 - the birds beaks might be locked and part of her wings would be ripped away

In any event, she'd be free of the extra passengers - though she really hoped the outcome wasn't going to be that last one...

quote:

19:35, Today: Ilura rolled 13 using 2d6+3.  Defy danger - dex - dislodge birds.

I'll take that :)

EDIT: fixed spelling
This message was last edited by the player at 15:29, Fri 19 Oct 2018.

Seeing the diving birds aimed at the person who had just yanked them out of the craw of the giant pelican, Mouse swapped rapier for bow. In a smooth motion they nocked an arrow, drew, aimed into the scoop of pelicans, and loosed it.

22:53, Today: Mouse rolled 12 using 2d6+2.  Shoot arrow.
22:58, Today: Mouse rolled 8 using 1d8+2.  Damage.

"This didn't go quite as I wanted, but since you are here I think we can do it," Eryn said, addressing Mouse while moving into position to defend him. Stance low and a bit to the side to avoid blocking his aim with her larger body and shield, arm preemptively drawn back to verify that the spear's shaft wouldn't bump into her ally and ruin a strike.

Jeez, that's a lot of birds, the warrior thought as she braced for impact, ...and I stink of sea again. Great. I hate this town.

---

08:15, Today: Eryn rolled 3 using 2d6+1.  Defend Mouse and myself.
Marked XP.

Mouse's arrow flew into the flock of diving pelicans, skewering one. Two! And impaled them to a third! The falling birds disrupted the group formation, causing the flock's attack to become less effective than it otherwise would have been. But still, Eryn had quite a difficult time as the flock of birds did their best to overrun the skilled fighter. Eryn was knocked to the ground by the birds' combined efforts. Their razor sharp beaks poked at the fighter and her armor, looking to gouge out chunks of flesh.

As Eryn dealt with the onslaught of birds, Mouse noticed that the six fresh eggs the queen had laid before dying were nearly hatched now. And the birds that were emerging looked to be fully formed, and would be capable of joining the fight shortly.

Meanwhile, Ilura did her best to perform complex aerial maneuvers on her first ever flight. It turned out that all that time observing Thomas flit through tree branches paid off though, because the shapeshifted ranger managed to pull of a spectacular feat of aerial agility. As she turned her body and flew past the stone tower, the three birds on her wings were unable to react quickly enough and Ilura heard a sickening crunch. She felt a tearing sensation on her wings as they were ripped free, but there seemed to be no major damage to her wings.

On a nearby rooftop a group of kids playing marbles simultaneously yelled, "WHOAAA!" as Ilura performed her feat.  They then ducked for cover as the rest of the flock rushed past them, still pursuing their false queen. They struggled to catch up now that Ilura's powerful bird form was no longer bogged down.

What do you do?

---

Eryn
Eryn managed to protect Mouse, but the birds have overrun the warrior and knocked her to the ground. Eryn, you have a choice. Either the birds deal 1d6+6 damage to you (1 piercing), or you can take no damage and your brand new shield gets poked with so many holes from their beaks that it becomes unusable. Either way, you end up on the ground covered in angry jet-black pelicans.

Mouse
You see that the six eggs have nearly hatched. The new chicks appear to be fully grown pelicans that will likely join the fight once free of their shells.

Ilura
You have gotten free of your clinging pelicans. You have a moment to plan a new strategy now.

Deciding that she needed to even the odds a bit more, Ilura swung around, enjoying the sensation of the wind coursing over her wings.  She aimed for the center of the flock attacking Eryn that had not yet landed.  She flew right through the middle of the birds, hitting them from the side and gulping one with her enormous maw.

[Shall I swallow you all, or will you accept me as your new queen?!]

Trying to taunt more them into following me

quote:

13:54, Today: Ilura rolled 5 using 2d6.  Defy danger - cha - taunt more birds.

Or not...
XP taken

Mouse set another arrow to string and fired into the scoop that were standing over Eryn. It was an attempt in part to get them to scatter off of the other and also an attempt to lessen their numbers.

Taking a shot at the birds attacking Eryn

20:32, Today: Mouse rolled 4 using 1d8+2.  Damage.
20:32, Today: Mouse rolled 10 using 2d6+2.  Volley .

"Get off me, you damned sea rats," Eryn growled, pushing against the flock of birds with her shield to get them at arms reach. The warrior protected her face as best she could with her left arm and tried to ignore the pain from the scratching beaks. She pushed off the ground and rose steadily to her feet.

The enemy was too close for her to make use of her weapons. The incessant noise from flapping wings and clattering beaks made it hard to concentrate on spells. With little time left before even more birds joined the battle, there was only one option left.

The experienced combatant knew that in a pinch, any improvised weapon would do, and therefore Eryn flicked her spear over her shoulder once more in a trained motion and grabbed hold of her heater shield with both hands. While still being virtually covered by pecking pelicans she swung the flat object in a wide sweeping motion, aiming to shake off the ones clinging to it while bashing as many bird brains as she could.

---

I'll take the damage.
19:04, Today: Eryn rolled 7 using 1d6+6.  Taking damage from birds.
  1 piercing, so -2 from armor = 5 damage.

19:08, Today: Eryn rolled 10 using 2d6+1.  Defy Danger: Constitution (Weathering attacks to get back on my feet).
19:16, Today: Eryn rolled 9 using 2d6+2.  Hack and Slash w/shield (Flock of birds).
19:17, Today: Eryn rolled 11 using 1d10+1d4.  Damage to flock of birds.

I assume the shield will not apply to my armor value anymore while I'm using it to bash things.
Edit: Formatting.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:22, Tue 23 Oct 2018.

Mouse's arrow took out one more pelican and injured another, giving Eryn the relief she needed to get back her footing. The fighter stood and used her shield as a battering plate to smack the pelicans that still accosted her. She felt the bones of several of the sea buzzards crunch under her attack and the flock scattered back. Not before several of the sea buzzards got a few last licks in though. Still, for the moment Eryn was bird-free again.

Just then Ilura's huge form flew overhead. The rushing wind caused Eryn's hair to blow wildly and made Mouse stagger to keep their footing. Many of the pelicans were similarly staggered as they fought to keep from tumbling through the air.

As the ranger passed by, she opened her great maw and snagged a pelican out of the air and it immediately disappeared down her gullet. Unfortunately Ilura had snagged more than she had bargained for. Two more birds had also found their way into her mouth and were currently lodged where her beak met her face. And they were not happy. Ilura would easily be able to bite or drop them, but not before they gashed at the ranger's face.

What's more, the birds swarming around Eryn and Mouse decide Ilura was more worth their time now. They turned in the air and joined Ilura's other pursuers, leaving Eryn and Mouse with only the injured and freshly hatched pelicans on the ground.

What do you do?

---

Eryn
Your shield trick has successfully caused the birds to retreat back for a few moments. (You can still count your shield for your armor. You are using it for defense, although not in they way it was designed for.) A couple retreating pelicans got in a few good nips before they backed off though. Take d6+2 damage, 1 piercing.

Mouse
You killed a pelican and injured another with your shot. The newly hatched pelicans are approaching now. Six of them. There are injured pelicans around too, but they don't seem to be a threat.

Ilura
You used 1 Hold to Swallow Whole.  You have 1 Hold remaining.  There are two pelicans lodged in your beak. You can spit them out or deal your damage to them as you choose, but not before they scratched at your face a bit. Take 1d6+1 damage, 1 piercing.

Also, your taunt certainly caught their attention. Most of the birds are following you now. About 23, counting the two in your mouth. And they don't seem ready to accept you as their new queen...

Ilura struggled against the pain as the additional pelicans gouged her face.  She bit down, but seemed to catch mostly feathers, so gave up and instead shook her head from side to side to dislodge the creatures as she headed back to sea, happy that this time she had managed to distract a greater number of them from her companion.  She did her best to keep ahead of the following flock, giving them hope of catching up and taunting to encourage them to continue following her, while still making sure she remained well out of reach of their fearsome bites.

quote:

18:07, Today: Ilura rolled 7 using 1d6+1.  Damage to my face.
18:08, Today: Ilura rolled 1 using 1d8.  Bite pelicans.

Umm, that wasn't ideal in terms of min/maxing... :(

I have some ideas on what I'll do once I've led them out to see sufficiently, but that's going to take a bit of time, so I won't post that until Eryn and Mouse have had a chance to mop up their remaining set.

Question - am I able to cast spells while flying

Turning once the pelicans attacking Eryn took off after a new giant pelican, Mouse nocked and took aim at the six newly hatched pelicans then bit out a curse. The couple of steps they had taken to stay upright when the new giant pelican had swooped past had put them in a spot where they had to move to get a clear shot at the newly hatched pelicans. Mouse moved, adjusted their aim, and loosed the arrow.

Opting for "You have to move to get the shot placing you in danger as described
by the GM" on the 7
19:13, Today: Mouse rolled 10 using 1d8+2.  Damage.
19:12, Today: Mouse rolled 7 using 2d6+2.  Volley.