Archer nods.

"Good example, Connor.  An archer calling dibs on a shield would be precisely the kind of foolishness such a rule results in.  Rain's suggestion is a good one."

  Oh good, Archer has stated the obvious.

  He nods to Rain, and comments "When it comes to undesired magic items, Artificers can get more value out of them than most."  Not that there tends to be much in the way of undesirable magic items that CAN be reduced to residum.  A shame, the one ring would be worth quite a bit reduced to all purpose spell component.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:39, Fri 08 May 2015.

The group comes upon a scene where there is a fenced area up ahead.

Conner and Rain come to a stop as the whole group is able to hear the shuffling of small creatures.

"...I'm not the sneaky type of ranger." Conner bashfully admits.

Rain quietly says, "I'm sure I'm even less so, Conner."

"I am.  Be right back."

Archer scouts ahead.  And steps on a very loud twig.

  Kyle doesn't know this in character, but his player recalls that Connor's snake is trained in stealth (with a Dex of 16)!

  Kyle makes no comment about the twig snappage, because that would just make things louder.  At least Kyle made a good Perc check (20) despite having a +0 wis mod?

The snapped twig doesn't seem to alert the creatures and Archer is able to spy. He sees the encounter ahead, how many kobolds, the excavation site, etc.

The fact the kobolds didn't notice the twig is a testament to the dullness of kobold senses.

They look bored.

When Archer makes it back and reports his findings, Conner says, "So... did they have anything valuable on them?"

Rain asks, "How do we know these are bad kobolds?"

Conner asks, "There such a thing as good kobolds?"

Archer nods to the question about good kobolds.  May made that clear at the banquet.  To the other question he shrugs.

"I don't know a safe way to check if they are evil."

  "It has been known to happen, although this is supposed to be a Dwarven mine."

Conner reaches behind himself and taps his backpack in a certain pattern. Out of it comes a snake (that appears to be beautifully decorated and is even wearing some kind of effeminate makeup). "Good point, Kyle. Looks like combat to me. Hey Viper, we got a job to do."

This is no small snake. She slithers out and wraps around Conner, demonstrating her constrictor-like size and licks his check making him smile.

Rain ohs. "...didn't know you had a friend hiding in your backpack."

Archer smiles at the cute friendship between the boy and his snake.  He nods to the others, takes up position behind cover, and readies his bow.

  More things you don't expect to learn as a mercenary.  That snakes can be cute.

  Kyle sets up to be next to as many "striker" types as possible, so if he is in need of firing immediately, MORE DAMAGE BUFFS (you know, if he hits).

A kobold hurls a pot at Rain and misses! Combat begins!
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:48, Sat 09 May 2015.

  Kyle snaps off a middling shot at the slinger that tried to hit Rain.  At least the Artificer's hits, and his companions are all strengthened by the resulting Artificer radiation Arcane empowerment.

  He tops things off by toughening up the doggy, which is going to be needed incredibly soon.

OOC: standard: m weapon vs slinger. hits. 7 DMG.  +1 to hit, +3 DMG rolls to all allies until end of my next turn.
Minor: resistive buff for rain.  +1 AC, can cash in for her surge+3 THP.

Slinger A HP: 17

A kobold charges at Rain, hitting hard enough to make Kyle's formula burst and make Rain coated in extra health. She blinks in surprise having never been the recipient of such a thing. To her, it felt like "kobold hits me, now I'm healthier".

Conner comes up by Rain's side and stabs a kobold through the gut, downing it. Viper comes up behind Conner, ready to back him up!

In a flurry, two over-sized arrows find themselves into the heart and throat of the injured slinger.  Then in a flash, two more appear in the eye sockets of another slinger.  Archer steps back and reaches for more arrows.

"YOU NO TAKE CANDLE!!!!!" one kobold yells as it charges and stabs Conner in the gut with a javelin!

Another slinger slings another pot... and misses again. He curses in draconic.

Another kobold charges Conner and stabs him! Conner is looking pretty hurt.

Another slinger slings another pot... and hits Rain! He laughs and cackles maniacally, doing a dance as Rain gets glued to the ground.

Rain barks at the kobolds and slices the head off the nearby one! Even as she does, water appears and covers Conner in the form of brittle ice armor!

Rain then breaks free of the glue!

  "That would make more sense if there were any candles to be seen"  That said, he fires another shot that punches through the armor of one of the remaining slingers, extending the ass kicking bonus to the party.

In a whirling tornado of blade action, Conner slices the two kobolds next to him, rushes down the stairs with Viper, then slashes the slinger's front side while Viper circles around behind the kobold and karate-chops him in the backside with her tail!

The kobold goes down. "Three!" Conner yells.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:21, Sat 09 May 2015.

Archer doesn't understand anybody's outburst except Kyle's.  He steps forward and finishes off the last kobold.  Once sure there isn't a threat he begins to search for survivors.

  Kyle checks on the others (and his crossbow)  "That went well, so far as any fight can where people get hurt."  Well, people on YOUR side.

  "If there that many just standing around outside, likely just as much within." That's kind of a given for all dungeons, even two room ones.

Conner says, "I could use some healing..."

Once healed, he checks on Rain.

Rain says, "It's nothing... I'll be OK."

Viper waves a ribon to catch attention, dancing happily and performing rather well a ribbon dance. Once attention is grabbed, she points down the hole with the tip of her tail.

Conner nods. "In a little, Viper. Rest up with us."

Viper obediently slithers over to Conner and curls up around him before resting her head on his shoulder. He reaches up to pet her as he rests.

Archer nods in agreement with Kyle.  He is impressed with the dancing snake.  And the rest of his allies of course.  But he doesn't fancy himself a leader, so he'll leave the "good job" stuff to someone more qualified.

"I wish to make up for my earlier noisy attempt at scouting."

  "If it's all the same Archer, I'd rather not send someone down a hole by themselves." Even if it wasn't the person who was recently abandoned in one.

Conner nods. "But it is impossible for everyone to go down the hole at the same time, Kyle."

Rain looks at the hole with hesitant eyes. "Can't we just bury the hole and let the enemy starve to death?"

Conner says, "If only! But nope. The enemy has prisoners down there."

Meanwhile, Kyle finds no survivors among the kobolds.

Rain says, "...I.... I'll..." she gulps and says with a slight puppy squeal in her voice, "I'll go down first."