Session 12: Big bad bugbears!

General Summary

Summary: 3 points It is noted that more people participating in a summary tends to be better received and/or worth more points.

Post worg/hobgoblin combat roundup (~30 minutes)

Nock checks the fallen for any survivors; one hobgoblin is potentially savable. Leucis evaluates the casualty, but determines that the patient is beyond saving by non-magical means so Nock ends him. Nock then collects Cinnamon from his hiding spot.
Maya starts gathering the worg bodies (with Kolvonnin's assistance) into a pile for consumption by the creatures of the forest.
The group hears a howl in the distance. Several people feel like the howl had a more communiative tone that a mere animal noise; Leucis posits that it was inquiring as to the status of the recent foes. Nock keeps an eye open for more interlopers while the party handles the cleanup tasks.
Among the corpses they locate a few bits and bobs:

• amethyst (100 gp)
• tourmaline (100 gp)
• a small pouch of chalk (1 sp)
• 3 rations worth of hard tack
• 6 rations of moldy bread
• 3 whetstones
• A metal key with a curiously shaped head
• a brass medallion engraved with Elvish script ( translated by Sunny: "May you always find your home again.")

Kolvonnin notes that the hobgoblins have some bruises and black eyes, as though they'd had some recent beatings beyond the battle that just concluded. The worgs look a bit underfed, rather than battered. None of the folks who traveled through these woods previously recall the prior hobgoblins or worgs looking the worse for wear in this way. Sunny theorizes that maybe the loss of their spider-smashing book broke their morale.
The group divides up the useful goods and decides to collect the rather nasty gear (armor, shields, swords) and sink it in a nearby small body of water so it can't be easily sniffed out and reclaimed by other unfriendlies. This is proceeding along well enough until...

New challengers appear!

...a group of bugbears mounted on worgs spring from the underbrush, surprising the party. One of them wears a gold mask depicting a snarling face.

Pitched battle

• They hurl javelins (striking Ol'Harb ) and duck back behind cover.
• Maya wild shapes into a dire wolf and charges in, savaging a worg.
• Leucis wings a Guiding Bolt at a bugbear but doesn't connect.
• Sunny catches several of the enemies with a Shatter spell,
• Kolvonnin Smites the leader's worg with his morningstar.
• Leucis calls upon Selune to produce a Twilight Sanctuary in his immediate vicinity.
• A worg gets its teeth into Harb, and he goes down bleeding.
• Sunny uses a Slashing Flourish on a worg and carries some damage through to the rider.
• Ol'Harb fails his death save.
• Leucis shouts a Healing Word(2nd) to Ol'Harb, bringing him back from the brink.
• Sunny attempts to interrupt a bugbear's critical hit on Ol'Harb, but the critical lands lands despite the Silvery Barbs.
• Nock slays a worg with a well-placed arrow.
• Ol'Harb tears the throat out of a worg with his rapier.
• Leucis activates the Divine Favor of his holy symbol and moves in to brain a worg with its silvery radiance.

A change of tactics

• The lead bugbear shouts an inquiry of his troops, then lands a solid hit on Kolvonnin.
• The remaining non-leader bugbears appear to think better of this fight and disengage.
• Kolvonnin calls upon Pelor to heal his wounds via Lay on Hands, then Channels Divinity to challenge the opponents.
• Maya sinks jaws into a bugbear and tears out its throat.
• The leader attempt to get his mount to leave but is unsuccessful, so he lands another hit on Kolvonnin.
• The non-leader bugbear drops his weapon.
• Leucis approaches the surrendered bugbear and puts down his weapon/shield to retrieve rope.
• The bugbear attempts to run for it, and Leucis punches him on his way out.
• The leader takes a swing at Kolvonnin, but is interrupted by Sunny's Silvery Barbs.
• Maya forcibly dismounts the leader with is jaws.
• Nock chases down and lands a critical slice with his scimitar on the fleeing bugbear.
• Harb skewers the remaining worg.
• Harb lands a critical strike on the leader under the shoulder and through, finishing him off.
• Nock deals a nonlethal final blow to the last bugbear, then proceeds to tie him up.

Combat summary:

• Total duration: 10 rounds.
• One PC dropped (Ol'Harb).

Post worg/bugbear combat cleanup

Maya determines that these worgs seem to have been cross-bred with dire wolves - likely less intelligent but larger and hardier. The party at large starts stripping the new corpses of their arms and goods, but a few raise the point that lingering may not be the best idea. Nock raises the point that it's likely that creatures of this type would be both faster than the party and able to track via scent, so moving on might not be helpful.
Harb removes the mask from the lead bugbear, and while he seems a bit more muscular he seems otherwise no different than his comrades. He can't tell what the mask is intended to depict, just that it's scary-looking and appears ceremonial. It also seems to be primarily composed of gold, so it's quite heavy (~15 lbs). He's got an empty pouch at his belt, as well - Harb gives it a sniff but can't tell what it contained.

Loot:

• The leader:
• Painted gold war mask (15 lbs)
• Empty belt pouch


• The other riders carried:
  • 70 gp
  • 190 sp
  • 314 cp

The party divvies up the money more or less evenly (a small discussion on Splitting Loot wherein it becomes clear both making change the weight of cash are less important than expected.) Maya carries the war mask and Harb hangs onto the belt pouch.

Next steps:

1. Investigate loot more closely (pouch, mask).
2. Claim javelins?
3. Check over Sunny's sheet about unarmed strike vs claws.

Session Feedback

Eddy: Better tactics this time around than last time. Combat was a bit longer than preferable, but it the difficulty really ramped up this time around. Enjoyable but long. It was cool to use so much more of the kit.
Matt: That XP budget, though, and with no short rest. And the dice weren't with us. And enemy AC was higher. It wasn't clear how long the gap between the combats was.
James: Enemies seemed to roll better this combat. Very close to shifting back to halfling to switch to healing. Roll20 tips might make for smoother play. Twilight Sanctuary kept Maya from having to heal while in wild shape.
Meg: My kingdom for a long rest! Gap between combats wasn't clear, either.
Heather: I, too, want a long rest. Question: unarmed strike vs claws.
Jeremy: Enemies getting around the party at the onset was good. Party was resilient but it was rougher. Bard forcing rerolls and cleric temp HP were both clutch.
John: I rolled Perception for the watcher to engender some player surprise to go with the party surprise. (Note: This was less than ideal and not terribly well-received; consider carefully before replicating this in future sessions.) The leader was more of a damage sponge than I expected.

Campaign

Moon's Rise

Protagonists

Ol'Harb

Chaotic Neutral Reborn (Multiverse Wanderer)
Fighter 6

52 / 52 HP

STR
14

DEX
20

CON
15

INT
12

WIS
6

CHA
10

Kolvonnin

Report Date

20 Feb 2022