⚔️57. divide and conquer

session 57 • january 17 2022 • 677 words

🌞 DAY 15 • 📅 MARPENOTH 4

Group Huddle

The orcs begin to wreak havoc across Phandalin. We notice that in addition to the armies, there is a "commander" orc of sorts overwatching the raid, as well as two war-drummers, who are all hanging back and watching the raid occur.

The party briefly discuss a gameplan and realize that in order to stop the orcs from razing Phandalin to the ground, they'll need to split up and deal with each "section" of orcs, which are spread across the town. We agree to herd the townsfolk towards the center of the town (into Stonehill) so that we can protect all of them all at once.

We each pull some animals from the Bags of Tricks and split up into the following groups.

Hugh and Droop

Hugh heads North to Henry and Edermath's Orchard. Edermath is wrangling one orc and Henry is trying his best to defend himself with a screwdriver LMAO. Hugh and Droop launch a vicious attack that decimates the orcs, although Edermath and Henry are heavily injured in the ensuing aftermath.

Their combined brute strengths are so intimidating to the orcs that one of them turns tail and runs towards the town square where the villagers are gathering.

A house is set on fire (I think Henry's?) but Hugh, with Droop's help manages to get it put out before it can spread or cause any lasting damage--then he goes to chase down the escaped orc.

Sildar

Party daddy makes short work of the orcs in his section.

Willow

Will is rapidly going through 60 stages of grief while witnessing the raid on a town not unlike his. He reaches the Alderleaf farm and realizes that they have two small children, which deals that extra spicy emotional damage to poor Will.

Will focuses his efforts on protecting the Alderleaf family, attempting to draw the orcs' attentions with insults "hey leave them alone meatheads" we love him. Noli, the lion from the Bag of Tricks, assists Will in protecting the other townsfolk in the section, although she's a little terrifying to them at first.

Will manages to get the orcs' to gather around him with his yelling and utilizes Misty Step to consistently reposition himself at advantage, slaying all the orcs without any casualties, though daddy Alderleaf gets hurt.

Soren

Local twink boy gets obliterated by 6 orcs

Soren, exhilarated by the fact that he's on the defending side of a town raid and that this is his chance to be a hero, focuses on protecting the townsfolk. He casts Faerie Fire on Delilah, the direwolf from the Bag of Tricks, and asks the people to follow the Bright Pink wolf to safety--which they do after relatively little hesitation.

Soren draws the orcs' attentions by comparing them to goblins (my drow boy? being Doubly racist? it's more likely than you think :/). As he's surrounded by all the orcs, he takes a few heavy blows before casting Darkness on everyone.

Gundren and Linene, bless their hearts, try to help but are warded off by the darkness. Being able to see in the magical darkness due to Graz'zt's gifts, Soren is able to pick off all but one of the orcs, repelling blasting their corpses out of the fog lmao the townsfolk are like (⊙＿⊙')

(Soren felt very cool :> )

Soren drops darkness to Hex the last orc, finally kiling it with a Hellish Rebuke. (my drow boy? getting more comfortable using dark arts? it's more likely than you think :/)

After killing all the orcs (including the one that escaped from Hugh's part of town), he returns to the houses to help a mother struggling with a child. The mother expresses fear at the drow, but Soren manages to convince her to go to the Shrine of Luck, albeit a little deflated.

All Together Again

We regroup at Stonehill, where Garaele is holding onto Nezznar's leash and trying to heal the injured individuals. After some healing, we prepare ourselves to fight the orc commander and her drummers.