#067

This is the party's first time meeting Garrul Bladestorm and vice versa. He's also clearly mistaken them for somebody else. Who is Kiriaedis? Why would does Garrul fear he's being targeted by assassins (although since the party is here to kill him, it's a valid concern)? These are questions I want the reader to be considering, and they're ones the party doesn't have an answer for.

Of course, since currently most of my readers have played D&D with me, or know somebody who has, it stands to reason that you already know who Kiriaedis is and what his motives are. It kind of makes the suspense here moot.

A note on gameplay: Thomas is now seriously disadvantaged in coming rounds of combat. He's been disarmed, which has some pretty dire ramifications for first level adventurers. Normally, he'd simply be able to recover his weapon by spending a move action to pick it up. But not only does this cost him a move-equivalent action, he's exposing himself to an attack of opportunity. At first level, he doesn't have a lot of hitpoints to play around with. Additionally, he is no longer considered to be armed. This means that he's no longer able to take attacks of opportunity, and it also means he's not able to flank Garrul with Tamaki. Flanking is a very big deal, especially at first level for a number of reasons. First, it grants a bonus when attacking a flanked target. Second, it allows rogues like Tamaki to deal extra damage. Being denied these bonuses puts the party at a serious disadvantage when facing Garrul, whose Challenge Rating is higher than the party's (doubly so since the party is at half fighting force). In short, the party needs reinforcements.

Author's note: Thomas wouldn't normally call someone a clown. However, Tamaki is pretty badly hurt, and if it weren't for magical healing and the often campy nature of Dungeons and Dragons he'd be in very serious danger of losing his right arm. So he's lightening the mood. Sort of like a doctor telling a corny joke before explaining why you have less than even odds of surviving a procedure.