DM DB's "The Frostfur Captives" PFS PbP (Inactive)
Game Master Beckett

"Do they walk freely? Or are they tied or bound in some way?"

The druid from before speak up "They are bond by ropes. Currently we have them in a pin, under watch. But as we travelled, we tied their hands and ushered them in a chain."

And as he finishes, two more of the woodsmen arrive with 6 Goblins in toe. "And here they are. And with that, we are free of them", handing a rope off to one of you.

I can roll randomly, or someone can take the rope. :)

While Han is normally too humble to accept such a task, he does not trust his current allies to keep the goblins safe. So with great humility, he will except the rope.

"glad we can relieve you of the burden, as soon as everyone is ready I think it best that we set off. The sooner that we get them handed off the sooner we cam move on.

Arush asks Severrin, "Is there any outpost of civilization on our journey where we might procure a carriage or wagon to safely transport the miserable wretches we are now burdened with? It might keep them out of trouble, keep me from strangling them and ensure that we meet our rendezvous on schedule."

Diplomacy check: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

Upon receiving the soup Betoruga smiles and gives thanks for the soup.
"I humbly accept. Thank you." As he sips the soup he thinks to himself how does one keep such creatures content and maintain a stead pace. "It will be a challenge to keep the goblins in check. I am certain we can do what is necessary to complete our task."

"One can never be to careful. Better safe than sorry." Betoruga looks over all six goblins to see if they are hiding anything.
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17

"I speak the foul language of the smelly bastards. I had to learn it. I'm sure if I cave in one or two of their skulls, they might be more inclined to listen..."

Intimidate 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (20) - 2 = 18

Seeing that Betoruga is checking over the goblins Desgryn thinks it best that he do the same. "Yeh can never be too careful. With the trek that we have ahead of us no less"

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

You do not notie anything hidden, and for the moment, the goblins are all silent, with occasional grunts towards each other.

Sverrin answers Arush's comment, "Absolutely not. Goblins are terrified of both dogs and horses. Also, your mission is to remain undetected as you cross the lands. Tis is why you where braught in, and why we can not leave the field. Too large a group would be suspicious."

As Grundle starts speaking in a language that seems a mix of barks, drooling sounds, and foul body sounds, the Goblins seem to take special heed for a moment. Half way through, they begin to look a bit crazy ad angry. As he comes to the finish, they seem more terrified, though still rather insane at the same time, not unlike a cornered rat. Thereafter, they seem to avoid him.

With that done, once your broth is done, the rangers ask you to leave so that they can break camp and begin their travel, reminding you of their previous warnings.

"I can do that." Han will follow the rest of the group as while tugging on the leash for the goblins.

"Let us be on our way." Betoruga situates himself and keeps pace with the group.

Grundle trudges behind the goblins, oblivious to much else aside from his distrust and hate of the things.

Illias trudges along side Grundle, feeling slightly more at ease by the one that can speak with them, all the while with his hand at his warhammer ready for any antics.

Having listened to Grundle "speak" to the Goblins, Arush states, Merciful Sarenrae! What passes for a language among those foul beasts is even more repugnant than the creatures themselves...if that's even possible. I pray to the blessed Dawnflower that our journey is short and without mishap as I am already weary of these disgusting vermin.

Arush grudgingly falls into step with rest of the group while maintaining a respectful distance (10 feet) from the nearest goblin and ensuring that he stays upwind at all times.

I need either a Diplomacy or Intimidate check. Other party members can assist but we need to know who is going to speak each time as the main check.

I also need a Survival check as you leave the camp.

Survival check assist:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15

Aid Another: Survival: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Cast light on a random goblin's neck.

Intimidate: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (9) - 1 = 8

Gotta get these bad rolls out of the way early...lol!

Intimidate Aid Another 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (15) - 2 = 13

Survival 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

Grundle perks up a bit as the human speaks Goblin. A faint flicker of a smile crosses one corner of his mouth, then disappears just as quickly as it came.

Intimidate Aid Another: 1d20 ⇒ 10
Survival: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13

Desgryn's gaze sweeps all around them as they move keeping watch for anyone, or anything, that might be following them or hanging around.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

Diplomacy
1d20 ⇒ 16

Han will take the "good cop" approach to the goblins, encouraging them rather than threatening them. "This is a second chance to be different. To show not all goblins are the same. You should take it."

Survival
1d20 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 = 17

not sure if you want a Survival check from everyone...but here is my roll if needed

Survival1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15

The survival check is to find your way along the path. Who is going to be the main person trying to Intimidate (that the others are Aiding)? Also sorry. Really busy at work. I'll update soon but may not be able to until Fri.

1d4 ⇒ 2

Han, are you speaking in Common?

Yes unless I have any reason to believe they speak draconic or tian

Oops...I misread and thought I was going after...but I'll be more than happy to continue being the Intimidator !

Arush will cast Endure Elements on himself (and each day that they are on the journey).

I completely forgot about that spell which would alleviate the effect of the cold conditions that he has been complaining about. D'oh! Now I'll have to find something else for him to complain about. =)

For the first two hours of travel, the Goblins (6 in total), all seem to follow fairly well. They grumble to themselves in their own language

Two of the Gobins begin fighting, others obviously trip themselves, and and they begin literally dragging their feet, slowing everyone down.

Can I get another set of Diplomacy OR Intimidate. Again, you can attempt to Aid Another (with a D 10, but someone will need to be the person being "aided".

"Purease stop fighting so we can keep moving."

Diplomacy: 1d20 ⇒ 15

Common"We will rest when we get to camp, the sooner we get there the faster we can feed you." Betoruga tries to help Han to calm down the goblins. Diplomacy aiding Han:1d20 - 1 ⇒ (3) - 1 = 2

Intimidate 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (15) - 2 = 13

Grundle moves towards the nearest goblin and moves to kick it, thinks better, and draws his flail out...

"Don't hurt them." Han moves to try to stop Grundle.

Desgryn has no desire to harm them but he is willing to do what is needed to get the captives to the destination on time. "As our friend here has said, once we make camp we will be glad to feed you but now is not the time. Move along and I will keep Grundle off of ya."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

With a grunt, Grundle shakes Han's hand off of him. He whirls around and goes back to the rear of the goblin chain, with a parting phrase of "These are less than beasts, less than the bugs under yer boots. They respect nothin' but power and even then it takes a constant reminder. Trust me, they wouldn't give you even half the chance we've given them already."

"We've a job to do Grundle. Not a pleasant one but a job nonetheless. In a few days we'll pass them off and be done with them. Until then we need to keep them alive in order to get paid."

"Yeah, that's the only reason they're still standin' there, and friend Han here don't have a couple broken fingers fer tryin' to stop me. I'll try an' keep my temper in check. I can't promise anythin'."

Grundle fingers the chain spikes around his midsection and a particularly sour grimace crosses his face for a moment. His regular scowl quickly replaces.

Arush watches the scene that has just unfolded with undisguised annoyance (particularly because some of it took place in a language he is unable to understand), "For the love of the Eternal Mother of Flame, can we please get moving?!? If I don't get some food in my belly soon, you'll have more than these pestilential beasts causing problems!"

How much do the goblins each weigh? Can we just drag the little b@stards along?

Excellent. Your journey(s) to the Dark Side is almost, I mean they weigh approx 80lbs, and yes you may try to carry them if you wish.

They make a rude gesture at Grundle and snicker at some joke after his little speech in Goblin.

1d4 ⇒ 3

For the next few hours though, especially after the promise of food, seem to be mostly well behaved, even possibly warming up to Han and Desgryn.

"We have to prove we better than that. And our job is to keep them safe."

Ehhh...80 lbs is a little heavier than I thought they would be. I was thinking they might be halfling/gnome sized. Better just drive 'em like cattle. Oh, and LOL at the Dark Side comment. If one those little buggers turns to Arush and says, "Arush, I am your father.", I will totally wig out. =)

You are right, I was just going off of the top of my head for a super skiny human female, but honestly, because the are aclimated to the area and a bit more hardy than most Goblins, it is more like 40 - 50lbs

Act 1: The Towers
MAP
A narrow southern pass winds its way through steep, icy hills, the frigid wind periodically dusting all in its path with a layer of snow. Two ancient stone watchtowers stand on either side of the path between two nearly vertical bluffs rising thirty feet to either side, just as Lightfoot’s map indicated they would. The eighty-foot-wide path narrows to a mere twenty-five feet in width between the two fifty-foot towers.

This is one of the "hot spots" that the rangers cautioned you about. It is suppossed to be empty, but as it is an area you must travel through due to the terrain, it makes for an excellent ambush point.

At a glance, it does seem empty, though you can make Perception checks if you wish.

We also do need to have a marching order, keeping in mind that the Gobins are marching tied together in to rows of 3, taking up 6 squares in some way.

Perception 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

I would suggest that we have the goblins in the middle of our group. It would probably be a good idea to have Grundle (as the only fighter) in the front of the group along with a high Perception character. In the rear we might want to have another high Perception character to reduce the chance of any surprise attacks from behind.

One possible configuration might look like so:

Grundle Goblin Goblin Han

Arush Goblin Goblin Aleister

Betoruga Goblin Goblin Desgryn

Obviously, I am just throwing this out there to "get the ball rolling" and we should all have input into the marching order.

Question for GM: Does my hand need to be empty in order to use the Fire Bolt (Fire domain CRB p. 44) ability? If so, I will keep my scimitar sheathed. If it does not require that my hand be empty, I will have my scimitar in hand as we walk through this box canyon. I will have my shield in my off-hand.

Perception:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26

Betoruga doesn't like he looks of this as a stern look crosses his face. "Be on your guard. I will fall to the back of the group so that we don't have any surprises."

Looks good to me Arush

@Arush, no I don't believe that it does. Also, unless you have a Heavy Shield, that hand is not taken up. Bucklers and Light Shields are not used in your hand, allowing casters to switch a 1 handed weapon to that hand (free action), cast a spell, and return the weapon to their other hand (free action). Just not with Heavy Shields (or Tower) which specifically do take up the hand slot.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

Aleister peers at the towers ahead looking for signs of life.

"Anything to get away from the stink of these wretches." Grundle heads up to the front of the group.

Intimidate 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (4) - 2 = 2

"I've noticed that the tower tops have been disturbed recently. I suspect we have company. Ready ourselves for an altercation.

Suggestions anyone?"

Ugh...well, I DO have a heavy shield. I wasn't familiar with the potential drawbacks (especially for a spell caster) so I just went with the shield with the higher AC bonus. Gonna have to switch to a light shield at the soonest opportunity, though.

With that being the case, I will keep my scimitar sheathed so that I can cast a spell (or my Fire Bolt ability) immediately, if necessary.

TO GM: What time of day is it currently? What are the prevailing light conditions? And, finally, how far is the front of our group from the Two Towers (apologies to J.R.R. Tolkien)?