DM NomadSage's Jade Regent - Night of Frozen Shadows (Inactive)

Game Master nomadicc

"So how do we proceed? Are they all wearing the armbands, or just the men and dogs? Are they wearing more than the armbands? Except the dogs of course, it'd be silly for them to be wearing more than the armbands."

Harlan holds his crossbow nervously and licks his lips.

Wish I had some gumbo right now. Where are the sheep? Maybe they're inside? Maybe these guys are weresheep?

"Maybe we should wait until they are good and into their cups before attacking?"

"So how do we proceed? Are they all wearing the armbands, or just the men and dogs?"

Heng looks quizzically at Harlan, "I could only hear them by listening at the door. This building does not seem to have any windows. They sound quite drunk already though unless we have some magic to disguise us, they'd have have to be really drunk to mistake any of us for locals."

As if reading Harlan's mind, Heng adds, "There is plenty of wool here. We could disguise ourselves as sheep and slip in perhaps. I once heard an old tale where captives of a half-blind ogre escaped by disguising themselves as the brute's flock."

"...well, they might be well into their cups," Maeve sounds skeptical of that. "...think. There's got to be some way of getting into an invitation-only party with no guards to look around the place..."

"Let's at least check the other door?"

Maeve goes up to listen at the last door, a bit less bothered about the stealth issue now that it's known no one's paying attention.

"Parity is right. It's too bad you can't cast your eyes spell on someone who doesn't want you to."

Harlan follows the others.

Heng also listens at the last door. NW one and actually making a roll.
Perception 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

"Parity is right. It's too bad you can't cast your eyes spell on someone who doesn't want you to."

Harlan follows the others.

"I can do that, but I have to touch them. Could play the blind beggar part?"

Judging by her expression, something in Maeve just went *ping* She chambers a kick that will definitely alert everyone in the home. And may just remove the door from its' hinges. She has genuine murder in her eyes.

Malnival readyies himself for violence.

"So much for the quiet approach ..." Parity covers Harlan and follows Maeve in.

As no one stops Maeve, she kicks in the door with righteous anger. Inside is a cold room stocked with roots, tubers, and dried vegetables hanging from the rafters. Two butchered sheep likewise hang from hooks and several bags of grain are stacked against the walls. In the opposite corner, two drunk Ulfen warriors are roughly fondling a young woman dressed in a servant's plain brown shift. Surprised, the warriors are slow to react to your entrance.

Actions? Map sent.

Surprise round and round 1 (or 1 and 2)

Maeve restrains herself from screaming out any sort of battle-cry. Her approach lacks most of her usual grace and style, she just charges in with a kick.

Partial charge on the surprise round, if I get it, otherwise just move in to attack

Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13
Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Once she's found herself in position, The girl starts showing a little more technique, but she's still furious and fast, emphasizing causing damage and pain with her magical strikes rather than setting up her defense.

Swift to Arcane Strike and Flurry

Attack 1: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
Damage 1: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Attack 2: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20
Damage 2: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Malnival moves forward with his scimitar draw with murder in his eyes.

Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Initiative Order: Malnival [23], Heng [21], Warriors [17], Maeve [10], Harlan [7], Parity [4]

Fast upon Malnival's heels, Heng crosses the room and strikes for white cloak's solar plexus.

Surprise
Heng- AC 17, hp 37, Stun 3/4

Unarmed 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
damage 1d8 + 3 + 1d6 ⇒ (1) + 3 + (4) = 8
DC 14 fort save or stunned

EDIT: here we go again :P
I just had a vision of Maeve charging in like a PO'd miss piggy. Hii-ya!

Parity will charge in the surprise round of possible, but unlikely so will move for position

Round Surprise

Harlan will stand ready as Maeve charges in. Unable to draw a bead in the confines of the room, he instead calls upon Sarenrae.

"Bless us Sarenrae, for they have sinned."

Bless

Surprise Round and Round 1
HP:35/35
Status: blind, bless, chill touch

Dice for charge (w/power attack & arcane strike) if it happens, otherwise subtract 2 and use it for Round 1:

To Hit: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16
Damage: 1d8 + 6 + 1d6 ⇒ (3) + 6 + (6) = 15 +1 Str

Surprise and Round One

Malnival rushes into the room, followed closely by Heng, while Maeve charges and kicks one of the men hard in the back. He bellows with shock and rage, spinning around. Harlan calls out a blessing for the group. Lastly, Parity steps through the door and into melee range.

Malnival slices into one warrior's flank leaving a deep wound. Heng strikes at the other, but the drunken warrior makes an elusive target, and his fist only glances off the foe's armor. Wavering in balance, the two draw axe and sword respectively and attack. The first clips a poorly-aimed but powerful blow off of Malnival's shoulder, while the second hacks Maeve viciously with his sword.

Maeve fights back with a powerful one-two combination, nearly knocking the Ulfen to the ground. Behind her, Parity cuts down the first warrior with a devastating attack. The woman, spatter in blood, stands in shocked silence.

Only need Harlan's action to close out R1, then actions for R2 for all. Remember on surprise rounds, you get a single move or standard. Worked out okay here as I mashed the rounds together.

Initiative Order: Malnival [23], Heng [21], Warriors [17], Maeve [10], Harlan [7], Parity [4]

Heng seeks to end the battle quickly with a furious combination.

Round 2
Heng- AC 17, hp 37, Stun 3/4

Flurry #1 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 5 + 1 = 22
damage 1d8 + 3 + 1d6 ⇒ (2) + 3 + (3) = 8

Flurry #2 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 5 + 1 = 7
damage 1d8 + 3 + 1d6 ⇒ (1) + 3 + (6) = 10

Round 2

AC: 13, HP: 31/31

Maeve quickly moves to the door to listen for any reaction to this short ruckus.

Round 2
HP:35/35
Status: Blind, bless, chill touch (3)

Parity puts his sword away as the others mop up the final guy (given he can't reach him). He points at where he thinks the girl is and places a finger to his lips and then opens his stance, turning to his right and indicates the door out.

Round 1 Init 7

Harlan limps into the room and closes the door behind him.

"What, no reason to waste good sheep."

Heng's strike is enough to drop the second warrior. He crumples with a grunt. The woman stands still, obviously frightened and unsure of your intentions.

Maeve doesn't hear anything coming from the other side of the door, but there is a strong smell of roasted meat.

With an earnest look, Heng places his finger across his lips in the international sign for quiet and motions the woman to move away from the interior door. He then quaffs a potion of mage armor in the expectation of more trouble ahead.

Maeve shakes her head and pulls out her wand, similarly tapping herself before looking to the girl and speaking in Skald.

Use Magic Device (DC 20): 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (18) + 12 = 30

The woman nods, still wide-eyed at your sudden rescue, resets her shift and runs out the door.

Heng nods to Harlan, "Smells like the kitchen ahead. Would you care to lead?"

"Sounds good. Let's see what's cooking."

Harlan moves into the next room, crossbow ready.

In the next room, you find a simple kitchen with a stove oven and fire pit. A sheep is currently roasting on a spit over the fire, tended by four more women in the plain, brown shifts the other wore. Earthen platforms along the walls hold cooking utensils, crocks, barrels, earthenware, and several barrels of ale and mead.

The servants need a double-take before they realized you're not invited guests. One of them, and older woman that appears to be in charge, brandishes a roasting tine defensively.

Maeve holds up her hands placatingly, showing that she's unarmed. She takes a few cautious steps forward while speaking calmly and quickly.

Are there doors or halls out of this room?

The old woman relaxes slightly, but shakes her head.

The map shows a door pretty clearly on the east wall.

The map shows a door pretty clearly on the east wall.

which map?

Uncertain as to what is being said between Maeve and the women, Heng moves to the door and nods to the others in preparation for the attack.

ready when you are.

Maeve just smiles viciously at that.

With his scimitar still dripping blood of the fallen, Malnival stands behind Heng and prepairs to enter the room beyond.

Oops! I forgot the email the updated map earlier! Sent now...

Heng and Malnival can clearly hear the sounds of the revelry through the door.

Just before we go through, Parity will activate the chaincloth cloak drawing his sword and shield.

Malnival cast shield on himself as everyone gets ready.

Maeve shrugs.

With a grimace at Maeve's words, the old woman gives a curt nod and ushers the other thralls out through the pantry, leaving you alone in the kitchen.

Actions?

Harlan moves over to the now vacated pot and checks the contents.

Profession Cook 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

"Now this is interesting."

How much longer on Bless? Should be another 30 rounds or so?

How much longer on Bless? Should be another 30 rounds or so?

The pot contains some variant of leek stew.

Yeah, its only been about a minute since casting.

"Maeve did you get the recipe from those women? Oh, right, the assault. Let's go get those weresheep, we've about 3 minutes left on my spell."

Heng silently counts down and bursts through the door eager to return the favor for the raid on the caravan.

Maeve gets on the door next to Heng, ready to go through.

Going to turn on Janni Style before the fight if I can.

Wasting no time, Heng crosses to the door and, with a grim smile, kicks it in. The shouting and yelling in the hall are so loud, the revelers barely notice the dramatic entrance. Only a few are nominally alert, and even then can only stare in shock for a few moments. You use those to strike...

The main hall has a sunken floor, like a trench, through the center, with 3-foot-high raised platforms alon the sides for sleeping and sitting. The platforms are currently crowded with trestle tables and chests for extra seating. A fire pit dominates the center of the floor. In addition to the doors, there is a screen covering an exit to the south wing of the farmhouse.

In all, you count fourteen Ulfen warriors celebrating in the room. Several are drunk, and/or alseep. You also see five thralls serving food and being generally manhandled.

Actions for surprise and 1st round? Map sent.