GM Tektite |
Your party has known each other for a short time. You all hired on as caravan guards for a man named Silas Gribb. You have had a little time getting to know each other as the caravan made it's way from Cassomir to Belhaim, the town in which you now sit.
When your caravan arrived two days ago, it was swiftly stopped and detained by the town constabulary. Next thing you know, Gribb is arrested on a warrant for smuggling. You all are able to quite easily claim your ignorance and innocence in the matter and local law enforcement releases you to your own devices. Within an hour, the sheriff and his best deputies are on their way to Cassomir with Silas in custody.
Stranded in this small town of Belhaim with very little money, Talia Orem, the young proprietor of the Wise Piper Inn, takes pity on the you all and offers free room and board for a few days—long enough for your now aimless party to at least figure out what to do next.
Sitting in the common room of the inn, enjoying a free meal of fresh bread with cheese and honey, washed down by watery mead, the party chats among yourselves.
Go ahead and make intros if you'd like, I'll put another post up in about an hour.
Emraeal Briskfury |
Throughout the journey, the tattooed Mwangi elf kept mostly to himself, often reading through several books of Elvish poetry. He introduces himself as "Emraeal Briskfury, Student of Words" with a deep bow.
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With their employer in shackles and the eclectic group thrown together in unemployment, Emraeal sits at the table and simply comments, "Alas, the storm is come again! My best way is to creep under his gabardine; there is no other shelter hereabout: misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows. I will here shroud till the dregs of the storm be past."*
The elf waits a moment for his new companions to take in his words before commenting, "Although of all strange bedfellows, you lot are among the better company!"
Boris, Honorary Kordite |
To say Boris is bear-like would be an understatement - He more closely resembles a bear attempting to resemble a man.
He stands just over six feet feet tall but his slouched posture suggests that he'd easily be a foot taller at his full height. His broad form hulks with slabs of sinew that suggest unyielding power and incredible stamina. His entire body is covered in rich dark fur, including his very ursine features.
"Boris", he answers the elf with a rumbling growl.
***
Entering the Wise Piper, Boris sniffs the air loudly before turning to the party with a smile in his very human eyes.
"Good smells!"
Shozole Ribole |
The very heavily-garbed Small figure (that the caravan would know is a copper-colored lizard/dragon-ish man thing) chimes in with his grating, raspy voice, continuing his poorly constructed guise of 'very annoying gnome.' "Yes! Best company! Yes! Good smells! Old boss was bad at hiding! Now we get free room! Yes!"
Will finish assembling at home; need to drive through what hopefully isn't slush.
Garen Crownguard |
"Garen, Might of the Inheritor." Garen very much resembles a man, in that he is one. He stands not quite six feet tall wearing a worn but functional scale mail with giant pauldrons. Strapped to his belt is an arming sword and he wears a simple holy symbol around his neck.
====
"I had a bad feeling about Silas. But it was work. But now we're unemployed again. If not for the kindness of the lovely Talia, we'd be on the streets as well."
GM Tektite |
E: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
B: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19
As you all sit around the inn, garnering not a few stares from the other patrons, suddenly the inn wall rattle as if shaken by thunder! People in the inn look around in bewilderment then begin heading toward the door and windows to discover the source!
Through the windows, you see a cloud of dust rising into the air to the northeast, when suddenly a villager bursts into the inn, screaming. The Witch Tower has fallen!
Galvanized by the news, everyone in the inn jumps from their seats and lurches for the door at once. Eventually able to make your way through the crowd gawking at dust plume rising into the air. The four of you head toward the direction of the collapsed tower, overhearing people abuzz about dozens of kobold bodies found amongst the rubble!
Arriving at the collapsed tower, two locals putter about aimlessly. One wanders about scratching her head, and the other stands with hands on his hips, chewing on a stalk of grass. These two, as you have learned while in town, are Letha Mulle and Varyl Hodd, the least experienced of Sheriff Benhovy’s crew and clearly out of their element with the sheriff on his way to Cassomir.
Someone from the crowd suggests checking to see whether the wizard Hunclay knows anything about what happened, given that his manor shares the hill with the tower. The deputies argue for several minutes, over who’ll knock on the wizard’s door, before a older woman grumbles that she will go and ask. Walking across the street, she stops and exclaims. There is a burnt kobold body over here!
The two deputies run over and inspect the body, before Hodd knocks loudly on Hunclay's door. When there is no answer, Mulle reaches for the door, but Hodd grabs her wrist, stopping her. Whatever magic did in that kobold might still be active on the wizard’s door! Best let it alone!
Boris, Honorary Kordite |
As much as he enjoyed the honey and honey-water, the ursine man’s curiosity is piqued just as much as everyone else’s when the small quake rocked the Piper.
Following the crowd outside, he inspects the rubble, pausing on occasion to sniff a kobold corpse closely. ”Danger”, he growls.
Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16
Shozole Ribole |
"No! Danger is bad! Yes! As is being burnt!" Shozole makes sure to adjust his hood. "Yes. No more kobolds to knick down towers. Yes..."
perception to aid bear: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
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Emraeal Briskfury |
Emraeal nods his head at the party. "'Tis dangerous to take a cold, to sleep, to drink; but I tell you, my lord fool, out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety."*
GM Tektite |
As everyone mills about, the town Baroness, Lady Origena Devy, arrives with her son, Arnholde and takes stock of the situation. She studies, briefly, the obvioulsy over matched deputies, then scans the crowd. Seeing your group, she strides over and says. Well done! I see you three have caught one of the kobolds. Good work! She reaches out and shakes the hand of all, but Shozole. May I ask you names and how did you come to capture this one so quickly?
Emraeal Briskfury |
"Ah, I see your mistake, Ma'am. This is our acquaintance Shozole. My name is Emraeal. You imply that there are more kobolds inside the rubble? What is this place? Shall we have a look for you?"
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
GM Tektite |
Lady Origena looks confused for a moment, hesistates, then after making some internal decision, says. "Today's your lucky day. Mulle and Hodd here can't handle this without the Sheriff to hold their hands, and I want to know what happened here. You seem to be a...capable bunch. If you go in there and look through the rubble, find out what happened and why there are kobolds in my town.." She looks sidelong at Shozole, "....I'll pay the lot of you 500 gold pieces. While you're looking around in the ruins, keep an eye out for any signs of our local eccentric, Hunclay. It seems somewhat suspicious to me that he's not answering his door. Let me know what you find." She surveys your party once more, shaking her head. "Do you accept?
Shozole Ribole |
"Yes! Great honor! Great money! Many coppers! Yes!" Shozole throws back his hood. "Yes. It takes a thief to catch a thief, yes? Yes. Then a Kobold for a Kobold it shall be."
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Shozole Ribole |
"No! Conceivable! Was conceived! Yes, but copper! Copper is cheapest and best because most is easy to find!" Shozole applied "logic" to the Taldan.
forgot to SM: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13 Dang, I really should use that Enemy thing on everyone, as jerk-ish as it sounds.
GM Tektite |
The baroness smiles and nods appreciatively. Good, I thank you. Report back to me when you have completed your survey.
A small crowd has gathered around the rubble of the collapsed tower. Only fragments of the first and second floor still stand. Black stone and broken wooden debris lie scattered down the hill's southeastern slope, and a rocky ramp of sorts leads up to the tower's second floor.
The party is able to scamber up the slope, slipping occasionally on loose debris, but making it up none the less. Reaching the top of the "ramp", you see this exposed second floor contains only some smashed furniture and a sprinkling of rubble. A trap door is set in the floor against the northwest wall, but a stout timber has fallen across it.
If there is anything you need to retcon, just let me know.
GM Tektite |
Boris and Garen easily lift the wooden beam from the trapdoor. Opening it reveals that the tower's large ground floor has mostly collapsed under the rubble, but along the western portion of the room a section remains clear of debris. An iron trapdoor set in the floor is directly below the trapdoor through which you are now peering. Shattered wooden furniture lies scattered arouund the corpses of two green-scaled creatures...two more kobolds.
The only source of light is what is filterign down from the opened trapdoor. The only viable way to proceed appears to be the iron trapdoor.
Anyone who has KN: engineering can make a check.
Emraeal Briskfury |
KN (untrained): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9
Emraeal looks about the room, checking over the trapdoor. "Say, are any of you skilled with traps?"
Shozole Ribole |
"Traps! Yes! Kobolds love traps! We should look for them everywhere! Yes!" Shozole states, avoiding actually answering the question.
perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21 Shozole is too excitable to take 20, unless sternly ordered to.
-Posted with Wayfinder
GM Tektite |
Shozole finds no traps and Emraeal opens and descends into the trapdoor, Assuming someone has lightsource. dropping into a larger room.
The walls of this chamber have buckled precariously in several places, and masonry and dirt are scattered across the floor, the collapse above plainly caused the structural damage. the dry-rotted frames of five simple beds lia against the north and south walls. To the southwest, the room broadens into a larger chamber. A rusted, grinning iron statue stands in an alcove in th enorth wall between the two wings of the room itself, and in the wall to the south is an old iron door.
You all notice movement to the west and turn to see two large centipedes moving in your direction, in a hungry manner.
Emraeal: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
Shozole: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
Boris: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19
Garen: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
Pedes: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9
Initiative:
Emraeal
Boris
Shozole
Pedes
Garen
Em, Boris, and Shoz!
Emraeal Briskfury |
Emraeal moves into the room with his mace out. Sensing the movement in the room but noting that the centipedes are too far away, he begins to recite some verse before striding forward.
"To dream the impossible dream,
To fight the unbeatable foe,
To bear with unbearable sorrow,
To run where the brave dare not go. . . "
When the raging song begins, each ally within range must decide whether to accept or refuse the effects of the raging song (this is not an action); unconscious allies automatically accept the song. Once this choice is made, it lasts until the song ends or the ally moves out of range (returning to the area allows the ally to decide again); the raging allies cannot decide to end the rage on their own.
Allies with 30 feet gain a +2 morale bonus to Strength and Constitution and a +1 morale bonus on Will saves, but also take a –1 penalty to AC. While under the effects of skald rage, allies (other than the skald) cannot use any Charisma-, Dexterity-, or Intelligence-based skills (except Acrobatics, Fly, Intimidate, and Ride) or any ability that requires patience or concentration. Affected allies are fatigued for 1 round after they’re no longer affected by the song (whether because the skald stops maintaining the song or because they’re no longer in range).
Assuming mace and shield were already out on the way down, I'll spend a standard to start raging song and a move to go forward, staying within 30' of my allies in case they want to take advantage of the RAGE!
Shozole Ribole |
Using his Go Unnoticed feat, Shozole will try to hide behind that southern table.
stealth: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (6) + 12 = 18
-Posted with Wayfinder
GM Tektite |
1d20 ⇒ 6
1d20 ⇒ 14
Shozole scurries over to duck behind a table.
The centipedes move up, looking hungry!
Attack vs Emraeal: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
Damage: 1d6 - 1 ⇒ (4) - 1 = 3
Attack vs Boris: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20
Damage: 1d6 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1
A centipede misses the skald, but...
We'll see what Boris' ready does to the centipede.
Party up!
Emraeal Briskfury |
"To right the unrightable wrong,
To love pure and chaste from afar,
To try when your arms are too weary,
To reach the unreachable star!"
Emraeal continues to rally his allies as he swings at the centipede in front of him.
Combat Expertise: Current AC 16/12/16
light mace: 1d20 + 3 - 1 ⇒ (13) + 3 - 1 = 15
damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
Don't forget about Raging Song! +2 Str/Con, +1 Will, -1 AC
Shozole Ribole |
Shozole will fire on the south centipede, then try to continue sniping!
crossbow vs flat: 1d20 + 5 - 4 ⇒ (6) + 5 - 4 = 72d6 ⇒ (6, 3) = 9
stealth (sniping): 1d20 + 12 - 20 ⇒ (16) + 12 - 20 = 8
-Posted with Wayfinder
Emraeal Briskfury |
[dice=Fort]1d20+6+1
Hurray raging song!
Yeah, all those people who doubted the Skald!