Jelani's Colonization:Aspis Rising (Inactive)

Game Master Brian Minhinnick


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So who's keeping watch and in what order? If we can develop a standard watch order I'll just put it on the campaign info tab so that I don't forget and I won't have to ask next time.


M Half-Orc Paladin 9 | HP 59/69 | AC 20(23)/T11(14)/FF19(22) | F+10/R+7/W+10 | CMD 27 (30) | Per +7 | Init +1

Penance in the 'darkest part of the night' thing, as it were. Becaus yay darkvision. Midnight - 3 am, or thereabouts? I'm guessing that probably translates as third watch.


Telemakos:
AC 18, T 13, FF 16; Fort +5, Ref +9, Will +8; Init +2; Perc +6; low-light vision
Arasmes:
AC 18, T 12, FF 16; Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +5; Init +2; Perc +7; darkvision 60 feet

This was what we initially settled on, but now we lost Khanjar for good. If, like today, we don't use spells, we don't have any problem.
When we do, the problem is that the only two of us lacking darkvision, Corridan and Devram (thus the two who can't take the darkest hours of the night) are also two who don't have to prepare arcane spells and thus don't need a full night of sleep.
Penance and Iliante are the only two who can safely take second and third shift (If Emerion were planning on enchanting his arcane bond ring as a ring of sustenance he'll join that category too).
A partial solution would be Penance using Keep Watch on someone other than himself.

For example
1- Emerion & Devram
2- Penance & Telemakos (who benefits from Keep watch)
3- Iliante & some NPC
4- Shinjuko & Corridan

Telemakos, Emerion and Shinjuko are interchangeable, so are Devram and Corridan, so are Penance and Iliante.


Male Human Bloodrager (Aberrant) 1 [HP 13/13 | AC 18/13/15 | F+5 R+3 W+0 | Init +3 Percep +4 SM +5]

I'm good with that. Keep Watch can also be cast on more than 1 person. So we could double up watches if we can't find a suitable NPC.


Today is my super busy day, so no update until tomorrow probably.


Male Half-Elf Tailor; AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 10, CMD 18; HP 10/10; Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +3; Initiative +6; Perception +5 (darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision), Sense Motive +6

Fine with me as well.

A question, by the way: Are we back to full hit points?


M Half-Orc Paladin 9 | HP 59/69 | AC 20(23)/T11(14)/FF19(22) | F+10/R+7/W+10 | CMD 27 (30) | Per +7 | Init +1

Penance could have channeled before sleep for a total of 4d6, and still tossed a lay on hands on someone after that for another 3d6, so I would think everyone should be back to full HP.

On the topic of 'Keep Watch', I honestly would prefer not to spend one of my two spell slots on that, especially as I'm the only divine healer in the party. I have Serren's Swift Girding and CLW as my current standard memorized spells, in order to get myself and one other person into armor in case we get surprise-attacked again, and to heal. If people really think Keep Watch is a better call, I can swap out SSG, I guess, but at most I would only take one slot of that. And as far as I know, nobody else has Keep Watch known in order to be able to cast it. Could be wrong on that count.


Watch is set and the night passes without incident.

Sorry, I've been kinda busy this week and last week/weekend. I need a good long time whenever I have to update this campaign because I'm writing it from scratch as we go and there's a lot of details to keep track of. I'll try to get the rest of the journey up over the next day or two. Thanks for your patience.


M Half-Orc Paladin 9 | HP 59/69 | AC 20(23)/T11(14)/FF19(22) | F+10/R+7/W+10 | CMD 27 (30) | Per +7 | Init +1

No worries from this corner, I've been slammed all week with work deadlines anyway.


<< Landing Beach-Iron Fist Clanhold, The Island | Journey day 2, Morning-Lunchtime | Hot 75-100° F | Lamashan 11th-12th, 4713 AR >>

In the morning, the train of heavily laden foreigners gets moving again through the jungle.

1d100 ⇒ 59
1d4 ⇒ 1

Partway through the morning, one mercenary steps on the mouth of a forgotten old pit trap for hunting animals. He falls in and impales himself on the wooden spikes in the bottom. By the time anyone with healing magic gets to him, he has bled to death.

Despite that minor setback, the group makes good time in the cool period between dawn and mid day. As the sun reaches its zenith, the heat is unbearable, but the hobgoblins insist on pressing forward as the journey is almost done. Soon the jungle begins to thin out. It opens into a massive clearing surrounding a single mountain rising up out of the hilly terrain. The top of the peak is gone, clearly lost in some ancient volcanic event. The land surrounding the dormant volcano is full of rice paddies and fields. The fields are also terraced half-way up the sides of the mountain, where several dirt roads and paths coverge to lead into a tunnel openin like a giant termite mound. In the fields naked orcs, goblins, kobolds, lizardfolk, and sahuagin labor under the whips of mounted hobgoblin taskmasters. It appears they are currently being herded into shaded enclosures where troughs of water await them. Some kind of bamboo irrigation and aqueduct system can be seen running from the peak of the mountain down to the fields, providing water for farming and (presumably) consumption.

The slaves look up in awe as the strange procession passes, that is until the whips of their masters turn them back to their duties. The red plume removes his helmet, and turning to the Aspis agents motions to the mountain and says, "Zoo siab txais tos rau Hluav Taws Roob. Tsev!"

Goblin:
Welcome to Fire Mountain. Home!


M Half-Orc Paladin 9 | HP 59/69 | AC 20(23)/T11(14)/FF19(22) | F+10/R+7/W+10 | CMD 27 (30) | Per +7 | Init +1

Penance is bothered by yet another man lost, and crouches by the edge of the pit in grim silence, arriving too late. He refuses to go on personally until he's pulled the man's body out of the hole. They may not have time to bury him now, but damned if he'll leave the bastard's body to rot in a pit, either-- instead, he wraps the man's corpse in the canvas of his tent to keep some of the bugs off it, and lashes it behind him on his riding lizard before he resumes his position at the end of the marching line.

(If the hobgoblins don't want to wait while Penance gets the body out, then he would just let the caravan go ahead, and catch up with them on the lizard, if that is feasible.)

When the jungle opens up, Penance openly stares, his jaw a bit slack at the scale of the volcanic peak.

"Damn... there's something you don't see every day," he breathes.

"Fire Mountain, huh?" he says to either Corridan, or Nim, when the words have been translated. "Tell him I've never seen the like...

"...and ask him if the Khaan would object to my burying our soldier on his lands, if you will."


"Peb pub peb tuag rau lub roob yog thaum ua tau. Nws tej zaum kuj yuav honored li ntawd, yog tias nej xav."

Goblin:
We feed our dead to the mountain when possible. He might also be honored so, if you desire.


Male Half-Elf Tailor; AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 10, CMD 18; HP 10/10; Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +3; Initiative +6; Perception +5 (darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision), Sense Motive +6

"It seems they do not so much bury their dead. They... ahem... 'feed' them to the mountain," Corridan translates with a faint smile. "They consider it an honor, actually. And it would certainly make for an impressive send-off, I suppose."


Male Human Bloodrager (Aberrant) 1 [HP 13/13 | AC 18/13/15 | F+5 R+3 W+0 | Init +3 Percep +4 SM +5]

Gods, I bet I've lost half my weight in sweat since arriving. Devram wipes his brow as he looks out to the rice fields filled with slaves working.

"More slaves. I suppose we should have known." He shrugs. "Khanjar would enjoy himself here."

"Well, being fed to the Mountain might not be so bad. Beats a slow rot."


M Half-Orc Paladin 9 | HP 59/69 | AC 20(23)/T11(14)/FF19(22) | F+10/R+7/W+10 | CMD 27 (30) | Per +7 | Init +1

Penance looks at Corridan and his translation a bit incredulously, then back up to that looming hulk of the mountain.

"That.... that'll do, I imagine." Not like the dead man has any say in the matter anymore. "Uh, tell him... thanks, or whatever."

He's glad he's not the one doing the bulk of the communication. But Corridan's got a smooth way of words he's noticed several times now-- especially when it's Penance himself the tailor's calming down.

He nod-shrugs at Coates's observance. Seems everywhere on Golarion there's slaves. Just the way the world works.

Penance does a head-count of their straggling line of tired and sweaty sailors and soldiers, making sure all of them are accounted for as he follows the column forward.


Male Aasimar Void Elementalist 9
Stats:
HP 62/62 l AC 15/13/12 l Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +9 l Init +4 l Perception +2

Emerion eyed the slaves a good deal, letting the conversation go by for the moment. He wondered if the hobgoblins were open to selling one or two, perhaps they had some young that could not yet work such labor. Kobolds, Lizardfolk, and Sahuagin all laid eggs maybe he could acquire a few. Kobolds had a natural talent for trap making and he was in dire need of some proper assistants. Not that his own pair of helpers were bad, but they did have their own duties and trap making required more focus then they could spare. As for lizardfolk they were well suited to physical roles. As for the sahuagin he had little hope there but it did not hurt to ask he supposed.


As Emerion examines the slaves he manages to spot a couple of hobgoblins thrown in to the mix of slave races as well.


Male Undine Gunfighter | HP 82/82 | Insanity 8 | Revolver 6/6 | Grit 3/3
Stats:
AC 20/16/14 | Fort +10 Ref +11 Will +5 | Init. +7 | Perception +14 (+1 vs suprises), 60-ft. Darkvision, 30-ft Water Sense | CM +5/20

Iliante trudged along in the heat. The hot weather, he was used to. He just missed the constant wind on a rolling deck that made it more bearable. He actually smiles when he sees the rice paddies with their small ponds of fresh water. At least, it is not a desert.


The procession continues on into the mountain itself. Inside is an extensive network of carved out tunnels, busy with hobgoblins going about their lives and work. The Agents see the tribe's women and children for the first time inside. The women and children go topless and wear the same grass-fiber skirts that the men have under their armor. The womens' torsos and faces are covered in decorative scarring like the men. They decorate their hair with colorful beads, and they have a wide variety of rings in their noses and ears. The children have no scarring, and their hair grows wild. It appears that they are basically allowed to do whatever they want from what the Aspis see on their walk. The children run about and play, often being quite noisy. There are also an abundance of cat-sized geckos wandering about on the floors, walls and ceilings. They display an astonishing variety of coloration, and appear to be treated like pets.

The foreigners draw open stares from everyone as they make their way through the tunnels. The trip goes on for several minutes and the Aspis are soon quite disoriented. Finally the red plume (the last remaining of their escort) stops at the opening into a long hallway lined with curtain-covered doorways on either side. "Cov no yog cov khoob chav. Koj thiab koj tus neeg tej zaum yuav nyob ntawm no thaum koj npaj koj tua rau tus zaj. Yog hais tias koj xav tau dab tsi, yuav muaj ib tug tub rog muab tso rau ntawm no txhua lub sij hawm los mloog koj daim ntawv thov. Nws yuav muab npaum li cas mus rau Khaan tam sim ntawd. Yog hais tias koj xav rov qab mus rau koj tus phooj ywg tuag rov qab los mus rau lub ntiaj teb ntawm lub roob ces, thov qhia rau cov tub rog uas paub thaum twg koj npaj txhij."

Goblin:
These are empty rooms. You and your people may stay here while you plan you raid on the dragon. If you need anything, there will be a warrior posted here at all times to hear your request. It will be taken to the Khaan right away. If you desire to return your dead friend to the Earth of the Mountain then, please let the warrior know when you are ready.


Male Aasimar Void Elementalist 9
Stats:
HP 62/62 l AC 15/13/12 l Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +9 l Init +4 l Perception +2

A little retcon sense I was at work.

Retcon:

Emerion notices the hobgoblins among the slaves and speaks to one of the escorts.

"Are those hobgoblins slaves? If so why?"

After translating he picks out the most spacious dwelling space he can find and starts brainstorming how to take down a dragon with what they have and could scrap together.


"Muaj, lawv yog cov txhaum," is the reply to Emerion's question.

Goblin:
Yes, they are criminals.


Male Undine Gunfighter | HP 82/82 | Insanity 8 | Revolver 6/6 | Grit 3/3
Stats:
AC 20/16/14 | Fort +10 Ref +11 Will +5 | Init. +7 | Perception +14 (+1 vs suprises), 60-ft. Darkvision, 30-ft Water Sense | CM +5/20

Iliante rounds up the captain and the Aspis Agents, "We probably need to agree on some ground rules while we're living here. If we have a serious misunderstanding with the natives, it could get bloody."


Hagebak says, "I'll keep me sailors in line. Other than that I'll probably just get drunk unless you need me to do something else. Most of my crew are shit in a fight, but I love me a good battle. Gorum's always watchin', ye ken?"


Male Human Bloodrager (Aberrant) 1 [HP 13/13 | AC 18/13/15 | F+5 R+3 W+0 | Init +3 Percep +4 SM +5]

Devram chuckles at Hagebak's comment. "Sure, Gorum might watch the fight. But Asmodeus welcomes the bastards to hell."

He turns to the red-plumed Hobgoblin. "Would it be allowed for us to see your blacksmiths create the armor? We've heard it is an amazing thing. I'd be honored if I could observe."


M Half-Orc Paladin 9 | HP 59/69 | AC 20(23)/T11(14)/FF19(22) | F+10/R+7/W+10 | CMD 27 (30) | Per +7 | Init +1

Penance offers a somewhat stiff bow to the red-plume who has led them here, then starts stripping his gear off into one of the rooms-- they all look about the same to him. The body of their merc, he lays out on the floor, and tries to clean him up a bit from the gruesome injuries the spikes had inflicted. A muttered prayer to Abadar, then he corrals Nim or Corridan to relay that he is ready to take the man to the Fire Mountain. If any of the other mercenaries were particularly friendly with the dead man, he'll let them know that he is being laid to rest.... well, consumed by fire, but close enough.... before carrying the corpse through the Fire Mountain's caverns.

He has a gut feeling this is going to become all too common-place, for him. How many had they buried out at the beach? How many more in the weeks to come? Aspis better be paying the poor bastards well, he thinks.

***

Later, he nods at Iliante's words. "Ground rules sound good. Common sense ought to apply: don't go pickin' fights with them, that sort of thing. We ought to drill it into the heads of our men that we're here as guests... and that the hobs can probably wipe 'em out before one of us can get on scene if they try anything dumb."


The rooms are very spartan. They are all roughly cubical in shape, carved from the stone of the mountain. The only furniture is a small table made to be squatted beside, and rolled up woven bamboo mats for sleeping on. The hobgoblins appear to eschew chairs, instead squatting on their own heels. It's a position they appear to be able to hold for an infinite duration without discomfort.

Welcome to a Chinese peasant's bedroom ;) There is a reason that parts of their culture resemble Tian Xia. Hopefully it will eventually come out.


Telemakos:
AC 18, T 13, FF 16; Fort +5, Ref +9, Will +8; Init +2; Perc +6; low-light vision
Arasmes:
AC 18, T 12, FF 16; Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +5; Init +2; Perc +7; darkvision 60 feet

Not really excited about his new accommodation, Telemakos spends most of the following days discovering local wildlife. He enlists the help of Corridan or Emerion to talk to the hobgoblins, and proceeds with his enquiries, always with Arasmes at his side.
He talks to the hobgoblin in charge of capturing and training the lizards; he asks the hobgoblin scouts about dangerous animals and predators of the jungle, and as well about strong herd herbivores. He sees what kind of animals, besides the lizards, do the hobgoblins breed and use as cattle, as working help, as pets. If allowed, he talks with said animals. During this time he is as respectful as possible and doesn’t break any rule the hobgoblins impose upon him.

If there’s enough time before the group decides to take down the dragon, he makes flying excursions, carried by Arasmes, trying to locate glades with rivers or lakes or places where local fauna might gather to clench thirst. He tries talking to wildlife, starting with large herbivores. He asks about natural and unnatural predators, mostly.

Always assuming there’s enough time, he tries to capture a predator and talk to him.

_______________________

Telemakos can speak to animals 1/day, so let’s say 2 days of talking to a few domestic animals of hobgoblins (he can question more than one at the time, such as going to a farm and talking to a cow, a horse and a goose all together), to better understand how the hobgoblin society works. He asks both the training masters and the animals what do they eat, how are they threated (with violence or with treats), what can they do.
a few handle animal checks to see how friendly they are: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (19) + 13 = 321d20 + 13 ⇒ (13) + 13 = 261d20 + 13 ⇒ (3) + 13 = 16

Then it’s off to the jungle. If the group decides to make expeditions Telemakos will tag along. He tries to find herds of large herbivores

a few Knowledge (nature) to avoid doing something extremely stupid: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 271d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 261d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18
By default Telemakos is super-careful and keeps Arasmes armed and ready to grab him and fly away should a problem occur.

Arasmes’ Survival to locate animals: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (7) + 13 = 201d20 + 13 ⇒ (2) + 13 = 151d20 + 13 ⇒ (4) + 13 = 17
Telemakos’ Handle Animal to make them non-hostile: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (2) + 13 = 151d20 + 13 ⇒ (9) + 13 = 221d20 + 13 ⇒ (19) + 13 = 32

Trying to capture a predator would probably be a combat encounter, don’t know how Jelani thinks to do it, nor what the group wishes to do in the days before the dragon-slaying.


Telemakos Ogeo Krostumolis wrote:

Not really excited about his new accommodation, Telemakos spends most of the following days discovering local wildlife. He enlists the help of Corridan or Emerion to talk to the hobgoblins, and proceeds with his enquiries, always with Arasmes at his side.

He talks to the hobgoblin in charge of capturing and training the lizards; he asks the hobgoblin scouts about dangerous animals and predators of the jungle, and as well about strong herd herbivores. He sees what kind of animals, besides the lizards, do the hobgoblins breed and use as cattle, as working help, as pets. If allowed, he talks with said animals. During this time he is as respectful as possible and doesn’t break any rule the hobgoblins impose upon him.

If there’s enough time before the group decides to take down the dragon, he makes flying excursions, carried by Arasmes, trying to locate glades with rivers or lakes or places where local fauna might gather to clench thirst. He tries talking to wildlife, starting with large herbivores. He asks about natural and unnatural predators, mostly.

Always assuming there’s enough time, he tries to capture a predator and talk to him.

_______________________

Telemakos can speak to animals 1/day, so let’s say 2 days of talking to a few domestic animals of hobgoblins (he can question more than one at the time, such as going to a farm and talking to a cow, a horse and a goose all together), to better understand how the hobgoblin society works. He asks both the training masters and the animals what do they eat, how are they threated (with violence or with treats), what can they do.
[dice=a few handle animal checks to see how friendly they are]1d20+13; 1d20+13; 1d20+13

Then it’s off to the jungle. If the group decides to make expeditions Telemakos will tag along. He tries to find herds of large herbivores

[dice=a few Knowledge (nature) to avoid doing something extremely stupid]1d20+9; 1d20+9; 1d20+9
By default Telemakos is super-careful and keeps...

The tribe's population appears to be about 70 warriors and 40 females and about 100 children. From a rough count of the slaves there are probably around 200. Clearly there were a lot more of the hobgoblins whenever they built Fire Mountain, large portions of it are empty now.

The hobgoblins breed the riding lizards. There are caves farther into the interior of the volcano that are always warm, and the lizards nest there. They are bred for labor, transportation and combat. There are currently forty trained adult lizards (including the four you have).

For livestock the hobgoblins have chickens, ducks, and a variety of pig that's not too far removed from feral boars. The animals are fed the hobgoblin's food waste. They also raise fish in the rainwater lake in the volcano's crater and tend to huge ant and bee colonies in the nearby forests. The slaves grow rice and something resembling corn. All this is supplemented by the adult males hunting and the women gathering wild fruit.

For pets they keep the cat-sized geckos I mentioned before. They don't appear to keep any mammals other than food.

As for what lives in the jungle, it's an incredibly diverse eco-system. There are tens of thousands of species, less if you take out insects but still a ton. these, these, and these are all represented in some form or another, plus many more. That being said, the terrain doesn't lend itself to herds so much as individuals or small groups. Most of the herbivores are going to be some kind of deer-type thing. There are also apparently lots of weird, unique and monstrous creatures on the island (creatures with various templates).


Male Aasimar Void Elementalist 9
Stats:
HP 62/62 l AC 15/13/12 l Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +9 l Init +4 l Perception +2

Emerion approaches Telemakos regarding his explorations of the surrounding area.

"I have made a few scrolls in preparation. Have you found anything of use?"


Male Human Bloodrager (Aberrant) 1 [HP 13/13 | AC 18/13/15 | F+5 R+3 W+0 | Init +3 Percep +4 SM +5]

Devram approaches Nim as he's talking with Telemakos. "You can mentioned once you could imbue steel with magic. I'd like you to try with this." He holds out his dueling sword with both hands. "If we're to fight with a dragon, we might need every advantage we can get."

If we're going into full battle mode, Devram won't turn down a magical breastplate whether it's mithril or not.


They don't have any mithral. 1 BP = 4,000 GP. You can trade away all the BP you have with you for goods they would have if you want. Just don't tell the sailors and mercs ;)


M Half-Orc Paladin 9 | HP 59/69 | AC 20(23)/T11(14)/FF19(22) | F+10/R+7/W+10 | CMD 27 (30) | Per +7 | Init +1

One of the first things that comes clear to Penance is that he's really going to have to learn Goblin. Orc is spoken by a handful of the tribe, and he makes tentative overtures to those that speak it, but there's no way he can communicate with most of the tribe of their hosts... and he can't ask Emerion or Corridan to be with him at every turn, either.

Something to work on.

He spends a day observing: just watching the hobgoblins at their work and their lives. They're industrious ('course, it helps when you have slaves), resourceful... but their numbers are small, too. Was that all the dragon decimating the best of their warriors? Or other wars?

When the chance comes for him to speak with one of the Orc-fluent:

"Your people: once many, yes? Are they less only because of the dragon? Or have other wars taken many of your number?"

Also:

"The weapons your brothers wielded: they are ours, as the price of our battle, but for trade with your people, would your people take them again in trade? They are fine work, after all-- your brothers wielded them well, and they should serve your tribe again."

Diplomacy, if needed: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27

15 composite longbows +3 x 400 GP each = 6000 GP right there. Even at 50% (assuming the tribe is willing to consider these trade goods), that's 3000 towards whatever supplies we might need from the tribe. Another 225/112 at half-price for the swords.

Beyond this, he sees two major concerns: one is the teaching of reading and writing, which he had promised; and the other is gathering information on their draconic foe.

He can't very well teach reading-and-writing in a language he doesn't speak. So first priority, he guesses, is to learn himself some damned Goblin. He decides to seek out Corridan on that front-- perhaps unkindly, Penance expects he'd get a 'told you so' from Nim.

Some of Penance's goals here: learning Goblin, making good on his promise to instruct in reading and writing; and organizing a group (presumably the PCs, possibly hobgoblin guides if they are willing) into a reconnaissance party to scout the edges of the dragon's territory, get some idea first-hand of what we are up against.


Male Half-Elf Tailor; AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 10, CMD 18; HP 10/10; Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +3; Initiative +6; Perception +5 (darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision), Sense Motive +6

When Penance approaches him with the desire to learn to speak the language of goblins and hobgoblins, Corridan appears only too happy to accomodate him. "I have no problem helping you out, although I would ask something in return," the tailor says with a friendly smile, a bit of his own torn clothing in his hands. It appears the man has been trying to mend the damage inflicted by their new allies during the battle from the other day. "I would ask that, while I teach you Goblin, you teach me Orc. Fair enough, yes?"


Penance, Servant of Abadar wrote:

One of the first things that comes clear to Penance is that he's really going to have to learn Goblin. Orc is spoken by a handful of the tribe, and he makes tentative overtures to those that speak it, but there's no way he can communicate with most of the tribe of their hosts... and he can't ask Emerion or Corridan to be with him at every turn, either.

Something to work on.

He spends a day observing: just watching the hobgoblins at their work and their lives. They're industrious ('course, it helps when you have slaves), resourceful... but their numbers are small, too. Was that all the dragon decimating the best of their warriors? Or other wars?

When the chance comes for him to speak with one of the Orc-fluent:

"Your people: once many, yes? Are they less only because of the dragon? Or have other wars taken many of your number?"

Also:

"The weapons your brothers wielded: they are ours, as the price of our battle, but for trade with your people, would your people take them again in trade? They are fine work, after all-- your brothers wielded them well, and they should serve your tribe again."

[dice=Diplomacy, if needed]d20+7

15 composite longbows +3 x 400 GP each = 6000 GP right there. Even at 50% (assuming the tribe is willing to consider these trade goods), that's 3000 towards whatever supplies we might need from the tribe. Another 225/112 at half-price for the swords.

Beyond this, he sees two major concerns: one is the teaching of reading and writing, which he had promised; and the other is gathering information on their draconic foe.

He can't very well teach reading-and-writing in a language he doesn't speak. So first priority, he guesses, is to learn himself some damned Goblin. He decides to seek out Corridan on that front-- perhaps unkindly, Penance expects he'd get a 'told you so' from Nim.

Some of Penance's goals here: learning Goblin,...

Going to handle this OOCly to speed things as much as possible. You find that only the officers (the dudes with plumes, of whom there are 6, 3 green, 3 red) can speak orc. Most of the hobgoblins are avoiding you guys. They aren't rude or confrontational, but they basically ignore you. You did just merc like 14 of their people and a bunch of their mounts after all. That and y'all look scary and talk funny and don't know anything about anything except killing and sorcery.

The officers tell you that once the tribe was much stronger, and had a class of shamanic priests who maintained the tribe's relationship with the spirit of the mountain, and the enchantments on the aqueduct system that feeds rainwater down from the crater lake into the fields and public fountains of their residential spaces. When Loremtantibus came, he shattered the tribe in a great battle with the current chief's grandfather. The dragon's half-breed spawn were numerous, and the creature himself was a terror, slaying countless warriors and priests. The tribe has never been the same since that day. The orcs were able to encroach on hobgoblin territory and there were a series of costly border wars before things settled out in a trade agreement. The hobgoblins smith armor and weapons for the orcs in exchange for slaves for their fields and a peaceful northern border.

The Khaan wants Penance and Shinjuko to teach him and the officers to write. I'm going to say that orc can be written with the Taldane alphabet to make things easier. So you two can teach them to write orc, using taldane script. In exchange, they will teach you Language (aka goblin). The Khaan apparently also speaks giant and draconic. Quite the erudite fellow it seems.

As for anyone going to dragon territory with you? They laugh when you ask. When it becomes clear you're not joking/being serious, they get really uncomfortable and walk away on some excuse. With much persistence you find some old ladies and little kids who will tell you tales of the dragon lands. What do you ask them?

RE:Weapons - They seem amenable, but want to know what you are after.


Telemakos:
AC 18, T 13, FF 16; Fort +5, Ref +9, Will +8; Init +2; Perc +6; low-light vision
Arasmes:
AC 18, T 12, FF 16; Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +5; Init +2; Perc +7; darkvision 60 feet

I think Arasmes will be pretty useful when scouting. Having him at full hit points or at 25% hit points won't change much if he encounters a friggin dragon dragon when alone, so he can wander off as far as 10,000 feet from Telemakos. Telemakos will have to talk him into "dying" for the cause, of course. That should be easy, right?


That's what eidolons are for. Well, at least that's what I always use them for. They don't really die, just go home until the next day. Do you guys want to set up a scouting party of some PCs and Arasmes? If so, which day? First, second, third etc? We'll say teaching them writing is going to take 20 days or 8 hour sessions, same as learning a language.


Male Half-Elf Tailor; AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 10, CMD 18; HP 10/10; Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +3; Initiative +6; Perception +5 (darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision), Sense Motive +6

So, is Penance going to be learning Goblin from Corridan or from the Khaan and his subject? Just curious, really. :-)

Furthermore, our friendly neighborhood tailor would not mind helping out Penance and Shinjuko in their attempts to teach the Khaan's people Orc, if for no other reason than to also learn Orc himself and to also see why one of them seemed to speak some form of Tien. And he would be only too happy to show them how to work fabric into clothing, by the way. ;-)


M Half-Orc Paladin 9 | HP 59/69 | AC 20(23)/T11(14)/FF19(22) | F+10/R+7/W+10 | CMD 27 (30) | Per +7 | Init +1

Penance looks wary when Corridan lists his 'price'-- but on learning that all the tailor wants in turn is language lessons in Orc, he laughs and claps the slim human on the back.

"Hell, is that it? Sure. Sounds good. So here's what not to say to an orc if you don't want your eyeballs squeezed out your skull..."

Penance will learn from them both! Learn words from Corridan, practice on the Khaan and his men. :D

Scouting-- Arasmes as initial scout sounds extremely useful, I'd be down with him doing some scouting before we actually head in. He can get basics like geographical features and the best path that we might proceed by, that sort of thing, which helps us out a lot.

Trading-- Seems like we're still sorting out what exactly we are hoping Nim to craft, in the OOC discussion. But the 3125 GP can go towards those costs once we know what those costs are.

Questions for the old hobs-- Penance will ask if any of the warriors that returned spoke of the size of the dragon-- he was the size of ten warriors, end to end? Twenty? Etc-- trying to get an idea of size category, at least. And if the dragon breathed a terrible acid, or worked any great spells, etc.

Reading/writing-- the more the merrier. Penance says you're probably much more patient than he is with this.

How does this sound to everyone: Arasmes scouts for a week-- language team works on language with the Khaan/his officers for a week-- Nim crafts for a week and/or pursues animal fun with Telemakos/whatever else he wants to do-- and after that we see what Arasmes's 1-week intel is? If we have something worth pursuing, we go into the field for some recon?


The Khaan and his officers will trade teaching goblin for being taught to write in orc. Penance and Shinjuko can't teach them to write goblin (which they would prefer over orc) since P&S don't speak goblin. However, Corridan or Nim could teach them to write goblin. They'd be willing to teach whichever Agents want to learn goblin in exchange for Corridan/Nim teaching them to write their own language. They don't want the normal warriors to learn how to read/write yet. They see it as a way to secretly communicate between officers and Khaan.

You learned already that the dragon is at least large size, possibly huge size (but not gargantuan) from the Khaan when you initially made the deal. I haven't actually decided yet exactly how old it is. That will depend on how many times you level before you face it. It's green, breathes acid, has spells, regenerates and most terrifyingly of all can enter someone's dreams and kill them with horrible nightmares from any distance. They are completely piss-their-pants terrified the entire time you make them talk about it.

If Arasmes is scouting, I'll need to know where. The dragon's territory covers seven contiguous hexes, or ~665 square miles. It's all covered in thick rainforest and parts of it are very hilly. Sending one dude in to find a dragon is like sending a dude into two New York Cities smashed together and telling him to find a bus that can fly and breathe water and is constantly moving. Perhaps some plan to attract the dragon would be more effective than a brute search.


Telemakos:
AC 18, T 13, FF 16; Fort +5, Ref +9, Will +8; Init +2; Perc +6; low-light vision
Arasmes:
AC 18, T 12, FF 16; Fort +6, Ref +4, Will +5; Init +2; Perc +7; darkvision 60 feet

Days pass, and Telemakos learns what he can from the surrounding fauna. Gifted linguist as he is, he finds the Goblin language harsh and unpleasant, and he is not so motivated as the others lo learn it so soon.

If I can’t find 20 days to study with y’all, I’ll get Goblin with my next level advancement.

One evening Telemakos announces his fellow Aspis Agents he has a plan to learn about the dragon. He thinks about inviting them into his chamber, but realizes they would be cramped. In the end, he calls for the meeting around a campfire.
So, welcome! My dear fellow Agents!” the gnome‘s hands are torturing themselves in a show of nervousness and excitement. Arasmes, hovering half a foot from the ground behind Telemakos, seems to be eager with anticipation.
So, I was… planning how to go about this dragon.
A true dragon! Master, I can’t wait...
Telemakos grunts “Yes well... don’t interrupt. As I was saying…
And not a tiny one like on the ship, a real…
’Ras! For Nethys’ sake!” Telemakos loses his appearance of composure.
Apologies, Master.
The gnome draws a long breath, then starts anew. “Our goblin friends inform us that the dragon’s territory is quite vast, perhaps too much for a standard search. That is a problem. However, I think I have a solution!” he says excited, waiting for the small crowd to be awed.
It isn’t.
Mmm… yes, well. A solution, I said. Have you ever witnessed a play in the Opera House of Korvosa? It is quite…
A cough of impatience from his fellow Agents gets him back on track.
What I was getting at was, don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I possess a penchant for theatrics. And Arasmes as well.
I do, I do! I...
Shut up!” he sighs “We have no hope of finding the dragon if we go looking for him. We’ll probably end up stalked and ambushed by him instead. Buuut, Arasmes here has a distinctive enough look about him, something not quite of these lands. He can fly, he has a powerful voice and looks somewhat imposing.
Well, not to a dragon, perhaps… mmm, whatever.
What I suggest if for Aramses to go into the dragon’s lands as a, well, a Rodomonte. A boisterous warrior (quite the recurring figure in late pre-Thrune Chelish opera), calling out for a mighty opponent, sure of striking him down.
Uhm, Master, but...
Telemakos scolds Arasmes with a harsh look “I’ll have to keep in a two-mile radius of Arasmes, and I would like some of you to help me. Arasmes is the… physical part of our duo, and he’ll be otherwise occupied.
Master, I don’t think...
Hidden, we could be watchful specatators as the dragon comes, tracking his route, seeing what his size and abilities are as he, ehrm, deals with Arasmes, we could…
Deals with? Master, I don’t understand how...
Don’t be a whimp now, ‘Ras. I’ll summon you back the next day.
But it will hurt! I mean, acid? I hate that stuff!
It’s only for a little while, you big baby, then you’ll be back home and...

Genie and gnome keep bickering, oblivious to the several pairs of eyes and ears getting increasingly exasperated with their behavior.


Male Aasimar Void Elementalist 9
Stats:
HP 62/62 l AC 15/13/12 l Fort +6, Ref +7, Will +9 l Init +4 l Perception +2

Emerion clears his throat to catch the duo's attention.

"I would suggest a more tempting lure then an exotic challenge. From what I gather from the hobgoblins the dragon has minions, any sensible dragon does and greens are known for it. Their is no reason to believe it will not send such minions to deal with some upstart long before it dirties it's own claws. But their is one thing that no dragon, some would say even the noble ones, will tolerate without their own personal touch involved. That is the challenge of another dragon with in their territory. While I do not specialize in illusions overly much I do have a spell that will allow me to recreate a dragon's roar. No doubt that will draw our targets attention and personal involvement. I could also prepare invisibility spells, while they are no good against a dragon close range due to their highly keen senses. At a distance it should keep us hidden."

Thinking for a moment.

"Their is also the matter of your wildlife sightings. I think their is a creature we could make use of against the dragon. Do you know of the Shrik Nettle. A rather interesting creature originating from the First World. More to the point it's poison is very odd but highly useful to us in this matter. As even when attacked themselves they spread their poison to their attacker. With their habit of attacking anything with in range along with their size and ability to fly. If we manage to capture a few they could prove very useful against a dragon. Just a thought to consider."

He lets his suggestions and ideas breath among the group.


Stats:
51/51 HP | AC 18; touch 17; flat-footed 11 | F: +7; R: +5; W: +6 | Init: +4 | Perception: +11

How accessible is the Khaan to us (Shin specifically) in general? Given that he speaks Giant, he would initially be Shinjuko's only direct means of communicating with the tribe (until the level kicks in and she picks up Goblin). I had an idea along the lines of gift-giving. Given her Minkai origins, that seems like something she would hone in on relatively soon. Trying to form a personal connection with their leader in the interest of furthering our mutual goals/relationships.


Yamakawa Shinjuko wrote:
How accessible is the Khaan to us (Shin specifically) in general? Given that he speaks Giant, he would initially be Shinjuko's only direct means of communicating with the tribe (until the level kicks in and she picks up Goblin). I had an idea along the lines of gift-giving. Given her Minkai origins, that seems like something she would hone in on relatively soon. Trying to form a personal connection with their leader in the interest of furthering our mutual goals/relationships.

He's a busy guy, training, resolving disputes etc. But he's always willing to meet with any of the Agents when he has time.


M Half-Orc Paladin 9 | HP 59/69 | AC 20(23)/T11(14)/FF19(22) | F+10/R+7/W+10 | CMD 27 (30) | Per +7 | Init +1

Penance listens to Telemakos talk, rubbing at his jaw. He makes a fist and rests his chin on it thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I imagine that'd work. But if I'm a big ol' green dragon, and something like your... Ras... shows up in my stomping grounds... I might get real curious about where he came from, and start looking. We don't want to draw the thing down on us before we're ready for it. So your Ras might want to try for stealthy, yeah?"

At Nim's suggestion, the half-orc's brows furrow. "You'd know more about dragons than I would, probably," he grunts. "But I've got to imagine they're tough bastards. Is that shrieky nettle poison you're talking about really potent, because I can't imagine anything short of some sorta fabled death lotus whatever would give an enormous flyin' lizard much trouble."


Burial Retcon

When Penance is ready to "bury" the deceased mercenary, one of the red plumes leads hm deeper and deeper into the mountain. Two warriors carry the body behind them on a stretcher. As they descend it gets hotter and hotter, until the whole tunnel feels like a sauna. Penance can hear the sounds of hammers striking metal as they approach their destination.

A large roughly circular cavern opens up before them, its walls made of glittering obsidian. The heat in this chamber is appropriately furnace-like, as spread around the edges of the room he sees a half dozen or more smithing stations. A few teenage hobgoblin boys work at the anvils, battering pieces of incomplete plate armor into shape. A dull red glow emanates from the center of the chamber to fill the room. There is a huge fissure there. The red plume approaches the edge of the fissure and gestures Penance forward. He points. There, a meter or so below the rim, a pool of magma bubbles and burns, churning slowly. There are multiple sets of extremely long smithing tongs around the jagged edge of the pool which might be used to hold things near the heat without burning oneself. The two soldiers carrying the mercenary also approach. As they do so, the teenage boys stop what they are doing to watch.

The red plume gives them a command, and wincing in pain, they step as close as they can to the magma. Then with three mighty heaves, they use the stretcher to catapault the mercenary's corpse into the molten stone lake. To Penance's surprise, a huge humanoid form made of and contiguous with the lava erupts up out of the pool to catch the body in a midair embrace. The dead man's flesh immediately begins smoking and bubbling as the featureless silhouette clutches the body to its chest like a baby. The lava creature carries the body silently beneath the surface of the pool, where they both disappear.

"Okay. All done," the red plume says to Penance in orc.


Male Undine Gunfighter | HP 82/82 | Insanity 8 | Revolver 6/6 | Grit 3/3
Stats:
AC 20/16/14 | Fort +10 Ref +11 Will +5 | Init. +7 | Perception +14 (+1 vs suprises), 60-ft. Darkvision, 30-ft Water Sense | CM +5/20

"For what it's worth, I like the gnome's plan. We need information on the dragon and any of its allies. Two miles seems like a good, safe distance, but we need to be as careful as possible not to get detected ourselves as Nim says." Iliante offers while spinning the wheel of his revolver.


Stats:
51/51 HP | AC 18; touch 17; flat-footed 11 | F: +7; R: +5; W: +6 | Init: +4 | Perception: +11

Just going to kinda scatter-shot my way through some of Shinjuko's plans. I'll start off with just intent, and if it checks out will build upon it further.

     The Khaan:
Pressing for the Khaan's company at a rate that borders on annoyance, Shinjuko nevertheless seeks to spend as much time during daylight in the Khaan's presence as she is permitted. She observes their customs, rites, and rituals even as she shares some of the details of her own homelands, both Cheliax and Minkai. The young yuki kodai assists in teaching the written form of the goblin and orc tongue whenever the others (Corridan, Nim, Penance) are present to assist. Finally, and most importantly, Shinjuko seeks to teach the Khaan how to properly read a map, recalling that the prospect seemed alien to him during their meeting on the beach.

Beyond fulfilling our obligation to teach them to read/write, I'm going to inform a point in Knowledge (Local) here (instead of Nature as my update claimed). Shin will stress the tactical advantage of being able to use a map properly to aid in warfare.

     Ipso Facto Meenie Mo Magico!:
Shinjuko masters the Goblin tongue with reality defying alacrity.

     Tanners/Leatherworkers:
At some point when the Khaan is too busy to receive Shinjuko, the samurai-ko wanders Fire Mountain—asking those she encounters therein—in search of a tanner or leatherworker. After locating the craftsman, Shinjuko explains that she would like to make a worthy gift to their Khaan, and will require a large tapestry of animal hides fit for bearing ink and paint. While coinage is futile in actually paying for what she's asking for, she will attempt to determine something of value she can acquire or barter with in order to acquire what she seeks.

     Night Moves:
Some will note Shinjuko's absence from dusk until just after midnight each day. As night begins to descend on the strange island, and Fire Mountain with it, she exits the volcano with a small bundle of supplies to begin ranging the hobgoblin lands in a tedious grid-by-grid exploration. Upon her return, she has managed to map out a little bit more of the Khaan's lands with each trip. It is an exhausting ordeal. Though the night affords much needed respite from the hot sun, the humidity is still a bit overwhelming for Shinjuko, but she is little if not determined.

Recognizing that this last part is the potentially dangerous bit...

Stealth (Take 10): 10 + 11 = 21
Perception (Take 10): 10 + 11 = 21


Male Human Bloodrager (Aberrant) 1 [HP 13/13 | AC 18/13/15 | F+5 R+3 W+0 | Init +3 Percep +4 SM +5]

"Maybe we ought not to try and land the big fish yet. Ras' flash will easily attract some of the dragonkin. Let's start by capturing some of them to learn more. Then we can tailor our next approach more suitable to the beast himself."


Stats:
51/51 HP | AC 18; touch 17; flat-footed 11 | F: +7; R: +5; W: +6 | Init: +4 | Perception: +11

When summoned to Telemako's meeting, Shinjuko attends. It is the closest to unkempt she has appeared since nearly being bitten in half by the sea creature, dark rings under her eyes betraying her self imposed lack of rest. Her face remains serene as the gnome lays out his plan, and continues as such when Nim makes a counterpoint.

Shinjuko raises a hand to gain attention before she offers her own thoughts "All plans are sound in theory, if lacking in specificity. Luring the dragon out deliberately in order to find where it lairs is a good strategy. We should take care that we do so from a direction that will not draw its ire down on our new hosts and friends."

"Turning the very nature of our surroundings, be it beast or otherwise, against our foe is also practical in theory. I would only caution that green dragonkind are notorious for manipulating the flora that surrounds them, and hardy beyond comprehension to the effects of any poison we might bring to bear against it." Shinjuko shakes her head only slightly before continuing, "I fear we'd risk more harm to ourselves than our foe in pursuing the capture of such creatures."

Casting a sidelong glance with a hint of regret in Penance's direction, Shinjuko says, "How many men did we lose on the trek to this mountain alone? Eight? Or was it more?"

"I think it is folly to risk any immediate action against this Loremtantibus. We cannot even traverse the island without risking death; how are we to prevail against the dragon or his kind when in possession of such ignorance? We should become familiar with the arena before baring our blades. Poor is a general who does not know the field they seek to battle atop. Let us explore these lands and learn their lay." A hint of inspiration creeps across Shinjuko's face. "Do not our gracious hosts offer up monthly tribute to this green scaled terror? I think finding it will prove to be the least of our obstacles."


Yes and no on the tribute. There's no formal tribute, Lorntantibus just eats their hunting parties some times, or shows up at fire mountain and carries off/tortures/kills whatever he wants. If you inquire with the hobgoblins, they'll tell you the last time they saw him was a few months ago. He been known to disappear for long periods at times, other times it seems like he makes his presence felt every week. They generally just try to stay out of his hair, and beneath his notice. If he comes to the mountain everyone tries to hide in the deeper chambers where he can't get to them, leaving the slaves outside as appeasement.

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