"Vuk if you show us where the camp is, I can sneak up and set this stuff up and have you guys stay back in the woods preventing any pirates from sneaking up on me. By sticking them like a pin cushion. Sound good?"
Male Orc Fighter/2 [HP 23/23; AC: 17/15/12; Init +4; F+6, R+2, W+0; Perc +1]
I don't think you would survive on your own. I can fire over the wall at random, but you shouldn't expect me to hit anyone or to not hit you. Either way, you would be almost entirely without support if they saw you and for us to hide in the trees would put us too far away to save you.
Xenarchy gives Isaac a death-glare when he mentions how terrible it would be for her to have gone. "Do you think I got these scars in a kitchen accident, old man?" she says, lowering her hood.
Still slightly upset, she answers Garesh's query, "If you must know, I can make people stop in their tracks and gaze vacantly, even while in the heat of combat. If not pressed by hostility, I can cloud the mind to make any mortal believe I am their most trusted friend. This is less reliable with the distraction of open battle. And although the range is short, I can issue forth a spray of light that sears the mind and can blind or incapacitate." Xenarchy shrugs. "And you've already seen me perform some lesser cantrips. Cleaning, warming or chilling food, and so forth. But do not take me to be some housemaid."
Male Orc Fighter/2 [HP 23/23; AC: 17/15/12; Init +4; F+6, R+2, W+0; Perc +1]
"You want get far in life as a coward, father. There's a difference between caution, which is required for survival, and having no spine. These men need to pay for what they've done with the loss of more than a dock."
1d20 + 12 ⇒ (13) + 12 = 25Knowledge:religion roll for Father Isaak.
--Father Isaak stares straight into Roh-Kai's face and says, in broken orc, with dark speech thrown in
orcish:
I swear by Battus I would never abandon an ally in battle or let a man come to dishonor on my watch.
-He continues in Common, I also see no need to risk ourselves on revenge, when we have a kingdom's well bein at stake. Should the rest of you decide on the most violent option, I only hope it is the most effective. Don't let a single wound cloud your judgement. As they seem to be pirates, I certainly think burning the dock and boats would hamper their ability to harm other sailors.
--to Xenarchy he says I'm sorry if you think I doubt your abilities, but I am a man of the old school, and would hate to see a woman under my supervision come to harm. If I thought you were worthless, and unable to take care of youself, I'd have refused your offer to join my expedition. I have no doubt that you have suffered a great deal in your life. Look at my eyes, I'm also Rajul. I do know what it is like to be surrounded by those who would brand me a diabolist, or necromancer, or worse things. Such events are all too common among our people.
--To the party, I'm ready to put my talents to what ever course of action you think best. I can heal you, but that is about it.
Xenarchy frowns and leans back, looking out toward the water. She seems to recognise at least a few of the words the priest speaks to Roh-Kai but makes no sign she comprehended all of what he said to the orc.
With a sigh, she turns to Garesh again. "What about you? I know you have some skill at spellcasting, albeit numinous in source. What powers of magic are yours to command?"
After Isaak speaks orc he replies, "That's good to hear, Father."
He then turns to Xen and explains his mystic arts, "I variety of minor manipulations and illusions. Also Ios has granted me the ability enhance the bad luck of many foes and cause them to suffer short term confusion. Same with the father I can heal, and I have a trick to spark up a fire." He gives a bow to the Rajul woman, "Do my abilites please you my dear?"
Let's put it to the vote, burn the boats and dock under cover of darkness, or attack from the forest with bows, and hope they come at us, in small parties...Wait, either option does nothing for our lack of paddles. Father Isaak has dropped his suggestion.
As stupid as it sounds, the fact you have a boat that must be towed is your biggest problem. Also, how many games have you run out of paddles?
Male Orc Fighter/2 [HP 23/23; AC: 17/15/12; Init +4; F+6, R+2, W+0; Perc +1]
Well, most boats have a locking mechanism so that the oars stay put even if you let go of them, but I figured that you needed a hook of some kind to get us to fight pirates.
It's been too long since I've been in a good fight and I'm curious to see if I can trust you to watch my back in a fight. Taking out a band of drunken pirates sounds like a solution to both problems.
"I still think we should try and steal their oars and then row past. Setting the boats on fire is just a good safe measure to make sure they don't come after us."
Vuk ponders a bit.
"Now there is one course that we have not thought about. We could just row up to the dock and have Xen convince them to give us their oars and then just row away."
"I agree about us towing our boat to there dock at night and swiftly getting there oars either through stealth or manipulation or a little of both. Then rowing away we'll set there boats a blaze, and we can even have a little bit of a headstart(25ft) before I lite it. Are we a ll keen with this plan?"
Xenarchy rolls her eyes. "I'm supposed to approach a fort full of bandits or worse from the forest and ask them nicely? We could just cut a new oar from a good piece of wood." She gestures at the forest. "I do not believe we will want for materials."
You have CANOES...not rowboats...canoes are paddled. If you had kyaks, you'd have a signel paddle bladed at both ends. Canoe paddles are bladed at one end. Oars, as on a rowboat, have oar locks, as mentioned earlier. Actually I was rather shocked you failed your STR checks. I felt capsizing the canoe would result in people drowning, or certainly losing items, so went with the less drastic event of "being up the creek with out a paddle."
-I can't believe it's taken this long for someone to suggest making a paddle
--I'd imagine someone here could craft a new paddle, I have no idea how...Father Isaak looks around at all the trees.
"Huh, never thought about making new oars. But that sounds like a good idea to me. Roh-Kai! Can you help me get some wood and we can try to fashion some oars?"
-Vuk quickly fashions a pair of canoe paddles, lashing a flat board to a strong stick. You are now able to row the canoes with no difficulty.
-It's dusk, around 8:00pm by the time you finish.
-The party quickly boards the canoes, and shoves off, you row within 400 feet of the docks, being careful to stay in the shadows. You can hardly see the docks and the camps. The sounds of the pirates, drinking, fighting, and cursing are easy to hear across the water.
-
Perception DC15, with lowlight/darkvision DC 8:
There is a single sentry guarding the dock and the two boats. He is armed with a crossbow.
-Dim moon light.Everybody has concealment, and can make stealth checks to hide in shadows where every they like.
The moon elf looks at the makeshift oars, "Good work you two, I promise I will try not to drop this one."
As Garesh sits in the canoe he sets up 5 oil flasks by his feet, just in case there needed. As they get close he notices the sentry and lies in wait incase the guard notices them.
-Garesh and Roh-Kai slip their boat up within 100' of the docks, with the rest of you behind in the other canoe at 200' away. The lone sentry can't really catch a glimpse of you, as he is turned to look up river, as that is the direction most ship are comming from...
-Father Isaac mutters a prayer under his breath...you get a +1 to attacks.
spellcraft DC 11:
Bless
...
-The air is thick with tension and the threat of violence.
Xenarchy rests as low as she can in the canoe. "Where?" she whispers in reply, "I can't see him. Besides, I have no long range spells. If anything, I could persuade them we're too dangerous to attack if they get close."
She shivers a bit in discomfort when Father Isaac casts his spell.
Vuk rows his canoe up to the dock, just out of the guards line of sight. He motions to Xen to get ready and readies himself to knock out the guard if needed.
The guard is still looking the other way...your canoe, with Vuk, Father Isaak, and Xenarchy, is just alongside the dock, behind the boat...The other canoe waits near the shore...
10 feet to the shore, and 6 inches to the dock...other canoe is 60' from the shore, and 50' from the dock...we're still not in initiative so don't worry to much about the distance.
--Vuk leaps silently to the dock. The drunken sentry turns to face him, and receives the broadside of a a sword to the face. The crack of bone, and the blood pouring from his eyes, before he falls backwards into the water tell you all you need to know. This sentry is no longer a sentry, more like fish food...
dm facts:
AC 13, surprise round, so he is flatfooted, HP 10.
--He falls into the water with hardly a splash, and floats around. No alarm was raised...
Vuk climbs back into the canoe and rows out to the others. "Well then, let's head up river a few miles before making camp. Don't want to be anywhere near these guys when they find their sentry missing." He paddles out to the middle of the river and continues on course.
The 3 of you failed to mention any attempt to sabotage the boats or equipment. That said, with the sentry gone, and the fact that it is night, you row straight through the night until dawn, at which point you decide to make camp.
--You find a nice place to camp, a small island in the middle of the river, which provides excellent protection, and is small enough one doesn't worry about alpha level predators. You eat your rations and post a watch. The night passes without incident, and you all awake feeling refreshed in the morning...It's about 9am, and another's day rowing is ahead of you...
one more round of STR and Survivl checks, and we will see what happens. Roh Kai already rolled.
Father IsaaK Survival, aiding Vuk 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12
Father Isaak STR check 1d20 ⇒ 14 He passes both, Vuk gets a +2 on Survival checks, ok
Sorry about the late reply, been busy moving to my new place.
Str:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
Survival:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18
Avoided the sabotage so we didn't provoke them further.
All is wel, all roles averaged out fine...
-The next two days pass without event, as the weather is good, and the pirates have no intereest in a wild goose chase upriver...
For the sake of gameplay, I'm skipping over two days of boring rowing[
-On the evening of the fifth day you see two large white stone objects sticking about 12 feet. Father Isaak suggests you get closer. The stone objects are pillars or columns or some sort, but eroded, both by water and time, and look old, almost ancient.
knowledge history DC 15:
The ruins are high elf, of the second dragon war, making them about 2000 years old. You'd need to be able to read High Elf to learn anything more from the inscriptions. Based on what Isaak told you, these are the ruins you are looking for.
knowledge enginering DC 15:
These are high elf ruins, which may have supported a roof at some time. Based on their condition, they are about 2000 years old.
knowledge nature OR geography DC 15:
The river has changed course many times, and these ruins may have once been on land.
High Elf:
Theses stones were carved to remind us of the great battle between elf, and dragon. The dragons were defeated, and fell against our might. Yet many of our kind were also killed in the battle. Let no elf forget them. The greatest hero was Verthelineal and so we built the great tomb in his honor. It is 1 days journey west, near the Hill of Fire, where he fell against the Red Dragon.
--Fathe Isaak glances at the stones and says I'm pretty sure they are high elf style, but I'd welcome your opinion as well. They certainly look old. I can translate the writing, but it may take awhile.
--He continues, According to my research we must head inland, west. This will mean hiding the canoes, and going on foot through the wilderness. It's a virgin forest, and there are accounts of both savage orcs, and Kett war parties in the area. Well, reports. Nobody has ever mapped this area, and our expedition has a unique chance to become famous. Or dead. Depending how lucky you feel.
Xenarchy watches the shape of the river as the party travels. She pauses in contemplation upon reaching the ruins. "Hmm. I know modern elvish. While I'm not particularly familiar with the ancient language, perhaps I can help Isaak in his translations. At the very least, we may take less time if we work together."
Is knowledge of modern elvish sufficient to grant an aid other bonus?
