Karla Teg |
Karla shrugs at Zohan's suggestions: "Not here. Time to get the heavy steel!"
She raises her sword and asks her Lord for his protection in battle.
"Lord in Iron, protect your servants from the vagaries of battle. Strengthen their resolves so they can shower your steel with the blood of their foes!"
Not sure how much time I have to cast, but in that order: Archon's Aura, then Divine Favor on me, then Heroism on me.
DireMerc |
Right we waited too long already
You enter the room at the end of the hall and you find there is a incredibly fat woman on the crushes remains of a bed.
She shrieks when you enter the room.
mammy init: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (18) - 1 = 17
Andrass init: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11
Karla init: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (13) + 0 = 13
Zohan init: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (3) - 1 = 2
Lucan init: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 1 = 18
Zadderk init: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23
Zadderk and Lucan go ahead. She's 15 feet from the door and is so fat she cant move.
Zadderk Crowe |
Mostly because I can't stand not having one and it's a slight deterrent for me.
Zadderk Crowe
Lucan
Mammy
Karla
Andrass
Zohan
In Order
Zadderk looks into the room rather grimly and from just in the doorway. Cringing, he wastes no time ripping his crossbow, knowing full well he should be able to hit such a mountain of meat. Especially if it's as surprised as she is...
1d20 + 14 ⇒ (3) + 14 = 17 1d10 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15
1d20 + 14 ⇒ (11) + 14 = 25 1d10 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11
1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20 1d10 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14
Lucan Arcaranarian |
I'm realizing I goofed a little bit when outfitting Lucan. I gave him a Wand of Shocking Grasp thinking he could use it with Spellstrike, and then also took the Wand Wielder arcana so that he could use the wand as part of Spell Combat and Spellstrike. However, looking back at Ultimate Magic again, it only mentions Spell Combat under Wand Wielder, and as such I don't think you can use it with Spellstrike; as such, all of this has become much less useful.... GM, will you allow the Wand Wielder magus arcana to allow wands to work with Spellstrike as well? If not, I may want to ask to be allowed to rebuild Lucan a bit, as it would make Wand Wielder not terribly useful to a Magus. For this post, I'm going to assume that Wand Wielder allows the use of Spellstrike with a wand. If that doesn't work, I will redo the post.
Lucan first suffuses some of his arcane power into his sword. (Spending a point from his Arcane Pool to give his sword another +2 enhancement bonus for the next minute.)
Lucan activates his Wand of Shocking Grasp to charge a shocking grasp. He'll then move forward and attack the monstrosity with his sword, as the free weapon attack that comes in place of the touch attack that goes with his Spellstrike magus ability.
Longsword attack: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (16) + 13 = 29
Weapon damage: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
Shocking Grasp (CL2) damage: 2d6 ⇒ (2, 3) = 5
DireMerc |
If you have the wand wielder feat I will allow you to use that in conjunction with spellstrike but you must use the sword one handed to make the attack unless you drop the wand.
Zadderk's bolts and Lucan's attacks strike the fat ogrekin woman who has surprisingly thick skin. She shrieks and curse with each attack.
She then reaches out with her staff and tries to poke Lucan with it.
touch: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25
A burst of negative energy is unleashed into Lucan on contact.
Lucan is hit by Ghoul Touch dc 17 fort save negates.
Karla Teg |
"Well, I always said you could barely hit the side of a barn! Here's the proverbial barn! How about you prove me wrong!!" Karla yells in a staccato voice as she slips in the room and moves beside her companion. As she does so, he sword arcs from behind her, crashing down on the great mass of ogrekin.
1d20 + 11 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 11 + 7 = 262d6 + 14 + 5 ⇒ (1, 4) + 14 + 5 = 24
Maintain IC, she's now in the Archin's Aura area of effect.
Lord Zohan |
Lord Zohan has little of an offensive nature to offer here except a few flasks of hazardous substances. Instead, he readies an action with one of his few remaining spells. If the obese ogrekind wields a weapon or wand in her Rubenesque rotundness, he'll cast grease on it and try to make her drop it.
Zadderk Crowe |
Taking the moment to admire everyone else's handiwork and surprising lack of an Andras, Zadderk peels back his crossbow once again, gritting his teeth as he plunges more and more arrows into the mass of sentient hillbilly horror upon the bed, hoping they fell it soon before the necromancer can do anything of true merit.
1d20 + 14 ⇒ (6) + 14 = 20 Damage: 1d10 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11
1d20 + 14 ⇒ (15) + 14 = 29 Damage: 1d10 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17
1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26 Damage: 1d10 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19
Point Blank Shot, Deadly Aim, Favored Enemy, Rapid Shot.
Zadderk
Lucan
Mammy
Karla
Zohan
Lucan Arcaranarian |
Lucan delivers a full attack against the fleshy monstronsity. Combining (wand-weilder) Spell Combat and Spellstrike, he first activates his wand of Shocking Grasp to charge up his longsword. He then attacks twice-- once as the attack that goes with Spellstrike, once as his normal attack.
Spellstrike Attack, including -2 for Spell Combat and +1 for use of Arcane Pool: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 141d8 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
Other attack, including -2 for Spell Combat and +1 for use of Arcane Pool: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 151d8 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10
If either of the above attacks hit, it will discharge the CL2 Shocking Grasp for an additional amount of electricity damage:
Electricity Damage: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 5) = 10
DireMerc |
More bolts slam into the fat lady and she groans in pain and goes limp.
She's dead.
Inside the room you find a good collection of treasure.
potion of cure moderate wounds
scroll of animate dead
wand of magic missile (CL 3rd, 44 charges)
amulet of health +2
2 Varisian summoning idol (grant summoned monsters +2 hp per HD if used as an additional material component)
Staff of necromancy (minor). Aura moderate necromancy; CL 8th
Slot none; Price 30,000 gp; Weight 5 lbs.
-spectral hand (1 charge)
-ghoul touch(1 charge)
-vampiric touch (2 charge)
You also recover the gear of the capture black arrow rangers.
Lord Zohan |
Standing over the necromancer's treasure trove, Lord Zohan's cheeks seem a little rosy.
"Ahem. Well... isn't this awkward?"
His hands trace the items.
"Surely one of you could profit from this fine amulet. And perhaps one of you can use the wand? Anyone could benefit from the potion of course. The two idols are practically designed to enhance my strengths in this party. And the staff... well, it's a little macabre to be sure, but very useful. I'm not sure I have the stomach to use that scroll, however, or even to sell it. Though it would be fitting to have our fallen foes fight our standing ones, would it not?"
Lord Zohan |
Lord Zohan nods and collects the staff, the wand and the two Varisian idols. He holds out the amulet and the potion for any takers.
After thinking a moment, he asks, "Is there any argument why we should not simply burn this entire house to the ground? There are likely more deadly traps hidden within, in addition to those ghastly monstrous spiders in the basement. Furthermore, the whole edifice is witness to the horrors of these half-ogre creatures and more will likely move in and terrorize Turtleback Ferry if it's left standing.
Zadderk Crowe |
"Gol's Gold, lads. Jes' cuz' it ain't doin' nothin' good, don't mean some good wizard'll not pay fer it. Stuff's got is' uses, regardless." he says, winding it up and placing it on his person. "I can't even use tha' dern' things, so no worries about me raisin' dead any time soon, aye?" he says.
Hearing the prospect of burning the house, he agrees. "We've saved erry'one here, so I'm all for it." he points out. "We'll need tah' leave's soon's we start it though. Trees are none too close to the buildings so it won't spread. It'll probably do the bodies good, aye?" he points out. "We need tah get tah' Rannick, but if'n they brought down tha arrows, we're gonna need a bit more fire power." he says, rubbing his hands together.
As he does this, he leaves the foul smelling house along with the others, I'd assume, and whistles loudly for Dasher, whom immediately swoops back down to land on his shoulder. "Good boy.." he says. "Usually I'd feed ya a piece of the folks, but we already know how much ye' hate ogre meat." he claims. "Right... So who's with me?" he asks, turning and looking around.
Karla Teg |
Wasn't there a second building? I remember we had to choose...
Karla frowns at Zadderk. With a strained voice, she counters: "Gold is not gold; same as there's blood, and then there's blood... This scroll I will destroy immediately. Gorum will be pleased by this offering."
Unless someone objects, she grabs the parchment and rips it in five pieces, leaving one in the center of the house.
"Let's burn this place, but be ready for things to come out, or to come from other places..."
Zadderk Crowe |
Zadderk places the scroll on his person, aptly avoiding Karla's quick grasp for it. "Lady, I assure ye' it ain't fallin inta' narry' a bad hand. We'll burn 'is place, then burn tha' barn." he says, patting his pockets. "I respect yer' wishes, lass, and yer faith, but I'm hire-on, and I take what coin I can get. All tha' same, sellin this'll net me a couple of special bolts I'll need. Gotta' look't tha' long term, aye? Sorry." he says as he retrieves the flint and steel from his side and starts to collect dead grass on the ground.
Zadderk Crowe |
"Is nay tha' simple, lass. I'll be jus' fine without healing, however, but I'm nay' about to charge ye' if'n I can heal your wounds. Is nay' a matter'o greed. Sincerely, I just wish ta' sell the scroll fer' some bolts's all." he points out, somewhat flustered at the lady. Religious types are hard to deal with sometimes, but he couldn't complain too much. His own magic came from the forest, after all.
Lord Zohan |
Lord Zohan exits the structure along with the others. The thought of leaning over dozens of times to gather dead grass seems too much after the grueling campaign through the wicked house. He instead first goes to each of his comrades to check if they would be interested in using the magical amulet, explaining that it will boost their vigor and fortitude as long as it is worn. If none of them are interested (most likely because they're wearing even better amulets), he'll 'offer' to wear it until they return to the city and can trade it in for other useful things. He then values the coins recovered from the sack in the upstairs chest, paying particular interest to whether they are local or foreign.
Zadderk Crowe |
Looking at the amulet in question, Which gives 2 con Zadderk could imagine it would be handy to have on his person, but fancies the fact that he typically avoids melee combat as often as possible. Shrugging, he makes a point. "I'd fancy given tha' to the lady, 'ere. Poison did a number on'er, and she sees more combat'n any'o us as far as gettin' damaged goes." he claims.
Looking to his eagle, he smiles. "Dasher. Head on up and count the ogres fer me, aye? A Screech fer' err'one ya see. Aye?" he says, launching the bird on high.
Karla Teg |
"Is nay tha' simple, lass. I'll be jus' fine without healing, however, but I'm nay' about to charge ye' if'n I can heal your wounds. Is nay' a matter'o greed. Sincerely, I just wish ta' sell the scroll fer' some bolts's all." he points out, somewhat flustered at the lady. Religious types are hard to deal with sometimes, but he couldn't complain too much. His own magic came from the forest, after all.
Her voice like steel on steel, karla looms vitriolic over Zadderk: "Gorum have mercy on your greedy soul... And pray your earthly shell doesn't end up with some horny thaumaturgist!"
She then turns away from him and gets to work destroying the place.
Lord Zohan |
"I can see that this is a serious threat. And yet I have naught left to contribute if we face more challenges. Perhaps after checking whether the barn is infested with ogrekin, we could return to Turtleback Ferry for rest? I think it best to warn them anyway, so that they can make preparations in the event we are unable to stop the ogre's machinations in time. What do you all think?"
When he is done counting the coin, he returns to Withers and asks his manservant to scrounge him up a cup of tea, as there is plenty of fire being started.
Lord Zohan |
Lord Zohan waits for a good portion of the inflagration to do its work before agreeing to leave the site and head back to Turtleback Ferry.
"Jakardos, I have a few questions for you. The first is how long were you held by these ogrekin and how did they capture you? For my second point, I can understand why the ogres would see the Black Arrows as a threat and want to destroy them, but why would they want to destroy Turtleback Ferry? Normally, I would think they'd see the town as an easy source of prey. Are they trying to claim the entire area here? Is a stronger and more cunning creature guiding their actions? I ask, because I experienced that very thing earlier with goblins being coordinated and consolidated by a human with a mission of revenge. One last question: do you or your men know anything of a gambling and pleasure boat that docked at Turtleback Ferry for a brief time until a fire sent it to the lake floor?"
Jakardos |
"How long?...Hard to say we couldn't see the sun and time was hard to keep track off...Several days...A week maybe?...They tracked us using dogs and caught us as we fled the battle of the fort. As for why they would want to destroy the town...I cant really say destroying the damn itself is a bit clever for ogres not to mention how they took the fort. I didn't see anyone leading the ogres but I think someone clever is leading them yes. I heard some of the men talking about such a barge a while ago yes. What does that have to do with anything?"
Zadderk Crowe |
Zadderk perks up at the mentioning of the ferry, but listens attentively. "'pparently a lot o' folks've been dancin' off'n losin'ere gold consistently, aye? Also, 's touchin's this is, Jakardos, if'n err'one's about ta' drown'n turtleback, we best get back tomorrah' mornin early, yeah? What've the dam, though? Would it nae' be a good idea ta' stop them before they can? I think we need to be there when the water hits, aye?" he asks. They're obviously torn between the 2 options, but saving the people was far more important.
"Oh! 'n if I recall, this 'ere little firepelt's yours, right? I 'member him from my days in the arrows. Might remember me. Zadderk Crowe. Ring a bell?" he asks with a grin. "Fate's unkind, yeah? Never imagined I'd have to save yer arses." he says, presenting his hand for a shake.
Lord Zohan |
As they ride back toward Turtleback Ferry, Lord Zohan listens to the conversation and interjects where he feels it's appropriate.
"How exactly DID they take the fort? Are there semi-secret back doors? Did they storm the gate? Did they use explosive magical firepower? Or could a traitor within have given them ingress?"
"As to the barge, it might or might not be related. I find that unusual circumstances happening close together in time tend to be related to each other if one can see them with enough perspective. Even if it's as 'simple' as the town earning a god's disfavor."
(It's been a while so I might need some clarification. This whole incident with the ogrekin at the house only happened about one hour's ride from Turtleback Ferry along the river, is that correct? That's my supposition when Lord Zohan suggests returning to warn the people. Secondly, is the firepelt Zadderk refers to the bear that led us to the house?)
Jakardos |
Turtleback Ferry is about 5 miles from were you are.
"The fall of the fort yes...Our scouts spotted a large band of ogres nearly two dozen in number going down towards Turtleback Ferry so we headed out to stop them. I took 34 men with me, around half the forces at the fort. When we arrived were we expected to meet them they were nowhere to be found. We searched and found some tracks but far to few for the number we expected. I had a bad feeling so I sent 4 men to search for them and turned everyone else back. When we arrived at the fort it was already under siege, the walls were overrun. We attacked them from behind and the ogres that hadn't climbed the wall yet engaged us. The battle was going well but then we were attacked on our flank by a force of ogrekin and it turned against us. When the battle was lost I ordered the remaining black arrows to disperse into the woods. It's possible a number of us are still out there. Me and my two companions were caught trying to get out so I don't know much beyond that.
Lord Zohan |
"I see. Well, as impressive as my allies' abilities here are, I don't think we're up to a frontal assault on the fort to get it back. We could conceivably besiege it and kill every ogre that leaves the protection of the fort, which they must do if they're trying to bring down this dam you mention. What is the distance between the fort and the dam? Or is one on top of the other?
Lord Zohan rides for a moment, lost in thought.
"Perhaps there are some magical means of getting over the wall, though it'll be expensive." he adds pensively.
DireMerc |
You head back to town and make it back in about an hour.
A few townsfolk let out a cheer as they see Jakardos and the other two members of the black arrows return.
A few ask about what has been going on.
Jakardos tells them that there is danger and that they should be prepared to leave but no specifics.
"Telling them everything would incite panic and now is not the time for it. We should go speak to the mayor." he says looking back to you.
Lord Zohan |
"I agree wholeheartedly. He's responsible for the welfare of these good people, after all. On another topic, do your rangers have a gathering place in case you're separated or a place they would leave a message for you if you were separated?"