Robin's Rise of the Runelords

Game Master robin

Indeed, I believe that we are volunteering, but we would like some recognition for our duties thus conducted and for those we are about to undergo. While we do it for Sandpoint, the perfection of Abadar needs to to be recognized by one and all. I do not believe that we should be considered guards any longer. Our status has risen to the level of a dedicated company of warriors, and we deserve the respect we have earned and will further pursue in the name of our fair town! All of those in my company may not agree with such a notion, but I certainly do. A public announcement is certainly warranted so that all may know of the sacrafices that we have made and will make.

Kast's eyes bulge at Malcolm's words.

"Er..." Kast opens his mouth, as if to speak, but then decides to swallow his words.

I am a soldier...no announcement will make it more true. I will fight or die for what I believe in, regardless of what my title is.

Malcolm made me laugh. You should've handed him a bill. Abadar demands just compensation! Watch it you leeches of Sandpoint, Malcolm's about to go Galt!

At the mention of volunteering, Danaris' eyes open just a bit wider and his shoulders slump. "Us?" he thinks "The sheriff can't be serious. We are just about the wost heroes imaginable."

LOL! Trying to stay in character, and I figured that eventually somebody needs to start treating us better in this ungrateful town!

Are you joking there? The town has repeatedly given you preferential treatments as far as goods and spells. Father Abstalar cast spells on you for free and when you needed iron weapons, the weaponsmith did it also for free. The mayor has listened to the concerns you expressed and followed your suggestions.
Also the shopkeeper's daughter did throw herself at Kast but that might be a wrong example ...

Absolutely joking, and I totally recognize what the town has don, but Malcolm would desire more fame and recognition in Abadar's name. A statue may be nice...LOL!

Dorin follows Kast's example. "Uh, we kinda got the weapons for free..." he started, then looked at the adults and closed his mouth. Starting again, he asked Malcolm, "Can't the Sheriff just call us an official adventuring party? Don't you have to go to the Sandpoint Mercantile League building and get a, a charter, or something? Sir Korvaski would know what to call us."

Knowledge: Local 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

I really had troubles deciding how to respond to this. Sorry for the delay

Sheriff Belor is first schocked by Malcolm's words and then looks to him like a predator looking at a carcass not worthy of his hunger :
Or what? That looked like a threat to me.[b]
He then shakes himself and continue in a calmer tone :
[b]Sandpointers have suffered in the last weeks. They are aware that it could have been worse if not for your efforts and I know they tried to show their gratitude. If you want a damn parade, I'll throw you one after the menace is over. For now, I only ask for volunteers who want to risk their lives to save their town. If you were a guard which you are not, I could legally command you to but that's not my way. So decide what you prefer ; doing the next job or having a medal for the last one
Mayor Deverin winces ...

Sheriff Belor has obviously more ranks in intimidate than diplomacy.

And finally to replay to Dorin, there are no obligation in Magnimar controlled Varisia to have a charter. You can of cours call your group something and many adventurers do so but this not an obligation

"I'm for Sandpoint, not for a statue. I'm for this town." Dorin said, standing up for himself. "If we need to go to this Thistletop and root out some goblins to protect the town, I'm all for it. It's what Ameiko would have done."

Malcolm takes a step forward, glaring at the Sheriff.

Not a threat nor a request, just simply stating my mind. As I said, I will gladly volunteer to solve the town's problem. To Thistletop, it is!

Malcolm steps back, opens his hands before him, and gives the Mayor a toothy grin.

Always at your service, Mayor Deverin.

Belor shrugs
I must have misunderstood then . We'll talk about this when you'll come back then. Do you need goods or information before departing then ?

Kast ponders for a moment, mentally calculating the contents of his purse and what is reasonable for him to buy as opposed for the town to offer.

"We might need horses. As far as our gear goes, we can handle that. But a few horses to help us get to and fro would be good."

At some future time, well made armor would be good for me. Another time, I think.

Gar stands in the back, his cloak hood still up. Even though hair is coming back to his bald spots, he is still a little uncomfortable in his appearance. "I am in it for Town...and the killing Goblins. I'm not looking to be an adventurer. But I have a knack for fighting the dirty runts. And if they are massing to hurt those in this town, I do so vow to take the fight to them."

Kast looks at Gar as he listens to Gar speak, nodding along happily.

Yeah, he is good at killing goblins. I'm glad to have him along.

No problem but they won't be battle trained. I'll go talk to Daviren but given his opinions on goblins... Anything else ? Belor smiles

Daviren is the proprietor of the goblin squash stables . In his youth , he was a dedicated even rabid goblin killer. On rafters in his stables are mummified goblin ears with their names etched in the ear when possible

"Well," Dorin said, still talking faster than he thought, "if the goblins are going to come from Thistletop, then you know you need guards watching the North road."

As the others voice their commitment to assaulting Thistletop, Danaris just adds: "Sandpoint is home. Of course I'll defend it."

Guys , see discussion thread please

Kast will make preparations to go to Thistletop, backing food and gear on a horse.

"We leave on the morrow morning, gentlemen." Kast will turn to the Sheriff. "Sheriff, can you draw us a map? I'm not exactly sure where we are going."

* * *

On the road, Kast will split time between riding his horse and limping along side his horse, watching for danger.

"More goblin killing! But a map is a good idea." Dorin agreed.

Dorin will go back to the Rusty Dragon and start packing. We leave in the morning, correct? Dorin will also go to the Goblin Squash Stables to help pick out light riding horses.

"Killing Goblins sounds like a plan. Thistletop it is."

Kast looks at his map, then looks at the surrounding area, hopeful that they are going the right way.

you get a map of the hinterlands at the way north since maps are a passion of Veznutt Parooh
His recommandations are for you to go up the Lost Coast Road until you hit the Thistle River Crossing ( a 6 mile hike) and then go unto the Nettlewoood
He explains that the nettlewood is a forest difficult to navigate since tangles of poisonous vegetation are everywhere . the wood is also infested by goblins ...

When you'll hit the cliffs , you should be able to see Thhistletop an island cum fortress.

In the morning , your expedition leaves
I'll need to know who is leading since he will be the one making survival rolls (assists is of course possible )
In the campaign info is a map of the hinterlands

I'll assume Danaris is not in front since he doesn't have any ranks in survival.

As the party heads out, Danaris starts with the doom and gloom. "Do we have a better plan than find Thistletop and assault it? I mean, I know some of you guys are getting good at killing goblins, but if Tsuto's journal is to be believed, there is an army massing at Thistletop. Perhaps we can find a backdoor or something?"

You don't have to be in front to make checks Danaris. And if you needed to be in front, we could take turns.

1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20 Survival

Kast looks at Danaris.

"Dunno, Danaris. We'll have to see what happens when we get there. If I have to fight my way through an army, I'll do that..."

...like a soldier.

Malcolm will travel near the front.

Dorin thanked Veznutt Parooh, promising to update the map with the area near Thistletop if possible.

Dorin will be near the rear of the party, let the others fight out who's on first...

"I wish we had that elven ranger, Shalelu? with us." Dorin answered Danaris. "I bet she could sneak us up to Thistletop." Dorin squinted at the map he was holding. "I think Thistletop is an island." he muttered. "Hard to find a 'backdoor' to that. Can goblins see in the dark? If so, then a daylight sneak is actually better."

You enter Nettlewood without problems and progress under Kast's guidance
Finally after some lost time avoiding patches of stinging nettles , you arrive at the top of some cliffs 80 feet tall
Under you , the surf of waves impact the cliffs
West of you you can see a big rock at a distance in the sea . approaching it , you can see a rope bridge join this rock to the mainland BUT the briars and thistles you met in the wood grow even more dense there and high enough to block the view of the bridge when you approach the site .
There does not seem to be anyway of progressing farther ...

(I used Internet Explorer to see the Hinterlands map. Firefox just keeps saying "plugin needed". I also need to redo Dorin's backpack.)

"I think these briars are intentional." Dorin growled, tugging his shirt free from a nearby thorn. "If we burn it, the goblins will see the smoke from Thistletop; if we chop at it, will they hear us? How do the goblins get past these briars?" Dorin started to search around, looking for goblin paths. He left the horse loosely tied to a nearby tree.

Perception check: (taking 20): 21

Kast will poke and prod at the thickets with QuasitsBane.

"These are darn thick." Kast licks his finger and holds it up as if to see which way the wind is blowing.

"If the wind is right, we could burn it away...may take a while, attract a lot of attention, but also might kill some goblins and allow us to make way within."

Kast pulls out his longsword and shield.

"Or we could hack our way through." Kast tries a few longsword hacks at the thick thickets.

robin, trying to cut my way through for a bit...does it work?

While Kast starts to hack, Gar will join Dorin looking for a possible way around or through. He will in particular be looking for Goblin footprints and seeing if they pass this way.

Perception with Follow Clues tracking -> 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

While Kast begin to hack through the brambles with his sword (not the best tool for this and it will take time and be noisy ) Gar and Dorin look around but fail to see anything

Map of the area :
blue is the water some 100 feet below , green is the brambles , the black traits north show a wood stockade . There does not seem to be anyone from where you are
Link here

Kast will continue to hack away.

"Mepht! This is slow, but I don't see a better way. If we all took turns, we could cut a path to our goal."

If we cannot get around the obstruction, lets keep trying to cut our way through.

Malcolm lends his Bastard Sword to the effort.

While the bold warriors clear brush, Danaris readies an arrow, keeping an eye out for any potential threats.

While Kast and Malcolm are havking their way through , Gar and Dorin see a goblin in AU41 who does not seem hindered by the brambles looking at them ...

Dorin makes a surprised sound. "Ack! Gar! There's one now! Magic Miss-ile!" (I should've had my crossbow ready!)

Magic Missile damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Gar will draw and throw a dagger, if feasible, at the Goblin, hopefully catching it unawares.

Dagger throw -> 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13
Dagger damage -> 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
Possible sneak attack -> 1d6 ⇒ 6

Kast will continue to cut unless the goblin wants to come close and pretend to be a bramble.

Malcolm renews his efforts in a manner to reach the goblin faster!

The goblin actually retreat unto the brambles moving with ease within them .
For information , a square of brambles has hardness 1 and 40 hp so it will take you some time to cut thru it .
Just roll some damage and tell me which square you want to destroy ...

1d10 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

1d10 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

1d10 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

1d10 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

1d10 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

I do not care what square - just trying to take the shortest path through.

robin, if there is another way, can we make an intelligence, wisdom, survival, or perception way to 'see' it? other wise, Kast is going to keep cutting as long as he can (taking appropriate breaks to rest) until the brambles are gone. If we're missing something obvious, please give us a chance to find it.

1d8 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13 +1 longsword damage
1d8 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11 +1 longsword damage
1d8 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13 +1 longsword damage
1d8 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12 +1 longsword damage
1d8 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12 +1 longsword damage
1d8 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12 +1 longsword damage

ad infinitum

You could try to circle the brambles. So far as described , you came from the left so the map only shows what you have seen so far as usual. Sorry if I was not clear about this

(So the MM destroys part of the brambles instead of hitting the goblin? Arrrgghh! Just making sure before I post IC.)

since there is no cover for a MM , it did strike the goblin

"This will take too long. Let's see if there is a way around."

Gar moves to circle around the briars.

Kast looks at Gar moving away.

"Wait, Gar, where are you going? This is going quickly...we'll be done here soon." Kast demonstrates.

1d8 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6 damage to briar patch
1d8 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7 damage to briar patch
1d8 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7 damage to briar patch
1d8 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10 damage to briar patch
1d8 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8 damage to briar patch
1d8 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13 damage to briar patch

Kast's average damage is 9.5 per hit, even with 1 point of hardness, he should be clearning a 5x5 square every 30 seconds (5 swings) and then be able to take 5 rounds to rest before going again.

"See? One square done...and now I'll rest for 5 rounds and let Malc take a turn."

Kast lets Malc swing away.

"See? Another square gone." Kast looks over to their destination.

"With Malc and I working together taking turns, we should be able to clear 2 squares a minute. If you and the rest take watch, we'll be fine."

Not sure about exactly where on the map we go, but we need to clear about 36 squares to get to the bridge...about 20 minutes.

Malcolm steps up to take his turn.

Aye kast! Like chopping wood!

1d10 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
1d10 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
1d10 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
1d10 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12
1d10 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
1d10 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

If Gar is circling around the brambles, Danaris will try to follow him at a reasonable distance, providing, theoretically, cover with his bow.

Sorry about the patchy posting. This close to the holiday I've got a lot going on in real life.

If something pops out to attack Gar, Danaris will fire an arrow. Here are some rolls if I am missing
Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 6