Shifty Group Runelords (Inactive)

Game Master Nik B.

/Dot

An impression formed on a piece of malleable material through the application of force unto a pointed object

"Greetings!"

With that, Ailetha takes a stool and moves over near the fireplace where all in the inn can see her easily and she begins the song:

In a town not small, by a sea of froth;
Goblin raids, children slain enough;
Heros found to right the wrong;
A fortress skull, mighty strong;
Knights and rangers, thugs and priests;
The ragged band, death to goblins bequeath.

The end they hoped, was not found;
Instead more blood upon the ground;
Undead insane, a home unsound;
The band fought forth against all odds;
Until the evil, dispelled by gods.

Again returned the heros too;
The town from whence their party grew;
Again murder there was seen;
The City of Monuments was unclean;
Corrupt on top, corrupt a town;
The heros stopped all they found.

Atop a tower within that place;
A lamia of great disgrace;
Before the party, strong and brave;
The lamia fled to keep her nave.
With help the heros then moved once more;
To find to where the Lamia whore.

This alas led far far to lands with heart;
To Turtleback Ferry, where the strong take part;
And near the town, a fort to keep;
The lands down south save asleep;
But the fort had fallen, to evil vile;
Ogres, giants, and lamia wile.

Although tired from the road alive;;
The heros a devious plan devise;
First they drew the ogre grunts;
From the despoiled fort with shunts;
A battle ensued a mighty fight;
At the end, cleansed had been the vile blight.

Now the fort once more is free;
Soon some other shall its value see;
The Turtleback people, retake they must;
Until rangers arrive, to shake the rust;
The this land safe shall be had;
The heros continue so all be saved and glad.

Once she finishes, smiles a little embarrassed.

I hope you liked it. It is a work in progress as our adventure continues. To where, we do not know. But for now, the fort has been cleansed and is ready for you and the rangers to once more protect this land.

Kick

/Soft start/

With the locals now quietened in their questioning and go back to their activities, either elated or concerned, the party is left in peace to remain at the Inn for a while - to recoup from their frightful adventure or to recover from the rough seas and hard voyage.

The smell of pipe tobacco mixes with the heady aroma of cooking meat and freely flowing beer; the sound of the heavy rain falling outside creates a steady drone on the roof that drowns out a lot of the chatter around the Inn, leaving you in peace, and happy to be inside out of the cold and wet. The occasional music being played only adds to the level of comfort...

OK in party discussion and bonding opportunity. I will be away for about four days and then we will have the kick off proper. My post above was the synopsis Ailetha gave earlier, and you can peruse the old thread should you choose to catch up on anything as well. If you have any Q's, just /ooc them and I will do a bulk Q&A on them as part of the new post when we start. Your location is presently the Inn as marked on the map in the Current Area tab above

Please also load your icon, your init and perception into the appropriate areas on the Current Area sheet

Here we go...

Time passes at the Inn and eventually the party falls into a fairly relaxed state, allowing the food and well earned rest to loosen then tenseness from their bodies. It is some time before the conversation bears remarks about the steady fall of heavy rain, then the remarks turn to concerns, until heads are stuck outside...

The village of Turtleback Ferry is drowning.

The muddy, surging waters of the Skull River tear through the center of the community to fill Claybottom Lake with a terrible fury-many of the buildings that once sat comfortably on the river's banks are already flooding and in danger of collapsing from the rushing water.

A group of children and a woman huddle aboard one of the old turtleshell ferryboats, the tiny flood-bashed vessel lodged up against the general store and threatening to capsize at any moment. Beyond, the town's church stands solid, its foundations already three feet deep in floodwaters.

Frantic movement is visible in the upstairs windows as townsfolk trapped inside rush about in a desperate attempt to save scriptures, comfort the sick, and pray for deliverance.

You are only just taking all this on board and gathering your wits when you are horrified to see a 16-foot-long constrictor rising from the water with a loud hiss and attacking the group of children - it is about to constrict and swallow a terrified young girl pigtails, freckles, and all. The woman on the boat screams along with the rest of the children, powerless to stop the ravenous
reptile. This task falls to you.

Initial round kicks off with the young girl grabbed by the massive snake

The area around the snake is a 'Bog' Bog: If a square is part of a shallow bog, it has deep mud or standing water of about 1 foot in depth. It costs 2 squares of movement to move into a square with a shallow bog, and the DC of Acrobatics checks in such a square increases by 2. Both shallow and deep bogs increase the DC of Stealth checks by 2.

Map above is updated and ready to go - Current area

R1
Bree
Ailetha
Celestra
ENEMY
Kabal
Sable
Karlan

dotting....and wait, we took a boat to get here from Riddleport?...Grrr...

Kabal's boat ride

Placing the dot here: .

Round 1

"Ok, boys! We have children's lives at stake here. Need I say more!"

Calling on her deity, Celestra casts Blessing of Fervor on her companions.

At the beginning of each of your turns for the next 9 rounds, please decide on one of the following:

• Increase your speed by 30 feet.
• Stand up as a swift action without provoking an attack of opportunity.
• Make one extra attack as part of a full attack action, using its highest base attack bonus.
• Gain a +2 bonus on attack rolls and a +2 dodge bonus to AC and Reflex saves.
• Cast a single spell of 2nd level or lower as if it were an enlarged, extended, silent, or still spell.

"Holy Cayden Cailean, we have children in danger, give us the strength and courage to save them from this hideous reptile!"

Celestra then moves down closer to the bog calling to the children.

"Do no worry, my little ones! Help is on the way! Now is the time to be brave!"

Bree reaches into her cloak, producing a dagger for each hand and then begins circling around to come at the snake from behind.

Stealth 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (13) + 18 = 31

Ailetha calls out to Karlan:
I know you like saving children. Let me get you there quicker.

Ailetha will cast Jester's Jaunt to move Karlan south 30'. This should put him 5' from the snake so that he can make a 5' step and attack as a FRA.

She will then 5' step south and begin to urge her companions on by singing about how the great snake was defeated using the infamous future past tense.

Begin Inspire Courage: +2 attack/defense and some saves

JJ is a touch spell, so action refund :p

Bree begins moving forward towards the scene unfolding

At the moment you are crossing open ground and can't YET stealth, though next round you will hit the churning water so I'll hold the stealth check til then, but although you can hide in there (arguably) its at -2

R1
Bree - Moved
Ailetha - Refund/pending
Celestra - Cast
ENEMY
Kabal
Sable
Karlan

All she'd need to do is reorder her actions so the five foot step is next to karlan and then do her actions.

Shed need a move action to get to you, so no 5' steps, and also no Bard Song, so need to choose which effect she wants in play. The placement on the map was AFTER a 5' step

Nope, Shifty had her 10' from Karlan initially, she already moved 5'.

Ailetha will move to Karlan and then send the shining knight into battle. Inspire Courage will have to wait until next round unfortunately. I think that it is more important to have Karlan full attacking the big worm this round, assuming that all his attacks do not miss by 2.

New actions
Move to in front of Karlan, so that she is closer to the snake.

Cast Jester's Jaunt to send the paladin into the melee.

Karlan is now in a bog, please note the terrain rules - he can single move up, but not 5' step, that said the move will not provoke as the snake is grappling the girl and largely ignoring you all

R1
Bree - Moved
Ailetha - moves and sends Karlan to the snake
Celestra - Cast/BOF
ENEMY - CONSTRICTS/Girl stops screaming.
Kabal -
Sable -
Karlan -

Party back up!

Bah, forgot about the difficult terrain.

Still gets a benefit from the spell in that he starts closer, and can use BOF for the attack buff :)

"A gods be damned flood?...and giant snakes...I told you we should've stayed in Riddleport, Bree"

Instincts honed on survival blatantly told Kabal to run for high ground. He'd had enough of water after another horrifying boat ride to...wherever in the hell we are... but the screams of the little girl jolted him into action. The towering man bolted straight for the snake.

move to the snake. should be no sweat with his 40' + the extra 30' thanks to Celestra.

The high water barely slowed the warrior down. He reached out and put a choke of his own on the serpent in an attempt to pull it off the child.

CMB to grapple: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (19) + 13 = 32

ROFL - just the vision of medium Kabal giving the large snake a hug is a great way to start the adventure.

"Yeah, well, you would have gotten bored. You were amazingly running out of things to yell at and kill there."

Unless sable does something particularly drastic the turn should play out like this.

Karlan looks a bit confused as the large man runs across the water and leaps on the back of the snake.

"Okay, probably wouldn't have been my first choice but."

Taking Haste option of BOF.

1d20 + 15 ⇒ (4) + 15 = 19 Attack 1 with Furious Focus
1d10 + 7 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 7 + 9 = 20 Damage

1d20 + 15 - 3 ⇒ (17) + 15 - 3 = 29 Attack 2 with P. Attack
1d10 + 7 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 7 + 9 = 17 Damage

1d20 + 10 - 3 ⇒ (20) + 10 - 3 = 27 Attack 1 with P. Attack
1d10 + 7 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 7 + 9 = 18 Damage

1d20 + 10 - 3 ⇒ (1) + 10 - 3 = 8 Crit confirm.
1d10 + 7 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 7 + 9 = 22 Damage

16' doesn't seem that big. Or did I miss something?

About this big

rather modest if I do say so

This was the first conversation:

Ailetha: Kabal, nice to meet you. I really like the way you hold your snake.

"The girl has stopped screaming! She is suffocating. Kill that snake as quick as you can, Kabal! Kill it before it's too late!" Celestra calls out.

Celestra - you going to do anything else? Any action other than speaking?

She already took her action.

Will resolve actions in about 8 hrs once work is finished (about 11pm my time!) - Start thinking about what to do with an unconscious/dying kiddie...!

Oops, forgot about that.

Celestra - you going to do anything else? Any action other than speaking?

I thought I would wait until the other five have acted and then make a decision, but I know that speaking is a free action and is always good role playing.

Na, I forgot that you had cast a spell. You could have also moved forward since it is difficult terrain and getting there is not going to be quick (unless you are a warp speed barbarian.

No problem. The travel domain is one of my favorites. I have agile feet which ignores difficult terrain. I also have dimensional hop. I am going to see what the situation looks like after everyone else acts.

Pretty sure it is going to be Kabal hugging his snake while Karlan pokes it with his stick. Three ladies and a creepy guy petting his bird will be watching.

Karlan - needed a Move action to get into place, shallow bog precludes 5' step

R1
Bree - Moved
Ailetha - moves and sends Karlan to the snake
Celestra - Cast/BOF
ENEMY - CONSTRICTS/Girl stops screaming.
Kabal - Grapples the snake.
Sable - /Delay
Karlan - Hits!

/Recap/
Bree begins moving in to attack
Ailetha moves in also, casting a spell on the Paladin sending him on a strange journey.
Celestra blesses the party with a bit of Cayden!
The snake ignored it all and started crushing a small child.
Kabal grabbed the snake, teaching it to stop ignoring.
Sable wasn't sure what to make of it all.
Karlan went and reinforced Kabals message by stabbing the beast.

R2
Bree
Ailetha
Celestra
ENEMY (20)
Kabal
Sable
Karlan

Round 2

Not wanting the girl to get killed, and unsure whether the mindless shake can be subdued immediately, Ailetha moves next to the snake, and then reaches out and touches the girl, causing the girl to suddenly vanish from the snake's constricting coils and appear lying next to Celestra.

While moving, Ailetha calls out to the drunken priestess.
Celestra, small package coming your way, make sure it is alive.

Move - 60' (30' + 30' from BOF) movement should get Ailetha adjacent to the snake/girl.
Cast Jester's Jaunt to teleport the girl 30' north next to Celestra.

Here now. Sorry for the delay!

I'm wielding a Bardiche. I have reach. I always run into this problem. I need to like plaster it in every stat line.

Heh - glad I did not teleport you fight next to the snake then.

Hence no complaints. :P I was just going to shoot it.

Aha, that will do it! Bardiches are trhe weapon of choice for the thinking Hellknight

/retcon/

Karlan manages to land a series of strikes on the snake.

/Snake = 55 damage/

Round continues

Bree moves into a flanking position and mumbles something to herself causing one of her daggers to take on an icy sheen before she plunges it into the snake.

Sneak Attack w/ Frost Dagger 1d20 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 11 + 2 = 26
Sneak Attack/Sneak Stab Damage 5d8 + 2 ⇒ (1, 8, 8, 7, 7) + 2 = 33
Cold Damage 1d6 ⇒ 2

Sneak Attack w/ Masterwork Dagger 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 6 + 2 = 11
Sneak Attack/Sneak Stab Damage 5d8 + 2 ⇒ (8, 1, 8, 1, 5) + 2 = 25

OK, I'm not sure if I did all of that right or not. So, if I didn't someone let me know, it's been awhile. Also, if she misses: Assault Leader (Ex): Once per day, when the rogue misses with an attack on a flanked opponent, she can designate a single ally who is also flanking the target that her attack missed. That ally can make a single melee attack against the opponent as an immediate action. Karlan can take another attack.

As you moved you can only take the standard action (one attack) so you wouldn't get the second stab. Not that it matters, as the creature dies on the first hit

1d20 ⇒ 5

The snake lashes at Bree as she closes, but the blow goes wide.

Her answering strike is clean and highly effective - setting the snake to its final rest - Karlan feels it go limp n his hands.

The rain hammers down, the waters churn, the children on the small boat are quiet - especially the small girl.

Gotcha, thanks!

Once she is certain the snake is dead, she dismisses the ice on her blade and washes the blood off the best she can using the rain and by wiping it across the snake's scales as opposed to the muddy water she's standing in. Putting her knives away, she approaches the boat, "Anyone else hurt?"

Perception 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (3) + 13 = 16

/ooc Still notionally in rounds... as you have a casualty[/ooc]

OK, well then that's delayed. Bree knows that there isn't much she can do for the girl, she expects she's in far better hands with Celestra and Karlan.

"Im fine. You?" Kabal said and he dropped the dead snake as soon as it stopped struggling and nodded to the others around him before wading on towards the boat of children. He had every intention of dragging it to safe ground.