Alexei's page

On Alexei's Turn:

Take 5-ft. step back (away from road) so as not to be flanked;

Draw dagger with left hand while so doing;

Attack wounded guy with both weapons.

Attack rolls: Scimitar: 16 + 4 = 20; short sword: 8 + 4 = 12.
Damage (if applicable): scimitar: 3 + 3 = 6; short sword: 1 + 1 = 2.

Which side of the road did his leap take him to? Same side as Kin Lur, or opposite? (I believe Kin is on the right side.)

I had pictured the left in my head (the side opposite yours), but I'll go with DM Drax's ruling on this one, as I foolishly failed to specify.

Alexei's Turn

Spur mount (running double move) to the visible archers, hopefully fast enough to avoid any ambush lurking in woods.
Draw scimitar during movement.
Leap from saddle (acrobatics) up embankment, hopefully reaching one before he can draw a new weapon. I'd like to end up in melee with him, so that his friend has to think twice before shooting.

Dice Rolls:
Ride: 11 (roll) + 10 (skill) = 21
Jump: 20 (roll) + 7 (skill) = 27.

If I reach him and can get in an attack after my move action jump:
Attack: 12 (roll) + 2 (charge) +6 (attack bonus) = 20 (and I'm AC 14 instead of 16).

Sizing up the situation...

Wrong avatar. Sorry!

DM Drax: How far away are they? I mean are we a long way from them or relatively close?

Yeah, if they're within 70 ft. I just start shooting; none of this riding around stuff first, except to get more than 20 ft. away from the others in case of fireball.

A lot of this tactical combat, with distances and placement, is going to be exceptionally difficult on a PBP without some sort of visual aids... is there somewhere you can post sketches? Barring that, we'll probably need better descriptions of our surroundings -- width of roadway, height and slope of embankments, etc., and we should probably all announce our locations/"marching order" before combat begins. Also, how long have we been riding? If long enough to accrue subdual damage, I would have made a Stealth check to camouflage Mijanor's armor gleam hours or days ago.

Alexei looks for a moment as if he's considering dismounting, shakes his head at the embankments along the road, and pulls his bow from the saddle-sheath as he spurs his mount, shouting something in goblin.
I want to get within missile range as fast as possible, ahead of the others, so that if there are spellcasters in the woods with area-affect spells we won't all be in a group.

To those who speak goblin:

And in Common:
No idea if they have friends, but this setup is WAY too obvious to discount the possibility! Best to assume there are, and look like idiots if these two are alone, than to assume there aren't, and get caught all together in some kind of rockslide or arrow volley or fireball.

** spoiler omitted **

Oops... no wonder I rolled so daggone low! Lemme try again: Not much better! 6 + 6 = 12. I'm new to the PBP AND to the "roll online" thing.

Re: dismounting, I was speculating possibilities out loud, hoping my Knowledge (Warfare) skill would give me some indication of why my subconscious -- the DM -- was telling me to dismount when it seems like suicide to do so, seeing as I can't scale the embankments without getting killed. Is there some tactical reason to relinquish mobility?

If you are unhappy with where you are situation, except for Egrin, Mojanir, and Kin Lur, let me know with your initiative and I'll allow you to reposition within reason.

I thought I was examining Mijanir's armor, until Kin Lur motioned me to drop back?

Initiative = roll 4 + 6 = 10. I guess I'll have no time to dismount, even if I wanted to, unless these guys roll horribly. Seems like I'd be better off mounted, though, given that I can potentially negate hits against my mount, and get closer using the horse's double move while I shoot arrows? If I dismount, they'll just shoot me to death while I walk up to them. Of course, that would mean having time to ready the bow... unrealistic. Maybe the best I can do is unsheath the scimitar and ride at them, fast, before I get peppered?

Is there a rogue talent to let you climb stealthily? If so, I want it when I hit 6th level!

"Kin Lur, you and I should take opposite sides of the road, circling wide behind the watchers. The rest continue forward, ready to pull back and turn on their would-be attackers at the last minute before they reach the "ambush." If the watchers attack, we come up behind them and cut their throats. If they have hostile friends, we kill them as efficiently as possible."

Alexei casually reaches down to flick some imagined dirt from his boot (Bluff check), sliding out of the saddle at the same time (Ride check), out of sight of the watchers (being blocked behind a larger horse)(Stealth check). The more observant of you can see him slide into the woods on the left side of the road.

All this assumes that a Knowledge: Warfare and/or Survival check indicates these to be relatively sound tactics, of course, given the distances, thickness of woods, terrain, and state of fatigue.

"Mojanir," says the soldier, riding closer alongside with an easy twitch of his hip, "no offense, but the flash of your armor gives away our position -- possibly to hostile watchers in the hills." He speaks quietly, out of the side of his mouth, while scanning both sides of the road. "Any chance of permitting me to cover it a bit?"

Alexei: 17 nonlethal. (7 to horse)

Wow -- Survival skill isn't helping me a bit. Should've spent the points on Craft (Parisol).

Can I use Stealth to put some mud or a cloak or something over Majinor's gleaming plate, so that we're not visible 72 miles away?

By the way, how do I know these people? And how did I get away from my unit?

EDIT: Whoops! Nevermind, it's the Appraise skill that does this in conjuction with Detect Magic

That's gonna have to go the cleric/sorcerer, in exchange for us protecting him all the time.

But even then, as you point out it would be 32 skill points.

Right. The skills as listed on the profile should add up to 32 ranks now, unless I'm miscounting.

I am getting 36 skill points total, when you should have 28. Are you using a variant I am not aware of?

Just corrected that. I calculate 32 now:

(4+2) x 2 fighter levels = 12
(8+2) x 2 rogue levels = 20

The 4/level instead of 2/level for fighter is because I'm using the Pathfinder Academy variant, giving up my 1st level bonus feat. If you disallow that, I'll have to dock myself 4 skill ranks (say good-bye to my two useless Profession skills) and pick another feat. That would make me mechanically superior, but would lose a fair amount of the character's flavor.

Corrections

What is "Def 20"?

For abilities:
Initial: Str 13 (3), Dex 13 (3), Con 11 (1), Int 14 (5), Wis 8 (-2), Cha 14 (5) = 15 points.
Racial: +2 Dex = 15.
4th level: +1 Str = 14.

Skills broken down in profile.

Here's a character I'd like to play: his name may change, and I'm still working on possessions vs. wealth, but the basics are there. Jal, let me know; I can still stat up the bard if you prefer.

P.S. Yes, I know the icon shows a chick, but he's a half-elf, and besides, I couldn't find a guy with such a jaunty hat!