Please, I know you hate me, but I am not lieing. The shepherd needs a host. If it isn't me, then Muziel or someone, but please I beg you, do something about this. Grachius continues to ramble as he passes out in the room.
Gloria and her men stand the man up and bind him. We can take him to the cell next to Grachius. She leads the group down to that area.
See, we had it handled Gloria points out to Kera, nodding at Karrick and putting just enough emphasis on we to make an obvious implication, obvious to another female at least.
Locking me up will do no good. I do not expect to live out the night. My name is Liam, I am from Mediogalti. I too once aspired to be a Red Mantis, as most on my island do. They used to be a feared and powerful and I wanted that. Then the change came. The Red Mantis are now no more than puppets for Absolam politics. For a chance at a position in the new order I became a puppet myself, only realizing it when it was too late. Karrick you were set up by a splinter group of Red Mantis. We called ourselves The Blood of Achaekek. We broke the treaty, and went against the oath that forbids regicide and would take any job. I left the organization soon after the incident that got you imprisoned Karrick. The Blood of Achaekek only goal seems to be chaos, and I see that now. The one next to me *he points to Grachius* hired them to kill Lord Vyktor. He was not as careful as he thought and the Red Mantis found out. In an attempt to stop the killing, they ended up framing themselves for the deed. The Red Blessing has begun. The Red Mantis will not allow this sort of thing to continue and soon the entire might of the assassin guild will be upon them. They have donned the official colors of Achaekek, for the first time since I was a child I saw Red Mantis on the road in full colors out of hiding. I knew my time was at an end soon, though I never thought i'd see you again.(Nodding at Karrick) He speaks as a man that has faced death and accepted it.
Round 2
19 Chammady Attempts to fire her bow and misses
14 Sergei Up for initiative
11 Isorion Fires another successful bolt
11- Idril Gets into melee and attempts to fight off the goblin horde
8 Goblins are now fully aware of the party from the cave.
?-Avizzi will engage in melee helping the Tarot reader
1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6To hit Idril, and misses 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12 to hit Sergei, miss
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22 to hit Isorion with shortbow. 1d4 ⇒ 3Damage to Isorion
Karrick tackles the man to the ground in the common room. Gloria aims her two pistols at his head. The man raises his hands up in surrender. Ok ok you got me. Won't do me no good to try and fight ya, and to be true I'm tired of running. The man says, he doesn't seem to be the Red Mantis type.
Karrick(Possibly Kera too if she makes both rolls:
You notice a man playing darts take notice of your arrival in the common room. He looks around suspiciously, presumably looking for an exit. Karrick recognizes this man as being the one who approached him for the job initially. He intends to throw his dart at you. Roll Initiative. You get to act in the surprise roll for successfully gaging his hostile intent.
Yes, as soon as you receive or take aggressive action the curse applies Chammady.
Round 1
19 Chammady fires an arrow and misses
14 Sergei Buries his pick in a goblin skull
11 Isorion bolts a goblin to a wall of a hut, it remains there wiggling
11- Idril Up on initiative
8 Goblins are continuing their assault on the Inn and main section of town, The Mayor has closed the door to the Hall and kept them from entering. One goblin strikes out at Sergei, who closed into melee.
1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 141d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4Bludgeoning damage from a club if hits.
Aldren seeing his town in danger again, grabs his spear and heads out with Chammady's encouragement.
Just to keep things organized give me initiatives, but you can keep your attacks. You will get a surprise round as the large group of goblins did not know you were coming.
In two rounds the opening is large enough to pass through
It is dusk and goblins are once again raiding the town, only this time the Sheriff is on his way to Magnimar. You see Shalelu the elven ranger that came into town with Sergei doing her best to fend them off, firing her bow from on top of the Rusty Dragon, but the goblins are closing in on her. Ameiko the Innkeeper of the Rusty Dragon is fighting melee in front of the inn, and Ven the merchant is taking his axe to some that are raiding his shop. Madame Mvashti is using fire and illusion magic to ward off a large group in the main part of town. The Mayor is fighting at the town hall, keeping the goblins at bay at the doorway.
The Sawtooth blades are knives, but they require an exotic proficiency to gain the most out of them. In the hands of someone without the proficiency they are just MW Daggers.
Give me an attack with your pick against a DC 10. The more successful you are, the quicker you widen the hole. One Other character may assist Sergei in this rolling against DC 10 to aid providing a +2 and a further reduction of time taken.
I can not edit my last post because some stupid Windows 8 thing is poped up in my bottom left covering the edit submit button, so just use that information if you have access to it.
My bad most of you are not good alignment, I forgot I had opened up the alignments in this one. Still I appreciate the way you are handling Aldren so go ahead and take the point.
With your encouragement and news of a possible invasion of goblins Aldren stirs on the floating disk.
You are right. I am sorry gentlemen, I have lived a sheltered and pampered life. I will fight these beasts, we may be the only thing that can turn the tide. Aldren stands up and readies his equipment.
You all receive one Hero Point for playing good alignments well and not taking the easy road to belittle this man. If you are at capacity(3), you do not receive a Hero Point but you permanently raise your Capacity to (4).
On horseback the tickwood was only about thirty minutes from Sandpoint. This underground path is proving to be very long and difficult. You estimate it is about dusk when you finally see the exit. It is as you feared. You can see in the distance goblin figures in the streets. Avizzi recognizes the exit, it is at the base of a tree he and the Shoanti inspected right before the first attack. It is only large enough for small creatures to slip through, you will have to make it bigger to fit yourselves and the floating disk.
Thanks, yes I tied it all together. This is about the 4th play by post I have done in this region, and I am running a home game at the local game store based on the Nex/Geb conflict in the Age of Destiny so it has been coming along slowly. I try to tie in the actual history where I can and that seems to help with the legitimacy.
Assuming you are all continuing down the cave then
You come across some rotten meat and other signs of recent goblin activity ahead, but so far no Goblins. You travel for hours, following the twisted cavern.
Knowledge Dungeoneering DC 10:
You are heading south, towards Sandpoint.
Survival DC 10:
There are tracks of many goblins and goblin dogs, you estimate about forty goblins.
There are no Evil Items. The Dueling Pistols are Altkin dueling pistols, with properties from that guild. Craft skill or appraise for more details.
Pervince:
Seeing the seals reminds you of something you heard about when you were younger.In the early days when Alkenstar was forming from the human tribes of the Elemion river and the Dwarves of Dongun, Nex held the region in name, but many sought to control the area. Crusaders from Jalmery, mostly Zealots of Sarenrae, Gebites that worshiped Zon_Kuton from the old Mechintar cult, Arclords of Nex devoted followers of Nethys that believed Nex was the Avatar of Nethys, and the Dwarven Royalty of Dongualt that tried to retake the region recently, masters of divine magic and worshipers of Torag. After a group would fail to take the city, the Alkenstar guild would recover any artifacts and seal them away in Martel. This served two purposes, one to keep the items out of the enemies hands, and two to ensure no further acts of aggression by these groups with threats of destroying their precious artifacts. The vault of Martel was the most logical place since it was already a magical bunker of sorts dating back to the Age of Destiny in the Nex/Geb conflict. Recently the Reidfords, and Duchess Hana in particular, has been accepting other items to place in the vault for safe keeping(the information you received from Gazerich Greystone).
You take the torch further down the cave and a few more runes light up. About 30' down the cave this stops being the case. The Goblins, if they are still in the cave, have made no more attempts to come after you.
Can we go back now please? I am in need of a hot bath. Aldren says in a voice a child would use on their mother.
Miikae and Pervince Whom Ninja'd me as I was writing thisis able to finish off the last of the group. The exposed ground reveals a tunnel that leads to a large underground den. These mutants have been raiding for a long time, mostly Gnolls, but other items are here as well.
Time for a well deserved payday. There is 20,000 in raw coinage wealth. That should be 4,000 each. When it comes to coin wealth I divide it equal among the party in PbP for ease of tracking WBL, items are yours to distribute.
Items Found(possibly better quality than listed upon closer inspection
A MW Gold Iron Bayonet
A Watt's Guild traveler's any tool (non-magical version of the wondrous item as found in UE)
A Bandolier of Five MW Silver Daggers
A Case of random gun parts, Best Quality, Greystone name on the case.
A MW Darkwood Cudgel
A Pair of Altkin Dueling Pistols in a quick draw vest(John Wesley Hardin Style)
The Identify DC is the spoiler above. You are correct it is local
Round 1 so far
25 Kera Stands and power attacks a tremor mutant1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8 AoO against Kera for standing
23+Karrick
23 Tremor Mutants attempt to grab those that fell, Miikae was grabbed
22 Sands finishes off one of the Tremor Mutants, Miikae is able to break the drag maneuver
17 Pervince
5 Muziel Still on his back
No problem, I think that situation is going to be across the board so no worries. I think in general people are posting at a decent rate and I appreciate that.
By RAW that is correct, I think my way was a throwback from 3.5. I will allow you to do it that way, or take 20 on escape Artist, which could be more than CMB+20 if you or someone else has it trained.
You believe the reason the runes did not protect the place before is because they were not activated. There was a contingency that a force of good had to shine true fire(non-Magical) in their presence.
You learn that this area became the wastes during the Nex and Geb war thousands of years ago. Before that, in the Age of Destiny, Zon_Kuthon returned to Golarion. His return was in an old Ziggurat now known as Mechitar. His worshipers fought along side Geb in the war with Nex. When Geb died, or became a ghost rather, the followers of Zon_Kuthon forged their own nation in what is now Nidal during one of Geb's unholy wars against Lastwall. You remember Ythl mentioning Mechitar before as the capital of Geb, and seat of Arazni the undead fey goddess.
These are runes of protection and guidance. You are unclear who made them, but they are very old. The runes provide the location of city called Xin-Shalast. The protection spell protects the area from evil.
23 Isorion Killed a goblin with Cross bow
23 3 Goblin archers Fired at Isorion, The floating disk and, Sergei
20 Sergei
Avizzi Think I forgot to put you on initiative before Readies attack
10 Chammady Begins a summon
5 Idril Has a torch and is firing a sling.
As Idril lights her torch the area brightens up. Odd runes on the walls of the cave glow in the fires light that were not visible before. The writing frightens the goblins 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11 who run away in fear.
The food is excellent, probably the best meal you have ever had even if not for being out of desperation. You all feel calm and relaxed. Ythl starts to sleep and snore, still covered in honey and maggots.
Kera/Miikae(Sands):
Kera sticks with Sands and visits the pond. It is a lovely pond, but the warning about the spiders was not idle. Huge webs cover the trees and spiders as large as Sands or even larger can be seen resting in the tree tops. Man shape cocoons litter the webs, and some appear recent. A man that looks familiar from the Nidal tower is wrapped up to his head and looks a pale blue. As you walk by he stirs a bit and opens his eyes Please, help me. He is barley able to say as frothy drool escapes his cyanotic mouth.
1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11 Gblin Short Bow vs FF on Sergei 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23 vs FF on Idril form small short bow1d4 ⇒ 1Damage 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19 vs FF on Avizzi from small short bow1d4 ⇒ 1 Damage
Round 1
23 3 Goblin archers
20 Sergei is up
[b]10 Chammady I will bot you until back, no lethal damage from the slip just hurt your pride 5 Idril
? Isorion
Aldren is to weak to participate.
Unimpressed by Sergei's attempt at bravado the Goblins cry out a battle cry
Speak Goblin:
They Are Here ATTACK! Bring out the Goblin Dogs!
1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17 Vs Isorion FF1d4 ⇒ 1 Damage 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23 Vs Sergei Full AC 1d4 ⇒ 2 Damage 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19 Vs the Floating Disk that looks scary
This was once an entrance into a Duergar city. You see a Symbol of Droskar, The Dark Smith, God of the Duergar on one of the walls. You believe this to be very old do to the amount of decay and lack of upkeep in the area. It is possible Goblins have taken over this place, but that would take an incredible number of Goblins.
1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16
1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23 Wow! Nice Perception for Sergei
Sergei sees several goblins up ahead attempting to hide as he is examining the cave.
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23 Goblin Initiative Roll Initiative Sergei can act in the surprise round because he has Darkvision 60' and was able to spot the Goblins Which are 50' down the cave.
Cool, that's the whole point really is an escape from the crazy real life. Sometimes envy those in the Fantasy Realm, they get to kill their enemies, in the real world we often have to suffer them.
It is all connected, the slope is just extreme so climbing ensures you do not slip and fall. A lot of caves in the world are not really designed for humans to simply walk in them.
Once you all climb down, the light from the bolt only provides a dim glow. Isorion and Sergei are able to see that at this point the small hovel becomes an extensive cavern.
Sergeri:
This Cavern is not natural, it looks like it was made by underground dwellers, but not Dwarves. Roll Dungeoneering for more information.
These marking are not Arcane, they appear to be a rough map upon closer inspection
Aldren says in a cowardly voice Ba but, you are not going down there aaaare you? Um, wait are you leaving me here alone? Please no, please lets just go back to town. I, I will give up adventuring. I will pay you double, NO Triple! If we can just leave now.
The scent alone in this place is enough to keep intruders at bay. With Isorion's Bolt still stuck in the far wall, you can see the remains of this hug boar's living quarters. There is some strange markings in the hovel, and you can see that the hovel connects to a cave below, the fall is steep and will require some climbing to repel safely.
The Light illuminates a 10'x10' area inside the hovel. The large Boar barley fit into his house, it probably lived here before it ate the magical item. Isorion's bolt travels for about 30' before it hits a wall on the other end of dirt and rock. The hovel looks like it descends deeper as, but there is an extreme slop.
Aldren begins to wake up. Ugh, Wha what happened. Why am I floating? I hope I understood correctly that he and the boar are on the floating disk
As you are looking around, you are reminded that another companion has fallen. Isorion the Brave remains unconscious after staring down the worlds largest Boar. Isorion Gains 1 Hero Point for his odd bravery
The Goblin voice came from the area of thicket the Tickwood Horror emerged from. An inspection of the area shows there to be a large whole, probably some hovel the swine was living in.
Knowledge Nature DC 10:
Goblins dislike sunlight and often will wait until at least dusk to do any major actions above ground.
It is now about Noon
Little Chammady:
Aldren is stable, but severly wounded. You are able to stop his major bleeds.
The Mighty Beast turns no longer locked into a gaze with Isorion, it starts to move, then stumbles to the ground with a weak squeal. The beast vomits an
odd object Detect Magic+Spellcraft DC 15:
This is a Cornucopia of Plenty. It makes sense that this creature would grow to this size having swallowed such an item.
Sergei's hammer has made the final blow.
In the forest you can hear goblins.
Speak Goblin:
They killed our mother! Make them pay! Kill their horses!
oddly enough this template offers no bonus to CMD so that will hit with the +4 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14 AoO against Avizzi from Grapple
2d4 + 6 ⇒ (1, 3) + 6 = 10 damage if hits
You only trigger attacks of opportunity upon leaving a threatened area, not entering it. The Boar is large enough, and Avizzi is close enough to you, that he did not leave Avizzi's threatened square. As for Sergei, if he had mounted combat I may have let him get an AoO even having failed his ride check, but since he did I would say that he is still maintaining balance. The technical aspects of this game are lost a bit in a Theatre of Mind style play, especially via PbP. I will say that Idril can get an AoO on the beast though, since she also had moved up and was successful in dismounting. You did lock gaze with the first Mythic Encounter, so you get bravery points for that, and possibly a hero point if you survive.
Nimon
