A Kingdom in the making (Inactive)

Game Master Wrath

As the group move within strike distance, Elsbeth's hair catches in a thick tangle of branches and leaves. She pulls at it gently, but the unusual movement in the woods catches the eye of the tower guard nearest the camp. As his eyes turn in the girls direction, he immediately notices her bright red hair amidst the greenery. His eyes widen in shock and everyone sees the moment of recognition as he realises what is about to happen.

Surprise round. The closest guard tower can act. As can the entire party except Elsbeth for the surprise round. Remember that a surprise round means either a move action or a standard action can be done.[ooc]

[ooc]As a note, Inititiative order is as follows - Alandra, Mawj, Elsbeth (when she can go), General Bandits, Lev, Anya, Arianna and Kressle (bandit leader). Anya, I rolled for you and you got a 10

The scrub provides both cover and concealment from ranged attacks. Remember the archers on the towers have this as well. Also, scrub halves movement, you can try to bullrush through faster if you want but need to make a strength check to do so (DC10)

Surprise actions please (Elsbeth you can post a descriptive text of what you might say or think, but technically can't act this round). Cheers

Cursing the color of her hair,Elsbeth ducks below the brushes, hoping no arrows,or anything that could be possibly be thrown at her, reaches her.

I don't think i'm in immediate danger, so i'll stick with the original plan. Next round, once surprise fades off i'll cast Sleep on the main group, centered on Kressle

Mawj pulls her bowstring taught and looses an arrow towards the sentry.

Attack 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18
Damage 1d10 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Where are we on the map? Are we in the general area displayed on Option 2?

Cursing inwardly, Lev lifted his bow and attempted to judge which of the bandits he had the greatest chance of hitting.

I'd prefer to know where I am before I choose whether to move or fire.

i thought we were in the low-right corner of the map for option 2

Yep, you are in the positions indicated for option 2 provided earlier

And here again for your convenience

Okay, that's what I thought too but I wanted to be sure. Since the guard on the tower is going before Lev, I kind of want to know what he's going to do first. Since Mawj has already fired and Lev doesn't know for sure if it was just Elsbeth who was seen or everyone he's just going to move for the surprise round.

Seeing the arrow arc out of the woods from Mawj's position, Lev changed his plans. Keeping low in the scrub brush, he moved forward a little more and decided to wait to see what the effect of Elsbeth's spell would be.

Move 10 feet (two squares) straight forward.

"Why are you shooting!?" Alandra exclaims. "Let's rush them now, don't give them time to prepare!"

She follows along behind Lev, staying behind what cover she can.

Arianna will move 15', which should put her at the edge of the tree line, and draw her weapons.

Anya cursed wordlessly for passing up the chance to pick up a ranged weapon at Oleg's. She had been so focussed on her swordmanship that she forgot the archery ranger entirely. Still, there was some hope left.

She continued as fast as she could, hoping to be able to interdict some messanger or spot an ambush this way.

I thought our positions in Option 2 were AFTER we had dispatched the sentry to the west. That's why I said Mawj is shooting at the sentry...

Nope, the two options were presented to show your relative positions of approach for when the guards had a chance to observe you. Unfortunately, Elsbeth was spotted prior to everyone being exactly where they wanted to get to.

If everyone had managed to not be spotted I would have given you two rounds to position yourselves further on the map if you wanted it. As it is though, you have the surprise round to get into a better position before everything goes pear shaped.

Those perception checks I made you roll may come in to play as well. Shooting the guard wasn't a bad option, especially if it kills him before he can call out or other such actions. However, it may also tip off everyone else.

Also note the guard on the far west is in a bad position to target anyone at this stage, and hasn't seen anyone yet, which is why he gets no action in the surprise round.

I'm at work right now so I can't resolve the surprise round yet. WIll do so when I get some time at home tonight

Also, Anya stated she was moving but gave me no real indication of where to. I'll work on the assumption of a beeline towards the camp but we can adjust that retrospectively if we need to.

Map for beginning round 1

As the guard begins to react, Mawj again reacts with violent instincts, letting fly a broadheaded arrow towards the man. The remainder of her party move forward trying desperately to close the gap before he can warn those in the camp.

All eyes track the path of the arrow through the stems of trees and hissing between leafy boughs. There is a satisfyingly meaty thud as the broad head of the arrow strikes the man just under his left arm towards the back of his chest. Blood sprays with his breath as it is blasted from his lungs, but he doesn't fall. He tries to cry out but a bubbly froth comes instead. Struggling to remain on his feet he tosses are large rock of some type towards the girl he has seen but teh damage from teh arrow has obviously weakened him and it falls well and truly short, landing on the ground just inside the shrubs. The expected thud of a falling rock doesn't come however, instead replaced by a roaring crump as the rock explodes in light and noise, pushing the foliage a little flat near where it landed. No one is cought in its blast luckily, but the effect on the bandits is immediate. All of them turn their eyes towards the direction of the disturbance and see the approaching group.

Round 1 begins now. The map above shows your positions at the beginning of the round. Apart from the guy in the tower, bandits are still flat footed until they get to move. They are unaware of Mawj and Anya yet, with all the attention directed on the group to the south. Lev has only moved 10 feet so is still stealthy. Alandra is as well. Arianna is pretty close to the edge of the foliage and made close to a full move in the restrictions of the area she was in, so her stealth is gone. She has cover still, and concealmetn from ranged attacks, but the bandits know she is there.

The bandit in the closest tower is very badly hurt, but still capable of fighting. At this point he still looks like that is what he's going to do as well.

Time to go to town.

Mawj and Anya

Do we have an initiative order?

Do we have an initiative order?

It's the same as before: Alandra, Mawj, Elsbeth, General Bandits, Lev, Anya, Arianna and Kressle

I guess we are waiting for Alandra then

I guess we are waiting for Alandra then

I don't think you have to wait. You can post your action and Wrath will put it into the initative order. We discussed it a little bit in the OOC thread but I don't see whether a resolution was ever reached.

DM: Since my turn in the initiative comes after the Bandits, I'd prefer to wait until they act before choosing my own action, if that's okay.

Alandra moves forward to the edge of the brush and raises her holy symbol up, creaming at the bandits.

Catsing cause fear (DC 16) at the closest bandit.

Yes initiative is as stated earlier. It remains the same throughout combat. Alandra, Mawj, Elsbeth, General Bandits, Lev, Anya, Arianna and Kressle

I don't mind if people want to post in initiative blocks for this combat to see how it runs. It will slow us a little bit but that's ok.

Elsbeth

"They've found them" Anya murmored towards Mawj, as she saw the bandits forming up to face the other group. Some possible actions kept her mind occupied. "Try and keep sniping, with luck they won't find you, and focus on the others."

She scanned the enemies for someone who looked like a spellcaster or obvious sniper. Someone who probably wouldn't deal well with a close and personal approach. The prospect of holding back sat ill with her, but getting a free shot at such a dangerous foe might be worth the delay.

If they have someone who looks like a caster (unarmored, no serious weapons...), she'll circle around to get that enemy alone. Otherwise, she approaches stealthily, and tries to set up a charge next round

Forcibly trusting what cover she has from range, brushes and Mage armor Elsbeth starts reading the scroll.

Spell casting : Sleep centered near Kressle trying to include as many other targets as possible - save DC 17 for women, 18 for men for the "charming" trait

I'll be out tonight with my Wife for our 10 year anniversar, which means I won't get a chance to update til tomorrow afternoon or night. Lev, put some info below in a spoiler so you can post an informed action rather than wait. That goes for anyone who acts after the bandits initiative.

Mawj, you can post at any time.

For those acting after the general bandits

Happy anniversary! 10 years is a good number too.

Though Elsbeth and Arianna had given away their position, Lev thought he was still pretty well hidden. He raised his bow and targeted one of the bandits racing to confront them. "Death awaits you, fools." He whispered and fired.

Attack with bow, one of the approaching bandits: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

Unfortunately, his arrow was deflected by the brush and went wild. With a curse, Lev dropped his bow and drew his greatsword. "Come then, and we will dance."

Cursed dice!

Yeah Yeah!!!!! I know :( i always roll low results when i need high ones and vice versa

posted my gratz in ooc thread, but repeating them here just in case ;)

Cool serenity marks Mawj's face as she calmly pulls another arrow from her quiver and fires in one smooth motion.

Attack 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20
Damage 1d10 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Arianna waits patiently with her swords out as the bandits approach her position. When they are close enough she attacks.

Attack roll #1: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (14) - 1 = 13
Attack roll #2: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (12) - 1 = 11

Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

The little clearing erupts in violence as the guards thunderstone is activated. Alandra moves forwards to the edge of the clearing, raising her symbol of Pharasma and channeling the power of her god into the mind of the closest bandit. The mans face goes deathly pale and he drops his steaming bowl of broth all over his legs. Ignoring the scalding, he stands and runs screaming away from the young woman, calling out something about the "ravens are coming for our eyes"

Mawj ignores the distractions around her and raises her bow to finish off the original guard. Again her shot is impressive through the interving cover and foliage and her arrow finishes the work her first shot had mostly done. The broad head punches deep into his chest, right beside teh first one, this time piercing teh beating muscle of the heart and killing her prey smoothly.

Elsbeth begins to chant, her words sounding foreign as the scroll before her begins to glow with the pent up power of the spell.

The bandts respond in kind, standing and drawing short sowrds in one fluid motion, they rush forward to attack. The two who had been eating their breakfast are too slow to be effective though, and they can't time things enough to make an attack. The man who had been standing next to Kressle however is in and through Alandra's defenses before she realises what's happend. His short sword stings as it causes a deep cut across her thigh and the man smiles in obvious delight at causing her pain. "You'll bleed now wench" he growls at her. (7 damage to Alandra)

Across from the clearing, the other tower guard finally catches sight of Mawj as the elf kills his companion. He lets out a cry and looses an arrow in her direction, but it thuds harmlessly into a tree about 40 feet in front of the elf. Of more concern is the sound of shouting voices approaching from the north, most likely along the waterway. They sound close now, two or possibly three people rushing towards the battle.

Lev tries to shoot one of the bandits engaging the woman he led into the area, but his shot is spoiled by the foliage. He draws his sword instead and prepares to face these men down with stell.

Anya cannot see any one to engage who may be a caster, though an opportunity arrises for her to attack the man who rushes past in fear you can make an AoO on the fleeing man, and then technically you canengage him fully if you want. Havn't moved you since he pretty much ran to you as a direct line to escape Alandra)

Arianna, having avoided being attacked this round doesn't hold back. Her first short sword attack strikes the man in front of her, causing a scream to come from him as blood begins to well from teh pirsing strike she deilvered to his shoulder.

Kressle calmly moves across teh clearing to get some cover behind he fallen logs. She draws a dagger as she moves and hurls it towards teh chanting woman red head in the woods, but the branches and distance of teh throw prove too much. Elsbeth is somwhat relieved as the dagger is stopped mere inches from her body by the bracken. The bandit leader swearsprofusely, before readying another dagger to try again.

Thanks for the congrats :). It's been a good ten years too.

You can start round 2. I'll post an updated image later. Can't right now as about to cook breay in bed for the wifey.

Cheers

Heres the Map

I've numbered the bandits this time to assist you when posting. Mawj, I made the assumption in the last round that you were targetting teh same bandit to finsih him off. Hope that was ok, since you didn't specify

Anya, you can make both an AoO and a full attack action for the guy in front of you for round 1. You can then also take round two actions

For Anya

Anya lunged at the fleeing man and briefly considered pursuing him, but he seemed not to be an immediate thread anymore - unlike what she spied fast approaching. She waited for just the right moment before bursting from the underbrush. She wasted no breath on a battlecry or other showmanship - just her blades in ready position, she picked up speed as quickly as she could, out to impale the first of the new arrivals.

First of, congratulations Wrath. Second, I'm slightly confused as to what i can do - hence the lack of rolls. Please do them for me, so I don't hold up the show. I will do my AoO on the fleeing man, as noted. If I can do a full attack without wasting my round 2 action, I will do so. Otherwise, he gets away. I will charge the closer one of the new arrivals, and hope to finish him off before he gets his bow exchanged for a melee weapon.

How much i hate changes in work shifts. I worked until late night all the week and was not used to, didn't manage to sleep, or woke up very early in the morning like now (5:00 AM )

I noticed Kressle is isolated now.I could try to change target and cast Sleep on the group with the majority of the male bandits...but maybe Lev,Arianna and Alandra aren't immune too.Think i'll still go for Kressle

Which bandit did Arianna hit? I'm assuming #4 and will go with that
Arianna will swing at bandit #4 hoping to finish him off
Attack roll: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21
Confirm Crit: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5 If Crit confirmed add 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
She will then tumble around bandit #3 to come up behind him to flank with Alandra.
Acrobatics check: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

I'll assume there is no need i wait to see the effect of Sleep as thou i hate wasting it on a single target but Kressle is surely the most dangerous enemy here. After Sleep takes effect i'll go with Magic Missile; on Kressle if she resists Sleep
or on bandit #2 if she falls asleep

Once again calling forth her inner powers, Elsbeth points her right index finger toward her target, its tip burning of a white fire that is about to be shoot
She utters "Dodge this if you can sucker"

Standard action-Spell casting:Magic Missile
1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Move action- move deeper in the brushes at her right after that

As before, I'm going to wait until after the Bandits act before I declare my action, since that could change my plans.

Alandra squeaks when she is set upon by the bandit, and retreats, then calls upon Pharasma to heal her wound.

Taking a 5 ft. step back and casting cure light wounds, swapping out command.

Cure light wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Posting this to keep things moving. This combat got messy fast, I'll need to rethink how I run combats. I'll discuss it in the ooc thread

Round 2
Alandra squeals in pan and moves back from her assailants, desperately drawing on the life magics of Pharasma to heal her. The lady of death is fickle with her power though, and Alandra;s wounds barely close with the magical aid.

Mawj pasues in her assault, waiting to determine what new threat is coming before acting since her primary target is now dead (Just flavour text since Mawj hasn't posted yet.She can go when she wishes)

Elsbeth finishes her spell and the magical motes of sand drop across and all around Kressle. the bandit leader blinks her eyes and yawns deeply for a moment, but then she physiscally shakes herself from the impending slumber. Her eyes widen in anger, and possibly a little bit of fear as she realises how close to succumbing to the magical effect she had come Natural 20 on the save sorry Elsbeth

Her relief is short lived though as a ball of magical force thunders into her from the same redheaded woman who had tried to enchant her in the first place.

The bandits, now all capable of acting try to press their numbers against those to the south. The man who had so badly hurt Alandra steps into the scrub and again shows his worth as a swordsman, stabbing Lev with glancing strike to his thigh 2 damage Lev, bandit 2 stepped in to engage you

Arianna now found her self facing two opponents. Both of them swung ineffectively, the foliage and general lack of skill making the look foolish to the young woman. She easily parried the first blow, then spun a reverse thrust of her sword into the throat of the second man, finsihsing him off in a strangled gargle of blood. Number 4 is down. Did you still want to tumble since Alandra shifted back?

At the top of the clearing, Anya had dispatched the fleeing bandit with consumate ease. He had practically run into her first atak, and the next two were mere formalities. As his bloodied corpse falls to the ground at her feet, she looks up to see two new archers moving into teh clearing. Both men have arrows nocked and ready to release but have to change their target mid sot when they realise Anya is there. The furthest man nearly has her measure, but the shot falls just wide, taking a small piece of her hair with it as it whistles past her head. The closest man misses badly, his aim put off by the fact that Anya was moving gracefully across the clearing, her bloodied swords weaving a dance of deah. "Gods no, please I don't want to...'. She would never know what he had intended to say as her Aldori sword took his head from his shoulders as the words were tumbling from his mouth Round 1 you dispathced the fleeing bandit. Round two, move action to engage new archer, critical hit killed him too

Still to act - Mawj, Lev and Kressle

Map update for part way through round 2.

As i was saying, when i need low results i get high ones :(

If the bandit threatening Anya is still alive, this attack is for him. If he is down, she moves forward 30 feet and fires at anyone to the south that appears wounded.

Attack 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15
Damage 1d10 ⇒ 5

Lev ignored the pain in his thigh as he lifted the greatsword high and swung it down at the bandit attacking him.

Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
Damage: 2d6 + 6 ⇒ (1, 2) + 6 = 9

Mawj moved deeper into the woods, trying to draw a bead on the group to the south. The closest bandit had his back to her, but all of them had cover from the elf. She drew her shaft and fired, but this time her shot was spoiled by the intervening cover and teh fact her opponents were in combat. Trying to kill humans was much harder when you had to be choosy about which ones you killed. Applied this attack based on your inititiatve which means you fired before the two additional archers appeared)

Lev swung his sword in a great sweeping arc but the close gripping vines and brush spoiled his attack on the man. Things were beginning to get cramped in the scrub at the southern end of the clearing.

To his left, Kressle again drew her arm back and flung a sharpened dagger towards Elsbeth after closing teh distance a little. This time the shot was miraculously good, despite distance and cover. Luckily for the young Chelish noble, the force of the throw was spoiled by the cover she was in. Natural 20 again. Unconfirmed crit. 3 Damage on Elsbeth

Round 3 is up
Group 1 to post - Alandra, Mawj and Elsbeth.

Mawj, you are now 15 feet further south into the scrub, remembering it halves movement. Alternately I can move you 30 feet along the pathway, but that makes you parallel to Anya and about the same distance any way.

Kressle moved to the end of the logs to get a better shot at Elsbeth and still gain cover from teh dangerous archer to the north.

I'll update the map later today if people have trouble tracking those changes

Although I haven't been playing it so far, just reminding everyone the scrub halves movement so technically 5' steps should not be allowed. I won't start enforcing it now, but keep it in mind for future fights in similar situations.

round 3 map

Alandra sees Kressle throw the dagger and returns fire with a shard of ice.

Ranged touch attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

May i suggest you change the d20 you are rolling Wrath

Grinning her teeth in pain,Elsbeth was overwhelmed with anger
"This is not the pain i'm afraid of, you bi**h"

"Take another"

Standard action-Spell casting:Magic Missile on Kressle
1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
I wasn't casting any spell when i was hit, so not sure if i have to roll an enchanter level check for this, so will do it just in case

Concentration check:10+dam(3)+spell lvl(1)=DC14
1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
Well, not sure if i needed but it was successful

As Arianna springs to her feet behind the bandit she curses softly to herself as the outlaw she hoped would be distracted facing two opponents is instead fully focused on just her. "Oh well. In for a penny, in for a pound I always say" she thinks as she sighs.
She strikes out at the villian standing before her.
Attack roll #1: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (7) - 1 = 6
Attack roll #2: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (8) - 1 = 7
Not exactly the perfect time for the Dicebot to go cold on me

Firing at Bandit 6.

Attack 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11 *cue sad trombone*
Damage 1d10 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

Move south 15 feet through foliage.

Damn i forgot in the previous post,hope i'm still in time to move after casting in this turn...if not this move action will take place next turn

Move action, 15' toward Lev( halved move for the brushes )

The whirling melee to the south becomes more desperate as bandits start dying. The screams of injured and dying men fill the morning glade, keeping beat with the clash of steel and hiss of released magics.

Alandra points and releases the cold waters of the realm of the dead towards Kressle, but the woman is too nimble and the stream ends up frosting the bark of the dead tree beside her.

Mawj, moving carefully through the thick scrub tries desperately to shoot the man threatening Anya at the northern end of the clearing, but her aim is spoiled as her bow catches on the branches near her forearm.

Elsbeth, relying on pure arcane power, releases another bolt at the bandit leader, striking her firmly in the chest and eliciting a scream of pain from her, plus a few choice swear words.

In response, the bandits retaliate. The man on the far tower, realising her cannot really hope to hit anyone from his position moves from the tower and begins to head towards the combat with his sword readied.

Arianna is engaged by the man she had tumbled behind, however the move served to confuse him enough that his sword blow goes wide. Krev's opponent is similarly confounded by the scrub in which the two men are fighting, the guard of his short sword catching the weapon just as he had an opening from the big hunter. "These damnable woods!"

At the north, Anya's foe deserately draws his bow and releases almost with his eyes closed in fear. However, the shot is deadly, striking the blade wielding woman through the meaty part of her thigh and causing massive pain to errupt through her leg. (Anya hit for 7 damage). Stupidly, the man doesn't drop his bow and stays where he is in his panic.

Next group up - Arianna has already posted, Anya and Lev to go

Lev leaned away from the bandit's attack and twisted his body, sweeping his blade back around in another attempt to strike him.

Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14
Damage: 2d6 + 6 ⇒ (1, 2) + 6 = 9

Anya wordlessly mouthed an expletive as her leg errupted in pain. It was a good, solid, game-ending hit. Could easily have been a life-ending one, and might still turn out to be just that - unless she pulled together now. She forced herself forward, as the bandit was without a doubt trying to fire another arrow.

With a pained hiss through her clenched teeth, she lunged. When her strike against the fleeing bandit had been risky out of exaggeration, here she put her energy into the blow solely because she needed to end it quickly and decisively.

Move to bandid 6, and attack with main weapon.

Attack:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23
Damage (if needed):1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Arianna's blades hiss through the morning air, but fall well wide of her opponent. The tumbling maneuvre she used to reposition herself had disoriented her as much as the man she faced it would seem.

Lev's muscles heaved with effort as his great weapon clove through branches, leaves and flesh. The heavy blade sliced through leather armour in a diagonal slash through the mans abdomen and entrails fell steaming to the ground around his feet. The bandit dropped his sword immediately and he clutched desperately at the mass of writhing organs even as he crumpled to the ground. Incapacitated, not yet dead but it's pretty inevetiable

To the north, Anya rallied from the pain of the arrow and stepped into the bowman. Her blow was superb, years of training showing in the deceptive thrust followed by the twisting wrist which brought the weapon up and into the mans torso. He gasped as the cold steel sank deeply through muscle and penetrated the chest cavity. Clutching at the wound he dropped his bow and great fear welled in his eyes "Gods hae' mercy missus! Dinnae kill me!"

Lev's relief at killing his opponent is short lived, as Kressle draws her axes and moved in to engage the interlopers. "You bastards'll die fer what ye done to my men!" she screamed, swinging the dwarven handaxe she held in her left hand. With Lev over extended as he was, the blade made contact, not slicing through the hunters armour, but certainly crushing the muscle and possibly cracking the bone below. He whinced in pain at the blow, but turned to face his new opponent. Kressle hit, 4 damage on Lev

Round 4 is up. Group 1 to post - Alandra, Mawj and Elsbeth. Note the bandits are ready to break, but kressle still thinks she can win the day. Will post map soon

Map for round 4

Elsbeth, not used to such fatigue and pain, started to cough,her body longing for rest.
"Just a few more seconds" she thought!
With a painful,deep breath she again gathered what inner strength she had left:
"Stop where you are" she yelled to Kressle.

Standard action-Spell casting :Daze on Kressle ,save DC 16