Hudak arrives outside the old lonely house, his sword his only companion.
Sounds like that Bon Jovi song, Blaze of Glory.
"Let's go there early tomorrow. I want to arrive with the sun. The night is no time to screw around with the undead."
"Okay. We'll do it that way."
At the inn, Elisile explains to those who went to the temple what they learnt (or didn’t) in questioning Thorn.
“It appears that the dead man at the mill had been stealing money from Scarnetti of the Town Council. We do not know if this theft was known to anyone else, but,” she inclines her head towards Hemlock, who came along with them to the Rusty Dragon, “Sheriff Hemlock believes that this killing would not be in Scarnetti’s character or abilities in any regard. So it appears that these undead creatures, and Aldern Foxglove’s house, are our best leads at this time.”
“As for when to go … sooner may prevent more killings, although we may be at a disadvantage against undead at night. However, given that these slayings appear to have a regularity to them, I agree with Hudak, haste may be best, even if it means we arrive at night. We must make sure we are prepared though … is there any particular precautions we should take against these undead?”
After a sleepless night, the next day dawns into a grey, overcast sky, a biting wind blowing in from the north. The sea lashes angrily against the cliffs while brown leaves skitter furtively across the cobbled square where the heroes wait to set off on their mission to Foxglove Manor. Apart from the adventurers and their horses, Mayor Deverin, Sheriff Hemlock and High Priest Xanthus, the place is deserted. The good citizens of Sandpoint huddle inside their houses, taking comfort in their warm beds and strong walls to ward off marauding murderers.
“Well, here we are again,” says the mayor, wrapped in a thick woollen cloak to repel the icy blasts, “The town’s best wishes go with you. Hopefully you can deal with this new threat that has been visited upon this town.”
“Indeed,” says Xanthus, “May the gods protect and deliver you. Please take these –“ he hand out six flasks of holy water “- I hope these will come in useful.” The sheriff just nods gravely – he’s a man of few words.
The riders head south along the road towards Magnimar, following a rough hand-drawn map. The road passes through empty fields, the moors and hills glowering in the distance to the east. After about forty minutes, they turn off down a lane heading west along the side of a bubbling stream, lined with reeds that are turning brown and sagging as autumn turns to winter. The cold wind finds its way inside winter cloaks and hoods, freezing hands and numbing faces.
After another mile or so, the road runs past a farm yard. It seems oddly still and quiet, with no sign of life. Crushed stalks of corn lie higgledy-piggledy in the fields or stand, yellowing, ragged and dead, blocking the view on either side. Scarecrows hang limply on crosses, in horrid mockery of the execution grounds of the capital city. Crows caw and wheel in the sky.
r18; 17...
"that farm.....it's abandoned awhile. No chickens or nothing...hey, that scarecrow moved!"
Hudak pulls bow, knocks an arrow.
"Bah! You are just... Hey! It did move!" Alwyn yanks out a javelin and takes a few steps towards the tritcher.
Th scarecrows continue to just hang there. Then one of them moves slightly, it's leg moving where it is tied to its support.
r11....no hear nothing.
"Did it move again? Give it a bowshot."
Hudak shakes his head no. He puts bow and arrow back, and rides up to the 'scarecrow,' pulling bastard sword.
1d20 3=16 Nature, 1d20 7=21 spot
It be quiet........too quiet!
1d20 7=22 Listen
Dere be someone moanin' as if 'e be hurt.
*Pulls out longbow and covers Hudak.*
Prods the scarecrow with his bastard sword.
The scarecrow shifts slightly where it dangles and lifts its head. It begins to speak. The voice is hoarse, and clearly human. Inside the sacking around its head you can see a bloodshot eye peering out from a hole desperately.
"Wha'? Who is it? Please help me. They came in the night, killed almost everyone, the animals, and, and..... ate them. And then he came, and he hung us up here as some sort of.... sort of joke. Please. We have had no food and water. Please, I'm hungry, so very hungry...."
The scarecrows suddenly begin to hiss and struggle violently against their bonds, their arms ripping free as they reach for Hudak with clawed hands.
Hudak: r18+2=20.
"Hungry, eh? I'll fill your gut with steel!!!"
Damn. I thought they were honeypots.
Init 3+1=4
“They remind me of the execution crosses at Magnimar,” Elisile murmurs. “Hudak, wait, I heard someone groan, as if in pain – someone might have been crucified on that thing!”
But the Shoanti is already off. Elisile follows close behind, her bow ready.
"I thought they were alive, Elly. I thought it was a trick. But this is fell necromancy!"
1d20 7=17 initiative.
"Git back, Laddie!!! I'll shoot da poor fella!"
Larken, seeing everyone else move into combat mode, does likewise.
Heavy warhorses, light warhorses and warponies can serve readily as combat steeds. Light horses, ponies, and heavy horses, however, are frightened by combat. If you don’t dismount, you must make a DC 20 Ride check each round as a move action to control such a horse. If you succeed, you can perform a standard action after the move action. If you fail, the move action becomes a full round action and you can’t do anything else until your next turn.
Your mount acts on your initiative count as you direct it. You move at its speed, but the mount uses its action to move. A horse (not a pony) is a Large creature and thus takes up a space 10 feet (2 squares) across. For simplicity, assume that you share your mount’s space during combat.
Combat while Mounted
With a DC 5 Ride check, you can guide your mount with your knees so as to use both hands to attack or defend yourself. This is a free action.
When you attack a creature smaller than your mount that is on foot, you get the +1 bonus on melee attacks for being on higher ground. If your mount moves more than 5 feet, you can only make a single melee attack. Essentially, you have to wait until the mount gets to your enemy before attacking, so you can’t make a full attack. Even at your mount’s full speed, you don’t take any penalty on melee attacks while mounted.
If your mount charges, you also take the AC penalty associated with a charge. If you make an attack at the end of the charge, you receive the bonus gained from the charge. When charging on horseback, you deal double damage with a lance.
You can use ranged weapons while your mount is taking a double move, but at a -4 penalty on the attack roll. You can use ranged weapons while your mount is running (quadruple speed), at a -8 penalty. In either case, you make the attack roll when your mount has completed half its movement. You can make a full attack with a ranged weapon while your mount is moving. Likewise, you can take move actions normally
Casting Spells while Mounted
You can cast a spell normally if your mount moves up to a normal move (its speed) either before or after you cast. If you have your mount move both before and after you cast a spell, then you’re casting the spell while the mount is moving, and you have to make a Concentration check due to the vigorous motion (DC 10 + spell level) or lose the spell. If the mount is running (quadruple speed), you can cast a spell when your mount has moved up to twice its speed, but your Concentration check is more difficult due to the violent motion (DC 15 + spell level).
If Your Mount Falls in Battle
If your mount falls, you have to succeed on a DC 15 Ride check to make a soft fall and take no damage. If the check fails, you take 1d6 points of damage.
If You Are Dropped
If you are knocked unconscious, you have a 50% chance to stay in the saddle (or 75% if you’re in a military saddle). Otherwise you fall and take 1d6 points of damage. Without you to guide it, your mount avoids combat.
If you attempt to ride a creature that is ill suited as a mount, you take a -5 penalty on your Ride checks.
Check
Typical riding actions don’t require checks. You can saddle, mount, ride, and dismount from a mount without a problem.
The following tasks do require checks:
Guide with knees – DC 5
Stay in saddle – DC 5
Fight with warhorse – DC 10
Cover – DC 15
Soft fall – DC 15
Leap – DC 15
Spur mount – DC 15
Control mount in battle – DC 20
Fast mount or dismount (armour penalty applies) – DC 20
Guide with Knees
You can react instantly to guide your mount with your knees so that you can use both hands in combat. Make your Ride check at the start of your turn. If you fail, you can use only one hand this round because you need to use the other to control your mount.
Stay in Saddle
You can react instantly to try to avoid falling when your mount rears or bolts unexpectedly or when you take damage. This usage does not take an action.
Fight with Warhorse
If you direct your war-trained mount to attack in battle, you can still make your own attack or attacks normally. This usage is a free action.
Cover
You can react instantly to drop down and hang alongside your mount, using it as cover. You can’t attack or cast spells while using your mount as cover. If you fail your Ride check, you don’t get the cover benefit. This usage does not take an action.
Soft Fall
You can react instantly to try to take no damage when you fall off a mount—when it is killed or when it falls, for example. If you fail your Ride check, you take 1d6 points of falling damage. This usage does not take an action.
Leap
You can get your mount to leap obstacles as part of its movement. Use your Ride modifier or the mount’s Jump modifier, whichever is lower, to see how far the creature can jump. If you fail your Ride check, you fall off the mount when it leaps and take the appropriate falling damage (at least 1d6 points). This usage does not take an action, but is part of the mount’s movement.
Spur Mount
You can spur your mount to greater speed with a move action. A successful Ride check increases the mount’s speed by 10 feet for 1 round but deals 1 point of damage to the creature. You can use this ability every round, but each consecutive round of additional speed deals twice as much damage to the mount as the previous round (2 points, 4 points, 8 points, and so on).
Control Mount in Battle
As a move action, you can attempt to control a light horse, pony, heavy horse, or other mount not trained for combat riding while in battle. If you fail the Ride check, you can do nothing else in that round. You do not need to roll for warhorses or warponies.
Fast Mount or Dismount
You can attempt to mount or dismount from a mount of up to one size category larger than yourself as a free action, provided that you still have a move action available that round. If you fail the Ride check, mounting or dismounting is a move action. You can’t use fast mount or dismount on a mount more than one size category larger than yourself.
Action
Varies. Mounting or dismounting normally is a move action. Other checks are a move action, a free action, or no action at all, as noted above.
Special
If you are riding bareback, you take a -5 penalty on Ride checks. If your mount has a military saddle you get a +2 circumstance bonus on Ride checks related to staying in the saddle. The Ride skill is a prerequisite for the feats Mounted Archery, Mounted Combat, Ride-By Attack, Spirited Charge, Trample. If you have the Animal Affinity feat, you get a +2 bonus on Ride checks.
Synergy
If you have 5 or more ranks in Handle Animal, you get a +2 bonus on Ride check.
Sorry for not posting in a while guy. I kind of got sidetracked with RL.
Sorry for not posting in a while guy. I kind of got sidetracked with RL.
(No probs - I think we are all a bit like that at the moment.)
hudak @ ee ff 25 26.
Dravite is in II24 with Crag the mule back by Alwyn's horse in LL/MM-21/22.
Here's the map. This map was tricky!!!
Here's the map. This map was tricky!!!
"Ok. This guy officially has my attention now..."
Once the scarecrows start breaking free, Illes grabs his flute and begins trilling an alarm intended to protect his fellow deputies.
The scarecrows lean forward, the crosses on which they are hung splintering. Emerging from the sleeves of their old coats are grasping hands with twisted, blackened claws and they snarl like beasts. The hat falls off the furthestmost, revealing a head of patchy hair, with large clumps having seemingly fallen out at random, while the skin is grey-green and slick. Her face - for it is a she - is twisted with fury, her bloodshot eyes bulge and weep green ichor, and drool runs from a mouth filled with canine fangs.
The scarecrows rip free from their wooden struts and land on all fours, hunched and animalistic, before they fling themselves at Hudak. One grasps his bridle and heaves iteslf up, sinking its fangs into his thigh. Another bites his hand as he tries to fend them off.
fort 16; 14.
ride r12+4+1=17
bastard sword powatk-3; 2 handed; on ff27 r17-3+10+1=25 a.c.
damage r7+4str(1.5 for 2h)+2+1+4powatk=18 h.p.
ride (move to let horse hit) ff27, or ee27 if I took out ff27 r14+4+1=19
r hoof 20; no confirm; dam4+3=7
r hoof 12; dam(if hit)4
r bite 20; con15; dam 2 or 4 if crit.
(I think the horse can attack....)
Hudak's blow immediately hacks down one of his assailants, separating its head from its shoulders. His horse crushes another beneath its hooves.
If there's still a ghoul after Hudak's cleave:
Larken rides to Hudak's aid, his rapier easing from its scabbard with a lethal hiss. He thrusts down at the creature, his blade sliding easily through the noisome flesh of the undead beast and into its still, dead heart.
[ooc] Hit roll: 16 +6 +2(flanking) +1(mounted) +1(bardic) = 26
Damage: 4 +2 +1(mounted) +1(bardic) = 8
If there's no ghoul left:
Larken rides to Hudak's aid, only to find all of the ghouls down, lying in their own noisome fluids.
"By the Gods, Hudak!" he says, a glitter in his eyes for the first time in days, "You sent this one's liver all the way over there. Perhaps you could have handled this Skinsaw Man by yourself."
cleave r11-3+10+1=19
damage r6+4(str)+6(powatk)+1+1+2=20h.p.
"die you dead m@*@*++&!&*@!!!"
yeah; I bought a warhorse. It made sense in a common sense sorta way.
;)
I feel like Runzyl.
since I think I smoked that last ghoul,....
Larken said "By the Gods, Hudak!" he says, a glitter in his eyes for the first time in days, "You sent this one's liver all the way over there. Perhaps you could have handled this Skinsaw Man by yourself."
Hudak looks all blooddrunk and happy, then calms a bit; then twitchy pukey adrenaline hits his gut.
"I think that (replace w Golarion colloquial) "kangaroo court" scene was good for me. I saw Ironbriar's face in all their faces, and gave them havoc. I feel like this is just the beginning of a long dance at knives though.
I'm glad you were there, quick and sharp, if my blade missed its mark, Larken."
He feels redeemed and prideful, ever since his utter uselessness against the yethhounds.