Balodek's Ironfang Invasion

Game Master Balodek

Letting his elemental slam away at the bugbear, Krowe directs his magic at an uninjured hobgoblin.

Cast daze DC 14

Elemental
Slam PA/Earth Mastery/Flanking: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27
Damage: 1d6 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17
Small earth elemental
AC 17
HP 17

Round: 2

Faolan continues to work his way through his opponents one at a time.
Shield Bash (cold iron): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17 damage: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10
Shield Bash (cold iron): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15 damage: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

With a flurry of blows the bugbear and hobgoblin go down, their blood splattered on the trees as the sound of combat dies down. Your hands jitter as your adrenaline crashes, the fight done as quickly as it began.

The fight was quick and brutal, but also fairly noisy. You're not close to the hobgoblin camp but not far either, and sound has a funny way of traveling through the forest.

Bazsil listens for a moment to hear if there is any immediate threats coming from anyplace, then slowly relaxes.

1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28 Perception

”Well, alright, Wolves!” Bazsil cheers brashly. ”That was good. Did you say you wanted the head, Krowe? You were going to pike-mount it? Or something?”

Bazsil readies to de-capitate the creature.

”Would be good if we could get another patrol to come searching here for this patrol, wouldn’t it? Whittle down their numbers by some?”

”Yes, take the bugbear’s head. We will bring it with us.” Krowe says.

Turning to the elemental, Krowe waves it back to the planes, then concentrates and calls a different creature.

A wolf with fire-blackened fur and blood-red eyes appears and begins feasting on the dead, tearing chunks of flesh and eviscerating the corpses.

To the mercs, he says, ”Give me your best wolf howls, then let’s get to cover and see what happens.”

Faolan laughs at Krowe's brilliant plan. "Excellent!" he howls as best he can, but briefly, before taking cover once again.

Bazsil takes the bugboob's head in two mighty cleaves, wrapping a rope around it for easy carrying.

He howls like the wolf when requested, then bounds away, following the rest.

At first Bor is confused at what is happening, he looks around, a bit embarrassed even. After a few seconds he gives in and hols through his scarf. Though with his mangled jaw his tongue flops around a small bit making him sound a bit lispy or a like a wolf with a small speech impediment.

Taking cover the group awaits a follow-up patrol.

Not long after you disappear into the undergrowth you hear movement in the forest. Shortly after another patrol moves into sight, this one composed of two hobgoblins and a large wolf with intelligence in its eyes.

The first hobgoblin turns to the wolf.

To your surprise the wolf responds in kind.

They do not seem to have noticed you.

Bazsil, who doesn't speak that many languages, waits to see if anyone can translate.

Krowe holds up a finger to his lips, trying to keep the mercs quiet. He then points to his ear as he continues listening to the goblins speak with the wolf.

I think we should see how they react and what they say before doing a second ambush.

Knowledge Nature?: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25 Assuming the wolf is a worg?
Knowledge Local?: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11 Trying to determine any particular info about wolves in the Legion.

Krowe is correct, this is a worg. You don't remember any specific stories of the Legion employing worgs but they are known for their incorporation of wolves into the scout battalion.

The worg approaches the bodies and sniffs.

While one of the hobgoblins and the worg are conversing the other is watching the forest.

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 8

Seeing nothing he keeps watch. The first hobgoblin goes through the pockets of the dead.

Bor waits silently for Krowe's signal to attack. He tries not to shift in his armor too much for fear of giving them away.

Bazsil waits, slowly sheathing his sword and readying his bow. A song seems ready to be chanted from his lips, if such thing were possible.

Krowe has learned enough.

”Attack.”

Assuming we get a surprise round?

Krowe summons his earth elemental again and sends it at the worg.

”Tassalt!”
A small earth elemental.
Slam PA/Earth Mastery: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22
Damage: 1d6 + 11 ⇒ (1) + 11 = 12
AC 17
HP 17

Round Surprise

Free:
Move:
Stnd: 5’ step, fire at hobjerk

Bazsil, beflanking, swings at a hobgob or bug-goon.

Magic longbow.
1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14 to hit vs. FF;
1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3 piercing damage.

Round: Surprise

Faolan charges from the underbrush, closing with the unnatural talking wolf.

Hearing the word Bor leaps out from the brush and rushes into the clearing as close to cut off the pair of hobgoblins. "This what yer looking for?"

Surprise round indeed!

The hobgoblins curse as a stone rises up next to them and the party appears from the bush.

The elemental smashes into the worg while Bazil's arrow impales the first hobgoblin.

Turn Tracker Round 1
Krowe
Bor
Worg
Hobgoblin
Faolan
Bazsil

Krowe and Bor are up!

Bor punches the wounded hobgoblin square in the jaw.

CI Cestus: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20
Damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Krowe advances and says something brief in the goblin tongue. He then casts a spell to daze one of the hobgoblins.

Daze DC 14 - if one of the hobgoblins is not engaged in melee I’ll target that one.

His elemental continues fighting the worg.

Slam PA/Earth Mastery: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18
Damage: 1d6 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15
AC 17
HP 17

The worg goes silent as the elemental crushed him. The hobgoblin Bor punched swings a battleaxe at him while the other draws and swings at the elemental.

Hob1@Bor: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 81d8 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7
Hob2@Elemental: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 111d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Turn Tracker Round 1
Krowe
Bor
Hobgoblin
Faolan
Bazsil

Faolan and Bazsil Round 1, Krowe and Bor Round 2 actions.

Round 1

Free:
Move: Put away bow as move up 20'
Stnd: Begin song.

Bazsil moves up, de-arming and singing.

See song deets below.

Round: 1

Faolan accepts the song, and uses it to try and crush some hobgoblins. He laughs as the talking wolf falls.

Shield Bash (cold iron): 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 7 + 2 = 13 (song) damage: 1d6 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 5 + 2 = 12 (song)
Shield Bash (cold iron): 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 7 + 2 = 28 (song) damage: 1d6 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 5 + 2 = 8 (song)

Krowe points at a hobgoblin and attempts to daze it.

Daze DC 14

His elemental moves to flank with the mercs, pounding rock fists at the enemy.

Slam PA/Earth Mastery/Flanking: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 8 + 2 = 28
Damage: 1d6 + 11 ⇒ (1) + 11 = 12
AC 17
HP 17

Bor smashes his cestus into the hobgoblin's chest bone, with a resounded and gut wrenching crack.

CI Cestus; Raging song: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 5 + 1 = 20
Damage: 1d4 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 2 + 1 = 6

The hobgoblins go down under the crushing blows, no match for your fury and the element of surprise. As the last gurgling sigh ends in a wet bloody cough the forest falls silent once more.

Bazsil cuts off his song quickly, surprised by the violence ending so quickly.

”Well, that was quick,” Bazsil says, making sure he has all his weapons and trying to recover his arrow and failing. ”Ok, now what?”

Bazsil looks at Krowe.

”Was that wolf speaking? What was it saying?”

"Quick, take all their heads and I'll explain." Krowe grabs a hobgbolin sword and begins chopping. His aim is poor, and his strength not well suited to the activity.

He continues, "That wolf was a worg, and it was smarter than the hobgoblins. It could smell that my wolf was.. different. Because its scent begins and ends here it was able to figure out that it was summoned. I'll have to keep that in mind from now on if we want the Legion to think the forest is crawling with hell hounds." Krowe hasn't really explained his plan, and it seems it might be evolving.

"Once we have these heads, and any valuables these soldiers have, let's get some distance from here and work out some details of what to do next."

Summary of Krowe's Plan:
1. Gather heads and get out of the immediate area.
2. Summon another fiendish wolf and rub our cloaks, scarves, tunics, whatever, on it to make us all smell like fiendish wolves. Then spend part of the day carefully circling the hobgoblin fort to lay a false trail everywhere.
2. In the evening, plant the heads on pikes near the fort opposite of the tower (if it is required, Krowe will cast invisibility to do this unseen).
3. Use ghost sound to mimic wolf cries and hobgoblin screams, then withdraw and circle the camp to come at the tower under invisibility and silence.
4. Take the tower quietly, then wait for the best time to assault the camp below.

Bor begins to gather the valuables from the hobgoblins and skin the worg for it's pelt. "Can, never have enough blankets."

With everything gathered they begin making their distance back into the forest. "These scouts are surprisingly weak." He breathes heavily as he walks. "That worg can distinguish between the wolves scents?"

Once they find a suitable location to settle down Bor prays for guidance beyond the second veil.

Bor is good with that plan. Swapping out one of the communal protection from Evil for a second Silence spell.

Bazsil listens to Krowes plan, nodding, and then gets to work with some nice decapitations.

"Let's see if we can get this to work. Would be good if it could," he says as the hacks necks. He will do the best he can to make the plan go, wishing he had more scrolls.

You quickly and gruesomely lop the heads off the hobgoblins. Moving deeper into the woods Krowe summons another hellish beast, which looks at him in confusion as all of you give it a rub down. No doubt it appreciates the attempts to keep it warm in the considerably cooler climate of Golarion.

Bor and Faolan are able to chop some branches into passable pikes and you set them as a bundle to carry to the camp. Krowe moves towards the camp invisibly, planting his bloody harvest.

Shortly after the wolf howls the camp is raised, and you hear yelling and shouting in the camp. A war party, half a dozen strong, winds its way single file out the front door of the camp, then reforms into a tighter formation out of the tall grass to the front of camp. You see this as you are making your way to the watch tower, a considerable hike in the dark.

Once there, feeling safe in your invisibility, you observe two hobgoblins at the top of the tower. Both are watching the noise to the opposite side of camp, no doubt as you intended. This close you see there is a bell mounted in the tower, close at hand to either sentry should they need to raise an alarm.

Let's get a group survival check to make your way to the watchtower and then a stealth check if you plan to take out the sentries without raising an alarm.

-2 castings invisibility.

Bazsil tries to move silently even though he is theoretically within Bor’s aura of silence. He’d like to talk, sing, or chant...but it’s probably not the best idea. Instead, he just shuffles along, hoping the invisibility holds.

1d20 + 0 ⇒ (15) + 0 = 15 Survival
1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6 Stealth

Bazsil draws his sword, ready to behead a guard from behind.

Survival: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

As they near the watchtower Bor releases his initial wave of a silencing aura. the birds, crickets and all around him quickly go silent.

Will last 4 rounds. I'll cast another as we get to the top of the tower, overlapping them so they can't ring the bell.

-1 casting of invisibility as well to plant the pikes. If we need 2 more to get around the camp then we will have to dip into one of Baszil's scrolls.

Survival: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27
Stealth: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

Krowe moves quickly with his companions, keeping a hand on the shoulder of the merc in front of him so as not to get lost.

Let's assume we're doing this hand on shoulder movement while invisible, especially in a silenced area.

Sorry for the delayed posting.

"Krowe, that's a brilliant plan!" Faolan can't help but grin as he does what he can to implement his portion of the plan.

I presume these are both to aid...
Survival: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
Stealth: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19

He moves quickly, holding on to someone's shoulder as he moves through the silence.

You move together carefully and quietly, the camp none the wiser to your movements. Bor casts layers of silence while Krowe and Faolan keep Bazsil from humming, tripping, and otherwise making noise.

1d20 ⇒ 8
1d20 ⇒ 11

The guards remain oblivious to your approach as you make your way up the tower. One of them notices the silence too late, and lunges for the bell as he sees you entering the tower proper.

The fight is on. I assumed Bor and Faolan would climb the tower while Bazsil and Krowe provide over-watch, if that is not correct please let me know. All of you will get a surprise round, the guards were caught unawares.

Bor charges the hobgoblin closest to the bell. He misses striking the bell instead, though it makes no noise in the aura of silence.

CI Cestus; charge: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 5 + 2 = 10
Damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

How many rounds are left?

30' tower, I'll assume you cast right before making your way to the top, so 1 round used to get to the hobgoblins.

Nah, Bazsil would have been moving in. He had his sword out and wanting to use it on a neck.

Round Surprise

Free:
Move:
Stnd: Charge.

1d20 + 9 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (20) + 9 + 2 - 1 = 30 to hit; (+charge,-PA)
1d10 + 6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 6 + 3 = 14 slashing damage.

Pot Crit:
1d20 + 9 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (6) + 9 + 2 - 1 = 16 to hit; (+charge,-PA)
1d10 + 6 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 6 + 3 = 12 slashing damage.

Round: Surprise

Faolan would have gone in with two shields, and thrown one at the one lunging for the bell as he charges forward. (Well, it’s a surprise round, so really just the throw for now.)

Thrown Shield: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12 damage: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

Krowe stays below for the time being, but prepares a spell to daze one of the hobgoblins should it try to alert the camp by other means than the bell.

Daze DC 14

I was going to roll it up and play it out, but that critical hit from Bazsil will make this a forgone conclusion.

The first scouts blood paints the bell just as Bazsil separates his head. Bor clips the flying head in the confusion of the dark, silent melee and sends it sailing to the ground at Krowe's feet. Ignoring this distraction Krowe dazes the other one, whose dull eyes can't even widen in shock before the others in the tower murder him to death!

You stand in silence at the top of the watch tower, the rest of the camp spread out below you. There is a stair at the base of the tower that leads into the ravine below, and the camp beyond.

After the mercs are done Krowe climbs the tower.

”You dropped something.” He says, and tosses the hobgoblin head back at its body.

”Lets prop the other up so if anyone below looks up they’ll see at least one at watch.”

I think we should watch the camp for a little bit from the tower and see if we can’t spot one of their leaders.

Foalan stops himself from shouting with joy at their success, but he does take the clapper out of the bell and stow it with his gear. If it's not too heavy, he takes the bell too for now. He'll dump it later, but he doesn't want to leave it behind for the next patrol to ring.

"Good idea Krowe." he helps prop up the dead looking out of the building in different directions.

"I think we should move now, while we still have the element of surprise. Someone is bound to relieve these bastards at some point, let's start the killing while we can - before the alarm is raised." he suggests, foolishly eager to get below and in the fray. In truth, he just wants to bloody their noses - some sort of payback for what they've done these past days and weeks.

Bazsil tries to prop up the headless hobgob, but is feeling to proud of himself to be of much help. That was pretty good. Remind me to tell Krowe his changes to my sword are good.

"Ayep, let's get in there." Bazsil still has his sword in hand, ready to push on. He will follow Faolan...less interested in finding leaders that aren't on the field of battle.

Bor smiles as the silence fades away. The strange sensation is almost dizzying. "For once this is going in our favor. Should we de-mantle the bell before heading down?" He points to the large rocker inside the bell.

You see no movement in the camp below, whomever is left is inside the various tents. From your vantage you now have a good layout of the map, and after a brief survey you head down the stairs prepared for carnage.

Current Battle map updated.

Bor points to the tent to the south. "Let's begin there." He grabs his shield from his back and makes his way down the stairs, flipping his scarf over his shoulder.

Bazsil agrees, trying to follow Bor there. He resists using his horn to announce their arrival.

”We should have asked Lirosa and Timmel to cover us from outside. That would have been keen,” Bazsil whispers with regret.

With his sword, he is ready to move.