Black Tom's Kingmaker

Game Master Black Tom

"Aa, you're a shrewd one. How about I give you a 25% discount on potions for a month?"

The old man does not detect as evil.

Worryn nods in appreciation, "Fair enough, we'll get some for you if we can."

"As friend Mim indicated, we're looking for bandits, but we're also tasked with exploring these lands. Can you give us directions to this hollow tree and the fangberry patch you mentioned?"

If possible, can we see where the tree and the fangberry patch are on the map?

There is no map, you know. That's part of your job to produce one.

The old man scratches his ear and examines his finger pensively. "The fangberries, I'd say 55 miles to the south, or that's what I'm told by the last trappers to go there. The hollow tree, not so sure. It's been a long time..." He trails off.

Are you done talking to the old man and do you then want to explore the other hexes around Oleg's? I put squares around the explored territory (which will give you xp later).

[b]"well, it's good to meet you. maybe we will cross paths again someday."[b]

Magnus nods at the old man and urges Mjolnir on.

I think we are done.

There is no map, you know. That's part of your job to produce one.

I was actually referring to you giving a general idea where they are on the map in the Campaign Info tab.

Agree with Magnus, Worryn doesn't have anything else.

"Aye. Thanks ta ye Old'n and save a few potions fer when we come back with some of those berries." Mim concludes as he pats Pip on the side, urging the bear to follow along before mounting up on his own horse.

After leaving the old man's place, Mim says, "So which way he young'n want ta be heading. Seems like most o' the interesting things be further south, but I think it will still be a good idea ta get a lay o' tha land close ta Oleg's before we wander to far." As the horses continued on, Mim frowned in thought. "It might also be smart ta work on get a map together making all tha interesting things we find. I ain't so good at drawing maps, but it shouldn't be too hard to put one together, once we got the supplies fer it. Just something ta consider."

Ah, the scale of the map is 12 miles to a hex, roughly miles to a square, which would put the fangberries about 9 squares down.

Back to Oleg's or to continue exploring the adjacent hexes?

Got it, thanks.

Not back to Oleg's yet. Since we need to start working on a map, would we use Survival for that, and could we take 10? Worryn has some charcoal and parchment that the group could use until we get something more permanent.

You are assumed to be able to produce a passable map. I guess that's something every adventurer just knows. ;-)

Your continued exploration takes you to the edge of the forest and the area to the southwest of Oleg's is forested. This means that it takes longer to explore, 2 days for each hex.

However, in the afternoon the first day you stumble upon an arrow-shaped clearing where a strange kind of plants grow.

In the middle of the patch four very full kobolds lie on their backs moaning, but when they hear you approach they spring into action. Three baskets full of moon radishes stand beside them.

Roll for initiative.

Initiative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 1 = 10

[ooc]Not sure if you wanted us to post actions at this stage, so I have just left it with Initiative for now[/ooc}

Coming across the clearing, Mim spots the strange plant and sees if he ever heard of it. Before he could tell his team if he found anything however, one of the kobolds raise an alarm. In response, Mim grabs for his weapon and prepares for trouble.

Know Nature: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8
Initative: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18

Initiative: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18

Worryn slowly steps forward and raises his hands away from his sides, then holds his palms outward to show the kobolds he holds no weapons.

"Easy, Mim. They want food, not a fight."

Mim and Worryn beat their initiative, so you can act. The kobolds look very belligerent, so there isn't really time for a Diplomacy checks.

Raising a bushy eyebrow as the kobolds spoke in their native tongue, he mumbled to Worryn, "I ain't liking the way they are keepin' themselves. Ye got any idea what they be yappin' about lad?" Picking up on Mim's nervousness, Pip lets loose a low growl, figuring the kobolds were the source of Mim's wariness. Before either Worryn or Pip can respond though, Mim shouts to the kobolds, "Oi! Any one o' you speak the Common tongue?"

Magnus lowers his lance and prepares for combat, but holds back on a charge for the moment.
"Well, if it's a fight they want, I'm ready. But if they are just after food, we can come to some kind of arrangement."

Since you can't talk to the kobolds and they are pretty riled up, maybe you should just attack. I don't think we'll need a map.

Gonna go against the grain on this one ;)

Shrugging his shoulders as the kobolds continued to gibber in their native tongue, Mim simply turns around and begins to walk out of the clearing. Pip following, Mim says, "Don't see tha point in fighting them over this plot o' land. If we want to take a closer look at those plants, we can jest come back some other time."

Mim plans to go around the clearing and continue their exploration.

Magnus backs Mjolnir up slowly, ensuring there is no surprise attack by the kobolds. When they are safely out of the clearing, he follows after Mim and Pip.

Worryn does the same, following the rest of his comrades out of the clearing.

Being faster than the kobolds, you are easily able to avoid them. You hear their high-pitched cheering after driving you off.

The rest of the hex shows nothing of particular interest. Nor does the hex west of Oleg's so I guess it's time to return.

There is a nice surprise waiting for you as you get there. Kesten informs you that the Swordlords are happy with your progress and that bandit activity in the region has decreased perceptibly. Oleg and Svetlana are of course relieved, too, and Svetlana sets about preparing you a delicious meal, fussing over that she doesn't have any moon radishes.

You also get 400 xp each for your exploration, the spider, and stemming the flow of bandits.

Edit: Corrected the xp. Also I forgot to mention that the Swordlords also sent you 400 gp as a reward. Congratulations on finishing your first quest.

As they explored the remaining area around Olegs and made their way back to the Trading Post, Mim ponders, "With the small size o' our group and the number o' creatures we are bound to come across out here in these lands, it might be a good idea ta learn a few extra languages so that we can talk ta who we come across. We got pretty luck this time, but I'd hate ta fight and kill a creature that is just protecting itself and its own just because o' a misun'erstanding. what do ya lads think?"

In response to Svetlana's words, Mim says, "Sorry 'bout that. Only thing we cam across that is close is a field o' odd looking plants that some kobolds were gorgin' on. I am thinkin' ta swing by there on our next trek out and see if we can grab a few without bothering them kobolds."

I have added 400gp to group booty, we have over 750gp plus various odds and ends worth 631 gp if sold half price.That's enough for a wand of Cure light Wounds and 200 gp each. Do we want to buy a wand, then take 200 gp each for personal use?

So where do you want to go next?

Worryn finds Mim and Magnus the next day after enjoying the relative comfort of a soft bed and a warm meal.

"So what say we head east and begin our explorations in that direction?"

I really don't have a preference, just throwing out a suggestion."

Magnus, thanks for keeping up with treasure. I am fine with the Wand of CLW and 200gp each.

East then?

By the way, you get one hero point each for refusing to slaughter the kobolds.

OK, two in favour. Motion carried. Do we place orders now and get them later, or can we assume that Oleg has a wand he can sell us, as well as any other equipment we want to buy?

Mim and Worryn, add 200gp to your totals

"How about South, we still haven't found this old temple! though if we are staying close to Oleg's, we could go East and swing South. What say you, Mim?"

Also we have an unidentified potion. How much will it cost to get it identified?

A Wand of Cure Light Wounds is beyond Oleg's budget, but he can order one for you and you'll have it in a week's time. Less expensive equipment (under 100 gp) you can get immediately. Jhod can identify the potion if you can remind me where you found it.

East and then south, keeping close to Oleg´s? Did I understand you correctly?

"East then south sounds good to me. Make sure ye are all stocked up though lads. Tha furhter we get from the trading post, the more we are gonna have to rely on what Gozreh provides and what we bring with us."

Turning to Oleg, Mim asks, "Hey Oleg. Ye got one or two of those bandit horses still that we might be able to use fer pack animals?

The CLW wand sounds like a good idea and so does the plan to explore. Before we head out though, everyone should makes sure we have proper camping gear because as we get further away, we will have to rely more on camping and hunting. Mim will pick up a sleeping bag and tent. It might be a good idea to keep one or two of the bandits horses to keep around as pack animals for when we have to do longer excursions.

Magnus asks Oleg for some equipment (Tent, 10 flasks of oil, 10 days trail rations and 10 days feed for Mjolnir, total 16.5gp deducted), and also orders a wand from Oleg (Will he require a deposit?). He tahes the potion to Jhod it came from the bandit leader we killed.

Sorry guys, but I'm going to have to close this game. Not for any fault of yours (I sincerely enjoyed gaming with you) but because there are too many demands on my time (and too many other games running) for me to be able to make a worthwhile contribution as DM. Again, very sorry. Thank you for your time and may your other games prosper.

ok. Thankyou for the game.

Ok. Thanks for the notice and for the game.