Clebsch's Reign of Winter

Game Master Clebsch RoW

Happy 5,000th post!

** spoiler omitted **

The woman in the next room still has not noticed the activities of the lead group.

If the lead group wants to wait for the others to advance, they will need to make stealth checks and position themselves where they want to be for the moment when Seke starts the melee. Everyone who wants to may also roll initiative. If anyone in the lead group wants to do anything before the start of initiative, indicate that, but make a stealth check if any movement is involved or anything which would make any noise.

Dom glances over at Rurik, Ingrit, and Wapiti as he waits with anxious anticipation. He is ready to charge forth as soon as there is any indication of imminent combat.

Crassius shifts a little closer to be able to peek in at her.

I feel like I am going to really regret not having a greatsword or something else large to pummel enemies with in a few seconds.

Stealth: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17

Happy 5000!

So which one was this? Hadda nods to Seke and draws her bow out. It would be wise to give their enemy no quarter, no matter what lies she told.

Stealth: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (10) + 15 = 25
Initiative: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17

She keeps pace with Crasius, nearly mimicking his movements.

As soon as Seke sends the hex, the young woman looks around with fear in her eyes, then dives under the table she is sitting at, crying out, "Mistress!, Please don't hurt me again! I've done all you asked. See for yourself!"

She says some words which might be a prayer or perhaps a spell. Without being able to see her, it is hard to tell.

The three closest to the woman find it hard to tell if her fear is genuine, but again, without being able to read her body language, just based on her voice, it's hard to be sure.

Round 1
Seke (Hex)
Woman (move under table)
Dom
Hadda
Ingrit
Crasius
Rurik

Bold may act.

I thought I could see her through the curtains. Is that not the case? Can I move through the curtain unimpeded?

I thought I could see her through the curtains. Is that not the case? Can I move through the curtain unimpeded?

The woman hid under her little table before she called out, so that makes it hard to see her body language.

As the sound of some sort of potential conflict begins, Dom runs toward and through the curtains! Run action to move 4x speed in a straight line--I think I can get to my current position this way.

Crasius enters the area and puts some distance between the woman and himself as he starts to chant, "The villain hides beneath the table like she hides her strength until she knows more of what comes..."

Move in. Acrobatics in case she can reach out and smack me. Then start Bards Song. Rd 1/14.

Acrobatics vs CMD in case: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (1) + 16 = 17

No attacks. Hadda, Ingrit, and Rurik?

Upon hearing the commotion, Ingrit advances down the hallway with Wapiti, having her companion take up a guard position while she moves to the door.

Rurik isn't sure which way this is going to go, so he starts with defenses and casts magic circle versus evil.

Hadda moves into the room, her bow drawn, strafing around the cowering woman while aiming. "Caigreal or Grishelmuk?" she says. "Be plain with us and we will be plain with you. We would see Artrosa rid of those who seek to plunder it, but any who do not share this goal are not welcome. We have already shed blood and will do it again before this day is out."

Intimidate, demoralize: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (17) + 19 = 36

I moved Rurik 30 feet closer to the others and marked the extend of the magic circle effect.

Seke is up.

Seke moves into the room and peeks below the table and misfortunes the woman again.

DC 23 will save or affected by misfortune.

The young woman again resists the misfortune hex. She cries out "Help!". Then the area fills with fog. Seke and Hadda are in the fog-filled area.

The fog obscures all sight, including darkvision, beyond 5 feet. A creature within 5 feet has concealment (attacks have a 20% miss chance). Creatures farther away have total concealment (50% miss chance, and the attacker can't use sight to locate the target).

To moderate this situation, I've created multiple copies of the map. Players outside the fog continue to use the map link in the GM header. Seke and Hadda should use the link with their name in the campaign header. This will allow you to designate where you move when it is your turn. Move your character and mark the squares you move through. If you can see the woman or another PC, I'll add the PC or NPC's icon to the map if you get within 5' of them. Those outside the fog who enter the fog do the same with the GM header map.

Round 2
Dom
Hadda
Ingrit
Crasius
Rurik (magic Circle against evil, 10 ft. radius)

Round 3
Seke
woman

Because of the fog, I need you to post in initiative order and wait until I give the next one the go ahead to post. I'm on winter break now, so I'll have more time to post and will try to keep things moving.

Oh great, magical fog, thinks Dom to himself. And he starts to wander in it, looking for--someone. Drew a path, the intent is 3 squares diagonal, 4 squares south, adjust as necessary if Dom bumps into things.

Hadda is up next. Use Hadda's map in the campaign header to mark her movement if any and then I'll indicate if she gets within 5 feet of any one or anything significant. I've added a map for Dom in the campaign header.

Still waiting for Hadda.

['botting Hadda]

Ingrit, Wapiti, Crassius, and Rurk may post their actions. Post in any order.

Giving Wapiti the command to guard the hallway, Ingrit enters with bow drawn, moving stealthily through the area, before coming to a halt, just short of the clearly magical sudden darkness.

Thanks for the bot. Hadda's map in the header shows Dom in the fog along with a red square, but not Hadda, so I'm not entirely sure where she is right now. Just reiterating for now and offering some thoughts for the rest of the players to consider. Strategery!

"Blyad! Suka blyad!" Hadda curses quietly in Iobarian as her vision is taken up with fog. Seeing Dom stumble into her limited field of vision, she points out her intended direction and moves westerly.

It was possible, of course, that they had been mistaken, but the wayang's insistence had caused their quarry to nonetheless go on the defensive. If she used the opportunity to escape and go find another member of the coven, things would get much more dangerous. Hadda keeps her ears focused. If the woman was trying to escape...well, how many exits could there be from this place?

I moved Ingrit on the general map for those outside the fog. Note: it is not magical darkness but fog, so you can see into the nearest squares. Anything attacked in the adjacent square has concealment (20% miss chance).

Crassius and Rurkic are up.

"Hadda, are we fighting or talking?"

Check, thanks.

Hadda sighs and calls out, knowing that this would give away her position. "We were trying to talk, but our new companion insisted on hexing the woman before she could answer my question. So we appear to be fighting." The exasperation is clear in her voice. "It would help to cover all exits from this room."

No worries, Seke. Hadda is exasperated, but the player is not.

"I don't suppose your goddess has blessed you with the ability to peer through the elements today, mmm?"

Crasius was preparing to fight too. :P

Crasius continues to loudly narrate the fight.

I will stay where I am now, but keep the Inspire Courage going.

"No."

GM, Rurik is hesitant to attack someone without cause, so I feel perfectly fine with saying that he's simply delaying because he doesn't want to commit to violence yet.

Crasius' inspiring words ring out from somewhere in the fog.

Those with spoilers notice something more. I'm assuming Seke is delaying. Everyone may post. I'll assume posting order is the new initiative order.

Whoops, I messed up my spoilers in the last post.

"She's here, just outside the curtain!" reports Dom loudly, so that his allies have a sense of where they are. The sound appears to be coming from the lower left region of the area created by the curtains.

He doesn't hesitate to attack. Can use my spoilered roll.

As Dom moves past her and finds the quarry, Hadda moves first towards the Ulfen man's voice before strafing along the curtain interior, emerging a bit further north.

I hope you don't mind, GM, I'm checking Dom's spoilers in your last post to reason out what Hadda would most likely see.

Dom's voice hadn't conveyed the sudden surge of fear that now lodges as a lump in her throat as she sees--in the flesh--an image she had until this point only seen in textbook illustrations. Unless there was further illusion or transmutation magic at work, this was almost certainly an annis hag.

"Caigreal," the librarian chokes out, thinking through her options and discarding them one by one. While it looks like Dom is already engaging the hag in melee, Hadda knows that few of her spells will be of much use, nor her bow well-able to pierce Caigreal's iron hide. So while she holds an arrow nocked and ready to fire, she wields her words. "Your daughter Jadrenka sends her regards. She would prefer you not to die today like Silyzil but has accepted the possibility of your demise if you refuse to surrender or cooperate. The choice is yours."

Using disconcerting knowledge to make a knowledge (nature) check to demoralize Caigreal.

Knowledge (nature), demoralize, T2W, HA, smaller than target, lore master to take 10 even when threatened: 10 + 15 + 2 + 2 - 4 = 25

The DC should be 10 + the target's HD + the target's wisdom modifier.

Crasius continues to support his allies with a stirring narrative of the fog infused fight.

Rd 3 of Inspire Courage.

Seke activates her flight hex and starts flying forward towards the end of the room.

Please move me GM as you see fit. I would up to 60 ft as a move action and fly around in the hope that I bump into one of the witches.

"^$#@&!" Ingrit mutters to herself as she hears things devolving and the familiar sound of Dom charging into battle.

"Doing something about the fog would be really useful right now!"

She was pretty much crippled without having an enemy she could target

Somewhere in the narrative is the need for Crasius to get a big metal thing to smack people with when he cannot use his bow. :P

Ingrit makes an audible signal, calling Wapiti forward in preparation of engaging what enemies lie within the fog.

Dom breaks through the fog southwest of the partitions to confront a nine-foot tall, black-skinned hunchbacked woman with long sharp claws and jagged teeth.

She sees him coming, however, and rips at him with one of her clawed hands, tearing his flesh but failing to grab and hold him. Dom takes 10 damage.

He presses the attack and manages to get his falcata to break through her skin, drawing black blood. Her skin is like tanned leather however, making it hard for his blade to penetrate. 12 damage. He is out of the fog (or he can choose to be) so he doesn't need the concealment roll (although he made it anyway).

Hadda steps out from the partition just north of the monster and issues a verbal challenge that seems to instill some fearful respect for a few seconds. Hag is shaken for 1 round.

Seke flies above the partition and out of the fog to see Dom fighting the monstrous humanoid.

Ingrit, Crasius, and Rurik can clearly hear the sounds of battle and Hadda's challenge, so they can take at least move actions to go toward the SW area, through or around the fog.

Seeing Dom and Hadda exchange near-equivalent blows, Hadda sucks air through her teeth. She switches to Skald to address most of her team, trusting the others to keep Rurik apprised. <"She's not in the fog. But I can help you see through it to attack. Ingrit, Crasius, if you want that, meet me where Crasius speaks.">

Delaying for confirmation from the other two. If they confirm, Hadda will double move through the fog cloud, directly towards Crasius. If they choose something else, Hadda will take a different course of action.

"<On our way!>" Ingrit calls out, entering the fog and carefully skirting the edge of it toward the sound of Crasius' voice with Wapiti following.

Double move

"We're with you," Hadda whispers to Dom as she strafes into the fog, navigating carefully around the near-invisible furniture. Time was of the essence. But as she emerges on the other side of the fog cloud to see Crasius, Ingrit, and Wapiti gathered, she nods and begins digging into her satchel to retrieve her spellbook. "This won't take long. Dom needs us."

As declared, a double move to get through. Next turn I'll draw the book and cast the spell!

Hadda moved and acted for the current round, so this can happen next round. Or Crasius, Ingrit, and Rurik can move around the fog to her this round.

Crasius pushes through the curtains to stand next to Hadda as he continues to narrate their fight. "Gathering together to solve the problem as Domitian holds the line..."

Rd 4 of IC.

Whoops, I misunderstood where we were in initiative and got excited. Thanks for the correction.

As directed, Rurik moves around the fog to join Hadda.

I have some grading to do, then a night class to teach. I'll post the hag's turn and then Dom and Seke. Anyone in the group near Hadda can take any actions for this round.

I started to update as indicated above, but then realized Seke has an action before the Hag in the current round. Please post your action and I'll post after that. Those who have gathered around Hadda are in the next round, but assuming nothing Seke or the hag do will affect them, they can post what they do in the upcoming round. Sorry for the delay.

Knowing if I have a clear line of sight after being affected by Hadda's spell would dictate my actions next.

Seke misfortunes the witch, 5 ft steps forward and starts to cackle to extend the duration.

DC 23 Will save vs. misfortune with curiosity patron invoked. Cackling to extend duration by 1 round.

Seke's hex lands on the hag and settles around her despite her attempts to ward it off. This does not prevent her from attacking Dom with full fury, tearing his flesh with her claws and fangs. The misfortune hex appears to have only interfered with her attempt to grab hold of Dom. He manages to keep from her clutches. Dom is left bloodied and looking like he would not survive another such attack. 49 damage to Dom.

Dom and Seke may make their next round actions. Those gathered around Hadda may also take whatever actions they have available, movement was part of this round.

If Dom is considering the withdraw action, be sure to consult the house rules for how that works.

Dom had not expected the hag to be such a fierce attacker! He is not one to back down, though, and he instead steps forward and continues the assault.

Falcata, IC: 1d20 + 17 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 17 + 2 = 35; Damage, IC: 1d8 + 12 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 12 + 2 = 17
Falcata iterative, IC: 1d20 + 12 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 12 + 2 = 29; Damage, IC: 1d8 + 12 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 12 + 2 = 19

He prepares to strike back if the hag continues to go after him.