Clebsch's Reign of Winter

Game Master Clebsch RoW

"Now is the difficult part. Do we assume anyone approaching is hostile, or try to communicate, to find out where we are?" Ingrit asks her companions, from her position, mounted atop Wapiti.

Crasius answers Ingrit by smiling and waving at the rider and mount. He then loudly calls out to the two before they fly off, "Good day, can we speak to you for a moment!"

Diplomacy+Heroism: 1d20 + 16 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 16 + 2 = 33

Pyrrhus shakes his head at Crasius attempt to speak with the newcomer... not because he thought speaking was wrong, but how he tried to do it. "If zis worrld is not Golarrion, may ze Gods forrbid Taldorr to have rreached zis farr in zeirr conquests." He says to the others as he takes a book from his magical haversack and begins to look for a spell. He looks at the knight and would indeed be very surprised if they got an answer in Taldoran.

Could use my Mnemonic Vestment to get access to Comprehend Language, but I think Crasius has it as well

"At any rate, we should spread out, in case they have area-spells like fireball." Thorizmond says, before putting action to words and trotting a few dozen feet away from the rest of the party.

"Friendly gestures are universal." The bard says with a broad smile as he watches the flying form to see if they will stop to talk, "And Comprehend Language will not help us communicate. If Taldoran does not work, perhaps Draconic will."

Pemta glares at the stranger. “On one hand, if it wants us dead it would attack. On the other hand, perhaps it is drawing us in closer. On the other hand, if it thought we were threats, it would attack. But on the other hand, perhaps it is gauging how strong we are?” The gnome does not look at all impressed by what she’s seeing, nor does her tone indicate any danger.

After a few attempts at communicating, the dragon and rider circle and land about 150 feet away. The rider dismounts and makes a show of leaving her weapons behind before stepping forward until just close enough for spoken communication to be intelligible. She calls out in a language no one recognizes.

"Olette vieraita Lohikäärmelegionin alueella. Tunnista itsesi."

With no intelligible response, she speaks again.

"Ви чужинці на території Легіону Дракона. Ідентифікуйте себе."

"Я Пірр Дерст, представник Ради в одязі Улар Кет."

"Ми не бажаємо зла ні вам, ні Легіону Дракона. У нас не було наміру вторгатися, але ми тут."

"Я міг би поділитися більше про нас і про нашу мету, але для цього мені також потрібно, щоб ви поділилися більше про себе та свій Легіон Дракона."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (15) + 19 = 34

Bescaylie Image

The armored female replies in Draconic, "I am Bescaylie of the Dragon Legion. Behind me is my Dragonkin partner, Efrixes. We are scouts for the Legion, part of the Skyfire Mandate. We are at war with the warlord Yrax, so-called Lord of the Howling Storm, of the Drakelands. From your strange speech and clothing, I suspect you are soldiers of fortune. If so, know that the Drakeland side will pay you more but if you care about justice, please consider helping our cause, for a Drakeland army has laid siege to our fortress Spurhorn."

I'm assuming those who understand Draconic will translate so I won't both with spoilers.

She watches you cautiously. Her dragonkin mount slowly advances to stand silently right behind her. Her features are somewhat hidden by her plate armor, but the craftsmanship of the armor is excellent, with embellishments with draconic emblems. Her face has close-set eyes, light blue in color, with short blonde fur. She is tall and lithe. When she speaks, her teeth show longer canine teeth similar to a dog or cat.

Crasius smiles and will speak in Draconic as he says, "To be honest, we are new to these lands and know nothing of your conflict. We did not come to join an army, but I am sure that if our tasks align that we might be able to assist you at the same time." He gives her a bright smile and gives a slight bow to the dragonkin as it approaches. "Perhaps you might take some time to speak to us and tell us more about what is happening and where we find ourselves on this fine morning? I am quite interested in hearing about your sieged fortress."

Bescaylie frowns and states, "How can you be new to these lands and in the middle of a war zone in a remote mountain range and not know what is happening? How did you get to this place? Did you come from the west through the Drakelands or south from the Ramaya Sound? Or did you use magic to teleport or fly here from Ning or Meruchia or elsewhere?"

Efrixes seems to be following the conversation closely.

Geography+Heroism: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 5 + 2 = 26

Do I have any idea from the name of places she mentioned where we are?

"We were teleported here, and will be remaining until our business is concluded. If there is a war going on, we would certainly want to know more about what is happening. Can you tell us about the plight of your people?" Crasius says as he tries to focus the issues on the problems of Bescaylie's people.

Diplomacy+Heroism: 1d20 + 16 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 16 + 2 = 34

Thorizmond nods at a few points, but is content to let Crasius do the talking.

Bescaylie takes in Crasius' description of their situation. She says something an a language no one recognizes to her partner and they exchange a few words. Eventually, Bescaylie speaks.

Bescaylie asks where the group teleported from. Assuming the answer is from another planet or she can assume that form any other description of Golarion, she explains the situation.

"You are on the world of Triaxus. We experience a long season of winter followed by an equally long summer. As you can see, it is midwinter. These are the Parapet Mountains, a natural boundary between our two warring realms. Nearby, the dragons have laid siege to one of our border fortresses, called Spurhorn. If you are powerful enough to teleport here, you would surely be welcome to help defend my people. Our leader, Commander Pharamol, can be trusted to reward you in proportion to your service. I would not seek a better offer from the dragons, for they are fickle and not always true to their word.

"What do you seek here?"

"It is a bit of a riddle actually. We have two clues that we are searching for. Perhaps you may have some idea what they are. We are looking for a two-headed eagle and the juxtaposition of a spur and a drinking horn. With your knowledge of this area, does this mean anything to you?" Crasius asks the woman and dragon.

I am not sure at this point more diplomacy checks matter since she should be super friendly based on our past rolls if she is willing to be friendly, but I will roll in case another check is needed. I am also making a Sense Motive in case they react involuntarily to what I say.

Diplomacy+Heroism: 1d20 + 16 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 16 + 2 = 32

Sense Motive+Heroism: 1d20 + 12 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 12 + 2 = 17

She has had her attitude changed from indifferent to friendly, so no further rolls are needed at this point.

Retcon: I left something out regarding clues given by the ravens at the Dancing Hut. In addition to the two-headed eagle and the spur and horn, they took an fragment of an elephant tusk and a small hand mirror and dropped them atop a bearskin rug. Bescaylie cannot help with this clue.

Bescaylie replies, "Well, our besieged fortress is named Spurhorn, so I suppose that fits. And our commander has a pet that is in fact a two-headed eagle. If you help break the siege, I expect he values the safety of his army above a pet, so perhaps you can work out a deal."

"I can take you to the fortress, but it will be challenging to get past the forces laying siege to the fort."

There are three ways the PCs can approach getting the eagle. They can go with Bescaylie and join the Skyfire Mandate side against the siege, they can approach the Drakeland's army besieging the fort and help them, or they can try to avoid joining either side and sneak into the fort to try to get the eagle.

Crasius nods and says, "Please give us a moment to confer."

He will then move aside to talk to his companions. "Intriguing how the fates work at times. I think we should go and see what this siege is looking like. Bescaylie seems friendly and so working with her side might be the easiest way to get access to this two headed eagle." Crasius says.

Crasius is willing to start with helping the side that seems friendly and on the defensive. What do the rest of you think?

"At the very least, it will give us the opportunity to learn more about what is going on here."

"Ze idea of joining an ongoing warr just to berrhabs getting what we need seems to big of a prrice, so I agrree with idea of taking look at it, but ze brromises should wait."

"I have little desire to spend the next several years in the war. But if the bird is in the castle, then we must also get into the castle. After that, sticking around might not be necessary." Crasius says.

Ingrit? It sounds like the consensus is developing to go with Bescaylie to get past the siege and back to the fortress.

"From what we know, it seems wiser to aid this Bezcaylie than her opponents. I suppose that's what she would say, of course, but if we can get what we're looking for and get out I'm not sure it really matters. We won't be here long enough to turn the tide for either side in any wider war." Thorizmond says, with a shrug.

"Well, she didn't attack outsiders on sight, has requested out help, and seems to be at least honorable so far. I'm always in favor of helping the pressed against an invading enemy, so I agree with at least seeing the situation." the ranger says after considering the details of the translated conversation.

"Then I think that settles it. Let's see how fast we can scout this battle out." Crasius says as he turns to go back and speak to Bezcaylie. He then says, "We are interested in journeying with you to see this castle. I am not sure we can turn the tide of a siege, but when we get there we can see what is happening. How far away is this castle?"

Pemta nods with Ingrit, although her attention is focused entirely on the dragon and its rider.

"Thank you," Bescaylie says with a smile. The dragonkin nods gravely. "The fortress is high on a mountain ridge, with armies arrayed on the ground below. I doubt you can get in on foot. Have you magic that can grant you flight? I would warn you that the fortress is warded against teleportation. Those who attempt it are not seen again. Both sides have magic that helps them detect those who are invisible."

"I do have access to such magic, but zat will only last ub to ten minutes." Pyrrhus explains to everyone. "Should it be rrequirred, I can rrebeatedly cast it forr everryone, but it will tax me to ze boint of being burrden to you forr ze rrest of ze day."

Have fly. If you guys wish for the ability to fly, this will be cast at 10th level so 10 minutes each of you. Wapiti can't speak, so he can't wish and Pyrrhus can't grant wishes to himself, so for the two it will be only 9 minutes.

I can cast this spell up to 20 times by burning all my 3rd, 4th and 5th level slots.

Hopefully there won't be need to cast it 10 times.

"We do have access to some flight magic!" Ingrit replies as Crasius translates Bescaylie's concerns. Reaching into her pack, she retrieves 4 jars of what paper to be a clear ointment. Passing the other three to her companions, she opens one, the strong herbal scents of belladonna, mandrake, and witchglove fill the air as she moves over to Wapiti, and begins speaking soothingly to her companion, as she begins to slather the mighty elk with ointment, starting with his legs.

"Applying this ointment we found on the shelves in the hut, to the skin should provide the ability for steady fight for hours, not as fast as some other magic, or a natural flyer, but it will do for what we need I think." she says as she continues to apply the ointment.

"I'll ride Wapiti, so I won't need it, as I guide his flight."

Flying ointment (as Overland Flight, Duration 9 hrs)

Overland Flight: This spell functions like a fly spell, except you can fly at a speed of 40 feet (30 feet if wearing medium or heavy armor, or if carrying a medium or heavy load) with a bonus on Fly skill checks equal to half your caster level. When using this spell for long-distance movement, you can hustle without taking nonlethal damage (a forced march still requires Constitution checks). This means you can cover 64 miles in an 8-hour period of flight (or 48 miles at a speed of 30 feet).

"Do the forces sieging the city have access to flight?" Crasius says as he looks over at Bescaylie. "And will the forces in the castle attempt to attack us if we try and fly over their wall? That could be awkward if one of us is hit by a stray ballista."

Pemta notices there aren’t enough for her, but she does look up at Thorizmond, asking “Mind giving a girl a lift?”

"How farr away is zis forrtrress of yourrs?" He asks Bescaylie. "Debending on ze distance, it might be betterr forr me to teleborrt some of ze distance and zen fly ze rrest of ze way, just so I can conserrve my sbells."

He then looks again at the knight and her might dragon. "Out of curriosity, and I alrready abbologize if zis is somesing rrude to ask, but is Efrrixes capable, orr willing, to let me rride with you, Bescaylie? I am quite light."

Basically, each casting of my fly spell will get me around 2 miles of distance, so it might be better for me to teleport to somewhere close to the fortress. She mentioned it being protected against teleportations, but I believe this might be true for the interior of the spell only.

Pemta notices there aren’t enough for her, but she does look up at Thorizmond, asking “Mind giving a girl a lift?”

Thorizmond harrumphs a bit, but shrugs "I suppose I carry packs often enough. But I have no saddle, so you will need to hold tightly or tie yourself down."

"Some of the siege troops can fly, but not many. Not many can fly as fast as Efrixes, so they leave us alone. That is how I am able to scout. If you can make yourselves invisible, we might avoid some of the flying members of the siege. We should approach the castle during the day however and we must be visible. The defenders have watchers who can see invisible and will assume any who use that defense are attacking. They will also assume any who approach at night are part of an invasion or a skirmishing attack."

"If they can see you accompanying us, the defenders will not attack."

"It is not all that far, although if you cannot fly as fast as Efrixes, it will take a few hours. I'm sorry but Efrixes is a friend, not a trained mount and he will only carry me."

At flight speeds of 40 feet, you will not be able to outfly the slower flying members of the siege army, but invisibility might avoid the notice of some. You won't be able to get in without two or three fights. Make sure your spells are updated and cast any buffs that have long durations.

If Pemta flies with Thorizmond, there are enough Overland Flight ointments to cover the distance with one application.

I'll be at a convention over the weekend, so I'll get the next post early next week. If you want, cast perception, stealth, and and initiative checks. Stealth is assuming there are some clouds that might provide cover.

"We should take the ointment and fly now then. If we have to deal with an attacker, then it is what it is. But fighting the defenders on the way in would be a poor way to meet those in the castle." Crasius says.

"Besides, we are well prepared to handle at range any fliers that come at us, before we have to deal with them up close." Ingrit adds, checking the straps on Wapiti's saddle and mounting up, before lashing herself into the saddle.

Bescaylie leads the group in flight toward Spurhorn, keeping high enough that they will not be easily detected from the ground. There are patches of clouds here and there, affording some cover. When getting close to the Dragon army's siege position, a group of four flying creatures with draconic features spots the intruders and begin to close. Crasius spots them first when they are about 160 feet away.

See the Aerial Combat Map link in my header. PCs are at the lower left. Enemies coming in from the NE. Position yourselves in your flying formation near the bottom left corner. Use a text box to indicate if you are flying above or below the map level.

Everyone can roll for initiative, I will roll for any who haven't rolled by the next chance I get to post. Anyone who wants to try to identify these creatures, roll a Knowledge (Arcana) check.

There is a ruler measuring 50 feet below the map to help figure out ranges. We will not try to account for extra distance when an enemy is not at the same altitude as someone making a ranged attack against them.

Initiative: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (19) + 14 = 33
Knowledge (arcana): 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (1) + 15 = 16

Pyrrhus flies a bit back and tries to identify the draconic beings.

Initiative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16

Initiative (cold environment): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16

Initiative: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13

Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

Knowledge (Arcana): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

Thorizmond instinctively attempts to gallop through the air, but his hooves strike nothing. It's an unsettling feeling, howevermuch smoother the ride is. Bow in hand, he tries to figure out what is approaching before he considers actually charging. Even so, he glances back to Pemta and says "Hang on, this is likely to get bumpy in a moment."

Initative: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

Arcana: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21

Initiative
Pyrrhus
FD3
FD2
Ingrit
Rurik
Pemta
FD1
FD4
Thorzimond
Crasius

Pyrrhus is up

Only Crasius recognizes these creatures as Frost Drakes. He can read the general information spoiler and 1 spoiler for additional knowledge.

In the blink of an eye, Pyrrhus isn't there anymore.

Casting Vanish for 9 rounds then moving 45º up for 20ft.

I went with Special Attack, I will say something about it when I go.

Two of the draconic creatures fly surprisingly fast coming in from the east. One of them breathes a line of cold air vapor, into the middle of the group. After moving 60 feet, the air erupts into a freezing cold cloud of icy mist, that coats everything with frost, inflicting damage due to the extreme cold. The mist clears instantly.

Ingrit and Wapiti adjust to avoid any harm from the mist. Efrixis avoided some of the damage, while Bescaylie, Crasius, and Rurik took the full brunt of the cold. 23 damage to Bescaylie, Crasius, and Rurik, 11 damage to Efrixis, no damage to Ingrit and Wapiti.

Bescaylie gives a battle cry, echoed by a roar from Efrixis. The dragon kin carries the Triaxian fighter past the enemy who breathed cold on them, making attacks with lance and glaive as they fly by. Bescaylie's lance stabs into the side of the dragon and Efrixis' glaive slices into his chest. Bescaylie does 31 and Efrixis does 18 for a total of 49 to FD 3.

The team flies past and veers close to the nearby dragon.

Ingrit
Rurik (23 lethal)
Pemta
FD1
FD4
Thorzimond
Crasius (23 Lethal)

Round 2
Pyrrhus (Invisible, endure elements)
FD3 (49 lethal)
FD2
Bescaylie (23 lethal)(Charge, Flyby attack, hits, 31 to FD3)
Efrixis (11 lethal)

Guiding Wapiti to advance with care, Ingrit unleashes a volley at the same target as Bescaylie, her companion wary of attack.

+1 adaptive flaming composite longbow/Rapid shot: 1d20 + 18 - 2 ⇒ (3) + 18 - 2 = 19
Piercing/Magic/Manyshot: 2d8 + 6 ⇒ (1, 5) + 6 = 12
Fire: 1d6 ⇒ 4

+1 adaptive flaming composite longbow/Rapid shot: 1d20 + 18 - 2 ⇒ (9) + 18 - 2 = 25
Piercing/Magic: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
Fire: 1d6 ⇒ 6

+1 adaptive flaming composite longbow/Rapid shot: 1d20 + 13 - 2 ⇒ (2) + 13 - 2 = 13
Piercing/Magic: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
Fire: 1d6 ⇒ 4

Not taking double move to avoid combat penalty. Wapiti readying action to attack any opponent that enters melee with them.

Ingrit's first arrow barely misses the dragon. Her second, however drives into its flank and the fire burns, making it worse. The beast does not like fire! The last arrow misses as well, indicating that coordinating her flying and archery may take a few practice shots to get good at.

Damage to FD3: 16.

DM, is it a concentration check to cast while flying? "Vigorous motion" is usually 10 + spell level, "violent motion" 15 + spell level.