Clebsch's Reign of Winter

Game Master Clebsch RoW

Domitian sends an arrow threading past Damiano to hit the wikkawak staggering toward the darkness, killing him just before the flaming sphere rolls over and delivers more damage to the prone monster. Wikkawak 3 is dead.

Nadya returns to her tent to check on her boys.

Erland shoots an arrow into the darkness, but cannot tell if it hit or not. Misses due to total concealment from darkness.

Damiano directs the flaming sphere toward the fleeing wikkawak but it arrives just as the creature is struck down by Domitian's arrow.

The other two wikkawaks are hidden by darkness at present.

One more round for everyone.

Erland leads his crossbow and moves the dancing lights out towards where the monsters fled.

"Stay away, and you may yet live. Stick around or come back, and die like your friend."

Erland moves the dancing lights closer to the Wikkawak stuck in the webs. People can see the creature slogging through the webs, ten feet from the far edge.

Ranged attacks still get concealment and cover due to the webs and the trees. If no one else wants to take a parting shot, the Wikkawak will eventually get free of the webs and escape. If you don't want to take any more attacks, post what you are doing instead.

Dom continues attacking, more to keep the fear of God in the wikkawak than to actually kill it. He'll do it as long as the enemy can be struck. Rolling a few of these.

Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14; Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 5
Concealment: 1d100 ⇒ 49

Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23; Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 1
Concealment: 1d100 ⇒ 70

Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7; Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 8
Concealment: 1d100 ⇒ 74

I don't think I have a good way to follow, given the difficult terrain and the amount of time it would take to put on snowshoes; can my spiritual weapon move quickly enough to take a parting shot?

The Spiritual Weapon rules don't specify how quickly the weapon can move, so as long as the spell has rounds left and the target is within range and Rurik spends a move action, it can attack one target each round. But I think its duration had expired after the last attack.

CMB: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28

Domitian's next ranged attack gets deflected by a branch and the Wikkawak manages to get free of the web and continues to run into the night.

Lick your wounds. The rest of the night passes without further incident. Because the night's sleep was interupted with combat, no one recovers hit points. Select spells and I'll get back and review who needs to make what saves and with what bonuses for successful healing checks.

Rurik shakes his morningstar angrily at the retreating wikkiwaks, then goes back to bundle everyone back into their beds, bringing around hot tea to help them get back to sleep (and to prevent pneumonia from settling in to the already-sickened members of the party).

After the interrupted sleep, he is still up in the morning for his prayers. And thankfully, clerics can still recover spells without needing a full night's sleep.

... And thankfully, clerics can still recover spells without needing a full night's sleep.

I think everyone can recover spells and other daily benefits, unless the rules specifically say it takes 8 hours of uninterrupted rest. It's only the overnight healing of hit points that can't be interrupted.

Here is a Link to the post about how disease will be run.

In a subsequent post, I discussed the use of detect disease but I just noticed that is a 3rd Party spell, so that's out.

Delay Disease can help with symptom relief as modified in this post.

I don't believe Diagnose Disease was cast on anyone. That will give a +4 bonus to the caster's use of the heal check to give a bonus to the save. At present, only Erland and Khristov are showing symptoms of disease, but Domitian might have a latent case, as he was wounded by the same creatures that gave the disease to the others.

Here is a link to the summary of conditions prior to the night when the Wikkawaks attacked. It is now the morning after at least another day's travel before reaching civilization (such as it is in Irrisen). Prepare spells and cast any that might help with the disease. Then I'll describe any encounters that might interrupt the day's travel. Come evening, we can roll the healing checks and saves.

Rest

To prepare his daily spells, a wizard must first sleep for 8 hours. The wizard does not have to slumber for every minute of the time, but he must refrain from movement, combat, spellcasting, skill use, conversation, or any other fairly demanding physical or mental task during the rest period. If his rest is interrupted, each interruption adds 1 hour to the total amount of time he has to rest in order to clear his mind, and he must have at least 1 hour of uninterrupted rest immediately prior to preparing his spells. If the character does not need to sleep for some reason, he still must have 8 hours of restful calm before preparing any spells.

This is what makes overnight random encounters brutal

Agreed. I rolled random and it was just bad luck it came up the first night. But except for healing hit points, you can all still recover spells and such, since there is no reason you can't take the extra hour before preparing for the day.

Dom searches the fallen wikkawak. He is very curious in particular about the cloaks that allowed them to remain concealed in the snow. Any interesting loot?

In the morning, he wakes up a little earlier than some of the others, tending to the dogs and rebuilding a warm fire so that they can rest.

"Let's not push ourselves too hard today, we need to keep up our health," he suggests, once all are up and awake.

The wikkawak who was killed did have a few weapons, ordinary hide armor, and a bag with some loot apparently gathered from other travelers less able to defend themselves. These include a masterwork dagger, a masterwork light crossbow, three potions, and a scroll. The potions are identified as a potion of Guidance and two potions of Shield of Faith Caster Level 1. The scroll of FLame Arrow Caster Level 5.

Before he returns to his tent, Erland looks out into the darkness sadly.

"I can heal a few of you still today. Let me know if you are injured, and I will see what I can do. I will need to sleep a bit longer tomorrow morning to ensure my magic replenishes, however."

Healing Hex for anyone who still needs it before bed. Then CLW for 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 to Domitian.

Conditions and injuries at end of battle:

Domitian (18 lethal)
Rurik (10 lethal)
Khristov (5 lethal, sickened, fatigued)
Erland (3 lethal, sickened, fatigued)
Damiano (3 lethal)

Rurik likewise makes sure to gather around everyone while they're still awake and release another wave of healing.

Channel Energy: Healing: 2d6 ⇒ (6, 2) = 8

Those PCs availing themselves of Erland's offer of healing, post the roll. I'll detail events on the next day on the road and then we'll do the evening disease recovery roll.

the channel is enough for me

close enough to full.

The new day dawns and proves to be a good one for travel. The temperature remains cold but not frigid (around low 30s during the day). No foul beasts attack during travel and the elk moves within sight of the group. By nightfall, the group is within sight of the landmark of Pjallarane's Stone. Nadya thinks there is a village one more day's journey west.

Once a campsite is established, Rurik proceeds to try to help people fight off the disease.

Assuming Rurik casts Diagnose Disease, he gets +4 on a heal check (DC 15) to give the PC a +4 bonus on the Fortitude Save vs DC 15 to begin to recover from the disease. You might consider using a hero point. If you want to gain the bonus on the roll (See Spoiler below) you must announce this before the roll is made.

Since natural 1s don't fail skill checks, and I get a +4 from diagnose disease (which I prepared twice), I can't fail the Heal checks. +10 normal skill total + 4 diagnose disease bonus + minimum roll 1 = 15.

Fort vs Disease: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19
I didn't add a +4 bonus because I'm not sure where we stand on that issue, though we do have knowledge that I got clawed by diseased undead. Looks like with this roll I may be okay?

"Let's find a safe camping spot. We should set another watch--can't be sure whether the Wikkawaks will try to avenge their fallen."

Erland wakes up cranky and sore, still fighting off whatever affliction set upon him from those cursed undead.

He bundles up much more than he usually would before setting out for travel.

Will gladly accept Rurik's aid, as well as using a preemptive hero point on the save.
1d20 + 2 + 4 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 2 + 4 + 8 = 34

Of course.

He scoops up Fiske and allows the cat to wrap himself up in his hood, then thank Rurik and the others for their help.

"Maybe I'm getting on the other side of this illness. Thanks, hopefully I'll be all better soon."

This disease requires 2 saves to recover. The first save moves you back to the next healthier level. If the second attempt fails, you return to the current level of illness.

Domitian seems to have suffered no ill effects from his wounds and Erland's symptoms have subsided.

Khristov's last post was in early October. Anyone know what's up? I checked all aliases and see no posts after October 13. I'm going to 'bot him and if he doesn't post by the time the party gets to the next town, we will leave him in the town and work out a way to reintroduce him if he returns.

Fortitude, healing help: 1d20 - 2 + 4 ⇒ (6) - 2 + 4 = 8

Since the player is AWOL, I'm not going to 'bot the use of a hero point and let this stand.

Kristov, however, sinks deeper into illness, his system already weakened by the curse of Nazhena. He has grown so weak, he moves very slowly and with great effort. Too much exertion looks as if it might be fatal.

Khristov's disease progresses to the disabled stage, keeping the sickened and fatigued conditions and gaining the disabled condition: If he takes a standard action, his hit points drop by 1 or to –1, whichever is worse.

I haven't heard anything about Khristov.

While pleased to see Erland turn a corner, Dom is gravely concerned about Khristov's wellbeing as he sinks deeper into illness. "The combination of Nazhena's curse and the undead disease are perilous. I fear only the miracle of divine magics may be enough at this point to either lift the curse or stop the disease."

Nadya distracts her children from Khristov's dire condition but offers what advice she can on options for finding him help.

"It is another day's journey to Ellsprin, which is on the eastern point of Glacier Lake. It is at least another day's journey to the Howlings, which is a ramshackle village outside Whitethrone. I hope to be able to leave my boys with a relative in Ellsprin, but it is a small village. I'd be surprised if anyone with enough magic or skill in treating diseases resides there. Even at Whitethrone, we may have trouble, since you will need to keep out of sight as much as possible, so close to the center of power of Nazhena and the queen. I have an uncle who inhabits the fishing village outside the main gate. If he is still there, he might know who we could seek out but he has had his own problems with the Jadwiga."

She pauses and hesitates and then glances at the peak to the north, still catching the last rays of sun before dark. "Pjallarane's Stone is rumored to have mystical powers dating back about a century. There are supposed to be caves near the stone formation. It is a place that might have magic hidden away that might help. It's a long shot and the caves are said to be inhabited by snow goblins and perhaps worse, but it is summer and they may be out hunting and gathering. It might be worth visiting to see if something can be found that would help Khristov."

Role play your thoughts on where to go next.

"At this point it sounds like exploring the caves might be the best chance to help Khristov. Ingrit says with concern.

"Nadya, I worry about taking your children into even more danger," says Dom, as he considers their next options. "Our incident with the Wikkawaks was a stark reminder of the danger of this land. I think we should explore there for Khristov's sake, but I'm not as sure if you should as well. What say you?"

"Maybe get to your family member to leave the boys in relative safety, and maybe have Khristov stay in town as well while we go. I'm not sure how well he'd do in the caves in his current condition." Ingrit suggests.

"I agree that the children and Khristov should be gotten to a safe place as soon as possible. I feel a bit better already, mostly thanks to Ruriks treatment and magic. Hopefully I can kick this stupid affliction quickly."

Erland sneezes and wipes his face on his sleeve before continuing.

"Once they're secure, perhaps it's worth a trip to these caves? If there really is potent healing magic, I'd like to see that for sure."

Ellsprin it is then

Sorry for the delay. I was working out a few things. I hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving if you are celebrating this morning.

It is a somewhat unpleasant day for travel, with periodic snowfall, at times mixed with wet sleet. Khristov hobbles slowly to one of the dogsleds and with help slides into a makeshift bed, wrapped in blankets to allow him to make the trip without too much discomfort. His joints ache, his skin is covered in a dry rash that itches, and he has a fever. Breathing is labored.

Although the day is unpleasant, the temperatures are not so cold as to be dangerous to those in winter weather gear and the snow makes it a bit easier to pull the sleds. Apparently the unpleasant weather is keeping the unpleasant denizens of the area away from the mush line of sleds and by twilight, the twinkle of lights can be seen in the windows of the houses of a small village, Ellsprin. After asking a few different places, Nadya locates her relatives and there is a joyful reunion.

Nadya asks if there is a cleric, durid, oracle, or other healer in the village. Her cousin, Maret Truskin, says, "As luck would have it, a fortune teller has been travelling the area and has been lingering in town for no other reason than that she feels like it. Let's see if we can find her."

Maret leads the group through the village to a ramshackle cottage near the edge of the settlement. The door is open but no one responds to calls. Looking around Nadya spots it first. In the dying light, she spots someone in a pale yellow cloak walking eratically through the nearby woods, occasionally bumping into trees or getting caught in bramble bushes. Drawing nearer, the group sees it is a woman with a blindfold over her eyes. She continues this odd behavior until, by chance (?), she ends her ritual ten feet away from the group, removing her blindfold and smiling broadly as if completely expecting to see a bedraggled group in traveling clothes staring at her with perplexed expressions.

"Blessings of Chadali be upon you all," she says, her voice having the soft lilting accent of Vudrani. She has a tattoo in the middle of her forehead of a stylized water lily flower. She has caramel colored skin, jet black hair, and one of her eyes is green and one blue. "My name is Halcyon. How may I assist you?"

Kn religion: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (3) + 13 = 16
Nearly fumbled this one
Greetings Halcyon , bless the skies who did provide this encounter. One of our friends is gravely ill after meeting some undead. Would you by chance be able to help him
diplomacy: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (2) + 12 = 14

Halcyon nods but says nothing, instead reaching into a pocket in her robe and withdrawing a card. She gazes at it a moment and reveals it to the Damiano and the others. It shows an image of a male sphyinx in the desert, holding a traveler in his giant paw, a crescent moon hanging in the sky.
The Desert

The tall woman smiles enigmatically and says, "It is my providence to help you if I can. Take me to your friend."

As she walks with you, everyone notices a faint jingling sound she makes with each step, for she is wearing Ghungroos, anklets made of bells, worn by traditional Vudrani dancers.

"Tell me of your friend, how he came to be afflicted."

"Greetings, I am called Erland. Our friend, Khristov, was scratched up by a creature a few nights ago. We've healed his wounds, but I think the injury caused the illness. I was feeling poorly as well, but I am doing much better today."

"And I am known as Dom. Khristov was previously afflicted by a grievous curse from a witch that already left his health in a precarious state. The combination of that with the disease means he is in grave danger."

Ingrit studies the woman's unusual actions, trying to determine if she can be trusted.

Sense Motive (Human): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Ingrit studies the woman's unusual actions, trying to determine if she can be trusted.

The woman shows none of the usual indications that she is connected to the witches of Irrisen. She seems as much out of place in this area as Ingrit and her friends do. She is hard to read however.

When Halcyon gets to where Khristov is resting, she asks if anyone has determined what his illness is. She goes on to do her own examination of the bard. To keep things moving, I'm going to assume Rurik tells her his diagnosis and what he has been doing to help the others.

She says, "I agree that you seem to be suffering from filth fever, an affliction that is all too commonly spread by the undead when they attack. I will need to meditate to draw from Chadali the wisdom to cure you. Rest now and I will be back."

Halcyon sits at a table and deals out a spread of harrow cards as she meditates, occasionally chanting softly in Vudrani or sometimes Varisian. After about twenty minutes, she returns. She selects a card from her Harrow deck called "The Sickness" showing a sick woman holding a stalk of onions in one hand and two dice in the other. She lays the card on Khrystov's chest and bows her head, then she casts a spell, chanting "Am aruncat această boală în numele lui Chadali"* while gesturing as if pulling something from Khrystov's chest. She immediately calls out "Noroc cu mine." **

She shakes her head sadly. "I shall have to try again tomorrow. It was almost successful. I can, however, try to remove the curse. Thay might help him as he fights the disease."

1d20 + 12 ⇒ (12) + 12 = 24 spellcraft

1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26 spellcraft

"Whatever you can do, we are most grateful. If you could remove the curse, that would certainly help his chances."

Dom nods in agreement. "What fate brings you to these lands, Halcyon? Are you from here, or did you travel here by chance?". He is a little puzzled by what he is experiencing.

Dom nods in agreement. "What fate brings you to these lands, Halcyon? Are you from here, or did you travel here by chance?". He is a little puzzled by what he is experiencing.

Halcyon laughs gently at Dom's question. "Everything that happens to us is ultimately by chance. I was hired by a band of merchants doing trade with Irrisen but once here I decided I wanted to see more of this strange land, so I've been visiting villages around the lake."

She concentrates again, sorts through her harrow deck and selects a different card, this one bearing the words "The Big Sky," showing a man with broken shackles raising his hands toward the sun high in a clear sky while a woman still in shackles looks on.

She closes her eyes a moment and then pronounces words, this time in Vudrani, and moves her hands like breaking bonds, similar to the man in the card image.

She bows her head and sighs. "It is not to be tonight. However, I will try again tomorrow after resting. I will not leave his side until he has been cured and restored or until Chadali makes evident a different fate for Khristov. I'm sorry I was not able to help more tonight."

Those still afflicted may make another save. A second save cures the disease, although the symptoms may remain a day, as the person will move back up the track of symptoms until free of them. If people want to travel to Pjalarane's Stone, Khristov and Nadya's children seem in good hands.

Khristov is so sick he is unable to rise or do anything but converse from bed.

The spell Delay Disease, which Halcyon can cast, will keep his symptoms at bay, so he will be able to move if needed, but otherwise, it will take another attempt at Remove Disease to cure him. Halcyon will prepare two castings of Remove Disease and one casting of her Luck domain spell Borrow Fortune, which will grant her a total of 3 attempts at the required caster level check to beat a DC of 15, plus Khristov will get his own saving throw again the following evening. I'll make those rolls but keep the results secret until the following evening arrives.

Rurik would share his diagnosis of filth fever, I simply couldn't recall what disease it actually was and couldn't find it while wading back through pages.

I have two delay disease prepared while we're waiting, so that Khristov can move and, if necessary, fight a little.

Don't forget that I can't fail the Heal check to give the afflicted a +4 bonus on their rolls.

Rurik says, "It seems we'll be staying for a little while. Hopefully Khristov will pull through. Death by an infected scratch is an ignominious end to a heroic adventurer."

spellcraft: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (3) + 13 = 16
spellcraft: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (10) + 13 = 23

"So do we want to try a trek to Pjalarane's Stone, or wait to see how the attempts to heal Kristov go tomorrow?" Ingrit asks, the others.

Not sure how many hero points I had. If I had more than 1, will certainly use on this save vs. disease. If not, just gotta hope and trust in Rurik.

1d20 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 2 + 4 = 10 [+8 if hero point avail] fort save vs disease.

"Perhaps Khristov can stay and recuperate while we go look after this magical healing place? I would hate to lose the whole day, but if it's necessary, so be it."

Not sure how many hero points I had. If I had more than 1, will certainly use on this save vs. disease. If not, just gotta hope and trust in Rurik.

1d20+2+4 [+8 if hero point avail] fort save vs disease.

"Perhaps Khristov can stay and recuperate while we go look after this magical healing place? I would hate to lose the whole day, but if it's necessary, so be it."

You get one per level at least, so I think you've leveled up more than once since I started moderating. So if you have not used any other then you should still have one. I'll review past battles and look for things that should have earned more hero points. I've not been as attentive to that as I should.

The weather looks as if it will stay much as it has been, no precipitation, moderate temperatures.

I will follow the decision of the majority there

Since there is no consensus yet on whether to wait or explore Pjalarane's Stone, I'm going to assume the group stays in the village and awaits news of Khristov's status.

Halcyon prepares two versions of the spell to remove Khristov's disease. As before, she fears her first attempt will fail so she calls on Chadali to give her luck, but the spell still fails. But on her next attempt, Khristov's fever breaks and he begins to recover his strength. He is still in recovery and at this stage cannot do much except walk slowly about, but in a few days he ought to be back to normal. "Chadali is somewhat whimsical in her blessings, but she respects persistence. It seems your friend will live. I will work on the curse over the next few days. If you want to explore Pjalarane's Stone, I suggest you go ahead. This fine weather may not hold and it will take time for Khristov to recover his full strength. May Chadali bless you all."

Before going to bed, Halcyon also offers to use a spell to predict the weather for the next 48 hours. She lights some incense, lays out some Harrow cards, concentrates for a bout a minute and says, "I see safe traveling weather while daylight persists tomorrow, but come sunset, expect some snow. The next day will be without rain or snow. The temperature will continue as it has been this week."

Note: While Halcyon has not asked for money in return for her spells, it is customary to pay for such services. Standard cost for a third level spell by a 5th level caster is 150 gp. For a spell that can fail, such as remove disease or remove curse typically half is expected in advance and the other half only if the spell succeeds. For a first level spell, the cost would be 50 gp. If you don't have the money, Halcyon is not the sort to make a fuss, but it is an important way an itinerant cleric such as herself sustains herself.