Corsario's Kingmaker: The Shrike River Expedition (Inactive)

Game Master Corsario

We start from where we left off in the Kingless thread. Preparing for attacking the biggest group of bandits in this part of the Stolen Lands.

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You approach the bandit camp... with the things you saw from the cascade, plus the things your captured prisoner tells you and some scouting you have some idea of the disposition and bandits present.
Bandit Camp.
So, how are you planning to confront them?
There are 4 "approach", 3 with a watchout, and 1 without. You can't see the leaders (A sorceror and a Cleric of Gyronna) not all of the other 21 bandits. You are not sure the 21 are present, or the leaders, for that matter. It's not a good place to charge on Horse back. The thieves look like hardened, but 1-on-1 not much challenge to you. Most of them are human, and a couple of halflings and elfs.

Xi'Tir was excited, to go into battle with so many opponents was exhilarating. She watched them for a time, marking their movements and watching for anymore movement in their camp. She licked her lips in anticipation.

stealth forest terrain +12: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (6) + 12 = 18

stealth chi (+17in tall grass) +13: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (7) + 13 = 20

perception Xi- +14 vs humans +12 in forest terrain : 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (5) + 14 = 19

perception +5: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

Perception Roll: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17
Xi'Tir goes first, while the others plan the attack, to scout the camp. The bandit seem confident in they numbers and strength, not really in alert. As hunters, they are not used to be prey.
After seeing what she could, Xi'Tir starts to back out... And curses herself when stepping on a branch, and the closest bandit hears it and approaches, stopping with his feet just a couple of inches from where the Mwangi Ranger lies prone, without breathing.
Want to try something before the others are ready or do you wait him to go away?

Lil Karou scouts out another area for Mulray and himself. He quietly flits from tree to tree, and stays obscured within the foliage.
He watches with the sweet anticipation of pouncing on their heads, and biting ears....

stealth: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (17) + 12 = 29
perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (20) + 12 = 32

Tarina will send Azurefang to scout as well.

Stealth Azurefang: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15
Perception Azurefang: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Hopefully if they see him they dont think much of a celestial dire wolf wandering around.

Xi sat still as a shadow, contemplating what she should do while waiting for the others. She knew everyone was sneaking around as well and this one was far too perceptive for her liking...

Is this one of the sentries Corsario? Is he in view of the fire/other bandits?

For simplicity we'll say Xi took the central path in her sneaking.:)

Seraph hung back as her heavy armor wasn't suitable for sneaking in. Waiting for a signal for them to advance on the bandits. The dragonflight soldiers hung back as well, half with their bows drawn while the other half stood with sword and shield at the ready.

The moment was tense, every breath brought more tension as some of the others snuck around. She planned on taking down the leaders as soon as they appeared but so far it looked like they were dealing with just the hardened foot of the bandits. If the terrain were more ideal she had led a charge against one camp and let the others mop up the other.

Sorry for the wait. Irritating service providers work crew severed their own lines when excavating. blargh...

Damn! I forgot about Karou!
Retcon everybody!
Karou goes in and out the bandit camp without them noticing. Let me change the map in the afternoon so you see all of it, and where all the bandits, including the leaders, are.
I will say Azurefang didn't go in (it would have alerted them).

Is this one of the sentries Corsario? Is he in view of the fire/other bandits?
For simplicity we'll say Xi took the central path in her sneaking.:)

Yes, he is the sentry in the central path of the south side, and he moved to check on you, so he got out of sight of the other bandits by the fire.

If we are retconing is Xi retconned as well?

As you prefer. Do you think you can drop him in one strike?

Map updated with Lil Karou information. I put Xi'Tir, she can choose to start the "festivities" or let the watchman go.
Updated Bandit Camp Map

attack great sword+1 +favored enemy human-power attack: 1d20 + 14 - 2 ⇒ (19) + 14 - 2 = 31
confirm crit: 1d20 + 14 - 2 ⇒ (14) + 14 - 2 = 26

crit + power attack + favored enemy: 4d6 + 12 + 8 + 8 ⇒ (6, 5, 5, 2) + 12 + 8 + 8 = 46

Xi took advantage of their remoteness and surprised the man with a savage slash from her massive blade eviscerating him on the spot in one blow. She doesn't delight in it for long as she drags his body off towards there lines as quietly as she can. Chi circles watching their backs quietly.
stealth +12 forest terrain +14 vs humans : 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (12) + 14 = 26
stealth chi: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (8) + 13 = 21

Yes, she dropped him in one blow... :P

The bandit last thought is that the forest itself, in his fury, has come to claim him...

Halcorg thinks that Xi needs some anger management classes.

was waiting for mulray to post as he understands his monkey better then we do, Xi is just gonna keep wiping people out at this rate lol. Until she s caug that is... Post coming shortly darn airport wifi.

Mulray scoops up Karou as he scrambles back to the main group. He listens, and relays the information to the others.

"Twenty two bandits.. two groups of six, and the rest are scattered.."
Karou interrupts with a squawk, and then frowns.
"Twenty one... Xi is starting without us?"

Seraph looks to the others, her face grave as she watches Xi approach, dead man in her hands. "This is what I meant when I said I wouldn't hold her back. Xi is a man hunter, these bandits are no different then the Bekyar in the Mwangi. Not to her at least. If they stand against her she will cut them down, most likely the man stepped to close and she took the moment to remove a threat..."

Thinking on what Mulray said. "So should we wipe the western group or head straight for their leadership?"

If she gets back to the group if not let me know Corsario. ;)

Xi dropped the corpse at the groups feet, her blade still glistened in the dark covered in the dead man's blood and her eyes had an empty look to them now. Her temporary moment of revelry was replaced by the well trained urge to wipe out her opponents, to a man. No mercy, just kill or be killed, brutally simple. She looked to Seraph and the others. "One down Mon." She listens to Mulray's info, not really hearing anything more then the number of enemies that needed to be dealt with as she puts the bloody blade across her shoulders. "Talkin' waste time we can kill da snakes head and wipe out da rest. Dey run, we run dem down..." She turns preparing to move back towards the eastern part of camp with Chi in tow.

Seraph halts Xi. "We need to think this through..."

So whats our plan we can continue the sneaky kill maneuver until they catch us, but Seraph is totally useless there. Or we can strike the eastern camp, try and take out their leaders and have the Dragonflight troops strike right as we are attacking. That way we can separate some of their forces and possibly take out the leadership before they can buff up. We could send in our stealthiest to try and kill them first while they are still unaware.

We can take the route that Xi made for us in a sense. Sneak in and take down those three guys in the center of the map in the trail. Then try and slip in from the south of the leaders area in the camp. Maybe I can give the order for the dragonflight to attack from the west in ten rounds?

@Corsario: beautiful map but how thick is the undergrowth here? Enough that sneaking between around the trees or does taking the trails make it easier to stay quiet?

Well, Tarina is not very stealthy, she's lucky to have a +1 modifier. Azurefang has a +4 modifier, it'd be higher if he wasn't so large. If we go with stealthy tactics, they would eventually be caught.

The underbrush is impassable, at least quickly and stealthy... You would need to hack and slash it to pass... Unless you are a little monkey.

Mulray nods and sketches in the dirt with an arrow, "Surround em with your men to cut off an escape. We can handle them. Stealth group A... take those three, and hold that position.
Hammer group B comes in from the west, and hold the position just south of this campfire group.
Dragonflight group C holds at Northwest.. hold the north and west line from runners..."

"After these bandit groups head west, Group A is ready to come in behind them.
If we don't have em after a good minute of our scrum, Group C slowly advances.
This center south corridor can be the fall back point, so we can call in some wooden rain from the Dragonflight on everything north of us."

>sketch in dirt<

Seraph nods. The plan was sound, it would require luck to be on their side but so far their luck was holding. She relay's her orders to Kora who moves off to inform the groups standing by. She has the Ravens stay in reserve to take out any runners that may break through, trusting their elven eyes and bows to be on-par with the task.

She drinks down her potions in the following order, Barkskin, Fly and applies Magic Weapon to her Silver Greatsword. She planned on closing the distance quickly and destroying them quickly with her massive blade.

"So I suppose I'm group B then?" Tarina asks, that being the only thing she's not entirely clear about.

Xi nods, her eyes never gaining any semblence of warmth, only retaining the death she was about to bring to these bandit men. She casts Lead Blades and Gravity bow on her self. {Duration 5 mins each} "Go kill enemy, hold trail, wait and attack mon. Simple. Come Chi..."

The plan was sound and she would unleash everything she had to see it succeed. She hoped that one of these bandits would put up a fight but she had her doubts...

Chi Perception +5: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
Chi Stealth +17 in tall grass: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (7) + 13 = 20

Chi stays close to Xi, hanging around her backside as they creep back into the area where they killed the guard to assess what changes had happened while they were gone...

Xi Perception +14 vs humans +12 in forest terrain: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (6) + 14 = 20
Xi Stealth +12 forest terrain: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (20) + 12 = 32

Watching from a safe position Xi watched for movement along the trailhead before proceeding forward to do as she was asked.

She has put away her greatsword and depending on what she sees she will draw one weapon or the other ;)

Seraph nods at Tarina as she downs her Barkskin potion. "I will be taking Swift with me, with you and Azurefang we will crush their lines quickly I think."

Potion Durations Barksin +2 AC, (fighting with Greatsword so AC will be 20) 10 mins (100 Rounds), Fly 1 min, Magic Weapon 1 min (10 Rounds)

Fly gives me a movement speed of 40 ft since she is in medium armor

Tarina casts Bless 5 minutes on the group as they are getting ready.

was waiting for mulray to post as he understands his monkey better then we do.

This is SOOOO wrong.

Seraph nods at Tarina as she downs her Barkskin potion. "I will be taking Swift with me, with you and Azurefang we will crush their lines quickly I think."

Potion Durations Barksin +2 AC, (fighting with Greatsword so AC will be 20) 10 mins (100 Rounds), Fly 1 min, Magic Weapon 1 min (10 Rounds)

Fly gives me a movement speed of 40 ft since she is in medium armor

How is Fly 1 minute? Shouldn't it be 5 minutes since the minimum CL for Fly is level 5?

Mulray stows his hoof pick in his jacket, and shoeing hammer tucked in his belt at the small of his back.
He checks his bow, and shoulders his quiver.
"I'm ready."

Karou stays just behind, and to the right of Xi'Tir.
Mulray hangs back about 20 feet

Thank you Halcorg! My foolishness there lol. So Potions are 10 min barkskin, 5 min fly and oil of magic weapon on silver greatsword for 10 rounds (1 min). Seraph is going to dish out some damage! :) Maybe not as much as Xi. :P

Not everybody can be as cool as Halcorg and I, although if he had lead blades and it affected his Earthbreaker he'd truly be a beast! ;D

Xi barely notices Mulray, nodding ever so slightly when he spoke as she watched the other trail head, looking for movement. Looking for another man to kill and if no one showed she'd be moving forward to greet them. Bloody and quick was how this fighting would go.

Chi was at her side, bell nearly to the ground, ready to spring forward in a burst of speed at her command. Ready to hunt men alongside her master...

I need your help, I am not sure how you are deploying, and how many followers are attacking with you.

I put tokens for all of you, for your companions, and 6 for Dragonflight soldier. Please move them for the starting deployment position. Delete or copy the soldier to the number you are taking with you.

You should be able to edit the map, just don't move the bad guys.

Just as a note. I thought from the beginning, that the followers were not going to be part of the actual battles? I don't mind, but we have three threads and either 16 or 18 characters being run. I understand that people have put work into these, but as a pbp DM, I can see these battles becoming nightmares if we are to have a dozen or more followers in addition to all the actual characters involved.

If everyone else wants to move the followers and make their attacks, that is fine, but I believe for the sanity of our DM and to make things move at a reasonable speed, we should sideline the followers other than for color.

In the beginning I thought that using them would be prudent when we are outnumbered like this. However as Arv/Mulray said, we can take them. So Corsario/Others the only time the Followers will step in, is if things are going south. It would make sense that these soldiers wouldn't let their commander ride in to die alone. However I won't flood the map and make the encounter any less epic. Besides we can't be as heavy hitting as halcorg or as murderous as Xi. ;)

Apologies for my earlier post, the only thing happening with them is that they are moving to position's to cut off possible escape. However if they become involved then I Will roll for them. As that was the point of creating the stat blocks myself and taking ownership over my own followers as Corsario suggested in the recruitment thread.

However with all her buffs, her warhorse, and everybody else bringing in their companions we should be able to handle these guys more or less on our own. I just didn't want them to escape when we have the man power to crush them completely.

Ni/Xi just updated the map with several notes to reduce confusion. Again my apologies.

We won't be rolling for the followers, I will make the bandits attack you, and not trying to escape, and if they see they can't take you down, THEN they will try to escape and be stopped by the followers, again without rolling.
But yes, no actual followers battle (at least this time).
Ok, you have a surprise round! Let's get this carnage, sorry, battle, on the road!

Surprise round! Time for you to attack!

Mulray sends in Karou... The little monkey rolls into view of the two bandits, and begins doing flips, spins, and handstands.

Mulray creeps into position.. where he feels confident the two north watching the Lil Karou performance won't spot him.
He then nocks an arrow, and prepares to fire on the single bandit.

Mulray stealth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

Fascinate Will DC15 or -4 to perception checks

Xi Stealth +10 (+12 while in forest terrain): 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26
Chi Stealth +13 (+17 in Tall Grass): 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (6) + 13 = 19

While Mulrays monkey provided a distraction, Chi and Xi slide quietly up to the head of the trail, trying to avoid detection. Xi pull's out her greatsword and waits for her opportunity to attack. Chi, belly to the ground, stares unblinkingly as she waits for her moment to pounce...

Sorry for the wait, internet is back! More posts to come!

Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

Round 1
AC (+2 Barkskin-shield)= 20
Current Buffs - 10 mins of Barkskin, 5 mins of Fly, 9 rounds of Magic Weapon (Silver Greatsword +1)
Armed currently with Grewatsword
Charge Nets me 160ft move if full round or only 80ft move if Standard action is all I have. Needless to say I hope it's enough to close the distance. :)

With the powerful magic flowing through her she felt stronger, exhilarated by the feeling of going into combat against these woodland thugs. With her troops repositioning and the Ravens hiding somewhere to the south eastern trails she had little doubt they would arise victorious this day. No one would escape, the Stag Lands would have no warning of their coming, only that one by one the bandit gangs would fall. Starting with the strongest known in the northern greenbelt.

She rode forward, her greatsword in her hand, ready to cut down the first quivering bandit that moved against them. She gave her troops a few moments to get ready before riding in on swift. Moving against her opponents with blurring speed as Swifts magic hooves tore up the earth with frightening speed. The thunder of her hooves gave the man little chance to react before her blade bite into him.

Charge attack +Cavalier Charge -Power Attack +Magic Weapon: 1d20 + 9 + 4 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (19) + 9 + 4 + 1 - 2 = 31

Confirm crit?: 1d20 + 9 + 4 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (12) + 9 + 4 + 1 - 2 = 24

Damage Normal +Magic +Power Attack: 2d6 + 3 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (2, 3) + 3 + 1 + 4 = 13

If Confirmed Crit: 2d6 + 3 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (3, 1) + 3 + 1 + 4 = 12

Spirited Charge turns Normal hit into 26 HP damage
Spirited Charge +critical hit damage= 50 HP damage

I wasn't sure if double damage for spirited charge apply before or after critical hit damage was tallied. Limited time to post sorry :(

The force of the blow, coupled with the speed she rode in on tore through the mans side like a wet parchment. A visceral spray of his arterial blood was enough to tell her that the injury she gave him was mortal indeed. She wheeled swift around and faced the bandits gathered around their campfire. Staring in momentary disbelief at the fiery redhead who was attacking them.

Nice! Action at last!

Mulray sends in Karou... The little monkey rolls into view of the two bandits, and begins doing flips, spins, and handstands.

Mulray creeps into position.. where he feels confident the two north watching the Lil Karou performance won't spot him.
He then nocks an arrow, and prepares to fire on the single bandit.
[dice=Mulray stealth]1d20+8
Fascinate Will DC15 or -4 to perception checks

My only problem is that Mulray when into the bushes... and he can, he must follow the paths... only Little Karou can cross the bushes and trees.

Apologies for the wait, without internet we got totally hosed. Sorry again guys. :(

Init: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21
Azurefang;Init: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14
Ride: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14 Was only going for DC 10, so that works, Fight with a combat-trained mount success.

Tarina tells Azurefang to seek out an enemy, her belt already transformed into a shortspear and her shield out she attacks the first enemy she encounters.

Shortspear: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 5 + 1 = 11 Might hit Flatfooted...
Shortspear: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Since it's the surprise round, Azurefang won't get an attack since it wasn't a charge.

Azurefang can charge if only moves his normal speed, or can close in "before" the surprise round doing a Stealth check...

Surprise round
South side
Mulray and Xi'Tir
The bandits see the small monkey do their stuff and moves towards it getting out of sight of Mulray and Xi'Tir (but not out of earshot).
"Where did he come from?"
"It's nice, isn't it?"
"Could we keep it?"
When they notice the sounds of battle in the west side one of them speaks, worried.
"What is happening? Are we under attack?"
West side
Seraph and Tarina
Only a splash of blood remains of the sentry at the west side, after Seraph charge against it. The bandits playing in the near campfire don't quite grasping what is happening.
And then Tarina comes out from the shadows to attack them, but with her very poor sight she misses the first of them!
"To arms! We are under Attack!"
They quickly move to grab their weapons..
Tarina and Azurefang get and Attack of Oportunity against them
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Round 1 - Characters
Ok, your attacks for the round!