Council of Thieves

Game Master Mug

Lucon starts as Ava sends one of the doors rattling from it's hinges. "Ha! There's the dwarf lass I remember." he says, wistfully, standing guard behind her with his shield at the ready. "Though I think I made a better errand boy than muscle..." he waxes, rubbing his neck bashfully and leaning on his blade, nervously looking about for goblins.

Which door are we expecting them to come through? Did we block the other pathways.

Goblins are sneaky creatures- I wouldn't be surprised to see them come through the walls. However, they're also lazy creatures. Perhaps we should lay a trap? I could grease the floor and fog the next room if we crack open the door. They should run right into our trap to escape.

Avas' search reveals several chambers with multiple, small beds, and the one on the right is a much larger chamber with two comparably nice beds inside. Each bed has a locker at the bottom, with a lock on it. In the two smaller rooms you find 1d200 + 50 ⇒ (82) + 50 = 132sp, three knives, two short swords (1 broken), two spears (both broken) and two small studded leather armors pieced together -quite ingeniously- from scraps of other armor. The larger room with the two beds reveals two small vials in a small stand between the beds (one an amber color, the other red and black swirls), and 1d50 + 25 ⇒ (43) + 25 = 68gp stashed in the room.

A commonality between the rooms Ava examined is the threadbare quality of the walls. They've been regularly used for knife, sword, and axe practice for quite some time, and the walls show it. Some of these walls seem quite weak and thin in certain spots, being wooden in the first place, the abuse they've received have only accelerated the decay. In the large bedroom she sees a small hole behind a tattered wall-hanging, and climbing onto one of the beds gives you a peek into the room beyond. She can also hear much better into that room from this vantage point. She notices that two of the goblins are armed and armored (one with shortsword, the other a spear - both wearing what appears to be piecemeal leather armor), and the third is garbed with a bright red (although very dirty) bathrobe.

**MAP Updated**

Western Room
Lucon's remark provokes a grin from Ava as she turns towards him. "Perhaps!" she says, somewhat jovially. "But we've still plenty of time to make a champion of you yet."
The glitter of gold and silver seems to have lifted her spirits. She quickly counts the coins before stowing them in her coin purse. The weapons and armor are of little use to her, and she leaves them where they are.

South-Eastern Room
Ava carefully lifts the vials from the stand, staring intently at them before the hole catches her eye. She looks through for a moment, counting the goblins in the next-door room before returning to her companions in the hallway.

"Here." She approaches the viscount, offering him the two vials. "Alchemy was never my strong suit." She turns to the rest, and fills them in about the hole in the wall. "I've counted at least three waiting for us. Two warriors and a third. From his attire, I suspect it's one of the arcanists Rat warned me about. We'll have to be careful he doesn't singe our eyebrows."

Ava seems to take this last point very seriously, running a finger across her curiously well-maintained brow as if checking that they're still there. The necessity of stealth gone, the dwarven woman seems to have shifted from away her business-like demeanor and into a distinctly more energetic one. The transition is stark and sudden, as if the earlier melees had revitalized her in some way.

"Now that the blood's flowing, I feel we can just brute force our way in. Take the direct approach, or even bust through the wall as well - confuse them." She mimes a hacking action with her axe as she speaks, slowly shifting her weight back and forth on each foot. "All I know is that we must be swift now that they're aware of our presence. We can fight them hand to hand, but we don't want to give them time to prepare any traps."

Caladius rolls his broad shoulders then crosses his arms as he watches these so-called "Torchbearers" interact. He remains gruffly silent as he offers each an appraising eye before nodding at Ava's suggestion. "I like the wall idea, so long as it doesn't bring the building crashing down around our ears." He looks to Lucon. "If we decide to try it, would you like to play the part of the bull or should I?"

Enko appears next to the more martial warriors, kama in hand and a bag of flash powder in the other. "I can play the role of the blindfold," he says softly. "Better still if Corneleous can target them with a spell or dart through the first axe hole."

...axe hole

LOL

Lucon nods at Caladius, grimacing. It takes him a few seconds to find his words. "Yes, leave it to me." he says, uncertainty vanishing from his voice. He manages to glance at Corneleous for a moment before staring at his feet. "I agree. If... if his lordship thinks it wise." he says, frightful he's spoken out of turn. "By your leave, milord..." he adds, meekly.

Profession: Carpenter check (How sturdy are the walls here?)1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

Lucon will probably charge in where it's most dangerous. I'll probably delay to charge in after Enko uses his flash powder or Corneleous flushes them out with a spell. I'll bullrush in as deep as I can, eating AoO's and grabbing their attention. From there I can probably just fight defensively or total defense. I'm probably better off not charging full pelt into a fog cloud and grease spell though, so we'll see. What doorway would you guys rather Lucon at?

@Cornelous - The walls are less-sturdy. They are around a quarter as strong as you'd expect a wooden wall to be.

I always defer to the experts on matters where they know better than I. And knock it with the 'm'lord' s@!#. The only lording I'm going to do over you is to compare my body count to yours at the end of the day. He cracks his knuckles.

Ok, here's what I'm thinking- find your marks. I'll summon a viper to sneak up on the goblins from the other side of the room, then I'll fill the room with fog. Add the flash, and then we'll break through and drive them to hell. Ready?

Two rounds to set up- attacking on the second round. Grease he'll save until he can knock the feet out from under some of them.

I'm not entirely clear on the order of things. Is the plan for a)Lucon to bust through the wall then send the flash powder and spells flying, or b)to do the flashing and spelling first THEN Lucon bust through the wall? If the fogging is later I'll start with my bow. If the fogging is first I'll follow Lucon through and into melee.

Let's go with the obscuring mist first. Shall we say Corneleous finishes his summon and then kick off the surprise round after that?

Obscuring mist is a spread from the caster's square, so we might want Lucon to draw attention to the wall before the viscount opens the door and casts. It stops vision on both sides and provides us with little benefit in combat (indeed, the concealment would favour an AoE like burning hands or auto-hit like magic missile) so we could just use it to skirt the walls and cut off escape routes before dismissing it and then closing in on them. (ie readying actions to charge them when the spell is dismissed or if they try to run. Stealthing near the stairs to hit them unaware could also be viable.) It's a lot better for positioning than fighting in a case like this.

... and this is why he's a terrifying GM.

Ok, so replace obscuring mist with a grease, if I can target the whole group. I'll summon a fiendish snake behind them (appearing the next round), and then grease the floor underneath them as Lucon busts through the wall. They'll fall when the grease hits, or if they decide to move while we're rushing after them.

I liked Ava's re positioning plan the best. I dont know how well Lucon will fight in the middle of a grease spell.

As shrewd as our battle tactics are... as far as we know it's just three goblins. Maybe we should save our spells for Whitechin and just explode through the wall like the Kool-Aid Man.

One is an arcanist, but yes. So, this is like the scene in Breaking Dawn Pt. 1 when all the wolves talk in telepathic voices that sound like Transformers. "No! I am the leader!" Ah, excellent cinema, that was.

Caladius raises a good point. Spells per day are pretty scarce at this level, so we might want to hold onto them for the big fight later. If it is just three goblins, it could be overkill. We don't want to over-think it if we can just lop their heads off. Back to going through the wall, is anyone else going to follow Lucon through that route?

I can if we want. That should be pretty scary, in and of itself.

When you're ready, post your Surprise Round actions. They do not need to be spoilered as,presumably, you've all been conspiring in fiendish whispers and know who's doing what and when. If the order your action begins is important --in relation to your allies actions-- please signify your intended order/trigger in your post. But do roll your init which will be used in Round 1.

Is it Ava-axe, Lucon-wall, Caladius-wall, Corneleous-range dart? I oughta just stay in the hall and arrange some flowers. ;) Corneleous can shoot over me and I'll run in through the door.

I think it's wall busting then ranged attacks. So order shouldn't really matter apart from Lucon going first. I also don't think he can fail with what Mug's given us already saying the walls are about 1/4 as strong as they should be. The normal Break DC for a wooden wall is 20... so I'm guessing these are maybe DC 5. Even on a natural 1 he'll still bull through it like a champ =)

One is an arcanist, but yes. So, this is like the scene in Breaking Dawn Pt. 1 when all the wolves talk in telepathic voices that sound like Transformers. "No! I am the leader!" Ah, excellent cinema, that was.

I didn't understand any of that.

The plan sounds good: bash and shoot.

Lucon will wait for Enko's distraction before ploughing through the wall with a shoulder-tackle.

1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

I suppose that would be my surprise round action, so let's hope the initiative gremlins are kind.

1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Surprise and: after shaka the walls fell.
attack with crossbow 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14
dmg 1d8 ⇒ 5 then drop for reload bot.

Surprise! Heeeeeere's LUCON!

Initiative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Flail at the ready, Caladius follows Lucon into the room.
Move Action: Get adjacent to a goblin if possible

Ava will act after Enko enters the room, 5ft-stepping into the gap that he leaves.

Ava will hurl a dart at the arcanist as soon as the door is opened.
Dart: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25for: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
Sneak Attack: 1d6 ⇒ 5

Initiative: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23

Edit:
Confirmation (Dart): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

Enko tumbles to the arcanist and tosses the flash powder at him/her/it.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11

I forgot initiative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9.

Me too, along with most everything else.

Init: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

Enko throws his weight against the door to burst in and start the meyhem, but his efforts are stopped short. There seems to be some kind of barricade on the other side of the door, impeding his access. As he tries this, there are frantic sounds and voices from the other side of the door.

For Lucon, who is now positioned in the bedroom and can see the goings on, sees the robed one yelling out as Enko tries to break through and fails. The goblins attention and weapons are all trained squarely on the door. The robed one raises his hands in the direction of the door and begins muttering something unintelligible.

Perception 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

"They're going to attack through the door!"

After he makes it, Enko's observation fails to produce any goblins through the door. Lucon doesn't see any movement towards the door from the small hole in the bedroom wall. It seems they are prepared to wait for the intruders to breach the door.

"They're going to defend at the door."

Enko looks around for things to toss at the door and make the goblins think the party will break through there, while nodding to Ava at the wall. If there are big, breakable things (vases?) he'll toss them at the door first to make a big racket.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

Over Enko's shouting and general noise-making, Caladius remains unaware of any noteworthy cues coming from beyond the thin wall. He knocks his shoulder into Lucon's as he harshly whispers, "Now or never, torchbearer. Be the bull!"

Surprise Round
Meanwhile, Lucon continues with his half of the plan charging and is barely able to burst through the wall. Splinters of wood explode everywhere as the carpenter forces an opening large enough for two and stumbles forward into the room.

The Viscount steps into the space previously occupied by Lucon and releases a bolt towards Goblin3 the only one who's not in combat, but does have partial cover. The cover isn't enough however, and the bolt strikes it in the shoulder, causing it to yowl in pain and anger.

Flail at the ready, Caladius follows Lucon into the room, moving right past a flat-footed goblin to stand next to the robed goblin, who's staring up at his with magic-crazed eyes.

Ava, who had repositioned herself once she saw the barricaded door, hurls a dart at the arcanist as soon as the door is opened. The dart is thrown with great skill, luck, and her considerable strength behind it-- narrowly missing Lucon, a goblin warrior, and Caladius. The robed goblins mouth was open in surprise, and the dart finds its way into that disgusting oraface, lodging in the back of the throat. The possibly formidable magic-wielding goblin is reduced to a choking, gasping thing, clawing bloody scratches into it's own throat as it struggles for one last breath. 9 damage on that roll. So much for a challenging encounter! ;)

Enko abandons the ruse at the door and moves into the bedroom to back up the two larger men.

Amon steps onto a bed and sends out a tendril of his magic to connect silently with Lucon. Life Link w/Lucon active

**MAP**

Post for Round 1 please!
Init:
Ava
Amon
Goblin Dog
Goblin1
Enko
Corneleous
Goblin2
Goblin3
Lucon
Caladius

Yesssss. Life link.

Lucon will fight defensively AC: 21, gripping his shield tightly, he'll five-foot step to flank the unfortunate goblin one and thrust his blade deep into its heart.

1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23
1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21

1d8 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
1d8 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Edit: Wheee~ 20s all day!

Ava grins as the dart finds its mark, pumping her fist triumphantly.

Ava moves past Lucon and the Viscount, narrowing her eyes as she lines up a shot at goblin2. "Think fast!" This dart takes the goblin in the gut, doubling him over and he slowly topples to the side.

With a whirl of his sling Amon lets a stone fly at the already injured goblin3 - trying to bring it down. His shot sails right through the confusing melee taking place in the middle of the room and knocks the top of large goblin head hiding behind a barrel. The head falls completely out of sight behind the small obstruction after its struck.

The goblin dog rushes out from behind the low barricade, rat-like teeth bared and flashing right at Ava's legs. Ava is able to easily dodge it's over-excited attempt to rend her flesh.

Goblin1 is too dumb to recognize the fight is lost, but is crafty enough to see and use the flanking the dog has provided him against Ava. It's sword slice is delivered with cruel precision, slashing Ava's hip with some force. 6 damage to Ava

Enko slips into the room after Rend and Lucon and tosses a bullet at the goblin dog. It somehow threads its way through the press of bodies to hit the animal, but there isn't a lot of power too it. While it must have hurt to some degree, the dog shrugs off the bullet strike with narry a snarl.

The Viscount steps forward, his unseen friend following behind. He gestures grandly and unleashes a bolt of acid at the nearby goblin dog. However the shot, which normally would have hit had the melee fighting not necessitated some caution with his spell, sails wide.

Goblin2 remains out of the fight.
Goblin3 doesn't stir.

Lucon will fight defensively, gripping his shield tightly, seeing Caladius and Ava have flanked the goblin he'll five-foot step to better assist Ava against the goblin dog. He thrusts his blade deep into its heart with a skill that belies his accustomed place in a woodworking shop, and the dog drops without a sound.

Caladius swings his flail at the nearest goblin as hard as he can, nearly smashing the temporarily gloating goblin1 down into the floorboards.

Combat is over

**MAP**

When you search you find...
1d30 + 25 ⇒ (5) + 25 = 30gp worth of jewely on the robed goblin
1d50 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14sp
2 potions
1 rusty key
3 small leather armors
3 short swords

"Thanks." Ava glances briefly at both Caladius and Lucon before sinking down to the ground, pressing down on her hip. She grimaces as she glances down at the blood on her hands.
"Tch. Seems... I got a little too excited..." Her voice seems to shrink away as she slowly curls into a ball, gripping her waist."...It hurts."

From her lowered position, she notices the glint of jewels and coin. Her eyes seem to gleam and a predatory grin stretches across her face. She starts towards the treasures, stretching her arm forward, but is stopped dead in her tracks by a twinge of pain from her side. Her head hangs in defeat.
"...It hurts." she repeats the words, slowly folding back into a pale dwarven mound upon the ground.

Caladius kneels down beside Ava and pats her shoulder reassuringly. He calls over his shoulder to Amon, "Amen? Ebon? I'm sorry, what's your name again? I think... errr... Eva here could use your help."