On the eastern continent of Tian Xia, the Pathfinder Society remains a small player in the greater political landscape, but Amara Li, head of the Lantern Lodge in the teeming city of Goka, has plans to change that. In order to secure the Pathfinder Society's place as an influential organization on the far side of the world from the Grand Lodge in Absalom, she must orchestrate an alliance with the mysterious Way of the Kirin. But the longtime rival of the Pathfinder Society, the Aspis Consortium, has plans to form an alliance of its own, and if the consortium succeeds, the Pathfinder Society's hopes of cementing their place in the Dragon Empires could be dashed forever.
Walkimg threw the front door. Savage adresses the group.
"They have not yet made it this way. Sabertooth is out side standing guard. He will let me know if they get close."
After this he is filled in as to what is goinf on.
"I have joined the sociaty to help my goals of saving nature. Everything that lives should be protected and most things cant protect themselves. The sociaty has helped me with that. Given me access to resources i normally could not get."
Sorry, real life kwpt me away. I do want to point out we are doing well on time, and Ill make a larger post soon.
The older samurai listens to you tail and views on the Society, asking questions throughout, with both respect and what seems honest interest, but also seems to hold a great deal of his motives and reactions to himself.
His questions tend to range between different religious philosophies to the glories of battle to the importance of particular finds to the various other aliances the Society has held such as with the Blakros's, but neither approving nor disapproving with what is said.
Can I get a Diplomacy check from all involved, and also a Perception check from Stormtooth.
A little bit later, Amara-Li politely excuses herself, asking kindly for anyones aid that wishes to contribute with the preparing and performance of her Tea Ceremony, something she feels is very important, despite the looming threat.
"If you would help me in this sign of respect to our host, I would ask you to please dress in something more formal. This ritual is akin to a religious rite, and must be given a similar respect. I would be most pleased for your assistance, as well as the respect you show your brothers and sisters of the Tien Xia lodges in seeking to learn and honor our ways. Our history and lore."
"Pardon my leave mam. Where i come from these are the finest clothes you can find. I will be returning to my post out side as the only reason i came in was to escort our guest. Ramesses will be the first to know if something is wrong."
On that note Nibber the weasel climbs on to Ramesses and wraps around his neck like a fur scarf. in a very stylish fashion.
I will post perception when i get to my stuff. Idk why its nit online yet lol but will put it on there as well
Jorah considers what Amara asks very carefully, "My apologies, but I must refuse to help. I fear we may be in danger quite soon and I would prefer to stay in my armor, the stars are looking quite ominous tonight. Besides, Desna would not be too pleased if I were to partake in some other religious rite. I will observe your tea ceremony but I will not participate."
Male Tengu Oracle 5 | HP 33/33 | CMD 19 | AC 23, t 13, ff 20 | Fort +3 Ref +5 Will +4 | Init +5x2, Perc +9 (Low-light vision, Darkvision 60ft. (also max range), Carrion Sense) | Act Con: blur
Diplomacy:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22
Rravn looks at his wardrobe, then excuses himself to don his heavy armor off. He comes back clad in a cleric's vestment, with pure white robes on his cream white feathers. He stays silent for the time being, either because he is being polite or is in a trance.
Ramesses will dress to match the servants and will partake in the ceremony. His weapons and armor stashed in the secret exit.do I need to make another disguise check?Diplomacy:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
Not yet, but remind me later, if you are planning on what I think you are. :)
The Ceremony if you are interested:
With that, the ceremony begins. In fine robes, Amara-Li with her many assistants prepares everything to be used on a few small trays, placing things in particular places, and once again, it seems every motion is a ritual unto itself. Rather than just place the small tea cups onto the tray, she and her two assistants that are familiar with this custom raise them, inspect them twice each, and then slowly place them on the tray. An object the looks similar to a paint brush is next drawn, examined like one would to check if a piece of wood is straight, and then holding it in one hand like a wand, she uses the other to tap it with two fingers three gentle times before laying it on the tray carefully. This continues until everything is in it's proper place, where everyone involved in the preparation slowly walks to the main hall. The furniture has been moved away from the center, and a large mat has been placed. At it's center is a short table, only perhaps a foot and a half tall (1/3 meter).
...
The entire thing happens in total silence, and as you enter the main hall, you see the samurai has left, leaving the room empty. Not a single word is spoken throughout, though once the tray has been placed, the front door suddenly opens, and the old warrior once again enters. He has removed his armor, now wearing a robe as well. He kneels before the table, and appears to bow his head in a silent, personal prayer, s Amara-Li begins to walk forward, looking at you as if to say "do as I do". She kneels as well, and picks up a single tea cup. Placing boiled water in it, she then takes a spoon-like implement and dips it into a jar of some mustard-yellow powder. She then cleans the spoon, and picks up another instrument to stir it in, before finally placing the tea cup down in the middle.
Those paying attention to the details suspect that this is a sort of test, a gift offered, and now the giver must wait to see if it is received, and if so, in what way. Tsuneo takes the cup, and looks to you with a smile before taking a sip. Afterwards, Amara-Li also makes a cup for each of you, and herself, indicating that while negotiations are not complete, all parties are at least interested, and can begin to partake in some of the fruits that such an alliance might bring.
Not long after, once the ceremony has finished, Savage rushes in, warning that he has just killed a scout, and believes that the army he saw, is likely on the way. Tsuneo, once again in his family armor (and it's not at all ceremonial, suggests that you make preparations, as he is most eager to see you in battle.
"Death is not an end, but a beginning. It has long been my belief that to die fighting for something worth fighting for is the greatest of deaths that a warrior can achieve. I am shamed in that I have yet to have the chance to offer my life in any battle I have yet fought. But, if it is truly an army come here, no doubt their first target would have been to murder the crew of my ship, and likely burning the docks entirely. I have no doubt we are outnumbered, and there is no chance of fleeing."
"From some of what you said earlier of these warriors, I believe I know who leads them, and why they are here. You may have heard of a group, a cowardly group, the Golden League. In my youth, the Way had begun to attempt to regain some of it's lost status and glory. We did not always succeed. On in particular, has haunted me. Mikogu Shimazi, had been a promising recruit. We had secretly back his small holdings in an attempt to encourage the economy to be more generous to the peoples here. But Shimazi, . . . followed a different path. He used our secret funding to start a trade-war with, one he thought he would win with our military support, but that is not the Way's way. We denied his request for membership, and those he had started a war with, the Golden League destroyed his businesses on one fell swoop. We had thought he had died in the fire as well, but destiny had not yet finished with him. Instead, he had been recruited by the Golden League, first tortured, and but then indoctrinated. What little he had learned of the Way became corrupted, and his hatred destroyed what little of a good man there had been. He is now their enforcer, wielding his bitter hatred at the direction of his former enemies, and yearns for a change to revenge himself against the Way."
"This home, so dear to me, is but a home. A place of stone, and of wood, and of memory. But just a place. It is time to see just what you can do with it, so that before we die, we can take as many of these fiends with us."
Having looked throughout the house a bit more in depth, you have (possibly) noted a few things that could be done to strengthen the home against an invasion. Soon, I'm going to post some different checks. Something to keep in mind, though, is that there is a time limit you will not be aware of, and everything involved will require an unknown amount of time before your final stand. Um, I mean before you fight. Yah, that's it.
Ok, here are various things you have discovered so far that could be used to make the location that much more secure:
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1.) With a Craft: Traps or Disable Device check, you can set up some basic obstacles and dangers to hinder the approaching army before they arrive.
2.) No check required, but by gathering up all of the furniture and finery within the house, you can create barriers to help reinforce the doors, walls, and windows. All told, there is enough material that you can completely brace and reinforce twelve 5ft square sections of the lower level of the house.
3.) By piling up a great deal of the furniture in front of the main entrance, a particular likely point of entry, you can effectively force invaders to go through a great deal of extra trouble getting in, but doing so will be costly to your reserves of material to reinforce the rest of the house. Again, no roll required.
4.) In the storage room of the lighthouse, you found old pieces of lumber and iron fittings. It isn't until now that it dawns od you. Thy are not just odd bits of old junk, but rather are actually what remains of a disassembled catapult. One that can be reconstructed. Stage 1 is going to require a Craft: Carpentry check.
5.) The upstairs section of t main house, particularly around the area just above the entrance, as is, is rather useless at the moment as far as defense. It has no windows, but a cunning individual could modify the floor to create murder holes for firing arrows down at intruders (Craft: Carpentry or Disable Device) or even pouring dangerous substances on them. Perhaps some of that oil you saw stored in the lighthouse could even be heated up. . .
6.) There was also a massive boiling pot in the kitchen that could be heated up, and anyone with Craft: Alchemy could easily find enough random ingredients throughout the house to create a weaker but much larger version of an Alchemist's Fire.
7.) In the Master bedroom, the ceiling sags from water damage and the floor in the center of the room slants alarmingly. With a little bit of sawing to aid the damage that's already been done, you could create a makeshift pit trap, with a Craft: Carpentry, Disable Device, or Knowledge: Engineering check.
8.) And finally, though badly damaged, the Lighthouse itself is still mostly operational, and if it's reservoir where filled and the wick lit, it may or may not help to pierce the fog and rain that's still hovering about the small costal island.
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So basically, I'm going to have everyone act in a fashion similar to Rounds, though these are not "combat rounds". Please pick what you would like to attempt to do, round by round, (which will also determine just how long that round's length is, time wise), and by all means, feel free to add some flavor and personalize things a bit. Also, it's possible to use spells or things that might accomplish some of the thing above, or do other things that are not specifically listed. I'm cool with that. Or, if you have a class feature or different skill you feel might work, I might allow it. Go ahead and roll the original skill asked for, but also mention "hey, can I try to use ____ instead" and also roll that.
If they are fortifying the house i will move me and raptor inside lol... that would be a bad day. If there will be a way for me to stay guard and come in later I will, if not then i coming in now
Male Tengu Oracle 5 | HP 33/33 | CMD 19 | AC 23, t 13, ff 20 | Fort +3 Ref +5 Will +4 | Init +5x2, Perc +9 (Low-light vision, Darkvision 60ft. (also max range), Carrion Sense) | Act Con: blur
Rravn is not a crafty person, so instead does the heavy lifting. He begins gathering various chair and other wooden debris and starts creating barriers and reinforcing door, walls, and windows.
Option 2. I'm guessing multiple persons can do the same thing, thus completing the task faster?
Male Tengu Oracle 5 | HP 33/33 | CMD 19 | AC 23, t 13, ff 20 | Fort +3 Ref +5 Will +4 | Init +5x2, Perc +9 (Low-light vision, Darkvision 60ft. (also max range), Carrion Sense) | Act Con: blur
Rravn will do nothing but #2, unless it has been maxed out or so.
Option #2:
2.) No check required, but by gathering up all of the furniture and finery within the house, you can create barriers to help reinforce the doors, walls, and windows. All told, there is enough material that you can completely brace and reinforce twelve 5ft square sections of the lower level of the house.
Todric and Jorah head upstairs. trying to create a concealed trap from the already partially ruined floor incase the invaders get inside and the group needs to fall back. Ramesses has a bit of trouble finding all of the various things he needs, or at least something risky he can substitute, but gets the massive pot at least boiling.
Falom, the Tested, slinks into the shadows and out into the rain, tries to set up a few tripwires, but it seems like even this small, unoccupied island is against her, and what little vines she fines just don't hold up after a few tests to make sure they work.
While doing that, the Druid goes up to the Lighthouse tower and sets the oil, then lights the wick with a simple spell, sending a weak beam of light out into the fog and rain. Unsure just how much help that will be, it's at least done, and he goes back inside to join the others in setting up the main floor, creating barricades and reinforcing the walls and doors. With that done, there are still plenty of other things to try, but know one knows just how long you have.
All told, your efforts thus far have taken about 1 hour, after which Amara-Li gathers you together, first to assess your progress, but also with news."Lord Tsuneo has informed me that he may have a way to summon aid. I will travel with him to aid him. Below the house, as you have no doubt already seen, is a hidden path, an underground tunnel that leads to a concealed cave closer to the docks. I'm not sure what is required, but while we request aid, I need you to stay here and postpone the army as long as you can. I'm not asking you to do anything,. . . stupid. Just to give us as much time as you can, and if need be, to fall back into the caves. We will leave markers to guide you."
Shortly after that, the Venture-Captain and the Samurai escape through the hidden passage, assuring you that they will not abandon you, and that the caves they are going to shall be the site of your last stand, if it comes to that.
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1.) With a Craft: Traps or Disable Device check, you can set up some basic obstacles and dangers to hinder the approaching army before they arrive.
2.) No check required, but by gathering up all of the furniture and finery within the house, you can create barriers to help reinforce the doors, walls, and windows. All told, there is enough material that you can completely brace and reinforce twelve 5ft square sections of the lower level of the house.
3.) By piling up a great deal of the furniture in front of the main entrance, a particular likely point of entry, you can effectively force invaders to go through a great deal of extra trouble getting in, but doing so will be costly to your reserves of material to reinforce the rest of the house. Again, no roll required.
4.) In the storage room of the lighthouse, you found old pieces of lumber and iron fittings. It isn't until now that it dawns od you. Thy are not just odd bits of old junk, but rather are actually what remains of a disassembled catapult. One that can be reconstructed. Stage 1 is going to require a Craft: Carpentry check.
5.) The upstairs section of t main house, particularly around the area just above the entrance, as is, is rather useless at the moment as far as defense. It has no windows, but a cunning individual could modify the floor to create murder holes for firing arrows down at intruders (Craft: Carpentry or Disable Device) or even pouring dangerous substances on them. Perhaps some of that oil you saw stored in the lighthouse could even be heated up. . .
6.) There was also a massive boiling pot in the kitchen that could be heated up, and anyone with Craft: Alchemy could easily find enough random ingredients throughout the house to create a weaker but much larger version of an Alchemist's Fire.
7.) In the Master bedroom, the ceiling sags from water damage and the floor in the center of the room slants alarmingly. With a little bit of sawing to aid the damage that's already been done, you could create a makeshift pit trap, with a Craft: Carpentry, Disable Device, or Knowledge: Engineering check.
8.) And finally, though badly damaged, the Lighthouse itself is still mostly operational, and if it's reservoir where filled and the wick lit, it may or may not help to pierce the fog and rain that's still hovering about the small costal island.
If we can do more than once
Falom heads upstairs to try to set up some more traps.
disable device:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9yeah... i think i just had a bomb blow up in my face. 20 dmg...
After working on the pit trap, Jorah walks around to see how everyone's work is going. He stops at each of his fellow adventurers, mumbles a prayer in Celestial and casts guidance as they work. He then heads upstairs to try to improvise a murder hole after casting Guidance on himself.
Ramesses will try to percieve tthe ingredients he is having trouble finding. Then use his alchemy skill to mix them in the correct order. craft alchemy:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24perception:1d20 + 15 ⇒ (3) + 15 = 18 he will then head upstairs to the murder room to rig the pot. Attempting knowledge engineering to rig the pot above the main entrance.? if not ill just keep it above the murder holes? Helping Jorah.
Male Human Fighter (Lore Warden) 5 | HP 49/49 | AC 21 T 14 FF 17 | Saves: F: +7 R: +5 W: +3 | CMD: 23 (25 vs. disarm) | Init: +3 Percep: +5 SM: +1
Tod tries to gauge if his work has been successful. If so, he moves downstairs:
"It might be better to completely deny them access to one or two points than to delay them everywhere. Then we can work in pairs and cover the remaining points of entry. What say you?"
Savage I able to carve some rudimentary murder holes into the structure while Jorah finally perfects his large concoction, though otherwise the group fails to make any other improvements to the defenses.
At the end of another hour or so, you begin to see a line of torches advancing toward the house using mostly the same path you yourself did on you initial journey here, and know that you do not have much more time.
Scraping together what little you still can before the enemy arrives, you give it all one more shot.
Before sealing up the house completely, Falom does manage finally to set a few traps outside the house, just hoping they will work when the time comes. Inside, everyone else tries to reconstruct the catapult, firing a few test shots out.
Ramesses and Todric (all can see):
You both have the option to use the Catapult if you would like, or to Aid Another, here. To use the catapult, it is basically a special attack roll against the coming army, but it's difficult from the lighthouse, as the rain and fog are very well concealing them. You just know the basic area they need to travel. It is a BaB + your Ranks in Knowledge Engineering. Additionally, if you can find a way to "track" the first shot and see exactly where it lands, you will get a +2 bonus on all further shots.
Finally, even though you can not see much outside the house, you begin to hear the army outside, their loud footsteps as they march, their vulgar cries for your death and dishonor, and various orders being shouted in Tien, indicating the army has arrived and is begin to set up to attack.
For speed, you have 4 rounds worth of actions, but also please keep in mind that you do need to arrange yourselves in the house, so if anyone wants to use party buffs, this could be an issue if people are in different areas, like for instance the lighthouse using the catapult. Additionally, from the Lighthouse, you can make attacks, but only area affects with a pretty long range will really have any affect at this point.
Just a reminder, we are defending this light house from attacks, right? Are there any windows on the tower? Something that an archer could take advantage of and use to fight from. Also, how high is the house's roof from the outside?
Your defending the entire home from invasion, trying to give Amara-Li and the Samurai Iko Tsuneo time to go into the tunnels and somehow call for aid. Unfortunately, right now you are fighting a literal army, so individual attacks will not help you as you really can not see them.
The first floor of the house is separated from the Lighthouse,, but the second story has a walkway that leads over to it. In the light house, it's first floor it open, (though I'm assuming you have closed it up and barricaded it as well), while the second story has a balcony that you can look down from. There are no windows in either except for the small murder holes you have built into the second story of the house and the two large windows on the first floor, but they look out at the bay and are hanging over a cliff.
Think about it sort of like you are fighting a massive swarm. You can not target individuals in the swarm, but area attacks that can reach 150-200ft can hit it. That will change, but for right now, only attacks that can be hurled into the masses that you really can't see (rain, fog, and distance) will eat away at it's numbers.
Also, yes, you have had plenty of time to put on armor, and do similar things. I wanted to avoid bogging everyone down with the details of the tasks, as each had different times. I think, off the top of my head, creating a 5x5 section of a barricade took 10 minutes, while trying to create a trap, (which will come into affect soon) too a solid hour.
Common sense indicates that if the "evil ninja army" is attacking, they are probably trying to get to either Iko Tsuneo or Amara-LI, or both, and so are probably thinking they are inside the house itself. So they may send in some to the Lighthouse, especially if someone starts throwing down fireballs or using the catapult, their gal is probably to break into the house and swarm it, and probably to do so from all sides.
Out of Character:
At the beginning, if anyone would have asked questions, it would have lead to Amara-Li indicating that in Tian-Xia, the Aspis Consortium had allied with a similar group called the Golden League, which are notorious ninja assassins. But because a large portion of the explanation was missed, I have had to slightly modify the events as presented to try to include them later, more so that it wasn't extremely confusing to everyone as players. Keeping in mind this is OOC info, I'm just telling you so that it might help to clarify things a bit more.
Falom/Test Subject:
Even though I rolled it for you, you where able to set up a few traps last minute. If you want to, during your 2nd and 3rd rounds of prep, you can have some narrative control to describe what they are and how they work, keeping in mind that they will kill/incapacitate roughly 5-10 individuals in the army as they (again as the "swarm") advance. A few ideas could be that you covered a small pit that falls into some of the islands still open lava pool, or maybe rigged a section of the cliff with a trip wire that caused some rocks t fall on the advancing army. Have a little fun with it.
As Jorah preps for battle, he starts a prayer in Celestial and casts Bless on the group.
3 min duration on Bless, and not sure where everyone is but it's a 50ft burst. Also, once the battle starts, because of his Tongues curse, the only one able to communicate with Jorah will be Savage since he's the only one that speaks Celestial it looks like.
Male Human Fighter (Lore Warden) 5 | HP 49/49 | AC 21 T 14 FF 17 | Saves: F: +7 R: +5 W: +3 | CMD: 23 (25 vs. disarm) | Init: +3 Percep: +5 SM: +1
Tod would have joined the others for a quick pre-fight conference.
"Can anyone cast a light spell on the catapult stones? If we can see them better, I'd like to try thinning their ranks before they close. And can anyone assist me in operating the thing?"
Falom looks at Jorah, "Please, i work better in shadows. Though, if i could see the target with lit boulder, that would be good." She pulls out a small vial and drinks it. Then she hides in the murder holes.
I will be assisting Todric since GM said we had time to put on armor already. I can just keep using light on the boulders, free, and use perception to see where it hits. Ill be your spotter. Ramesses turns to Todric. "Lets try to strip away some of their numbers."Knowledge Eng:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22Peeception:1d20 + 15 ⇒ (9) + 15 = 24if johrah just used the ability on the whole group of boulders then that'll work too.
Both Light or Daylight would work, allowing you to see generally just where the first hot lands, and then from there to adjust and fire for max effect.
Todric Callaster wrote:
"Can anyone cast a light spell on the catapult stones? If we can see them better, I'd like to try thinning their ranks before they close. And can anyone assist me in operating the thing?"
I'm not sure on this, but I'm going to rule that only those with Ranks in Know Engineering can Aid. With the extra shots and the Light/Daylight, that is giving you an additional +2 already, and with a Successful Aid Another (1d20+BaB+Ranks Know Engineering -> DC 10), that's another +2 for a total of your BaB + Ranks in Know + 4. There is an unavoidable Non-Proficiency Penalty, or there would be an additional +4 on top of all of it. :(
Test Subject #37 wrote:
Falom looks at Jorah, "Please, i work better in shadows. Though, if i could see the target with lit boulder, that would be good." She pulls out a small vial and drinks it. Then she hides in the murder holes.
Sending out a few more boulders out into the fog after reloading, sending small groups of the oncoming soldiers flying off to all sides, thinning their ranks with splendid ease. Off in the distance you suddenly hear a "snapping" sound, like a large bowstring being loosed, and another group of individuals call out in pain, then go suddenly silent.
As the remained of the army gets to the house, you all rush back downstairs, ready for the actual assault when suddenly a pair of warriors come crashing through the pair of windows. The battle has begun, with the first wave attempting to break in from behind. Outside, you can hear orders being shouted, (in Tien), directing the second wave to get ready. Then suddenly at the front door, you hear individuals trying to push and hack their way through. Upstairs, for those still up there fleeing from the catapult still, you can hear what sounds like someone scaling the outer walls of the Lighthouse.
Male Tengu Oracle 5 | HP 33/33 | CMD 19 | AC 23, t 13, ff 20 | Fort +3 Ref +5 Will +4 | Init +5x2, Perc +9 (Low-light vision, Darkvision 60ft. (also max range), Carrion Sense) | Act Con: blur
Rravn maintains his position near the front doors. A quick glance at Jorah and Falom tells he wants them both to take care of the threat behind them. Rravn's flash gold for a brief moment before returning to the ordinary blue and orange.
"I will stay valiant and defend this post to the bitter end."
His image starts to vibrate and displace rapidly.
Standard action; Time Flicker (oracle revelation), as per blur.
As soon as the battle starts, Jorah starts babbling nonstop in Celestial. He walks towards the other window on the right and starts a small prayer. Colors shoot out like stars from the symbol of Desna on his shield toward the intruder.
Your phantasmagoric displays accurately model the mysteries of the night sky, dumbfounding all who behold them. Each creature affected by your illusion (pattern) spells is treated as if its total number of Hit Dice were equal to its number of Hit Dice minus your Charisma modifier (if positive).
Suddenly, overcome by a spray of colored magical lights, one of the troops breaking into the house stops in place, dropping their axe and ceases moving entirely, save for the tiny rise and fall of her chest indicting she is still at least breathing.
Jumping out of hiding, Falom shoots as arrow at the other, but it goes wide, and Rravn cloaks himself in some sort of temporal phasing effect.
We are getting closer, so please, if you can make every reasonable effort to post. I'll try my hardest to do the same.
