DM CD's Unrest in Atlus

Game Master Vethcyr

"We can talk about trinkets later! There's no way we can push the horse for that long, and we'll end up on foot in the middle of the forest. Both meaning that we'll be in eminent danger and won't get there any faster. I think out only option is to go around. Also, the vista group should have a good look out from there. They'll notice the smoke long before the fire reaches them."

Perception, DC 21: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

Eleri looks on at the two men, both now in front of her, either draw weapons or dismount. Did they see something, or were they being cautious now that they were approaching the vista?

Perception to overhear Caladrius' whispering, DC 15 I guess?: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Well okay then.

Not knowing what the two are on about, Eleri simply stops her horse and waits. Annoyed at being left out of the loop, she silently vows to project her voice more during future lectures.

To clarify, you likely will not be able to make the rendezvous with the Vista group if you go around. There is simply too much ground to cover and you likely don't have adequate healing to sustain your horses over that forced march. It will likely be safer than going through the forest, however. Going through the forest will be a shorter trek, so your healing should keep your horses up and going for a greater proportion of the travel time. Plus, you have a good chance of beating the forest fire if you can keep up a swift pace.

I encourage you to read the forced march rules on page 171 of the core rulebook.

Also, we will be using appraisals in this game. I would have done them for this encounter's loot, but I was too focused on the imminent forest fire to remember that.

Two men charge from cover in -C20 and -C22 to -F19 and -G20, where they attack Caladrius, the apparent leader of your party, with their spears. Curiously, the bushes they were hiding behind do not seem to impede their movements at all. The man in -F19's strike fails to penetrate Caladrius's armor, but his fellow's strike hits home (7 damage to Caladrius, critical not confirmed). Meanwhile the sentry in -B15 blows a loud alarm call on his horn.

All three men are dressed for wilderness riding (explorer's outfits). Each wears a half-helm and a chain shirt with the arms of Goldcrest emblazoned upon the armor.

DM done, Pygrado and Caladrius may act in this surprise round. Eleri, roll initiative so we can work you in next round.

Map

Besides, how else are we going to meet up with the others? If we don't make the rendezvous point, then they'll just assume the worst. And then it's going to be much more difficult to meet up with them."

Probably not rolling so successfully, but I still make it there and draw both blades during movement. -F19 gets an opportunity attack.

Careful! There's a spellcaster around here somewhere!

Both sentries thrust their spears at Pygrado as he dashes past. -F19's strike misses, but the more competent spearman in -G20 manages to stab Pygrado in the leg as the assassin tries to sneak around him (9 damage to Pygrado).

Round 1!

Dodging from Caladrius's blast, the man in -F19 attempts to tumble to -E17, but is clumsy in doing so and leaves himself vulnerable to retaliation. Pygrado may attempt an opportunity attack against him. Caladrius is unarmed and does not threaten, so no opportunity attack for him, and no flanking for Pygrado. He attempts to stab Caladrius with his spear, but misses once more.

The man in -G20 moves to -F22 before stabbing unsuccessfully at Pygrado with his spear.

The sentry in -B15 drops his horn and moves to -G16, readying his own spear for use.

From beyond the boulder and shrubs you hear cries of alarm from several voices.

Map

EDIT: Ninja'd, and before Ultimate Combat came out, even. So I guess it depends on your ruling.

Attack of Opportunity 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23 (25 with flank)
Damage 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
Sneak Attack damage (if flanking) 1d6 ⇒ 2

Pygrado lashes at out the feckless spearman, (probably) landing smarting blow on the arm.

I'll take my next action after Eliri has rolled initiative.

With a quick slash, Pygrado scores a deep wound on the spearman's arm and torso, killing him. Even without the flank!

Map

EDIT:
You also said here,

The goblin caves are about half a day's ride from Pendrian's Gorge, or about a third if the woods can be passed through at speed. A good choke point in Pendrian's pass would be just below Harrod's Vista, a large stone overhang near the western edge of the gorge.

A day is only 8 hours of travel, so it sounds like the long way around is only 32 miles and through the forest is at most 18 miles. We can make that pretty easily going either direction.

So assuming that sleight of hand succeeds and I get SA, the damage is.
Dagger Damage:1d4 ⇒ 1
Critical Damage:1d4 ⇒ 3
Sneak Attack Damage:2d6 ⇒ (1, 6) = 7 Fire

There are several problems with your actions. Feinting in combat is a standard action and uses bluff, not sleight of hand. You cannot attack and feint in the same turn without the improved feint feat. Further, you have 1 level of rogue (1d6 sneak attack damage), so I am forced to conclude that you multiplied your sneak attack for the critical. Precision damage never multiplies with a critical.

The figures I gave for travel time were for non-hustling forced marches. If you hustle, you can reduce the travel time somewhat, although it may be harder to keep your horses alive.

Will provide a more thorough update in a bit.

Pygrado pivots on his rear foot and springs upon the guard behind him. Five foot shift to -E22. Full attack.

Attack 1 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14 damage 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
Attack 2 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20 damage 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Sorry about the delay.

Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9
Will Save, DC 11: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21
Spellcraft, DC 16: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (4) + 13 = 17

"Whatever type of mage they have, he's an illusionist! Those bushes are a Minor Image, they're not real."

Not being confident in her ability to fight a battle while on horseback, Eleri dismounts into -H19. Seeing a disturbingly open path between herself and the Goldcrestian soldier in -F22, she points a finger at him, and her voice changes into a low cadence reminiscent of the rumbling of thunder. "Selected Shock Arc".
Damage: 3d4 ⇒ (3, 3, 2) = 8
Save: DC 17 Reflex for half damage

Caladrius manages to deceive his foe, and viciously stabs the man in the neck, killing him outright.

Eleri's blast strikes her target full in the chest. Already twice injured, her strike finishes him off (not even rolling a save - he's dead no matter what).

End round 1!

Another spearman runs around the boulder, spear ready to attack the nearest foe - Pygrado. His strike misses the lucky assassin, however.

From beyond the boulder you hear a shout of "Destroy the key and signal the alarm - enemy action!" A big, armored man runs around the rock as well, longbow in hand. Unlike the other men you have fought thus far, he wears a suit of leather armor with a gold crown emblazoned on the sleeve. Seeing Pygrado standing by the corpse of the spearman, he fires. The arrow strikes Pygrado high in the chest (17 damage).

High in the sky on the far side of the boulder, a bright red light show erupts.

DM done!

Map

With blood burbling from around the arrow in his chest, Pygrado staggers back towards his companions, though he still manages to fend off the blows of the spearman facing him. He hisses to the others: Damn, we gotta get those lights out somehow, and fast.

Withdraw action to -H17.

Breath Weapon (30' lightning line) towards -C21. 1d6 ⇒ 6 Electricity damage, Ref DC 18 for half.

Also, what is the light level at this point. It everything illuminated from the magic flares, or is it still nighttime (low-light) illumination?

"Gah, what use are you people as bodyguards if you won't stay in between me and the enemy? No matter, I'll just make my own meatshield, then!" Her voice changes again, this time taking on a feral, almost monstrous tone. "Lengthy Servitor I!"

A burly medium-sized dog with nearly luminescent white fur ((celestial template)) appears in -D21 and bites at the soldier in -C21.

Attack roll: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
Damage: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8
Trip attempt, if the attack hit: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

Caladrius looses a bolt of lighting at the remaining spearman, who manages to dodge the worst of the blast.

Eleri summons a hound to attack, but the beast's bite fails to connect.
Point of order, spells with full-round casting times take effect on the following turn. As such, the Summon whatever spells are cast on one turn, and the critter(s) appear in the next round on the caster's initiative. This is the official ruling on these spells. It worked this time, but in the future I will enforce this rule.

End round 2!

The spearman sees the man who shot lighting at him and moves to engage Caladrius (you have concealment vs the archer, not the spearman). The spearman's attack fails to connect, however.

Seeing Eleri summon a beast against his men, the archer fires two arrows at her, both of which connect - one in the right arm, and the other in her left leg (7 damage from each arrow, for 14 total).

After firing, the archer shouts, "Surrender yourselves and your weapons, and you will not be harmed any further!"

DM Done!

Map

You ride through the burning forest, gradually opening a small lead ahead of the flames, but it is tough going. The trails are rutted, and your mounts have difficulty on the overgrown and uneven terrain. After three grueling hours of travel, your mounts begin to struggle. Shortly before you complete the fourth hour of travel, you come across a longhouse in a clearing in the woods. From inside the building, you hear high-pitched shrieks. The cries are wordless, but they sound like their speaker is in the throes of mortal terror. You have only a scant few minutes before the smoke and heat catch up to you. What do you do?

Map

You have now travelled for almost 9 hours. After this bit is resolved, you and your mounts will need to begin making checks vs fatigue every hour.

Cure Light Wounds Potion 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

While hustling through the forest, Gareth decides to bring up an old subject with Jamros, showing a surprising amount of calm considering the flames behind the party.
"Jamros, you never did tell us. What kind of heist were you involved in? Come on, I'm really curious."

...

Upon reaching the clearing, Gareth appears to be very concerned. He says to the others. "Wait! Stop! There's someone in there! They won't survive the fire if we don't help them." He brings Petey up towards the house (let's say E13) and says orders him to stop "Whoa, Petey! Easy! Stay here, buddy."

He turns to the others. "Are you guys coming?"

Okay, this is ridiculous. My last 5 rolls have now all been 18-20.

The shrieks are high-pitched. If you had to guess, you likely believe they stem from someone who is small in stature. They are wordless screams, and while they sound a lot like the tone of someone who is terrified, there is something... off about the timbre of the screams. Identifying a specific race is impossible from here. The screams are curiously regular, however, and seem to come from a number of voices - perhaps three or four individuals seem to be screaming within the building.

This lodge appears to have seen heavy travel over the past few days, if the number of footprints around it are to be believed. The lodge itself looks like it is used by a group of trappers and hunters as their base of operations and storehouse - over the door is an emblem of a bear trap snapping an arrow in twain.

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At the Cabin:
Jamros looks over his shoulder at the smoke and flames. "The fire's acomin'. We don' got a lota time. Let's check it out, but we don' got time for puzzlin'." Jamros trots his pony over to a tree on the far side of the clearing, dismounts and ties him up quickly (10 seconds).

Also everybody, remember that mounts automatically fail con checks for forced marches. Do riders also have to make the check? Makes sense if they do, since riding is hard work, but I can't find a rule about it.

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Cabin Time
Gareth dismounts Petey and quietly says to the others, "Alright, listen. There's gotta be at least 3 or 4 people in there. But there's something... off about the screams. We need to be on our guards. Give me one second to check something out."

Gareth enters a brief trance as he studies the house.

You've gotta love Paladin-radar, eh?

Cabin:
Jamros watches Gareth with a curious expression.

He quickly qualifies what he said, "Not that I mean that in a bad way. Half of the Silver Guard and the royal family have their armor on too tight that it's chafing with their junk, if you know what i mean. But there must be some reason why they sent us on this mission. Martin, have you been hiding anything from us?"

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Gareth breaks from the trance and says quietly to the others. "As I expected. There are at least two evil beings in there, one of them stronger than the other. I have a bad feeling about this, but we need to help, and help fast."