After waiting a couple of minutes, you see the watcher/bum slowly begin to nod, then lay back down and begins to snore. The bottle rolls out of his hand.
You see movement in one of the windows on the second story over the main enterance; like someone looking out the window moved.
What's the plan guys?
You know your target is in there, but not if he has any new minions.
You know a gang called The Paupers Hand is supposed to control this area, but not if he's in contact with them (could be dangerous, they could turn him in for the reward).
Maelorn knows that there are two old priests of Saranrae who run the Mission, but not if they know your guy is in there, or if they know about the gangs hereabouts, or any possible deals they have with them.
I made a suggestion about a plan of action, but no one seems to have an opinion on it one way or the other.
Maybe someone else has a better idea.....?
Can I get a roll call? Who's still in the game?
I'm still in.
I'm here. I've been unable to post for the past several days due to problems with the website (I've been unable to log in under my account). That's corrected now.
Here
What do you think guys? Shall I recruit, or go with what people we have here?
I think we should recruit. Our current party composition is a little squishy. We need a solid tank.
Actually, I just looked at the discussion thread, so apparently Baral is the only one we are missing. Surely we can move on with four of us.
So how about it guys? disguise our armor with clothes and perhaps steal some clothes off the drunk in case we are short on them.
Go in and pose as poor people looking for a handout?
I guess I was waiting on people to agree or disagree with Eros' plan.
On we go then!
Suitable disguise local clothing can be had for coin, intimidation, or free (if smelly) from a garbage heap.
Before I describe the approach, do you have a particular marching order?
"Honestly, I suspect we've already been detected. Given a choice, I'd prefer to simply approach and knock. I doubt the priests are in on this, and I think we're going to look fairly foolish trying to disguise fairly heavy armor. I don't know about the rest of you, but my disguise skills are right up there with my stealth skills...in other words, nonexistent."
"That being said, if the consensus is to attempt to disguise, I'll find somewhere to buy a cloak and do my best to not look armored."
If you guys don't want to disguise, its okay with me.
As for marching order, Maybe I should be in front since Baral isn't here. If he is here then maybe I should be behind Baral with him in front.
>IF you approach the well trafficked front door, trusting in your disguise and darkness to conceal you...
You see a man looking suspiciously down on you from a second story window.
Flagstone steps climb to an open foyer hung with a pair of weather-beaten double doors. Two smaller doors flank the main enterance, both covered with graffiti. The southern door has a sign that reads "Flophouse: upstairs and take a left." The word "left" is crossed out, and scrawled next to it is the word "hike." The other door has a homemade sign that reads, "All rooms taken."
______________________________________________________________________
>IF you approach the back door, where no one is present to see you and you don't need disguises...
Behind the mission sits an overgrown courtyard surrounded by a low stone wall. A path leads through a rusted iron gate and up to a pair of boarded doors. A lone oak stands in the corner.
You see a worn path in the dirt that leads towards the tree.
"While there is some value in subterfuge, at this point I could care less how we do this. as long as we can proceed to the bloody point."
"I am approaching from the rear without a disguise."
"I will take a detour and examine the tree. Are there any tracks on the path leading towards the tree?"
Maelorn follows Eros, noting the path.
You see the tracks clear as day. Most of them go directly to the gate in the back courtyard, which is rusted open with just enough space for pedestrians to walk through to the back door.
About ten percent of the tracks lead to the tree.
Examining the tree you note that some of the branches are worn as if it had been climbed regularly.
Also, you find a hollow in the bole of the tree where a branch had rotted away. Inside you find three leather sacks; metal clinks inside when you move them.
When you approach the back door...
If it had ever been locked, it isn't now.
You smell food in the room beyond; maybe a stew. You hear the murmurr of people beyond.
I quietly make my companions aware of what is presumably money hidden in the tree, but I leave it there.
Since there is noise behind the door, I will simply open it normally and walk in
When you go through the back door, you see an open lobby. The stench of mund and sweat mingles with the odor of vinegar and cabbage soup to pervade this entire lobby.
The main entrance is to your right as you look north, the opening to the Chapel to your left and the soup kitchen straight ahead.
Scratched tables and benches provide seating for resting vagrants, conversation, or eating simple meals. In the corner stagnates an old font with a dented tin cup tied to it by a frayed length of twine.
You see a once great warrior, now with his legs amputated and pushing himself around in a small cart.
You see a girl staring at you with frightened eyes and clutching a dirty rag doll with one arm missing.
You see several other people milling around here, mostly giving you a glance and no more.
You know the warrior as Ukkar the Fierce and the girl is Sylee, an orphan. They know you as well and are on good terms with them.
You see a number of men speak briefly to each other, then one breaks away and goes through a door to the north leading to stairs going up.
The rest are looking very hard not in your direction.
Maelorn notes the fleeing man, and seems torn for a moment before shaking his head. He turns to the warrior, "Ukkar, a very dangerous man has brought his feud here, and is now trying to hide behind you all. My companions and I are going to try and stop him, but I'm concerned about the people here. Do you think you could convince everyone to clear out so no one gets hurt?"
Eros will examine the men trying to ignore them so obviously. Do they all appear to be melee type? What race/races are they? Are they wearing armor? Or do they look like vagrants?
After gathering this information, Eros turns left and ducks into the chapel. He ducks out of line of sight of the doorway.
He draws his longbow
Eros peers around the doorway just enough to see the suspicious men and the door leading upstairs. He is careful to keep his bow out of sight.
Ukkar looks up from his cart.
"Father Maelorn! Good to see yer as always!"
"Ukkar, a very dangerous man has brought his feud here, and is now trying to hide behind you all. My companions and I are going to try and stop him, but I'm concerned about the people here. Do you think you could convince everyone to clear out so no one gets hurt?"
Ukkar's face twists into a snarl.
"Them worthless street trash don't listen to me. Now that I can't chase 'em down, they just laugh and spit on me. You want 'em to listen, you gotta get Father Padrik or Jhonas."Father Padrik is either mumbling at the pulpit or passed out drunk upstairs. Jhonas is often a the soup kitchen to the north there."
He grins eagerly.
"Sounds like yer gonna clean out those Paupers Hand arses. I'm yer man! Just gimme a blade and herd 'em to me!"
You are in the back of the chapel. There is an elderly man on the pulpit mumbling/slurring something you can't quite make out. A dozen people are in the audience, praying, kneeling, snoring. Mostly human and halflings; prostitutes taking a break; pimps looking for prostitutes taking a break; the usual flotsam and jetsam of a sanctuary in a poor part of a city.
The guys clustered around the door to the stairway looked at you suspiciously as you passed. You aren't sure your disguise held.
Maelorn shakes his head, "No respect for experience. It's a habit many regret". Glancing down, Maelorn considers a moment before hefting his silver hammer and passing it to Ukkar, "I'll entrust this to you, and in return I charge you to protect Sylee and any other innocents to the best of your ability."
Maelorn then moves towards the soup kitchen.
Ukkar grins nastily and slips the hammer under his cart.
"You got it. Say..." He lowers his voice.
"Watch yer ass. They like t' flank and fight dirty."
"Uh," He glances at Nakoda. "Is that girl seeing anybody in particular?"
Eros will continue holding his position, and taking the same ready action.
Eros continues to observe the suspicious men and the door going up.
From your vantage point you can see one of the guys at the stairway motion with his hand, and three guys in the pews get up and run over to flank the passageway, just out of sight of Maelorn and the rest.
You see the cluster of men start to saunter arrogantly over to where you are. The guy in front speaks.
"Well well well. New faces at our little shelter... Perhaps ye've heard of the handling fee? You'll be paying that to us. Here. Now."
Zane looks around as if befuddled, an intellectual worried about dangerous surroundings. He stands a bit apart, selecitn the best possible angle for the color spray spell on the tip of his tongue.
Eros paints a naive look on his face, and replies:"Ahh yes, as my friend here says, BARTER! First, why don't you explain what you are placing on the barter table. Then I will explain to you what I will place on the barter table!!!....ohh how I get excited when someone mentions barter!"
Eros puts his bow away and rubs his hands together expectantly, and grins like total moron who just doen't see it yet.
The leader looks Nakoda up and down and gives a gap toothed grin.
"Yeah, we been lookin' fer a new girl. You'll do." He motions a couple of his lads forward.
"Thats good enough for the fee. Rest of ye can come in an make yerselfs comfy."
Eros grins back politely and steps between Nakoda and the approaching men and says:
"ahh yes, by all means take this woman off my hands, and i'll keep that bag of money I found in the tree out back guilt free."
Drawing his Iron Hammer, Maleorn waits for the inevitable .
CLICK for the tactical situation.
Initiative order, Round 1:
Nakoda-----20
Eros-------14
Maelorn-----9
Zane--------8
Mooks-------5
Maelorn moves forward to stand next to Eros while drawing his Hammer. He then swings at Thug#2, rather than waiting.
ROUND 1:
Nakoda-----20
"STOP!!", she boomed with a practiced voice that almost belied her small stature. Narrowing her eyes, she glared at everyone that turned to look at her, changing her posture and spreading her hands as she took a step to the left. "Respect not a holy place, be judged accordingly", she rumbled.
Astonished at the power in her voice, everyone jolted to a stop for a moment. The two rogues coming to grab Nakoda actually recoiled a step before remembering they were superior to any girl and came forward again.
You can see that Red 2 and Red 3, as well as most of the bystanders in grey are shaken.
Eros-------14
Eros, playing dumb, smoothly cuts between the thugs and Nakoda. He raises his voice so all could hear him say;
"ahh yes, by all means take this woman off my hands, and i'll keep that bag of money I found in the tree out back guilt free."
This seems to startle the thugs and raise a lot of whispered conversations amongst the bystanders, which is cut of when Eros whips his sword around suddenly and executes a precise and powerful slash which opens up Red 3 in a welter of blood and gore; he spins and falls.
Maelorn-----9
Maelorn, deciding the time for talking was over, steps up beside Eros and brings his iron hammer around against Red 2. He doesn't duck in time and takes a moderate hit.
Zane--------8
Zane swears under his breath as his incompetent companions cut off the angle he had on the enemy. Hurrying, he swings around the left flank to unload his Color Spray on Red 1, 4 and 5. A blaze of violently clashing colors flashes over the targets and...
Will save Red 1 vs. DC15: Saves.
Will save Red 4 vs. DC15: Falls unconscious, blinded and stunned.
Will save Red 5 vs. DC15:
Mooks-------5
Red 1 shouts; "What are you waiting for? KILL THEM!"
Intimidate:
The rogues jolt back into lethal motion; but worse, about half of the homeless bystanders also reluctantly produce kitchen knives, chains, even broken bottles and move to attack.
Red 1 throws a grey thunderstone at Eros' feet. (Throw: ) Where it detonates with a thunderous BANG. All within ten feet make a Fort save DC15 or you are deafened for 1 hour.
Red 2 produces two knives and attacks Maelorn.
Knife attack 1:
Knife attack 2:
Red 7 moves up and attacks Maelorn.
Knife attack:
Between the two of them, Red 2 and Red 7 manage to hit Maelorn only once for points of damage.
A homeless woman, Orange 3, approaches Maelorn fearfully and attacks with a knife.
Knife attack: Miss!
Red 5 and 6 rush in from the chapel and attack Zane. Orange 2 also tentatively approaches to attack also.
Red 5 Knife attack: Miss!
Red 6 Knife attack: Hit! for points of damage.
Orange 2 Knife attack: Miss!
Beggar Orange 1 rushes out and jabs at Eros.
Orange 1 Knife attack: Miss!
You see Sylee reluctantly approach Maelorn, tears streaming down her face as a switchblade pops out of her doll; Ukkar looks on in the agony of wanting to dive into the fight (you aren't absolutely sure on which side) but moves to block Sylee.
Initiative order, Round 2:
Nakoda-----20
Eros-------14
Maelorn-----9
Zane--------8
Mooks-------5
Free Action: Take a 5-ft. step to K19
Eros lunges in to take some heat off of zane. He looks at Red 6 and snarls:"TONITE!, you sleep in HELL!!"
Standard Action: Attack Red #6 With Greatsword
Maelorn looks saddened by Sylee's action, his own eyes misting up, "This isn't your fault, Sylee...I'm going to make sure these men never force you to make this kind of choice again"
Turning his attention back to Thug #2, he swings, but it's obvious that he is distracted.
Round 2:
Nakoda-----20
Nakoda's ears rang with the thundercrack, but she just escapes deafening.
As she took a step back, she began the familiar tones (to her, at least) of a Shoanti battle chant,
the rise and fall of the rhythm emulating the inexorable fall of footsteps or the beat of large wings against the air.
Her footsteps kept the time, stomping the time against the old boards of the church, carefully considering her next action.
Eros-------14
Eros also avoids being deafened.
Eros lunges in to K-19 to take some heat off of zane. He looks at Red 6 and snarls:"TONITE!, you sleep in HELL!!"
He whips his greatsword around and misses.
Maelorn-----9
Maelorn looks saddened by Sylee's action, his own eyes misting up,
"This isn't your fault, Sylee...I'm going to make sure these men never force you to make this kind of choice again"
Turning his attention back to Thug #2, he swings, but it's obvious that he is distracted and misses.
Zane--------8
Realizing the danger, Zane takes advantage of Eros' attack, goes total defensive and uses the Withdrawl maneuver.
He moves back next to Nakoda, taking only one attack of opportunity from Red 2 and Orange 1.
Red 2 opportunity knife attack:
Orange 1 opportunity attack:
Mooks-------5
Red 1 eases back through the door behind him and hustles up to the stairs.
Red 2 steps and flank attacks Maelorn.
Knife A:
Knife B:
Red 5 shifts next to Eros and attacks.
Knife:
Red 6 flank attacks Eros.
Knife A:
Knife B:
Red 7 flank attacks Maelorn.
Knife:
Orange 1 shifts and flank attacks Eros.
Orange 1 attack:
Orange 2 moves and flank attacks Eros.
He becomes eligable for attacks of opportunity from both Eros and Maelorn.
Orange 2 attack:
Orange 3 shifts and flank attacks Maelorn.
Orange 3 attack:
In the background you can hear people in the chapel and the soup kitchen fleeing for their lives.
Initiative order, Round 3:
Nakoda-----20
Eros-------14
Maelorn-----9
Zane--------8
Mooks-------5
Disoriented and Deafened, Maelorn instinctively reacts to the movement around him and strikes (at Orange 2)
At his initiative, Maelorn will step north and strike at Red 2,
but again misses.