DM Carbide's Kingmaker (Inactive)

Game Master John Woodford

Havrin steers Stepper to intercept the panicked horse and tries to calm the beast.

Handle Animal check: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

Havrin is able to get the horse calmed down. It does not seem to be wounded, and it's not lathered; you figure that it must have started running quite recently, and not far away.

Nicely done. Zlotii comments softly toward Havrin. I suggest that we move with a sense of urgency to intercept this horse's rider. He may be dazed by falling from his steed, and more easily cowed.

Zlotii readies himself to move with the rest of the group.

"Or worse, eaten by that boar." Adam remarks, with a strange (but not uncharacteristic) twist of humor.

"I am beginning to agree with Katya's earlier statement though. I think its more important to deal with the Stag Lord before he grows more powerful and more capable of dealing with us."

Bea grunts an affirmative and urges her horse forward the way the horse came, looking for its rider.

perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14

Riding forward, a few hundred yards into the undergrowth Bea sees a few things of interest. First, there are a pair of saddlebags on the ground; the party knows enough about handling horses that it's trivial to imagine what happened--the rider stopped to let the horse rest, took off the saddlebags, loosened the saddle girths prior to taking it off, and was surprised by something that spooked the horse. Second, there is a half-elf up in a tree. At the base of the tree, looking back at you, is the biggest boar you've ever seen. The fur around its muzzle is grizzled, and seems to be going pale.

And we'll be going to melee time after the DM finishes recovering from anesthesia and low blood sugar. The joys of getting older; at least I don't have any sign of cancer.

Sounds like you got to have a similar fun experience as I did a couple of weeks ago, DM Carbide. You have my sympathy!

As his companions discuss how to proceed, Havrin ties the calmed horse's reins around the nearest stout tree branch.

Hefting his bow with an arrow nocked to the string, Havrin rides after Bea. His eyes widen upon spying the massive boar.

Initiative: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26 (includes favored terrain bonus)

Round 1:

Initiative order:

Havrin
Katya
Zlotii
Adam
Edvard
Bea/Tuskgutter

Map is HERE NB: Everyone on horseback takes up 4 squares; let me know if you dismount.

Round One:

Havrin drops his bow and draws his greatsword. With a yell, he spurs Stepper to charge and attack the massive boar.

DC 10 Handle Animal check to get Stepper to charge and attack the boar: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
Autosucceed DC 5 Ride check to guide Stepper with knees.

Stepper Charge Attack (Bite): 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 5 + 2 = 25
Stepper Bite Damage: 1d4 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

Havrin - DC 10 Ride check to be able to make greatsword attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25

Havrin Greatsword Attack (Charge): 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 5 + 2 = 27
Greatsword Damage: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (5, 1) + 3 = 9
Havrin Crit Confirmation: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 5 + 2 = 26
Additional Crit Damage: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (5, 6) + 3 = 14

Havrin's AC following charge: 15
Havrin's HP: 31/31
Stepper's AC following charge: 15
Stepper's HP: 19/19

Round 1 (ongoing):

Havrin charges the boar and lands a terrific blow on it, and Stepper contributes as well with a bite. The ranger can tell, though, that his attack did less damage than he would have expected; the creature's flesh seems tougher than normal. He can also see, now that he's close enough, that the grizzling about its snout is one end of a series of pure white streaks running along its flanks, and the bristles of its back and shoulders look wickedly and abnormally sharp. Stepper is more skittish near the creature than normal as well (DC 15 Handle Animal to get him to attack).

Initiative order:

Havrin-acted
Katya
Zlotii
Adam
Edvard
Bea/Tuskgutter

Katya is up!

Katya gives a short sneer, "Oh wonderful, another creature to impede our way to the Stag Lord. Let us at least make this quick."

Katya digs her heels into her horse as she pulls her staff from the holster on her horse's pack. The tip of which starts to glow with a familiar fire from the spell Katya recalls from her memory.

Moving to square R21 on her horse.

Round 1:

From his perch in the tree, the scruffy looking half-elf doesn't look to words, instead focusing on the massive porcine beast that stands astride his mottled black and white staff. Putting finger to temple briefly he focuses upon the beast, creating figments in it's mind of hare's leaping from the grass and past it's muzzle...

Evil eye vs boar's Attack
-2 to attack for 6 rounds, DC 14 Will save to reduce to 1 round

I suppose there wasn't a surprise round, as Adam always acts in it, with his tactical foresight granted by Abadar.

Round 1
Adam inspires Bea using Inspiring Command.

"Come on, girl. Get in the battle. No time for fidgeting with the reins."

Bea you have +2 insight bonus to attack rolls, AC, and skill checks for one round.

Edvard, the boar seems to have been slowed down by the evil eye.

Edited to account for further information.

Zlotii is up!

If Zlotii is able to move past Bea in the close quarters, he steers his mount carefully to N24/O25, and awkwardly attempts to fire his crossbow into the fight.

attack, precise shot, unskilled mounted archery 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 - 4 = 17
damage 1d8 ⇒ 4

Round 1 (ongoing):

Initiative order:

Havrin-acted
Katya-acted
Zlotii-acted
Adam-acted
Edvard-acted
Bea-/Tuskgutter-acted

The doctor hits Tuskgutter with a crossbow bolt, but the projectile fails to penetrate the boar's supernaturally-tough flesh.

Harried by horse, ranger, and evil eye, the great beast gives a grunting roar and brings its massive head up in a lethal arc, one tusk sinking deep into Havrin's side. Havrin, take 18 HP. As it does so, it shakes its shoulders and a spray of its bristles flies out in a cloud around it. Havrin, Stepper, and anyone else within 10' of the boar, take 6 HP, DC 14 Reflex save to half damage. Edvard, you're more than 10' up the tree, or it would have been doing that to you already. Although many of the sharp bristles on its shoulders were lost, in the seconds following Havrin can see that they are slowly (but visibly) regrowing.

Bea, your action.

Havrin DC 14 Reflex save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
Stepper DC 14 Reflex save: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

Havrin's HP: 10/31
Stepper's HP: 13/19

Waiting on Bea's action before posting Havrin's Round Two action.

In the absence of a post, I'll DMPC Bea. I figure she'd want to close anyway.

Round 1 (final):

Bea rides closer and dismounts, her horse unwilling to get any closer to the unnatural boar.

Initiative order:

Havrin-acted
Katya-acted
Zlotii-acted
Adam-acted
Edvard-acted
Bea-acted/Tuskgutter-acted

Map at end of round HERE.

Round 2:

Initiative order:

Havrin
Katya
Zlotii
Adam
Edvard
Bea/Tuskgutter

Havrin is up!

Round Two:

"Its bristles are growing back!" Havrin shouts to warn his companions.

Havrin guides Stepper to step to the side of the strange boar, urging the wounded horse to attack the creature again.

Autosucceed DC 5 Ride check to guide Stepper with knees to 5 ft step to squares K,L-8,9.
DC 17 Handle Animal check (DC 15 +2 for Stepper being wounded) to get Stepper to attack Tuskgutter: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15 - fail

Despite Stepper balking to attack, Havrin attempts to attack the massive boar with his greatsword.

Havrin - DC 10 Ride check to be able to make greatsword attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

Havrin Greatsword Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20
Greatsword Damage: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (1, 1) + 3 = 5

Havrin's AC: 17
Havrin's HP: 10/31
Stepper's AC: 17
Stepper's HP: 13/19

Round 2:

After seeing the damage wrought by the beast, Edvard fears the greatsword wielding man beyond the withstanding of another strike. Wedging himself into a nook of the tree he calls upon his art to restrict and constrain... hoping to cause luck to not favor the porcine.

Cast ill omen - On the next d20 roll the target makes, it must roll twice and take the less favorable result.

Round 2 (ongoing):

Havrin lands a blow on the boar. The blade does not leave a mark on the beast's peculiarly-tough flesh, though.

Will DMPC Katya, since I think I know what she was about to do.

Katya urges her horse forward and casts a stream of incandescent flame at the boar. Unfortunately, the horse missteps, and the scorching ray goes wide of the mark.

Initiative order:

Havrin-acted
Katya-acted
Zlotii
Adam
Edvard-acted
Bea/Tuskgutter

Zlotii is up!

Beat me to the punch Dm Carbide. I just got home from work and was about to make a post when you did it for me :)

Adam dismounts and moves around to the side of the boar (at a safe distance), taking care not to interfere with Havrin's attack.

Hmm. Ineffective.

Zlotii steers his mount in the general direction of the melee, slinging the underwhelming crossbow over his shoulder as he rides. (double move to I8-J9) Coming up alongside Havrin, he gazes blankly between the big boar and the wounded warrior.

Zlotii, unless your horse is war-trained it won't come within 25' of the boar, and even then it's a DC 15 Ride or Handle Animal check to make it get that close.

Round 2 (ongoing):

Despite the phantoms of magic with which Edvard has bedeviled the great boar, it barely manages to hit Havrin again. Take 17 HP, Havrin.

Initiative order:

Havrin-acted
Katya-acted
Zlotii-acted
Adam-acted
Edvard-acted
Bea/Tuskgutter-acted

Bea, you're up.

Havrin is at -7 hp.

Havrin's blade falls from his lifeless grip as he slumps unconscious from the wounds inflicted by the fiendish boar.

Military Saddle: 75% chance to stay in saddle when unconscious (1-75 succeeds): 1d100 ⇒ 95 - fail

Havrin's limp body slides from the saddle and lands heavily on the ground as Stepper shies away from the massive boar. Fall Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 3

Havrin is now at -10 hp.

Top of Round Three - DC 10 Constitution check to stabilize: 1d20 + 1 - 10 ⇒ (9) + 1 - 10 = 0 - reduced to -11 hp and not stable.

The ground is soft enough here that the falling damage is nonlethal. He still isn't stabilized, though.

Zlotii would have gotten as close as he could before the horse pulled up and refused to go closer. He would then dismount. He'll keep the horse between himself and the boar, so that the cowardly thing gets disemboweled before Zlotii does, should the beast decide to charge.

The ground is soft enough here that the falling damage is nonlethal. He still isn't stabilized, though.

I'll take all I can get! :)

So following his turn at the top of Round Three, Havrin is at -8 hp (plus 3 hp nonlethal damage) and is not stabilized.

Unfortunately I can't move fast enough to both get to Havrin and heal him during this round, so I'll do the next best thing.

Bea gasps in a look of shock and horror as her friend falls to the ground. Surprise quickly turns to resolution as she invokes Erastil's name for strength and charges the beast.

Don't know if it's evil, but Bea is treating it as so. Activate smite evil against foe as swift action.
Charge to N-9. AC drops to 16 for one round.
power attacking charge: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 7 + 2 = 22+2 if evil
damage: 2d6 + 7 ⇒ (3, 3) + 7 = 13+3 if evil
Also, if evil ignore any DR

Round 2 (final):

As the boar gores Havrin a second time, the paladin charges it, sword high. Her blow lands solidly across its neck and shoulders...and incidentally severs the cord about the beast's neck. As the cord falls away the creature changes slightly; the bristles on its neck are no longer a growing forest of thorns, and the white streaks fade into merely the greying of age.

It is still, make no mistake, a freakishly huge boar, but now whatever magic empowered and transformed it is gone.

Round 3:

Initiative order:

Havrin-unconscious
Katya-
Zlotii-
Adam-
Edvard-
Bea/Tuskgutter-

Katya is up!

I'm not sure if I'll be online tomorrow, so hopefully it's not bad form to post ahead of my turn. On his turn:

Zlotii moves to Havrin, flinching a bit as he gets closer to the big boar than he'd like. He casts a quick spell.

CLW 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Havrin's form ripples momentarily, and a nasty scrape across his ribs disappears entirely, as if it were never there.

Thanks Doc!

Adam also tumbles forward, now that the beast has lost its supernatural protections.

Acrobatics to tumble to a position where he is flanking with Bea.
1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

Flanking Attack
1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 5 + 2 = 24
1d4 - 1 ⇒ (4) - 1 = 3

Katya's face changes to one of alarmed panic as she see's Havrin slump from his horse and she raises up her staff and points it directly at the center of Bea's back. The air shimmers from the tip of her staff to Bea's body, which swirls for a moment and then shifts, Bea suddenly doubling in size.

"Muansi xiekiv! Bea! Kill the creature quickly, my spell wont hold long."

Casting Enlarge Person on Bea.

IIRC, enlarge person is a full-round spell.

Woops, so it is. :3 Sorry, I didn't check the spell before posting, I guess all that talking stuff will happen next round. :)

Possible to get a mid-round update before Ed's action? - want to know what shape Adam is in and lay of the land below the tree.

Round 3 (ongoing):

Adam tries to dodge past the boar and put Bea into a better position to strike. Unfortunately for the halfling, Tuskgutter is not fooled, and Adam finds himself on the receiving end of an already-bloodied tusk. Take 18 points, Adam. Adam's rapier strikes home, though, and further wounds the beast.

Initiative order:

Havrin-unconscious
Katya-casting
Zlotii-acted
Adam-acted
Edvard-
Bea/Tuskgutter-

Updated map is HERE. Edvard is up! (BTW, I believe Adam has 1 HP remaining.)

FYI: I'll be out on the road most of the day, visiting my niece and her newly hatched son.

Round 3:

Focusing on extending the grip of hallucinations that cloud the boar's mind - Edvard adds shadows, making the boar see it's attackers as indistinct and be less able to avoid their attention...

Evil eye vs boar's AC
-2 to attack for 6 rounds, DC 14 Will save to reduce to 1 round
'Cackle' to extend attack malus from earlier.

Ouch, that brings Adam down to 1 hp.

Realizing it is best not to gamble with a beast twice as big as he is, at least not without appropriate footing, Adam retreats to a safer distance, defensively moving back to the east.

Before you have the chance to move, Adam, Bea and the boar will act.

Ignoring the pinprick from behind, Tuskgutter launches an attack on the paladin in front of him. Perhaps it's his wounds catching up with him, or the loss of the magic that was beginning to transform him into something out of legend, but for the first time in the fight he misses.

Bea is up!

Ignoring everything else around her, Beatrix sees only the beast in front of her and focuses in with fury and vengeance, only to miss just as surely as the boar did her.

AC back to 18
power attack(flanking): 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 7 + 2 = 11+2 if evil
damage: 2d6 + 7 ⇒ (3, 5) + 7 = 15+3 if evil

Round 4:

Initiative order:

Havrin-conscious?
Katya-
Zlotii-
Adam-
Edvard-
Bea/Tuskgutter-

Is Havrin awake? If so, he can take an action.

Round Four:

Havrin groggily opens his eyes, somewhat surprised to find himself sprawled on the ground at the feet of the massive boar. Fortunately for the grievously wounded ranger, the beast's attention is focused on Bea for the moment. Moving carefully, Havrin slowly draws the kukri sheathed on his belt.

Havrin is at 0 hp, so he is staggered and can only take a move action or standard action this round. Move action to draw kukri.

Round 1 (ongoing):

Initiative order:

Havrin-roused
Katya-completed spell; ?
Zlotii-
Adam-
Edvard-
Bea/Tuskgutter-

Havrin, give me a Stealth check. The boar has substantial penalties on its Perception to notice you, mostly because Bea just got much bigger.

Katya completes her transformation spell, and Bea feels the familiar shift in her body size as the magic takes hold. Katya, you're up!