DM Carbide's Kingmaker (Inactive)

Game Master John Woodford

The bandits already acted this round. They delayed until Havrin attacked, then they all shot at him.

Still delaying until after they've acted again.

Round 2:

Initiative order:
Bandits-acted
Havrin-
Zlotii
Bea
Adam
Edvard/Katya

The most wounded bandit flees. "Forget it! I ain't staying around to get shot full of holes!" The other three are thrown off by this to the point that all of their arrows miss.

Havrin is up, and Edvard may act at his discretion.

Round Two:

Havrin takes another shot at the bandits, and then ducks behind a tree for better cover.

Standard action to fire at whichever bandit appears to be the leader. Move action to get better cover.

Longbow Attack: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 8 + 2 = 14 (favored enemy)
Longbow Damage: 1d8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 + 2 = 7 (favored enemy)

Havrin's AC: 17 (plus cover!)
Havrin's HP: 17/31

Round 2 (ongoing):

Initiative order:
Bandits-acted
Havrin-acted
Zlotii
Bea
Adam
Edvard/Katya

Havrin nearly drops another one. There's no obvious leader, but this is the one who called to the party in the first place.

Zlotii fires his crossbow at the bandit that Havrin just injured.

attack 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23 +1 PBS if within 30'
damage 1d8 ⇒ 2 +1 PBS if within 30'

And that one goes down.

Bea, Adam, Edvard, and Katya may all act.

Bea fires at one of the remaining pair, but her arrow glances off his armor.

Adam calls out, "Surrender is your less painful option. The Stag Lord's time is coming to a close; you don't have to join him."

Edvard and Katya, what do you do?

Katya moves her horse sideways as she stands in wait, sparks of flame spitting from her staff as she waits, watching.

Holding action, if any enemies get close enough, she will use her last spell and cast burning hands on them.

Edvard, still holding?

Yeah - don't really want to step out and expose myself to any return fire.

Round 3:

One of the two remaining bandits, instead of firing into the thicket, aims at the other. "Don't move. We're going to surrender now...I'm not going back to that madman." The other looks a bit confused at first, but eventually drops his bow and raises his hands.

While the others keep eyes and bows upon the bandits, Edvard stalks forward to relieve them of their weapons.

Edvard picks up the dropped bow and takes the weapons from the fallen bandit as well. The one who surrendered says, "I'll drop mine when Coyu, here, is tied up. I'm Tad, if you were wondering."

If no one has anything else to do, that's what happens. Bea emerges from the thicket and secures the conscious bandit, Adam sees to the unconscious one, and Tad gives over his weapons.

A wise decision...Tad. I see that you don't trust your companions. Also wise. Unfortunately, as our prisoners, you have become unwelcome complications. What do you suggest we do about that?

Waiting to see if anyone else had anything to say before Tad responds.

Havrin steps out from behind his tree and slowly lowers his bow. "We've taken bandit prisoners before, and some of them have turned out to be trustworthy. I suppose we could head back to the trading post and turn them over to Captain Garess," the ranger suggests.

Tad replies, "I'm game for that."

Understandable, considering that the alternative is execution.

Some two days later, the party reaches Oleg and Svetlana's, turns over the captives and the boar's head, and gets to taste some really good head cheese made by a grateful Vekkel Benzen. The old hunter also gives you a half-dozen +1 animal bane arrows and a masterwork 12 STR composite longbow.

The good doktor doesn't hesitate to dive into the delicacy, rapidly polishing off his share. That rampaging, murderous hog had the tastiest brain I've ever has the pleasure of eating.

After dinner, it becomes clear that Slotii is a bit confused by what they're doing back at Oleg's if they haven't yet taken down the Stag Lord. So, we still plan to do that, right?

I don't use a bow, so no dibs.

Adam nods. "Of course!"

Tad, incidentally, offers one piece of advice (corroborated by the bandits you captured previously). "This week's password is 'Flee the fateful fay.'"

The next morning, you set out.

"One of the credos I live by, Doktor, is try not to do anything before you're completely prepared to do it." He flips a silver coin over his knuckles. "And facing this Stag Lord is a particularly dangerous anything, so it applies doubly."

Katya keeps to herself for the larger part of the trip back to Oleg's, her frustration at putting off their attack on the Stag lord once again evident in her tone whenever she talks with someone. Once the party heads out into the wilds again her mood brightens considerably, responding to Adam "Hopefully we are completely prepared this time."

Zlotii rides along awkwardly. Ah, yes. Of course. And by preparation I presume that you are referring to a plan? If someone would be so kind as to refresh my memory with regards to the details, I would be sincerely grateful. Some subterfuge perhaps? In order to take advantage of the password, which is cleverly alliterative. For mnemonic purposes, one imagines.

The first day passes uneventfully. You encounter no one out in the Kamelands; perhaps the increase in bandit activity has halted all merchant traffic through the area. There's time to plan further after you set up camp.

Adam sighs as he picks up his lute and begins tuning it again.

"I actually prefer it when there are more people out and about. Hopefully with the Stag Lord finally taken care of, we'll be able to bring in a steady stream of potential cust-, err, allies."

The good Doktor seems a bit sheepish as he eats his evening meal. I suppose I should take this opportunity, while I am confident in our current temporal position, to make an admission. The fact of the matter is, I am not well suited to subterfuge. If we choose to infiltrate the Stag Lord's outpost, it would be best if I were not depended upon to speak in any consequential way.

"Ah, my good Medvyed. That's what I'm along for. The intricacies of court have given me a fair amount of glibness and influence which I will gladly use on our behalf. Of course, it should be nice to know exactly what our plan is, and for that I require the input of our more militant members."

"Well, we have the password. We could pretend to be bandits bringing tribute to the Stag Lord... that is, if we have anything with us that could serve as 'tribute'. Or we could pretend to have news about a band of adventurers sent from Restov to capture or kill the Stag Lord and his men," Havrin suggests.

"Strange it would be if merely holding the password would grant access within... but it would likely be the easiest route within his fort. Have any bandits escaped your grasp to know and speak of your faces?"

As he strums his lute and quietly hums something he heard a long time ago but had forgotten the words to, Adam suddenly looks up. "Perhaps we can be the entertainment for him and his men? Surely bandits require respite now and then."

Well, we could say that we are friends of Tad's. He won't be there to refute it.

Edvard raises an eyebrow at the suggestion they masquerade as performers "What sort of troupe would we be? - one who can sign and play while the rest idly stare? No, if we use guile - it would be best to simply lie that we are bandits."

"I'm sure you can perform too, Edvard. And we have an excellent horseman in our midst, so do not be so quick to sell yourselves short. You all have... profitable skills." Adam raises an eyebrow as he smiles congenially.

Sighing and leaning back, Edvard responds "Enlighten me then, as to why a troupe of performers would be deep in the midst of bandit laden territory and possessing a key-phrase to gain entry to a fortified camp... rather than far to the North plying trade where coin is free-er and blades are more often sheathed than drawn?"

Not missing a beat, Adam responds with a careful grin and a shrug. "I never said it was a good idea. I was challenging your assumption that you had no entertainment value."

You are correct, Adam. It is not a good idea. It has been my experience that a battle plan never holds together beyond first contact, and that the more complicated the plan, the more disastrously it falls apart. My suggestion is that we pose as bandits, use the password to get as close to the Stag Lord as possible, and strike hard before our enemies realize that they have been deceived. We of course will need a signal to fall back, and a rallying point to meet if we are separated.

So what's the plan?

"I suppose we could pretend to be bandits. But what tribute do we have?"

"I would guess the signal would be the first of us gutted? If they are so far from civilization, perhaps a smattering of weapons and food would be enough... perhaps liquor?"

"And we have knowledge of the gold vein that we discovered, not too distantly ago. That might be of interest to a bandit lord."

Zlotii nods at Adam's suggestion. That might make for a suitably distracting conversation while we get into position to strike.

I think it's high time we roll.

Katya stays off to the side as the group discusses its strategy, leaving that planning to the ones experienced in such things. Her eyes buried in her spellbook as she prepares, considering her options to assault the Stag Lords base.

The party spends the night just south of the fangberry thicket, now apparently free of spiders. According to the best directions you have, the Stag Lord's fortress is on the Tuskwater, some ten miles south. With decent weather, the party should be able to reach it by early afternoon.

The weather, however, does not cooperate at all. Sometime during the night, a major storm moves in, and there's no shelter to be had. Everything you have is soaked. The one consolation you have is that there aren't likely to be any bandits out.

There is, however, something else out. None of you except Edvard are particularly surprised when, with a nasty hiss heard even over the rain, the tall grass parts to reveal a giant centipede of the sort some of you fought in the chasm under the Old Sycamore. (Apparently the mites were able to hatch another one.)

Surprise Round:

Adam (Edvard will also go here next round)
Centipede
Bea
Havrin
Katya
Zlotii

Here's a MAP.

Welcome Back JW

Adam draws his rapier rapidly, but remains where he is. "Another centipede. Expect the same tricks the last one pulled." His words are infused with divine authority, and Bea can feel a divine presence behind the words, infusing her with slightly better skill and prowess.

Free Action: Draw Rapier. Standard Action: Inspiring Command to Bea

Thanks; figured that nailing down your location would be a good way to get the plan finalized. Then, of course, I rolled an encounter.

The centipede advances towards the party. Bea takes a short step towards the creature, maintaining a strong defense. Havrin is up!

Surprise Round (ongoing):

Adam-acted (Edvard will also go here next round)
Centipede-acted
Bea-acted
Havrin
Katya
Zlotii

I'll give Havrin another 12 hours or so before botting him.

Havrin's action:

The dour ranger grabs his bow and puts a single arrow into the attacking arachnid.

Arrow to centipede: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22
Arrow damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Surprise Round (ongoing):

Adam-acted (Edvard will also go here next round)
Centipede-acted
Bea-acted
Havrin-acted
Katya
Zlotii

Katya is up!