DM Carbide's Kingmaker (Inactive)

Game Master John Woodford

An absent smile forms across the good doktor's face as he observes Bea's conversation. He keeps his eyes on the stairs, in case someone starts to descend.

Edvard murmurs "Divide and conquer... which can we isolate and eliminate easily? The battle will be easier if we have less to fight."

Bea nods at Edvard. "Can we get them out of the fort before the fighting starts? Don't want them getting caught in the fray. Less folk left in here, the better."

Adam sighs a sigh of relief as the current situation is diffused. "Well done, Bea. Sometimes you're good to have along in tight situations."

Sorry, been sick and bed-ridden all week.

Katya lowers her staff as Bea diffuses the situation "I could light the whole place on fire... no doubt the entire structure could use a good cleansing."

"It might look suspicious if I just sent them out; Dovan used to be the Stag Lord's chief lieutenant, and he still wants to keep track of everything that happens. I hate to say this, but I think your best bet might be to attack him and the others in the main room. I'll help, and tell the waverers to surrender. They'll listen to me."

Beatrix nods. "Ok, Akiros. Stay next to me. Edvard, look after the Doctor and take whatever opportunities you see. Adam, you too. Katya and Havrin, stay back...well, you know what to do." She gives a wry smile. "I just worry."

Zlotii checks his trusty crossbow, ensuring that the loaded bolt is seated properly. When he hears Bea's request that Edvard look after him, his shoulders slump, almost imperceptively. I assure you, Mistress Beatrix, that despite my unagressive demeanor, I am quite capable. In fact..." The good Doktor trails off, never finishing his thought.

Akiros nods. "This one's for Erastil--the only stag lord worth following." With that, he turns and leads you out the arch to the south into a rubble-filled room with a fire pit in one end. He points west past the mound of rubble, where low voices can be heard. A narrow gap in the rubble is visible; the former bandit goes ahead of you through the gap.

The room on the other side is drafty and packed with junk. There are hammocks strung on wooden posts, over crates and other containers. Three bandits are sitting around a rickety table playing cards, while a fourth (a corpulent fellow) is giving his full attention to a whole roasted turkey. Another man (picture HERE) sits quietly in a corner, sharpening a knife. A metal gate blocks an opening in the west wall; on the other side of the gate is an owlbear.

Akiros draws his sword. "Time for a change. With us, or with the Stag Lord?"

Roll initiatives.

Bea smiles at Zlotii. "I'm counting on it." Drawing her greatsword, she follows Akiros into the room.

initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18

Katya whispers a short expletive under her breath as she keeps step in the middle of the pack. Her staff held forward in preparation.

Initative:: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Mmm...roast turkey.

init 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19

Round 1:

The owlbear lets out a shriek. Then Havrin coolly puts an arrow into Dovan. Three of the bandits drop to the floor (two at the table and the fat one with the turkey), while the fourth snatches up a bow and fires back at Havrin. The arrow goes wide of the ranger.

Zlotii is up! I'm still trying to get the map together, though.

Initiative order:

Owlbear-when applicable
Havrin
Bandits
Zlotii/Akiros
Bea
Katya
Dovan
Adam
Edvard

Have a MAP. Thanks to Kobash, I have a better way of doing maps now. You'll have to zoom in on the area of the fight to get a better look at it.

Can I tell where the gate is opened? Is knife-man anywhere close to that location?

perception (if needed): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

You can't at the moment tell.

Bea wastes no time in swinging her greatsword mightily at the bandit immediately in front of her.

Power Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21
damage: 2d6 + 7 ⇒ (4, 4) + 7 = 15

Bea advances and strikes down the bandit.

Sorry, can't look at the map right now, so Zlotii plugs the best target. Closest, least cover, etc.

crossbow 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20 PBS
damage 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4 PBS

Round 1 (ongoing):

Initiative order:

Owlbear-when applicable
Havrin-acted
Bandits-acted
Zlotii-acted/Akiros
Bea-acted
Katya
Dovan
Adam
Edvard

Zlotii moves up and hits Dovan with a crossbow bolt. Akiros snarls in rage and closes with the other bandit, but is unable to hit him.

Katya keeps towards the back, eyes scanning around the room to make sure nothing surprises the group. Her staff held ready to act at a moments notice.

Hold action until something new develops on the battlefield.

Round 1 (ongoing):

Initiative order:

Owlbear-acted
Havrin-acted
Bandits-acted
Zlotii-acted/Akiros-acted
Bea-acted
Katya-holding
Dovan-acted
Adam
Edvard

Wounded and alone (and only alive because I rolled really badly for Akiros' attack), Dovan quickly pulls loose a chain next to him before withdrawing with a shout of "MUTINY! AUCHS, GET DOWN HERE!"

With a rattle, the chain falls, allowing the gate securing the owlbear to open freely. The beast takes immediate advantage of this, pushing forward and opening a gash on Akiros with one massive claw.

From outside you can hear Dovan's continued shouts. "AYLES! FALGRIM! JE-where the hell is the Snitch?"

Katya, Adam, and Edvard are up!

If the owlbear held its action so it could attack when it was freed, shouldn't its initiative be down below Dovan now? Also, withdraw is a full round action, so I don't think he would be able to pull the chain...so should he get an AoO from Akiros?

Good catches; I had misremembered the time it took to open the cage (and how it was secured, for that matter--it's a rope, not a chain), and you'll get to act before the owlbear attacks again. So, retcon.

Seeing that things look pretty dire, Dovan slashes the rope to unsecure the cage and takes a 5' step back, dodging.

Revised initiative order:

Havrin-acted
Bandits-acted
Zlotii-acted/Akiros-acted
Bea-acted
Katya-holding
Dovan-acted/Owlbear-acted
Adam
Edvard

Round 1:

Edvard's visage is grim as he stares intently at the owlbear and speaks in a series of words arcane. At the completion he brings a hand up and mock claws at his face, though no mark is left upon it.

Cast scare on the owlbear and the handler - acts as cause fear (assuming HD under 6) with a DC 15 Will save.
Save -> shaken for 1 round; Fail -> frightened.
If it looks like the owlbear is affected - then Edvard will step 5ft North to try and herd it back into the cage.

Round 1 (ongoing):

The owlbear gives a deafening shriek as the magic takes hold of its mind. It's not yet clear which way it will flee, but the presence of the terrifying half-elf will certainly have some influence on its action.

Over to you, Adam. Katya, you still have the option.

Katya continues to watch, confident in her companions ability to handle the dangers currently in front of us.

Still holding, don't want to burn all my spells at once on this. :)

I'll give Adam another couple of hours to post before 'botting him.

Adam advances next to Bea. While the owlbear would normally have gotten an AoO on him, it is unable to act due to fright.

Round 2:

Revised initiative order:

Havrin-acted
Bandits-
Zlotii-/Akiros-acted
Bea-
Katya-
Dovan-/Owlbear-
Adam
Edvard

Havrin fires on Dovan, but misses. Then Akiros closes with his former fellow and cuts him down where he stands.

At this point, since the owlbear is going to retreat into the cage, you have a round until anyone else gets there. Everyone but Havrin and Akiros can act.

Doktor Zlotii watches the owlbear closely. He'll hold his actions until the creature moves. If it does retreat to its cage, he'll sling his crossbow, move quickly over to the door, and see how he might re-secure it. Can the rope still be used, or was it destroyed when it was cut?

The rope was destroyed when it was cut. It's salvageable, but will take a few rounds to resecure.

Bea glances back out to the courtyard, where she dropped her pack. It'll take to long to get that rope now. She turns to Akiros. "Are you hurt?

Akiros looks up, rage filling his eyes and drool running from one corner of his mouth, and starts to snarl a reply, then looks away from the paladin, shoulders slumping. He is bleeding visibly from a claw wound.

Katya watches Doktor Zlotii move over to the owlbears cage and look towards the rope, shaking her head Katya quickly reaches into her pack and pulls out a silk rope. Whispering into the bundled rope "Hewa cha'sid motzu zlotii."

Flinging the rope forward allowing the rope to sail through the air directly towards Doktor Zlotii while saying "Heads up Doktor Zlotii."

Move action to pull silk rope out of backpack, standard action mage hand to guide/throw it to Zlotii.

Taken momentarily aback, Bea tentatively reaches out to touch Akiros' wound. "Erastil remembers you and cares for you."

lay on hands: 1d6 ⇒ 6

Akiros closes his eyes and relaxes. "Yes...yes, I suppose he does." The wound is mostly healed.

A reminder for those of you who were around for this--in the post HERE, Kesten Garess promised a reward for capturing a bandit named Falgrim Sneeg. Take a look back at the names Dovan was shouting for.

Int Check: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (6) - 1 = 5

The name doesn't register in Bea's mind as Dovan shouts for help.

Round 2 (final):

Between Adam, Doktor Zlotii, and Edvard, the trio is able to force the owlbear back into its cage and resecure the door with Katya's rope.

Round 3:

Initiative order:

Havrin-acted
Bandits-acted
Zlotii/Akiros-acted
Bea
Katya
Adam
Auchs
Edvard

Havrin moves towards the door at the sound of approaching shouts and prepares to fire at the first bandit in. The first bandit through the door survives the arrow, but not by much. The second one closes and slashes at Bea with a shortsword, but misses. Akiros is panting in fatigue at the moment. Zlotii, Bea, Katya, and Adam are up! If he doesn't show, I'll run Adam's action after everyone else is done.

Zlotii steps in front of the wounded bandit, drawing his mace. He takes the fighting stance of a well trained, but not very experienced melee combatant. If he's feeling any anxiety, however, it doesn't show on his placid face.

mace 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21
damage 1d8 ⇒ 4

The Doktor drops the wounded bandit.

Surprised, Bea gives a satisfactory nod at Zlotii and steps up closer to the door, holding her sword at the ready.

Bea, the bandit on you is as yet unwounded. Zlotii took down the one that Havrin shot. I've updated the map to reflect the current layout.

Oops! Ok I totally missed that. Retcon:

Encouraged by Zlotii's unexpected show of martial prowess, Bea swings her sword mightily at the bandit ahead of her. His lifeless body slumps to the floor as the now severed head rolls out into the courtyard.

power attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27
confirm crit: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24
damage: 2d6 + 7 ⇒ (3, 3) + 7 = 13
crit damage: 2d6 + 7 ⇒ (1, 3) + 7 = 11

Round 3 (ongoing):

Initiative order:

Havrin-acted
Bandits-acted
Zlotii-acted/Akiros-acted
Bea-acted
Katya
Adam
Auchs-acted
Edvard

In the absence of any visible foes (as the headless body collapses to the ground), Adam and Katya wait. They do not have to wait too long; another man in leather armor (picture HERE) comes around the corner. At the sight of the fallen bandits he gives a wordless wail, winds up with his club, and takes a two-handed swing at Zlotii. The club lands on the oracle with a sickening crack. Zlotii, take 22 HP.

Katya's face turns to a shocked expression for a moment as she watches Zlotii take such a terrible blow from the new large man. Before her staff flares up hard with fire, screaming "Valignat mojka!" as she hurls a ray of flame directly at the man.

Scorching Ray
Touch Attack: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12
Damage: 4d6 ⇒ (1, 4, 6, 5) = 16

Auchs bellows in pain as Katya's spell burns across him.

Adam begins to chant, "Fast to strike but slow of wit/This lumbering ox does naught but hit/At better far than he/Strong of arm and weak of mind/Let us be gentle--'unrefined'/With less sense than a tree."

Using satire.

Edvard squints at the only foe standing, arcane power manifesting through his stare. Evil eye, -2 to hit.

Round 4:

Initiative order:

Havrin-acted
Zlotii/Akiros-
Bea
Katya
Adam
Auchs
Edvard

Havrin coolly puts an arrow into Auchs.

Everyone is up!

"Doctor!" Impulsively, Bea throws herself against the giant man in a vain attempt to push him back from the wounded.

bull rush: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

I don't have the feat, so this will provoke an AoO