DM Talomyr's Kingmaker

Game Master Talomyr

Razarak moves to adjacent to Tove, hoping Erastil's blessing may rub off on him, and then casts jolt on the bandit that Tove just hit.

Ranged touch attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18
Damage: 1d3 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

"I told you I don't like getting shot!"

Torsten gets up and trots down from the tower to the palisade walkway, calling "The leader Strauch, catch him now!" The goat obeys, skirting around the bandits to leap up at the bandit leader from next to the stables.

Move action to stand, standard as another move action to move for Torsten. Strauch moves left, up and left, up to avoid AoOs and then attacks.

Strauch attack: 1d20 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 2 + 1 = 13
damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Bump for Ivo.

Shortbow attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
Shortbow confirm crit: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

Ivo draws down on the injured bandit that he just shot.

Shortbow damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Shortbow crit damage: 2d4 + 2 ⇒ (4, 3) + 2 = 9

Ivo and Razarak focus their efforts on the bandit sporting the pink feather in his hat, with Raz's electrical jolt finding the mark mere moments before Ivo's arrow catches the bandit squarely in the forehead.

Torsten directs Strauch to attack the bandit leader, but is unable to land a blow.

Greypelt lunges at the bandit leader, but misses badly, nearly being trampled by the leader's horse in the process.

Ivo is the target of the bandit dressed in orange as he rides in closer to get a better shot and promptly puts an arrow into the gnomes left shoulder.

The yellow clad bandit drops his bow in favor of his morningstar as he rides up next to Theodore and takes a swing, bashing through the halfling's shield and landing a significant, crushing blow.

Ivo takes 4 damage. Theodore takes 8 damage.

Initiative Order:
Theodore 20+
Tove 9
Leader 8++
BB 8+
BR 8
Razarak 7+
Torsten 7
BG 6
Ivo 4
Bran 3
BO 2
BY 2
BP 0

Top of the round. Theodore and Tove are up.

Tove looks visibly shook to see Razarak stagger over to her. One arrow protruding fiercely from his chest, and another stuck in his side, the pair quickly turning his shirt red with blood.
Amazing he is still fighting! she thinks to herself as she clears her mind and prepares to work her divine magic.
She pulls out her old wooden symbol of Erastil, gripping it tightly.
Spontaneous Casting, replace Touch of Truthtelling with Cure Light Wounds
Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
Under pressure she fumbles and one of the arrows splinters as she tries to extract it. She does her best to close the wound as she watches the carnage around her.
"I'm so sorry Raz!" she sobs as her magic stops far short of healing his wounds.
She presses her holy symbol up against her lips as her eyes dart from Ivo to Theodore, then to Bran. Gods help us...

"Eh anything is helpful, hopefully we can end this quickly." Raz winces as the tingling of divine magic heals him slightly.

Not sure I can wade in again and survive long if they are focusing their efforts...

Oleg leans out of the main house door and lobs a flask in the direction of the blue clad bandit. The blue clad bandit howls in pain as the flask shatters against the side of his head and, bursts into flame. The flames panic the bandit's mount and the horse throws the now burning bandit from his back.

"Give the bastards hell!" Oleg yells out.

Theodore is up.

Initiative Order:
Theodore 20+
Tove 9 - Acted
Leader 8++
BB 8+ - prone, unconscious, and burning.
BR 8
Razarak 7+
Torsten 7
BG 6
Ivo 4
Bran 3
BO 2
BY 2
BP 0

I grimace and let out a loud grunt of pain as the bandits morningstar smashes straight into my shield and my shield rebounds off of my head, with a sickeningly loud crunch! Blood is flowing from my nose and I have a gash along my cheek. Rufus decides that he doesn't like that and lashes out at the bandit, then attempts to drag the bandit to the ground.

Rufus Attack: 1d20 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 2 + 1 = 20 (+2 if Flanking)
Rufus Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Rufus Trip: 1d20 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 2 + 1 = 15

A little stunned I return the favour by training to knock him to the ground.

Theodore Attack (Non-Lethal): 1d20 + 5 - 4 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 5 - 4 + 1 + 2 = 17 (+4 if he is Prone)
Theodore Damage (Non-Lethal): 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Tove casts a healing spell on Razarak, while Rufus latches onto the yellow clad bandit and drags him to the ground. Theodore takes advantage of the situation and with a "clang", the bandit is knocked out by the flat of the cavalier's blade.

Happs, as you've heard the bandit leader referred to by his minions, is frustrated by the attacking animals and more importantly the loss of his bow. With few other options, he pulls his sword and hacks at Greypelt but misses.

The blue clad bandit continues to burn from Oleg's attack, it is doubtful he will live through the battle. Meanwhile the red clad bandit sees an opportunity and takes aim at his "leader" and sinks an arrow into Happs's back.

Initiative Order:
Theodore/Rufus 20+ - Acted
Tove 9 - Acted
Happs 8++ -Acted
BR 8 - Acted, turned against Happs
Razarak 7+
Torsten/Strauch 7
Ivo 4
Bran/Greypelt 3
BO 2

Razarak, Torsten/Strauch, and Ivo are up.

Ivo stows his bow and climbs back down to ground level.

I'm not sure where the up/down is on the palisade, basically my goal is to get to the melee and flank with Theodore so I can start using my sap to sneak attack and knock people out.

Raz waves his hands while muttering something, then seems to gesture at Happs.

Raz casts Jolt at the bandit leader

Ranged touch attack: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (13) - 1 = 12
Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

I'm not sure where the up/down is on the palisade, basically my goal is to get to the melee and flank with Theodore so I can start using my sap to sneak attack and knock people out.

Got you on ground level now and I've marked where the ladders to the catwalk are on the map.

Razarak target's Happs with a cantrip, causing the bandit leader a meager amount of harm.

Torsten/Strauch are up.

"Back, boy! Torsten orders Strauch. The goat snaps one more time at the leader, Happs, before doing so, as Torsten conjures and throws a spear.

Strauch attacks then 5' steps down and right, Torsten uses Splintering Spear to attack Happs. He doesn't have Precise Shot unfortunately.

Strauch attack: 1d20 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 2 + 1 = 17
Torsten attack: 1d20 + 4 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 + 1 - 4 = 20

The coordinated attack comes off near-perfectly as Strauch leaves an opening for Torsten's spear to fly true. Torsten cheers, "Surrender now man, or die like a stag bleeding out as he flees!"

Misformatted the dice tag on the damage rolls. It looks like I didn't need to worry about the poor total attack bonus tho'.
Strauch damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Torsten damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8 + 1 bleed

Torsten's and Strauch's coordinated attack lay Happs low, as the bandit leader slumps off of his mount and falls to the ground.

Greypelt shifts his focus to the orange clad bandit, latching on the bandit's leg but unable to pull him off of his mount.

Seeing his leader down, one of his own switched sides, and his remaining companions either down or dead, the orange clad bandit throws down his weapon and yells out, "I give! Just don't kill me!"

The red clad bandit trains his bow on his orange clad former companion but does not fire.

Combat over. Yellow is subdued. Happs is down and bleeding out. Bran is down and stable. All other opponents other than orange and red are dead.

"Unless the worst splinters are picked out, that Happs won't be answering any questions," says Torsten as he climbs down off the walkway. "Hai Master Wolf, done now," he says to Greypelt, trying to soothe the animal enough to stop the attack.

Handle Animal: 1d20 ⇒ 6

"Well perhaps Happs should find himself a healer." Tove says as she waits for Torsten at the bottem of the ladder and then begins her climb up.
"Bran!" Tove cries out as she rushes up to kneel at the druid's side. She looks over his wounds and lets out a sigh of relief to see he is at least in a stable condition despite his wounds.
"Ivo, Razarak, Theodore, gather 'round."
Once all of her allies are within 30 ft of her, Tove will attempt to channel energy to heal the party. Hopefully the added height of the platform will exclude the bandits from the spell range. Tove may be convinced to heal the wounded bandits later but for now she will avoid it the best she can.
"Erastil, hear my prayer and unleash your healing power!"
She holds up her divine focus and acts as a conduit for positive energy to flow out through her directly from Heaven.
A dim light radiates out from the symbol of Erastil in Tove's hands, settling on the wounded, friend and foe alike, within a 30 foot burst.
Channel Energy: 1d6 ⇒ 1

Tove's face grows even more sullen as once again her god appears to have forsaken her.
"Nine hells..."She mutters.

"Oleg! Do you have somewhere we can lock these two up and interrogate them until we can be sure of their intentions, don't want them escaping, or worse, in the middle of the night"

Razarak addresses the big man as he walks outside after the battle has ended

"Thank you for your help, it would have been a tad more difficult had you not threw that vial at the one bandit. Speaking, what was that vial, anyway?"

I sheath my blade and sling my shield back onto my back, as soon as I hear that Happs may still be alive I rush over to him, dismount and try to pull out any splinters so that he may stay alive and treat his wounds.

Untrained Heal Check: 1d20 ⇒ 20

If he is stable and going to survive I pull out my manacles from my pack and bind him so that he cannot fight or flee. I then make a big fuss of Rufus for a job well done and then wander over to Tove when beckoned and feel a divine presence wash over me slightly as she requests aid from Erastil.

I then head back to the two remaining bandits, Rufus at my side. The blood still smears my face, but the gash seems to have closed up a bit. I hold my hand out to the bandit who shot at his leader and if he accepts it, I shake it. "Thanks for your timely help." I look to his friend who surrendered and nod to him, "You've both made the right decision, if only more of your friends had heeded my advice, they'd still be alive now to enjoy their life. Do you mind if we ask you some questions about the rest of the bandits in the area?"

I had to try and help him as I want as little bloodshed as possible and he may know more about the bandit groups. Also the manacles I used are Masterwork Manacles.

"Aye, I think I can consolidate the goods in the three pens in the back into two. That should be good enough for the bastards." Oleg responds.

At mention of the vial, Oleg smiles, "Oh that? I think Ol' Bokken called it 'Pyro's Delight'. He claims it's some sort of extra special alchemist's fire." Oleg shrugs, "Based on the results, I'd wager he's right."

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Theodore stabilizes the bandit leader for now, and binds him in manacles should he actually awake.

Note: the yellow bandit is unconscious, but alive.

Tove gathers the group and provides a meager amount of Erastil's divine grace to the party, yet Bran still remains unconscious.

Theodore goes over to talk to the remaining bandits and notices the orange clad bandit's gaze trained on his assumedly former companion. If looks could kill, the red clad bandit would surely be dead.

At the offer of a handshake the red clad bandit accepts. "Looked like the perfect opportunity to give Happs what he had comin'. The name's Gavin. Sure, feel free to ask what you'd like, although I don't know how much good it will do and I really doubt you'll get much outta Cal." he adds, gesturing toward the orange clad bandit.

I smile at the response of the bandits, but look at Cal briefly before nodding, "Nice to meet you both Gavin, Cal. My name's Theodore, as promised I shall make sure that you're not harmed as well as being fed and given water. If you have any issues during your stay here, please tell me and I'll see if I can rectify the problem. The questions I'd like to know the answers to are : Where is your base, how long will it take to get there, how well guarded is it and would they accept my terms if I offered them?"

Rufus moves and sits between the 2 men, eyes keenly fixed on Cal.

While Theodore is questioning the bandits, Raz moves to stand behind them and crossing his arms while glancing between them, playing the "bad cop" and says "And remember, if you violate our offer, quarter will no longer be honored."

Gavin raises an eyebrow but says nothing in response to Raz's additional warning.

"Where the actual base camp is is anybody's guess. Happs always had us meeting up with that axe wielding b*%@*, Kressel at an encampment at a ford in the Thorn River a little over a day's ride southwest from here."

Shrugging a bit, Gavin says, "How well is it guarded? Hard to say. Happs's crew not the only one that reports into Kressel, so there could be more than the her most trusted there. Could be as few as four more beyond Kressel there, could be as many as ten more. Can't really say more than that."

Thinking a bit on Theodore's last question, Gavin says, "You take out the b&+!! and you might get a few to surrender, otherwise I wouldn't count on it."

I nod and place my hand on Gavins arm, "Thanks for the information. We'll have to place you somewhere for the safety of Oleg and his wife, however it shouldn't be for long. We have to go and see if we can stop this Kressel woman, hopefully it goes well. Are there any defenses around the camp we should know about?"

With that I go to the unconscious bandits and place them in the holding pen with Gavin and Cal. The leader and Cal in one pen, Gavin and the yellow clad bandit in the other.

Torsten checks through Happs' gear with an eye for any written material as he removes his weapons.

Strauch, standing 'guard' nearby, is rewarded with a bit of hard cheese for his earlier valor.

Tove calls out for help from one of her stronger peers. "Can one of you help me carry our friend her down from the wall?" she says, in reference to Bran. "He may need more care than I can provide him right now, we should put him to bed so that his body can start repairing some of the damage on its own."

As Tove and her volunteer carry Bran's unconscious body through the courtyard to the room where they slept last night, she glares at the bandits being led to the temporary holding cell. I pray they get what's coming for them.

Bran is brought inside where Greypelt curls up next to his fallen master while the others move unconscious bandits into one holding pen and the conscious into another.

Beyond the gear, you also have six riding horses that are still alive.

As the party settles in after the battle, Oleg asks, "How long you reckon until more of their friends show up here? I'd imagine they'd be expectin' that lot to be comin' back after not too terrilbly long."

Tove stares at the Stag's Head amulet in disbelief. Don't tell me these brigands believe Old Deadeye is on their side. Could that be why I have felt so little of his love this day?
She tried to push these thoughts to the back of her mind.

Turning to Oleg, Tove tries to make sense of the information the party has gathered so far. "They claimed that their leader reports to a woman to the south west. If the ride takes a little over a day, and assuming that this raid was the sole purpose of their mission up here, they may be expected back as early as tomorrow afternoon. We can only guess at how long the others will wait before they suspect something has gone wrong, but if they set out toward us as soon as they do, perhaps they could be here by morning three days from now."

"I suppose the question becomes, do we take the fight to them first? Or do we prepare ourselves to mount another defence here?"

"We might have a little more time than that. If they had found a stash of applejack or just good ale here some delay would be no surprise.

"For all of that, yes! We should strike! Who wants to wait for more cunning bandits to sneak in and cut our throats in the night?"

Riding a horse all day. If Old Weinstein's stories were right this is going to be painful.

Yikes, riding all day, too bad none of us can teleport... Yet...

"If they were to come here they would have marshalled their forces and be expecting a fight. Whereas if we were to go to them, we would have the upper hand for they wouldn't be expecting us, we would have a chance to set an ambush against them, as well as the possibility of reinforcements would be much more diminished." Raz replies in response to Tove's question. "Unrelated note, what are we doing with the bandits gear, it would be I'll advised to allow them to keep it even if they are "repentant"

"I think that a lot of the gear would fetch a fine price from the hunters and trappers who frequent Oleg's Trading Post. Perhaps we let our new host add it to his stocks. Who knows, some of it may have been stolen from here months ago in the first place?"
These poor people have suffered enough, maybe some extra goods to trade will help compensate for there hardship.

Tove considers the options for how best to proceed.
"If the bandit camp suspects something has gone wrong, how likely are they to amass a full assault right away? Kressel may send just a handful as a search party, allowing us to weaken their main force once more."

"Our alternative is to march ourselves in to their territory and attempt to ambush them where they have the upper hand. And if Gavin spoke truthfully, there could be as many as ten at that camp right now. Bran is in no condition to accompany us today, we would be outnumbered two to one."

I look at the stag amulet in disbelief, "Well ... I suppose they're a sort of community and family. But that doesn't quite fit."

I turn my attention to the rest of the group, "If we head out now, then they wouldn't expect us. We could wait for them to come here, it would give us defensive wall to find behind ... but it would endanger Oleg, Svetlana and their home. I say we go to them and try to ambush them whilst they believe their friends will return."

Ivo nods. "We have the element of surprise. We should use it."

"Sounds like you all will be headin' out." Oleg says, matter-of-factly. "How soon ya plan on leavin'? Given the difficulties with Happs and his crew I would think you all could do with a night's rest before headin' out."

"No matter, just no you all have a place to stay and meals whenever you are here." Reaching under the table he brings up a small pouch and three vials. "I know it's not much, but it's what I have at the moment, please take 'em. Might be useful to ya."

The pouch contains 75 gp. Two of the vials are potions of cure light wounds (CL1). The third is a potion of shield of faith (CL1)

Isn't it still early morning?

I let someone else take the glass vials, someone who might know what they are. "It'd be best to leave immediately, but I also agree that time to rest is a good idea. I still ache from that scuffle. " I point out Gavin to Oleg, "That gentleman has seen the error of his ways and wishes to atone. Please make sure he's given a little extra food and drink, so the others can see the benefit of giving up the life of banditry. I will; of course, pay for the extra supplies."

By time Oleg gets the holding pens rearranged and you've transferred prisoners and such it's getting fairly close to lunch time. I believe everyone (except Torsten) is wounded to a certain degree.

Oleg nods in acknowledgement of Theodore's request, even if it is obvious he doesn't particularly agree.

Tove lets out a sigh. "I suppose I can't sway you. I guess we had better leave soon; the quicker we arrive, the more likely we are to catch the group off guard."
"I'm not sure if it would be best to wait until morning to set out or if we can make some safe progress deeper into the Greenbelt before night fall. In any case, I can do my best to heal the rest of our wounds before lunch, if you will join me in saying a prayer?"

Tove leads the others to join hands around Bran's bed.

"Lord Erastil," she begins. "We gather before you today in need of your healing hand. We are lost, but come to you with grace."

"Lord," she finishes, "give me the strength to move forward on the path you've laid out for me."

Tove channels the energy of Erastil twice more during this prayer session.

Channel Energy: 1d6 ⇒ 4

Channel Energy: 1d6 ⇒ 1

This should be enough to heal Tove and Ivo back to full health. Theo and Raz should be feeling much better as well. Hopefully so is Bran.

I nod to Tove and join in the prayer willingly. I feel relief as Erastil's blessing washes over us and removes most of my wounds, leaving on the faintest of scratches upon my cheek. "I think we should eat lunch and then head out. We should reach them by tomorrow morning if we head out soon, maybe catch them whilst they are still asleep."

yay I'm up to 9 out of 11 now

"thank you for that, Tove, I am feeling much better. You seem to have reconnected with your god." Raz says, shifting uncomfortably with this prayer session

Though undoubtly it was some other factor that caused her spells to have little effect earlier and not her "god" deserting her...

Despite Tove's best efforts, Bran still remains unconscious.

None-the-less, Svetlana prepares a meal of roasted chicken, potatoes, and carrots for you before you prepare to depart.

"If you are needin' to leave soon, we'll keep an eye on your friend." Svetlana offers.

Just as you are finishing up your meal and are preparing to head out, a lone rider approaches the trading post.

Jacobus readjusts himself in his saddle. Although an accomplished rider, 2-3 days on a horse with little or no rest still took his toll on him.

But he was finally here, Oleg's Trading Post.

But his first sight left him confused. He recognized the charter bearers from a few days ago. Now or never...

He stood up on his stirrups to call attention to himself, the golden key around his neck prominent. "Hello there. I have been sent from Restov to meet up with you, all of you. I've been sent by the Swordlords to help out with the exploration."

Seeing their quizzical looks, he pulled out the charter he kept handy for such a moment, "No kidding, here's the charter that vouches for me."

He then asked, "Are you leaving already?"

"Thank you for your continued hospitality, Svetlana." Tove says, in response to her offer to look after Bran.

When the rider approaches, Tove grows anxious for a moment. As he gets closer, and it becomes obvious he isn't another bandit, she lets her guard down a little.
Knowledge (Religion): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
Recognising the holy symbol around the rider's neck a thought crosses her mind. Great, a cleric of Abadar. Perhaps the Swordlords couldn't hande the thought of a party of country folk handling their precious charter after all.

Tove calls out to the man.
"And who might you be, agent of Abadar? What business does the Gold-Fisted God have so far from the walls of Brevoy's cities?"

Ivo stretches and then lounges against the palisade wall for a minute before suddenly realizing that the quick turnaround means he needs to saddle his pony, and he runs off to do so.

Tove calls out to the man.

"And who might you be, agent of Abadar? What business does the Gold-Fisted God have so far from the walls of Brevoy's cities?"

Jacobus relaxed and got off his horse. He extended his hand, "My name is Jacobus Varadin..."

When his last name did not elicit any response, he added, "From Varadin & Sons..."

Still nothing, "Nevermind, I'll explain later. Anyway, to answer your question Miss..."

"I represent the Master of the First Vault and he is very interested in the exploration of new land and eventually being a driving force in helping people feel secure enough for them move into and settle this land."

He then added, "And I, Jacobus, am very interested in establishing new trade routes and ending the blight that bandits cause on people."

He asked, "Is any of that aligned with what you are doing here?"

"Anyone interested in bringing the bandits of the stolen lands to justice and helping the people here feel safe and secure is a friend of mine" Tove relaxes and takes Jacobus by the hand.
"Cleric Hellstrom, of the Church of Erastil, but you may call me Tove."

"Speaking of bandits, our good man Theodore here has taken several into custody and in-so-doing we have learned the location of a hide-out to the south-west of here. We mean to ride out promptly and catch the brigands before they grow suspicious at their missing comrades."

Taking Jacobus' hand Raz replies "I am Razarak, and I too, am interested in ending the blight of bandits as you so put it. The disease of banditry needs be eradicated, and order brought to the stolen lands. Are you varadin, or & sons?"

I look at the man get off his horse and extend his hand to the group. Both Tove and Razarak seemed willing to trust him but a thought occured to me, "Good afternoon Mr Varadin, trade routes can aid many, I myself just wish to end the bloodshed. Did the Swordlords send you after us or were you delayed in joining us when we left?"

"If they sent him after us, do they consider us incapable of fulfilling the charters instructions?"

Torsten takes the vials and examines them carefully after muttering a spell, his eyes glowing slightly blue from the arcane magic. "Ivo, if you get shot again you might need this, Razarak, you might find this useful before you dash in next" he says, passing over two of the vials as he finds these two.

Detect Magic to identify the potions. Taking 10 on spellcraft should be sufficient. Ivo's potion is cure light wounds, Razarak's shield of faith.

An Abadarite. Some of those are good people, some not so much... there's a simple enough test.

Torsten shakes Jacobus' hand also. "Torsten Bock. Master Varadin, some of our number took arrows from these bandits. Would you lend your efforts to healing them, or does Abadar ask that that gold change hands before you do so?"

Jacobus was pleased with his reception and commented among his new companions.

Jaconus groaned as Tove mentioned riding out again but put on a smile, "Sure, yes. Please count me in; I would like to come along of course."

He responded to Razarak, "Actually I'm part of the & Sons part. My father founded the company and my brother and I continue his legacy. He's still around and very much involved though."

He nodded, "I agree that banditry should be eradicated as soon as possible."

He turned to the halfling, "I had applied and was there when your charter was given. it sounds like someone thought I would be a good addition to this team and I was thus sent."

He looked at the wizard, "My services have been pledged to the Swordlords and this charter so there's no need to exchange gold. I imagine you also provide your skills and expertise free of charge."

He quickly added, "I do expect to be included when profits are shared."

He breathed out, "Abadar has indeed blessed me with some minor healing magic. Who was hurt?'