Dungeon Master S's Murder on the Silken Caravan [CORE] (Inactive)

Game Master Chris Marsh

With characteristic calm, Wilhelm sinks an arrow into the chest of the hobgoblin in the red tunic. He nearly goes down, but holds on for now. Leonel starts his bardic performance, filling you all with courage! Piper throws up a Wall of Stone. The enemy scream in anger on the other side. The hobgoblins rush towards you (and away form the rampaging djinni.) They try to scale the wall!

Yellow: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4 Wall slippery! Why can't I climb?!
Cyan: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21 Wall FAKE! WALL FAKE!!!!
Green rushes to the wall, and readies to hurl blue up the wall.STR Aid: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11
Blue charges forward and takes the bump, Climb: 1d20 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 1 + 2 = 9 He (obviously) fails to climb, but the maneuver sends him directly in and through the wall (no save needed when proof is incontrovertible.) He tumbles to the ground on the other side, not sure what happened. Green sees this, and knows that Something is up. he tries to figure out exactly what it is: Green: 1d20 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 1 + 4 = 11, but can't, so he tries to climb.
Magenta follows Green Magenta: 1d20 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 1 + 4 = 22, and bursts through with a cry of triumph.
Purple follows after Magenta: Purple: 1d20 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 1 + 4 = 13, but that wall looks really solid, and pulls up at the last second.
Black is having none of it. He rushes up the rocks in front of him and tries to jump the wall! Acrobatics: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3 and lands smack in the middle of it. Not being trained in such feats he lands prone on the other side and quickly gets up. Finally white tries to study the wall White: 1d20 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 1 + 4 = 14, but it looks awfully solid.

The hobgoblins who emerge through the wall take aim and fire with bows, targeting the loud and annoying bard:

Cyan v. Leonel: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14 DMG: 1d8 ⇒ 3
Magenta v. Leonel: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7 MISS

The red wounded hobgoblin trades arrows with Wilhelm:
Red v. Wilhelm: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8 MISS

Gaspar shouts at the incoming dwarf: "Face me little half man! I'll cut you down before you you even raise that axe!" He drops Jamila to the ground and counter-charges with a bastard sword!
RAAAAAAAAH: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 9 + 2 = 31 Confirm: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 9 + 2 = 21 DMG: 2d10 + 8 ⇒ (7, 2) + 8 = 17 I'm so sorry Bullwhip. Make your Stabilization check.

Round 1 Update

Wilhelm: Shoots red
Leonel: FIGARO!
Piper: Wall!
Bullwhip: Charge!
Baddies: ATTACK!
Hunwald: TBD
SLEEP SPELL FINISH
Thiera: TBD
Dupine: TBD

Stabilize--It was intentional ;): 1d20 + 3 - 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 - 3 = 17

August moves by Leonel dropping his healing wand in his hand. "Maybe do what you can for Bullwhip?"

Then he moves towards the battle, and throws his spear at the hobgoblin, missing by a mile.

Attack: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 3 + 1 = 8

Thiera, I know we're waiting for Hunwald, but can you mark out where you're targeting?

Hun, using the wall of the wadi to mask his move from the enemy, moves up to knife throwing distance of the glorious bastard, Gaspar.

Stealth if needed using the terrain: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24
damn you no BaB! Next time you somanab*!$#! Sorry for the delay... Pentagon Problems.... ;)

Ha!

Thiera has her targeted spell and round before round 2.

Thiera targets her sleep spell on the nearest group that made it past the wall. I don't expect the BBEG to fall, but maybe his two nearby cronies will.

She move slightly closer, and releases a gout of magical blue force at Gaspar.
force missile: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4 (4 of 7, if the same day as the harpies)

Yes, same day as the harpies

Blue: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 = 17
Cyan: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
Gaspar: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Perhaps his mind is addled from the landing but Blue resists the spell! Meanwhile the advancing hobgoblin drops instantly into a deep slumber, AS DOES GASPAR!

Thiera, do you still want to target Gaspar? It'll wake him, but he'll be prone and unarmed.

Please don't target Gaspar. We can deal with him far easier if he stays unconscious.

Bow: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23, for 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6 damage.

Oh! Thiera, surprised that Gaspar succumbed, targets the nearest standing enemy instead.

Red: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Thiera's spells quickly turn the tide towards the Pathfinders! She knocks out Gaspar and a trio of hobgoblins. Then she blasts Black!

Round 1 Wrap Up

Wilhelm: Shoots red
Leonel: FIGARO!
Piper: Wall!
Bullwhip: Charge!
Baddies: ATTACK!
Hunwald: Sneak
SLEEP SPELL FINISH
Thiera: Missile
Dupine: Miss

Round 2

Wilhelm: Kills black
Leonel: Go!
Piper: Go!
Bullwhip: Go!
Baddies: TBD
Hunwald: TBD
Thiera: TBD
Dupine: TBD

Hun will add his steel and loathing upon the prone Gaspar

Ranged Dagger atk vs Gaspar: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 3 + 1 = 11
Damage ?: 1d4 + 3 + 1d6 ⇒ (2) + 3 + (1) = 6

And the dice hate me too... Unless Gaspar's -5 dex modifier allows an 11 to hit... But that crappy sneak attack roll haunts me! ^~^

Hunwald, please don't target the unconscious people, unless you are performing a coup-de-grace; you'll just wake them up :-P

You can start a coup de grace remember to pronounce the c! as a standard action and finish next round.

What would you like to do?

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Leonel takes the wand given him by Dupine and pokes the fallen dwarf with it. "Wake up! We're about to beat them!"
CLW wand for Bullwhip: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Maintain Inspire, +1 to attacks, damage, and vs charm/fear

Leonel takes the wand given him by Dupine and pokes the fallen dwarf with it. "Wake up! We're about to beat them!"

"Ah waaat did oi draink last noight? Me noggin is poundin' somethin' fierce."

Hunwald, please don't target the unconscious people, unless you are performing a coup-de-grace; you'll just wake them up :-P

Retcon, then... Hun pulls his Rapier and moves in to cover Bullwhip's healing and any other wetwork as needed.

Piper fires a shadowy ray of darkness at the thug in the green tunic.

Blinding Ray: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11 vs. touch
If it hits, and he's 2 HD or lower, he's blind for 1 round.

"Maybe you could focus your attention on those still standing!" Thiera calls, exasperated.

Forgive the lack of prose, sneaking this one in before school. I think enough of the hobgoblins have seen comrades pass through the wall to know it's fake.

Piper hits the Green tunic hobgoblin through her own wall and blind him!

Gaspar: Sleeps
Blue: Stands and approaches Leonel and Bullwhip
Cyan: Sleeps
Red: Sleeps
Yellow: Barrels through the wall and goes after the dwarf!Longsword: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 3 + 2 = 9 MISS
Orange: Follows the one with the yellow headband through the wall and goes after the dwarf!Longsword: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 3 + 2 = 7 MISS
Green: Blindly stumbles through the wall.

White, purple, and magenta all push through and see someone holding a bow, targeting Wilhelm:
Purple: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17 DMG: 1d8 ⇒ 1
Magenta: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Wahite: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Round 2

Wilhelm: Kills black
Leonel: Heals Bullwhip
Piper: Blinds a Hobgoblin
Bullwhip: I'm guessing grabs his axe and stands.
Baddies: Attack
Hunwald: Go!
Thiera: Go!
Dupine: Go!

It worked once, so why not try it again, Thiera muses. Calling on the power of her arcane bond, she reaches for a known spell. Magic courses through her from her sword, and she begins to again cast sleep.

DC 15 Will negates.

@Dungeon Master S - You guess correctly.

"You shud 'av woke me sooner!"

Wilhelm, Leonel, Piper, Bullwhip: you all go after Hunwald and Dupine, but if your actions won't be affected by them, feel free to post Round 3

"Is it me watch already? Oi 'ad a rank time gettin' ter sleep."

Bow: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 6 + 1 = 9, for 1d8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 2 + 1 = 10 damage.

Wilhelm fires another arrow, but it goes wide.

Leonel notes that the wand isn't working quite properly, so he gives it another shake at the dwarf.
CLW wand @ Bullwhip: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
When that only makes it worse, he passes it off to his buckler hand and draws his longsword, preparing for battle.
"Kill the monsters! It helps!"

Maintain Inspire, +1 attacks/damage & saves vs charm/fear

Bullwhip takes a swing at the enemies before him orange--wondering to himself how the previous watcher could have been so lax as to allow the goblinoids this close to camp.

"Oi 'ate dees guys."

waraxe (with hatred and inspiration): 1d20 + 5 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 5 + 1 + 1 = 26 damage (with inspiration): 1d10 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 3 + 1 = 7

Hun is waiting for the yellow garbed hobgoblin as he crashes through the illusionary wall and strikes at him with his rapier. "Yell'-ow, goblin... Hob does this feel!?"

Mstrwk Rapier atk vs yellow: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 3 + 1 = 18
Damage ?: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Hunwald and Bullwhip begin leveling the playing field.

Round 2
Hunwald: Stabs Yellow through the neck!
Thiera: Sleep!
Dupine: Go!

Round 3
Wilhelm: Go!
Leonel: Heals Bullwhip (More)
Piper: Go
Bullwhip: Slays
Baddies: Attack
Hunwald: TBD
Thiera: TBD
Dupine: TBD

Wilhelm fires an arrow at another goblinoid...

Targeting Green.

Bow: 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 6 + 1 + 1 = 25, for 1d8 + 2 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 2 + 1 + 1 = 11 damage.

...drilling it through the skull, right between the eyes.

Wilhelm fires an arrow at another goblinoid...

Targeting Green.

Bow: 1d20+6+1+1, for 1d8+2+1+1 damage.

...drilling it through the skull, right between the eyes.

Hell of a thing to "see" right as his sight comes back to him!

Dupine moves up to engage the blue, and punches him.

Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Piper's illusion dissipates, and she rushes forward to fire another blinding ray at the Magenta thug.

Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7 vs. touch

But misses!

Dupine slides up next to blue and delivers a shuto to the throat hard enough to collapse it. Sadly Piper's ray misses, but the damage has been done, her "wall" gave the Pathfinders the advantage they needed.

The remaining trip drop their bows in desperation and step in with morningstars!
White v. Bullwhip: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11 MISS
Purple v. Dupine: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11 MISS
Magenta v. Leonel: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8 MISS

White: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12 ZZZZZZZZZZ
Magenta: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19 Pass
Purple: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7 ZZZZZZZZ

With only 1 conscious hobgoblin and EVERYONE's turns up, I'm going to call it.

The final hobgoblin spits and defiance as Bullwhip, Leonel, and Dupine gang up on him. The caravan is saved!

Following the battle with Gaspar and his brigands, Jamila approaches you with heartfelt thanks. She also lets you in on the greater plot that had occurred...

She admits to being a janni and explains that she has known Targos Min-Katheer for over 40 years, serving as both ally and sometimes lover to the heroic Pathfinder. She states that the two of them had stumbled upon a plot by parties unknown to cripple Qadira’s economy by disrupting trade along the Silken Way. They had narrowed it down to just a few local merchants, but Targos began feeling the effects of his advanced age after suffering from heart pains and decided he would be ineffective in completing the mission. By agreement, rather than allowing Targos to slowly dwindle away from his ailments, Jamila gave him a dose of venom from a desert scorpion, and the famed venture-captain peacefully passed on to the afterlife. She and Targos felt the chances were great that the plotter would use the event of the trade route protector’s death to launch his plot. As such, she carefully ensured that all of the suspected merchants would be on the same caravan on which Targos’s body would travel with his Pathfinder escort.

Though she thought Hokama might be the plotter, it turns out it was Gaspar who murdered his partner so he could secretly pay off a pair of harpies to waylay travelers along the Silken Way in conjunction with strikes by his hired band of desert brigands. Gaspar had hoped to attract the greater harpy colonies of southern Qadira to the easy pickings of the trade route and thus seal off the route for years to come. Once she realized that you were still alive and could help her, she broke her cover and moved to end the threat to the all-important Silken Way.

The rest of the trip to Katheer is uneventful. Upon arriving in Katheer, Targos Min-Katheer is given a hero’s funeral attended by many Pathfinders (including some of the Ten, masked of course!), as well as notables from the satrap’s court and a few geniekin from the deep desert. Jamila claims Gaspar’s wares as compensation for the danger he placed her caravan under, but will gracefully give her ring of djinni summoning over to the Pathfinder Society if diyya is demanded for the death of Targos Min-Katheer; the venture-captain does, in fact, claim this treasure and has it sent on to the Grand Lodge in Absalom.

That concludes the Murder on the Silken Caravan!

Not only has a successful mission grown your renown, but word that you didn't lose a single caravan person during the storm, defeating the goblins before they could overtake your position also spreads. Truly you are up and coming Pathfinders in the Society!

I should have chronicles out today. I default to trusting people to fill out their own day jobs. That's fine for most, but I find once in a while some people like it completely filled in over PbP, if so, no problem!

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