EM - [PFS] Baby It's Cold Outside (Inactive)

Game Master Evil Minion

Masym grunts in surprise as the axe blade comes close to connecting.

I'm guessin' these guys are not medics...and they called 'im a thief? Skelg has some explaining to do here...

Smiling in thanks to Malusha for the magical aid, he comments to the priestess, "Look Nella, scarin' a poor servant be much better than bein' shived in the back! If it looks n' smells like an ambush..."

Round 1

Nella yelps with surprise as weapons are suddenly brought to bear, breathing a sigh of relief as both Masym and Tchak manage to avoid the axes.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know that the servants were the ambush!?" she retorts as she quickly pulls out a wand and waves it in an arc that encompasses the entire group.

Pulling out her Wand of Bless as a move action and then using it as a standard. Charges remaining (49).

The half elf, in the surprise round will begin to play You thought you could catch us unawares, be we are on to your tricks, time to go away because you are dumb as bears. We are mighty, hear us roar

She will inspire courage:
Inspire Courage (Su): A 1st level bard can use his performance to inspire courage in his allies (including himself), bolstering them against fear and improving their combat abilities. To be affected, an ally must be able to perceive the bard’s performance. An affected ally receives a +1 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +1 competence bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls

Perform 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23

-- Surprise Round ----
Phoebe starts an inspiring song, mocking the two faux-guards at the same time.

-- Round 1 ----
Reacting quickly, Jones steps to the side, bring up his bow and firing a single arrow at the first one, who tries to dodge it, but fails as it sinks into the flesh just above his right knee.

Malusha prays for a Masym's protection, while Nella pulls out a wand and blesses the groups actions.

The second guard continues his attacks on the tengu, swinging his axe yet again at the unarmed Wei Tchak.

Melee attack on Wei Tchak: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12, for 1d12 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5 damage.

Hitting him, though the attack is not nearly as hard as it could have been.

= Round 1 ========================================
Jones, Nella, Malusha
Guard2
Masym (shield of faith) <--- we are here
Guard1 (7)
Phoebee, Wei Tchak (5)

Bless (+1 to hit) and Inspire Courage (+1 to hit and damage) are up

Do bless and inspire courage stack?

Yessir. The attack portion of them anyway. Bless is morale, inspire courage is competence.

"Clearly you have not been to any noble houses recently!" Masym quips to the priestess in reply, even as he concentrates on the Ulfen warrior facing him. Studying him closely he decides to not offer quarter here, and strikes to kill.

Round 1:
Move action: use Studied Target on Guard 1.
Attack: Shortspear, Bless, Inspire: 1d20 + 3 + 1 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 3 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 18
damage, Inspire: 1d6 + 2 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 2 + 1 + 1 = 10
.
STATUS: Studied Target => Guard #1.

This inspiration is nice!~

Though he tries to dodge, with his movements impaired by the arrow in his leg, the man is unable to get out of the way of Masym's spear thrust.
He collapses to the ground, his axe clattering on the flagstones.

= Round 1 ========================================
Jones, Nella, Malusha
Guard2
Masym (shield of faith)
Phoebee, Wei Tchak (5) <--- we are here

Bless (+1 to hit) and Inspire Courage (+1 to hit and damage) are up

Bold can go!

do bless and inspire stack? I thought they were the same type of bonus or was that just in 3.5?

Wei Tchak attempts to return the favor... "Ow.. quit it, that hurt!"

to hit: 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 4 + 1 = 15 +1 addl one if they stack
dmg if hits: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 3 + 1 = 9

Behold my might to call things to me, though it take a while, they soon here shall be. Tails and noses and teeth covered in cheese, they will get you, yes, no, it is all a matter of ease.

Continuining her inspiring song she shifts the mandolion's tone so that is sounds like the running and pitter patter of rat feet, coming from behind the group and quickly approaching.

DC 13 WIll save as she casts ghost sound.

Ghost sound allows you to create a volume of sound that rises, recedes, approaches, or remains at a fixed place. You choose what type of sound ghost sound creates when casting it and cannot thereafter change the sound's basic character.

The volume of sound created depends on your level. You can produce as much noise as four normal humans per caster level (maximum 40 humans). Thus, talking, singing, shouting, walking, marching, or running sounds can be created. The noise a ghost sound spell produces can be virtually any type of sound within the volume limit. A horde of rats running and squeaking is about the same volume as eight humans running and shouting. A roaring lion is equal to the noise from 16 humans, while a roaring dragon is equal to the noise from 32 humans. Anyone who hears a ghost sound receives a Will save to disbelieve.

Jones moves if necessary to get a clear line of sight on the second guard and fires.

Comp Longbow: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 8 + 2 = 11

Apparantly Jones trips as he looses the arrow and it sails completely out of the courtyard.

Oops. I hope I didn't hit anyone.

Malusha watches Masym drop the closer guard with a solid blow. Glad to have him on our side! he thinks to himself. Then he pulls back the lever on his crossbow and loads a bolt (move action) then fires at the remaining guard (standard action) hoping to slow the man down.

crossbow-melee+inspire+bless: 1d20 + 1 - 4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 - 4 + 1 + 1 = 1

The crossbow bolt jolts out of the track as he is firing and spins wildly through the air.

Round 2

"And you have?" the priestess responds as Masym deftly sends one of the imposters to the ground with a single blow.

Knows how to fight for sure. We'll probably need it at this rate!

Hoping to save Tchak from another painful axe strike Nella calls on Shelyn's grace to protect the tengu and a faintly shimmering barrier of force envelops him.

Using Blessing of the Faithful on Tchak to give him a +2 AC boost; as a standard action, the ecclesitheurge can bless one ally within close range (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels). A blessed ally gains a +2 sacred or profane bonus (depending on whether the ecclesitheurge channels positive or negative energy) on attack rolls, skill checks, ability checks, or saving throws or to AC until the ecclesitheurge's next turn. The ecclesitheurge can expend 1 use of channel energy when activating this ability to increase the duration to a number of rounds equal to the number of dice of his channel energy.

And as the GM said, the attack roll portions of Inspire Courage and Bless stack since the actual bonuses are different (competence and morale respectively). The +1 bonus to fear saves doesn't stack because they're both the same type of bonus (morale).

Aye, they stack. Which is good for you, else you would have missed! =)

The magus delivers a devastating blow to the last remaining foe, who staggers, barely managing to stay on his feet.

Suddenly, the area behind the gaurd is filled with the scurrying sounds of thousands of tiny rodents.

Will Save: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Hmm... not sure what the effects of ghost sound might be here. I shall say he is somewhat distracted, and will manifest as a Aid Another to lower his AC for the next attack that targets him.

He glances back in alarm, momentarily distracted!

Jones and Malusha both step to the side, and try to take advantage of the distraction. But Jones' arrow flies way wide, up and over the wall across the courtyard... and, as if in solidarity, Malusha's crossbow bolt does pretty much the same.

Nella reaches forward to ward Tchak from any further blows, just as the guard realizes he's been tricked by the sound, and turns his fury back on the tengu! He seems barely able to lift his weapon, however, as his breathing labors noticeably.

Melee Attack vs Tchak: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

This time missing wide. The momentum of the swing sends the large Ulfen man sprawling to the cobblestones, from which he does not get up.

Heh. He was at 0 hp

Combat over!

Behind the defeated guards, Graydog Manor sits impassively, its windows all shut and curtains drawn. You see no activity from the house.

The half elf stops her song and the concentration on the ghost sound with a smile Poor cretin, fall down. Go boom! she says with a smile.

Malusha chuckled at Phoebee's comment. "Well that was a little scary," he says. "I'm guessing that these weren't really Skelg's guards. I wonder where they are really from." Malusha examines the guards' bodies, from a distance, hoping to see something on them that might give a clue as to their origin.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

"Of course! I am actually a Baron in disguise!" Masym retorts as he wipes off the blood from his spear. "Fooled ya, didn't I?" He smiles in reply, then turns his attention to the bleeding warrior.

"It not be good ta let 'im bleed out to death. He may actually be workin' fer Skelg. Anyway he definitely knows what is goin' on!" He tears several large strips from the man's cloak and ties a tourniquet around the mans wound.

Heal, First Aid DC 15: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

He looks back towards the healers and motions them over to him. "Little help here!"

You will find that both men are large bearded Ulfen's wearing simple chain shirts with surcoats bearing the Taldan crest overtop. They appear armed only with the axes. All their gear seems well-used and well-maintained.

Hmm... upon closer review, the stat blocks for these guys are a mess! It says greataxe, but shows the damage for a battleaxe... they have weapon focus (greataxe) but equipment lists a battle axe... (the higher tier is all greataxe, but the attack bonus is way off) Oi!
Will say they just looked larger in the hazy summer heat, and are just battle axes

The second guard, who did not speak to you in common at all, also carries a ring of keys.

The first guard is no longer breathing, but the last one to fall seems to still be alive. As Masym attempts to administer first aid, the size of the blood pooling beneath him seems get a little larger, rather then stopping as is usual for the procedure.

"Hey, it wouldn't be the first time I've heard of a noble going slumming," Nella can't help but chuckle. Then her expression sobers as she realizes the first downed man is still bleeding heavily.

"Right, won't do to let him bleed to death out here so close to the street," she responds as she rolls up her sleeves and sets to work trying to help Masym stop the first man from bleeding out.

Heal (First Aid; DC 15): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

"Augh, you must've hit one of the big blood vessels when you dropped him!" she exclaims as she struggles to stop the bleeding. Then she suddenly remembers that she's actually got a spell for this.

"I'm such an idiot," she sighs as she works her magic to stop the man's bleeding.

Forgot that Nella can use Stabilize so I edited my post to do just that, but decide to leave in her 'oops' moment for fun! She'll stabilize both men if they're both still alive.

Nella moves to see to the first man that fell, but although at first she thinks she detects a faint pulse, it quickly fades as she tries to stop the bleeding, until she has to concede that he is beyond her help now.

dead-dead now

She calls on Shelyn to help the second guard before Masym can make his condition worse. His condition will stabilize, though he remains unconscious from his wounds.

Tchak will collect the keys from the fallen 'guard'. "These might come in handy.. I wonder if the doors are locked, are they meant to keep folks out, or keep them in? I guess we'll find out. is everyone ready to move inside?"

He tries the door before attempting to use the keys.

The door to the manor proves to be locked. But, with a bit of fiddling with the keys liberated from the guards, you will find one that works to open it.

the bard will make a little parrot sound and stroke the tengu's fathers Pretty bird! Pretty bird

Tchak turns and peeeers at Phoebee with one beady round eye and the other all squinty. "I'm not a parrot, you know... I thank you for the compliment all the same."

Squawk! she says with a mischevious smile.

Nella sighs and looks up at the others. "Well, this one's still alive at least. We'd better hurry and get him and the other one inside before someone wanders by and sees this mess."

She gives Phoebee a sidelong glance as she gets to her feet. "That was some good singing just now, even though I can't say I'm all that familiar with your choices of songs."

Almost seems like she's not all there. Lady Shelyn, please let me be wrong about that!

Oh, I make em up as the Muses bid me. she says.

Jones will help pull the body out of sight, then with his bow drawn follow the group through the front door.

"Good plan there, Miss Nella." Masym nods in reply as he helps Dead Eye drag both of the bodies inside.

The odd banter between the stunning half-elf and the tengu elicits a raised eyebrow from him. I never knew Tengu liked having their feathers stroked!

Once everyone is inside he keeps his spear at the ready. "Since it is gonna be some time before this one wakes up, I say we tie 'im up and find Skelg."

"Well we have to do something with them... the alternative to tying them up would be to dispatch them. I'd rather go with the tie up option myself.. the other is so .. cold-blooded. Who has rope?"

Tieing the cretin up is a good idea. she says as she gets rope out of her backpack. I'm not too good at tying ropes myself though. Will I be able to get the rope back?

"May I help you?" Malusha asks as he steps to the bard's side. "It pleases Sarenrae for us to preserve life rather than destroy it when we can." Then he adds in a quieter voice, and a shy smile, just to Phoebee, "I will buy you a new rope as a gift if we do not recover yours."

Is a skill check needed to tie the guy up?

Malusha takes Phoebee's rope and begins to tie up the fallen guard. His hands practiced from many years of handling herd animals as a youth, he makes quick work of it Hopefully? and stands up ready to move on exploring the manor.

"Hand me the rope, I'll tie him up. We'll get you a new rope if you don't get this one back. But we need to quickly move on, we don't know how many more are inside, or if Skelg's even still alive."

I think Jones and Wei Thak have the best CMB. Making the Escape DC 24.

But this is my most favorite rope. It was a rope used to escape the Crimson bands of Cytorrack or something like that, so I am told, from the merchant I bought it for. Not every rope has such an interesting story. she says with a grin.

Jones sighs and shakes his head at Phoebee. He calmly walks over and hits the unconscious man a couple more times doing non-lethal damage

NL Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
NL Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

"There. Now we don't need to tie him up, he'll be out for awhile. Now, lets put him in the corner of the courtyard, out of sight and finish what we're here to do."

As he walks toward the front door, he turns to Nella and smiles, "You might want to make sure he's not bleeding. I hit him pretty hard."

The group quickly manages to drag the two guards out of sight, before anyone on the street outside notices. As you work out how best to tie up the one that still lives, Jones solves the dilemma by simply brutally punching the man a couple of times so he doesn't wake up any time soon. The beating does open up the previously closed wounds however, as he starts bleeding again.

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

Eventually, the Pathfinders head into the Manor house proper.

The inside of the manor seems quiet. A quick tour of the bottom floor reveals no people whatsoever, though there are signs that someone lives there. While looking about, you will eventually hear sounds of movement, however faint, from upstairs and head that way to investigate.

The first room you look in appears to be an unused bedroom of some sort, but the second door, which apparently leads to the manor's master bedroom, finally bears fruit.

You open that door and are greeted by a blast of heat. A roaring fire blazes in the fireplace even though the day is swelteringly hot. A huge bearded man shivers under his blankets, his bed pushed dangerously close to the fire. A thin servant sits in the far corner by a window, fanning himself with a handkerchief.

The servant looks up in alarm and jumps to his feet as you come into the room, but the bearded man merely looks over at you and blinks a few times, before speaking through chattering teeth.

"Are y-you P-path-f-finders?"

There is a small puff of condensation from between his lips, as he speaks.

The bard nods at the query, in the affirmative.

Nella gapes with amazement as Jones proceeds to pummel the remaining imposter even further into unconsciousness. "Overkill, much?" she sighs as she notices the man is bleeding again. She quickly stabilizes him before hurrying to catch up with the others.

*********************

"Yes, we got your message," Nella responds, wiping at the sweat beginning to bead on her brow. "Had some trouble at your front door, though. What was that about?"

Masym shakes his head at the violence performed on the guard before he follows along behind the others. Once Skelg introduces himself, he gives the Pathfinder a once-over. "Looks like you are having a problem stayin' warm 'ere. Also your 'servants' who greeted us at the front door called you a thief. I think those facts are related. Out with it. What did you steal?" Masym asks bluntly.

Now that you mention it, is is kind of cold here. Does anyone have any hot chocolate with marshmallows?

The conversation is going to be a little bit disjointed, as Skelg will start trying to explain some things, only to start coughing or to fade out for a moment, at which point the servant will step in to elucidate. But being a loyal servant, will tend to avoid saying things that might put his boss in a bad light. Skelg is far more blunt... he just has a hard time talking for long.

"G-guards?" Skelg mutters, as he motions weakly towards the servant, who throws yet another blanket on the man. "My guards are d-d-dead." He almost shows some anger for a moment, though can't muster the energy.

"K-killed by that d-d-dog, Bengierr" He adds before suddenly starting to cough, unable to speak for a moment.

The servant frowns, and cuts in. "Master Skelg's home was invaded by those thieves, Bengeirr Haldyrsson and his ruffians, a week ago. The Master interrupted them in the vault, in the middle of their theft, and drove them away. But not before they used some foul magic to curse him so!" He points mournfully at Skelg's decrepit condition.

"We brought in healers but none could explain it, or help!" He adds mournfully.

"Then, two days ago, those ruffians returned! They murdered the guards and finished the theft they'd started. They left those two to trap us here, waiting for Master Skelg to die!" He seems slightly distressed. "Said he would die in bed like an old woman."

"I was able to sneak out with a note." He adds, paling slightly at the reminder of the harrowing experience. "I am thankful you've come, but you've some nerve accusing the Master of thievery!" He adds, with a offended glare at Masym.

Skelg interrupts him suddenly, with a weak laugh. Seemingly recovered a bit he cuts in. "Enough, T-Tyros. No n-need t-to s-sugarc-coat things."

For the briefest of moments, Skelg's eyes flash. "I st-stole it alright." He says defiantly. "L-left the b-bastard to go to the afterlife with nothing b-but his underwear, like he d-deserved." He tries to laugh again, but once more starts to cough, small puffs of condensation coming from his mouth with each labored breath.

Tyros, frowns concerned, before taking over the story. "Fine." He looks at you disapprovingly for a moment before continuing. "Over a month ago, Skelg apparently raided the funeral ship of one of his long-time rivals, an Ulfen jarl from Varisia named Haldyr Bjornsson."

"Apparently such things are common." He adds, with slight embarrassment.

"But the man was already dead, and Haldyr's wife and rightful heir said he could have it!" He adds defensively. "So not theft at all!"

"He returned with the treasure to Absalom, and purchased this Manor house, and starting working for the Longaxes."

"The Emperor's personal guard!" He adds, as if that legitimizes things.

"Bengeirr is Haldyr's son. A true lout, if ever there was one! Just like his father!"

Is lots more info... just want to split it up some so feel free to ask questions or the like.

Know nobility 1d20 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 1 + 2 = 12 to know what she knows about ulfen burial practices

Unfortunately, Phoebee does not recall too much about Ulfen funerary rights... although burials at sea are not uncommon for some of the northern coastal communities.

Poor thing, isnt too smart! :). I am trying to play her a little ditzy and naive

So far so good =)

It's a long shot... Knowledge (religion) on the curse? Maybe it's got some sort of religious connection...

Knowledge(religion): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

As Nella listens to Skelg and Tyros take turns explaining some of the problem, she tries to remember what she's read about Ulfen history in the hopes it might help her to better understand what sort of situation they're getting involved in.

Kn. History: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

Unfortunately, nothing immediately comes to mind.

"Okay wait a moment," Nella says, holding up her hand once the two men are finished. "Skelg, you just said that you 'stole' whatever this treasure was but your man here says that Haldyr's kin gave you permission to take it." She shakes her head. "Which is it? Or is this some Ulfen custom that the rest of us aren't familiar with?"

Malusha, although there are many gods with domains over ice and cold ... you do not recall any specific instances of divine curses of this sort. (you might want to pretend he's a wall)

Skelg tries to laugh, at Nella's question, but fails miserably, the sound coming out as more of a strangled croak.

"Oh, c-certainly intended to s-s-steal it." He manages to gasp out. "S-snuck a-b-board after they c-cast it off."

He breaths heavily for a second before continuing. "M-me and Aldo."

"Aldo t-took an arrow b-before we got the g-guards." He adds.

"Th-th-thought that was it..." There's a slight pause, "Th-then I found Her..." His voice trails off as he gets a far away look as if recalling a fond memory.

Tyros jumps in here. "They were just going to burn her alive with the ship!" He exclaims indignantly. "His own wife!"

Skelg mutters the name Natalya, still lost in reverie.

"Barbaric! Master Skelg saved her! Then he made a deal with Haldyr's wife. She gave him the treasures on the boat... that they were just going to burn and sink mind you... and she got control of the ship to return to her home."

"Somewhere in Irresen." He adds, conspiratorily. "I think she was some sort of witch. Not Haldyr's first wife... a political marriage of some sort. I doubt she realized they'd be sacrificing her when she agreed to it. She certainly wasn't pleased with the arrangement once she found out!"

"S-s-such fire!" Skelg mutters. "The m-m-most b-beautiful treasure th-there."

Tyros looks down at his master, rearranging a few of the blankets. "He managed to slay many of them, when they broke in here. By himself." He scowls. "Until they cursed him and fled."

Skelg seems to come out of his reverie. "W-w-was the l-lantern." He says. "B-bengeirr used th-the l-lantern." He quakes, and utters, "I-it is as if, the f-f-frozen f-fingers of w-winter's b-blackest midnight clutches at m-my h-heart."

Tyros looks down surprised, clearly not aware of this last bit, but adds despondently. "I can not keep him warm enough!

"So if I understand you, this Ulfen lord promised you some or all of his treasure and then you were denied it. You snuck aboard his funeral ship to take what was rightfully yours and found his wife there, trapped to burn with his corpse and treasure. You rescued her and took what was yours of the loot, came back to Absalom and set yourself up nicely with the treasure. But Haldyr's son, Bengeirr, broke in here to steal back his father's treasure and cursed you with a lantern which put you in the state you are in now. I guess he's the one who set the guards downstairs to make sure you would die here alone. Did I get all that right? Somehow, I have the feeling we have to recover this lantern to remove your curse. Did I miss anything?"