Emerald Kingdoms (Inactive)

Game Master Kevin O'Rourke 440

People seem happiest today with the Eel Pie, it seems to come with a very creamy sauce drizzled over it.

Thus Amadeen tucks into an eel pie this evening.

To whomever is closest:

"Good eel!"

As she devours the eel with gusto.

"True enough, suppose good food and booze are points in favour of staying in," the human girl admits. "Anyone feels like checking the river upstream for a good spot to bathe after dinner? You never know how long it'll be till the next opportunity to, and nobody likes feeling gross. Well, nobody civilized. Hopefully."

Between mouthfuls of eel and pastry, Amadeen replies.

"That is a great idea! Best to go before the light does."

She resumes wolfing down her pie.

Jorin will try to catch the attention of any serving staff and say "Tell me, do you have cabbage pie by any chance? Stretching while sitting down he yawns. Listening to Darya and Amadeen talk about upstream he ponders the idea of 'upstream'. Isn't everything 'upstream' barring the beginning and end of a river? Doesn't that make everything 'downstream' too? If so then any point that is not the beginning or end of a river simply 'the river'? If you applied that thought to a journey isn't everything except the beginning and end simply 'the journey'? Putting in points to a journey to mark a place as 'up' or 'down' of it would seem conditional to the point of view of the person making the statement. Maybe this is what Master Linton meant when he said '...to mark a journey by your position in it can skew the perspective of where you are going. The journey ends when it ends and not before.'

Jorin will continue to ponder this and occasionally make notes in a journal that already has been written in.

They unfortunately do not have the cabbage pie Jorin craves but some of their other meals are at least passable. One of the bar staff recommends a pool that you can find if you follow a side stream. There's a reasonable chance of river traffic spotting you if you bathe in the small river adjacent to the tavern!

The next day as you journey you notice the patrols of soldiers are more sparse. You all notice the spider the size of a person trying to skulk behind some underbrush. Darya and Barek also spot the goblin peeking out from a rock behind it.

Roadside Ambush

Darya 24
Goblin and Spider 22
Amadeen 20
Barek 18
Tik'lik 12
Jorin 9

Tch, killjoy =P Not only cutting off the bath scene, but even thowing NPC intervention to ensure nothing happened =)

What's the area layout like? Also, presumably the goblin(s?) have been watching us approach (since we're taking the road), so it's more that they're hoping we walk into the trap yet than us getting the drop on them, right?

K.Nature: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

There's a map if you click on roadside ambush in the previous post. The goblin is hiding somewhat successfully behind a rock. The spider is standing by a bush but you all see it. I should have made it clear that was a hyperlink and not just an OOC statement.

"Heads up, goblins ahead. I see one and a spider, but there're probably more," Darya warns in a quiet conversational tone to avoid startling the attackers into action. "Spider's venomous by the way."

After ensuring that none of the party will be caught by surprise, she unslings her bow and prepares to shoot the first foe that leaves cover.

Ready action:
Longbow attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 5

KnowNature: 120 + 8 = 128

I somehow managed to bork my dice roll. I suspect that was from putting a space into "K. Nature" the first time around.

Jorin nods at this and flicks open his fan, casually fanning himself while he alters his position to keep an eye on the right side of the road

Reckon there could be more, I'll maintain the line here and flank if nothing else shows up. Can we see what the goblin is armed with?

Your borked roll is likely because you left out the d in 1d20

The spider breaks cover first crawling forward rapidly as Darya's arrow drives deep into it's body. It tries to bite Barek but it's fangs don't get through his armour.

The goblin returns fire with an arrow of it's own. It howls frustration as the arrow narrowly misses.
Sorry I amn't used to GMing a PBP with a built in dice roller... but seeing as the dice kept giving a three or lower I don't think people will complain.

Darya 24
Goblin HP -0 and Spider HP -5
Amadeen 20
Barek 18
Tik'lik 12
Jorin 9

"Tik'Klik!"

Tik'Klik's arm clatters as his hand collapses into a cuff, and his arm begins to hum. He aims at the Spider, and an purple blob of energy exits the arm!

WHOOMPH!

RTA vs Spider: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20
Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

"Tik'Klik Ik Tik Lit Lik Kil Kill, ik ill tik kill.. kill"

Jorin springs forward towards the spider. He pulls the lasso out as he moves, flicking it to open the loop. Swinging it once around his head he launches it at the spider.

Move to 10' range immediately south of the spider. Quickdraw the lasso. Ranged attack.

Ranged: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Well, that didn't quite work out.

Jorin hisses in frustration as the lasso hits the spider straight on, failing completely to loop over anything.

Barek griamces as the oversized vermin lunges at him. He pulls out his trusty handaxe and slams it into the creatures ugly head.

Handaxe: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15
Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

"Spiders eat flies and other pests, so go eat those damned Gobbo's!" He reasons bluntly.

In her mind's eye, Amadeen sees faint strands of fate touching the spider. A bit like Alaric taught her.

And then she yanks those strands hard so the spider doesn't get to bite anyone.

"Feeling lucky, fangs?" she quips.

Standard Action: Use Misfortune Hex on the spider. DC 15 Will save.

If the spider fails its save: It gets to take the worst of two D20s on most of its rolls for one round, most notably attack rolls. Move action: Amadeen uses Cackle hex to extend the duration of Misfortune one more round, which means it would have a duration of two rounds. And yes, this involves her cackling. It's also a handy way to show that she's gotten somewhere with her extendable hexes.

If the spider passes its save: Amadeen will be irked. Move action: Draw alchemical silver dagger.

For quick reference, the Misfortune and Cackle hexes.

Darya swaps out her bow for her spear and darts forward, closing in on the goblin.

Spider's Will Save DC 15: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13 Fail
The goblin looks at Amadeen strangely as she cackles but the strands of fate twist about the spider as Barek's axe comes down on the side of it's head almost cleaving out an eye. As it recoils Tik'klik ball of arcane energy hammers into it's side and the spider crumples to the ground ichor pumping from it... Jorin's lasso was on target til the thing collapsed.

Seeing Darya close in and it's arachnid ally fall before your combined efforts starts trying to run move away no longer so confident in it's cunning ambush trying to hide in the bushes.
Stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16

Darya 24
Goblin DC16 to Spot
Amadeen 20
Barek 18
Tik'lik 12
Jorin 9

Barek is busy wiping spider gore off his face.

perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

Amadeen can't see exactly where the goblin is but she has no intention of letting it sneak behind them unchallenged. So she'll sneak to a different part of the bushes, trying to flank it or make sure that it's driven off.

Full action: Move only 30' instead of 60' straight north, so Stealth check is without that penalty.

Stealth: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

Momentarily losing track of the goblin, Darya circles the bushes from the other side to deny it escape.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

"Tik'Klik"

Unable to locate the goblin either, Tik'Klik pumps an Acid Dart into the spider's corpse.

Foomp!

Acid sizzles as it begins to eat the spider's body.

1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

Jorin pulls in the lasso, winding it carefully before placing it back on his hip. Looking about he can no longer see the goblin. He must be near where we saw him last, we should pursue him while we have him nearby. If he escapes he could come back with bigger numbers

Are we going to create the Kingdom of the blind?

Seeing the group start to encircle it and having no cover to make a clean escape it charges from the underbrush with it's shortsword drawn slashing at Darya hoping to put her down quickly driving his blade through her side. It hoops and hollers at the wound he had inflicted. "Give us your gold longshanks!"

Attack vs Darya's FF: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13
Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3

Darya 24
Goblin
Amadeen 20
Barek 18
Tik'lik 12
Jorin 9

"Gh!" she grunts and thrusts her spear at it with a yell. "You little piece of shit!"

Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22
Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Therein lies a lesson not to look down even on weakest and already fleeing critters, and ready actions in case of surprise attacks instead of double-moving =)

"Tik'Klik!"

Tik'Klik sees the goblin come out and attack an ally, and then points it's arm toward the goblin!

WHOOMPH!

RTA vs Goblin: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

But nothing comes out of the arm, Tik'Klik stands still for a second.

"Tik'klik?"

He looks into the arm, and purple energy releases in a cloud of purple smoke, leaving purple singe marks on the Golem's face.

"Tik'klik?"

@Barek: It was heading that way!

@Darya: Aye. But I think its seconds are still numbered.

@Tik'Klik: Our golem is certainly a unique magic user. ;)

Amadeen decides that she'll take a break from being quiet, but for some steps for tries to keep hidden in the bushes. When she gets closer, she strikes, spotted or not. She mutters old, odd words, tosses a hair from a black cat into the air while gesticulating, and then points a slender finger at the goblin.

Stealth: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

Move action: Stealth closer to the goblin (15' unless bush reduces that further).

Standard Action: Amadeen casts Ill Omen on the goblin. No save, but spell resistance can stop it. If the goblin is somehow already familiar with this exact spell or makes a spellcraft test to identify it, it has an easy way to dispel it. Otherwise, the goblin has one round where it must roll twice for its next D20 roll and take the worse one.

Jorin runs towards the goblin keeping the lasso in hand as he does.

double move to below the goblin and get setup or another go

Barek sprints over to where the damned pest is fighting and swings at it hard.
Handaxe: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10
Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

The rough footing sending his strike just off enough.

As Amadeen's spell settled in Barek's axe went wide. Tik'klik's acid sizzles on the ground nearby as it misses while Jorin moves up. The goblin prepares to renew it's escape when Darya drives her spear through it's abdomen.

The goblin coughs up some blood and stops moving.

On the Goblin are found the following.
Small Leather Armor
Small Light Wooden Shield
Small Shortsword
Small Shortbow
Arrows 19
12gp
Oil of Arcane Mark
Potion of Enlarge Person
Potion of Virtue
Scroll of Touch of the Sea

"Huh, that's a surprising amount of loot on one mangy Gobbo?" Barek says curiously as he looks over the potions and scroll.

"Tik'Klik!"

The golem walks over to the body after everyone is finished stripping it to a naked goblin, and two or three PHOOMPH's are heard as acid splashes hit the goblin's head, sizzling through until the head is gone.

With a satisfied "Tik!", the golem turns to the pile of loot. It's eyes begin to glow purple, and it stares, then reaches out and moves the three bottles and the scroll to one side. "Tik! Tik ik tik klik kit tik!"

Done, it eyes return to normal, and it leaves the loot on the ground and begins to walk off down the road.

Amadeen steps out of the bushes, brushing herself off.

"That was exciting! The goblin shouldn't have messed with us!"

She then sees Darya's injuries and her smile dims.

"Aww. Do you need a touch of the wand? There is always morning healing too." she says sympathetically.

Either way, it is not long before Amadeen notices the neat pile of potions and the scroll. And the gold. She makes a beeline towards those.

As she grabs the the potion and scrolls, she resumes speaking.

"The oil can put an invisible mark on something that only you can see, a bit specific that. This one makes you grow for a bit, handy if we need shade or someone to whack even harder. And this one gives a little bit of healing, and makes a healthy person that little bit more resilient. The scroll gives you webbed fingers and lets you swim like crazy. We should keep what we think we'll need and sell the rest."

"Oh and there's gold to split, and weapons to sell off. Maybe the goblin got lucky with its last ambush and robbed someone who wasn't careful?"

She looks thoughtful for a moment, and then fiddles with her spring-loaded wrist mount, replacing the dagger that was there with the healing wand. Her mouth curls into a wide smile of satisfaction.

Wand of CLW in hand as a swift action is probably more useful to the party than another dagger. ;)

When Amadeen talks about using a wand, the golem stops, turns around, and goes back to Amadeen.

"Tik'Klik!"

The golem continues to berate Amadeen.

"Tik'Klik! Ik Tik Kik Ick Ik Till Lill Lick Tick Tick!"

It then walks over to Darya and it's eyes glow green, and it reaches out with a sparkling appendage to touch her.

A wave of spine chilling darkness washes over Darya, and her wounds begin to close over, healing at an accelerated rate!

Infernal Healing, gain fast healing for 1 minute, or 10HP

"Nah, it's just a scra-" Darya begins when the golem interferes again, causing her to tense up. "Oi, what are you up to now?"

The sensations are rather concerning, but flesh starting to mend belies the nature of the spell.

"Thanks. I guess. If I end up growing tentacles or something, I'm blaming you."

Wait, Eschew Materials covers devil blood? Neat if so.

It should, but Tik'Klik doesn't have eschew materials. He has a spellcaster pouch in his torso, and uses it.

To be clear he rubbed some kind of liquid on Daryam. Lets be nice and say it was unholy water. And by chilling waves of darkness it mwans you are aware its evil.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12 to identify Tik'Klik's spell.

Amadeen raises an eyebrow at the golem's actions but can't deny the results. She can't quite place the spell but it doesn't look like any cure spell that she's familiar with.

She speaks afterwards, seeing Darya's wounds close up.

"Right so. If you're okay Darya, let's carry on."

She glances at Tik'klik with a curious expression on her face.

With that spellcraft roll, I doubt Amadeen has seen much besides "it's magic".

"Amazing he decided to rob us at all, you would think he would go after lone travelers, not groups with some mounts." Jorin continues to keep a careful watch. "Maybe it wasn't alone" he half murmurs to himself.

Still keeping a watch while the lootin is going on

"We should continue while we can, sitting around here won't get us closer to where we are going and if there are more of these goblins about better a moving target than a standing one."

Just pushing the game along, feel free to do anything ye want before we push on I'm only posting to get us talking again

Going to push things along tomorrow but giving fair warning in case people wanted to wrap anything up.

The rest of your journey is largely uneventful though you notice patrols becoming less apparent and almost non existent even before you leave Brevoys borders.

You see the keep beginning to rise in the distance and eventually the the settlement of Thornkeep huddled around it. As you follow the road ye notice a long stone painted a deep greep beside a trail leading off into the woods. Path would be too generous. It's clear this leads to the Emerald Spire as you can see it above the treeline even from here.

Are ye going to head straight to the Emerald Spire or Thornkeep first?

"Best we get some information first. The locals probably have some news about the Spire." Barek suggests.

"Agreed, someone who may have gone in recently enough could have been in the town after. They may have some current information"

also sell loot for supplies

"It's getting late anyway. Better not camp within - or by - the Spire more than necessary, who know what may crawl out."

Cause iirc we were due to arrive around late afternoon.

"Definitely one last warm room before we walk into the deathtrap. And sell off what we don't need."

I suggest that we sell off the following:

Small Leather Armor
Small Light Wooden Shield
Small Shortsword
Small Shortbow
Oil of Arcane Mark

I'm also fine with buying supplies. How about we pool the 12 gold and the proceeds from sale towards rations etc?

Tik'Klik doesn't need rations, but has no objections to equipment being sold off and put towards the squishies survival.

Barek nods, "Sounds good to me. If that Oil is valuable maybe pick up something for healing?"