Follow the Flood Road (Inactive)

Game Master Transylvanian Tadpole

Follow the Flood Road

The Adventurers

Alagor Faelan Male human fighter (weapon master)
Bonegrit Male half-orc ranger
Delkaneth Male human (Chelaxian) bard (archaeologist) / fighter (lore master)
Pellius Fullona Male human (Chelaxian) magus
Pyotr the Unwelcome Male half-orc paladin (redeemer)

Former Adventurers

Dunagan Haarglick Male dwarf cleric (forge master)

Dramatis Personae A-Z:

A
• Lord Abarew Shuvail; a noble of Vigil and sponsor of racing horses.
• Abelard the Steadfast; legendary figure mentioned in the Acts of Iomedae.
• Abram Sharpe; nominal leader of the Freedom Town.
• Adrotha Riekahn; a Vigilant scout, captured by orcs, presumed dead. Part of his body later incorporated into a carrion golem.
• Agiz; Dierik’s ratfolk purser.
• Agtharda; a half-orc necromancer.
• Alent Turnjack; a Vigilant scout, captured by orcs.
• Amiro; a Dort charger, Bonegrit’s horse.
• Amrin Haarglick; forefather of Dunagan and one of the greatest smiths of ancient Koldukar.
• Anaivander; supposedly the Azlanti weaponsmith who created Tanladvir.
• Androthus; a soldier of Castle Firrine. Deceased.
• Arith-Zind; wight captain commanding a garrison of Tar-Baphon's undead troops.
• Arvina; an aasimar monk, companion to Dumuzi and an adventurer currently based in the Freedom Town.
B
• Balthas; a soldier of Lastwall.
• Balthen Eradmenes; a famed scholar of Absalom.
• Banthorl Whittles; the hermit of Curbril Wood.
• Black Boils; a member of Culler's Gang in the Freedom Town.
• Blaeth; an archer from the Freedom Town. Slain by Bonegrit.
• Branth; Commor's brother.
• Brathilda; an aged spinster of the Freedom Town.
• Breven; a member of Dierik’s caravan.
• Commander Bruthleim; commander of the Keep of Saint Abban. Deceased.
C
• Calibar of the Broken Blade; a hero of Lastwall. Deceased.
• Chief; one of Elzevir's war dogs.
• Commor; Yevender's squire.
• Cornalium; a Taldor Jennett, Dunagan’s horse.
• Courthrin Sharpe; one of the founders of the Freedom Town.
• Crooked Callan; leader of Dierik’s trail guards.
• Crinkles Cupporchin; the caravan’s halfling cook.
• Culler; boss of a gang in the Freedom Town.
D
• Daelt; a coward of the Keep of St. Lymirin. Presumably deceased.
• Dalamad; Alagor's uncle, resident of Tamrivena.
• Damaelle; an aged widow of the Freedom Town.
• Dathla the Hunter; yet to appear.
• First Master Deramil; responsible for the beasts of burden that pull Dierik’s caravan.
• Daeltern Greyfoal; a powerful battle mage based at Castle Firrine.
• Watch Commander Dembroar; in charge of the old bridge at what is now Fallenford in Harchrist’s day. Deceased.
• Dierik Ironcoffer; leader of the caravan bound for the Flood Road.
• Dorla; a maiden of Vellumis who’ll wait in vain for her sweetheart.
• Druthmin Phorn; retired half-elven adventurer, now making his living as a hunter in the Freedom Town.
• Dumuzi; a Mwangi ranger, companion to Arvina, an adventurer based out of the Freedom Town.
• Dulrik Gilgaunted; dwarven hero and former wielder of Tanladvir. Deceased.
• Dundrin Seventoes; a veteran halfling jockey of Vigil.
E
• Edric; a soldier of Lastwall.
• Edrist; a drover in Dierik’s caravan.
• Eladys Stormstar; mercenary and former wielder of Tanladvir. Deceased.
• El-Mehrik; a Qadiran racehorse and multiple winner of the Strander Stakes.
• Elvie; a little girl of the Freedom Town. Allegedly deceased.
• Elzevir Sharpe; cousin to Abram and Courthrin, protector of Navareene.
• Emlin Haarglick; Dunagan’s sister.
• Hierophant Eranworl; Leader of the Council of Thorns, deceased.
• Battlemaster Erem Braggs; a cleric of Gorum in the service of Lastwall.
F
• Fandalorn Arimorth; Iomedean cavalier who once bore Clandaenvir, one of the Quintet of Awakened Arms. Deceased.
• Captain Fymon Vekkatur; Pellius’ former captain, captured by orcs.
G
• Lord Gaeltair Reun; a noble of Vigil and sponsor of racing horses.
• Garra; a member of Dierik’s caravan.
• Gedrin; a scruffy youth with a sharp tongue and light fingers who lives in the Freedom Town.
• Gellius Fullona; Pellius’ father, a refugee from Westcrown. Deceased.
• Warlord Graukrad; an orc leader who led the last big attack on Lastwall sixteen years ago. Deceased.
• Grask Uldeth; chieftain of the Empty Hand orc tribe and master of Urgir.
• Grimspur; a hermit and retired adventurer who raised the orphaned Bonegrit. Deceased.
H
• Hanya Brightbrooke; Knight of Ozem and niece of Vythes.
• Harbat Hammertunn; a dwarven smith residing in the Freedom Town.
• Hagrim Haarglick; Dunagan’s father, a smith of Vigil.
• Knight-Captain Haisnar Rosenholt; veteran knight of Lastwall, with an enmity for Dierik and Pyotr.
• Knight-General Harchrist; one of Lastwall’s historical heroes and architect of Harchrist’s Blockade. Deceased.
• Harika; a Vigilant Rouncey, Delkaneth’s horse.
• Hiedram; a driver in Dierik's caravan.
I
• Indarl; a swift-footed thug from the Freedom Town.
• Indarl Whitelake; a scout of Castle Firrine. Deceased.
• Miss Ionna; a resident of the Freedom Town.
• Ironring; Modoru’s horse. Deceased.
• Irxus; tiefling priest of Gorum and member of the Order of the Descending Blade, wielder of Vambril, one of the Quintet of Awakened Arms.
• Isabellina’s Arrow; Dierik’s lightning fast warhorse.
J
• Old Jander; a resident of the Freedom Town.
• Jelvern Hawkshead; A Knight of Ozem.
• Jerath; a thug from the Freedom Town.
• Jethia Malthuney; a Vigilant scout, captured by orcs.
K
• Kaleb Veradin; a halfling, a former jockey and fugitive from the Watchknights of Vigil.
• Karannah; one of Callan’s trail guards.
• Kelya Fylessi; a priestess of Desna who travels with the caravan.
• Khozin Ryovaldii; a half-elven knife master and cleric of Aseta. A friend of Alagor's.
• Killoran; a thug and member of Culler's Gang.
• Kissim; Alagor's rival for the affections of Mishea.
• Korrivur; a member of Dierik’s caravan.
• Korvus; one of Callan's trail guards.
• Precentor-Martial of Scouting Keyron Saiville; Pellius’ former commander who also has links to another PC.
• Kholrin Bangulf; a human blacksmith of Vigil.
• Klocasiss; the water orm of Vhunsaub. Presumably deceased.
• Krogar; a dwarven ranger.
• Kring the Beautiful; chieftainess of the Blood Trail orc tribe.
• K'zaarg the Drover; chieftain of the Cleft Head orc tribe.
L
• Larin Zirendi; Karannah's father, deceased.
• Lamintar Greyfoal; mage in residence at the Keep of Saint Lymirin. Deceased.
• Lander; a trademan’s apprentice in Vigil.
• Leodegraine; squire to Ser Vythes Brightbrooke.
• Lhairak; one of Callan’s trail guards.
• Lige Dagmin; A brewer of the Freedom Town.
• Lumrin Haarglick; Dunagan’s grandfather, a smith of Vigil.
• Lyrica Ericsdottr; old dame and horse fancier.
• Lunt; a drover in Dierik's caravan.
M
• Malsev; a name on a wedding ring found by Pellius.
• Maraedrel the Forlorn; elven magus and member of the Order of the Descending Blade, wielder of Tyrfal, one of the Quintet of Awakened Arms.
• Massimo Zacopi; Varisian master fiddler.
• Maxal; a ranger and thug from the Freedom Town.
• Meritha; Abram's favourite whore.
• Uncle Meven; Commor's uncle.
• Mishea; Alagor's former lover.
• Modoru Redgrave; knight of Castle Firrine and paladin of Iomedae.
• Morin; a guard in Dierik's caravan.
• High Ostler Morlandus; master of Vigil’s Guild of Farriers, Breeders and Equine Genealogists.
• Lady Morwen Bellaime; a noble of Vellumis and sponsor of racing horses.
N
• Nasmevia Charthavion; Chelish summoner, briefly owned Tanladvir, deceased.
• Navareene; a witch thought to reside in the Freedom Town.
• Nerrit; one of the defenders of the Keep of St. Lymirin, deceased.
O
• Ohrim; a priest of Alseta. Deceased.
• Olzern Sixtoes; half-orc mercenary and member of the Order of the Descending Blade who resides in the Hold of Belkzen.
• Chaplain Orradin; a priest of Iomedae serving in the Cathedral of Sancta Iomedea in Vigil. Pyotr's mentor.
• Marshall Oswald; the ratfolk sheriff of the Freedom Town.
P
• Knight Captain Paelinus Deutruch; an experienced knight of Vigil, who rode with Dierik against Graukrad.
• Pierryn Cupporchin; Crinkles' father, halfling caravan master. Deceased.
Q
• Knight Captain Quemlin; a hero of General Harchrist's time. Deceased.
R
• Randred; former drover in Dierik's caravan.
• Ren Dendarvi; Head of Vigil’s Mage’s Guild.
• Reyna Haarglick; Dunagan’s sister.
• Ruanetta; a name on a handkerchief found by Pellius.
• Rufus Bothwyn; a resident of the Freedom Town. Not a man.
• Rumathe Sootweb; landlady of the Worg's Head tavern of the Freedom Town.
S
• Salvark Aurlethas; itinerant priest of Gorum, forger of the Quintet of Awakened Arms. Deceased.
• Samair; a Qadiran racehorse stolen after the Strander Stakes.
• Second Master Santrian; responsible for the men and women who work for Dierik’s caravan. Hired the PCs.
• Sard; a Vigilant courser, Dunagan’s packhorse.
• Sargan; a scholar of Westcrown.
• Captain Senatine; commanding officer of a company of foot soldiers out of Castle Firrine. Deceased.
• Seori Merles; a half-elven Vigilant scout, captured by orcs.
• Knight-Commander Shallen; highest ranking officer of Castle Firrine.
• Shambles; a mongrel dog that follows the caravan.
• Shang; a thug and member of Culler's Gang.
• Sharina Legendsinger; composer and owner of the Legendary Playhouse in Vigil.
• Signior; a Vigilant rouncey, Pellius’ horse.
• Skaraben Sharpe; youngest and most dangerous of the Sharpes gang of the Freedom Town.
• Sleer Huddlegrew; a Taldan author, sage, and professional drunk, currently residing in the Freedom Town for 'inspiration'.
• Stormtrust; the warhorse of Ser Vythes Brightbrooke.
• Strusir; a man-at-arms in the employ of the Sharpes of the Freedom Town.
• Sturlick Twinshield; Ulfen pirate who held Karannah in thralldom and was killed by Dierik.
T
• Talgrun Shatterpeak; mad dwarf who died in Urgir bearing Xalathere.
• Tanerit; a mercenary from the Freedom Town.
• Tharazel; a resident of the Freedom Town. Father of Elvie.
• Tarkh; the strongest man in the Freedom Town. Slain by Pyotr.
• Tharxes Fullona; Pellius’ brother, a ranger captured by the orcs of Belkzen.
• Tharkon Tallows; a mercenary who attacks Dierik in the Freedom Town.
• Thurcytel the Bellfounder; the master smith behind many of Vigil’s famous bells.
• Tiasin Selphard; author of Swamp Water & Footrot: A Six Month Sojourn in the Mushfens, deceased.
• Tibal Vyron; a halfling bard who briefly considered joining the caravan.
• Torshen’s Hammer; a Vigilant destrier, Pyotr’s horse.
• Toskar; a dwarven warrior, father to Krogar. Disappeared fighting orcs, believed deceased.
• Tumbelarn the Toymaker; a dwarven toymaker, previous owner of Zriorinta's three wheeled carriage, deceased.
U
• Ulsverd the Unyielding; Taldan hero and paladin, slew the living the Arith-Zind and also bore Tanladvir.
• Second Sword Knight Uriala; chaplain of the Keep of Saint Lymirin. Deceased.
V
• Valos Harricles; a halfling jockey.
• Varnic Mebb; a scout of Vigil.
• Watcher-Lord Veldyn I; ruler of Lastwall in the days of General Harchrist. Deceased.
• Mama Veljka; owner of a shebeen in the Freedom Town.
• Velriik; Taldan paladin, former wielder of Tanladvir, deceased.
• Vindrix Shartandel; author of Nimble Hands, Sharp Mind, Sharper Blade.
• Vythes Brightbrooke; renowned Knight of Ozem.
X
• Xalathere; intelligent falchion, one of the Quintet of Awakened Arms, rumoured to have been lost somewhere in Belkzen.
Y
• Yevender; a dastardly knight of Vigil who fled to the Freedom Town after cheating in duels and jousts.
Z
• Zandu; Alagor's father.
• Zriorinta the Apothecary; an itinerant Varisian with some skill at crafting magic who travels with the caravan.

Gameplay Index:

Page 1 – Introduction to Dierik Ironcoffer, purchasing horses, meet the caravan, Dunagan fixes some swords
Page 2 – Delkaneth bookshopping, flirting and sparring, Dunagan buys trade goods, Pyotr meets Knight Captain Haisnar Rosencroft, Dunagan says goodbye, bets are placed at the Strander Stakes
Page 3 – Strander Stakes laps one to six
Page 4 – Strander Stakes laps three to six and aftermath
Page 5 – Introductions with Pellius, the caravan’s departure from Vigil, the disappearance of Kaleb Varadin, Haisnar challenges Dierik
Page 6 - Haisnar vs. Dierik
Page 7 - The aftermath of Haisnar's challenge
Page 8 - Bodies in the water and wounded men. And a bearded lady.
Page 9 - Of the Battle By The Ghostlight Marsh
Page 10 - Preparing a cairn, late-night repairs, into the Ghostlight Marshes
Page 11 - Battle with the twig blights, the party parts ways
Page 12 - Bonegrit and Delkaneth encounter the Conductor of the Fens and a council of will o' wisps. Dunagan, Pellius and Pyotr drive off an owlbear and build a cairn.
Page 13 - Farewell to Modoru, along Harchrist's Blockade.
Page 14 - Exploring a ruined keep on Harchrist's Blockade.
Page 15 - Fighting a carrion golem.
Page 16 - The Commander's Chambers.
Page 17 - A secret door full of crawling claws.
Page 18 - After the keep.
Page 19 - Arrival at the Freedom Town.
Page 20 - Exploring the Freedom Town, Delkaneth and Sleer, the attack on Dierik.
Page 21 - Defeating Tharkon, Dierik poisoned.
Page 22 - New arrivals, into the Curbril Wood.
Page 23 - With the hermit of the Curbril Wood.
Page 24 - Dunagan's farewell. To the house of Yevender the Knight.
Page 25 - Dealing with Yevender. Lunt's mugging. Into the Court of Knives.
Page 26 - A conversation with Abram Sharpe. Lunt's muggers.
Page 27 - Dealing with Navareene, dealing with Lunt and the thugs, departure for the Hungry Mountains
Page 28 - Khozin's theft revealed, a battle with Skaraben's cronies on the moors beyond the Freedom Town.
Page 29 - Conclusion of the battle, the return of loot to the Freedom Town.
Page 30 - A Belkzen puma stalks the horses, Del's fever breaks, Tanerit is released and Commor takes his first steps to becoming Pyotr's squire.
Page 31 - The ascent and descent into the Garrison of Arith-Zind and the battle with ghouls.
Page 32 - Through the fanggate.
Page 33 - Across the bridge.
Page 34 - Pyotr leads his companions on a foolish foray against a powerful wight and its heavily armoured skeletal guards.
Page 35 - The battle with Arith-Zind falters and turns to dialogue.
Page 36 - Arith-Zind is destroyed.
Page 37 - Through the arcade of undead soldiery and into a chamber with a whopping great skeletal monstrosity.
Page 38 - The tomb mote is captured and black twincap mushrooms recovered. The adventurers decide to explore no further. Agtharda copies some of the symbols adorning the enormous undead monster. They leave the Garrison of Arith-Zind and begin the return journey to the Freedom Town, spying a nearby campfire as night falls.
Page 39 - The campfire belongs to Ser Vythes Brightbrooke and his squire Leodegraine. Vythes passes away from old age and sicknesses, transferring care of his squire to Pyotr.
Page 40 - Return to the Freedom Town.

Diary of Events:

Fireday 6th Desnus, 4711 AR: Beginning of the campaign. Bonegrit, Delkaneth, Dunagan and Pyotr meet Dierik Ironcoffer and purchase horses. Dunagan sharpens some swords, and Dierik asks Bonegrit to ride his horse in the Strander Stakes. Bonegrit agrees but declines to use transformative magic to disguise his half-orc heritage.

Starday 7th Desnus, 4711 AR: Shopping for books and trade goods.

Sunday 8th Desnus, 4711 AR: The Strander Stakes is won by Bonegrit. Delkaneth and Pyotr foil an attempt to fix the race. Pellius meets Dierik and joins the caravan. Kaleb Varadin, former halfling jockey and friend of Pellius, is wanted by the authorities of Vigil and appears to have fled the city.

Moonday 9th Desnus, 4711 AR: The caravan departs Vigil. In the evening, Knight Captain Haisnar Rosenholt arrives in the camp to challenge Dierik Ironcoffer.

Toilday 10th Desnus, 4711 AR: Haisnar and Dierik joust. Dierik is the victor, but Haisnar orders his retainers to intervene. This treachery is stopped by the PCs. Haisnar is stripped of his armour and sent back to Vigil. Bodies in the river are the first indication of a great battle fought between orcs and the forces of Lastwall. Later they meet a train of wounded men led by Knight Captain Paelinus Deutruch. Dierik agrees to bury the dead left on the battlefield.

Wealday 11th Desnus, 4711 AR: The PCs witness the might of the Lastwall heavy cavalry and the wall of fire across Fallenford. The PCs are sent ahead to where the battle was fought beside the Ghostlight Marshes. They discover a crude monument to the war god Gorum fashioned from the corpses of Lastwall’s fallen, and also rescue Modoru Redgrave, a paladin of Iomedae from beneath the body of a dead giant. The caravan makes camp by the Ghostlight Marshes. Shambles, a dog that follows the caravan, runs into the swamp chasing a will o’ wisp. Modoru and the PCs follow, but after a battle with twig blights, Pellius, Pyotr and Dunagan return to camp. Modoru, Delkaneth and Bonegrit continue, having stranger encounters with a conductor of the fens and a ring of will o’ wisps. They find Shambles but become lost in the Ghostlight Marshes.

Oathday 12th Desnus, 4711 AR: After chasing an owlbear off the battlesite, work is begun on a cairn for the fallen Lastwall soldiers. Modoru, Delkaneth and Bonegrit find their way out of the Ghostlight Marshes as the cairn is completed. The caravan returns to Fallenford.

Fireday 13th Desnus, 4711 AR: After saying farewell to Modoru Redgrave, the caravan heads east following the ruins of Harchrist's Blockade. That evening the adventurers decide to explore the ruins of a nearby keep. They battle and defeat a carrion golem with the partial face of Adrotha Riekahn, one of Pellius' former brothers-in-arms. They also discover some interesting information concerning the Swords of the Allure, a militant branch of Iomedae's church that defended the keep, and cleanse the keep's chapel of undead crawling hands.

Starday 14th Desnus, 4711 AR: The adventurers receive a dressing-down from their employer Dierik following their unauthorised expedition to the keep the night before. The caravan continues to follow the ruins of Harchrist's Blockade towards the Freedom Town. In the evening Pellius and Delkaneth sicken.

Sunday 15th Desnus: The adventurers receive their pay and the caravan arrives in the Freedom Town. Dunagan discovers his father is gravely ill and returns to Vigil. The others explore the Freedom Town. Delkaneth spends some time with the sage Sleer Huddlegrew, discussing various topics but chiefly the strange affliction that has gripped him since the Ghostlight Marshes. Dierik is shot with a poisoned bolt by the bounty hunter Tharkon Tallows, who is chased down and captured by Pellius and Delkaneth. They learn that Haisnar Rosenholt is behind the attack. The poison stems from the black twincap mushroom, which can also serve as the antidote. A hermit living in the Curbril Wood explains this to them, directing the adventurers towards the Hungry Mountains where the mushrooms grow. Alagor Faelan joins the party. Pellius recovers from his illness, but Delkaneth's fever continues.

Moonday 16th Desnus: All the adventurers bar Bonegrit head into the Freedom Town, hoping to contact the witch Navareene who knows more about where the black twincap mushroom grows. First they sell a tapestry to the disgraced Vigilant knight Yevender, then seek an audience with Abram Sharpe. Alagor's over familiarity with the Sharpes' guards almost cause an incident, but Alagor leaves before things go too far. The rest meet Abram Sharpe, and after tense negotiations buy themselves a meeting with Navareene. She tells him of a likely location in the Hungry Mountains and provides them with a guide, a mute half-orc named Agtharda. Meanwhile, the messenger Delkaneth sent to pay off Sleer Huddlegrew is waylaid by footpads. Alagor and Bonegrit track down the thugs and capture them, but later argue with Lunt, the drover injured in the mugging. When Delkaneth returns, he terrifies the thugs into believing he is a wood devil; they then promise to do his bidding. Outfitted for the expedition, the adventurers depart for the Hungry Mountains, but en route it transpires that their companion Khozin Ryovaldii stole a signet ring from Skaraben Sharpe before leaving the Freedom Town. Shortly after, riders sent by Skaraben catch up with them, and battle ensues after they refuse to hand over Khozin. Two of the riders are slain, two sorely injured and the rest flee back to the Freedom Town.

Toilday 17th Desnus: Delkaneth recovers from his illness. A Belkzen puma stalks the horses, but is chased off. The captured mercenary recovers from his injuries and is sent back to the Freedom Town with the bodies of his comrades, whilst Yevender’s squire Commor remains under Pyotr’s wing. The day proves Commor to be a lad of stunningly stilted intellect. Guided by Agtharda, the adventurers enter the Hungry Mountains and are led to the Garrison of Arith-Zind, a barracks of undead loyal to Tar-Baphon, the Whispering Tyrant. They enter the Garrison, battling ghouls and skeletons, and chasing a tomb mote whose rotting form plays host to the rotcrown mushrooms they seek. They encounter and battle the wight Arith-Zind, finally defeating him but also discovering much about the sword Tanladvir, a once-magical blade that Alagor now carries, which slew Arith-Zind in his mortal life. They finally capture the tomb mote and claim the mushrooms in a room dominated by the enormous skeleton of a serpentine monster. Agtharda copies some of the magical sigil decorating the creature, and the party decides to leave the Garrison rather than explore further. On their descent from the Hungry Mountains, they find the encampment of a dying Knight of Ozem and his squire.

Remembrance Moon, Wealday, 18th Desnus: current day

Link to Shared Drive (maps, loot etc.)

The Ambit of Adventure
The campaign will be principally focused around the following regions of Golarion (for the time being at least . . .)

Lastwall: Standing as a bulwark between the hordes of Belkzen and the civilised lands to the south, for the people of Lastwall the Shining Crusade is not over. Tar-Barphon may have been defeated, but the orcish threat grows ever larger for Lastwall’s dwindling defenders.

The Hold of Belkzen: The badlands of Belkzen hold countless tribes of orcs, some no more than brittle bands of outcasts and exiles, but others are large enough to field great armies. Through the heart of the realm runs the Flood Road, a seasonal caravan route that carries trade through the dangerous land.

The Realm of the Mammoth Lords: At the end of the Flood Road lies the fabled Realm of the Mammoth Lords, where fierce barbarians rove the wilderness on the mighty beasts of a forgotten time.

Language Analogues
Infernal - Latin
Draconic - Ancient Greek
Sylvan - Irish Gaelic

HOUSE RULES

Hero Points Hero points are in play, but feats, traits, spells and magic items related to hero points will not be used.
Critical Fumbles A natural 1 on an attack roll denotes an automatic miss and the possibility of a critical fumble. Make a second attack roll; if this is also a miss then the critical fumble is confirmed. The results of the fumble will be situational as determined by the DM. Critical fumbles affect both PCs and NPCs.
Natural 1s and 20s on Skill Checks As per RAW, 1s and 20s will not denote automatic success or failure on a skill check. However, at the DMs discretion, a natural 1 might indicate some connected negative consequence occurring regardless of the outcome of the skill check, whilst a natural 20 might indicate some connected positive consequence occurring. These rules apply to both PCs and NPCs.
Initiative in Combat
1) DM rolls initiative for the PCs.
2) Player's have 24 hours to post intended actions for the round and rolls for these actions. Actions play out in initiative order.
3) DM resolves combat for the round, including actions for any PCs who didn't post in the time window.
4) DM posts a narrative round summary, plus a spoilered mechanical round summary.