GM Alice's #5-01–The Glass River Rescue (Game Day #2) (Inactive)

Game Master Alice Margatroid

Aparctias remains at the upper deck, fanning himself and craning his head at the surroundings.

Yagga has no wish to antagonize the boarders. For the time being he keeps silent, wondering if they have seen tengus before.

Sorry for the late response. Busy day today.

The three seem to be wearing little in the way of armour, only protected by their thick jackets, essentially. You can see the hilts of short swords hanging at their belts, and they all have light crossbows at hand—a subtle and gentle threat if you've ever seen one.

Imperia's suggestion that they talk to the captain causes the sailor (the only of the five on the upper decks; the rest seem to have dashed downstairs to make themselves scarce) to squeak in alarm that he has to talk to the rough-talking enforcers. Nervously approaching the edge of the Abacus, he says, "T-There's just me and my crew of four, sir, a-and... and this group!" As soon as he's said his part, the captain backs away to the far side of the ship in case of trouble.

Bluff: 1d20 ⇒ 14

"So, eleven, hey?" the wolf-tamer says with a sneer. "Y' captain's a bit o' a girly-girl, don'tcha reckon, lady?" He chortles to himself. "Hotspur 'ere's nothin' ta be afraid of, 'e's a good little pup..." As if on cue, the half-tamed lupine snarls and pulls against his leash, particularly when Tarra tries to sweet-talk him. Good thing she's up on the boat and not down there on the docks instead...

"So. Tell me, lady. Whatcha ya doin' in Razmiran? Ya didn't let me know a'fore." After briefly conferring with his companion, the leader of the thugs nods and adds, "Oh, an' yer toll will be ten gold. Givin' ya a discount fer the nummer of half-folks ya got up there. Times a-wastin', ya gonna come on down an' cough up tha cash?"

"yes he is good help is hard to find these days you know"

"Sure it is not for the pretty face" Imperia says with a wink as she counts out 10gold pieces from the amount Passad gave her.

Sense motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 = 17

if no one interjects or the SM does not pick anything up

"as for our reason for being here Imperia continues her eyes getting puffy "well it is just we have a friend that has become lost and we are desperately trying to find him and .. and she lets a few tears roll down her alabaster cheeks "I just hope he is ok she finishes handing the men the coinage a melancholy look on her face.

bluff if needed: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20
on fire! at least until we get into combat then come the ones

Hmmp. Mean dog. Glad I'm up here.... Impressive Imperia. You go girl...
Tarra leans on the rail of the sterncastle, watching the interplay between Lexia and the gaurds.

When Imperia draws out the platinum pieces that Passad had given to her, the rough-talking thug whistles impressively. A grin leaps to his rough-shaven face, his eyes hungrily eyeing the silverish coins. "My, my, my! We must be dealin' with rich trav'lers indeed to be havin' some o' them lion-coins on ya!" he says, referring to the sphinxes that decorate Absalom-minted platinum pieces. "What other treasures d'ya 'ave on board there then, pretty lady? Got some gifts fer ya poor lost friend then, eh? Why don'tcha lower that gangplank o' yers and let me up ta have a quick look-see around?"

The wolf-handler glances to his compatriots and nods. At the signal, the other two draw their light crossbows and point them at the ship. "There ain't no sayin' no this here, lady. Now hurry it up!"

rolling her eyes at the thugs as they attempt to gain access to the barge "b-by all means we have nothing to hide and do not want any unnecessary violence" she stutters as she some what timidly kicks the gang plank over to allow the thugs access to there ship by all means get yourself closer

With a gloating smirk the leader of the trio stomps across the gangplank, his slavering hound in tow. Hotspur, as the Razmirani had called it, growls at Imperia as he passes by, but seems trained enough to not attack without a command at least. The one nearest to him stands on the dock end of the gangplank, crossbow still in hand but lowered, while the third continues to watch carefully from the far pier.

"Heh," the thug glances around the upper deck, "sure don't look like yer got much up here. Maybe hidin' it all down in th' hold? Hidin' it away from pryin' guards like us, eh? Heheheh." He turns towards the stairs down below and begins to move towards them...

I suspect you guys are going to step in around now, so I'm going to shift us into initiative. You'll get a surprise round, in any case, to do what you want in order to stop these guys from springin' ya...

Initiative: Tarra | Imperia | Aparctias | Wolf | Thugs | Elvis | Ryskovich | Yagga

For those that I've not played with before, I run initiative in blocks. Probably not much different to what you're used to. In any case, the entire party is up. Tarra, Imperia, and Aparctias can also take their round 1 actions if they like.

Aparctias watches the crass man display his greed. The tengu's eyes glint dangerous, flicking between the leader on board and the men on the piers at either side of the ship. It would be troublesome if they run off and alarm someone.

By the by, Aparctias starts combat with his weapon, a Fighting Fan, drawn. It's unlikely that he'll have to use it in melee, but it's good to note that Aparctias usually has it in hand. I'm mentioning it now because he currently has +0 BAB and can't draw a weapon as part as a move action, and heck if I'm going to use a move action just to draw it when he has a beak natural attack (which means he always threatens as long as his beak is unoccupied).

If no attempt of diplomacy, intimidation, or bribery is made, or if an offensive action is done:

Aparctias moves, snapping his fan closed and passing through his allies to a position at the starboard of the ship. He grabs a nearby rope from the ship's rigging and uses it to aid him in climbing onto the narrow rail of the ship, balancing precariously.

With only a moment's pause for adjustment, he continues to the bow, up to the railing of the forecastle and focuses on the enforcer on the far pier. A spot just behind the man looks perfect for landing and, with a twist of his waist to conserve momentum, he jumps! The sea rolls below him and the salty wind rushes through his feathers, his body flying through the air, looking quite like one of the birds his race's avian appearance resembles.

Acrobatics (cross narrow surfaces): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17
Acrobatics (running long jump): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18

Rules for Acrobatics.

Surprise round action and first round action is to move to the square above Elvis and get on the rails, then move in order to make a running long jump from the rails, jumping point being somewhere he can make a diagonal leap to the right pier. I've placed Aparctias where I think he would jump off of so you have a basis of judging whether or not the jump succeeds.

With a single diagonal and the rest horizontal, it should come to about 15 feet. Aparctias should make it to the space just above the thug on the far pier.

Actually, if any of this seems unreasonable, just have me fall to the water or dive northward with the goal of climbing the ladder to the docks. I just want to get at that thug in the fastest possible way.

Ryskovich, seeing his opportunity to strike, takes a single step to engage the enemy and slashes with his falcata.

1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 131d6 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

I guess the consensus is to attack :P draw weapon 5ft step towards the dog and power attack

seeing the enemy move into their web Imperia steps forward to strike with her sword bringing it down upon the slavering dog in hopes of ending it's threat early.

power attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
damage: 1d10 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14

now that I think about it I really didn't need a surprise round :) also I imagine the look on her face as she watches one of the bird men jump off the side of the decks lol

That seems reasonable to me, Aparctias!

The ninja-birdman (well, one of them, at least) makes his way to the highest point on the ship and takes to the sky!... for a few seconds, his feathers providing just enough lift to allow him to glide over to the far pier. The Razmirani enforcer there is started by his sudden company, stumbling backwards with a choice few curse words.

Ryskovich engages the leader who had boarded the ship, cutting a nasty gash down his arm. With a shout of pain, he clutches at the wound, spinning around to face the halfling with a look of mixed shock and anger. "You little..!"

Meanwhile, Imperia neatly ends the life of poor Hotspur before he can retaliate. At least the death was quick--he probably didn't feel much at all.

Having trouble loading tha map. Will post shortly.

Sigh. Shoulda just taken our chances with the faith barges, if we're going to fight anyway!
Moving to the rail, Tarra draws and fires an arrow at the guard on the far end of the gangplank.
" Hey sweetie! look up here!"
attack with shortbow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15
damage: 1d6 ⇒ 6

Littlegoat will move to a flanking position with Ryskovich and attack.

Attack with Bastard Sword: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
Damage with Bastard Sword: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

Summit will move up and guard Littlegoat's back.

Woot!!! Keep the good rolls a coming baby!

Tarra's sweetheart looks up, only to get a halfling-sized arrow right in the shoulderblade. He grunts in pain, clutching at the short piece of wood sticking out of him.

Elvis, meanwhile, makes short work of the thug who made the mistake to board. He finishes the job Ryskovich started, and the leader goes down with a cry of pain.

Yagga!

Yagga moves to the other rail while chanting in Tengu and holding aloft his holy symbol, the open palm of Irori. That ought to get their attention.

Not actually casting a spell but pretending to, hoping to draw the fire of the one with the bow, and then use my Deflect Arrows feat.

If necessary Bluff: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (17) - 1 = 16

Oh crud. Sorry Alice I just realized after rereading , Tarra's shortbow is a small one soooo.damage: 1d4 ⇒ 2 such a bummer after rolling max damage. X(.

Initiative: Tarra | Imperia | Aparctias | Thugs | Elvis | Ryskovich | Yagga

Status
Thug (red): sliced up
Thug (blue): 2 damage
Wolf: cut in two

Aparctias: 2 damage

Seeing their boss get cut down with ease, the two remaining thugs begin to swear and curse. The one by the gangplank spots Yagga raising his holy symbol and chanting in some strange language, and he spits, "Heathen! Die, in the name of Razmir!" Stepping back, he loads his crossbow and fires--the steel-tipped bolt zips towards the ready Iroran, who deftly flicks his wrist to knock the bolt out of its assured course towards him. Needless to say, the crossbowman is not happy about this, and he starts cursing up a storm.

Meanwhile, the other thug finds himself with a new feathered friend on the other side of the dock--he could only gape, open-mouthed, as Aparctias sailed gracefully from ship to dock. Discarding the crossbow, he pulls a shortsword from his belt and stabs it into the druid's gut--his leather armour not much of a deflection from the blow. (You take 2 damage.)

Party's up!

since he still has a ranged weapon move 20 and attack

seeing the bolt wiz past her inches from her face towards the Tengu Imperia moves forward to retaliate

power attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
damage: 1d10 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10
the world is at balance my attack rolls are back to normal

Aparctias grunts, receiving the wound with grace, and flashes his fan's razor sharp tips at his opponent in a flurry of cloth and metal.

Bluff (Feint): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16

The +2 to feint is from the Distracting weapon quality of the Fighting Fan.

Ryskovich, looks on as Imperia tries to hack her target in half and He moves up in an effort to give her a hand in eliminating the threat.

mive 30 feet to threaten blue thug since still wielding a bow

falcata: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 201d6 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Oh drat, she moved into melee with my target. Well wouldn't want to shoot her I suppose. Tarra thinks as she tumbles over the railing, to land cat-like on the deck. She then moves toward the gangplank.
" Don't let them get away. It would just make our lives that much harder."
acrobatic cat roll to tumble over railing and down to main deck: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

I think it may be time to help Apa out with some arrows

Standing where he is, Yagga draws his shortbow and looks for an opening to fire.

FIre at the one engaged with Aparctias if I have line of sight, otherwise the other guard.

1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20 (penalties?)
dmg: 1d6 ⇒ 3

Leaving one hand free for arrow deflection.

"Captain, this might be a good time to get us out of here!"

Initiative: Tarra | Imperia | Aparctias | Thugs | Elvis | Ryskovich | Yagga

Status
Thug (red): sliced up
Thug (blue): 6 damage
Thug (green): 3 damage (no Dex vs. Aparctias' next attack)

Wolf: cut in two
Aparctias: 2 damage

OOC
It's been over 24 hours, Elvis will take full defense.

Ryskovich hurries across the gangplank to finish off the crossbowman, but Imperia's clumsy strike puts him off and he only manages a superficial cut. Still, the thug is nevertheless looking quite worse for the wear.

Yagga sends an arrow the way of the other tengu's target, who seems quite put off his game by Aparctias' fluttering fan (your bluff was successful). Tarra flips down onto the main deck, seemingly a natural gymnast as she scores a perfect ten on that leap!

The badly injured thug, facing two angry halflings and an even angrier Chelaxian woman, counts his odds and decides to get the hell out of there. He turns tail and flees down the pier (Withdraw action), shouting for help!

Meanwhile, on the other side, Aparctias and his foe are locked in close combat. With a grunt of annoyance he circles around and tries to strike at the druid once more, but Aparctias gracefully sidesteps out of the way. He reaches for his belt where a cork-stoppered potion is kept, keeping it hand for later use.

The captain jumps up from his hidey-hole at Yagga's command, dashing downstairs to get his crew ready. "Get up here, ya cowardly sons-a-seagulls! We need to leave - now!"

A 5-foot step.
Fighting Fan: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (11) - 1 = 10
Damage: 1d4 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1

Hearing the other thug's cries for help, Aparctias steps around his current opponent for a better view and to corner the remaining enforcer to the end of the pier.

Seeing the man run away, he yells at the others, "Don't let him get away! Charge after him or shoot him!"

Distracted by the other thug, his own attack is sloppy, not having his entire focus.

longbow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15
damage: 1d8 ⇒ 2

still wobbling from the quick transition form the boat to land Imperia lets sends a tumbling arrow at the fleeing man as a reminder that it is not kind to take advantage of travelers.

Imperia fires an arrow that catches the man in the back as he flees, sending him to a crumpled and bloody mess on the harbourside. His blood begins to seep into the creaky wooden boards of the pier. Alas, Aparctias is distracted, and his fan cuts through clothing, not flesh.

wow why do I have a feeling that we just basically wacked a group of commoners and a puppy

looking frustrated as she hears the captains screams as he tries to rally the crew for there departure "let us at least get what we came here for" she growls thinking on who in the group of would be muggers would most likely have the passage letter.

Seeing Imperia's arrow strike home, Tarra moves to the other side and fires at the last guard. " Check around! see if anybody else was watching!"
attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22
damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3

Yagga moves slowly forward and fires again at his fellow tengu's assailant.

shortbow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15
dmg: 1d6 ⇒ 5

Sorry about that guys. Pregnant wife and I had to take a trip. Nothing so far though.

If there is still a thug about, Littlegoat will mount Summit and give chase.

A pair of arrows piece the remaining thug from behind, and he coughs up a slow trickle of blood before collapsing at Aparctias' feet.

Combat over.

The crew charge on deck, blasted by orders from their captain to get the Abacus ready to sail quick-smart; there's a flurry of activity as they hoist the sails and untie the rope knotting them to the dock and begin to cast off.

You can hear the sound of alarmed shouts from far towards the west; it seems your actions here have captured the attentions of someone... you'd best hurry if you want to get out of here!

running to the fallen thug searching his possessions for the note of passage before returning to the deck of the Abacus elegantly cleaning her blade Masamune and placing it back in its sheath in one fluid motion before turning her attention to the fallen leader casually kicking the bits of dog over the side of the ship.

stabilize: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (10) - 1 = 9

figuring he is beyond her help at least for now she casually rummages thru his persons trying to produce something that would justify the skirmish or at least benefit the mission.

looking at the wounded Aparctias she pulls a wand from her pack producing a greenish blue glow as she holds it close to his/her/it's wound.

CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
if he will allow it 34/50 charges remaining

"mayhaps it would be best if you did not go charging off on your own" Imperia states with her normally criticizing cold voice shaking her head at the bird creature's foolhardiness " Imagine if you were unable to make the jump or if the thug had taken you hostage" she continues anger rising in her voice "there would be very little that this group would have been able to do for you" she says before turning towards the rest of the group "that goes for all of us we are a team, weather we like it or not. yes we can all do things that no one else can do but if we want this operation to succeed we need to work together." she finishes her fists clenched.

Aparctias quickly takes the potion from his opponent's corpse and does a quick search for anything of else that might be use before sprinting back to the ship.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19

When he arrives on deck, he inspects his stomach, frowning at the tear in his robes. He allows Imperia to heal him.

"My thanks," Aparctias says when she is finished. He takes her tirade in calm before responding, "You should have faith. I wouldn't have done it were I unsure of my actions. We are a team, yes, and that may mean one has to take actions that might risk them for the good of the whole. Not that it was particularly risky, but I do see your point."

He turns his attention to the alarmed shouts from the west and starts walking to the bow.

"Let's hurry before they catch sight of our ship."

When they set sail, Apartias spreads his arms wide and moves them in a circling pattern, almost dancing, fog trailing from his fan and spreading around him.

When we leave, I cast Obscuring Mist to cover our escape, hopefully blocking vision through the mist for them to be unable to see any details or where we went. If it expires, and there are still more of them giving chase, I can cast it up to two more times.

funny cause it looked like the commoner was kicking your butt :P

shaking her head at the bird man/women's words "that does not mean doing so unnecessarily she says almost certain that the thing was not really listening to her. faith she says the only being I have faith in is the Inheritor and myself. the bird wants to martyr herself then who am I to stop her she thinks spitefully letting out a loud "hmpf as the avian conjures up a mist around the boat.

" Good plan Apa! if they don't see any details, it'll be safer for us later!" Chirps Tarra as the fog begins to billow out of the Tengu's position.
" Hopefully, the rest of the mission will be smoother."

... before turning towards the rest of the group "that goes for all of us we are a team, weather we like it or not. yes we can all do things that no one else can do but if we want this operation to succeed we need to work together." she finishes her fists clenched.

"Hmm it would appear in addition to a haughty demeanor you also suffer from clouded vision... Rysokovich, the next time you assist Imperia with an enemy, like you did in that last combat, I suggest you watch out for her sword. She obviously didn't see you assist in her in that combat and I would not want her to accidentally stab you."

"mayhaps next time I will stand there like a idiot it seemed to do you a world of good" she hisses at Littlemouse "besides his lackluster height would allow me a much wider range of motion with my sword without as much risk of hitting him compared to a normal comrade" she continues coldly pondering if a Halfling on a dog would fare as well

"Well now I know you are blind. Take a closer look at the man whose pockets you are rifling through and you will see the marks of my blade as well as those of Rysokovich. As talented as I am, not even I am able to cut a man while "standing like an idiot". And what kind of idiot would ride their mount on a ship? I certainly wouldn't, but maybe if your mount were here you would."

Littlegoat stomps off to the other side of the ship from Imperia, whistling for Summit to follow.

"Fool Chelaxian! If she isn't careful she will alienate herself from the entire party. Much as I would love to see her fail, her failure means the Society's failure. I must speak with my case handler and see why I am continually made to suffer snobbish fools."

umm George Washington if the pictures are to be believed also I never said anything about riding a mount get out of my head! :P

Glaring at the littlemouse as he rants " Oh I believe you little mouse I too am astonished by your ineptitude and the fact that you have not cut yourself yet" she retorts coldly before stomping off to the opposite direction of the ship.

"incompetent Halfling I continually try to unite this team just to be undermined by his arrogance. As much as I would like to see him eat his words it would be a failure in mission parameters. I must speak with Mistress Zarta to she if she can pull some strings to increase my overall effectiveness by not placing me with contemptuous buffoons "

so yeah was planning to play Imperia as more of a clear cut paladin this time but I guess that is out the window

George Washington was standing as he crossed the Delaware. He wasn't on a horse!:) My bad on the mount comment. For some reason I thought you said something to him about riding his mount. After googling Washington Crossing the Delware, I did find a lesser known painting where he was riding a mount. The most famous painting does not have him on a horse though.

yes that's why I said if the picture is to be believed lol but you have to admit that it would have been pretty awesome nonetheless

funny I never have seen one without him on his horse but then again every painting in texas has to be on a horse or its not taken seriously:P

LOL

After googling Washington Crossing the Delware, I did find a lesser known painting where he was riding a mount. The most famous painting does not have him on a horse though.

Funny, I've never seen that one!

I've been wondering the whole time if Elvis and Imperia have a history. I hope that is all RP and not personal.

Yagga takes up a position at the stern and squints at the clouds left in their wake for signs of pursuit. Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18

All RP, no history. Although I think moving forward I will purposefully try to find PFS PBPs that Imperia is playing in for Littlegoat to join!They can terrorize each other.

Ryskovich will watch as his foe drops and turn around as the final dock guard drops to the combined efforts of his fellow pathfinders. He washes his blade off in the water as he hurries back to the boat, to ensure they are able to escape in time.

He turns in the direction of the commotion, sheathing his blade and drawing his longbow and readying an arrow should more trouble come or if the bank of fog disperses before they are able to get away safely.

wow. This is going to be a rocky mission. Oh Well. keep the sun shining Spindlethorn, Davinder is counting on you.
" I think we all did well enough for our first combat together. Practice and planning will help us, not blaming and bickering."

Imperia and Aparctias loot the bodies and quickly hurry back onto the Abacus. Aside from their weapons and armour, the only thing the thugs had on them were a single potion each--three identical, silvery-blue potions.

The ship, with the captain at the wheel, begins to turn out of the harbour, and you thank your stars that Temel Passad owns a particularly agile craft. A swirling, curling trail of fog escapes from Aparctias' fan, shielding the ship from view, but you nevertheless catch sight of the Razmiri authorities charging down the docks as the vessel slips out into the Glass River. There's shouts of anger and shock as commanders direct their men to fire upon you, but only a single arrow even manages to embed in the side of the ship; the others plop harmlessly into the ship's wake. Aparctias' quick-thinking spell seems to give you enough camouflage to flee down the riverbank before the Razmiri enforcers' backup can muster up a ship to follow.

Maybe fifteen minutes after the ruckus has calmed down, Metella, Amauhak and Passad cautiously emerge onto the deck to find out what had happened. The bloody corpse of the wolf and his handler tells enough of a story at a glance, and Passad pales considerably. The female dwarf is in a sour mood, glaring at Passad as she grumbles, "This is just what I feared! We should've just tried to avoid the docks altogether!" Alas, the deed is done, and the ship sails on down the rushing river, uncaring.

Amauhak shakes his head at the massacre, but steps forward to change the subject a little -- perhaps to soothe Metella's burning embers of anger. "Pathfinders," he says in his calm and monotonous voice, "did you decide on a plan to gain access to the inn? I believe Passad said it is not far from here..."

"Hopefully you won't listen to this idiot's idea," Metella grunts, shooting another glare Passad's way. "Heeding his advice turned out to be quite the unwise course of action indeed! Our mission might've been over before we even reached the damned inn."

"But this and that are two different things entirely," Passad replies breezily, waving away the dwarf's concerns with a flick of his wrist. "Pathfinders, do take the course of action that you feel is right."