GM Aram Zey's Reign of Winter for PFS part 1 (Inactive)

Game Master SwampTing

From the above edit:

Badr takes 2 more hits, but manages to steel himself against the cold this time. (take 2 nonlethal damage)

Mu manages to roll out of the way of the little arrow fired at him, and sticks his tongue out at the little creature that fired on him. ;p

Everyone except Shu and Eldanar, take your actions.

Edit: Everyone includes Shu's monkey! Rawr!

Colour spray rounds left: 7

(3 non lethal damage)

Using a standard bullet cartridge he reloads and lets fly again.

1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (13) + 7 - 4 = 16
1d12 ⇒ 2

Add + 1 if within PB range.

lol - I can't seem to get a break

Well, at least they both hit! Though you reckon that last one only just barely got it, and only because it was that close to you to begin with. This happens on the next round though, just before they act. =) And the cold iron seems to really cause them a good amount of grief.

Mu, Guilford, Exiel, Monkey, you guys are up.

Exiel trudges over to Badr, still full-defending. He's only taken 3 points of damage so far, right?

If I don't post in time, next round I will tag Badr with guidance before he shoots.

3 pts non lethal = 17hps left... I am good. If you have a buff spell like bless etc we could really really use it Edit: Guidence :) Nice

This fight may go on for some time - hence my switch to standard rounds last turn and cap that to the crappy snow screwing up my accuracy. Oh for a bard:D

Well, I can stand beside you and cast guidance every round... XD

Pu jumps in the snow and seems at first to be digging a hole, perhaps to hide in, but then he suddenly pops up and hurls a snowball at the blue creature flying nearby.

Snowball!: 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 - 4 = 15 *Pu's not trying to do damage, but give Mu a bonus to hit with aid another by distracting the little blue bugger.

Pu jumps in the snow and seems at first to be digging a hole, perhaps to hide in, but then he suddenly pops up and hurls a snowball at the blue creature flying nearby.

[dice=Snowball!]1d20+4-4 *Pu's not trying to do damage, but give Mu a bonus to hit with aid another by distracting the little blue bugger.

Rofl. I was about to say you needed another -4 penalty for lack of proficiency...then realised that monkeys throw stuff like that all the time. XD

Pu still missed, but if you hit, I will allow them to suffer a temporary penalty to AC. ;)

Mu and Guilford, you're up.

Heh, Pu is too civilized to actually throw feces. However, as "aid another" he only needs to hit AC 10 to give an ally +2 though, right?

Heh, Pu is too civilized to actually throw feces. However, as "aid another" he only needs to hit AC 10 to give an ally +2 though, right?

Ah, I see what you're doing there. Well, GMs are encouraged to reward creativity, aren't we? I will allow that the next attack on the baddie closest to Pu will have an additional +2 to hit. The fey creatures are small enough that a hit with a snowball would be genuinely unpleasant, and ill-disciplined enough to actually let that affect them. ;)

I'm guessing either Mu or Guilford will benefit from it when they take their actions. =)

Mu reloads and fires again!

1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8;1d8 ⇒ 4

(that was last post for the night, go GM PC mode)

Unfortunately, the snow-ball distraction was unable to give Mu enough of an advantage to hit, and the crossbow bolt goes wide.

I reckon Guilford will post soon, if not I will determine an action for him and move things along.

Bedtime here. Pu's plan for the next couple rounds is to climb a tree near one of the blue creatures, then leap out and try to grapple it :)

Just so people can continue posting, I will have Guilford shoot at the closest fey creature and move things along.

Guilford attack roll: 1d20 + 3 - 4 ⇒ (7) + 3 - 4 = 6
damage: 1d8 ⇒ 7

The winged annoyance closest to Badr has been hit twice by him now, and is looking more than a little worse for wear. He calls out to his fellows, waving to them and pointing at Badr, then looses a final shot at him before flying off to the South-West.
Final attack roll before running: 1d20 + 8 - 4 ⇒ (7) + 8 - 4 = 11
damage: 1d2 - 2 ⇒ (2) - 2 = 0

His companions, however, close in towards the gunslinger, apparently eager to try to take him down, one of them even moving closer to Badr. Both also ascend to a height of 40ft, having caught on that the gunslinger is that little bit more dangerous at close range.
attack roll: 1d20 + 8 - 4 ⇒ (1) + 8 - 4 = 5
damage: 1d2 - 2 ⇒ (1) - 2 = -1

attack roll: 1d20 + 8 - 4 ⇒ (7) + 8 - 4 = 11
damage: 1d2 - 2 ⇒ (1) - 2 = -1

Badr holds his action until being blessed by Exiel then loads again with a standard cartridge round and lets fly.

Bang! 1d20 + 7 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (18) + 7 + 1 - 4 = 22
Damage 1d12 ⇒ 3

I roll either low to hits and good damage or good to hits and low damage

However, it seems that the gunslinger has unnerved them sufficiently that none of them are quite able to hit.

As declared earlier, Pu scampers across the snow to a tree near one of the winged creatures, and will be ready to climb next turn (and will take no movement penalties on climbing).

Mu meanwhilte reloads and attempts another shot on the little scoundrels.

attack roll: 1d20 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (8) + 2 - 4 = 6
damage: 1d8 ⇒ 1

But is unable to score a hit.

Exiel proceeds to cast guidance on Badr.

Shu is still stunned, as is Eldanar. Guilford and Badr are up

Rounds left on colour-spray: 6

Oh, Badr posted. Badr scores a hit...but who was he aiming at?

Already rolled unless that was the attack for last round

Already rolled unless that was the attack for last round

No no, that's a new hit. I just made a few consecutive posts, and didn't notice your post in-between. Who were you aiming at?

And...Guilford up again...

Yeah...if I were GMing a game NOT for PFS, I'd skip this fight entirely...but at least you're making progress against them!

Wow...a whole round went by with very little happening... Yeah I think this fight is a little tiresome... Would it be worth just auto-controlling people's characters per their instructions for another round?

And I think if one of them was already running and has run THAT far...Guilford would probably be shooting at one of the ones still firing on him.

Who were you aiming at?

The closest one. I figure Touch AC may be higher than actual AC or close to it - if I target one out of 40 ft then I am attacking AC and not touch AC... its not a question of hitting them. Its a question of doing enough damage - I can choose to use Iron cartridges but I miss more than hit and will exhaust my ammo long before we get to the heavy bastards :) I just have to trust in the dice to come my way

Fair enough, I will auto-forward this part since no one's really enjoying it...

I will assume Badr shot the one nearer to Eldanar, and that Guilford shoots at him again

Guilford attack roll: 1d20 + 3 - 4 ⇒ (14) + 3 - 4 = 13
damage: 1d8 ⇒ 3

And does not hit.

Meanwhile, the fey focus fire on Badr, the one who flew a distance away having decided he wants to come back for some revenge, though he stays reasonably close to his escape direction.

attack roll: 1d20 + 8 - 4 ⇒ (1) + 8 - 4 = 5
damage: 1d2 - 2 ⇒ (1) - 2 = -1

attack roll: 1d20 + 8 - 4 ⇒ (17) + 8 - 4 = 21
damage: 1d2 - 2 ⇒ (1) - 2 = -1

attack roll: 1d20 + 8 - 4 ⇒ (9) + 8 - 4 = 13
damage: 1d2 - 2 ⇒ (2) - 2 = 0

Damage taken by fey: -7, -1, 0
Rounds left on colour spray: 5

Badr takes 1 more non-lethal damage (total 4 so far)
fort save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16
But shakes off the cold again.

Mu shoots at the one who came back!
attack roll: 1d20 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (11) + 2 - 4 = 9
damage: 1d8 ⇒ 7
But misses.

Shu and Eldanar still stunned, but regaining consciousness at least.

Pu...climbs up the tree to a height where he could potentially attempt a jump at the fey creature...but will need to make a stealth check to go unnoticed!
stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22
fey's perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
fey's perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
fey's perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

Unfortunately, he is spotted by the southernmost fey (the one most injured), and he calls out a warning to his fellow.

Exiel tags Badr with guidance again, unless he declares otherwise before Badr acts again.

Badr and Guilford are up

Will Save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22

Eldanár is able to shake off the weird buzzing pictures in his mind that held him enthralled. Getting the hinch of what´s going on rather fast, he raises his musket and aims at the little fey in front of him.

Musket normal bullet: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 221d10 ⇒ 7

[dice=Will Save]1d20 + 4

As Eldanar unexpectedly snaps out of his stupor, he takes stock of the situation. The fey have not noticed him yet!

Drawing a bead on the nearest winged one whose back is facing him, Eldanar fires, and a high-pitched scream fills the air as the bullet tears into the creature's side.

Eldanar: Per my latest amendment of the post in the discussion thread, that first shot was a pseudo-surprise round. You now get a full round action, which will allow you to reload and shoot.

Damage taken by fey: -7, -6, 0
Rounds left on colour spray: 5

Waiting on actions from Eldanar, Guilford and Badr.

Eldanár quickly reloads his musket with a cold iron paper cartridge from his pocket and aims for the next most wounded of the small pests.

Musket cold iron: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 171d10 ⇒ 6

The 'next most wounded' (I'm reading this as the second-most wounded one) is the same one you just shot in the back. You take the shot, and smile in satisfaction as the cold iron pellets shred right through the creature and it falls to the snow 40ft below.

Damage taken by fey: -7, dead, uninjured
Rounds left on colour spray: 5

Nicely done, reroll saves the day and propels us forward. I'm gonna go sleep now, will check back in about 6-7 hours. Badr and Guilford should have posted by then, and we'll see how far we get then. =)

Badr shoots at the Injured one hoping to hit with a standard bullet cartridge but again, waiting for the blessing from Exiel.

Bang! 1d20 + 7 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (17) + 7 + 1 - 4 = 21
Damage 1d12 ⇒ 9

Yaaaaaay - at last!

Guilford again tries to use his crossbow, hoping the cold iron will take its toll.

attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18
damage: 1d8 ⇒ 5

Cold Iron bolts 15/20

The death cries of the first fallen fey fills the sky, causing the other two creatures to look in his direction in alarm. Badr seizes the opportunity, lines up a shot at the already-wounded fey creature and sends a bullet right through his head. There isn't much left above the neck of the creature when its body hits the snowy ground below.

Edited: Guilford fires a cold iron bolt at the last of the creatures, but the heavy snow obscures his vision enough to prevent him from securing a hit.

The last survivor of the fey ambushers shrieks in alarm and flies off into the distance, speaking rapidly in a strange language (if any of you speak Sylvan, you hear cussing that would make the coarsest sailor blush). Before it flees, however, it projects a quick burst of light (not another colour spray, just a daze spell) at the party member he deems the greatest threat, hoping that it will be enough to secure his escape.

1 is Badr, 2 is Eldanar, 3 is Guilford: 1d3 ⇒ 2
Eldanar's fort save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

This final burst of magic is far weaker than what was performed previously, and Eldanar is able to shake off its effects (though just barely).

Fey creatures: 2 dead, 1 fleeing
Shu still stunned for the next 4 rounds, but no longer unconscious

Take your final actions against the fleeing creature! He's over the bridge in the South West! Going to sleep now will check back in 6-7 hours!

Whats the range? If he's range 80 I'm for plugging the bastard. Badr will accept a blessing first and then try a normal cartridge shot.

Shot at over 40 but at 80 or under 1d20 + 7 + 1 - 4 - 2 ⇒ (16) + 7 + 1 - 4 - 2 = 18 Damage 1d12 ⇒ 2

Bugger - thats a fine shot with a crappy roll for damage

After taking a parting shot at the flying pixie thing, Badr reloads with powder from his horn and manually loads his gun with a cold iron bullet.

We should be coming up on another fort save 1d20 + 4 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 4 + 7 = 27

Musket cold iron: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 181d10 ⇒ 7
No clue about weather or other factors, but <=40 feet touch AC, <=80 and -2 for second increment.

4 missed shots...awesome

Exiel casts guidance on Badr, since I see he already applied a guidance bonus on his shot. XD

Only Badr manages to get in a parting shot.

Eldanar, a -4 penalty for the falling snow should apply. I just checked and saw that your second-latest shot did not apply it, but I'll mark it down as GM error and say that the earlier shot still hit. =) I will apply the penalty as normal for this shot though, so it misses.

On its turn, the little creature flies away at an incredible speed, and is soon gone from view.

As the excitement of the battle wanes, you start to feel the effects of having been in the cold for so long...

Fort saves vs cold
Exiel has endure elements on, Badr made his save very nicely
Shu: 1d20 + 2 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 2 + 5 = 23
Mu: 1d20 + 4 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 7 = 15
Eldanar: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18
Guilford: 1d20 + 1 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 1 + 5 = 26

Fortunately, the exertion of the recent battles has kept your bodies warm, and none of you succumb to the cold just yet! =)

A search of the little creatures reveals nothing of note or value. However, you do now realise that the many pins you saw in the feathered packages in the trees were the arrows of the fey, and the feathered packages were in fact birds. Why the fey would have such a vendetta against them is a mystery to you.

(Feel free to declare any healing before you set off again.)

With nothing much left to do, you continue to follow the deep tracks in the snow to a narrow game trail that winds is way through the trees and undergrowth.

There appear to be more hoofprints here, some of which do not appear to be shod with horseshoes and go in directions apart from the majority that you are following. As you turn a corner around a large tree, you see a great white stag in the middle of the trail staring at you. It is a magnificent specimen, with a sleek white coat and robust horns, but appears otherwise normal...until you hear it call out to you in a strangely high-pitched voice.

Hold there, travellers... Why do you traverse upon our lands? Are you seeking something? Someone? Have you anything to do with this strange winter that has befallen these woods?

Obligatory Perception checks
Perception checks
Exiel: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
Badr: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17
Mu: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
Shu: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (4) - 1 = 3
Guilford: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14
Eldanar: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11
Ted: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16 (Scent)

To your knowledge, there are no other creatures in the vacinity.

"Eh?" Shu responds to the strange animal, still a little addled from the color spray that put him down for naptime. "Whatever create this winter was not us. I got parts turn blue from this cold! Heard fey done it somehow, but that only rumor."

Can I put Pu on the perception list? He has a +5 bonus.

Sure

perception PU: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

Pu does not notice anything or anyone either.

Indeed we are seeking someone. A human woman was taken prisoner by fey creatures, and carried off in this direction! Could you help us locate her?

And no, this weather is none of our doing, as my gnomish friend said.

"Oh yeah. Forgot about woman. We looking for her too. Damned little blue creatures and their flashy fey magic.. they come back and I'll show them some true power!" Shu shakes a small angry fist. Pu mimics the gesture.

Hmmph...perhaps...perhaps... I know something of the ones who took the woman. But tell me, what hope does a motley band of six have against a force that conquered an entire caravan of human soldiers, hmm? I see some of you are armed, but others of you...are old, unarmed and look fit to be infirmed.

Tell me of your abilities. If you can convince me you are worth helping, that I will not be sending you to your doom, I will point you in the right direction.

Mu calls out, ”I olda than you, Greathorn! Strength is in wisdom, you kno best, so name yua test!”,

That´s all good talk there, but who are you anyway and how do we know you are not one of them, sending us totally off? before we give you any further information, you give us a proof that you are indeed good!

"Please take no offense at my companions' comments. We have been attacked thrice on our journey so far and have prevailed against many foes. Some of us possess skill in the aracne arts, while our warriors are stout and brave. If we appear too weak to overcome the captors, perhaps you would be willing to lend us aid? Otherwise, what proof do you require?"

Test? Why, I simply wish to know how you justify wanting to pursue a force that conquered a force numbering far greater than your motley group. As for my 'goodness', why I am but a creature of the forest. I care not about your notions of good and evil. But you say that some of you use magic. What type of magic. Surely you will not think to use fire in these woods, and endanger my home in the process?

Behind the GM's (monitor) screen, the nefarious GM makes some secret rolls...

And reveals them!

?'s bluff check: 1d20 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (2) + 9 - 2 = 9 (-2 circumstance bonus for being annoyed at something Shu said)

Sense motive checks
Exiel: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (16) - 2 = 14
Badr: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
Mu: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12
Shu: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (5) - 1 = 4
Guilford: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 = 17
Eldanar: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

Badr and Shu are completely convinced that you are indeed speaking with an otherwise indifferent magical talking beast.

Exiel and Guilford, however, smell a rat, as you have both heard the accents of people from far-off Irrisen before, and this creature sounds suspiciously like one of them. Mu gets the feeling the creature is fishing for information, and notices that the creature's tone got a little irate when Shu mentioned showing the fey 'true power'. And Eldanar, having handled many animals before, can't help but notice that the stag is starting to pay more attention to the moss under the ice on a nearby rock than he is to the party he is supposed to be talking to.