GM Bold Strider's Rise of the Runelords - Flaxseed Lodge (Inactive)

Game Master rpblue

"Yes, have them come with us. They can watch our backs as we cross the bridge. That way we won't get caught between the goblins in Thistletop and another group coming up behind us, if all goes to plan."

"We should buy some rope as well. We might need to take the fast way down. Perhaps a boat might be in order as well. For that matter, with a boat, some rope, cover of darkness, and a potion..." Dashuun begins thinking out loud.

Know. Local 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22

"Remember that goblins have dark vision, and most of us don't. Attacking at night would put us at a big time disadvantage. We should go during the day."

"I wasn't thinking of that. I'm just used to hunting at night I suppose."

-Posted with Wayfinder

"So we attack at noon!" Dashuun proclaims loudly. "Or whatever time you folk see best."

"Actually, I've got an appointment at noon. . . can we make it 1:30?"

"Huzzah!"

"If the distraction can be ready by then, I think noon would be a fine time."

"Two scores of arrows should be enough", Broon scratches his beard, pondering the last encounter, although truthfully thinking, Or maybe a squire to carry four..., "Yes fine, daytime, whatever."

So will you be taking any others with you or are you going to keep it as the core group?

Ah yes! I forgot.
"While you all work on getting your eyes ready, I'm going to go have a chat with someone that can surely help." Dashuun says as he rushes off to the alchemist's shop.
"Hello there. Feel like coming along on a dangerous adventure into goblin territory and saving the town?" he asks boldly.

She seems a bit perplexed by the question.

"I guess?" states the oread alchemist as she blinks, trying to process the question.

She is nearly dragged from the store by Dashuun before she remembers that she needs a few things. "Ah! I think I have some stuff that can help! Let me get my backpack!" she states.

Other people that aren't from the town that you have helped/saved/befriended might be interested in helping your group or in the main battle. **hint**

Glaucus goes off to see if he can find Shalelu. "Do you think you could provide cover for us as we break into Thistletop? Guard our backs, in case we need to retreat, you know?"

"I think Aldern and Ameiko would both want to help us. His blade would serve us well. And I'm sure she'd be pleased to get a crack at some goblins as well."

Elena follows up with the two of them, assuming they can be located. She explains the situation. "It's probably a suicide mission, but if we sit and wait for all those goblins to attack us, we are dead ducks anyway."

Glaucus finds Shalelu out in the woods at a nearby holy site dedicated to Erastil by the locals, a few marks seem out of place but otherwise the area is quite serene.

Shalelu is playfully kicking her bare feet in the pond as insects buzz in the afternoon heat.

"Come! Sit!" Shalelu bids Glaucus. "I already know of the impending raid. You couldn't keep me away if you tried. Mostly because I could kick your ass before breakfast and still deal with the goblins by dinner."

She laughs, elbowing you in the ribs. "If you would rather have me in your infiltration team, then I would be more than happy to assist, however that group should be limited to six people at the most."

She quickly begins to tell the plans for the attack devised by the Sheriff, clearly enthused at the prospect of war with the goblins.

---

Elena thinks on where to find Aldern and Ameiko as she is strolling about town, however she realizes that Ameiko will be an easy person to hunt down. She makes her way to the inn to find it packed to capacity.

"Gang way! Hot stew coming through!" yells a barmaid with four bowls of stew and two mugs of ale in her arms as she brashly moves past Elena.

Elena looks around but doesn't see Ameiko so she moves to the kitchen. A drunk solider slaps her on the ass as she moves by. "How much for the night, beautiful?"

Elena is about to wallop the man when a ladle flies through the air, beaning the guy right in the forehead. "Don't you dare touch another woman in here like that!" is heard piercing through the air.

Ameiko storms up, full of fury. She lifts the guy from his seat by the collar of his shirt. "You have three seconds before I castrate you on this table and make the special of the night Soldier Mountain Oysters. One... Two..."

"I'm sorry! It'll never happen again!" the man screams as Ameiko brandishes her cleaver.

"Damn right, it won't! Ameiko says sternly as she drops the man back in his chair. A confused look lays across his stunned face.

"Elena, darlin'. What can I get you?" She asks as she picks up her ladle from the floor.

Elena declines the food (for now) and instead explains the situation. Halfway through, Ameiko stops her.

"I'd love to be out there, especially as I could put some hurt into that brother of mine, but Sheriff has me working with the doctors and such. Gotta have someone to help the wounded and I'm decent with a scalpel and stitch. I'm sure your boyfriend would love to 'defend your honor', though. You asked him?" Ameiko says, winking conspiratorially.

Elena throws her head back and laughs at Ameiko. "No, I haven't asked him yet. I was making my way, and I knew you'd be jealous if I didn't ask you first," Elena responds with a wink of her own. "But, the Sheriff makes sense. There are a lot of goblins, so there's going to be a ton of injuries. Keep them up and running for us. We'll be back and report what we found as soon as we can. IF your brother is there, I'll kick him once for you."

Glaucus gives a yellow-toothed smile to Shalelu. "Well, if you want to join the raiding party directly, I'm sure you would be welcome. We could use your bow for some cover fire."

The group heads to bed at the inn as the towns hustle and bustle continues well into the night. At the light of daybreak, a horn cuts through the fog. A squad of twenty men ride into town on horseback bearing the banner of a quarterly with alternating blue and gold. At their forefront rides Aldern. Aldern sees Elena and eagerly trots over to her. "Did ya think I would miss the festivities?" he asks with a wink.

You have a choice to make. Who do you bring with you and who do you leave behind to fight in the main battle?

Sense Motive 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

'I never had a doubt that the best goblin fighter in town would ride to our aid! Pleasure to see you again Mr. Aldern. We appreciate your bravery as always!"

Elena took care to not mention anything she noticed about the noble to any of the others, or risk embarrassing Aldern as he volunteered already to aid them.

What is the group's thoughts on who to bring with us? Shalelu, the alchemist, and Aledern could all be helpful for us personally.

Broon was out looking for a squire, or arrows, or snuff, at some point he'd lost track of what he was doing and found himself in the red lantern quarter.

A few hours later..."Uhm, greetings", he says to everyone present, "Goodnight", and heads off with head bowed low.

"Shalelu expressed interest in joining us. She is a fine archer. I think she should join us. The rest might best suited to the battlefield."

As no one besides Glaucus has volunteered anyone...

"I would be honored to join you on your infiltration." Shalelu says, proudly stringing her bow. "The rest of you should aid the Sheriff as more than six people would jeopardize the mission."

Aldern bows. "I shall lead my cavalry to victory on the field of justice. Promise me your safe return, milady." Aldern states as he bows and kisses Elena's hand.

Ruby curtsies, a bit unsure of why she was asked here if she wasn't coming on the mission. "I guess I shall help the town then..." She hurriedly moves towards town, looking through her bag of potions and herbs.

---

The morning passes as the infiltration team awaits their signal to begin their invasion. A bright red flare followed by a royal blue flare are launched into the sky: the signal that the battle has been underway long enough to draw the goblin's attention.

Shalelu leads your through the undergrowth and through a shortcut that puts you at the edge of Thistletop. Most of the goblin have left the large makeshift camp outside the gates, however there are two goblins guarding the clearing in front of you.

The briars and thistles that grow so rampantly in the Nettlewood are even more dense and tangled here, close to the shore. Although not quite dense enough to block the sound of waves crashing on the unseen shores to the west, the undergrowth is certainly thick enough to block sight and access to the coast. Few trees grow this close to the edge of the sea, but the briars themselves often reach heights to rival them; here, the patch is nearly twenty feet high.

You see two goblins guarding a wall of thistles and briars 20' high with no clear entrance to Thistletop.

Thats one too many goblins judging by our performance so far!

"Let's get as close as we can. I'll take the left guard, Shelelu, you the right."

Broon will defer if there's a smarter plan...

Sounds good.

"Hmph. Goblins. Let's go!"

If we can get within 120' undetected, Elena will volunteer to first try a Sleep spell to incapacitate either or both of them, depending on how close they are standing together. DC 15 Will save. If we can't get that close, Elena will follow the others, and fire a magic missile at the closest goblin. Damage 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4.

Anyone approaching stealthily needs to make Stealth checks.

Glaucus waits for Elena to try her spell before sneaking in to finish them off.

Stealth: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

Stealth 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

yes try Sleep first

-Posted with Wayfinder

I've had a rough time keeping up with my PbPs lately. Near release on my company's product.

Dashuun sticks close to Glaucus, judging him to be the sort of warrior he'd want at his back.
Stealth: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9 Oops
Maze Stealth: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

Perception: 2d20 ⇒ (8, 13) = 21

Broon, Shalelu and Torg wait in the bushes for the the bard and her compatriots to sneak forward.

Glaucus drops low and begins to move stealthily along the ground, like an ape, drawing no attention to himself. Maze sees the man moving forward and slowly stalks next to him. Maze and Glaucus are 70' from the goblins.

At 130' from the goblins, as the other two try to follow, Elena stumbles over some brambles, falling into Dashuun, who steps on a dry branch.

Craaaack!

"LONGSHANKS ARE COMING!"

Initiative:
Glaucus: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
Broon: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23
Elaina: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
Dashuun: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19
Torg: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
Shalelu: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Goblins: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

They use their bows and fire off two arrows at the exposed humans.

Arrow @ Elena-10 AC: 1d20 + 5 - 2 - 1 ⇒ (8) + 5 - 2 - 1 = 10
Arrow @ Dashuun-12 AC: 1d20 + 5 - 2 - 1 ⇒ (5) + 5 - 2 - 1 = 7

An arrow pierces Elena's shoulder and seems to burn her flesh as a vial on the end explodes into her shoulder.

Damage: 1d4 + 1d6 ⇒ (2) + (2) = 4

Reflex Save from Elena and Two Reflex Saves from Dashuun against splash.

Initiative:
1st: Goblins (#1; #2)
2nd: Glaucus-Undetected (70'); Broon (200'); Elena (130') @ 11/15 HP; Dashuun (130'); Maze-Undetected (70'); Torg (200'); Shalelu (200')

Reflex: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19
Reflex: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

Dashuun takes up a defensive position, moving forward and in front of Elena. "Be careful!"
Full Defense for +4 to AC (now 20)

Glaucus (who would have cast longstrider on himself before the battle started if that's ok) frowns at the premature attackulation and charges at the goblins! He ends his charge with a headbutt to one of the goblins' faces!

unarmed strike power attack: 1d20 + 4 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (15) + 4 + 2 - 1 = 20
damage: 1d6 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 + 2 = 7

-2 AC for one round from charging (AC 12.... ouch)

That's fine.

@Dashuun: How far forward?

-Posted with Wayfinder

My movement is 30ft and I took a standard action, so I was supposing 30ft. I did forget Maze though. Do I need to roll another stealth check for Maze to double move unnoticed?

@Dashuun: I wasn't sure if you were just moving directly in front of her like a shield. Also, you can use the same stealth, but he moves at half speed.

Ah, alright, yes. A full 30ft, but in front of her so as to block line of attack. I imagined her moving up 25' directly behind me, but that's her call.
As for Maze, with a base speed of 40', that's a 40' double move.

An arrow pierces Elena's shoulder and seems to burn her flesh as a vial on the end explodes into her shoulder.

See?!

Broon keeps his bow ready and goes into a full dash towards the goblins.

Run 120'

Reflex 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

Elena follows Dashuun, advancing right behind him as they head toward the goblins. After her movement, she casts Cure Light Wounds on herself.

Clw 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

First bardic spell of the day.

Glaucus leaps into the fray, knocking a goblin unconscious with a brutal headbutt while Dashuun and Elena, moving to a defensive posture.

Broon dashes forward, passing the pair as he tries to find an optimal vantage point.

Maze slinks forward undetected as Shalelu and Torg analyze their friends' strengths and weaknesses in battle.

The remaining goblin shrieks at Glaucus. "Longshanks never take Thistletop!" The green-skinned midget drops his bow and dives into a small gap under the thorns, wiggling his way through, catching his leg on the sharp plants. The fresh blood stains the green vines.

Shalelu and Torg jog up to meet the group, before the huntress speaks. "You are full of surprise, Glaucus. We should find a method of egress that won't kill us. The small goblin may be able to move through the thorns without killing himself, but a larger creature would surely impale himself and die from blood loss within minutes."

Status: Glaucus; Broon; Elena @ 15/15 HP; Dashuun; Maze; Torg; Shalelu

Elena catches up with the others and starts scanning the thicket for another entrance.

Perception 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17

"Glaucus, can you get us through?" Dashuun asks as he looks for Maze. "Now where did..."

Glaucus shakes his head. "There is a spell that could get rid of this undergrowth but I did not think to meditate on it this morning. Here, could you cast this on me though?"

He hands a scroll of mage armor to Elena.

"We either need to find a way around or turn the mother down." Glaucus suggests. "Both seem like they would take too long."

Elena uses the magical scroll on the human. "This should last for right about an hour," she says, after studying the magic contained therein.

"Hey, that's a good trick. I'll have to get one of those."

Based on the amount of blood, it is clear that individuals of your size might likely die trying to force their way through the brambles.

Elena examines the thorns but doesn't quite understand how the goblins move through here.

Maze is pawing at the ground near where the goblin dove into the thorns.

Shalelu sees this and remarks, "I think your pet has found something."

It seems that the goblins have made tunnels through the large briar patch and hidden their entrance with cascading thorn 'curtains'. The tunnels are designed for goblins, thus it will be difficult for anyone of human-size to move around in there without injuring themselves.

"So what if we just widened the tunnels then?" Glaucus asks.

Shalelu laughs. "I imagine these tunnels cross-cross the briars up to the bridge. It would take ages to expand these tunnels. Plus, we should have no trouble in these tunnels."

Characters with Woodland Stride are able to move through the thorn tunnels with no penalty.

"Well, if we can't get through this thicket, we need to retreat and regroup. Perhaps discovering a different way after more observation?"