GM G's Frostfur Captives (Inactive)

Game Master Magabeus

"Hehe. Brother, what did i say just now?
Goblins respect power, strenght, if someone is mightier they follow. Also i've heard anyway, no first hand experience yet. If showing them the might of Iroran martial discipline makes them follow without incident, that would be good wouldn't it?"

However, i have no wish to turning into a chief. It is not my path.

Ragna gives curt answers to Wyeth's questions "The goblins ate just before you arrived, they have not been able to do anything to the chains and indeed, that is the only key that is left. That one there" she points at a particular female goblin "ate the other one. We checked that it came out the other end, but needless to say we did not want to touch the key afterwards. We left it at the place where we camped that night."

The experienced pathfinder actually looks embarrassed as she tells the last part.

"Yes, let us show them that exercise and patience are the way to improve their lot! That may make things easier for them and for the questioning later!" Saitama beams his cheesy smile as he starts plotting the fitness regiment. "We'll have our work cut out over the next four days, but between my muscleatude and your dexteritiness, I think we can do it!"

"As long as we won't be passing near that site on our way forward, that's fine," says Wyeth to Ragna. "I just want to know all keys are under careful control."

"And, no need to be embarrassed. We've had our own..." pausing, Wyeth glances among Marduk, Saitama, and Sterelin and chuckles a bit... " 'fecal faux pas' and know it can be quite unpleasant indeed."

Bravo Wyeth :D

"Indeed, we had some feral feces flinging involving mad monkey men and a powerful primate praying to the angry ape-demon Anghazan!"

"And our brother Saitama was knee-deep in crap....

Annnyway, these little critters are chained down. Guess their rations will be have to force-fed if they aren't to escape."

Merevelyn confidently strides over to the group of chained goblins. In fact, she is not confident at all, but knows how to present an appearance of confidence as much as she presents every other appearance, carefully hiding her true thoughts. Growing up in the Narrows, negotiating with criminals and the insane is a fact of daily life, but goblins are a different matter to be sure... Here goes the theory of enlightened self-interest with the criminally insane:

"Goblin friends!" she begins in Goblin, almost unconsciously trying to match her target with a big, fierce, toothy smile, and stopping to now and then to translate for her companions. "We are your new masters! We are going to take you to a new Lodge. Obey us and you will be rewarded with food and more. Cause trouble and my companions will cause you great trouble."

To make her point, Merevelyn retrieves a jar of goblin pickles for each goblin, handing one to each, and then standing back from the carnage that will ensue. "Eat quickly as we are going soon," she adds unnecessarily.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (12) + 15 = 27

"Yes, build up your strength! Because with brother Marduk, we are going to buff,", the bald Tien man now flexing before having both hands outstretched to the goblins and finishing. ", you up!"

Diplomacy Aid: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17

Wyeth rolls his eyes and chuckles.

Correct me if im wrong, but they are still chained up.

By "chained together" I'm envisioning chain-gang style -- e.g. each one has an ankle shackle and they're all connected together in a row, plus either a head or tail of chain for leading or staking down. GM, can we get a clarification on the exact arrangement?

I wouldn't imagine that they could be so chained up that they couldn't put hand to mouth... If they do have hand and leg irons with the connecting restraints they are going to be nearly impossible to move, and even the chain gang-level of leg restraints is going to be really slow for anyone to move in - and really obvious, too. We have to get them through an Irrisen town, Harvest's End.

Darmut remains silent, but moves forward to examine the lock. Frowning he scoops up a handful of earth and presses it into the lock seeking to fill it and packing the dirt in firmly, "This way if someone does come seeking to free them, perhaps with this other key, perhaps with picks it will take them a few seconds more. I do not foresee a circumstance where we will need to release them swiftly."

On the chain: the goblins have manacles on one ankle and a chain runs through rings welded to each chain. One end of the chain is buried under a pile of rock that would take considerable labour and several hours (or Druidic magic) to shift. On the other end of the chain the lock prevents the goblins from sliding the manacles from the free end.

The goblins pry the jars open in no time with great ferocity! For a few seconds, everything is quiet when they are gulping down the threads. Then, one of the males finishes his and he pounds upon the head of the female next to him. Within moments the chained goblins turn upon each other and a brawl starts!

Map and pictures of the goblins will be posted quickly, follow the link at top of page. Thank you FurtiveZoog for providing these!

"Hey! HEY!" barks Wyeth as he strides towards them purposefully. "SETTLE DOWN!" Glaring, he waves his fauchard at them menacingly. "You can't run, I can kill any of you with a single blow, and they only need one of you alive to question. Now who's it going to be?"

Intimidate: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

Meh.

Seeing that Wyeth does not have any pickles the goblins quickly turn their attention back to the one who was smart enough not to be distracted by the peg-legged human. He used the available time to quickly seize up the pickles from the ground and stuff them in his mouth. Unfortunately he now has the attention of five other goblins...

Someone else needs to step up; apparently Wyeth isn't scary enough yet, and having his bluff called straight away would be A Bad Thing™.

I can, however, dish out some non-lethal damage if they don't get their act together...

For Irori's grace....
Marduk reaches for 2 shurikens and takes Irori-fully aim.
Aiming a shuriken to divide the goblins per three.
Think for those going at the stealing male, so they are distracted from attacking him.
Throw shuriken: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18

"If" that gets their attention, Marduk will step forward. Crackling his knuckles and with a firm voice he declares:

It would be hilarious...

Darmut simply stalks forward drawing his sap and slams it against his shield like a gong, glowering over from behind his more talkative companions.

I suspect you need to make a bluff check there Marduk, lol.

Intimidate Aid: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (15) - 2 = 13

Marduk, where you aiming to hit a goblin? Not sure if I understood your intentions.

Marduk, where you aiming to hit a goblin? Not sure if I understood your intentions.

No, by dividing i meant to throw shurikens so they'd fly near them to interrupt them moving.

Hmm. Maybe I shouldn't have given them the pickles in the glass jars... Well, wouldn't be the first 'broken bottle' fight I've seen.

"Stop fighting or No. More. Pickles."
Intimidate (Aid Another): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17

Well, I officially have no idea where this is going anymore... Maybe we can just confuse them.

Marduk's threats (or was it his bluff) seem to work. The fact that the pickles are all gone might help a bit too. You definitely have the goblin's attention. That is, the attention of five of them. One is playing with a shuriken.

In a whispered tone;
"Guess it's best to take that shuriken from him. If he decidesto eat it he dies from internal bleeding."

Marduk walks up to the goblin and makes a grab for the shuriken.

AoO, bite: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22
Crit confirm, bite: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14
Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3
Disarm: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16

Marduk grabs for the shuriken with his right hand, and he manages to grab it from the goblin. However the goblin is not eager to let go and firmly sets its teeth in Marduk's forearm! 3 damage

The half-orc quickly retreats with the shuriken and the goblin snares at him while throwing harsh language at his assailant. When he is done he spits in your general direction.

With a firm gaze at the
Goblin:

The goblin (kind of) meekly replies

Grinning, Wyeth nudges Marduk with an elbow and quietly says, "Those goblins shuriken move fast, huh!"

Sterelin simply shakes his head in disgust at the sniveling creatures.

Kind reminder: it is slightly after noon and you have a long walk ahead of you...

Sterelin simply shakes his head in disgust at the sniveling creatures awful pun.

Wyeth looks up at the position of the sun in the sky. "So, should we head out and try to get some miles behind us today?"

"A fine suggestion."

"Yes! Perhaps a fine walking cadence! Make the walking fun!"

Now walking in step with over-exaggerated movements, Saitama sings as loudly as he can to inspire their goblin captives.
"One, two, three, four, they aren't Shadow Lodge no more!"
"Five, six, seven, eight, walking in the cold feels great!"

"Nine, ten, eleven, hurry up or my roc will eat you," Darmut dead pans.

"Nine, ten, eleven, hurry up or my roc will..."

The priest stops and ponders that line. "Wait, that doesn't rhyme!"

"..let's get moving or we won't be in 'time'..."

"Who's the strongest among us? The end of that chain needs to be secured by, and to, someone those annoyances can't influence."

Wyeth looks down at his prosthetic sadly. "I'm out of the running thanks to lack of stability and traction."

Then he chuckles. "Though planting this thing too enthusiastically sometimes makes me an immovable object. Whether I care to be or not!"

Looking thoughtful he adds, "Oh, something I should do before we head out..."

Slipping out of his backpack, he pulls out a pair of knee-high fur boots and a leather thong and then sits on the pack. He pulls the right boot on over his bare foot, then the left over his steel peg. Folding it in on itself, he wraps the thong around it and ties it off tightly, then stands and takes a few experimental steps.

"Ugh, that feels strange. But my foot was starting to hurt, and better not to get frostbite. Plus maybe this will give me better traction on ice than the steel."

Shrugging back into his backpack, he looks at the others and gives a lopsided grin. "Okay, I'm ready!"

"Nine, ten, eleven, twelve, there'll be food from the elves"? Merevelyn offers with the apology, "Sorry - songs aren't my specialty. Goblins are known for them, though: Sing us a tune, little friends!"

"I make a better kite than an anchor," Merevelyn shrugs her thin shoulders at Wyeth's question.

It kind of sounded, though, that the chain wasn't going to be removable, and we might need to walk them unchained...

Not sure what you're referring to; the end is secured by a pile of rocks, right? Ye gods, we don't want to unchain those terrors! O.O

If its practical Darmut will carry it, how large is it exactly - the rock.

On the chain: the goblins have manacles on one ankle and a chain runs through rings welded to each chain. One end of the chain is buried under a pile of rock that would take considerable labour and several hours (or Druidic magic) to shift. On the other end of the chain the lock prevents the goblins from sliding the manacles from the free end.

This is what I was referring to. Not 'a rock' but a huge pile of rock.

Ah, thanks; I'd forgotten about the "several hours" aspect. Maybe it makes more sense to break the chain right where it dives under the rock pile -- that should still leave enough length to be usable. But unless we have some other way to control them, I stand by my belief that cutting them loose would be an unwise move. Possibly very unwise. (I'll respect the majority opinion, of course.)

Might as well go ic.

Merevelyn ponders the problem, more naturally inclined to be a liberator than a captor. "Well, if we break the chain at one end - I'll leave that task to someone else, not having a hacksaw - there won't be a way to hold the manacles on at that end, as far as I know. Perhaps a piton or iron spike could be put through the links at that end and then bent with a hammer."

"Or, if we have a rope, perhaps we could transfer the manacles onto the rope, then put some good, tight knots at each of the rope. We would just have to watch that they don't cut or chew through the rope." Hopefully, my companions are more prepared in such matters than I am.

Although the goblins can't go anywhere due to the unmovable chain the singing sure made them enthusiastic. They quickly chime in:

"Roc is a great big birdy,
you do not want to step in it's turdie!
Roc's leg makes for a nice drumstick
We never seen one so almighty big!"

"Risky. A rope would be much easier to defeat." He stares at the chain for a bit and then looks around at the others. "Does anyone happen to have another padlock or a magical way to secure something?"

GM, how long is the chain from the padlocked end to where it disappears under the rock pile? Also, is there a way to remove a manacle and switch it to the other ankle? I can't imagine them having been forged in place or riveted.

Let's say there is a yard between each goblin, so the total visible chain would then be approximately 7 yards = 21 ft. The manacles can be removed and fastened again

Wyeth studies the situation thoughtfully. "Alright," he finally announces. "If someone has another padlock or can bend a spike or whatnot as you suggested, Merevelyn, that's a workable solution. If not, we take the last three off the chain, swap their fetters to the other leg, then thread them back onto the chain facing backwards. Then we bring the two ends together in front, secured with the one padlock."

"That'll yield two files of three goblins each, marching side by side. I don't trust a rope to contain them, but it should be safe to use one as a lead, attached to the loop of chain at the padlock."

"Only thing is, we'll have to be very attentive when we do the swap-around. I suggest each goblin be physically restrained by one of our strongest, heaviest members while they're off the chain. If we give any of them the slightest chance to bolt or make mischief they'll take it, believe me. And those little buggers are fast."

Unless there are objections to Wyeth's plan you can assume it happens the way he planned

"Good thinking, Wyeth!" Merevelyn complements the oracle, given a congratulatory pat on the shoulder, adding a complimentary phrase in Elvish.

Merevelyn does her best to walk near and talk to each goblin, complementing them on their singing and clever lyrics...
Bluff: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16
and generally keeping them in good spirits and cooperative, often causing a found feather or small twig to burst into flame at her fingertips for their amusement (and, hopefully, awe and respect).
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (18) + 15 = 33
While she does so, she tries to find out all she can about their relationship to the Shadow Lodge - How were they manipulated to work for the Shadow Lodge, and what could they be trusted with? - and what they know of Irrisen and what lies ahead.
Diplomacy (Gather Information): 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (18) + 15 = 33