GMG's PbP: Quest for Perfection Table A (Tier 1-2) (Inactive)

Game Master Magabeus

"He means that he'll kill or hurt the man if the man doesn't give him coins."

Timmon eyes the distance to the bandits.

One of the tengu walks up to the other side of the cart and takes up a defensive stance with a short curved blade. It yells in broken Taldane "More victims! Good, more gold for us! Drop your belongings and you can go back the way you came!"

Initiative
Heveel
- - -
Blue
- - -
Timmon
Belina
Jinhong
- - -
Yellow
Green
Red - readied attack

Heveel begins to chant arcane words. Soon, grass, weeds, and other plants begin to wrap around the tengus' legs!

Casting Entangle! Ref DC 14.

Belina fires a thistle arrow the farthest foe. His wound starts to bleed.
1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 251d6 ⇒ 4
rounds of bleed 1 : 1d6 ⇒ 3

"Surrender, and we can fix that bleeder!"

Reflex Yellow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19
Horse Blue: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13
Horse Green: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

Blue Break free: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17

Heveel's spell entangles one of the horses. The rider immediately pulls on the reins and the horse breaks free of the plants. They move of towards the other tengu in front of the cart. Belina's arrow hits the farthest rider and the wounds starts to drip blood.

"It is just a scratch, we will kill them first and then take care of my wound" the wounded tengu screams

Initiative
Timmon
Jinhong
- - -
Yellow
Green - Bleed 1 0/3 rounds, 4 damage
Red - readied attack
- - -
Heveel
- - -
Blue
- - -
Belina
- - -

Jinny runs with a wordless challenge to the relative cover of the cart, where she waits with a defensive stance.

Full round run in a straight line.

"Stick together. Stay behind me." Timmon advances and snaps off a shot at the nearest tengu.

H Crossbow v red, point blank: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6 ... damage: 1d10 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

Jinny tries to run past the tengu that is at guard. He steps in and slashes his sword at her, but misjudged her speed. Timmon shoots a bolt into the side of the cart.

Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16
Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Jinny, I placed you back to where you were attacked. If you want you can continue your run. (He had a ready order to attack whenever possible)

Initiative
Jinhong to finish actions
- - -
Yellow
Green - Bleed 1 0/3 rounds, 4 damage
Red
- - -
Heveel
- - -
Blue
- - -
Belina
Timmon

Jinny dodges the blow and returns the favor.

Rapier: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13 Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Jinny, you already started a run, can not change that action for an attack. However I used that first roll for your parry, keeping the second for the next parry & riposte (in this round, you have now spend 2 panache)

Jinny does not manage to deflect the slash of the red-robed tengu, but luckily her armor deflects the blow anyway!

The tengu that is on foot closes with Jinny, making sure it flanks with his companion. The tengu with the red belt tries to strike at Jinny again

Undeterred the red-robed tengu strikes again at Jinny, only to find his blade deflected by Jinny's rapier! A moment later it looks shocked at the blood pouring out of the neat hole that that same rapier caused!

The bleeding tengu tries to stench his wounds while guiding its horse out of the entangled area. It seems the bleeding continues

Red Attack: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 3 + 2 = 11
Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8
Heal: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12

Initiative
Heveel
- - -
Blue
- - -
Belina
Timmon
Jinhong
- - -
Yellow
Green - Bleed 1 1/3 rounds, 5 damage
Red - 9 damage
- - -

Heveel begins to summon an eagle as usual.

"παρ ισι!"

The blue tengu on horseback decides to charge Timmon! The brave monk receives a vicious blow to the neck!

Attack, charge, higher ground: 1d20 + 3 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 3 + 2 + 1 = 24
Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Confirm?: 1d20 + 3 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 3 + 2 + 1 = 18
Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Initiative
Belina
Timmon 1/8 hp
Jinhong
- - -
Yellow
Green - Bleed 1 1/3 rounds, 5 damage
Red - 9 damage
- - -
Heveel - summoning
- - -
Blue
- - -

Jinny strikes out at Red as she prepares for a strike from Yellow.

Rapier: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18 Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Belina slides 20' left (right on map).

She fires another thistle arrow at the red tengu after Jinny steps away. If Jinny disposes of the red one, the arrow targets the other one flanking the yellow one.

sm arrow/damage/bleed 1 rnds: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 131d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 61d6 ⇒ 2

-4 to hit if Jinny stays engaged

Timmon staggers under the blow. Fear galvanizes him to throw everything into a single blow with his staff.

Q-staff v blue: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9 .... damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Sorry for the delay. I saw nine points of damage. Saw GMG listed my hitpoiints as 1/8 and figured he'd forgotten the negative sign. It was just this morning that I realized Timmon's got 10 hp because of COn. So he is at +1. Anyway -- here's his action. At least I stopped the horseman from interrupting Heveel before he could finish his summons.

Jinny strikes down the red tengu. Both Belina and Timmon miss their targets.

The yellow tengu tries to strike Jinny and manages to avoid her parrying rapier. The green tengu has found out that it is rather difficult to stem the bleeding and decides to charge Jinny! The pain from his wound must have distracted him as he just misses the Kitsune.

Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18
Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

Attack, charge, higher ground: 1d20 + 3 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 3 + 2 + 1 = 13
Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Initiative
Heveel
Eagle
- - -
Blue
- - -
Belina
Timmon 1/10 hp
Jinhong 11/18 hp
- - -
Yellow
Green - Bleed 1 2/3 rounds, 6 damage
- - -

Given that I am not able to post until Sunday we will wait for Heveel while he enjoys himself at GardenCon

I'm back! It sure was quite enjoyable! :)

An eagles comes out from aether and smoke and smites the riding tengu while Heveel goes back to heal duty.

Talon, Smite, flank: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 3 + 2 = 22 for P,S: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Talon, Smite, flank: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 3 + 2 = 23 for P,S: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Bite, Smite, flank: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 3 + 2 = 8 for B,P,S: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

CLW wand on Timmon: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

The eagle tears into the tengu, making vicious wounds! Seeing that his target is being healed the tengu slashes again at Timmon, hitting again!

Attack, higher ground: 1d20 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 2 + 1 = 23
Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8
Confirm: 1d20 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 2 + 1 = 5
Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Initiative
Belina
Timmon 0/10 hp
Jinhong 11/18 hp
- - -
Yellow
Green - Bleed 1 2/3 rounds, 6 damage
- - -
Heveel
Eagle
- - -
Blue - 7 damage
- - -

Jinny chooses her moment and strikes at the mounted tengu, aiming for the exposed leg.

Rapier: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27 Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
Crit Confirm: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25 Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

Regain 1 Panache for confirmed crit. Yay! Panache 3/4.

She taunts Yellow after striking his leader.

Hey, Big Beak. You're going to Big Beak-illed next.

No combat impact. Fluff only. Although...what is the saving throw against Bad Puns?

@GM, I'm not clear on whether I can perform more than one Deed per round. Is it possible to use Dodging Panache in the same round as OP&R? Can you clarify, please?

add another panache for killing a 1HD creature

The mounted tengu goes down!

Thanks, GM, but my archetype only gives Panache for Crits.

Moving my question down here since you replied to my actions while I was editing:

@GM, I'm not clear on whether I can perform more than one Deed per round. Is it possible to use Dodging Panache in the same round as OP&R? Can you clarify, please?

Grievously wounded, Timmon can't make up his mind what he will do next. Belina seems to be shocked by the punishment that the monk took...

Initiative
Belina
Timmon 0/10 hp - staggered
- - -
Yellow
- - -
Heveel
Eagle
- - -
Blue - 7 damage
- - -
Jinhong 11/18 hp

Timmon wheels around like a drunk and strikes at the horsed tengu with his last strength, then falls.

Delay til after the eagle strikes to give it a flank, then attack.
Q-staff v blue: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8 .... damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

HP -1/10

Cogitatus, you've got the Dashing Swordsman routine down!

Believe me, if it were a legal Prestige Class I'd be all over it.

Belina moves closer and fires an arrow at the tengu on foot but misses. That tengu strikes at Jinny and finds that not only is the attack foiled by a rapier, that same rapier is also quick enough to cause a wound!

Belina Attack, PBS, Melee: 1d20 + 5 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (8) + 5 + 1 - 4 = 10
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Yellow Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16
Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Initiative
Heveel
Eagle
Timmon 0/10 hp - staggered - delay and miss
- - -
Blue - 7 damage
- - -
Jinhong 11/18 hp
Belina
- - -
Yellow - 9 damage
- - -

Belina is discouraged by her miss.

THx GM, sorry for delay

Heveel stays busy to keep his monky friend alive while the eagle provides flank.

CLW on Timmon: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

Talon, Smite, flank: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 3 + 2 = 14 for P,S: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Talon, Smite, flank: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 3 + 2 = 14 for P,S: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Bite, Smite, flank: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 3 + 2 = 17 for B,P,S: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Heveel's eagle kills the mounted tengu while the Sylph heals Timmon again.

Initiative
Jinhong 11/18 hp
Belina
- - -
Yellow - 9 damage
- - -
Heveel
Eagle
Timmon 9/10 hp

Eagles for the win!

Jinny adjusts her position 5 ft step to better allow her companions to surround the remaining brigand.

She sizes up her opponent with a steely gaze, before skillfully using her blade to avoid a killing blow.

And then there was one. Feeling good about your chances, brigand?

Rapier: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23 Damage, nonlethal: 1d6 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 3 + 1 = 8

How about now?

He is not in a state to answer...

Jinny puts the last bird down with an efficient stab.

Out of combat

Jinny turns to the villagers.

Is anyone injured? Who is your leader?

The harassed people are an elder man, an adult woman and man and two children. The elder man steps forward and bows deeply to Jinnu. He replies in common.

Thank you for rescuing us! I am ashamed by my cowardice in convincing my family to flee. I now see that flight is not an option; bandits are everywhere and the roads are even more unsafe than staying in Nesting Swallow! If you can help us right the cart that is a great boon, but we will manage on our own.

Only our pride is injured. I am Xien Wun Lao."

Nay, nay, my good man. There is no shame in retreat to live another day rather than wasting one's life on a lost cause.

Jinny introduces herself and the rest of the band.

I think working together we can right your cart. Which way are you headed?

Heveel will tend to the harmed ones and then see if the tien are harmed.

"Man... are you good? Need something?"

Belina smiles:
"We are happy to help. You did your best--family is important."

"b"We were not going somewhere. We were fleeing Nesting Swallow, since we assumed that the bandits would come again, as they did last year and the year before. However with your rescue I now see that we should go back to our village."[/b]

He hesitates for a moment before asking "Were you traveling to Nesting Swallow by chance?"

The man looks at you as if he is waiting for an answer...

poke

Nesting Swallow is located deep in the heartlands of Shokuro, a few weeks’ travel from the end of your river journey.

Apparently so! Look, I'm good with the stabs and the feints and the witty(*) one-liners. I should not be expected to know what our goal is, where we're going, or why we're going there. ;-)

(*) Your mileage may vary.

We are, by chance. Perhaps we can travel together for mutual protection. You know the road better than we, and can point out possible ambush spots.

Are we able to catch any of the bandit's horses?

Yes, you can catch all four of them

"Good, let's be off then!"

After some time on the road, late in the afternoon, you detect the scent of cooking fires in the distance. From atop one final hill, the object of your quest comes into view. From this height, the village of Nesting Swallow is laid out almost like a map. The small town consists of little more than a few dozen huts encircling an open common area. Rolling hills surround the village to the north and west, while the east is bordered by a light forest. South of the village, the brush has been cleared, and a long string of paddy fields stretches out into the distance, webbed with irrigation ditches branching off from a stream that separates the village from the farmlands.

"There it is: Nesting Swallow"

You enter the village and are met with curious stares and whispers. The elder man leads you to a small hut.

"Welcome in the Xien family home. Please rest while I tell the council you are here"

You are offered some rice and tea while he moves to a hut that is easily twice the size of this one.

After a short while he comes back and asks you to accompany you. You are led to the big hut. Other than it's size it is identical to the other huts, being another slightly elevated circle of bamboo and wicker walls surrounding a packed earthen floor. The interior has some rooms partitioned off the main one, and the collection of furniture and possessions indicates that this is another family home when not in use for official purposes.

Against one wall stands a simple shrine with a collection of clay tiles hung from it, each bearing a different name. The lowest hanging tiles look quite new, a few months old, maybe. The highest and oldest tile on the shrine, however, bears the name “Li Yao.”

The center of the room is cleared, and an assortment of cushions has been laid out in a semicircle. A dozen or so old men and women sit on the cushions, Xien Wun Lao among them. A woman standing in front of the shrine finishes a prayer and turns to join the seated elders; she is clearly the youngest among them, not even middle-aged, in spite of a face beset by worry and a hard life. Her youth is attested by the fact that she is greatly pregnant; six or more months along. After settling down into an empty place among the council, she motions to several empty seats opposite her.

She speaks "Welcome to Nesting Swallow, I am Je Tsun. We thank you for saving our friends, the Xien family. Forgive my bluntness, but what brings you to these part of Shokuro?"

Heveel looks around nervously, wondering if the party should talk about the braid. He waits until someone else speaks for the group.

Oh, no, not again!

As you may have noticed, the artifact appears to have been dormant for many years now, and in this state it’s essentially worthless to us. Fortunately, it can be reactivated, but only by the descendant of the braid’s last master, who, as you may know, was the master of the Clouded Path Monastery many years ago, a man by the name of Li Yao. I’ve discovered the whereabouts of his final living descendant—a woman by the name of Je Tsuin—but she now resides in the nation of Shokuro to the east, far from where her ancestor taught in his monastery in the Wall of Heaven. In order to reactivate the sacred relic, you’ll need to travel to the village of Nesting Swallow in Shokuro and find Je Tsuin to perform the necessary ritual.

Jinny tries to recall the proper etiquette for this region.

Greetings, distinguished councilmembers. We thank you for your hospitality and beg forgiveness for any inadvertent misunderstandings.

If you forgive our bluntness, we seek a wise woman by the name of Je Tsuin with knowledge of an ancient artifact. Have we found her?

Belina does a polite curtsey.

"We are here to help!!"

"As for being wise, I will leave that for others to decide. And if you mean the braid of my ancestor, Li Yao, I do know some things."

"I am the last of Li Yao’s descendants.” She rubs a hand across her swollen belly as she says this and smiles slightly. “At least for now. So, perhaps you look upon me and see knowledge. I look upon you, and I see hope. Hope for my village, my family, and our future.”

With each harvesting season a band of tengu brigands raid us and steals most of our crop. We fear for the harvest that is up on us. We won't be able to make it through the winter without our corps."

“Whether you are here in answer to the prayers of our people or simply here at this time by happenstance is beside the point; you are here. And it is within your power to help us. I tell you now, we have little to offer as incentive. This is a poor village even when not beset by misfortunes, and this year has been less fortunate than most.

If you can save us from these tengus, we can offer you food, shelter, and whatever other aid we may give you. But as for a reward, the only thing I can offer is that which you came here for in the first place. Defeat our enemies, and I will bring this relic of my ancestor’s to life for you. I am sorry we do not have more to offer than hospitality, but our need remains: will you help us?”

I assumed you tell her about wanting to activate the braid.

Timmon bows before speaking up. "We would be honored, Je Tsuin. It is felicitous that our needs align to the profit and honor of all concerned."

Back from vacation. Hey, shouldn't there be 7 of us for this job?

Heveel bows slowly to the woman and eventually speaks.

"An honor to meet Li Yao's breath inheritor. My name is Heveel. I am sure we can help you. What will happen when the braid activates?"

"I do not know. It is supposed to have helped the master of the monastery."

Timmon ;-)

Belina smiles:
"My bow is yours!! We must help them!!"

"Thank you very much! We need to bring in the harvest, other than that you seem to be more accustomed with warfare than we are. We will therefore let you do the preparation for the inevitable attack. But that is a matter of tomorrow and the coming days. Tonight we have time to rest.

You can still ask her questions, but read the exposed sections on the map slide show. This is an optimization problem for which you do not have (or will get) all the variables, so do not overthink it. Basically we will move time forward one day at a time after which you have assigned the workforce and yourselves to tasks.