GM Kiora's Wrath of the Righteous

Game Master Kiora Atua

Str 16, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 14

^ Seems alright. Human and 4th-level bonus into Str.

"I'm not talking about resources needed to be expended on the men." says Xanderghul, somewhat patiently. "All we'd be asking is a couple hours' time. There's no reason why it couldn't be provided."

"I seriously doubt we need to leave clerics behind, unless we leave Sosiel. None of the clerics can do anything but alleviate the symptoms of the disease."

"We need to speak with Sosiel to see if he has a sending prepared. It would be handy to get in contact with the crusaders from Vilareth's Ford, it would save us some scouting along the way."

"As far as the soldiers go, we cannot just leave those ill behind. We need to leave some to guard them and at least a couple of clerics to tend to those who are in poorest shape. The less the townsfolk and guards need to deal with the wounded, the better shape they'll be in if something goes wrong."

At this point there's no reason for the army not to begin moving out. Scouting was only useful the previous night for trying to get in contact with the soldiers from Vilareth. We can 'scout' ahead of the army, and once we're past Vilareth heading to the mine we can have the Army hang back a bit while we actually scout it. However they need to be on the move now so we can get there asap.

We also need to consider if we're leaving behind the slow melee like paladins. They move 20' and traveling without them means we'd reach the location in 2/3 the time. Alternatively they could travel with their armor packed on the assumption that we can find time for tme to don it before the main battle. That'd likely leave them in leather-equivalent armor until we get time to prep them.

That's why I wanted to send those going to Vilareth ~2 hours earlier than the main army would move out; it'd allow them to get there, see what's going on, then meet back up with us. If the army as a whole is ready to move, no sense in keeping them not-moving, though.

"I don't think it would hurt to ask if they've got anyone capable of at least helping out with treatments, and every little bit will help. We definitely can't afford to bring them with us if they're going to become more and more overburdened by themselves, though." Ary says, shaking her head. She'd known about the dangers of the disease, and that ultimately there'd be nothing they could do.

Just to be clear, we do not need to go to Vilareth itself. If the crusaders stayed there they are dead. If they moved like we told them to, they will be somewhere closer to the lake shore. Going to Vilareth will likely end up in a battle though. If Sosiel has a sending prepared, we could contact their commander and find out a) if they're ok, b) set a meeting location.

Xanderghul begins to tap his foot. "Hinagiku is right. She and the others should get going, but it's just as important for the rest of us to get going. Especially since we're the ones escorting the cumbersome army."

Your army is not ready to march, they'll be ready in an hour or so, that is the whole reason you are up well before dawn. Currently the crusaders are beginning morning religious rituals after donning their gear. It would normally take another hour but you are not deconstructing camp today.

Sosiel does not have Sending prepared. He has a default list he prepares everyday, if you'd like to make Sending something he prepares every day you'll have to let him know, otherwise he will devote nearly all of his slots to healing spells.

Despite Xanderghul's rudeness, Ser Markus is patient with his fellow archmage. "The paladins aren't the ones sick - they're naturally resistant to disease - and either way the soonest we could get a group of paladins to prepare restoration spells is tomorrow morning during their rituals. So there isn't any reason to not rely on the medics for that, that being their job, and letting the paladins continue to focus on spells for the coming battles."

He pauses, turning to Ary apologetically. "Unless the Commander wishes otherwise, of course. Right now the medical staff, myself included, are gearing up to march with you to the mines. Would you like for us to leave clerics behind, or do you believe the Kellid healers will be sufficient?"

Xanderghul and Ehren are favor of kellid healers alone. Isilme and Valaria are in favor of leaving clerics behind. Ary? Hinagiku?

The thing about having them simply carry their full plate is that even with it off, the paladins are at medium encumbrance. If you wish for them to carry less, their weight calculation is provided under the spoiler below:

Stripping of them of their armor will leave them in leather-equivalent armor (because it's silly to assume they have NOTHING under there). Thoughts?

After a few moments more of deliberation, Ser Ilivan salutes his commander. "We beg your leave. Masym. Hinagiku. We shall be off."

Xanderghul takes a deep breath and moves to step out of the tent. "Fine. Whatever. Somebody come and get me when there's something for me to do, I'm going for a walk."

Somewhat disappointed by the stats of the paladins.. I did like picturing them as totally lacking in intelligence and wisdom ;)

Upon Ser Ilivan's salute, Hinagiku bows to the others and makes her way toward the exit. There, right before stepping into the cold outside, she turns around to face her companions.

"Before I leave, there is one more thing that should be discussed, the babau oni and how to find its hiding place. I don't have a solution, but it's still something that should be considered." she says, knowing that they are better suited to find an answer to this situation than she is.

Then, having said all she had to say, she follows the scouts outside.
As they walk, Hinagiku silently surveys to two men, trying to get a feel of their relationship, as well as to how to behave around them so as to find ways to help them.

survival aid: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

Since y'all are so curious, their standard stats are: 16 STR/8 DEX/13 CON/10 INT/12 WIS/16 CHA

Ser Ilivan leads Hinagiku's horse to her then gets to work saddling and gearing up his own steed.

"Demons... have no need for food, or water, or even sleep, so they don't need to build nests or camps like other prey. Babau in particular can teleport at will, making them immensely difficult to track and catch if they don't want to be. Babau demons are wanton murderers.... though this one seems to have focused its efforts on Chevalier Isilme.... I think your best shot at bringing it down would be set a trap for it for the next time it tries to strike at her, rather than seeking it out yourself. Because it will certainly try again."

Heal: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (10) + 16 = 26

"The village healers are spread thin, but they would be more than happy to lend their aid," Ehren reasserts, looking from Markus to Ary. "Gray pox is not typically a terminal sickness. It is just a matter of time before the disease passes - leaving more healers behind won't make it go by any faster."

When Hinagiku moves to join the scouts, Ehren smiles after her, trying not to make his worry too apparent.

Not too thrilled by the idea of having the paladins leaving their armor behind. Maybe we can just have them hustle? We'd be a bit slow, but I think we can count on the difficulty of blood crystal mining to give us a little leeway.

I am for leaving some healers with the sick ones (max 3). Possibly some who have access to the Restoration subdomains (Sarenrites again?). I don't think our infantry should remove its armor though. That's seems too dangerous. Also, why not send Ehren to scout the mines.... I mean, we have no idea whether the ritual is underway or not, rushing in without knowing seems ill advised.

"Then there's also little reason to overtax the local healers with our men's illness. If it's not an immediate threat to their lives. All they would need is a handful of men to keep an eye on them for any sort of complications."

"Mangvhune we can find, we have a sample of his blood," Isilme says to Hinagiku as she pulls out the vial she'd rushed to fill in the second battle of Silvershore. "With this we can scry on him and find out what he is doing and where he might be going. We will need an hour at some point to do so though. We should find some time to do so sooner rather than later, however. He will likely continue to strike until he has killed me, and given his ability to teleport, his risk in doing so is low."

"In regards to the other matters, I still believe we should leave a couple of healers behind along with those guarding our troops."

"On the subject of the paladins accompanying us, why not have them bundle their armor up and carry it. Some of their gear, bows for instance, could be bundled and moved to the mounts on the cavalry, thereby allowing them to come fully geared while still moving quickly."

Re: Paladins and Gear
Bundling up bow/arrows and putting them on mounts, and leaving behind a single holy water each makes the paladins safely in light encumberance.

My suggestions for overall plan.
* Leave behind sick soldiers + enough soldiers to have it total one unit left behind. 15 ill + 10 not?
* Leave behind non-combatants, siege and supply wagons.
* Heavy Infantry strips down and packs armor, bows/arrows bundled and carried on cavalry mounts to allow them to travel at 30'

* Group heads out now quickly in an attempt to find Vilareth crusaders, Ehren aiding group's line-of-sight for scouting by flying overhead within range of message
* Army leaves asap (1 hour later?) traveling along shore bound for mines.
* Group rejoins main army when we have discovered fate of Vilareth Crusaders
* When closer to mines (1 hour out lets say) Group leaves again to scout mines while Army prepares (heavy infantry dons armor, equips bows)

Possible problems
* Vilareth Ford: We find enemies at ford close enough to pose a threat to our flank. We might need to deal with them if we cannot make it through unnoticed. Would prefer no confrontation as that means less chance of a warning getting to the mines/castle

* Army moving somewhere unexpected: Army coming in to Silvershore, or heading from Vilareth to Mines or something else. Depends on if we can get a drop on them or not. If unanticipated, we might use illusions to trick them into thinking they're meeting up with their own forces.

I should add that with their armor packed we probably need about 10 min warning to get the infantry into their full plate. Donning is about 4 min, so 2 min to unpack, 4 min for 1half to help the other half, and then vice versa.

Chevalier Irabeth nods at Isilme. "Yes... that should work. Though it would leave them vulnerable to surprise attack."

Updated army document with who is ill. Archers were hardest hit, with 8 total ill.

Hinagiku and Ehren are against leaving armor behind, Isilme is pro, in order to speed the army up. Thoughts from the rest of you?

The original plan was for Hinagiku and Ser Ilivan to split off from the rest of you, forming 2 scouting teams. Isilme suggests you stay as one team, seeking out Vilareth soldiers first. Thoughts?

The original plan was to leave the Sarenrites behind to guard the supplies and prisoners. Are you switching gears to leave 10 clerics behind instead? Or 10 Sarenrites + clerics?

Not Pro-leaving it behind, Pro-carrying-instead-of-wearing, important distinction.

The original plan, as I understood it, was for scouting the previous night. We skipped that, so I don't see a reason to have a separate scouting group. The army is headed the same direction we are as the shortest way to the mines is along the lake. Sir Ilivan should be in charge of scouting for the army as normal, and the group should ride ahead as a whole.

In regards to who we leave behind, I don't think we need to leave 10 clerics behind, but a couple wouldn't hurt. Sarenites probably a good choice overall for their propensity to accept and preach redemption.

The first plan pitched was for scouting the previous night. After some back and forth, I summarized your disparate ideas into one plan in This post. There were no objections, and everyone had 48 hours to change that plan.

It's fine if you guys want to switch it back to one scouting group now. But y'all have had plenty of time to change the assumed plan to either scout last night or something different beforehand.

Sorry, kept trying to post last night, but it wouldn't let me. :| How did the archers get hit by the Schir? Also, knowing what's going on hurts no one, unless our allies get captured, which would be really bad, but... My undersanding was scout Vilareth early today, with you guys going to scout the mines ahead of the main army. I vote against taking the armor off the paladins since you're effectively saying it only matters if we leave them with an AC of like 12. :P If we -can- have it carried by the horses without major issues... sure, maybe. My post was better, but now I'm just frustrated, so...

"We should leave a few medics. We'll lose a little staying power today, but we have to worry about tomorrow, as well, and getting illness taken care of will leave us stronger, later. We can't really afford to leave more than will be capable of helping out, overall, though."

Okay, so when we arrive at a finished plan, why don't we just... do that? Hinagiku is leaving now with Ser Illivan, unless somebody wants to chase after them on foot. The rest of us are packing up and leaving with the army. We're leaving Dann's people behind, as discussed, as well as the sick soldiers.

The only point of discussion that we have left is whether or not we still want to leave 25 healthy soldiers behind, or whether we want to leave 10 healthy and 15 unhealthy soldiers behind. We shouldn't commit any more resources than we absolutely need to, and we also already discussed leaving only 25 soldiers behind.

So Xanderghul and Ary are for keeping the original plan of splitting up the scouting groups into two. That's 2 v 1. Anyone else have thoughts?

In regards to leaving people behind, only Xanderghul and Isilme have voiced an interest in specifics, which is 15 unhealthy soldiers and 10 healthy soldiers. (The majority of you clearly want to leave at least a few clerics behind.) The 10 healthy soldiers will be 3 clerics of Sarenrae and 7 of Captain Dann's men, forming a homogenous group of Sarenrites.

Isilme's idea of lightening the load for the heavy infantry is valid, by carrying armor on the horses. This would not overburden the cavalry, but could possibly leave you vulnerable if suddenly attacked in an ambush. Isilme and Ary are in favor of this, Ehren and Hinagiku against (unless you guys want to recant). The rest of you?

Hinagiku/Illivan/Masym to Vilareth, the rest of us to Mantarin, with the army following?

Ehren's proposal was to leave the entire Fort Ahari crew with the wounded, putting it at 15+26 (plus the underfolk?).

And I still think it is too substantial a risk to travel unarmored. As far as we know, there is no reference of time for how far along the mining/ritual preparation is, and there might not be time to spare for everyone to get their armor back on, not to mention the distinct possibility of ambushes.

Hinagiku/Illivan/Masym to Vilareth, the rest of us to Mantarin, with the army following?

Yes, that was the plan as finalized before you went to sleep. Do you prefer this, or Isilme's revision?

Ehren's proposal was to leave the entire Fort Ahari crew with the wounded, putting it at 15+26 (plus the underfolk?).

Yeah, and Xanderghul isn't fond of adding clerics on top of the paladins, that is too much. However, Hinagiku, Isilme, Ary, and Valaria wish to specifically leave clerics, a clear majority. Hinagiku says max 3 clerics. Xanderghul and Isilme both want to max the number of soldiers subtracted from the army at 25 (sick AND well). Combining those 3 ideas we have 15 sick, 10 well - 3 clerics and 7 paladins. However, leaving 15 sick and 26 well is also a possibility. Does anyone prefer this? Valaria? Ary?

Need Valaria or Xanderghul to tiebreak on the armor issue, as its 2v2 atm.

The safety from ambushes and the immediate preparation for combat seems like more of a benefit when we don't know their positions and their combat abilities. Better to move slower and more carefully than to try for maximum speed and end up running in to a trap. Feeling awful and probably shouldn't be making decisions right now, but that's my thoughts on that.

Ehren Ferron wrote:

Hinagiku/Illivan/Masym to Vilareth, the rest of us to Mantarin, with the army following?

Yes, that was the plan as finalized before you went to sleep. Do you prefer this, or Isilme's revision?

I say stick with the finalized plan, then. :)

Alrighty, finalizing things (again) as such:

There are TWO scouting groups, both leaving NOW - Hinagiku/Ser Ilivan/Masym are headed to scout out the status of Vilareth. Ehren/Ayavah/Anevia/Xanderghul/Isilme/Valaria are going to travel in front of the army to scout out threats before the actual army arrives at them. The army heads to Mantarin, with Hinagiku and her team circling around to rendevous with the main army after they are done collecting information. This per vote from Ehren/Xanderghul/Ary to stick to the former plan.

You are leaving behind 15 sick soldiers, 7 paladins of Sarenrae, and 3 clerics of Sarenrae with your prisoners, non-combatants, siege weaponry, and supplies in Silvershore. Nurah will be in charge as she is the highest ranked crusader of this group. This is by combining the proposed plans of Isilme/Xanderghul/Hinagiku. If at least 2 of the following players: (Hinagiku/Valaria/Ary) would rather leave more crusaders behind, per Ehren's idea, we can do that instead. Please speak up asap if so.

Your army is marching fully armed, so very slowly. This is per vote of Ehren/Valaria/Hinagiku.

I'll be swinging by sometime this evening to get things moving, I'm a bit busy atm.

Speaking of Underfolk...

The scouting teams set off to gear up their horses to leave, leaving Ary behind to command the main forces. Wenduag seeks her out after her morning rituals, her four eyes focused intently on the taller woman.

"Commander, I've heard that you are leaving some of Captain Dann's men behind in Silvershore to guard the wounded and the supplies. Do you still wish for myself and my men to stay here and guard the prisoners?"

That plan sounds good to me. Plus, if after scouting it becomes obvious that the ritual will take place soonish, than the infantry can strip to arrive earlier.

How do the locals seem to view the Underfolk? That's sort of important in 'leaving them here' or not. :P

@Ary, first question about archers, your archers don't simply stand back and fire into melee. That doesn't work in mass combat. From a realism standpoint, firing into a melee would cause an equal number of friendly units to be killed as enemy units - archers fire volleys of arrows into enemies from afar when on level ground. You can only really reliably aim at individuals from afar when you have high ground (such as from walls, or from a tower). Your rangers function as switch-hitters - they are outfitted with a longbow, a longsword, and a dagger apiece, and they function as light infantry most of the time, unless the ability to use archery is appropriate (generally at the beginning of an encounter, when charging in or receiving an enemy charge). Notice that with the battle of Silvershore, the archers stopped firing into melee once friendly units engaged the army in melee. From a game rules standpoint, you can't even use archery with mass combat if two army units occupy the same zone (i.e. can melee), though my old revised mass combat rules added rules for friendly fire.

You can absolutely direct your archers to stand back and fire into melee, but this will affect both your units and the enemy units, so they will not do so autonomously.

Second, about the locals and the Underfolk, the Underfolk have not mingled with the locals (you have set up camp OUTSIDE of town, camping directly in their town is really obtrusive), and Ary has not mingled with the locals either, so you really have no way of knowing.

All three of the below scenes are happening concurrently.

The preparations finished, Xanderghul, Isilme, Külə, Valaria, Ayavah, Anevia, and Ehren head north in the direction of Mantarin with an hour's headstart on the army. The heroes mount horses enchanted with Isilme's magic to quicken their pace, while Ehren flies overhead. They've been traveling for an hour now, braving the extreme cold. The snow makes it difficult to see very far ahead of them, but thankfully some of the mythic heroes have been blessed with supernatural senses...

Brr, it's cold checks! DC 15 fort

Külə does not need to make fort saves, because I mean he is a unicorn that was born in the cold north, duh...

Ayavah fort (CON drain, cold weather gear): 1d20 + 4 - 1 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 4 - 1 + 2 = 6
NL Damage (ER): 1d6 - 5 ⇒ (4) - 5 = -1
Valaria fort (cold weather gear): 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 2 = 14
NL Damage (ER): 1d6 - 5 ⇒ (1) - 5 = -4
Isilme fort (CON drain, cold weather gear): 1d20 + 5 - 2 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 5 - 2 + 2 = 9
NL Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 4
Hinagiku fort (cold weather gear): 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 10 + 2 = 16
Anevia fort (cold weather gear, CON drain): 1d20 + 2 - 1 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 - 1 + 2 = 18

Isilme is very cold and takes 4 NL damage... she is fatigued. She may not run.

---------

Meanwhile, the army finishes preparations and prepares to disembark.

Just reiterating that Ehren has greater longstrider up.

Survival: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (4) + 15 = 19

Ehren scans the horizon with his beady little falcon eyes, doing his best to peer through the snow.

I vote to not leave the underfolk. :) Sorry I'm so slow.

Survival (Aiding): 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26
P(Soldier)?: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (7) + 12 = 19 Trying to verify that they either look like our army's movements -or- that the numbers sound right for the fort. :) If so, she'll verify that, too.

While Ehren's eyes are focused on the horizon, Ary's are focused on the ground. She stops in place, pausing for a moment as she looks to the ground, eyes scanning. "Well... I don't think cultists would be using many horses... or covering their tracks. So, there's a good chance those from the fort are..." she takes a few moments, to look over the landscape again, "East, towards the lake. About seventy-five, with horses.

"Ah, yes," muses Xanderghul, consulting his wayfinder. He points a long, crooked finger. "And that way is north. I'm contributing."

About he weaher, Hinagiku cast endure elements less than 24h ago.

"Would they be out here in such numbers?"

@Ehren - Yes, but I was under the impression you'd want to stay within range of message, so moving much faster is moot. Do you want to move as fast as possible?

@Ary - I was under the impression Ary was going to stay back with the army, her coming along is fine, but try to clarify that next time.

@Hinagiku - Alright, thanks for reminding me :)

No, just making sure. Ehren will stick with the group for now. :)

"Let us make haste then, perhaps we can find them and if they are in good condition, have them join us on the march towards the mines."

Yeah, that was my bad. She'd still have spotted it, just with the army instead.

Okay, so Ary's still with the army, so with the scouting group, no one has spotted the tracks. Ehren is not the only person among you with trained survival. Let's start from the beginning.

Ary, if you wanna do something with the army, then roleplay that out instead.

FYI: Visibility is currently limited to 100' in the snowfall, because terrain is hilly. closer to Fort Vilareth, the land levels out into plains, so visibility increases to 700'.

Edit: Did I just detect an edit in Kiora's post woo... kinda renders my post moot to a point though

Survival: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22

Xanderghul points at the ground casually. "Look, tracks."

Look, you're helping!

Look sir, droids! :P

Noticing that the group has slowed, Ehren circles overhead once before swooping down. He cocks his little bird head, following Xanderghul's finger down to the spot where the wizard is pointing.

"Skree?"

Külə snorts and paws at the ground impatiently. "Well, wherever we're going, let's figure that out sooner than later," he says, somewhat irritably.

Straight forward or detour?

"One of us should go meet the Vilareth Ford soldiers. If they're alive, we get them to march on Mantarin and the Ford with the rest of us, and if they're dead, then they just come back."

"I recommend Ehren, carrying a note written by somebody to present to the Captain of the ford."

The rest of us can move on as normal."

"Sending Ehren isn't a bad idea. Staying in bird form would allow him to see who it is without being seen right away. That way if they're not from Vilareth, he can come back without getting in to a fight."

Ayavah nods, clinging to Valaria's back from on top of Callus. "Yeah, that makes sense. He moves the fastest anyway, right?"

Anyone else agree/disagree?

Xanderghul pulls out a scrap of paper, a pen, and asks around for a pin. Quickly, he scribbles (as neatly as he can), 'Dearest Captain of Vilareth Ford (presuming your survival), the bird before you is a druid of the Green in cahoots with fellow Crusader Ary Bishop. Her force marches on enemy locations. Follow the bird to locate your allies.'

He then pins it shut and hands it over to Ehren. "Good enough? Can we keep going?"