GM Nel's Kingmaker Campaign

Game Master CRobledo

Ok, let's drop out of rounds for a second.

Guard's perception vs Bingo stealth
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

Oblivious, the guard stares out into the distance. Slowly, Dris moves close enough so the darkness almost envelops the guard. Bingo, sneaking inside, finally gets to the corner, where he can see out of the dark. The guard is now 5' from him.

Norn reaches down and stretches his hand to Kaeso. "Kaeso, grab the cat and come up," he says.

Bingo, assume you want to sneak attack this bandit?

Last round Dris was trying to call Purrcy to her via Message. Hopefully he can determine direction or at least follow Norn and Kaeso.
Purrcy Jump: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (6) + 14 = 20
Purrcy Stealth: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (3) + 14 = 17

Dris' plan was-- when they got close to the guard, she would go to the opposite side of the guard as Bingo, and put the darkened pebble in her belt. Then begin talking to the guard to distract him, so Bingo could flank.

If this will work Dris will quietly babble to the guard...Oh, ow! er um excuse me, can you tell me where the Stag Lord is? I was brought in to -cough- entertain him, and I've gotten so turned around. You aren't him, are you. They told me to take the stairs, and then turn right, or was it go right, then go up the stairs? I'm so confused. Can you help me? I don't want to be late, I've heard he has a temper, (babble, babble, heave bosom)

Stealth: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6
Bluff: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21

Switching to crossbow and looks over at Mornaura and Kaeso and Norn.

" Any of you hurt and require healing?" she asks as she checks her crossbow she adjusts checks the sight and than readjusts.

"Those zombies got me a little bit."

I'm pretty sure the slam hit me, but we didn't have a damage roll.

As long as the zombies didn't bite you a little!

[b]"Kaeso do you think you can stave of healing for a bit or should I heal you now?"[b] She asks as she aims down at the court yard below readying her self for the dirty business at hand

If the guard were to even enter the zone of darkness, you think he would realize something is up and sound the alarm. Also as a halfling, Bingo can't see in the area either. This way Bingo can still sneak attack him from inside the dark area. Just to speed up the action a bit, let's say Bingo decides to take his shot.

Bingo steps out of the darkness quickly and takes a jab at the guard!
attack: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 4 + 2 = 18
damage: 1d4 + 2d6 ⇒ (4) + (4, 4) = 12

"GURK" lets out the man, before dropping down from Bingo's precisely aimed strike.

Bingo winks back at the globe, hoping Dris sees him. He says into the message "I got this feller. But nowhere else to go this way. Except down."

I meant to put away the pebble of Darkness into my belt, before attempting the above. But the important thing is Bingo got in a little old fashioned back stabbing!

My levitate spell holds up to 300 lbs. If Bingo holds onto me can we levitate down to the first floor together? If "yes" I'll message the rest of the group where we're going.

"Psst. I'm fine, Ionnia, thanks. If you want to conserve your powers for later, we can heal Kaeso with the wand," Mornaura whispers.

"Norn, Kaeso, there are three sleeping bandits on the ruined floor behind this not very comfortable wall. Dris and Bingo are taking care of the guard in the last tower on this side."

My levitate spell holds up to 300 lbs. If Bingo holds onto me can we levitate down to the first floor together? If "yes" I'll message the rest of the group where we're going.

Sure you can do so if you want. Split the party! Mwahahahaha

"Sounds good Mornaura, should we wait on them to report back, or head down these stairs? I do not see an entrance to the building on this side, and I will for sure not be able to scale this wall without making a LOT of sound."

So Bingo, you wanna go down to where those three guys are? I can land us easy. And I can let the others know where we're headed.

"Conservation is key than I say we try and see what we can do next and than find this Staglord" Ionnia says as she looks over the scene below to see what exactly is going on with the guards.

Kaeso nervously approaches Purrcy and gives him a boost over the wall, and then attempts to climb the wall again.

1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21

Critical Climb!

Concerning zombie damage--during the combat, no damage dice were given. So, if they hit me, which I think they did, I don't know the damage.

Purrcy jumped or climbed over successfully I think. Still, I like the mental picture of Kaeso giving him a boost.

Still lying on top of the wall seperating the bandits from her companions, Mornaura quietly takes out the wand of cure light wounds and reaches down with it.

"Alright, Ionnia. Kaeso, I don't know if I ever make it back up here once I got down, so would you please step over here for a moment?"

When he does, she'll touch him with the wand and activate it to heal him. "There you go. Feeling better?"
Afterwards she'll stow it away and watch the sleeping bandits again.

@Kaeso: CLW heals you for 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7 HP. It should get you back to full HP in any case, since the zombie hit was no crit, iirc.

Bingo replies "Very well m'lady. But be ready to come back up if we get in over our heads! Don't want t'be caught without our more armored friends by ourselves."

Whispering via Message to the gang, Bingo just took care of the guard in the (NW/SE?) tower. He was awesome. We're headed down to those three sleeping guys now. Meet you there?

Then she levitates both of them down. Don't worry Bingo, I'm sure we'll be fine...

"Pushes" Purrcy to come toward her, stealthfully.

And if she has another action... she'll prestidigitate her face to look like a normal elf. (hands, hair, and neck are still blue tho)

Darkness still up. Levitate still up. 3 mins each.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
Is that enough to notice the sphere of darkness floating over the wall and down towards the sleeping bandits, contrasting with the moon-lit sky (with low-light-vision)? If so:

"Psst. Is that you, Dris...?," Mornaura whispers in the direction of the floating sphere of darkness.

I posted a new map for floor 1. Sadly, nothing much you can see now. Like Morn said, when she looked inside the central structure, she was looking into it's second floor as well. She saw the edges of a cracked floor on the back, so she has the impression that some of the second floor has collapsed. However

Levitating down, Bingo and Dris make their ways to the edge of the structure. They see a lone guard at the front gate, who is definitely awake. As a human, he cannot see too far in low light, but does notice the strange darkness coming from that corner...

Dris and Bingo can also see the main entrance to the central structure to the south.

The people on the back walkway, you can tell that UNDER the walkay, there are some lights flickering in and out between the floor boards. There may be candles or a torch lit underneath. Ionnia, looking over the edge between the walkway and the palisade, can see that whatever is below, is enclosed in wooden boards, as to make an extra room attached to the stone central structure.

Kaeso huddles with Norn, Mornaura, and Ionnia: "It seems to me the best way to attack a fortress is to take it from the way they don't expect. The main way in would be fortified, right? Is there any way we can get from the towers onto that main floor with the sleepers? Maybe, if we are quiet and quick, we can take them out without giving the alarm."

"Works for me" she says as she looks at the others.

"Aye. I guess the only way down from here that will not cause a racket is the stairs. Should we head out that way, maybe meet with Dris at the front gates?"

GM Nel, I understood you differently about the map. I asked you what I saw when I was levitating ABOVE the palisade while crossing it. So I read your answer differently. I thought the 3 guys were sleeping in a courtyard. I didn't get that it was a second floor without a roof. Anyhoo, not going to ask to retcon it. Let's just see what happens from here. :O

I take it from Norn's statement that he got Dris' message.

Also, was Purrcy able to get closer to me with a double move last round? He's got quite the climb and jump abilities so jumping up and down from the catwalk shouldn't be too difficult for him.jump: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (3) + 14 = 17

And, last question of the moment, what does the guard look like? I mean does he look like he's ranking or just another bandit?

Really Mornie? Snarking at Ionnia all night for making noise, and then yelling across the entire fort, instead of waiting for Norn or Kaeso to tell you where we are? Yeesh. Usually you're smarter than that.

Whispering directly into Bingo's ear. I'm casting Vanish on you again. I'm gonna try charming this guy, but if doesn't work, back me up, ok?

1. Cast Vanish on Bingo
2. Put Darkness pebble away (not as dark anymore)
3. Give the guard a flirtatious bimbo smile. Hey Big Boy...
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (18) + 10 = 28

"Well... I don't see a safe, quiet way in from up here. There must be a ladder or stairs in the building somewhere..." the witch whispers down to the huddle.

"So you're going to head down the stairs and around the building? Maybe I can cover you from up here."

@Nel: How thick is the wall Mornaura is lying on? On the map, it looks like almost 5 ft...?
What's the surface like? Does it look like Mornaura could walk on it without too much risk of falling or making noise?

Huh... looks like paizo ate my weekend's post...

Purrcy can be above dris if he wants. DC 10 acrobatics to get down without falling damage. Guard looks like a rank-and-file bandit, much like the ones at the logging camp. Morn, the walls are not quite 5' but around 3'. To you it looks like this central structure is seriously ancient. Obviously re-purposed by the bandits. The surface is fully worked stone. Obviously supports 3 sleeping bandits. Knowledge (engineering) may reveal more.

The bandit sees Dris, lets out a vulgar smirk and lip smack, and and says out loud "FALGRIM! AKIROS! Looks like we have a loose wench from the woods in here! Anyone up for some late night entertainment!" He says it loud enough to be heard by others, but he doesn't shout it as to wake up the whole camp.

Dris and Bingo hear two more footsteps coming outside from inside the structure, heading to the front door. The PCs behind the building (not asleep) can hear the guard's shout.

Okay. I meant the surface of the top of the wall (the coping). Does the wall seem structurally intact, so that Mornaura could walk/balance on top of it somewhat easily (by taking 10, hopefully), or is it missing chunks and crumbling to pieces when you try to step on it?

" Well that is not good" Ionnia whispers to the other three and clutches her crossbow.

"I don't like this. We should be with Dris and Bingo!"

Kaeso gets his warhammer ready and starts to make his way around the castle towards the front, counterclockwise, hoping to provide a flanking attack for whomever is coming out of the door.

@Morn. Well the ceiling did collapse at some point, so the top of the walls are not exactly rock solid. Knowledge (engineering) to know for certain. Looks like everyone else is hustling down, are you following or staying?

The group hears the guard's call, and creeps up to try and meet Dris and Bingo.

Map update.

Kaeso Stealth check: 1d20 - 0 ⇒ (9) - 0 = 9
Bandit perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

So far, Kaeso's side is unnoticed...

"Is that an elf?" says a new voice coming from the doorway. A man emerges, dressed in masterwork chainmail, he looks like a much more imposing figure than the rest. He would be an extremely handsome man, except for a giant scar on his face going from his forehead to his lower cheek across his eye.

"Should we wake up Dovan? Or the boss? They may want in on the fun!" says the front gate guard.

"Don't be gross, Jex. Falgrim, stay here and let me deal with this intruder."

Getting a bit closer to Dris, and without raising his voice, he says "Dear intruder, I am afraid I need to take you into custody. You see, our task is to guard this fort for the Stag Lord, and you are somehow trespassing and inside our camp. If you come quietly now, I can guarantee that you won't be harmed until the Stag Lord decides what to do you with you in the morning. Deal?"

Akiros picture

bluff: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27
Oh, am I intruding? I didn't realize. I heard there were some big, strong men here, and I just thought... Well, you're a handsome one, ain'tcha? Perhaps you and I could find a quiet place to, um, talk, just the two of us?

Feigning a cough, Dris whispers behind her hand to Norn and Kaeso I may be taken to Svetlana. Back ups great. Don't charge in yet, tho.

Falgrim? Wasn't Keston looking for a guy named Falgrim?

Knowledge(engineering)(untrained): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

If the wall top seems walkable, Mornaura tries to follow Kaeso and the others as far as she can.

@ morn following the "roof" around, you can see more of the second floor. You even get to see Dris being taken inside.

I am assuming the plan seems to be to continue on with the charade that you were there somehow by mistake. If that is the case:

Akiros stretches out his hand, and starts leading Dris into the complex. Akiros waves off Falgrim to get back to his post. He sneers, but obeys and goes over to a large wooden gate on the right chamber (left on the map). He seems to be guarding whatever is behind that gate. Dris is taken to the left instead. She sees stairs, going up into another internal catwalk, that leads to a guard tower facing the front of the fort.

On the way, looking down the room falgrim went, Dris can see two things. One, there is a man sleeping on a chair, balancing himself against the wall (unmarked yellow dot). He looks like a lean and lanky fellow, with tattoos all over his body, long hair and a rapier at his side. Second, behind this man is a wooden room. Dris cannot make out anything inside, but the flickering of a few candles.

Picture of man in the chair

Inside her "cell" which is nothing but a food storage room, Dris finds the weeping Svetlana. Upon seeing Dris, she almost shouts, but Dris is quick enough to press her finger against her own lips, letting Svetlana know to be quiet.

Akiros says "Well, lady of the night. Here I must take my leave. Our boss is quite temperamental... especially... sometimes. But as you can see, I am not a killer. I would suggest you do not wake up the Stag Lord, please. This common woman here tried to defy him once and it got her a nasty backhand to the face. I can only do so much when the Stag Lord is enraged. Sigh..."

Akiros bows and takes his leave, leaving Svetlana and Dris in the room with a bandit outside.

Maps updated for both 1st and second floors. Hopefully more is clear now

Crouched down on the walltop, Mornaura observes what's happening below.
Waving down to her companions outside of the ruin, she tries to signal them that they can stay calm.

She waits for the bandits to return to their posts and calm down again, then starts crawling towards the gate tower and prepares to use her Slumber hex if she happens to find a bandit inside.

If we were acting in combat initative now, I'd say move action to crawl, standard action readying the hex, and repeating that until Mornaura is inside the tower, alone or with a (hopefully) knocked out bandit. ^^

Dris is hoping to catch Akiros alone, before being put in the cell.

If there's an opportune moment... she'll slide a hand behind him (as if flirting but actually to hide spellcasting) and cast charm person. DC17 Will Save

I have heard that the Stag Lord does have quite a temper. Why do you serve him if he is so... unpredictable? *You* seem more like a leader. Surely someone as strong and yet reasonable as you could lead these men. -flutter eyelashes, sigh, etc-

Enh, my edit didn't post in time. Anyhoo, my goal here is just to loosen him up, get him chatty, tell us more about the stag lord, layout etc. Also- to find Svetlana but *not* be locked in a cell with her.

Trying to resolve dris's action. Here are the options:

1. There is not really a place for you to get him alone. You think this is deliberate on his part. The best spot would be right as you enter the room with the stairs, before getting too close to the guard in front of Svetlana's cell.
2. Since your charm person is a spell like ability, it would not have any verbal or somatic components. However, the target still knows you cast an offensive spell if they make their Will save. Just make sure you are ok with that before you fire it off.

On the way to the cellar
Dris can notice that he doesn't seem to care much about her advances, but he notices him smile at the leader comment.

"'Serve him' is not the correct phrase m'lady. I am actually his second in command. Besides, in his usual condition I get to give the orders more than he does these days. But, we can talk more tomorrow. Who do you think I am? One of those villains that monologue all the time?"

Dris notices a silver stag skull broach fastening his cloak of a different metal than the rest, similar to the one the leader at the logging camp had.

Dris can't help but notice that he is being blatantly coy in his banter.

At this point, up to you if you want to fire charm person or not before getting to the cellar area.

Ninja'd about chattiness. Lol!

-fingers crossed- fire away!

-giggles at his comments- Well, maybe I'm just a lonely girl looking for companionship. Maybe I'm a girl that men feel comfortable talking to. Maybe men tell me things. Interesting things... Maybe if we could talk awhile, I could share some interesting things with you.

Also hoping Bingo and Purrcy are stealthing nearby.

Drispeera attempts her charm person but Akiros seems to be able to shrug off the effects with a honed mind. (gogo paladin saves!)

Quickly turning around, Akiros says "OH, not so defenseless in the forest are we? I TRIED to be nice. Very well, you have one last chance from me then. You either get into this cellar. Right now. Or I take you out myself." Akiros places his hand on the hilt of his sword, making sure Dris sees him do so.

Dang! A 28 diplomacy, a 27 bluff, and a DC 17 charm person, and...nothing? Drat! And... a paladin as #2 to a Bandit Lord? Interesting.

Dris completely drops the flirting, and yanks her arm out of his hand in a huff (even tho she put it there herself.) Just remember that I tried to be NICE too. I coulda saved us both some violence. I DO have useful information about some people you are looking for. But suddenly, I don't feel like chatting anymore. Just point me toward the cell.

Whispering to Bingo, Kaeso, and Norn after her back is turned to Akiros (and hopefully before any solid doors close--are the doors solid or grated?)...I'm ok, but I found Svetlana's cell the hard way.

Edit: If there's a grate or a crack in the wall Dris will continue to Message Bingo, Norn, and Kaeso with layout, and about the sleeping tattoed guy, etc.

Then, once the guard can't overhear, she'll check on Svetlana.

Akiros perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

So the "cellar" actually has no door. It's literally just a room with an open doorway. The only thing keeping Svetlana in here is some manacles on her hands and the guard posted at the door.

Fast forward to previous Svetlana conversation
Svetlana, finally composing herself, says "It's you. You've come to rescue me? Your face is a different color, but I recognize you. Please, I just want to go back home. Where is Oleg, did he come too?"

Dris perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

"Hmm I am getting worried... Kaeso, Ionnia? Any ideas? Should we bust in and break out Dris?"

Alright, let's see... Dris is messaging Bingo, Kaeso and Norn, right?
Can we assume that Norn and/or Kaeso tell Ionnia what's up (and that Mornaura heard that)?
I mean, Mornaura watches the fort anyway, but I think we should make sure Ionnia isn't the only one who got no clue about what's happening inside.

The witch leans over the wall and tries to get the attention of her companions without alerting any of the bandits.

"Psst! Dris is fine for now - no need to assault yet. I'll try to clear the tower for you," she whispers down.

Now that the bandits have returned to their posts and seemingly calmed down again, Mornaura crawls towards the gate tower and prepares to use her Slumber hex if she happens to find a bandit inside.

Stealth: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22

If we were acting in combat initative now, I'd say move action to crawl, standard action readying the hex (or using it once there's a target), and repeating that until Mornaura is inside the tower, alone or with a (hopefully) knocked out bandit. ^^

PS: I've rephrased the part of my former post that has been halted to watch Dris.

Mornaura sees a lit torch inside the guardtower, along a quiver of arrows, but nobody inside.

You guys go ahead with what you're going to do. Meanwhile Dris will do the following in sequence

1. To Svetlana- Dris will point to her face and put her finger to her lips in a (shh!) motion. Are you alright, miss? What's your name?

2. Untrained Heal check 1d20 ⇒ 1. (Yup, she looks just fine. :P)

3. Check out her manacles.

4. Make sure nobody's listening. 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7 (Sure, sure, the GM ignores my 28's and 27's, but these will blow up in my face.)

5. Whisper to Kaeso in Elven. She seems to be ok. BTW, number 2 told me the Stag Lord was drunk and asleep. If Number 2 didn't wake him up. Probably still drunk tho. Not sure where he was.

6. Whisper to Bingoin Elven She needs some help with these manacles, if you're around. Let me know if you wanna help with the guard before or after helping with these.

Kaeso is very nervous right now, eager to rush in, but trying not to be an idiot.

Whispering: "Any way to create a diversion? Get the bandits out of their hidey holes?"

His knuckles are white on the hilt of the hammer. Wish I could just charge in and smash stuff!

Whispering: "How's this for an idea? I circle back, climb the wall, go out to the front of the citadel, and go giant and intimidate, shouting a lot. Bandits rush out to get me, and you rescue Drispeera and Svetlana?"

Ionnia looks at him and than at her crossbow.She whispers to him'I think if we can take them out...stealthily it will be great."

Ionnia readies her self this should be a dirty fight. She's had to do it before.She didn't like it but she will do it if need be.

@Nel: so that's a yes to my questions? ^^

Mornaura sneaks into the tower and crouches below the parapet (and the torch), so that she can't be seen from the guards outside.
She crawls into the corner closest to Kaeso, peers over the railing and whispers: "Pst, Kaeso. Tower clear. Maybe you can lure the bandit away from the gate?"

Yep, you can get into the tower, and are now alone. Clearing out a bit more of the map.

Crom's Beard, I don't know how to lure a bandit. I can't bat my eyes at him like Drispeera can.

Kaeso thinks for a bit, then, attaching one of the Stag brooches, the shiniest one they have, prominently on his clothing, steps out from around the corner and tells the guard the following:

"What kind of crap is this? You call this a watch? I was able to sneak all the way around the fort without you noticing. Get over here, scum, or I'll feed you to the zombies out back!"

Intimidate: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

Hope this works.