GM_PapaSteve's 7-10 The Consortium Compact for the PbP SuperAlts (Inactive)

Game Master Papasteve08

As the once-blocked secret door is finally forced open, Glarifyur lowers his waraxe and opens his defensive shield stance to an open, forward neutral stance.

"We are defending this warehouse on behalf of and for the chance to speak with the Kortos Consortium. Who do you represent?"

Bleh, bad rolls either way. Good luck everyone else!

As the once-blocked secret door is finally forced open, Glarifyur lowers his waraxe and opens his defensive shield stance to an open, forward neutral stance.

Just wanted to mention that the blocked secret door is still blocked - they couldn't get in so they had to go around. Now they are in a different area, which is in a rather sticky, non-advantageous position (should a fight break out). It also took them a bit longer to make the extra trek around the warehouse, so they are a bit behind the eight-ball so to speak. Just didn't want you to think that your efforts were wasted. All the positions are updated on the map.

My bad Steve, I'm trying to post and work at the same time and failed to check Tactical. I moved Glarifyur and (with Amin's approval) Regina down near the other two mysterious folks.

No worries! Just didn't want you to feel like your crates and tactical decisions were for naught. Locations at this point are less important.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Amin, glaive still at the ready, relaxes a bit so as not to appear too aggressive. He does his best to suppress the urge to speak up, seeing that Edgar and the others seem to at least have the agents' attentions.

Glarifyur, no worries about re-positioning Regina, she will follow you around and attack anything that makes a move against you. As for Amin, he's going to keep his mouth shut for now :-)

"Good evening, gentlemen. It is as my companions say, we are here only to defend the warehouse, and prevent the vile drugs from being disseminated and ruining your reputations as honest businessmen.

"As for the drugs being tested, we found Lazlo the Leper in the sewers testing his new, refined whip drug on several unfortunates. They appeared horribly afflicted, and have been remanded to the care of the temple of Sarenrae for care. Lazlo was an unfortunate casualty of the conflict that arose when he decided he needed to fight rather than talk "

Diplo with aid : 1d20 + 10 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 10 + 3 = 18
thats like 8 sub-8 rolls in a row. Sigh.

Just curious... where did the +3 from aid come from? I'm pretty sure you can only get +2 for an aid another...

typo, not nearly as good at typing on my iPad as otherwise. So it should be a 17 failing any other aid another attempts

Guys, no sense in posting and not also posting an aid another (even a 7 charisma character could easily roll a 12+).

"Look... the authorities will be... combing through this stuff... by day break," Bugdip adds from the shadows, hoping to surprise them a little and remembering to do his best Finarin impression, "But it will all be returned... save for the contraband. I suspect... from your reaction... that you're none too happy... about the Aspis Consortium's... smuggling of it. Do yourselves... a favor... and get some distance from them. This isn't... what you're about... and things will only get worse... if you deal... with snakes."

Bugdip aid another: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

Steve, don't forget that PFS allows for a circumstance bonus based on good roleplaying (because the rules as written also allow for it). Just saying (mostly regarding the others' posts, since I passed my aid anyway).

@Amin - per Bugdip's suggestion, do you want to try to aid another? Nice thing about aids (that Rattus brought to my attention) is that there is no consequence for failure, other than not giving the +2. It can't hurt. Tybain also hasn't weighed in.

The two men in the break room visibly relax, even taking their hands from the hilts of their weapons as the pathfinders explain themselves.

"Get up 'ere you two! Looks like you might be right after all, Jade. Them Aspis bastards are gonna f&$% us Lacosta's over right good. I don' know where you get them feelings in yer gut from, but you gotta teach me that trick."

Presently, the two shadowy figures from below come up, and the entire group gathers in the breakroom to discuss matters further.

"So, nobody's gonna cut any throats, but I'm hearin a right bit o stuff I don't like. I don't like nobody takin our stuff, and I don't like the sound o' drugs being tested on the people in my city. Sounds like I got a big bloody problem. I'm not sure what I need to do, and I'm not so sure I want to leave until I figure it out. You best keep talkin to help me make up my mind." The man referred to as Greyson plops down in a chair, pulls out a piece of jerky, and kicks his muddy boots onto the table in the center, waiting for the pathfinders to give him options.

Ok - Success #1! You have improved their attitude. I need Amin and Tybain to decide if they are going to attempt to aid another on the initial diplomacy check. It can potentially make a difference. Now you are presented with another issue. You have 4 curious Kortos agents in the room with you, and you expect Aspis agents to be arriving... sometime...

Please let me know if something is unclear, or you are confused about what is going on, or what you need to do next.

Steve, don't forget that PFS allows for a circumstance bonus based on good roleplaying (because the rules as written also allow for it). Just saying (mostly regarding the others' posts, since I passed my aid anyway).

Thanks for the reminder!

Signalling for Dogmeat to continue staying, Amin joins the others in the breakroom, leaning on his glaive in a relaxed manner.

"The froggy fellow speaks the truth. Lazlo was feeding the people poison, and using them as little more than lab animals. Disgusting! You fellows seem reasonable, and can understand our position."

Diplomacy: Aid Another: 1d20 ⇒ 13

"Well... let's just say," begins Bugdip, licking his eyeballs nervously at having to do more convincing, "That you stay. We could.. fight... as will happen eventually... when the Aspis Consortium... arrive. We will... not be affording them... an opportunity to... chat. You will then... need to... pick a side." Bugdip lets that settle in a little while.

"Or, you could leave... say you spotted foul... play, and left," Bugdip continues, still trying to speak like the magnificent Finarin but pausing in the wrong places, "Then... all you need to... do is wait for... us to either finish off the Aspis double-crossers and drug.... peddlers or... die in the attempt. Either... way, your hands are clean. You can... then... choose what to do... with the information we... gave you. But... not if you stay. If... you stay, you will... need to fight, and... decide who to fight."

Bugdip diplomacy aid: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

In my head when I read these posts I put voices to your characters. Although Bugdip doesn't usually sound like this in my head, since he has been talking like "Finarin" (I do not know who that is; I assume it is your "SuperMain" instead of your "SuperAlt") I cannot help but read these lines with William Shatner's voice!

Glarifyur starts to eye these Lacosta fellows irritably.

How much convincing do we need to put forth? Make a damned decision already!

"So? What say you? Aspis'll be on the doorstep any minute and we need to know if you lot are part of the solution, or part of the problem. You have heard the reports and seen the evidence. Time to choose!"

Diplomacy (Aid Another): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24

Glarifyur drops the mic...

Tybain stands by the door, unarmed but for his large shield. The masked face betray no emotions as he watches Ifrain try to win the newcomers' trust. For quite some time he just observes the interaction taking place, unsure if he should join in the attempt.
So many ways to talk this through, a poetic soul just struggles to express the explanation. But this cursed, stuttering mouth refuses to form the words!

"DRRRUGSS ... BAD!" Want as he might otherwise, this is all he can muster.

Diplomacy, aid: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (20) - 2 = 18

And here I get the 20 :D I apologize, I was hoping for a bad roll for a line that bad :P

Damn you all!!!!! Finarin is my other character and that is the same thing Bugdip has been telling me for ever now. He is not supposed to sound like that but oh well - it is what it is. No use complaining about it now.

"My friends speaktrulyand right. I will personally destroy allthose who make drugs to hurt people. You can help us or you can stay out of the way. For I have ascore to settle and I am ready."

The gnome begins to pace back and forth, clearly agitated at having to wait to fight the evil Aspis. He keep flicking out his arm, preparing for releasing his Wand of Magic Missiles.

Diplomacy aid: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 = 17

"Of course, it is your choice whether to stay or go," Edgar says, make sure to keep is intentionally leaving his arms wide and well away from the hilt of his rapier. "But if you decide to stay, then you must pick a side. And when you pick a side, you will be forced to fight for your life... either against us or the Aspis Consortium."

"I promise your goods will be returned to you, exactly as you left them... save the drugs will be removed. But even more than this, we do not wish to fight you because I truly believe we are on the same side."

"If you leave now, you can save yourself from picking a side, and you can report to your superiors whatever you wish to. Make us out to be the villains, if it makes explaining what happened here easier for you... the truth will be known in its own time. We will sort out the Aspis agents and within a few days your goods will be returned to you and your organization."

"There is no need for you endanger yourselves," he adds finally. "Let us do what we do best, and help protect you from the snakes..."

Diplomacy(AID): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

Ifran, play safe! Take 10!

"Yeah, no need for you chaps to fight. We'll take care of it for you, and then you can just say that you had nothing to do with whatever happened here. You checked the warehouse, and found nothing wrong. When you came back in the morning, well... who knows what could have happened.

"In any case, we don't want to endanger you all, so, please go hang out in a tavern and be safe."

diplomacy (take 10: 10 + 10 + 12 = 32

Nice work everyone! You destroyed this. Well done, excellent RP. Glad the roll backed up your role. :)

The man known as Greyson looks to the others in the room and shrugs his shoulders.

"They've been bloody idiots since we started this project. Its a good thing Pops was checkin the shipment that came off that bloody stupid painted ship, or we might not 'of ever known they managed to bungle the shipping documents. Aspis has been a pain and unreliable since we started dealin with 'em." he says to his companions, not caring that the pathfinders are there in the room.

He turns suddenly back to the group and says, not missing a beat, "So yea. We're bloody pissed they're smuggling drugs in our legitimate goods." Greyson crosses his arms, giving the pathfinders a stern look.

Bluff: 1d20 ⇒ 10

"And I'm damn sure pissed that they've been testin it out on the people in my city!" he says, raising his voice while his face flushes red just a bit.

"You make some good points though." he nods at Ifran and the others. "Jade, Ren, Jaf, I think the warehouse checked out just fine. We heard some noises, and needed to really dig deep to make sure everything was ok. Musta been a bloody dog in 'ere or somethin. It was tough work making sure it was all clear, so we finished up at the Oyster when we's finished. *Ahem* Let's at least go make that last part true." With that, the Kortos agents file back out of the break room and disappear quickly into the darkened night.

Sorry this part doesn't seem to be moving as smoothly as I thought it might. It doesn't help when I drop down to 1 post a day. The Kortos agents have left. Everything is essentially where you left it before. Process of elimination means the next group to come in is the Aspis. (sorry you had to waste your good stealth check Bugdip!)

If there are any special preparations you want to make, let me know. I'll roll any perception checks and the like for you (so if you botch the roll, you as the player don't know you botched the roll. So much more fun that way) You are well prepared and dug in, and I can safely assume you are properly diligent, so you can feel pretty confident they won't get the drop on you. (foreboding GM hint that might be a red herring... duhn duhn duhn...) I will move this on tomorrow whether you post or not, so just make sure to get one in if you want, and make sure your token is placed on the tactical where you want to be.

"There is a dog here!" Bugdip says helpfully, whistling for Dogmeat and patting him on the head. "Let go of my hand..." he says through the pain.

Sense motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15

The grippli lets the lie slide - after all, they're not here to judge the Kortos Consortium - and waves a friendly goodbye to the 'inspectors'.

GM, don't apologize for 'wasting' the good stealth. You know how I roll.

Bugdip resumes a position behind the crates with an eye to the door, running over the words to the 'burning hands' spell in his head.

Bugdip stealth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24 --Ha!

Positioned on the tactical. If someone has a better idea of where he should be, feel free to move me!

"We'll stay where we are." Amin ruffles Dogmeat's head, almost as if he were getting used to the mangy mutt. "If they come through the break room they'll get a taste of glaive and fang!" He tries to hunker down a bit and quiet the dog.

Stealth - Amin: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7 --- I blame Bugdip!
Stealth - Dogmeat: 1d20 ⇒ 6
GM, not sure what Dogmeat's stealth is, please add in!

I'm positioned in tactical, Glarifyur you have my permission to move Regina wherever you think she would be useful. Here's her stealth roll if you need it

Stealth - Regina: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

"Well that wentvery well. I am so happy that we didnot have to kill them, though I thinkthat they were lying about the drugs. That makes meso mad that I could just ......

"When are those Aspis going to behere. I need toenact some righteous retribution for those poorsouls."

Nugats continues to rant as he paces back and fort before stopping abruptly.

"Why wait here? Couldwe not go out and ambushthem as they enter? Bah. We canjust set up better here. More strategic."

The entire time the gnome speaks in rapid succession, pacing back and forth. He draws forth his Wand of Magic Missiles so it is at the ready.

GM when the time comes, please roll a d8 and pace Nugats in the corresponding square as he will continue pacing. Waiting once was hard for him, waiting a second time will be unbearable.

sense motive: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (12) + 0 = 12

After the Kortos Consortium agents leave...

"So they knew all along," Edgar says to Amin and Tybain while they all stand near the break room. For a moment he holds out a hand as if preparing to gently pet the dog, but resists the urge and briefly casts a sidelong glance Amin in wonder if Dogmeat would appreciate such a gesture. "It's no matter to us, I suppose, if they did know. We got what we wanted out of the exchange."

"By the time they return, we will be long gone with their supplies," he adds. "Now... Let's prepare for a fight."

Crap. This is one of the challenges of running an evergreen scenario. Somehow I completely missed that there were more things you could find in the warehouse. I apologize for this, and I am going to give it to you know. The way you handled the Kortos consortium these things didn't really matter because they wouldn't have come into play. I will apologize for the peek behind the curtain and taking you out of the roleplay momentarily and I am just going to copy and paste for expediency sake.

4d6 ⇒ (3, 3, 5, 1) = 12

Near the breakroom and the northwest corner of the warehouse, you find a 50lb Human sized cage with lock and key. (Two cages total, one in each place, marked with a plain black box)

The shaded area with the lever looking graphic in the southeast corner has this:

The platform is unstable. A PC who succeeds at a DC
15 Craft (traps) check and spends 2 hours can rig the
platform to collapse from the upper level if more than
one creature stands on it. If the platform collapses, all
creatures on the platform take 1d6 points of damage.

Should you decide you want to take advantage of this, just let me know and I will rule that you had plenty of time to do it before the Kortos agents showed up.

And lastly, You find 10 flasks of alchemist's fire in the lower dock loading area, marked with a plain red box.

I am currently working on constructing the next major post, which will kick off combat. It's going to take me a while, so feel free to react to that stuff I gave you. If you haven't already, post any prep actions you take and make sure you are positioned where you want on the map. If you haven't arranged yourself by the time I get around to posting the initial combat post at some point today, you will just have to live with where you are. Also - due to the relatively low posting rate in this game, I am going to do my best to enforce the 24 hour rule during combat so others aren't stuck waiting for someone. Post once a day please. I will work diligently to post multiple times a day to keep things moving. If I fail to keep up my end of the post rate bargain, I won't hold it against you if you don't.

Without anything better to do, Tybain picks up one flask of Alchemist's fire and heads over to the platform. Lacking any particular expertise on setting traps, the man applies mostly common sense and his experience with stage trapdoors to rig the platform.

Untrained Craft(traps): 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (17) + 0 = 17

"Good decision, Boy-oh's! Maybe I'll join ye at the Oyster when my work is done. Glad to see there are still some honest businessmen left in Diobel."

Honest...heh! They are hiding something for sure... Still, something one of them said about that ledger from the Blue Dragon's Bite isn't sitting well. Almost as if we are being played by Delroya... I guess it is just my paranoia about her...

Glarifyur decides that he and Regina will take up a position back at the secret door. There are a lot of areas of ingress, and it will be hard to cover them all, so he insists the two of them do it alone.

"Any of my strong friends want to give me a hand? I have an idea...'

I'm assuming the help...

Tybain, Rattus, and Glarifyur work at moving the crate just a bit out of the way from the secret door. Nugats paces nearby and acts the supervisor just to have something to keep his mind off of the dull wait.

"Well Regina, I know you are smarter than the average cat, an' I'm right glad you take a shine to us Dwarven folk. But I dunno if you can understand what I am saying here, so here goes: Stay here behind this crate and be all sneaky and quiet. If they bust through this door here, I'll grab their attention and you jump over the box and take 'em from behind. Got it? Good!" Glarifyur pats the cat sincerely but awkwardly on the head with absolutely no idea if his words were understood or fell on deaf, furry ears. He cracks the secret door a bit to make it more noticeable in case the Aspis agents are not already aware of it and moves to take his own defensive position.

Glarifyur sets his defensive stance and twists his left foot on the floor below. There is a strange shuffling noise and he finds himself momentarily distracted by the lack of earth beneath him.

Darned wooden plank floors, anyway. Who wouldn't rather have stone beneath their building?

Bugdip gathers up three of the alchemist's fire vials. Until he gets better at using his magic with his sword, he might as well stay at a distance. "You don't mind, do you friends?"

Bugdip looks to his paltry, thin arms as Glarifur rallies the 'strong' men. He didn't mean me.

"Hey... why don't we put that cage in front of a door, or something. Or both cages? Anchor them from behind with a crate, and maybe set them up to lock or something? We could catch us an Aspis agent that way?"

Nugats paces impatiently while the pathfinders reset and calm their nerves from the tension of the conversation with the Kortos Consortium agents. They know the Aspis Agents, sworn enemies of the Pathfinder Society, will be here soon. As long as Delroya isn’t going to double-cross them, that is.

After nearly a half hour of waiting (an eternity to Nugats, but very quick compared to how long they waited for the Kortos agents to arrive initially) The pathfinders begin to hear doors and door handles creek and jiggle in the quiet of the evening.

The secret door in the north east corner begins to move and bang on the crate stacked against it. *muffled* ”There’s something f&$%ing blocking the door!” a voice can be heard. ”Then go around!” a second voice answers.

Suddenly the door bursts open. ”Never mind, Got it! S&%$ there’s a big f*%^ing dwarf in here!” a masked man shouts and steps inside. He pulls a short sword from his belt and takes a swing at the bearded paladin of stone.

Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23 for damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
Crit Confirm: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8 for extra crit damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7 Missed the crit

The blade comes dangerously close to Glarifyur's neck and manages a gash across the dwarf's cheek bone. Even worse, the shortsword takes a significant chunk of mustache with it.

In the southeast corner, in the lower area, the door swings open almost simultaneously with the banging in the north side of the warehouse. Two shadowed figures creep in, and shout in surprise at the pathfinders standing over them. It’s clear that they were looking for a fight before they came in, and so one of them doesn’t hesitate.

”I don’t care who you are, but you’re gonna die tonight!” Says a young woman bearing a holy symbol of Norgorber and wearing scale mail. ”I command you to flee!” She says, pointing at Ifran.

Ifran Will Save DC13: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20 Nailed it.

To Moe’s dismay, Ifran does not flee at all.

The other woman who is still standing in the door can be seen pulling a vial and uncorking it, pouring the liquid on a strange shaped weapon. (kama)

Perception Eenie: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17
Percpetion Moe: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15

Unbeknownst to either of the women, and small Grippli sits between the crates, hidden in the shadows.

OK LISTEN UP EVERYBODY!!! I just completed round 1 actions for the enemies. I am going to rule that you are ready, and therefore had 1 round to prep before round 1 actually happens. So everyone needs to take one round of pre-fight actions, and then you can take your round 1 action.

Next up: Everybody (Round 1)

As Glarifyur hears the rattle and shaking, his brow furrows and his teeth clench. He has been ready for this moment for the past half-hour, and he spares a quick glance behind the crate at two feline eyes in the darkness.

The attack came much faster and higher than Glarifyur expected, and only a last-second tucking of his chin (another of Durifyur's lessons) saved him from a cut throat and a quick ending to his adventuring carrer. Blood and hair flies from the wound, and to his great dismay a chunk of mustache hangs limply to the cord binding it to the rest of his beard.

"Ghhaaa!! Ye bastard!!!"

Glarifyur steels his anger and swings his waraxe at the new barber.

Dwarven Waraxe: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19
Damage: 1d10 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12

F*ck yeah! Take that ya beard-notching jerk!

"Paaaa...thhhhh... *gurgle*" The masked man suddenly coughs a fount of blood from behind his mask, clutching the gaping wound on his chest. In moments he crumples to the ground, wheezing slowly as the blood pool beneath him widens.

One shot. Daaaaaaayum.

Oh dear! Oh dear! I thought they'd come through all bunched up together... now she's really close to me... and... oh dear.

Bugdip steps back slightly and hugs closer to the crates, ready to 'pounce' if they clump up.

Done a sample cone-shaped burst as a dashed red line to help with adjudicating that one.

Forgot my prep action: Bugdip produces his wand and casts shield upon himself.

Prep round action...

The youth hears the sound of the dreaded agents slithering close by and turns to sprint across the floor. He had picked nearly the most inopportune location to be standing when the enemy arrived and needed to make up ground before the aspis snakes had a chance to get their wits about them.

Prep round action: Double move action

First Round...

The youth continues running directly toward the nearest foe that has entered the structure. While feet away from the enemy, he gracefully draws up the slender blade at his side while continuing to stride closer. Upon reaching the foe, the youth continues past the mark and hoping to draw the agent's attack in order to lash back with deadly force.

Move Action: move 30-feet, ending one square west of Meenie. This movement could draw an AoO from Meenie (see below)

If Meenie takes a melee AoO against Edgar, he will expend 1 use of his Opportune Parry and Riposte (Ex) ability, to attempt to negate the attack and also attack back in return.

Sliding to a stop against the wall, nearly on the complete opposite side of the structure, he lunges foward with his rapier.

Standard Action: Attack @ Meenie

attack @ Meenie, rapier: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

I'll double move for my prep action to be a bit closer and move Dogmeat as well.

Amin senses trouble and moves himself and Dogmeat closer towards Bugdip. Just then the Aspis guards throw open the door.

Combat Round actions

Amin positions himself at the top of the stairs, brandishing his glaive. "You pile of fish guts! I hope you've made peace with whatever fool god decided to take you as a worshipper!" Whistling, he commands, "Dogmeat, sick 'em!"

Handle Animal: Attack Moe: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7 I don't think Dogmeat listens...GM you can roll / decide what Dogmeat does!

Meanwhile, Regina leaps on the box that had previously been blocking the door and tries to use Miney as a chew toy.

Assuming Meenie is down from Glarifyur's attack, can Regina attack Miney from the top of the box? If not, disregard her attack and move her below the box, 10 feet away from Glarifyur.

Attack Bite (+2 Dex from Tiger Focus): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

It all happened very fast, the Aspis agents pouring in from seemingly all directions. And one of them was casting a spell!

How distasteful! Using magic to take away the flair of an honest battle. Nay, 'tis ought to be fought man to man - fist to fist. A mettle of physical prowress, not tricks of arcane foolery. I challenge thee, sir Spellcaster, to fight your battle with your body!

Tybain runs through the platform, and jumps down like an avenging angel - his cloak casting long shadows as it descends after the man. And unaware his frog-like ally had prepared to deal with similar arcane tricks he now so disdains, he launches his attack at Moe. Just as his feet touch the ground, he springs back up delivering his knee straight at Moe's face.

Arcobatics to jump down: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
Unarmed attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8
NL damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

"Finally, wehave only beenwaiting here forever!" Nugats moves himself towards where a spell was being cast and unleashes his Wand of Magic Missiles.

Vs lavender foe

Magic Missile Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

"Youwillpayforwhatyou'vedone."

Bugdip is positively jittery as the Aspis agents completely ignore him. He waits impatiently for the other agent to get within the area of the spell he wants to cast. While he can barely hold himself back, he knows that Finarin, master of calm and control, would wait patiently for the opportune time to strike.

And so he waits.

Edgar sprints across the room, but is too late to stab at Meenie before Glarifyur cuts him down in a rage for damaging his moustache. He stabs out at Eenie who still stands in the doorframe, aghast at how quickly his companion was layed low. The nimble youth’s change in direction is enough to distract him from landing a solid blow. Sorry Edgar! I should have updated the map to show that Meenie was down already. I moved your attack to the other guy, but it would have missed both of them anyways.

Amin summons his natural connection to animals, but it appears he really is a cat person, and Dogmeat is too distracted by the pretty lights and sudden activity. He barks and snarls and spins in circles, letting everyone know that someone is here! In his canine excitement, he forgets to listen to the command.

Regina is a natural hunter, and knows instinctively what to do. She leaps upon the crate, ready to swipe down at the intruder. Like Rattus, she is dismayed that her foe is cut down so quickly, and so makes a swipe at the man still in the door. Had the doorframe not gotten in her way, she may have connected with her claws on his face. cover from around the corner foiled Regina.

Tybain leaps from the ledge with a touch of grace, landing and bringing his knee towards the midsection of the woman priestess in front of him. His landing was off of his intended target though, which forces his blow to go wide.

Nugats uses his newly acquired wand to send the pretty light arcing across the room that distracts Dogmeat from his command. This bolt cannot miss, and strikes the cleric of the thieving god square in the chest.

Next up: Ifran (Round 1)

When Ifran hears the agents banging around, he casts divine favor. He chuckles when Moe tries to get him to run away. "My teachers always told me I didn't have enough sense to run when I should. I guess they were right. Maybe it was just because I don't run very fast that I never thought it was a good idea."

And then, just to turn the trick around on her, Ifran casts murderous command on her. DC15 Will or she attacks Eenie next round

Ok – Had to put some serious thought into the sequence of events here. I grouped their initiative to make our PbP lives easier, but because sequencing here is so important, I went back to dex bonuses for the enemies. Eenie goes first, but based on Bugdip and Ifran’s actions, several things are going to interrupt. I pictured it in my head in super slow motion, then re-pictured it again at full speed once I worked it out. I recommend you do the same… cool visual.

Moe Will Save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11 The Aspis cleric loses a certain twinkle in her eye as the charismatic forces of personality that is Ifran washes over her senses.

Eenie gets a wicked snarl on her face and charges in to Tybain, who has lined himself up perfectly. ”Irori guide my blade!” says the pious woman.

However, as soon as she breaks into view of the hidden Bugdip, he finally allows himself the release he has been waiting for. Flames erupt from his hands, engulfing both women.

Moe Reflex: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (8) + 0 = 8
Eenie Reflex: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21

The nimble Eenie sees a flicker of flame out of the corner of her eye just in time, and ducks as she runs across the room. The flames scorch her back, but she avoids the brunt of it. Moe on the other hand, has spun so many times in her confusion that she never sees the fan of fire coming and it washes over her entire body, burning hair, skin, and singing loose clothing.

Keeping her momentum, Eenie lashes out at Tybain, determined to deal with the flame thrower later.

Eenie attack vs Tybain, charging: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 4 + 2 = 14 for Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

Ducking the flames must have thrown off her balance, as her oily Kama goes wide of its mark.

Almost messed up, but caught myself. See spoiler below for what ALMOST happened. Instead, this is what happens:

Eenie’s attack brings her line of sight down and to the left where she sees her cleric companion charred heavily, skin melting off of her face as she weezes and gasps for air.

Meenie stabilize roll: 1d20 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (9) + 1 - 2 = 8 The masked cutpurse’s breaths become a little more ragged, and the bloodpool gets wider beneath him.

The battle is quickly flowing against the Aspis agents, and so Miney decides that out of desperation, he must find a way to start turning the tide.

”What does a dwarf with half a moustache say? Nothing! Dwarves are to stupid to talk! Gufwaaa ahahahahah!”

Cast hideous laughter on Glarifyur. DC 14 Will save or fall prone in a hysterical fit of laughter.

Glarifyur Will Save, DC 14, dwarf resistance bonuses: 1d20 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 + 2 = 9

The joke is not funny. It’s not even a joke. But Glarifyur cannot resist the pull to laugh at the situation. He falls in a heap, tears streaming down his face as he laughs an angry laugh that promises murder when he gets back up.

Next up: The Party! (Round 2)

"Step out of the way once you've attacked her!" calls Bugdip, pulling a flask of alchemist's fire from his bandolier and taking aim at Eenie.

Man, +0 BAB, can't even get into melee and attack! Urgh. At least I can throw stuff with my amazing 17 dex! Hooray for sub optimal race / class combos. Loving the RP aspect, though.

Oh, and can someone Lockwood me a 5ft step northwards please?

"Damn... this... leg!!!" Ifran hobbles his way down the stairs.

Oh, and can someone Lockwood me a 5ft step northwards please?

Lockwood complete!

"Bwaa, ha ha ha!! An elf with half a mustache!! Elves don't have mustaches!!! Wait....

Full-Round Action Will save to end effect: 1d20 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 + 2 = 15

Save should pass, unless this guy has an 18 or higher for his casting ability score...

"...he said 'Dwarf', not 'Elf'....Grrrrr....."

Glarifyur prepares to take to his feet and show this fool something REALLY funny!

Also, what is the meaning of "Lockwood" as a verb instead of Chris' last name?

Also, what is the meaning of "Lockwood" as a verb instead of Chris' last name?

Early on in our online gaming here, Chris Lockwood would often post from his phone. He wasn't able to move his token on the tactical map, so he would always ask someone to move it for him. Eventually (I can't find the post where it happened) someone suggested calling it a "lockwood" when you had to ask someone to move your token for you. It stuck, hard and fast.

We also have a few other terms. Continually rolling only 1, 2, or 3 on a d20 is lesser known as "Lorting it" from Lort's (aka Bugdip, aka Damien) statistically highly unlikely streak of the same at Gen Con last year. (To Damien's relief, this isn't used as often as Lockwood is)

Getting "Cyrus'd" is the term we use when your post gets Ninja'd. (someone makes a post in the time you were writing your post, and gets in front of you in the post order) Cyrus is my "main" character for our group, and he is a Ninja. I can't remember where that started (Damien I believe) but that stuck pretty quick too. This is one of the innumerable reasons why this group is so awesome.