Into the Haunted Forest: Non-PFS Sanctioned Module (Inactive)

Game Master DoubleGold

Adventure Background now that we got through the introduction

Adventure Background
The Forest King Narven ruled over the
Arthfell more than two centuries ago.
Devoted to a druidic faith, this arboreal
kingdom left few traces upon the land
when it collapsed in a bloody coup led by
the peoples of the southern moors, who
sought to embrace the civilization of the
surrounding lands. The only survivor of the
forest king’s family fled to the depths of
the primeval forest after Narven was slain
on the field of battle. Generations later, the
last descendant of the forest king’s line, a
druid named Willowroot, sought out the
ancient battlefield where his ancestor
fell. He hoped to recover five unique
items that once belonged to Narven—the
regalia carried into battle by the last forest
king, crafted by his druid advisors and
supposedly imbued with the elements of
nature. These legendary elemental regalia
of the king were known collectively as the
Panoply of Narven. The panoply consisted
of the breastplate of the sacred fire, the wand of
earth’s ire, the codex of the firmament, the vial
of pure water, and the spirit-staff of Narven.
Five years ago, Willowroot succeeded in his
quest and unearthed the panoply and chose
to re-consecrate it back to the elements
from which the items were formed, marking
their locations on the monument he raised
in remembrance of his ancestor.
After placing the other four items in
appropriate shrines, Willowroot carried
the spirit-staff to a small inn standing at the
center of the Arthfell. The inn, called Spirit
of the Wood, was originally founded by a
half-satyr as a way to control the encroachment
of civilization into the domain of the
fey in the wake of the forest kingdom’s collapse,
while maintaining friendly relations
with the races who sought to pass through
the wood. Unfortunately, when Willowroot
arrived at the inn he found a band of goblin
brigands attacking it. Willowroot called
forth the powers of nature to defeat the
attackers, summoning a wooden protector,
but even its mighty power was insufficient
to the task, and the goblins slaughtered the
druid and his fey allies. Their sacrifice was
not entirely in vain, however, and they managed
to destroy all of the goblin raiders save
one. This last goblin fled from the inn, terrified
of the power of nature unleashed. For
years he maintained a low profile and honed
his latent magical ability. Along the way, he
joined up with a group of mercenaries that
he slowly manipulated into trusting him.
Now, he is finally ready to return to the lost
inn and reclaim the loot he was forced to
leave behind.

The first thing Line would have done is retrieved and cleaned his chakram. :-)

Line has no interest in the items that have been found so far. When the group gets to the inn Line says to the other characters, "Perhaps one of you should take the lead in a setting like this."

I'll have to be more mindful of making Knowledge (anything) rolls. As an afterthought from the brief battle, he'll take a 10 on Kn. (nature) to try to identify the dogs by what's left of them (15).

Klujjen will enquire around the bar if anyone knows of any big dog infestations in the area. And if anyone has heard of this "Brightflame" item, without letting on we've actually got it.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8
That could've been better! :P

Who wants to hold on to that "Brightflame" (+1 Dagger)? A dagger won't be too useful for me

well I guess I could take just to add more cold resistance

and I'll try to deploy ^_^

pulling the tung tied half orc back, this is odd since the kobold is only 3 feet tall

"don't mind my bumbling friend we found a mutilated goblin oid on the road that was getting torn aperture by dogs, would any of you know we're his next of kin might be?"

-Posted with Wayfinderdeplo unclass: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (17) - 1 = 16

Hay not bad ^_^

Klujjen just scratches his head as he realizes a Kobold about a tenth his weight is trying to move him.

"HOB-goblin, actually. Definitely dead, though!"

I guess if the dice were predictable, it would be kind of boring!

You just have to learn to live with the fact that the RNG is in league with the forces of darkness. :-)

Line simply stands in the background with his shield slung over his shoulder while the other characters do all the talking.

Orgril will order a beer and some food, then take a moment to see if he knows anything about the staff or the goblin.

kn local: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (20) + 12 = 32

I swear I'm not cheating, haha. It seems I have stolen all of the luck from the rest of the group.

Klujjen mumbles about the brightflame dagger and discovers that is a huge mistake. Immediately 3 Blackbanners come up to him. Ah, the dagger we have been looking for, hand it over and they don't say it nicely but they are aggressive about it.

Orgril Lamon know that the Blackbanners although good want the Brightflame and they right now are suspicious of your alignment because you possess it, even though you all said you just found it. They fear the power it might bring. He knows the names...Grelm Hammerlock, Pudge Whartley and Nirashi Slyvanmede

He also recognizes Sara, as she is one of the inns serving girls. A nice pretty 32 year old with black hair. Everyone knows her as a virgin and refuses to give up it before marriage. She is usually a honest and nice girl.

Doctor Phineus Krane. He is the man in the corner with his girlfriend and his girlfriend is not around here. He is a good doctor, but drinks a lot. They have never fired him for his drinking problem because he does his job well even when drunk. Luckily he rarely if ever gets violent when drunk.

He also recognizes the Sheriff, one of the halflings. Upholder of the Law. LN. He is a level 4 sheriff and although he is a near-pacifist, he refuses to fight unless called upon to do so, or if it means saving a life or defending someone else, but tries to avoid fighting if at all possible.

And he regonizes nobody further as they either aren't from around here or don't get out much.

Orgril looks to the Blackbanners.

"Step back boys, I think you are getting ahead of yourselves."

He then looks to the sheriff, and speaks quite loudly and clearly.

"Sheriff, we could use your mediation over here."

Klujjen is curious about any ulterior motives the Sheriffs might have.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9
Yup! They want it! :P

zxill moves in front of his master wen the men walk up

"why don't you slow down and have a seat so we can talk"

deplo unclass: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (18) - 1 = 17

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Line does not draw a weapon, but he does shift his shield from its slung position to where it is ready for use on his shield arm. Line moves into a position alongside Klujjen.

Line says in his bizarre monotone voice, at a somewhat louder than usual volume, "Stand down!"

Intimidate check: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

The blackbanners speak. Give us the dagger, or we knock you unconscious they say aggressively and loudly
The Sheriff then speaks. Now wait a minute, that weapon was used in a murder a few days ago other than it being found on the goblin you all just said you killed, I need to compsinscate that for evidence, and if a fight breaks out, I will be there to knock both of your groups unconscious with the help of my halfings. And if anyone pulls out a weapon, so will I. Anyone who withholds the dagger, will go to jail for withholding evidence, fight and you'll get a longer sentence, use lethal force and you will all get no less than one week regardless of circumstances, so what is it going to be?

Heroes...
Hand dagger to Blackbanners?
Hand dagger to Sheriff?
Fight? All damage will be nonlethal, but if you pull out a weapon, so will everyone else.
Something else?
Since we never decided who specifically has the dagger on them right now, I'm going to roll.
who has the dagger gets to make the main decision, each individual character can make their own decision, if you don't like the decision the person makes, but if the dagger gets handed over and another person still fights, that could cause problems and party splitting, if that is what you all want. who: 1d4 ⇒ 2 line is 1, Klujjen is 2, Xildal is 3, Orgil is 4.

Klujjen currently had the dagger on him.

xildhal turns to the small serif takes a step to him

"look we found it on the road and we were ting to find out who it might belong to. But if you want to take this responsibility of our hands then you go a head."

Xildhal inclines his head to ku

"give him the dagger and let's be done with this. No need to fight for something so small."

^_^ did not mean for it to come out that way

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Oh boy! Lucky me! I think...

Klujjen will glare at the Blackbanners and then walks over to the Sheriff and hand him the dagger. And then he'll say quite loudly, for all to hear "We killed nobody! We found this dagger on a hobgoblin's corpse on the road nearby. Lying there plain as day. He had been mauled to death by three giant dogs that we dispatched. We have no idea who the dead hobgoblin was, nor where he came from. But the dagger we DO want. As fairly claimed booty."

The only way Line can hit somebody for nonlethal damage is to use his sap as his natural attack slam does lethal damage. But pulling out his sap would be "pulling a weapon". Hmmm.

Line says, "I am not a being of flesh and blood such as you are. My fists are lethal weapons."

Line draws his sap. He says, "But if any of you are stupid enough to attack me or my friends I will show you the error of your ways."

First of all, I want to point out the humor in our group. Considering we have half-orc, half-orc, kobold, golem, the 2 half-orcs are the most "normal humanoids."
Second, the dagger is not one of the items we are searching for to clear our names is it?

"Sheriff, why don't we go with you back to the town hall and let you look over the dagger. We could even show you where we found it. Afterwards, maybe you can find a way to compensate us for our assistance with your investigation?"

First of all, I want to point out the humor in our group. Considering we have half-orc, half-orc, kobold, golem, the 2 half-orcs are the most "normal humanoids."

Second, the dagger is not one of the items we are searching for to clear our names is it?

"Sheriff, why don't we go with you back to the town hall and let you look over the dagger. We could even show you where we found it. Afterwards, maybe you can find a way to compensate us for our assistance with your investigation?"

you know i always find it funny when people play a NG or LG character. They still ask for a reward when its for the authorities ^_^

Never mind that happy-clappy fluff! I like cash! :D

Looking at the sheriff, Kujjen says: "Well? Would you like us to show you where we found the dagger? There should still be a dead hobgoblin there, as well as what's left of the three over-sized dogs that killed him."

With a glance at the Blackbanners, he adds: "Anyone here could have found it." Then, turning back to the sheriff, he concludes: "Had they not been busy knocking back pints. We did nothing more sinister than find a valuable prize first. And purely by blind luck at that."

The sheriff thanks you as you hand him the dagger, but the black banners are not looking too happy about it. And before you can all say more, the sheriff demands silence, although line does still draw his sap and still gets his treat off. I'm assuming your in characters would not have continued to speak after the sheriff demands silence, so I'm ignoring any dialogue after Lines post. If you still would have spoke after the Sheriff demanded silence, let me know

At line: who are you trying to threaten/warn with your post, the Sheriff, the Blackbanners or everyone in the bar, or someone else? This is important for me to know who you are directing it at. Also please roll intimidate.

init will be rolled soon as the black banners are not happy about this, but depending upon who line directed his speech at, this can affect many things in battle and who all in the bar is involved

The sheriff continues to speak you may get the dagger back, but I really need this for investigation first, and I can't promise you that you will have it back anytime soon.

Line was speaking to the Black Banners as they were the ones who were most directly threatening to knock people out.

Intimidate check: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24

And got a pretty good result.

Speaking to the Sheriff: "You will want to check the site we found the body at fairly soon. It won't be long before scavengers clean up the mess that's there now."

init: 1 + 1d20 ⇒ 1 + (19) = 20 sheriff
init: 1 + 1d20 ⇒ 1 + (17) = 18 Klujjen
init: 4 + 1d20 ⇒ 4 + (4) = 8 Line
init: 4 + 1d20 ⇒ 4 + (14) = 18 xildhal
init: 3 + 1d20 ⇒ 3 + (10) = 13 ogril
init: 7 + 1d20 ⇒ 7 + (2) = 9 black banner leader
init: 0 + 1d20 ⇒ 0 + (18) = 18 other black banners.

round 1 start, combat has broken out the black banners are intimidated, the sheriff is on your side. Klujjen and Xildal are up followed by the sheriff, followed by the black banners, followed by the ogril, followed by the leader, followed by line.

map is up, unmarked squares are tables and chairs

Klujjen will initiate a Rage song to buff himself and his allies (2nd of 15 rage song rounds for the day). He will then position himself just in front of Orgil (hope I got that right on the map) and ready his spiked chain.

He will wait for the Black Banners to come to him. He will use his spiked chain for both AoO against incoming Black Banners and use the Trip CM on them.

AoO 1: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
AoO 2: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20
His CMB will be up one due to his Rage Song

He will not try to use lethal damage for this round. He wants to keep it a simple dust-up dust-up and will try to avoid bloodshed.

I don't see where the Sheriff demanded silence, his wording would be important to the CG alchemist. All I see is that he threatened us with jail or unconsciousness if we did not hand over the dagger. Based on that he would have said he piece as part of the 'terms' of handing over the dagger. I may have missed it though, I'm often reading this on my phone.

Orgril would have still requested compensation as the dagger was handed over. He is obviously not being hostile or aggressive about it, he just doesn't like giving valuable things away for free.

"Much like my metal friend, I don't 'dust-up.' If you choose to attack me and I have to defend myself, I can't guarantee your survival. I would much rather go back to drinkin."

both zxil and xildhal see the hostile stance the few are taking. Xildhal closes his eyes and says

"apsu make my aim true"

xildhal takes out his crossbow and as he dose this. The silver scaled monitor lizard begins to change. Silver plates that look like bone grow from its scales and zxills claws grow in size and look like they could easily rip a man appart

zxill gives a hiss as he takes the new stronger from and rakes it's menacing claws across the floor in font of him and his master daring anything to challenge him. If they try to attack his master or his Master's companions

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the black banners come closer ready to attack Klujjen, but are frightened of him for the moment. Klujjen, go ahead and roll your non-lethal damage, this has to be done before I resolve their attacks as you might 1-hit KO them as they are that weak.

Non-Lethal 1: 2d4 + 7 ⇒ (1, 1) + 7 = 9
Non-Lethal 1: 2d4 + 7 ⇒ (3, 3) + 7 = 13

Thanks to his rage song, STR=20 for now, spiked chain is a two-handed weapon, so the damage bonus is +7 instead of +5

If they are both that that weak, I might have knocked both of them senseless! I like the Spiked Chain, I do, I do!!

Somehow I never realized that if you do the trip combat manoeuvre, you also do non-lethal damage. Shows you how often it crops up in games I've played to date. Good to know!

Ooops! Those should've been labelled "1" and "2". My bad... :P

Klujjen knocks both enemies unconcious. with single blows that is.

xihdal and ogril are up

That's a good start!

well since I can't really do non lethal damage with a bolt...I'll aim for the leg? Will you let me do that

not wanting to kill the fools with the law there xildhal thinks to disable his enemies so he takes aim and fire a bolt at the one furthest from him

crossbow attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9

damage: 1d6 ⇒ 4

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Orgril will drink an extract of shield and wait for reactions. He will also back up a bit to get out of melee.

"Stand down. This is your last chance to stop."

at ogril, roll diplomacy or intimidate, you get a hidden unknown bonus because his two minions are unconscious. Obviously your higher modifier is what you'd roll, but if it makes any difference, diplomacy can affect his behavior towards you in this game, while intimidate can affect his behavior in another way in this game, whether it would be minor affects or majorly affects, you don't know.

Xildhal fires the crossbow but the arrow goes past his head over his right shoulder.

The sheriff continues to delay until after knows the results of what ogril is doing to see if the enemy surrenders. because he is lawful

Actually, he is not trying to convince them, he is justifying killing them, to the sheriff, if they attack him.

With that he would make sure that he was speaking as much to the sheriff as them.

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okay so the sheriff gets into melee to strike down Grelm hit: 10 + 1d20 ⇒ 10 + (12) = 22
dmg: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Grelm has had enough, 2 of his allies unconscious, and him hurt badly he surrenders. okay, fine you can have the dagger, we are just trying to keep it out of evil hands too, we have see what that dagger can do and how power can corrupt people, we are not evil, we just want to keep someone from possessing that weapon, it has special powers that are unknown yet, that others have discovered.

The sheriff pays for the heroes rest at a nice inn. does anything wish to do anything before moving onto the next day?

Klujjen will end his Rage Song and try his hand at an untrained Spellcraft check:
Spellcraft: 1d20 ⇒ 3
And scratch his head about what Grelm said.

"Apology accepted. Try not to be so quick to judge next time. The simple truth is we really did find it on a dead hobgoblin that had been mauled by three huge dogs. We were treating it as simple booty, pure and simple. I myself would like to know what you can tell me about this dagger, to make sure it does not get into the wrong hands."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13
That didn't smooth things over as much as I'd like, but it could've been worse!

Klujjen will rouse both Pudge and Nirashi, trying to apply somewhat more gentle nursing than he did with his spiked chain:
Heal: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (15) - 1 = 14
"No hard feelings lads! I just don't like being threatened in a pub. And with a mischievous wink, he concludes: "It's bad for the digestion!"

He will then try to judge the three Black Banners for their sincerity:
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

Klujjen will then talk to the Sheriff to figure out just what he has in mind for that dagger. Especially since its mere presence could be a danger.

Line puts his sap away and slings his shield back over his left shoulder.

He thinks, "It is good to find out that my new friends are so capable. All I had to do was stand around and look menacing. Though I doubt that all our battles will be so easy."

Line appreciates the sheriff's offer, but lets the innkeeper know that all he really needs is just a spot to sit down where he won't be in anybody's way.

"very well"

as xildhal puts up his weapon , zxill sheds his scales and returns to his Normal look

"good would hate for that to get deadly"

he said so as not to let on he missed the shot, zxill is still keeping a defensive stance in front of his master

"now why don't you tell us what this dagger can do?"

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Orgril nods to the blackbanners, assumes a noncombative pose, and turns to the sheriff.

"Well then, now that is settled, on to other business."

"Shall we show you to where we found it? And after, maybe you will show us to the bounty coffers for finding such a dangerous missing object?"

"now friends this is a small village, they could have nothing but thanks to offer us. That being said I would be remiss if we did not ask for some form of thanks, for finding this valuable dagger and the dead one found with it..."

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Dana clumsily walked into the inn. She goes to sit down by the bar. "Whew... Made it!" She sighs and then spies the others talking to she sheriff of th town. "I wonder whats going on there..."

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16
He actually notices Dana (I think)

"Hullo!" Klujjen says to Dana: "You just missed a good bit of fun! Didn't she, lads?" he says in a cheerful manner to Pudge and Nirashi ash helps them back on to their feet.

"Just a wee dust-up. Nothing serious. My name is Klujjen. I'm fond of song and poetry." After a brief pause, he adds "I also like a good fight every now and then."

Dana scratched the back of her head and laughed. "I see.. Um, Im Dana. I guess I like to help people, make them feel better. Im not really one for fighting myself, but I can help you feel better if you get hurt!" She smiled, standing up to walk over ad shake hands, but as soon as she stands, the chair slams to the ground. Dana jumped and walked a bit quicker, laughing nervously again.

Shaking Dana's hand, Klujjen says "Pleased to meet you. My name is Klujjen, as I said." Motioning to the others, he says "This is Line, he definitely knows how to fight. The armour is a bit of a giveaway. That's Xidhal and his hunting companion, Zxill. And that's Orgril, another Half-Orc, like me. We could probably use someone who can heal, since we do like to fight. And more than a little."

"These three fellows," motioning to Grelm, Pudge and Nirashi, "...could use some of your gentle nursing. Or so it would seem."

"Is she always that clumsy?" Klujjen wonders silently to himself.

Line walks over to Dana and says in his bizarre monotone voice, "My name is Line. I usually try to protect people. Somewhat strangely though, in many cases trying to protect some people means having to hurt others. A task that I am accomplished at, though at least this time it was not necessary."

"Welcome."

I'm still a little unsure how to handle party interactions at the moment. Should I be under the opinion that we all knew each other at the beginning of the game? Or that we are meeting each other for the first time before the dog combat?

Probably that we met for the first time. Line, Xindhal and Klujjen had met each other just minutes before we were transported for reasons unknown into that path where the dead Hobgoblin was. Orgil (you) arrived soon after that. So we're still essentially strangers to each other.

confounded by his companions instant friendliness to the female that walk in

"hi...?. Now about that reward"

ya I was playing it that we knew each other for some time . But I don't know the new one ^_;

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might be good to get a gm call on this one.

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