Kingmaker: The Varnhold Vanishing (Inactive)

Game Master wehrpig

Reeling from the blow, Connor draws his battleaxe and swings as he directs Cinder to fight in concert with him. His features take on a bullish aspect as he activates his connection with the primal.

Swift animal aspect, move draw, standard attack

Connor PA to hit: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10; miss

Cinder PA Bite to hit: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26; Damage: 1d4 + 12 ⇒ (3) + 12 = 15
Cinder PA Hoof to hit: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20; Damage: 1d6 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13
Cinder PA Hoof to hit: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21; Damage: 1d6 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

Cinder doesn't like dragons, apparently

Seres shouts, startled from his insular distraction. He recovers quickly and casts an enchantment on his bow, readying it to fire.

Gravity bow

Init: Ezekial, Veronica, Larisa, Connor, Dragon, Raff, Seres

Round 1

Seres enchants his bow.

Round 2

Ezekial slinks through the shadows towards the melee - the dragon appears oblivious to him.

Veronica fires her bow but the shot is wide.

Larisa fires her crossbow and lands a punishing hit.

Connor flounders under the fury of the dragon's assault, but Cinder is able to rip through the beast's scales with his jaws.

The dragon roars with pain and redirects its attacks at Cinder. The dragon's bite is deflected by the Cinder's thick barding, but the dragon's tail manages to wrap around and pummel the horse hard on the flank (10 hp damage).

Raff and Seres may take their second round actions. Everyone else may take their third round actions.

Last round of Bane
Larisa reloads and fires again.
Attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27
damage: 1d20 + 2d6 + 8 ⇒ (7) + (2, 3) + 8 = 20

Longbow attack, divine favor, point-blank: 1d20 + 6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 6 + 2 + 1 = 10

*twang*

Ezekial draws and throws a dagger from hiding.

dagger vs flat footed AC?: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 191d4 + 5 + 3d8 ⇒ (3) + 5 + (5, 6, 8) = 27

After the throw he moves farther into the overgrowth.

Seres imbues his arrow with magical force and sends it flying towards the dragon.

Stag Lord's Bow (AS/PBS/GB): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20; Damage: 2d6 + 6 ⇒ (2, 1) + 6 = 9

Connor and Cinder continue to fight, the cavalier reining in Cinder to be more controlled in her attacks. (No more power attack if those 20s aren't hitting)

Connor to hit: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

Cinder bite: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15
Cinder hoof: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23; Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
Cinder hoof: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Connor ride check to avoid Cinder damage: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22

Init: Ezekial, Veronica, Larisa, Connor, Dragon, Raff, Seres

Round 2

Seres fires on the dragon but his arrow cannot penetrate its scales.

Round 3

Ezekial sneaks up on the dragon and throws his dagger at the creature and lodges the blade through its neck - sending green blood spraying out over Connor.

Veronica fires her bow and again fails to hit.

Larisa fires her crossbow and sinks the bolt deep into the dragon's head - killing it.

2400 XP

Veronica is mid-arrow draw when Larisa's crossbow sinks into the dragon's neck. The shifter slowly releases the draw on her bow as the dragon thrashes and sprays blood and dies. She breathes heavily, her hair frazzled, still looking half-panicked.

"That... was unexpected," she finally manages to get out.

"Zeke? Connor? Is everyone all right?" she asks next, looking around to see if she can spot all of her friends.

I am ok. Zeke calls out from the underbrush, sounding less than ok. Damn thing burned me thought.

Seres eyes the surrounding forest, looking for any other draconic foes.

"Burned? Zeke, I can hear you but I can't see you. Let me help," says Veronica with a plaintive edge to her voice.

Lairsa stares at the dead dragon, advancing on it with a curious eye once she's sure it's dead. Kneeling by it she breathes deep, taking a moment to catch it's scent. "I wonder where it's lair was, and what treasure it collected." She appraises it's size, running a hand over it's head. "Doesn't look too old, probably why it made the mistake of attacking us, though I am surprised it didn't try to engage us in conversation. I thought dragons were more talkative than that." With a shrug she remounts her steed and trots it over to Connor. "What's the call, personally it's starting to get late and we need to recover, if we can find it's lair the smell of dragon should deter most wildlife from harassing us in the night."

"We need a break and if there is a lai nearby, should be as good as any."

He eyes the creatures wings, "However, it could be quite a ways off and difficult to track. Unless we have a dog to sniff it out?"

"Let's spiral out for a bit and see what we can find, but after an hour we set up camp."

Ezekiel comes out of the brush to look more closely at the creature. Right. This has to be the apex predator in the area. Is it a real dragon though? Maybe a cousin? He spends some time looking for trails or other clues. I wonder what the thing has been eating? Is it worth cutting its gullet?

"I don't know how to tell," says Veronica as she reassembles the group. "Seres? Aren't dragons magical creatures? Maybe you know?"

Channel Energy: Healing: 3d6 ⇒ (2, 1, 1) = 4
Channel Energy: Healing: 3d6 ⇒ (6, 2, 4) = 12

Seres shakes his head, shrugging, "I don't know, really, other than its, well... dragon-ish."

Sorcerer skills strike again!

Larisa smiles at Connor, tapping her nose. "Just as good as any hound." She says as she begins tracking the dragon. Survival to track: 1d20 + 13 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 13 + 4 = 30

After a brief search Larsia is able to find a set of dragon tracks that approach the clearing from the west. She is able to lead the group to the dragon's lair several miles away. This tangled thicket is littered with rotting meat, cracked bones, and scattered items of gnawed-on equipment. Most of the gear is ruined, but several items appear salvageable: a ripped and broken masterwork chain shirt, a masterwork darkwood longbow, and a tattered, bloodstained cloak with elven insignia, which you identify as a cloak of elvenkind.

"Let's gather this up and then make camp for the night. Let's trust in Larisa's assessment that creatures have come to avoid the apex predator's lair."

"I can use a spell to repair the damage to this chain shirt," says Veronica as the team is sorting through the goods.

She sets up her bedroll in the musty thicket, doing her best to clear a spot of rocks and brambles.

"Does anyone need more magical aid before we go to sleep?"

"Just a cure for insanity, before we wade into a camp full of trolls."

Connor, is your hp total in your stat bar accurate?

Yes, Connor and Cinder are both pretty hurt

You bed down and make camp in the dragon's lair.

12 Arodus 4710

The night passes without incident. You wake to a pleasantly warm summer morning. After backtracking several miles you return to the site of the dragon encounter.

Before bed, Veronica uses the last of her healing powers to try to get Connor and the rest of the team back into fighting trim.

Channel Energy: Healing: 3d6 ⇒ (2, 1, 3) = 6
Cure moderate wounds on Connor: 2d8 + 6 ⇒ (4, 1) + 6 = 11
Cure moderate wounds on Cinder: 2d8 + 6 ⇒ (5, 7) + 6 = 18

That evening
As she settles down for the evening Lairsa looks over at Connor and Cinder with concern. Gingerly she settles down next to him, looking over his scars. "Are you okay?" She asks, placing a hand tenderly on his shoulder.

Connor smiles weakly at Larisa and then looks away, "Shoulda seen those coming, "

He winces slightly as he rolls his shoulder trying not to reopen the wounds.

"Feel worse about Cinder, need to do a better job of keeping her out of the way of those blows. "

I could put that cloak to good use. Ezekial comments. Veronica’s healing magic does much to close his wounds. Do we recover HP overnight?

Seres wakes with a start, taking in a shuddering breath. You can see his brow and arms covered in a sheen of fever sweat. He climbs out of his bedroll quickly and begins pacing the camp, eyeing the surrounding woods nervously. "I just had the most disturbing dream... a vision, or perhaps a threat... from the Stag Lord, and whatever foul power he serves now," Seres rambles. "I saw him in a great ziggurat, seated on a throne of bones beneath a statue of writhing trees. A sickly, green wisp floated beside him. Hundreds of worshipers sat around. 'I will have my retribution', he said."

Larisa looks over at Cinder, a pang of guilt running through her and over her face. "I'm sorry for running off like I did, if I'd kept my cool maybe you wouldn't have gotten so hurt. You nearly died Connor." She shivers at the thought, wrapping her arms around herself. "I, wanted to prove myself to you all again after Grigori. I thought if I could fine the boy, maybe bring him home it would go a way towards redeeming me."

Larisa seems to shrink in on herself, allowing herself a moment of vulnerability. "I would have gotten myself killed, so thank you all of you. I don't know what I did to deserve friends like you." She looks over at Connor for a second, a look of shame on her face before her eyes dart away. "Even after I've hurt you. But I couldn't ask for greater friends and your people couldn't ask for better leaders."

Drawing herself together she looks over at Connor, taking in how the fire light plays over his Wounds, his scars earned in battle. "You nearly died fighting to save one of your own. His parents were overjoyed to have him returned and your people know that you would brave anything to protect them. You will make a fine ruler, Erastil knows." Summoning up her courage she places a hand on his shoulder and gently kisses his check. "I sorry for everything and I know you probably don't want anything to do with me, that way. But I would be honored to fight by your side till the bitter end. By everything I hold dear, I swear you can always count on me to be at your side."

Larisa is able to determine that the troll tracks lead west into the depths of the Narlmarches. As you travel deeper into the forest, the flat tracks of woodland give way to rolling hills. After a day of exploration, you come to a crumbling stone fortress perched on a bald hill top. The tracks follow a narrow path winding its way up the hill, a steep cliff face on one side and a sheer drop-off on the other. At the top, the path follows a wide ledge, where the corner of the weathered stone building juts from the side of the hill.

No responses to the nightmare?

Seres frowns at the singular path to the hilltop. "Zeke scouts again, or do we want to go together?"

If we start up, Seres will cast gravity bow preemptively.

Commenting on the dream Zeke laments I hope it was only a dream and no view of the future. I really hoped we had killed the only whisp we were going to have to fight. I do not look forward to facing another, perhaps more powerful one. Perhaps we need to always have a communal protection from energy spell ready... He looks quite worried.

With travel time can I assume we are all healed up?

Looking at the trail ahead Zeke comments I can scout it, but there is not much cover on the trail and not much room to maneuver. I think it best if we simply all go up. I am happy to lead.

Zeke, you get the benefits of resting over night - 1 hp per level.

At the top of the narrow path is a crumbling stone watch tower. A single stone door provides the only visible entrance. The stone door is cracked and extensively damaged. Arrow slits overlook the approach and to the north and east.

The map is updated on Roll 20. You are welcome to adjust your marching order. Actions?

As the group heads up the ramp, Seres casts a spell, transforming his hands and feet with claws and climbing pads. He moves around the cliff face to the east, climbing easily up the wall below the doors.

Animal aspect - tree lizard, grants a 15 ft natural climb speed.

Zeke, you get the benefits of resting over night - 1 hp per level.

]

And we had two nights total so Zeke is full up.

Moving quietly up to the door Ezekiel will listen and then check for traps.

Stealth: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (1) + 18 = 19

Perception-Listen: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (18) + 16 = 34

Perception-Seach: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (19) + 16 = 35

"That sounds a bit vivid for a normal nightmare, Seres. Have you had prophetic or similar dreams before?"

Connor shakes his head, "Regardless, we should not be surprised thst the Stag Lord has taken up with evil and seeks vengeance. He was courting it when we found him the first time. Seems he is part of the driving force of this new nation. It appears we shall not be negotiating. '

Connor casts leadblades and bristle as he awaits the scouting report.

Zeke, where are you getting the second night's rest from? We made camo at the dragon lair and then spent the day exploring, ending up here.

After re-reading, perhaps we are at the end of the second day and not the beginning of the third. Zeke would be down 3 hp then.

Ezekial finds no traps on the battered door. He hears the muffled sounds of guttural voices speaking within.

Any extra days spent traveling, people would get healed with Veronica's Channel Energy power, so you should be fully healed.

Veronica cocks her head at Zeke, bow held ready, as if to prompt him to gesture or whisper about what he's noticed.

Can he tell how many voices?

You hear two distinct voices Ezekial.

Ezekail looks back to the group, waves, holds up two fingers and points into the crumbling stone watch tower. He then pulls both blades and moves to the side of the door, blending into the tower wall and the shadows its casts as best he can.

Stealth: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (14) + 18 = 32

Awaiting the report from Zeke Larisa loads her weapon, watching for signs of trouble. Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27

Larisa sees the signal from Ezekial to move up. She sees no threats around the watch tower.

Larisa wraps her cloak around her and sneaks up to Ezekial. stealth: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (6) + 16 = 22

"Seres, do you have any magical forms of communication with them available to you?" Connor whispers.

He sits Cinder watching and waiting patiently, but gripping the reins as the anxiety of the unknown beyond the fortress door starts to seep in.