Kyesa, Land of Psionics and Abberant Things

Game Master jimibones83

Jin noted Brother Hawkeye's preparation with an approving nod " We have like minds in that field, as I see you are also ready for the trip along the mountain range. Here take these, they should prove useful in case of injury and dehydration. Are the rest of you prepared? I shall distribute the remainder of the Elixirs as well then we shall head out... Has anyone seen Lan? "

Jin had the particularly heavy bundle provided by the Council upon his back. Their first trek was most uncomfortable but this time it would be much more bearable. The weight combined over 150lbs but Jin carried the weight as he always did, with no sign of complaint, it was his duty to the Party.

Earlier that day upon retrieving said package, he visited the local soothsayers, tracked down the young man to give him his promised reward and sold the Leopard pelt deciding to use the Winter Wolf for a different purpose. The Gold immediately went to The Eye as an apology and act of good will for their gift, the girl there was so kind. Perhaps he would treat her to dinner? No he couldn't it would crash and burn phenomenally and he was well aware of his misgivings in social situations.

Lan joined them after a bit of a delay, having repaired a few traps for the village, and having reset some of his own. He seemed as studiously disinterested as always.

Jin blinked and noticed Lan had once again slipped in while he was thinking and busy distributing the weight on his shoulders. Upon realizing the man was there he smirked and proceeded to distribute the Elixirs in the following manner, assuming they would take the curtives

I am prepared to depart, indeed more so than I was for our previous expedition.

"I am eager to venture further from the village then I have every before. I pray good journey to all of you, and that we can conclude are mission as peaceably as possible!"

Lan remained quiet as he accepted the potions, still ready to travel.

With that Jin nods and turns his back to the group, swinging his arm downward as portions of his suit begin to manifest. The arms Bulky, The Helmet seals, the legs covered in their standard affair as he assumes the Assault Mode.

" ALRIGHT, 'HUNTING PARTY' MOVE OUT! FIRST UP THE HALF-WAY POINT FOR THE CACHE. THEN, THE HOBGOBLINS. "

Jin leads the way into danger once more their second mission was at large. And he carried the weight of the mission both literally and figuratively.

Assumed Assault Mode

During overland movement, assume that if there is any cover, Lan is using stealth. He moves at half-again the speed of Jin, if I'm not mistaken, while stealthing now.

The Hunting Party sets out on their journey, their past experiences noted by the preparation taken for the endeavor. The load weighs on Jin's back, and the cold nips at Brother Hawkeye's face.

Perception checks

For Zaralastra Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

For his Psicrystal Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

Elisa refused the potion and follows, letting Jin lead the way.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

Jin is still confused as to why Elisa seemed dead set on being without healing, perhaps she had a deathwish? He was not good at these things.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Brother Hawkeye knocks an arrow ready to fire if need be.

perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

A natural "1" on a perception roll means you accidentally gouge your eyes out. :)

Zaralastra raises his hand to halt the group, then points up ahead.

It appears we have a polar bear in our path about 100 feet ahead. It appears to be occupied with something, so bypassing it may be an option, though that may require going further off the road than would be safe.

Jin stops a little short and is amazed he somehow missed a creature of its size. He searches his knowledge on such a variation of bear but his decision is not changed much.

Know Nature: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21

Jins Helmet flips up, " The creature is in our way and may have gotten a meal of another animal or a traveler, we might be able to evade it as you have said but it is also possible it's fur and meat could provide further tribute to the Hobgoblins. Let alone eventually this pathway would need to be cleared so that a constant route might be set up for trading. Currently we have distance on our side and two persons capable with bows, we might be better off scaring it away with a few shots and continuing on rather being delayed.. depending on how long said delay may be. If it comes to blows the creature will be injured and we have a few curatives in store for just a situation. More likely it will back off if injured enough. " Flipping back down.

Survival to Determine Delay: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19

In light of Jin's comments I'd suggest that Jin try to scare it off. That would seem to have better odds than normal since it appears to have just eaten. If it attacks us, then we'll have to kill it, but the pelt may be worth something, plus whatever meat we can carry.

Zaralastra manifests Inertial Armor.

"A bear,hmmmm"He ponders as he looks in the direction and assesses the distance and creature.

"It is possible to hit the creature from this distance, As for it being scared away,possibly but what if it wants to fight for its food?"Hawkeye says as he shifts a quiver down to ready himself for rapid firing if need be.

Jin looks back to Brother Hawkeye the gleam from his helmets green visor giving the appearance of a fierce stare. The voice taking on its augmented metallic tone, " THEN WE TAKE A FEW MOMENTS TO REPRESENT THE LAW OF NATURE. SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST. WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET A SMALL VOLLEY OF FROM THIS DISTANCE I WOULDN'T EXPECT THE FIGHT TO BE LONG " Jin switched his Piston hammer to his back lining up a bow shot.

Lan changes his focus to Animal, rather than humanoid.

Aside from taking a moment to pause... wherever it was he was hiding, Lan seemed nonplussed by the bear. As it was fairly distant, it wasn't of particular concern to him. If it drew closer, then he'd have to do something. Maybe.

Unlike Jin and Hawkeye, Zaralastra makes no move towards a weapon of any sort. Instead he observes the bear impassively, pondering not the bear's physical form but the contours of its mind.

Zaralastra manifests "Vigor" (generates 10 temporary hp for 1 min / level (i.e. 2 min) at a cost of 2 PP) once Jin starts heading towards the polar bear.

Are there any trees of significant size nearby? By "significant size" I mean large enough to support a human-sized creature at a height of 15 feet or higher.

Jin checks to see if everyone is prepared and in position, his of course in the front before he launches the attack. Making any lat minute thoughts on the nature of the Polar bears in this area. The bow was strung properly and puled back taut.

@Zaralastra You do believe that gifting a half dozen or so nice furs would sweeten the pot quite a bit with the hobgoblins, but they would need to be all be of the type of quality you have been collecting. They will likely respect one who killed such beasts. And yes, there are such trees around

@Jin the delay would depend on what happens. I'll post info on the polar bear for yur know nature check when I get home though.

The bear looks up to lick it's maw and notices you. It lets out a warning (first 5 seconds).

Jin keeps its abilities in mind and let out a small warning " I'LL ENGAGE THE BEAST FIRST, IT'S POWERFUL ARMS CAN YANK YOU INTO THE AIR! FIRE AT WILL! "

Jin's response to the Bear was an Arrow towards the head.

Bow Shot: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 81d8 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

Lan found it odd that Jin had named the bear that he was opting to kill... but said nothing.

Stealth: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (15) + 14 = 29
Vim Duration: 1d4 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

I assume Jin fires at the polar bear from maximum range.

Zaralastra moves to a tree near Jin. He extends his hands, palms up. His fingers grow thicker and elongated. He positions himself such that the tree will provide at least partial cover as the bear approaches Jin.

Zaralastra manifests Minor Metamorphosis to acquire a climbing speed of 20.
Per this:
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/alignment-description/movement
I believe this grants me a +8 climb bonus and that I can take 10 (for a total of 20, including +2 for DEX) if I need to climb the tree. The basic idea is that my Mind Thrust attack has a range of only 35 feet, much shorter than a bow so if I'm going to be attacking the bear I need to have cover so it can't charge (assuming it even has that ability) and that I can climb the tree, if necessary, to attack from above to avoid some sort of trip, grapple or similar combat maneuver that's going to ruin my day if it's successful.

Group 1 is up!

Elisa was very confused as why Jin had put the group in unnecessary combat but didn't say anything as she summoned her mind blade and readied for the bear to attack.

Standard Action: Ready to attack if bear comes in range
Move Action: Summon MindBlade

You can always take 10, according to having a climb speed. A monkey, in mid combat, is still going to be swinging through the trees as it flings its poo. Climbing is 'virtually' as easy as walking for these creatures, though it still takes the extra hand or so.

question I have an arrow knocked can I fire it as a held action this round?

The linked text at d20pfsrd (under "Climb") says "A creature with a climb speed has a +8 racial bonus on all Climb checks. The creature must make a Climb check to climb any wall or slope with a DC higher than 0, but it can always choose to take 10, even if rushed or threatened while climbing."

Zaralastra will stay near the tree, using it as partial cover by keeping it between himself and the bear. He will wait for Elisa or Jin to attack the bear, whichever does so first. Zaralastra will then attack the bear second, using Mind Thrust, augmented by using 2 psionic power points for 2d10 damage. If he can climb the tree without losing the opportunity to cast Mind Thrust in the first round, then he will do so.

Zaralastra stands near the tree, waiting for better-armored combatants to engage the bear before attacking. Zaralastra appreciates the necessity of avoiding melee combat, knowing he cannot survive melee with such a creature for more than a few seconds.

@Lan That's incorrect. A monkey can climb easily because it has a climb speed, Elans do not. You can not take a 10 when in immediate danger or distracted. Being in combat is the most common example, which was already started by the time Zara wanted to climb.

@BH Thats fine, but it won't actually grant you any extra actions. Held actions are less useful in pbp because your already granted quite a bit of freedom as to when to take your turn. Readied actions are still quite useful, but require you to declare a trigger before hand.

@Zaralastra Am I mistaken, do you have a climb speed for some reason?

I have a climb speed via Minor Metamorphosis, per my post at 8:52 pm yesterday.

Ahhhhh, well then, consider yourself climbed:)

I see so I should of had my knocked arrow I have had be in an ooc reference, thus getting a chance to shoot in surprise.Got it

You just need to make your intent clear. I had no way of telling if everyone was waiting for it to make a move or if they were syncing up with Jin's attack. In all honesty, it seemed like everyone was just waiting to see what happened, on the ready. That would mean the actions played out exactly how they should have. Either way though, the trigger must be made clear for a readied action guys.

The projectile seems to displease the bear. It lets out a roar begins to move towards the party.

Party up!

Map updated.

Lan slips to some cover near Jin... and apparently beneathe Zara. He watches the bear with a slight frown. This seemed like a very strange idea. It was the first time the group had chosen to start a fight, rather than avoid them.

Move action: Get to cover for stealth (not sure why he wasn't already in cover). Standard action: Hold action to Disrupt Pattern once the bear is in range.

Stealth: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (5) + 14 = 19

The Arrow veering away from its target Jin lines up another shot and fires at the torso instead as it approached.

Bow Shot: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 221d8 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

Once he fired of the shot he dropped his bow, knowing there creature was close enough that getting another shot was unlikely. Stepping in such a way to draw the creature's Ire and attention Jin pulled out his Piston Hammer and readied himself for contact. This was unorthodox, even for him but the group would need all the help they could get in this negotiation and the success was tantamount to success for the Village. He would only put himself in danger.

Standard Shoot, Free Action Drop, 5 ft step, Move action Draw Hammer.Currently in Assault Mode, AC is 17 CMD is 17

Consistent with my previous post, now that Jin has opened fire, I will attack the bear with an augmented Mind Thrust (2 PP / 2d10 damage / Will save DC16) as soon as it is within range.

Hawkeye Aims and fires a flurry of arrows.
Shot One: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11
Shot Two: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21

damage shot 1: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
damage shot 2: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Make sure to position yourself on the map so that it doesn't get cover to your attacks from Jin a 5ft step North would do that and if it charges you it would have to draw an AOO from Jin and be within Elisa's striking range. also you should roll damage with attacks so the GM can allocate them appropriately.

Jin noticed the distance allowed a few more ranged assaults from the group and that the creature might decide to flee instead. The readied nature of the Party did not inflate his confidence but was a fact at the very least.

Elisa moves over so she is in front of the group then readies her attack once more if the bear comes within range.

Sorry Lan, forgot you were suppose to be in cover.

The bear seems unaffected by Zaralastra's mental assault, but the arrows shot by Jin and Brother Hawkeye both hit. The bear becomes angry and mauls Jin, grabbing him up in the process.

Heroes up!

Jin has DR2/- so only 12 damage but the better question has been asked in discussion so that needs to be answered before Jin technically takes his own turn. Jin sure as heck didnt stand near this creature to suddenly get a full attack on him, unless this is some reskinned Tiger.