Monster Mashup - Table 5 (Inactive)

Game Master CaveToad

You have no problems knocking out the giant and tying them all securely and taking their gear.

Here is a list of the equipment they had:

fire giant: large half plate, large greatsword, large composite strength longbow (+10 bonus), 40 large arrows
bugbears: morning stars, 5 javelins each, leather armor
orc: staff, spellbook, 5 daggers, shortbow, 20 arrows

They all have bedrolls, flint n steel, waterskins, mess kits, sacks

The giant is carrying a long special box with a large scepter like object packed in a padded interior with furs and wool to keep it safe. Made of precious metals like gold, silver and platinum, the scepter is set atop with a large gem like orb, with many smaller gems circling it. The scepter has a base that looks like it could stand on its own if set on a stable level surface. Something crafted this finely and with such valuable components is surely worth a lot.

I updated the XP in the campaign header. You will all receive enough to level, but will require several(4 or so) hours of total downtime, rest and reflection to level up. I also notice the food tallies are woefully behind and you would have run out on day 10, so let me know if there is extra food you purchased in town to add to the totals, or we will have to figure out what you were living on.

"Karkoran, I can get a spell called minor dream that lets me send a short message to someone sleeping. I don't know it yet though."

Ashe will help with the bodies and also try to heal the one bugbear that needed fixing.

Heal check: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (4) + 12 = 16

She will check out the scepter thingy. "I don't have detect magic memorized."

"I think manticore steaks are on the menu." Taya says to the group by way of congratulations.

"The scepter is interesting. I wonder if they were taking it somewhere or if they were just carrying it while out on patrol."

"or maybe the found it and took it from someone while attacking innocents?" Grobly will wonder while wiping the gore off of his face and chest.

Lump will stare at the scepter, using his magical frog eyes to analyze it.

detect magic

Lump examines the scepter which is larger and probably heavier than he is. After looking it over and taking extra caution to note every detail.

spellcraft: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27

Lump reveals that the scepter contains evocation, conjuration and necromantic magic. There are no spells are active, and he notes that the item appears to be ritualistic in purpose. It is not a magical wand, staff or rod in the classical sense, but a focus for something. There may have been some custom spell researched for use with this.

You can easily butcher the manticore and make food out of it. Still need to address the prior food shortage also. Check your gear if you got food from town before leaving, I can add it to the list, once you subtract it, or tell me you were eating from your reserves and cross off some.

"Should we return to the dwarves to tell them that there are giants with shiny sticks roaming the mountains, or should we continue towards the lost temple?" Taya asks.

"That wizard back at the dwarf citadel might make sense of the item's purpose."

"Or we could just bury someplace where these thugs" gestures to the collection of prisoners, "won't find it and continue on our way."

"I say we take it with us, and continue on towards the temple. If Ashe can send a message somehow we will let them know. They can send someone to get it. Lump, can you cast a share language with these prisoners? "

Karkoran will examine the orc's spellbook with keen interest.

He will look at the scepter after Lump is done. Detect magic + Guidance cast.

Spellcraft with Guidance: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (12) + 11 = 23

our food issue shouldn't be a urge issue... We have enough survival in the group to have foraged I think.

"if that was meant for something special... Won't more guards be here? Grobly is thinking there are more of these. Maybe all groups have one?"

"Sure, which one you want it on?"

Abstemiousness and Create Water spells have sustained me daily.

"Thanks Lump, I think the giant is the best target or perhaps the orc."

I had 5 days of trail rations, so I will reduce those back as many days since we left town. Did they feed us in the fort?"

Ok I fixed the food. They fed you while you were at the fort, so you just had to feed yourself traveling days 11 - 13 since then. I also subtraced out Lump's abstemiousness. Karkoran you didn't have to dip into your rations yet, but might want to soon. If the group wishes they can hunt soon. Keep in mind using survival to gather food cuts your travel time in half.

Let me know what your plan is for the prisoners, and it looks like you will question the giant.

"Can we grant the giant the ability to speak to us? I might be able to charm him and get some answers out of him."

"I think that is what Lump is planning to do. We should cast the share languages while he is still unconscious, then bring him around."

It seems they get a save if they are unwilling, but are considered willing if they are unconscious. I think we first cast share languages, then heal the giant to consciousness, then charm or intimidate them into telling us what we want. My intimidate bonus is lower since he is as large as I am, and hes got a lot of HD, but it might work if the charm fails.

"This spellbook might contain a few useful spells for some of us."

Unless anyone disagrees, we move the giant off to the side, surround him, cast share languages on him, then heal him just to consciousness, and then Tayanella charms him. Can we charm him while unonsconscious? How does that work. Does he get a save?

Tayanalla will try Charm Person (DC:16) on the giant when it wakes up.

@GM i assume you mean doubles our travel time. although maybe it is a half-remembered remnant of 3.5, but isnt there a penalty you can take to do it without slowing down as much?

@others: assume i told you about the rod, just realize i forgot to forward that info

"Sure thing, coming up."

Lump hops over to the giant, casting Share Languages on him, before hopping a safe distance away.

I like to envision that any time he casts a spell that requires a touch he always uses his tongue

As the others make ready to begin interrogating the enemies, Grobly will continue to clean himself up and survey the nearby area. Hopefully find a suitable camp site, or maybe to forage.

"Hey Grobly, throw us each a manticore steak on the barbie!"

I like to envision that any time he casts a spell that requires a touch he always uses his tongue

that was basically my entire decision to play a grippli. plus i can keep my hands on my instruments!

As the others continue to work with the prisoners, Grobly will go about butchering theManticore and find anyother foragable food nearby.

survival: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14

Grobly chops up the manticore and starts up a nice campfire, roaming about scouting and foraging.

Karkoran drags the unconscious giant off to the side. Lump whaps the giant with his thick tongue square in the face, croaking mischievously as he delivers the share languages spell. Then he channels life energy to heal the giant enough to rouse it to consciousness. The group stands around, ready to club him back into submission. Assuming still bound tightly etc.

Karkoran examines the scepter too, but does not determine any new information after Lump relays what he knows.

The giant, now conscious, struggles briefly once he is roused, but realizes his predicament and eyes you all warily, perhaps relieved to still be alive, but as you are 'monsters' there is some puzzlement in his thick narrowed gaze.

ask away.

^^^Spellcasting above^^^^

Fire Giant Will save DC 16: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26

Tayanella invokes her magical charms to influence the mind of the giant. He shakes his head and strains against the bonds and growls, and seems to be able to shake off the mental influence of the medusa.

worth a shot

Tayanalla will pull her hood back so her snakes show and address the giant:

"Why did you and your bat-winged lion monster attack us? Are folk not free to travel and hunt in these lands?"

The giant grunts and his eyes widen as he looks on your serpentine hair and then suddenly shifts his gaze away. He rumbles deeply, "It was a mistake m'lady, we were following the goblin and mistook your group for enemies. We are intent on destroying the dwarves in their keep to the south. We have no quarrel with you. The manticore is always hungry and unpredictable, violent."

it might be wise to conceal our affiliations. Luckily Lump has a lot of cold weather clothes on over his meager armor. Lump can potentially negotiate us (relatively more-)safe passage north to our real objective?

"The manticore is dead now, struck from the sky by my bow. It will trouble us no more." Tayanalla snaps back at the giant as her snakes hiss.

"The dwarves are formidible from what we have seen, what chance did your pitiful band have against such a mighty fortress?"

"Well, unfortunate for it I guess." he rumbles sullenly, ever watchful of your snake hair. "Our mighty armies will strike down the dwarves with ease. Our band is but a small piece of the whole, and their pathetic fortress will fall and we will regain that which is rightfully ours."

Speaking in their ancient tongue, Karkoran will say to his friends, "Maybe we can pretend to be his friend, and get him to spill more information. If that doesn't work, we can try intimidating him. Taya, how many magical charms can you attempt?"

aside to Karkoran "Once more today if I need to."

To the giant: "While your kind are mighty warriors, I doubt the orc and bugbear rabble you have with you will be of much use against disciplined dwarf armies. It seems a waste of time for you to throw them against this dwarf fortress in the south."

"While I doubt we have any interest in your suicidal war against the dwarves, perhaps we can be allies otherwise."

Can I retry charm person against him? I can't do it secretly. It would probably probably make him more hostile if I fail.

I think you can retry, but yes, he would be more hostile.

"Why do you continue to hold us? What purpose are we to you, if you are merely wanderers? How would we be allies? What is your purpose in this area, such a group as yourselves?"

this is where maybe Lump should hop in.

bluff: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (14) + 13 = 27

"Well, friend, I am glad you asked. We are adventurers. As you can see, we are a diverse lot. Some of us just like to fight, some of us want to seek out old ruins and learn from their ancient magics, some of us are interested in cultures. We had never known dwarves before, and we were saddened by their terrible treatment of us. Look at us, of course we do not look like civilized folk, but we are just regular people in different bodies. The dwarves treat everyone outside of their stuffy stronghold like dirt. They have no appreciation for these lands and their giant people, they only see gold coins to be made from logging and mining and what-have-you. We just wanna roam free, see what we see, meet who we meet, that sort of thing. The whole manticore thing was a misunderstanding. My goblin friend here and I are used to being seen as prey by bigger creatures. We tried to talk to the manticore since it seemed to know words, but our language is rusty without magic, and I didn't wanna get close enough to that thing to cast my speech spell on it. That is a sure way to get eaten."

diplomacy: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (18) + 14 = 32

"So anyway, uh, where were we? Oh yeah, I figure we could be allies of a sort, or at least not enemies. We only want to move freely through these lands, we don't take more than we need to eat. Maybe talk to your elders or scholars or story-tellers, if they want to. Do you have recent maps of this area? We could barter for them, unless you all wanted to just help your ol' friend Lump out, eh?"

Fire Giant sense motive: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13 - fail

The giant seems to be inclined to believe Lump. "Adventurers huh. Figures. People like you always messing up things, so the stories go. "

After falling for Lump's story that isn't terribly far from the truth he listens to his proposition.

Diplomacy moves his disposition from hostile to indifferent.

"Look, we don't really care about your group then, and hopefully you don't mind that we are out here also just doing our business, we need to strike at the dwarves for their past treacheries. I can't say what our leaders will think of you, they have more important things to talk about, but if you have been to the dwarves and would be willing to supply information about them, I bet they would cut you a deal."

bluff: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (7) + 14 = 21

"Hmm, well, not much in the way of information you'd want that I think we have. We were treated like prisoners while we were there. Only place we could freely travel is away from their fortress. But, I suppose, if you could point us in the direction we need to go to talk to your leaders, we could go see for ourselves if we want to risk it. I'm not really the leader of our merry band here, so I don't know if we are going that way or not."

Lump turns to the others, using their outdated celestial speech, "Well, what do we want to do. This guy won't attack us immediately if we let him go, but no promises later when he has buddies. We can go see their leaders and feed them information on the dwarves, or just avoid all of it entirely and keep on our way."

Responding in Celestial or ancient common, either one. "Ask him about this magical golden sceptre. I agree, maybe if we can approach their leaders we learn more, or assassinate them. I wouldn't like to get too far off from the temple mission, but I am not sure if we should go back to the fort now now or not."

i will assume you spoke in Celestial since i think ancient common is what we shared with him.

In ancient Celestial, Lump asks Karkoran, "If we show him the scepter he may become hostile. Still want me to ask?"

if Kark still wants me to ask, Lump will ask (stating now for expediency)

Replying to Lump, "Well, do we want to get more information from him? We can ask him about general things first and then when we got all we can, then ask about the sceptre? I don't care if he gets hostile really, what is he going to do? I feel like we should know what it is, if he has any idea or it is special."

"Perhaps we can first ask what their specific goal was. They must be a scout group as well. Bugbears are sneaky. We should ask what they were going to do. Surely a small group like this would not achieve anything aside from recon or to make sure the path was open for a main army?"

Lump nods, then shrugs.

Turning to their captive, he asks, "So what were you all doing? Surely your small force wasn't coming down to win your war all by yourself."

Ashe will be off looking for her elk once the others have things under control. She takes her raptors and goes to find it.

The giant replies to Lump, "Of course not, but its none of your business."

Asheranthi you and your raptors scout for a while but eventually you track and find your elk. It is wounded and skittish.

Asheranthi Wild Empathy: 1d20 - 1 + 3 ⇒ (16) - 1 + 3 = 18

It is not quite Indifferent to you yet ( not domesticated ) but not totally unfriendly. Your roll was also somewhere in between.

The elk doesn't seem to run way but is still skittish and wary of Asheranthi, particularly the raptors which are predators.

I will have the raptors back off and try to use some food to coax it near. How do I eventually train it to becomes domesticated? There is a DC for rear a wild animal, but it says from infancy. Is there a way to try with adult animals, with a penalty?

How often can I try an empathy check? I can wait a day and use call animal or charm animal.

"Fair enough, I suppose. Do you know anything about this?" Lump asks, holding up the scepter (or indicating it if someone else is holding it).

The fire giant eyes it. "You should give that back, it is our rightful possession and none of your business."

In celestial, "Remind our fire giant friend that his lack of cooperation comes with consequences."

To the giant: "I'd think that your people would understand that treasures only belong to those who are strong enough to protect them."

"I don't think that any of you will have any use for your treasures if we bury them with you in your graves."

aside to the others, away from the giant's hearing "Maybe we should try charming and interrogating one of the weaker willed minions? They might know less, but be more inclined to give it up."

The giant grimaces and seems to clam up, pondering what to say. Finally he says "Its just something magic we use to fight the dwarves. I don't know how it works really."