Of Kings and Commoners - Kingmaker AP

Game Master RPGGGM

"And you think the Stag Lord is gonna-" Scarlet grunts in frustration as the lord naïvely thinks he's in control just as a dwarf rushes in and mentions the signal fire.

"Oi. Now we're in trouble." Scarlet turns toward the tower. "Whomever lit that pyre is sending a signal, and I'm pretty sure we're gonna get ambushed soon. We gotta secure this place."

Scarlet turns to Lady Vsevolod. "My- Lady, how many entrances are here to your estate? We gotta secure this place and fast!"

"Well, there's the gatehouse gate, and the portal to the moat, and-"

"NO! We're not going to be pinned down here like a badger in burrow! We're moving out now! Warbeard! Alert the men in the village! Arbalasti, Angus you're with me!"

"Scarlet, you coming or not?"

See slide 2 for the keep map.

"Beetle, who is coming? Troops from Mivon?"

And just like that, BB interrupts her plan. Again.

"Lady um... Vsevolod, right? You and Igor gotta get out of here. Whomever set up that beacon is gonna attract a whole mess down here."

Scarlet's mind is wandering a bit when BB addresses her.

"If you don't mind my charge and my allies comin' with me, of course I'm coming with ya, Boss."

"Scarlet, wait. Why do we have to leave? Who is coming? We know soldiers of Mivon are out looking for the Company, to stop them from working for Hotspur. This beacon could be for them. But that isn't our problem, nor that of Lady Vsevolod. Can we try to find out what is going on? And what was that about hobgoblins?"

"Whomever is coming here isn't going to sit down for a polite chat, Durgan. We have too many questions, and sitting here and waiting for them to come to us isn't exactly my style."

Too many questions, from this guy. Although it was funny to watch him stir up that lordling, he even got some information from him about hobgoblins or something.

"Sorry Bro, we'll catch up if we can. I was hopin' to meet you for more than 5 minutes, but I can't control the sands of time, eh?"

"I think you are wrong, Scarlet. I think the soldiers coming actually will want to politely talk to whoever is here, to find out where the Scarabs have gone. The existence of a signal pyre means that this home could call for help - from Mivon, I'd guess. So the ones that are coming are help for this manor. And we have better odds with their soldiers than with the Scarabs. If we travel with the Scarabs, they may slit our throats in the night since they serve the Stag Lord's ally. Unless everything that we said about the Stag Lord has managed to persuade them to abandon the job due to engagement of the Company under false pretenses."

Durgan turns to Lady Vsevolod. "Lady Vsevolod, I am sorry for this distress. Did you keep a signal pyre built up on that tower to call for help? Who watches for that signal?" He also addresses Igor. "Or do you know?"

"Beetle, who is coming? Troops from Mivon?"

The party could reasnably assume that even if they are not the target it would certainly attract them.

"It is part of a warning system should any lord in region need aid, be it war or disaster."

It really didn't matter all too much exactly where the company or their heinous employee went (at least she didn't think it did?) so Illthir went to offer some support to the Lady. Hopefully it'd help. "There there, there's plenty of handsome men out there. Some are actually courteous too - if you figure out which ones please do tell!"

The skald offered her an arm as support and suggested - "Let's go and see what's all this sillyness about the beacon is. It is your home after all! What is it even there for..?"

Imagining this about the same time as Durgan and Scarlet discuss our options.

I *think* I'm leaning more towards Durgan's interpretation, but there's also a chance it goes terribly wrong ("Weeee are just going to hold you for questioning for a week or two ..."). Let's hope not!

"We have few options, Lords men are coming hopefully Hotspurs father, who we can maybe hand him to, but that brings the risk of the beetles resisting us, we don't want to fight the lords men with the beetles unless we can do something about Hotspur unless we want him to just sick the beetles on us again after this is over."

Her pauses to take a breath..

"Maybe help the lady away, then fight with the beetles to gain their trust and maybe arrange for the young lord to be dealt with. other ideas? and I need my bow."

Durgan Far-Walker wrote:

"Beetle, who is coming? Troops from Mivon?"

The party could reasnably assume that even if they are not the target it would certainly attract them.

"It is part of a warning system should any lord in region need aid, be it war or disaster."

The gnome raises his eyebrow at this

"It is part of a warning system should any lord in region need aid, be it war or disaster."

"I take it then that the beacon is not lit on account of one's wineglass not being full," Morthak quips, eyeing the empty bottom of his goblet. He then holds it up for the servants to refill.

He puts down the goblet. "How much of a problem is it? Surely it woudn't be the end of the world if some other noble came here to aid you? Embarrassing perhaps, but hardly fatal. You just apologize for the error, and invite him in to dine with us."

"It would seem rather extreme for the Lord-Mayor to actually besiege his own son for hiring mercenaries with his own money. Is that what you expect? Not to mention that digging a hundred heavily-armed dwarves out of a fortified position is hardly a job any sane captain would relish."

"I would be interested in finding out who lit the beacon though, and why."

"Not to mention that digging a hundred heavily-armed dwarves out of a fortified position is hardly a job any sane captain would relish."

The Company of the Sapphire Scarab broke up into about eight units of about a dozen dwarves apiece.

I don't think there are 100 in this keep. Maybe a dozen, so depending on their level we might have been able to take them in a fight. Happy to not have to.

"My guess is that one of the Scarabs was secretly loyal to the Lord Mayor, or paid by him, and lit the beacon. Or one of Hotspur's men. I don't want to fight alongside the Scarabs as long as they are allied with the Stag Lord. I don't want to fight against them either. They're making a run for it? I'm happy to stay here and make sure our hostess stays safe."

If none of the Scarabs are nearby, he'll add, "If we could delay the Scarabs so they get caught, that might work to our advantage. Or even better, delay Hotspur."

It really didn't matter all too much exactly where the company or their heinous employee went (at least she didn't think it did?) so Illthir went to offer some support to the Lady. Hopefully it'd help. "There there, there's plenty of handsome men out there. Some are actually courteous too - if you figure out which ones please do tell!"

Lady Vsevolod gives the pale skald a funny (somewhere between shocked and withering) look.

The skald offered her an arm as support and suggested - "Let's go and see what's all this sillyness about the beacon is. It is your home after all! What is it even there for..?"

"Yes, let's."

"I take it then that the beacon is not lit on account of one's wineglass not being full," [Numalar] quips, eyeing the empty bottom of his goblet. He then holds it up for the servants to refill.

Igor salivates at the opportunity to serve.

He puts down the goblet. "How much of a problem is it? Surely it woudn't be the end of the world if some other noble came here to aid you? Embarrassing perhaps, but hardly fatal. You just apologize for the error, and invite him in to dine with us."

"It would seem rather extreme for the Lord-Mayor to actually besiege his own son for hiring mercenaries with his own money. Is that what you expect? Not to mention that digging a hundred heavily-armed dwarves out of a fortified position is hardly a job any sane captain would relish."

"I would be interested in finding out who lit the beacon though, and why."

"As am I. Though it won't be another noble who arrives first," Lady Vsevolod says moving behind the heavy tapestry behind her seat, "but the Lord-Mayor's guard to stop Lord Hotspur." says Lady Vsevolod. "I highly doubt they would do anything untoward to me in my father's home."

It would seem apparent to Scarlet that she is not leaving, though conceivable she might lock down the place for a siege if it came to it.

"The other stair will be clogged with dwarves. This will be faster." she say to Illthir. See slide 2. She unlocks the door in the space concealed by the tapestry with a key.

To Durgan's point, there are only a little over a dozen dwarves (plus the few you brought with you) in the keep itself the other 80ish are billeted down in the keep's attendant village.

Serena listens intently, not quite sure what is going on, but ready to react if need be.

Serena listens intently, not quite sure what is going on, but ready to react if need be.

Score Card

Scarlet decided to follow the Lady. Too many questions were going through her head. "Come on, we may as well get somewhere a bit more secure."

Zokon makes a quick stop to get his gear then follows

"All right, I'm coming," Numalar grumbles as he downs the last of his wine. He continues to mutter to himself, but begins to genuflect as if in prayer, and he holds his symbol to his lips.

Moving and casting message. I'll have to cast it twice to be able to speak to everyone. The first casting I will target the party members furthest away so they can move out of line-of-sight and I can still speak to them.

Once finished, Numalar whispers under his breath.

"Can everyone hear me?" Numalar asks. "Good. It seems to me that this Lord Mayor may solve our problem for us. He wants to stop Hotspur, and I say let him. The trick will be keeping the dwarves from actually fighting the Mayor's guard. We ought to prevent bloodshed if we can, especially if the dwarves are going to suffer real losses."

"Which means that if Hotspur means to leave before the Mayor arrives, we should try to slow things down. Preferably without looking like we're doing it on purpose."

Durgan follows along.
"I agree. And I have an idea. One of Hotspur's men might have been secretly loyal to the Lord-Mayor and lit the beacon. It's plausible enough that raising the idea might sow dissension in the ranks and slow Hotspur down while he tries to figure out who he can trust."

Zokon also agrees

"We could help the process along when it comes down to it by stopping Hotspur from giving any orders, or dealing with him quickly if he does give orders that will cause the dwarves harm."

Illthir, Scarlet and Lady Vsevolod climb the steep, stone, tower stair up to on battlements 50 feet above the moat. The men follow on a bit behind. (see slide 2)

We can say that Zokon returned to his closet in the great house retrieved his gear, and came back before he could follow on. Note girding stuff on my take more time and delay him further. Currently he is on Slide one at the base of the stair. The tower stairs are steep and considered difficult terrain.

The sky is dark and overcast. Heat lightning rumbles though the clouds overhead, and the wind pulls at the women's cloaks in sudden gusts. Ahead a great bonfire sits atop the tallest of the keep's towers illuminating the nearby rooftops.

Map updated.

"Oh! I think I see Scar-lets-karab!" Erevenywg shouts in excitement from the doorway. She waves up at the women trying to get there attention.

Serena follows the others and dutifully begins the climb up the tower stair.

Scarlet exhales deeply. "No good way out of this, huh. My Company will either fight or lose a lucrative contract, or sell themselves out to the devil."

"Oi, Erevenywg. Come on." She waves the fae forward.

"Zokon, I think you had a good idea. We don't want to leave anything unattended in this chaos. We should probably all go get ready in case there is trouble."
I am assuming we were acting as polite society and not murderhobos, therefore not armed and armored at dinner.
Durgan will go back to the rooms to get his gear and don his armor. This will take a few minutes, even with help, but it's too valuable to lose.

This is sort of an armed camp situation, i.e. the mercenaries are ready to mobilize so it would not be rude to come in your murder hobo costume if you want to. I'd assume you left your earth-breakers, ballista, and jousting armor behind, but otherwise came lightly armored and with more politely-scaled weapons.

Durgan wears fullplate. I guess if he saw the Scarabs walking around armored, he'd have been armored as well. His armor is very nice-looking and well-kept. He would be more concerned about it being stolen than about being attacked at dinner.

That's cool.

If I can carry a shortsword and my hammer with me I'm all set. Are they alright with me wearing Chain Mail?

You go girl!

Illthir will probably only have her sling (very portable!) and her twirly stick. Maybe her small hammer if people are dressing up (so yeah :P)

"Sorry my Lady, comedy isn't really my forte." the skald, sensing that her joke might not have been recived well, gave their host an apologetic smile. Maybe she should stick to song? Or practice around people that didn't have personal goons ...

But she could worry more about that later. For now there was a secret passage! Oh this *really* should be in a good story! The skald hadn't been in that many castles before, so she was glad that this one was ticking her boxes. Now there only needs to be a dungeon, which I really could visiting later, and someone living in that high tower!

Once they made it to the battlements she made sure to wave back at the fairy. Then she turned her full attention to the burning beacon. "Hmh. How many people are there in this castle, if you don't mind me asking Lady Vsevolod? That weren't at the dinner I mean. And that know there's a beacon ready to be lit..."

Zokon would have had his chainshirt on and is in the process of donning buckler, quiver and Rapier

Miles takes this opportunity to approach Alia, sitting down casually whilst the others are gone and leaning over to ask a question quietly.

Miles takes a swig of his ale and gives a smile towards the Lady Vsevolod before returning his gaze to Alia.

Which way did Hotspur go?

Out into the courtyard presumably to the stables.

Alright, by popular demand everyone is on the wall, except Alia and the gnome who is hitting on her.

The party makes it up to the battlements lead by Lady Vsevolod. At the head of steep set of stairs leading down to the castle's shrine's roof the party stops to take a look at the burning signal fire atop the next tower and consider their actions.

Suddenly the fire expands or rather doubles. As second distinct flame moves off the elevated pyre and nearer the battlements. Two balls of swirling red flame form in its upper reaches like demonic eyes and line of darker flames open like a smile along its facing.

The fire-thing laughs. It's a huge booming laugh that can be heard all the way down to the great hall. The line of red turns into an 'O' and the thing swells with the inhalation into a ball of flame. It's red lights wink out and after a shudder it expels bits of itself like a volcano. The fiery comets impact all about the keep spreading the fire!

The fire ball opens its mock eyes and laughs again as faces begin to form on the small fires it has started. Its flames seem to wave you forward to face it.

To identify the large fire creature roll one knowledge (planes) check and open all the spoilers below that apply.

BOSS BATTLE Round 1! (Boss Theme ♬)
The Bold May Act!
_________________
__ Illthir
__ Large fire creature (not flat-footed)
__ Scarlet
__ Durgan
__ Zokon
__ Serena
__ Alia
__ Miles
__ Numalar

Map updated. Note: the elevations of peaked roofs applies to the peak itself. Other spaces will be lower.

"OH NO! It will burn the whole keep down!"

"Well, I guess that's the traitor, eh?" Scarlet grins. "I can deal with fire, no problem."

Know:Planes: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16

"A Fire Elemental!" Illthir exclaims. But what was it doing here? Well except burning their hosts house. Hmm... Though they should probably take the time to figure that out a bit later. Before everything, including themselves, were burnt to cinder.

Taking the initiative the skald start the first verse of an snowcaster war-chant. (The alternative was something out of Brevoy, which would probably not inspire the present gathering!) While the words were in archaic elven the message is easily understood by anyone willing to give in to fury. And the spirits of ancient warriors stirs with them!

As she sings Illthir heads towards the shrine and readies her hammer.

Standard to Inspire Rage, Move to move and draw warhammer!

Note: Bardic Knowledge let's Illthir make that check untrained.

Note2: Currently unarmoured, will add that to the status bar!

The fire elemental reaches down and picks up a flagstone. Readied.

BOSS BATTLE Round 1! (Boss Theme ♬)
The Bold May Act!
_________________
__ Illthir
__ Fire elemental readied
__ Scarlet
__ Durgan
__ Zokon
__ Serena
__ Alia
__ Miles
__ Numalar

Map updated. Note: the elevations of peaked roofs applies to the peak itself. Other spaces will be lower.

Knowledge (Planes): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15
Durgan knows just as much as Illthir. Breadth of Experience lets him make that check untrained.
"Who wants to Resist Fire?"
Durgan delays until the others either say they want the spell or take their actions.

"You are the most important .. " in reply to Durgan

Zokon uses studied target on the fire elemental and then fires an arrow at it

Longbow with deadly aim+st: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20

Longbow with deadly aim+st: 1d8 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

"Take care of yerself, I can deal with the fire!"

Scarlet rushes past Illthir and calls upon magic. A Shield forms in front of her torso as she draws her weapons.

She focuses on Illthir's tune, and feels her own strength flow freely.

Bloodragers may use Skald's Inspired Rage to gain Bloodrage bonuses.

With Shield, Armor, and Bloodrage active, Scarlet's AC is now 20.

"I too am hardened againt fire," says Numalar. "But against a fire elemental, most of my spells will be useless!"

Gotta get me an elemental substitution metamagic rod! :)

Numalar runs towards the flames and as he does so he pulls out a slender wand.

Double move, and as part of my move I will draw our wand of enlarge person. Who wants to be enlarged? Getting past the DR of the big guy probably just means doing more damage per hit, and if you do STR-based fighting then enlarge person should help.

Alia would be an excellent target for Enlarge and Resist Energy, if she is around. Otherwise Durgan is probably the second-best choice. He could really use a Levitate or Spider Climb. Will wait a day for Alia to chime in.

I'd love the enlarge person, but the platform is too small. Again.

Scarlet has her own Enlarge/Reduce SLA that works on ifrit as well as humanoids, does she not? Might be better to rely on that rather than wand charges where possible.