Hmm...normally I'd say that you could just direct him to switch targets but I noticed he doesn't know the 'Down' trick which is what would allow you to have him back off; otherwise it's stated that an AC that doesn't know this trick keeps attacking its target until the AC is forced to flee in some manner or it finishes off its target.
However...something that I thought of is that you could potentially get creative with the other tricks he knows such as 'Fetch' - especially if the commands Koani uses for Blarg are in Elvish or another language that these guys probably wouldn't understand. They're not going to know that the dinosaur charging at them is just trying to fetch their shoes or whatever and not kill them...and should the battle last long enough for them to figure it out then it's likely they'll assume that Blarg is just really dumb and terrible at following orders :)
Alternatively, you could let Blarg chew a couple of them up! It's not a deal-breaker if you guys end up killing some of the bandits; you really just want to avoid killing all of them. Hopefully that makes sense.
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Tupp adopts a wide stance by the flickering light of the campfire, his knees slightly bent and his katana held in both hands, pointing towards the bandits. "This camp is protected!" He loudly announces into the darkness, "Turn away from your lives of crime, or come face to face with the awesome power of the Empress of Heaven." In his head, Tupp feels much more intimidating than the two foot eleven, thirty six pound halfling probably looks, but he sounds confident, at least.
Sori lays a wing on Koani and whispers, "May the Empress guide your hand and keep you from harm." Then, with a quick glance towards Tupp, she flies back to the trees to hide.
Being the only one already ready and on his feet, Tupp adopts a defensive position while he commands the bandits to stand down and retreat. "...the who? Who's the Empress of Heaven?" comes one of the voices amid the rush of incoming footsteps, sounding a bit confused.
Meanwhile, Sori flutters down to grant Koani a little extra insight and guidance before heading back to the safety and cover of the trees!
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Round 1
Bon Jon
Tupp + Sori
Koani + Blarg
Bartimaeus
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Western Bandits
Southern Bandits
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Styrian
Active Conditions:
Bon Jon, Koani + Blarg and Bartimaeus are UP!
Koani's fierce little combat monster stands up, ready to defend her.
1=West
2=South
The rest of the group begin leaping to their feet, grabbing for weapons and calling upon spells to shield them from harm. Bon Jon readies himself to strike the first bandit that comes within reach of his fists and feet while Bart conjures Torag's might in the form of protective armor for his person. Koani takes aim at one of the bandits coming in from the south and fires her bow with a loud *PTWANG!* The arrow buries itself in Aqua's arm and he shrieks with pain! And faithful Blarg draws close to his mistress, ready to protect her from harm.
Both groups of bandits charge forward, with Purple in the lead from the west. As soon as he takes a few steps into the light of the fire Bart's Alarm spell sounds with a loud *AHOOGA* and startles him so badly that he actually drops the handaxe he'd been carrying with a yelp of, "Ye gods, what was that!?"
Red, Blue, and Green come charging forward too, with Red setting off the alarm yet again as another loud *AHOOGA* splits the air. "Ignore it! Grab what you can, we'll keep them busy!" Red cries as he and Blue both swing their handaxes at Tupp.
While Red's strike misses quite handily Blue has better luck and manages to score quite the powerful blow against the little paladin, sending blood flying in all directions!
Meanwhile, the group approaching from the south begin pouring into the camp as well. Another series of *AHOOGA* *AHOOGA* *AHOOGA* is heard as Aqua, Pink, and Yellow cross over the alarm and begin to scatter out, heading from the various piles of goods scattered around the camp. Yellow strays too close to Bon Jon and receives a roundhouse kick to the jaw that drops him to the ground, out cold!
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Round 1/Round 2
Bon Jon
Tupp + Sori
Koani + Blarg
Bartimaeus
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Western Bandits
Southern Bandits (Aqua -3, Yellow Unconscious)
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Styrian
Active Conditions:
Everyone is UP!
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"Aaagh!" Tupp yelps in surprise as one of the bandits slips through his guard. "That's it!" He says, looking up defiantly at Blue with, "Don't say I didn't warn you. Now it's time for you to face my..." He raises his katana above his head and yells. "SUUUUPER SAAAAALAMANDER SLAAASH!!!" He whizzes the sword through the air with incredible speed, slashing down at a forty five degree angle at the bandit's leg, just like he practised. However, unlike the practice dummies, his enemy moved.
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A tiny, exasperated voice can be heard shouting from the trees, "How many times, Tupp? Don't call your attacks! Your opponents can HEAR you."
Tupp, however, is either too far away or too distracted to hear.
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"TUPP, NO!" Bartimaeus calls out as the handaxe sinks deeply into him. He steps up behind the halfling and shoots a bolt of force at Blue. "Back up, you don't have to be a hero!" Should never have left his side! "We need reinforcements to the West!" he cries, fearing for Tupp's safety.
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Tupp decides to try and retaliate against his attacker with his super-patented Salamander Slash (TM) but unfortunately he had kind of expected his opponent to do him the courtesy of holding still and the attack misses, much to his and Sori's chagrin. Meanwhile, Bart moves to aid his adoptive charge and sends a magic missile at Blue which slams into the bandit's leg and elicits a pained shriek. Styrian climbs to his feet and also moves to Tupp's aid, mentally conjuring a protective shield and grumbling all the while.
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Round 2
Bon Jon
Tupp (-7) + Sori
Koani + Blarg
Bartimaeus (Mage Armor)
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Western Bandits (Blue -2)
Southern Bandits (Aqua -3, Yellow Unconscious)
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Styrian (Mind Barrier)
Active Conditions:
Bon Jon and Koani + Blarg are UP!
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Seeing his young friend take deep wound from the uncouth bandit, Bon Jon is almost tempted to forget their mission to "lose" the fight, but a few quick yogic breaths help him to recenter. Stepping quickly five feet towards the west, he lays a flurry of blows into the blue villian.
"Foul bandits! Can you not see that he is but a child? Pick on someone your own size. Look: I'm not even armed!"
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Blarg continues to defend, since he has not been given any other instructions. He growls at the bad things that seem to be coming closer to his Koani and might hurt her. He won't let anything hurt his Koani. Grrrr.....
Koani tries firing another arrow at Aqua but this time the shot goes wide and buries itself into a tree on the other side of the campsite. Blarg growls and bares his teeth, not moving from Koani's side. Bon Jon suggests to the bandits that they should pick on someone their own size as he steps up to Blue and delivers a solid boxing to the bandit's ears!
"YEOUCH!" Blue bellows. "You'll pay for that, you Tiger Monk wannabe!" He swings his handaxe at Bon Jon...
...and leaves a small gash in the monk's side! Green comes crashing through the trees and underbrush and swings his handaxe at the first person he sees...
...and cuts into Styrian, but the blow seems to have been blunted by some unseen force and proves to be less effective than the bandit had hoped for.
Purple bends down to pick up his own handaxe, leaving himself open to attacks from Tupp and Styrian, before swinging at...
...Styrian as well, leaving a vicious gash on his arm. Red, having only one target in reach, swings his handaxe at Tupp...
...but thankfully misses! Meanwhile, Aqua, Pink, and Orange push further into the camp and begin rummaging through the goods scattered around. Koani realizes that the group that approached from the south seems solely focused on looting the caravan's goods and supplies, rather than fighting. So far, only the bandits that approached from the west have engaged the group in combat.
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Round 2/Round 3
Bon Jon
Tupp + Sori
Koani + Blarg
Bartimaeus
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Western Bandits (Blue -2, 5 NL)
Southern Bandits (Aqua -3, Yellow Unconscious)
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Styrian
Active Conditions:
Everyone is UP!
"Hah! Who's laughing now you w-" Blue begins to taunt Bon Jon, only to be cut short by a boot to the head which sends him to the ground, out cold!
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Round 2/Round 3
Bon Jon
Tupp + Sori
Koani + Blarg
Bartimaeus
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Western Bandits (Blue Unconscious)
Southern Bandits (Aqua -3, Yellow Unconscious)
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Styrian
Active Conditions:
Tupp + Sori, Koani + Blarg, Bartimaeus, and Styrian are UP!
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Tupp stubbornly refuses to back down in the face of thieves, despite everyone's concern. "Child!?" He exclaims indignantly, "I'm eighteen and three quarters!" He ducks under an axe and lifts his katana above his head again. "If I were human, I'd be an old man by now... Plus, could a child do this? DOOOOOUBLE DRAAAAGON STRIIIKE!" His sword slices through the air with quick, practised motions. First, he brings it down towards the hand of Purple as the bandit picks up his axe, then in one smooth motion, he turns the sword and strikes up towards Red's thigh.
Tupp attempts to take advantage of Purple's lowered defenses but the strike misses, sailing just over the bandit's head as he ducks to pick up his weapon! He fares better against Red, however, practically bisecting the man from groin to throat in a frightening display! What's left of Red collapses to the ground in a bloody heap.
Styrian fares better against Purple than Tupp, delivering a painful, pointy punch to the man's gut as he straightens back up from retrieving his weapon. He then follows it up by a more proper strike against Purple with his glaive, cutting a vicious slash across his abdomen and causing him to drop to the ground with a pitiful shriek of pain!
"I...I take it back!" Green gibbers, now the only one left facing three very unimpressed Pathfinders. "Guys, it's time to leave! Run away! Vamoose! Split! Er, but not like Bahb!"
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Round 3
Bon Jon
Tupp + Sori
Koani + Blarg
Bartimaeus
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Western Bandits (Blue Unconscious, Red & Purple Dead)
Southern Bandits (Aqua -3, Yellow Unconscious)
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Styrian (-9)
Active Conditions:
Koani + Blarg and Bartimaeus are UP!
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Blarg the Fierce stays right by his beloved Koani, ready to shred anything that tries to take her away from him. Grrr....
Koani moves to offer Styrian some much-needing healing while Blarg remains glued to his mistress' side, ready to rip into the first ugly thing that tries to hurt her. Bartimaeus readies another missile barrage as he dares any of the remaining bandits to try anything funny.
"Dhani's right, time to go!" Pink agrees, bypassing the pile of supplies he'd been heading for and disappearing into the darkness to the west. "Yeah, we got what we came for! Zamir'll be pleased for sure!" calls Orange to the south, as he too turns and disappears into the darkness. Aqua also follows suit, hurrying after Orange. Green - or Dhani, you figure - retreats through the treeline with as much speed as he can manage, the sound of his crashing and thrashing grower fainter with each moment.
The ambush is over nearly as quickly as it began, leaving some of you worse for the wear, but alive. Pack contents are scattered all about the campsite, as well as bodies. Two of the bandits are dead and two still live, knocked unconscious by Bon Jon's kung-fu fighting.
After a few moments, Ganesh and Lasya both peer out from behind a particularly large tree on the edge of the camp. "Is...is it over?" Lasya asks, eyes wide. "That was...that was something to see," Ganesh chimes in. "I heard one of them say that they got what they came for. So, they should have the scepter now yes?"
A thorough check of the spot where the scepter had been stashed does indeed confirm that Zamir's men took the bait.
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Tupp only managed to score a single hit, but what a hit. "Woah!" He stares at his sword for a moment, in utter disbelief, "I only meant to scratch him." He looks up at the comrades surrounding him, and smiles. "Thanks for the back up guys. That first bandit was a lot quicker than I expected. Anyone else hurt? Sori says I can lay on my hands or something and, POOF, all healed." Sori alights on his head, having swooped down from her hiding place. "Lay on hands, Tupp!" She says, the roll of her eyes clearly evident in her voice. "As in you place your hand over someone's heart and pray. But unless you start taking your studies seriously young man, you'll be doing no such thing for quite some time."
"Oh..." Tupp's shoulders slump as he sheathes his sword. "Well, anyway, they have the scepter, and there are a few less bandits on the road. I'd say that was pretty successful!" He gratefully accepts Koani's help, giving her a respectful bow and a promise to return the favour one day, then approaches Ganesh and Lasya. "Glad you're alright guys! That must have been pretty scary." He looks around the camp, seeing Bon Jon secure the prisoners, and smiles. "So... Back to sleep? We can tell the others what happened in the morning."
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"We put on quite an exemplary performance!" Bartimaeus chimes in, puffing up a little with pride. "Right you are, my boy, back to sleep," he agrees, before stowing away his gear and getting as comfortable as he can before drifting off to sleep. A heart of gold and a legendary sword arm, I see it now. At least this damnable heat has abated somewhat with the sun, should be much easier to fall asleep.
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"Thank you for that assist Koani. It would be sorely needed if that fight went any longer." Styrian says as he appreciatively reaches out for Blarg's head to scratch that spot between his eyes. "Please use this one the next time you need to heal another." He hands Koani his own wand.
Before bedding down again Styrian will try object reading various items from the bandits looking for glimpses that might be helpful. Maybe one of these will show some useful picture of their hideout or get us a good look at this Zamir, he thinks to himself as he examines the bandit's equipment like weapons, boots, and especially any keys or notes.
The little dino purrs and grumbles appreciatively as Styrian scratches his head.
A thorough search of the bandits reveals each of them to be carrying a handaxe, a composite shortbow (Str +2) with 20 arrows, and wearing a suit of leather armor. The two bandits that Bon Jon took down will live, but they're probably not going to be waking up for some time yet - convenient since you've still got half the night ahead of you and almost everyone proves anxious to get back to sleep.
While wounds are mended and the camp put back in order Styrian examines some of the bandit's belongings, attempting to use his abilities to read the psychic imprints left by their owners.
When handling a pair of boots, you get a flash of muddied jungle trails and crumbling stone blocks that litter a steep hillside. As you move to a set of armor, there's another brief vision of a tapestry, depicting battling dervishes on a bright yellow, sandy desert...and lounging in front of it, a tiger that regards you hungrily with bright green eyes.
After securing the campsite and the two surviving bandits you settle back down to sleep, the rest of the night and the remaining watches passing quietly. The sun is only barely risen in the sky and the rest of you just beginning to stir from your bedrolls when the sound of approaching footsteps heralds the return of Phalgun to your camp.
"Ah, good morning! It is good to see all of you still alive and well," he greets you, quite sincerely. "I see you managed to snare something in your little trap last night," Phalgun continues, nodding at the two still-unconscious bandits. "Tell me, how did it go? Were you successful in doing what you set out to do?"
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Early in the morning before Koani begins communing with nature or Bartimaeus studies his spellbook, Styrian attempts to briefly speak with them especially, and the rest of the party as well.
"Examining some of the bandits' belonging last night I saw a vision of a tiger. I feel certain this is either Zamir as a weretiger, or else he does keep a beast as a pet. If you have spells you might prepare for either threat that might be prudent."
Styrian nods to the siblings. "Aye and with a few bruises as a bonus." He takes a look at the attuned wayfinder and the map. "I think the bandits may have a hideout among some sort of ruin in the jungle, but that bit is more uncertain. Maybe there is something showing on the map in the appropriate direction." If he doesn't see a likely location it does not worry him too much as the plan is basically to follow this wayfinder's direction now.
Blarg goes and pushes his nose at Phalgun, hoping for a scratch.
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After all the excitement of the night, Tupp sleeps in a little longer than the rest. Eventually, he manages to slide out of his bedroll when he notices the meeting on the other side of the camp. He approaches Phalgun and the others, wiping the sleep from his eyes and yawning, "Yeah! I hope you had a good night's sleep. We have a big day ahead of us, after all." He smiles and bows a greeting. "I mean, last night couldn't have gone any better!"
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Bartimaeus considers Styrian's words seriously. "How have you gathered such an insight? If what you say is true, our counterattack will have to be particularly prepared and effective. Thank your for you council," he concludes, nodding his head while his brow furrows deeply and he starts to brood. It would be prudent to wield a weapon cast in silver on the occasion that they share a weakness similar to their lupine bretheren. Or perhaps... The boy! He may be more crucial to this expedition than we all thought...
After preparing his spells, he approaches Sori. "Madam, a moment of your time, if it please you."
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"Good morning to you too sir, we have indeed been met with the results we had hoped," he concludes, trying to be at least a little discrete while the two bandits remained alive and in their presence. Can never be too careful... "Are your men ready to move out? We will require time to break camp, but shall be prepared to march within the hour," he declares, looking around camp to see what needs to be done.
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Styrian explains his vision to Bartimaeus. "Even ordinary objects can retain imprints that their owners saw or experienced and may wish kept secret, and one sensitive to such things can extract these secrets. In this case I saw a glimpse of what I believe to be the path to their lair, and most definitely a tiger in a place of honor or power over them."
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"Quite impressive, I've never heard of such a method before! When our business has concluded, would you do me the honor of an interview? I merely wish to learn more about your talents, nothing out of the ordinary or untoward," Bartimaeus explains. A vital point of order would be how to identify others with such a talent, the Heralds of Summer would do well to recruit individuals with such abilities.
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"Hmm if anyone has a magical weapon I could attune it to strike at it all the harder once we positively identify our foe. Tiger, weretiger or even more unlikely a rahshasa, any one of them could be a target. I don't possess such a valuable blade myself, but I could perform this on another's when the time comes."