PbP Game Day - 5-01 The Glass River Rescue (Inactive)

Game Master Scott Young

This one trusts the captain's experience, and the less dubious approach.

Cepsihir stands by his original assessment, and would prefer to make port in Xer.

"If we port and give extra payment, Razmirans may be suspicious. Very paranoid."

Ossok pauses for a moment.

"Perhap we let Razmirans bully us, make them think they scare us into giving extra money? That way no suspicion."

Pavanna smiles, a wicked thing indeed. "The only problem, dear Ossok, is that once you allow them to bully you they will believe they can continue to do so. Though I suppose the same is true of coin. Whatever you offer them, you need to be prepared to continue to offer."

"But are you prepared to face entire nation of Razmiran crazies? Give them what they want, so we can do what we are asked to do. Hard to accomplish goal if all Razmiran barges on tails."

Nodding, Pavanna agrees, "I'm willing to give them what they need."

"Perhaps we over-think this. We make port, imploy our 'model citizen' ruse, and leave before they are any the wiser."

This one fears conflict is inevitable.

Cepsihir does a quick inventory of his armaments.

I agree with Cepsihir. Though I have plenty of coin, feel confident in, how you say "strength of tentacle." If whatever subtereefugae does not work, I will be happy to smash skulls of these ignorant crazy peoples.

Noticing the stares of the crewmates and knowing that the Razmirans will likely be even more superstituous, Scorpion gets the loose fitting trench coat from his pack and puts it on over his light armor. He folds his tentacle beneath the baggy coat and adjusts the great sword back sheath over the coat.

Diana looks to feel somewhat ill "I can't believe I'm gonna say this but I think Pavanna has the right of this. I think sneaking in will only cause more trouble for us up stream."

She looks to their passengers, shrugging slightly, "If it comes to blows so be it. I do not fear their false god."

Krystiana ponders the situation while watching the scenery go by as they drift down the river. "I don't think we should sneak either. However, we should probably be shrewd about how we deal with them. Try to underpay. Act annoyed at paying the full price. Begrudgingly pay any additional "fees" associated with an expedited trip through customs."

Krystiana looks down at the water for a moment before saying, "Essentially, show them what they expect to see and not what we really are. Let their biases do the rest." She turns around to the rest of the group. "Does that make sense?"

Pavanna smirks, "There is hope for you yet, my dear."

"That exactly what Ossok trying to say. You much more elegant with words."

"Not following your appearances is something The Spirit of Abandon teaches in a way," says a blushing Krystiana. "We are merely appearing the way that best fits us. It's their notions that causes them to not see us otherwise."

"Careful Krystiana, this 'ers a slippery slope we're on." She gives her fellow paladin an unhappy but resigned look. "If it's all the same to the rest of y'all I'd rather be below deck with the Dwarves when the time comes."

Krystiana nods in agreement at the other paladin. "I think I'll stay below deck as well. While I think a small amount guile of 'going through the motions' is likely the best strategy, my skill for it is non-existent."

"Besides, I definitely don't want to be examined or questioned by their priests when we arrive. Explaining the practices of Arshea to the closed-minded can be ... awkward."

Nodding Pavanna seems to be taking it all in, deliciously savoring it. "I am happy to assist the captain as needed dealing with the Razmari authorities."

"This one is willing to join with negotiations, though his appearance to these suspicious folk may not serve us well. This one will monitor from aboard, unless you would want him."

The city of Xer sits on the north bank of the Glass River, at the point where the wide bay finally narrows to a recognizeable channel. (See Area Map). There are dozens of busy docks, and ships heading both into and out of the port area head both upriver and back to the lake. Grubby men and women in bulky jackets patrol the docks, and few smiling faces are to be seen.

Captain Siggurd issues orders to his men, and Abacus maneuvers towards a dock near the east end of the city, lined on both sides by tall warehouses. "In case there's trouble," he says to no one in particular.

"I think now would be a good time for us to go below," states Passad. He takes another touch of snuff from his golden snuffbox. "Remember, it's best if no one knows we are here - you're carrying cargo up-river to Daggermark." He takes out the 2 platinum pieces and presses them into Pavanna's hand. "This is about the correct amount for our tariff plus a gratuity." He turns and follows Metella and Amauhak down the ladder to the hold. Krystiana and Diana follow.

As Abacus approach the dock area, the sails are struck, and the crew throws a rope to a group of waiting dockhands. They pull the ship in, tie it off, and set up a gangplank.

Meanwhile, from farther down the dock, a group of two tough-looking humans start heading your way. A rather portly man in a bulky jacket pushes past the dockhands, holding the leash of a large, slavering canine that looks more wolf than dog. He wears a sword at his belt and his free hand holds a crossbow casually over his shoulder. Following him is a tall woman with long red hair that would probably be quite beautiful if it were washed, holding her crossbow at the ready. From the dock on the other side of the ship, you see a third man, casually regarding the scene with a crossbow pointed conspicuously in your direction.

OOC: I have put up a map for clarity, but I want to stress that this does not mean we are in combat! I tend to use maps often in PbP since it's easy, doesn't cost me to print, and helps describe the scene with no ambiguity. You should zoom in using the tools, or download it and zoom in usnig your PDF reader, otherwise it looks a bit too crowded.

They seek trouble without any provokation... this one should not stoke the fires.

Cepsihir hunkers down and monitors the scene on deck.

Pavanna will have removed her choker long before now. Also I assume either Passad or Siggurd would have told me what kind of cargo we carry.

Pavanna strolls up toward the gangplank, "Ahoy! We are bound for Daggermark, and come to pay our tariff." she smiles warmly, her own heavy mace at her hip.

Scorpion removes his Cure Light Wound Wand from his spring loaded sheath and inserts his Strength Mutagen into it and clicks it back into place. He then strolls casually towards the gang plank and follows Pavanna but keeps a pace or two behind, not wanting to intrude on her negotiations but ready to aid in whatever is needed.

Diana waits quietly below deck silently praying to Erastil to bless them with safe passage, her bow drawn and strung.

Krystiana traces the edges of her holy symbol ritualistically with her eyes closed while straining to listen for any trouble that might occur above.

Ossok will stand on deck silently, away from Pavanna, to act as a guard on the ship. If necessary, the half-orc behind his wooden visage can be quite intimidating if the Razmirans get a little too pushy.

The man with the dog yells up to you. "In the name of the Living God, Lord of the Thirty-One Steps, welcome to Razmiran! Permission to come aboard to collect the proper duties and tariffs?" His expression makes it more of a statement than a question, and he begins walking up the gangplank, followed by the red-haired woman. "I'll need to see everyone on deck for inspection, Immediately."

Pavanna waves him forward, "Of course, please. In the name of the Lord of the Thirty-One Steps welcome aboard the Abacus." Turning to look over her shoulder down toward the hold she says very loudly "My maidens will be up here presently for inspection."

Ossok steps forward, silent and stoic, his fierce snarl concealed by his wooden mask.

Krystiana quietly grumbles, "Vile little puppet of Asmodeus..."

She looks at Diana and whispers, "Well, does her infernal ladyship's maidens wear armor or not? I have some cleric vestments, but it'll take at least a minute to get out of this armor."

Diana looks to her breastplate, the longbow etched deep in its mithril, "I think the longer they wait to see us the more they'll be hankerin to search for us." Diana is ready to step out for inspection with Krystiana.

Cepsihir stows his weapons and presents himself on deck with the rest of his party.

We shall be stronger as a singular unit, and they weakened by their lack of foresight.

The dog leads the way up the gangplank, straining at its leash and snapping its jaws. The two guards follow, while the third surveys the scene from the other dock. "Initial tariff will be 10 pieces of gold, and then we'll see what an inspection shows." He twists his face into an expression that is half grin, half sneer. "Unless you want to resist?" The woman behind him tightens her grip on the crossbow, a look of anticipation in her eyes.

Cepsihir would like to reference the above perception/sense motive checks made earlier

This is less a matter of if this will come to blows, but rather when. This one will indulge the lot of them if they are truly ignorant enough to engage.

Cepsihir monitors the new occupants of the Abacus closely for any signs of open hostility.

Pavanna smiles her delicious, wicked grin as her eyes travel up and down the guard. "Please, inspect everything to your satisfaction." she runs her hands over her hips. "You'll find no resistance from us. Though..." she runs her finger over her lips and down her chin, "sometimes a little resistance is a good thing isn't it commander?" She hands him the 2 platinum pieces, drawing her fingers slowly across his hand.

"Platinum!" he exclaims, his eyes widening, first at the coin and then at Pavanna's contact. He turns his head to the woman. "Most travelers pay in silver... These ones must be rich indeed!" He turns back to Pavanna, his eyes traveling up and down her body. "We'd better treat you to a full inspection... "

The red-haired woman speaks for the first time, her voice gruff. [b]"Come on, Rezzel, we're way behind cash-wise this month... Keep your mind on business." she steps forward and motions to Pavanna with her crossbow. "Everyone on deck. Now. After we inspect your crew and passengers, we'll check the hold." She waves to the third man, giving him a strange sign with her hand, and he raises his crossbow and trains it on Pavanna.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 10 = 18

Pavanna gives every appearance of cooperation.

Scorpions eyes narrow as they train the crossbow on Pavanna. He steps right up to the edge of the gang plank while still on the ship and rests his hands uneasily on his belt. He starts counting the number of steps it would take to get to each combatant.

Pavanna's attempts at seduction will be rendered null by the other female. When best to waylay these brutes... below decks or do we risk jeopardizing our cargo?

Krystiana heads above decks with Diana. Upon reaching topside Krystiana gives a small curtsey and says, "I'm sorry for our delay, madam. We were just making sure that we would be properly attired for meeting any visitors that you brought aboard."

The young and very small framed (rolled 4'11" on random height) paladin tries to be the example of confused maiden and re-adjusts her armor trying to get it to get it to fit correctly, a routine that she practices every morning until normally giving up on it as a lost cause.

The man with the dog starts as the two armored women come up from belowdecks. "What is this? Those aren't maidens... it's a trap!" He swings his crossbow around, anger in his eyes.

There is no surprise round. Order of actions: Guard 1, Guard 2, Cepsihir, Guard 3, Dog, Pavanna, Kyrstiana, Scoropins, Diana, Ossok. MAP UPDATED: LINK

Guard 1 releases the leash on his dog. He yells, "Hotspur, KILL!" and swings his crossbow towards the various targets on deck.

Guard 2 draws a bead on Pavanna and fires her crossbow (1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13), but the bolt strikes her shield and sticks there, quivering.

Please give me your actions for Round 1. Remember, don't assume the actions of other party members have occurred yet, nothing actually occurs until I do the resolution post. So keep things in the future tense for easy reading!

Round 1

Ossok will run forward, drawing his greataxe as he moves, and takes a big swing at the guard.

Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13
Damage: 1d12 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Men will yield; beasts do not.

Cepsihir will close on the wild dog menacing the party, drawing his scimitar and imbuing it with arcane energy. Cepsihir's last few paces blend into a deadly dance of weaving and slashes.

Attack with Scimitar: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 6 + 1 = 26
Magic/Piercing Damage: 1d4 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 1 = 9

Crit Confirmation: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 6 + 1 = 24
Crit Damage: 1d4 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 4 + 1 = 7

Scorpion uses a swift action to pop his mutagen out from its spring loaded wrist sheath and quaffs it as a move action (due to his trait) then runs right up to an enemy, preferring one with a ranged weapon in hopes to get an attack of opportunity when he draws a weapon. He now has claws where's his nails were and vicious long teeth. He let's his coat fall as he runs to reveal his tentacle swinging about him in a menacing arc.

Come and play little ones! Bwhahahahaha! Let us see how long you have until my teeth crush your puny bodies!

Can I do an intimidate check here? Or is it more than a free action to do that?

To demoralize enemies, it's a standard action.

She taunts the female guard while stepping back from Rezzel, "Rezzel will do to you what he dreams of doing to me."

Pavanna takes a 5' step away from the guard (behind the mast if possible) and cast murderous command on guard 2 - DC 14 Will.

Diana knocks an arrow and sends it sailing across the ship with a second quickly behind it aimed at Hotspur(dog).
"Try not to kill them, they're only doing their jobs... I think."

Attack 1: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 61d8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8
Attack 2: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 91d8 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

"Why do people always think the worst of my intentions?"

Krystiana makes her way across the deck of the ship toward the male guard and pulls her flail free of her belt. She attacks the guard with her flail in an attempt to disarm him.

CMB Disarm using a disarm weapon: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 3 + 2 = 14 Provokes an AoO from the target of the maneuver

Scorpion will drink as a standard and move as a move action.

Round 1 (complete)

Guard 1 (a.k.a. "Rezzel") releases the leash on his dog. He yells, "Hotspur, KILL!" and swings his crossbow towards the various targets on deck.

Guard 2 (a.k.a the red-haired woman) draws a bead on Pavanna and fires her crossbow (1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13), but the bolt strikes her shield and sticks there, quivering.

Cepsihir leaps down from the forecastle (Acrobatics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10 and slashes the dog with his scimitar. It yelps once and stumbles, its innards spilling across the deck. Despite the grievous wound, the dog is still alive, and it begins howling and snapping in confusion.

Guard 3 (a.k.a the guy on the other dock) raises his crossbow (Light crossbow: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9 and fires at one of the crewmen on the starboard side of Abacus, missing his target. He swears to himself and reloads the weapon.

Hotspur the dog snaps reflexively but ineffectively at Cepsihir (Bite: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10).

Pavanna taunts the guard and casts her spell. Will save: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14 For the briefest instant her face fills with rage - but then she shakes his head a few times as if to clear it. When she again raises his eyes, they are focused on Pavanna. "Try to mess with my mind, will you?" the woman snarls, hefting her crossbow.

Krystiana moves up to try to disarm Rezzel, but he evades the attempt easily.

Scorpions pops a vial out of his spring-loaded wrist sheath and drinks it, then looks for an opening. With Rezzel already surrounded and a wounded dog blocking his path, he judges his chances of leaping to the gangplank, but decides to stay put. (OOC: has a move action left, but no real use for it without taking an attack of opportunity from the dog.)

Diana sends her arrows towards the wounded dog, but doesn't have a clear line of sight and misses.

Ossok finds his target already hemmed in by colleagues with quicker reflexes, and is forced to move around the mast to find an opening. Rezzel narrowly dodges the great blade's arc, and the arrogance on his face slips for just an instant.

The ship's crew duck for cover. The three on the main deck dive down the open aft hatch into the hold, while the one on the bow ducks behind the railing and tries to stay out of sight. The last man bravely stands his ground with the captain at the wheel.

Round 1 is over! Please declare your actions for Round Two. I will have to re-do the map as my original file got corrupted somehow... but the situation is largely the same as the existing map, with the following changes:
* Cepsihir is now directly north of the dog
* Pavanna has stepped SE, now directly south of the mast
* Krystiana moved to where Pavanna was
* Ossok moved around the mast to end up directly south of Scorpions and directly beside the dog.

I'll update the map tomorrow morning from work.

Cepsihir feels a brief pang of remorse upon seeing the dog in such a state yet still alive.

"This one will make your passing quick."

Cheppy would really like that flank, but I'm not sure he's going to get it.

Cepsihir continues his whirlwind of stabs.

Attack: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 6 + 1 = 8
Magic/Pierce Damage: 1d4 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 4 + 1 = 6

Must be farther away than I thought...

Krystiana calls upon Arshea to find the true oppressors of the world and focuses on Rezzel.

Detect Evil as a move action

"Diana, do agents of evil count in the category of 'just doing their job'?"

"Depends on if the job is evil I guess..."

Diana moves to try and clean up her line of sight if possible.

(up to 30' of movement cant see the map on my computer for some reason so I don't know if it would be worth it for her)

She'll try and put the wounded dog down.