Everyone is wondering the same thing, Uesugi, but the Venture Officer won't tell us how many successes there are in total so far. He will only post if the condition is met (3x number of tables for anchors). Several other GMs are doing what we're doing: running their players through a bunch of combat because each combat encounter gives you another Anchor success. One GM is up to 18 successes so far, which is pretty amazing. I think if enough GMs continue on this way, we will be fine.
Lady Arodeth manages an excuse for a smile and then reaches around her neck, unbuckling a necklace she was wearing. The chain is gold and the pendant is a brilliant yellow tourmaline. She hands it to Uesugi. "This was once a symbol for the Harbingers of Fate, and of my father before them. Now, let it be a symbol of my coming demise and moreover, a reminder to not follow anything - or anyone - so blindly. I'm not certain if this will make it back, but I appreciate the gesture."
--
On Lady Arodeth and Shaine's advice, you head back up the stairs winding out of the Sky Key Vault and back towards the city. Hmm, I'm feeling generous [and want us to succeed], so I will say that Gallix's Shield and Uesugi's Bulls Strength will not expire until after this battle.
As you near the city fountain, another arc of green lightning gathers above, striking the ground in front of you. When the dust settles, a strange looking human armed with a greatclub stands before you and shouts in a language that's now all familiar to you - in sound, at least.
"My thanks Lady Arodeth. I will never part ways with it. It shall be a symbol of honour for me." Putting it on he bows again and rushes off to join the others.
Upon seeing the large man he draws his blade "Spirit I wait on your action. Barbarian we do not know how many enemies this wu jen storm sends our way. Have care and we will be able to drink to this in safer times. Hopefully with someone not tossing their drinking vessel at you." With that last comment you almost think Uesugi cracks a smile but looking at his face you only see determination and focus for what lies ahead.
Watching the giant shake his head furiously Uesugi moves swiftly towards it hoping to take advantage of the distraction. Taking five steps to the right of the creature he lowers himself just slightly and slashes crosswise aiming for the giant's knee. "To the left barbarian while it is still unprepared."
You should probably be able to flank him since he hasnt acted yet Gallix
Mr Peppers ends his furious writing as the group prepares to head back into the city. "The arcane is a tool for good as well as for evil. I'm glad you've reconsidered dooming us all in the name of your deity. Your sacrifice is noteworthy and I wish for your change of heart and sacrifice to be recorded for future generations. Please sign here, I've taken the liberty of recording our conversations and would love for you to authenticate them."
After she signs Mr Peppers will nod in respect, stow his journal and hurry out to join the rest of the group.
Combat time?!?
As the feral looking barbarian appears Mr Peppers gasps "So it begins. If a group is summoned please give me space to channel fire. Otherwise I'll do what I can with this crossbow for now." He then unslings his crossbow and loads it.
Male Human Brawler (Mutagenic Mauler) 10 / Skald (Spell Warrior) 1 | HP 95/95 | AC 23, Touch 14, Flatfooted 20, CMD 27* | Saves F+13, R+11, W+7 | Perception +4, Sense Motive +5; Init +2 | Knockout: 2/2 | Weapon Song Rds Used: 5/5 | Status: N/A
Gallix laughs loudly at Uesugi and D.'s comments. "Indeed we will go and have ourselves a drink, my friend. And after? Who knows?" He smiles at D. and says, "I wondered how that had happened. You feel free to join us too, ya mad sand man, you!" He then rushes forward, heeding Uesugi's command. Gallix had grown to respect the warrior's strength and wisdom in and out of battle, so he had almost no compulsion to completely ignore the order and charge right into the giant's face. For the time being, though he would listen to his new friend.
As Gallix runs forward, however, the others notice that he reaches up to the small roll of paper at his lips and crushes the red orb at the end. He gets into his position and breathes deeply, inhaling the contents of the odd cigarette. The orb had apparently lit a spark, as the end of the stick begins to emit a deep red smoke. As he breathes in the unknown concoction inside, Gallix looks across at Uesugi. "You know, I think it's really funny that you've been calling me a barbarian all day. I gotta tell you though: you ain't seen nothin' yet."
Suddenly, Gallix doubles over as if in pain and begins to shake and convulse, the smoke from his cigarette still coiling up lazily into the air. When he stands up once again, the muscles along his exposed right arm appear to have doubled in size, his skin seems hard and taught, and the expression on his face is almost bestial. With an enormous, monstrous grin, he looks at Uesugi.
*WIIIIIIINNNNNK*
Say hello to my little friend! Time to unleash the mutagen. So that's a standard to activate the mutagen and a move to get in position. Gallix gets +4 to Strength and -2 to Int, along with a +2 natural armor bonus. Together with Shield (thanks for letting that stay up, Red), he now has an AC of 20 (2 Dex+2 armor+4 shield+2 natural armor). The mutagen effect lasts for 10 minutes. Let's have some fun!
Uesugi does not pause as he watches the barbarian transform into this behemoth form. This man is full of much life.
Preparing to fend off the feral creature's blow he replies to D. in their native tongue.
Tien:
"He is a barbarian this should not surprise us but you must respect his enthusiasm. It is for us to show him how to temper his ways. For now let us use this strength to our advantage."
Blaster fires a shot from his musket but is much too distracted by the green lightning to aim properly. He reloads his musket afterwards.
Musket, PBS:1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 5 + 1 = 91d12 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
While Gallix mutates into something fierce and sets up a flank, Uesugi slices at the enemy, carving a nice slice across its shoulder.
Victim roll, Gallix = 2:1d2 ⇒ 2
He angrily strikes back with his huge club directed at the mutated Gallix, but Gallix's bestial self scares him at the last moment, and he swings wide.
Greatclub:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 191d10 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17
D's sand bullet leaves a circular wound on the caveman's cheek, knocking some teeth out in the process.
It's a good thing that victim roll chose Gallix, or our favorite samurai would be KOed.
Time Storm, Round 2 Blaster Corsac, Sirettis, Gallix, and Uesugi are up Caveperson (-22) D and Mr. Peppers
Are you scared...? :)
Not to worry, they're all pretty easy. I think this barbarian probably has the best stats.
There are four different encounters I can roll for, and you've already fought three (two earlier, and now this one). Depending on how many encounters we end up having, you might see some repeats. I'll try to at least get creative with whatever appears from an RP perspective. Can't do much with the tactics though.
Mr Peppers cocks a quizzical look at the new and 'improved'? Gallix. Is that an enlarge person smoke? How interesting. When he sees the summoned barbarian's powerful swing with that large club Mr Peppers gets a bit worried. Best not fool around with this beast, one shot with that club could send someone's head flying in the wrong direction.
He'll drop his crossbow to one hand and pull out his magic missile wand and launch a blast at the beastly man. Wand of Magic Missile:1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4"Best not let this summoned man-beast stay around for long, he looks pretty deadly with that club!"
Before Mr. Peppers needs to unleash his wand, Gallix and Uesugi land a fatal combination of attacks and the barbarian falls to his knees, slumping on his side with a faint growl.
Combat is over, and that'll be Anchor Success #6! I'm off to report it. If there are any preparations before I start another round of combat, let me know.
Do you think we can make it, given the very limited time span, and the weekend at our doorstep?
Because that worries me. :)
I can make some posts in this weekend, but there's family coming over on Sunday and tomorrow evening i'll be elsewhere.
Should it come to more rapid combat and you're waiting for me, D.'s tactics is moving to whatever spot has a proper los.
As I said in the PM, the feeling I have is that it's still possible. The numbers that GM Hmm collected show that we've got roughly 64 anchor successes, but 25% of the tables are missing in that estimate. A total of 99 are needed. It's unfortunate that we have to pick up the slack for other tables who may not have been as active, but that's how it goes with a multi-table special in PbP format.
Since Mr Peppers never got a turn then he wouldn't have drawn out his wand. He'll just keep his crossbow at the ready and waiting.
"You two are working together quite well up there. Always nice to see good teamwork amongst Pathfinders. We'll try to soften things up for you if you want to try to wait before getting up close and personal."
You prepare as needed after the last battle, and then:
You continue to wander the ancient city, noticing other groups of Pathfinders doing the very same thing you are - weakening the anchoring energy desperately to get home. With all the panic of Pathfinders running back and forth accompanied by copies of their own Kreighton Shaine, you get the sense that time is running out.
Watching green lightning arc across the sky, D quickly takes a strategic vantage point from near the town's fountain to better launch his blasts.
.. And with that, another bright blast of lightning strikes the ground in front of you, and a spotted dinosaur with large talons, similar to the one you saw earlier today, appears before you.
Init rolls are in your favor today! Order is technically Blaster -> Uesugi -> Mr. Peppers -> D and Sirettis and Gallix, but you can all go and I'll retrofix as needed.
Mr Peppers vaguely remembers seeing a similar looking beast earlier in the day while he was chatting with the Master of Scrolls. "Ferocious looking. Lets see if I can't hit him with this crossbow of mine."
Light Crossbow:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 171d8 ⇒ 8
"Hey hey! Who ever said Elves and crossbows don't mix!"
Uesugi grows quiet and you watch as certain peace descends upon him. With no hesitation he rushes the lizard. if someone could move me up that would be great
The mutated brawler never one to back down charges the dinosaur with a flying punch. For Gallix apologies I've never used a brawler so just using the rolls he posted earlier
The velociraptor goes down as quickly as it appeared when the four combined attacks of D, Mr. Peppers, Uesugi, and Gallix brutally wound it. It lets out an ear-piercing shriek as mutant Gallix strikes the killing blow.
Seeing the overgrown lizard go down in a flurry of bolt to the chest, grains of sand to the eyes and physical punishment to the midsection, Mr Peppers talks himself through the steps of reloading a light crossbow.
"Crank reloading bar five times clockwise. Insert bolt in correct orientation. Apply safety, slowly release cranking mechanism." Mr Peppers then slyly looks around to see if anyone noticed his obvious noobness and inexperience. "Don't judge me!"
Kreighton Shaine is mightily impressed with your combat prowess. "A magic user skilled at the crossbow, hmm? Very good. I'm not sure what thing your friend's morphed into," he says as he looks over at Gallix. "But it seems to be helping with our cause, so I suppose it makes up in power what it lacks in ... aesthetics."
You continue to march around the city, determined as ever, and before long, four bony beings materialize in front of you, certainly more products of the unstable energy surrounding you.
