PbP Gameday VII - Heroes for Highdelve - GM NOWRUZ #3 (Inactive)

Game Master noral

Before heading to deal with the tiefling, Randolf says to the two youths, "My LAST warning. DROP your bows on the ground, or else my allies will be considering you hostile."

Now that his short sword is out, Randolf moves to the tiefling, and attempts to hit him with it.

short sword: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12 to hit
damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3 damage

Meraina turns toward the two children and barks at them, her eyes flashing with fury, "Drop the weapons. Now!"

Intimidate(untrained): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13

Torgen moves over towards the tiefling.

double move

"You idiots! Come over and help me get rid of them!" the Tiefling shouts but Meraina's intimidating stare is keeping the kids from moving.

The Tiefling attacks Randolf with his shortsword and can stab his right arm.

Short Sword: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16
Damage : 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Round 4

1. Eroth
2. Enemies
3. Sir Randolf, Torgen, Meraina -> GO!

#Tolwin:-2 Damage

#Richelle: 0 Damage
#Tiefling: 3 Damage

SR.: -3 HP
M.: -5 HP
T: HP
E: -16 HP, up to 3 stabilisation rolls needed

"OUCH! You knave.....you cut my outfit!"

5 foot to the east to eventually have a flank.
Standard Action: Attack with short sword

short sword: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
Whiff, whiff....dice gods hate me....

"Take this"

Torgen swings at the tiefling. But he still has trouble gripping his hammer and misses.

attack with flank: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Both Torgen and Randolf miss the agile Tiefling.

STab: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

[DIce=STab]1d20+3

You are at -4 HP now. You can make two more checks as two rounds have passed.

Meraina sighs and, still glaring at the children, flicks her wrist. A spiraling rainbow of force flies true to strike at the tiefling.

Magic Missile dmg: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

"I said drop your weapons, kids," she wheezes, the arrow still protruding from her chest. She pulls a potion from her pack.

"Can anyone heal our dwarf friend?"

"I have a wand, though I am a bit busy at the moment Torgen, as you can surmise. Also...not certain that I can get it to work....it is dreadfully temperamental."

I.e. I have to UMD it...so about a 25% chance I can get it working...and a 5% chance I will lock it up for me for the day...

Meraina sighs and, still glaring at the children, flicks her wrist. A spiraling rainbow of force flies true to strike at the tiefling.

[dice=Magic Missile dmg]1d4+1

"I said drop your weapons, kids," she wheezes, the arrow still protruding from her chest. She pulls a potion from her pack.

The melee attack and magical force are too much for the Tiefling and he is hurled away ... his bloodied body lying on the ground.

Stab: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 131d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22
Has anyone a potion.

When you search the Tiefling you find:

Combat Gear: elixir of hiding, potion of cure light wounds; Other
Gear: padded armor, light crossbow with 10 crossbow bolts, short sword, thieves’ tools

Meraina kneels by Eroth and feeds him her potion of cure light wounds.

Randolf will quickly check the Tiefling, and as soon as he finds the potion of cure light wounds, he takes it over to Meraina. "Dear lady, please verify that this is a safe thing to give to our poor friend here. I will attempt to coerce my wand into giving him aid also...."

Randolf drops his short sword, and pulls out a small wand with a small amethyst on its tip. He gently touches it to Eroth.

UMD to activate wand of CLW : 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17
And nothing happens. Randolf looks a bit ashamed, and says quietly "It usually works....let me try it again."

He touches the crystal to Eroth's forehead.

UMD to activate wand of CLW : 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9
And nothing happens. Very much under his breath he says to the wand, "Really...you are going to make me look bad in front of a pretty lady. Come on....work."

He lightly pokes Eroth with the wand, close to one of the wounds.

UMD to activate wand of CLW : 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22
The wand lightly glows, almost like it hasn't fully woken up yet.

healing : 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
"Let me try again...maybe it is just being stubborn."
UMD to activate wand of CLW : 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

At this point, people can tell that Randolf is getting a little frustrated...he just starts poking Eroth with the wand..trying mentally to activate it.
UMD to activate wand of CLW : 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

UMD to activate wand of CLW : 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

UMD to activate wand of CLW : 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

UMD to activate wand of CLW : 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

healing : 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

"Bah....my grandmother Octavia said I needed more practice before making this thing work....sad to say I now believe she is right..."

With that he puts his wand back into the little sheath on his belt, and picks up his short sword, looking at it for any nicks or damage.

Eroth that is 6 hp total back from me. I can attempt to heal more if you want me to.

"Good job on healing him. Another dwarf in the fight is what we need"

Erôth wakes up and spits out an ugly glob of blood.
"Where is that flice ridden hill giant that hit me in the stomach!"

The boy and girl look at you.

”Who ... who are you people!? You will not ... hurt us, right?! she says and it is clear that she lacks the morale to continue to fight.

Seeming a bit irritated...maybe at the 2 kids, maybe at the lack of ability to heal Eroth...Randolf looks to the 2 kids and says, "I specifically remember telling you to drop your bows and you won't be harmed....so....unless you really want to continue with this fight, do so NOW!"

1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22

Richelle and Tolwin drop their bows immediately.

Cure Light Wounds potion on Eroth: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Eroth is healed a total of 9 points.

Meraina stands, wincing at the arrow sticking out of her chest and nods to Sir Randolf. She takes the potion and holds her hand over it.

Casting Detect Magic and then a spellcraft to identify.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

She lowers her hand, then reaches up and yanks the arrow from her chest. As she hurls it to the ground, she immediately drinks the potion.

Cure Light Wounds on Meraina: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

I'm back up to full

"The villagers are looking for you kids. what ARE you doing?"

Richelle looks at Torgen and she clearly is uncertain how to take this situation.

"Look, I ... I want us build our own path, ok! But ... but where should we go? We have nothing except of this here and now ... now we can never go back to Highdelve." she says and it is obvious that she seeks a solution quite desperately.

"We ... only know that the Tiefling and his mother wanted to conduct a ritual and unleash something on the jubilee to distract the townsfolk so that he could do something ... we do not know what. And we also do not know where his mother is ... she has been in the cave for ages now with this amulet we stole. Please ... we just stay here and wait for you, ok? Who are you?? Please?!?" she pleads.

"I am Sir Randolf Inerio, perhaps you have hear of me or my family....no...pity. Needless to say, I would consider yourselves our prisoners. However, since I doubt you would want to follow us into a den of possible danger and horror, PLEASE just stay here, and wait for us."

"Maybe if you really don't have anywhere else to go, I might find use of your services. I believe my grandmother in Taldor needs a few new assistants to help clean her library. I could put in a good word for you two with her, or another of my extended family to see if they could use help."
Diplomacy to influence the two: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18

"How about we go through what you just said with a fine tooth comb and hopefully help myself and my friends here understand better what happened. Let's see. It sounds like you both are orphans...is this correct? And that there is nothing back at Highdelve...may I ask why you think so? And what of this tiefling and you say his mother? Do you know anymore about them. And what about this amulet you say yo stole....who did you steal it from, and can you give a description of it?"

Sorry....Figure I would get all the questions out for you to answer, but I know that is a huge block of questions.

Tolwin now speaks up.

"Ehh, there's always someone trying to get what they don't deserve ... and they always wanted to get that from us!"

Richelle looks at Tolwin with warm eyes to calm him.

"Tolwin and I are apprentices to Carth Garenth and Yarla Bowhammer. Carth, a male human, is a hobby puppeteer, an elegant man as well as one of Highdelve’s finest jewelers. I am his apprentice for three years now ... Yarla, a dwarven female merchant, is the leader of the Peaktop Company which trades in dry goods up and down western Brevoy. Tolwin is her apprentice for five years now!"

Suddenly Tolwin come forward!

"We do not care about the town! Nobody cares about us either!" Tolwin spits in your direction.

Richelle interjects.

"Tolwin, these people want to help us! It is true!" she says to him and holds his arm.

Tolwin shakes his head.

"I do not care about any of them! I want vengeance for what we had to endure all our life! For the shaming ... for being outsiders! I do not care about this town and ..." he looks at the Tiefling " ... Feran and his mother understand our pain! They are more kin to us than you could ever be!" he shouts.

Another diplomacy please.

Meraina steps forward, laughing. In a singsong voice she says, "You are quite right, children, you are indeed free of that foul city." She begins humming and "la, la, la"-ing in delight.

Casting Hyponotism on them. It affects 2d4 ⇒ (2, 2) = 4 HD of creatures, with a DC 17 save.

She smiles at the children. "Now, children, we would ever so much appreciate if you would help answer our questions."

Diplomacy(untrained): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

Will save: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Will save: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

Tolwin and Richelle suddenly start looking at you more friendly.

Richelle starts crying ... but because she seems really ... happy.

"Oh it is so great that you are here now! Thank you!" Richelle says with dreamy eyes.

Richelle looks at Tolwin and suddenly starts crying.

"We ... we do not have the letter anymore! Feran and his mother Gilda made us ... made us burn everything that tied us to our roots. I ... I do not know how we did what we did! Tolwin ... we have to wake up!" she says between sobs.

Tolwin is looking at Richelle with a forced smile.

Looking slightly distressed at what the children said, Randolf asks, "What have you endured, and what about being outsiders. Do you mean outsiders, as in from not from Highdelve, or Outsiders....similar to Feran and his mother?"

"Children. We do not mean to hurt you. Well....I can guess Eroth is quite irritated with the arrow he got in his chest, but I am certain he understands that Feran and Gilda were using you. So, please, tell us about the amulet you took, any interesting think you might know about it? Also, can you tell us more about Gilda?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

Meraina smiled. "It is hard to be young. We will stop this Gilda, then we will return, and tell everyone how you helped us. You will be heroes of Highdelve ..." Dhe glances meaningfully at Tolwin. "Outcasts no longer."

After a pause, she says to the two of them, "You say Gilda has been in the caves for ages ... Hours? Days? What sort of powers has she demonstrated?"

"Well lets head to the cave then?"

"Might as well. "

Randolf pulls out a sunrod from his backpack, snaps it and shakes it to get it to glow, transfers it to his right hand, then pulls out his dueling sword with his left hand.

Erôth shrugs and nods. "Well I feel still a bit doozy, but it has to work!"

"Eroth, if you need more healing, I can attempt to get this wand to cooperate..."

Metagaming, is there anybody else that can activate it, or has a better UMD than +5?

"I would offer to help, but healing magic is not my area ..."

Still waiting to hear if the kids give us any more information on what to expect from Gilda.

Eroth, I will attempt another use...do you need more?

UMD to activate wand of CLW: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

UMD to activate wand of CLW: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

UMD to activate wand of CLW: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

HEALING!: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

Sir Randolf feels very ashamed....having people seeing that he can't even activate his own item....though finally a light purple light flows from the wand to Eroth.

"Wands aren't my thing. Just smashing orcs with my hammer here!"

Feeling all his wounds close Erôth smiles a toothy smile and nods at Sir Randolf. "Many thanks!"

Looking slightly distressed at what the children said, Randolf asks, "What have you endured, and what about being outsiders. Do you mean outsiders, as in from not from Highdelve, or Outsiders....similar to Feran and his mother?"

"Children. We do not mean to hurt you. Well....I can guess Eroth is quite irritated with the arrow he got in his chest, but I am certain he understands that Feran and Gilda were using you. So, please, tell us about the amulet you took, any interesting think you might know about it? Also, can you tell us more about Gilda?"

Richelle and Tolwin are slightly confused. "Ehmm, I don't know what you mean ... I mean outsiders like in normal langugage ... " Tolwin says.

Richelle looks up from the floor and speaks up.

"Gilda has been in there for a day now. I don't know about any powers. Just be careful ... in the cave - it's a giant! For sure! I've only read about them before. Feran and his mother said they are preparing it in that cave. They are carving something into its skin! The giant looks weird, though. Two heads, and these mangled limbs. It smells horrible. But the cave was so dark, we couldn't really see it well. I was the one who got up close to it. Be careful!" she says.

Dwarves know that he is talking about an Ettin. If any of you want to roll knowledge(nature) please do so.

* * *

You leave the kids and all move to the cave entrance.

This rock face towers nearly 30 feet and is punctuated in the middle with the dark opening of a cave mouth.

As you enter, the dank scent of moss hangs heavy in the air as the gloom in the cave thickens. Some daylight filters in to the mouth of the cave (the entryway is in low-light), but the caverns receding deeper in on either side are completely dark.

How do you want to deal with light, and what is your marching order/algorithm as you proceed into this cave?

Randolf has a glow stick in his off hand (left). It should be good for 2 hours.

Meraina reloads her crossbow, then hangs it at her side. She then pulls a scroll out, having ready if needed. "I can go in the lead and try to enchant them ... but at this point, it feels like combat may be the only outcome, so I am not sure it is worth trying anything else. In that case, I have a scroll of.burning hands, but beyond that am fine at range."

"I can be in the front, or at least in 2nd row. I think Meraina and myself are the ones that needs the sunrod the most."

"My hammer is ready. I can be in front"

You can place yourselves on the map now and walk as you wish!

These cramped corridors smell like fungus and rot.

Ridges on the map represent sloping passages downward. Squares that are sloped are difficult terrain.

Eroth and Meraina can hear a violent thudding sound as well as muffled roaring coming from deeper within the cave.

Are you taking your time and exploring the area, or moving quickly to find the creature?

I vote taking our time, though I am not in the lead.

Torgen looks around.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18

"Anyone hear that..

Unless there is a scream or obvious people in pain or distress, I vote taking our time...I don't want to walk into an ambush, or a trap.

After a few minutes of stealthily moving through the caverns and exploring, you hear the loud *snap* of a chain breaking, followed by a bellow of triumph and loud, thudding footsteps.

Suddenly, a large, two-headed beast comes into view, wielding a nasty-looking flail in one hand and holding the dead, crushed body of an aged woman in the other hand.

The two-headed giant is wearing a large pendant that you clearly recognize as the pendant that was granted by the dragon to the town of Highdelve.

But you also see that strange cords are attached to the amulet and it is blood-covered.