Reign of Winter with GM Deadly Secret - Table 3 - The Snows of Summer (Inactive)

Game Master Deadly secret

Rerdahl turns toward the door, "The general store may have some heavy clothing that would be useful. I'm not sure that they would have any to fit a ratfolk. If not, something for a teenage human might be adjusted to work."

The general store looks to be across the town square

The location is Heldren - General Store

Heldren's general store carries everything a villager needs, as well as most gear an adventurer requires. Heldren sits on the road to Zimar, so plenty of trade passes through the village. The store's proprietor, Vivialla Steranus (female human), takes advantage of this brisk trade to stock her shelves.

Rerdahl approaches the proprietor, "Ma'am, Do you have cold weather clothing that could fit a ratfolk, like me? We're going to be heading into the woods and apparently there's some strange wintry weather there. Any chance you might have any crossbows here?"

Mina enters the store and runs her fingers across a rack of cloaks. She turns to Vivialla, the proprietor, and asks, "And perhaps a pair of thick boots for me? Thank you."

At whatever point Vivialla leaves to look for the requested items, Mina says softly to her companions, "Could the Winter Witches be behind this trouble? It doesn't seem their style. They would see invasion as, well, uncouth... unless they've come here to look for this noblewoman specifically and everything else is just a bad side effect."

With a prayer for the injured man, Asric follows the others to the general store. At Mina's question he shakes his head. "I know almost nothing of the Winter Witches. If they are behind this, it'd be useful to find out why." He turns back to the proprietress of the store and asks, "Might you have any snow shoes about?" Cold rarely bothers him, but he supposes it would be prudent to get some more protective clothing as well, just in case. If it is a witch behind this, who knows how cold it could get?

The location is Heldren - General Store

She looks concerned as she turns to the back room and says, "Be right back." After a few minutes she comes back out and says, "These are all I have." She holds out 5 used winter outfits all for medium humanoids. "They were used many years back briefly during one winter. It was a bit more cold than usual. How could it be snowing during this month?"

10 gp each but she is willing to sell them for 5 gp since they are used

”The only boots we have in stock right now are boots the farmers like to use for working in the dirt and mud. But we do have some nice sandals the ladies in town like. Aren’t they cute?” She holds up some cute blue sandals with some floral designs on it.

Boots, Wading These waterproof boots are felt lined and have a thin layer of metal around the soles. The top of each boot ends just before the knee, with a cord for tying the top shut over clothing or exposed skin. These boots assist in prolonged hikes through deep mud or shallow pools, granting the wearer a +1 circumstance bonus on Profession (fisher) checks while fishing in shallow water. 50 gp, 2 lbs.

"I'm sorry though, I don't carry any weapons, just working tools. Did you check the armory?"

Not surprised but a little disappointed Rerdahl examines the smallest of the five outfits, "A bit large but maybe it could be strapped with a bit of cord. By chance is there anyone in town that could make alterations? If not do you have some light cord that I could use to belt this on me"

"The armory? Not yet. They might sell weapons there? Thank you."

If that's all that is available I'll take it and try to make it work. I'm not so small that it would be too ridiculous.... 3' 10" 74 lbs. 5 gold plus how much for the cord?

Once everyone is ready head to the armory

The location is Heldren - General Store

"Oh of course, I'll give you that for free." She holds out a small thin rope you could use for free.

"Thank you so much!"

Buying one winter outfit for me. Too big is better than too small!

Mina replies with a smile, "Oh yes, those sandals are 'cute.' Not quite what I'm looking for at the moment, though. Perhaps another time, when I'm feeling desperate."

Nothing for Mina to purchase. She already has furs and a winter blanket among her gear.

Asric won't worry about the boots, but he'll pick up a set of winter clothes. "My thanks," he adds as he hands her the 5 gold pieces. He starts to disrobe and then remembers you aren't supposed to do that in public. "One moment," he says to the others as he ducks behind the building to change. He shrugs into the heavier clothes and packs the others clothes away before stepping back to the store. "One more stop then."

Rikiru looks at the outfits proferred, then back to his own. The ties, sashes and more robelike vestments are a stark contrast to the local fare.

"I used to think what I'd never seen before was exotic, but...mine seem to be the exotic now." He offers a slight bow. "I will be fine, thank you."

He pats his small pack. "The rest is in here."

The location is Heldren - Armory

A dirt path winds its way up a low hill west of town to the single door of this square stone tower. The tower is 30 feet high, with battlements on its roof and arrow slits along its walls. It is completely open on the inside, with no interior floors-just a wooden staircase running along the walls to the roof. The tower serves as Heldren's armory and a place of refuge for the villagers in case the village is ever attacked. In times of peace, the tower is usually unoccupied, but a selection of simple arms and armor-crossbows, bolts, spears, javelins, as well as a few suits of leather armor, padded armor, and light wooden shields-is stored inside for the militia.

Rerdahl enters the structure looking for anyone in charge. Seeing the simple weapons and armor, clearly designated for a local militia, he isn't sure that what he wants would be here. "Is anyone here?"

Not sure that I'd want to take from the militia's weapons even if they had a small crossbow....

The location is Heldren - Armory

When Rerdahl speaks, you hear a few wings flutter as you disturb the silence the pigeons were enjoying. You scan the room and you do see a few of these weapons and armor are for small humanoids and there are even one or two that look big enough for large humanoids.

"Perhaps you could leave a note, and a little gold. I believe I saw a smithy around the corner. I'm sure if we gave an appropriate account to the blacksmith, he could make sure everything was above board."

Seeing nobody present but that there are weapons of proper size for him Rerdahl considers options. "Not the smithy, but perhaps the town hall. If nobody there can speak for them I'll go without the weapon. I have a spear and dagger if I need a mundane weapon."

Please do continue role playing. When everyone is ready to proceed to the check point please roll me 2 perception checks that will be used in the future. Once I get the requested roll from all 5 players we proceed. Sometimes the rolls will be very different things or many many things or even nothing at all. This will help us pace the game and allow you to roll dice. Err code dice! If you roll I will assume you're ready to move onto the Massacre Site. If that is not where you want to go, keep role playing and I will too.

Asric nods. "Ahh, town hall. Good idea. Grab what you need and we'll get to it. Anyone else?"
Asric's happy to explain to the town hall, i.e., do the diplomacy thing. we can RP when we get there. I'll go ahead and roll those 2 perceptions for the future. I'm practically blind anyway
perception1: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (13) - 1 = 12
perception2: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (15) - 1 = 14
wow, pretty good for a -1 penalty

Rerdahl pauses, then nods and takes down a light crossbow and quiver of 10 bolts. "I just don't want to have the militia short if they need weapons. And of course I'll pay whatever is right." Weapons in hand he heads to the town hall.

Once they get to town hall he lets the more charismatic Asric handle the talking.

perception1: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25
perception2: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20

Two perception rolls from each of us? Here are mine.

"No, nothing for me here," says Mina to Asric. "I'm ready if you boys are."

I'm fine stopping by the town hall first. I'll post the rolls now:
Perception 1: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15
Perception 2: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

The location is Heldren - Armory

Rather grand for a village of this size, Heldren's town hall boasts a clock tower overlooking the town square. Its clockworks were imported from Qadira some time ago, and are kept in working order by Orillus Davigen (old male human), who can usually be found up in the tower tinkering with the machinery. The clock tower's bells ring every hour from 6 am to 6 pm (the villagers prefer to keep things quiet at night), and can be used to sound the alarm if there's a fire or to muster the militia in case of attack. The town council meets in the hall every week on Starday, though there's usually little to discuss beyond minor disagreements between neighbors. The hall is big enough to host almost the entire populace for monthly village assemblies and large social gatherings, such as the annual Longnight dance.

When you enter, you don’t see anyone around.

Yes everyone rolls for check points, this allows me to narrate us to our next location better (aka speeds up pbp games).

Rerdahl looks around, more than a little bit annoyed, "Well, I'll pay for it when we get back, or I'll hang it back at the armory. Let's go. Asric, you can help me to remember, OK?" He shoulders the equipment and heads off.

Per previous instructions, Following the road south until we reach the trail to the Border Wood.

Question about the climate in the town. Is it cold in the town? Or is there an obvious 'line' where the temperature drops dramatically? I haven't put on the cold weather clothing yet but will do once we notice the colder temperature.

The town is not cold yet. Temperatures have dropped by maybe 10 degrees F since about 2 days ago. At the moment you do not see snow, but the southwest does look rather cloudy. You're about 8 miles from the location atm so you can't really see its landscape.

As the other shopped he stood outside, simply waiting for them to finish. He kept glancing in the direction the Ulfen mercenary suggested. All the while he absently ran his fingers over the handle and hammer of the gun on his belt. He'd already bundled up for the cold, so didn't feel the need to change now. It was always rather simple to just strip a layer off to cool down if needed in case the guard was making a mountain out of a mole-hill.

As the group exits he watches Rerdahl stowing the crossbow and gives a small grin, "Nice stick caster you got there. Everyone situated?"

Perception 1: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24
Perception 2: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

Rikiru considers the vacant armory for a moment before turning to follow the group with a shrug. "I think I'll do fine without leaving these people weaponless. They've been decent to me so far."

He takes off his pack for a moment, rummaging through it and nodding as he finds the rest of his cold clothing and tools in place. He loads his wrist sheaths with shuriken and ensures the springs are in place, humming softly to himself as he checks over his gear during the walk.

The date is 4713 AR on Oathday, 17th Earstus at 4:00 pm - current moon cycle: new moon
The location is The Border Wood - Massacre Site

The party sets off towards the location Yuln informed you of. After an 8 mile walk down the road near the forest, the temperature grows noticeably colder. You start to see snow, you continue walking down the road for another mile as your movement has slowed due to the rising snow levels. The snow fall thickens and your vision becomes more obscured. The road ahead is littered with debris and the corpses of slain humans and horses. A carriage stands in the roadway, its team of horses missing or cut free, while another overturned carriage lies sprawled and broken next to the tree line. To the south, more bodies have fallen around what appears to be a statue of ice. A snowy trail leads deeper into the forest.

This is 100% difficult terrain from here on out. Things you can not do in difficult terrain: You can not run, charge, 5 foot step and can only move at half speed (unless you have proper tools/spells to avoid this). I may have to remind you this often, but that is fine. Soon you will hate snow. Things you can do: Make snow angels.

Weather Rules - Snow & Heavy Snow

Your movement is reduced by half. Also, it is now snowing!!! That's right. You will forever now have a -4 to sight perception (while outside) and a -4 to all ranged attacks (including rays, while outside). If you have any questions about all this, let me know and I will try to answer as soon as possible. Please try to include these penalties, if you forget I will add them for you.

Current Map:
Massacre Site
The Border Wood

As the team moves in to the site of the attack, Rerdahl hears something. He moves toward the Taldan carriage with the spear holding the door closed. "Something's moving inside that carriage. Maybe there were survivors. But why would they seal them in? Or maybe it's a wild animal?"

My sense motive is only +3 but I'm suspicious about that.

Asric trudges through the snow towards the first carriage (location 1). His face is grim as he looks upon clear evidence of the slaughter.
it will take more than one round to get there at 10' per move action

Location 1: The broken chests and boxes strewn across the ground contain the handmaidens' spare clothing, including three courtier's outfits.

Appraise
Asric Swain 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21
Rerdahl Tollan 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16
Mina Javid 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 1 = 10
Rikiru 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 20
Rhone Hexenbane 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11

Wow, these hand maidens are VERY well cared for. Asric motions to the other chests. "Be careful of traps," he calls out to the others. He takes the outfits, hastily folds them, and puts them in his pack.

Thick snows as hearty as it ever was in the north were not something he expected. Though there was a bit of a safe feeling once he put his feet down on the ground and felt the snow rise higher up his leg. Like an old feeling of comfort, almost like he could close his eyes and imagine the snows of his homeland. But as they made their way into the clearing and he saw the debris he couldn't help but have another creeping feeling from his past.

Pulling his pistol he left it pointed up rather than out. He'd slipped the trigger once and wasn't eager to repeat that little fiasco. Instead he scanned the area, even lagging behind as the others moved forward until the sounds from the carriage caught his attention and he snapped his gun in line with it and clicked back the hammer.

Thick snows so deep he had to trudge forward to move and the frosted lumps of corpses among the snow glinted at the corner of his eye but he stared at the wedged door down the sight on his gun and pulled his cutlass with the other. Flames from an old casting danced on the edge, though not hot they usually served a purpose of distracting people. So he held the blade out just slightly as he called over the hush to the carriage, "Oy! In the carriage! Speak up and give name if you can understand me."

Sword has continual flame cast on it. Nothing special, just flashy. Figure I should have some fun with my spell-like, right?

Rhone does not get a response, but instead hears moans and shifting movement inside.

Seeing Rhone pull his sword as he nears the other carriage, Asric calls out, "Hold on a moment!" He pushes his way through the snow as it rises up his calf. Asric concentrates on the carriage for a moment using his detect evil ability.

Still confused by the sounds, Rerdahl readies the borrowed crossbow. "I can't believe the robbers left someone alive. More likely some kind of animal. Maybe hurt? Careful. A wounded animal is dangerous."

Asric detects the presence of evil. You detect 2 auras, the strongest one being faint. Both auras are within the carriage.

Asric raises his hand in warning. "No, it's not an animal. I have the ability to detect evil creatures. There's evil in that carriage. Two evil auras. I can't be more specific than that."

in my inner dialogue, I refer to the detect evil ability as 'detect naughtiness'- I like picturing someone with the power to detect naughtiness, you know, like Santa Claus

Rikiru scans the area, saying nothing. Upon the signals from his companions, he does his best to move through the snow around to the side of the carriage, off to the side of the door. He draws his wakizashi, readying a kunai for throwing in his other hand. Once around the corner of the carriage, he nods to the team.

As soon as they come within sight of the carriage, Mina says, "I'm going to call upon a friend of mine, just in case the occupants are rude."

She starts muttering arcane syllables as they advance toward the massacre site.

If there's time, Mina would've started the process of summoning her eidolon as soon as she saw the carriage. If there's not enough time, that's fine -- she'll cast summon monster I in that case and summon a celestial eagle.

That is up to the party and their actions. What does your Eidolon look like, if you have picture I can make token of.

Asric draws his greatsword and holds it ready to strike. "Who gets the honor of removing the spear?"
I'm sure we can wait a few moments for you to get your eidolon summoned

If I climbed onto the driver's seat or the roof could I pull the spear clear? It'd still leave me out of melee, but I don't know specifically how the spear is lodged so I figure I should ask

It would not be the easiest task.

Rerdahl moves up to the door of the carriage to examine the spear and see what it will take to pull it clear."Ready?" He glances at the others to verify that they are ready, then grabs/pulls the spear trying to stumble back out of the way.

Not sure what to roll for success?

The eidolon is a roughly 6-foot-long serpentine creature, with blue scales and golden eyes. He has golden, serrated ridges above his eyes, and vestigial bat-like wings that seem to be made of blue mist. I don't have an illustrated version, but I'll see what I can do during my trip.

Initiative
Asric Swain 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11
Rerdahl Tollan 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
Mina Javid 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10
Rikiru 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
Rhone Hexenbane 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14
Creature 1 & 2 1d20 ⇒ 18

Knowledge (Religion)
Asric Swain 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

Asric is not sure what these are.

No surprise round! You pull out the spear and the door swings open as you see a walking corpse that wears a torn handmaidens dress, its flesh rotting off its bones as it stumbles forward, arms outstretched.

Up first, Rikiru!

Rikiru moves up to peek around the carriage and spots the rotting figures as they fall out of the carriage and his eyes widen. He ducks back a bit, not wanting to draw the attention of the unnatural things first, but sees what looks like an opening and flings his kunai at one, hoping to cripple it.

kunai, thrown at the nearest target: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
damage, Bludgeoning: 1d3 - 1 ⇒ (3) - 1 = 2
sneak attack damage vs. flat footed...I hope: 1d6 ⇒ 1
Oh come on dice, why you gotta do me like that?

Due to the snow, Rikiru misses.

Creature 1 Bullrushes Rerdahl FF CMD 9
Bullrush: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20 This would provoke from Rerdahl but he has a crossbow.
The creature pushes you back two squares.

Creature 2 moves up.

Up next, Rhone Hexenbane.

Without a clear shot, and the chance of harming one of the others he snaps the safety cap on the pistol and lashes out with his cutlass.

Melee: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 91d6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Rhone misses.

Up next, Rerdahl!