The Dragon's Demand PbP

Game Master dickie

"If our goal is to find a way to be peaceful neighbors," says Leng, "We should offer quarter."

As the kobold turns to run away, Leng shoots his chain into the back of his head, causing the kobold to stumble. Instead of running away at top speed, he staggers off slowly, disoriented from the concussion. Seconds later, the other kobold's eyes roll back in his head and his body goes limp from Leng's disabling, but relatively safe choke hold.

The two still standing and armed look as detemined as ever to continue fighting.

Ro'gram fires another arrow.
shortbow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
damage: 1d6 ⇒ 4

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Maellyra slides a bolt into the flight groove of her crossbow, settles the stock against her shoulder, and takes aim at the kobold she can see peeking out from behind the boulder.

Light Crossbow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 2

Ro'gram and Maellyra's ranged attacks strike the rocks the kobolds are using for cover. The two who are still a threat share a look, one nodding to the other.

Spitter and Pavo still have actions before the staggered kobold and two still hostile.

Rushing forward to intercept, Pavo stabbed his trident into the ground and used it to aid himself in getting over the small berm. Once up the ridge, he pulled the trident free and dashed towards the opposite side of the rocks that the kobolds were using for cover.

Double move.

Sighing at his friends lack of response, Spitter points to the ground at the surrendering kobold, and says one word in Draconic.

"Sit."

Intimidate(Unskilled): 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (2) + 0 = 2

Leng responded...You might have missed it all the way at the top of the new page and since he is usually short and to the point.

The surrendered kobold watches Pavo rush off and considers Spitter's less than threatening orders.

Sense Motive: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (3) - 1 = 2 Well, he misunderstood fully.

One of the other two snaps a shot off at Pavo as he closes, but the tiny bullet only gives Pavo a nasty bruise on his thigh. The firer then dashes back a little ways as the other falls back further toward the cave.

K1 sling w/light sensitivity: 1d20 + 3 - 1 ⇒ (18) + 3 - 1 = 20
Damage: 1d3 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1

Leng unwraps himself from the kobold that he choked out and lets it slump to the ground.

"We have one captive," he says, "which may be useful if we wish to parlay."

Leng is generally pretty brief in his commentary b/c that's a characteristic of his average charisma - he's neither loquacious nor memorable.

I realize I may not have been clear, by the way, the two hostiles are making an orderly retreat while continuing to fire on the group. The dying kobold and unconscious ones are no threat, and really the staggered one isn't either, but he is trying to get away. The one going a different direction just misread Spitter's intentions and thinks he can get away with it. Everyone gets to act still...

And yeah, I was surprised by Leng earlier detailing exactly his thoughts about being used as pawns. I'm pretty sure that was the first time you have said anything that was more than one sentence, lol.

It was kinda hard writing that all out b/c Leng is both not very expressive and of only average intelligence. I dithered over whether to have it just sort of trail off into a poorly-explained partial thought but decided that it was important enough to get the idea into people's heads - besides, smart party members would be able to take that idea and run with it.

Leng moves to confront the kobold who shot Pavo, and lashes out with his chain again.

Kusarigama attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12 Probably a miss.
Kusarigama damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

I caught Leng's comment, but Spitter was expecting at least another comment or two from the others. His reaction is just due to indecision on his part for now. He's not in charge and hates to be less than helpful here, but at the same time is not overly eager to kill more kobolds than he has to either. Is the fallen Kobold still alive at all? Barely? Mostly dead?

Spitting in the direction of the retreating kobold, Spitter then ignores him and moves to the fallen kobold and checks his vitals

Heal: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

If he's alive, I'll cast stabilize on him as soon as possible.

Spitter is unable to detect a heartbeat, but is not coninved the kobold has not yet gone to Pharasma. The electrocuted foe will die soon without treatment.

Not dead-dead, but dying and losing hps. He has maybe thirty seconds.

Leng's chain lashes out, but the slinger pulls his head back, anticipating the strike and using his quick reflexes to avoid taking the hit.

Spitter casts stabilize on the comatose kobold.

He then perfoms a basic heal check to make sure he keeps living a bit longer.

Heal: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 8 + 2 = 27

I think that's good enough to keep him alive? One charge of his new healer's kit used.

Spitter's magic pushes the dying kobold's heart to start again and his healing skills ensure the dragon-kin will recover, though the damage is still extensive and he will require time to heal.

Pavo, Maellyra, and Ro'gram are up. Roll20 is current, moved Leng 30' closer to both, and well within range of one of the two falling back. Ro'gram often posts from Wayfinder, so if you can't see the map when you're on, the nearest hostile is 65' the further one is 90' and both would have cover at the moment but a lateral move would give you open shots.

I'll make that lateral move.
shot: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16
damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1

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Maellyra reloads her crossbow and takes aim at one of the retreating kobolds, hoping to convince him to scurry off for good with a well-aimed bolt.

Light Crossbow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 1

Dashing around the rock and quickly closing on the kobold, Pavo slowed up at the last second and let the trident fly.

Trident throw: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21
Piercing damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

The Kobold nearest the group takes an arrow to the shoulder, then a bolt to the leg, but his day gets really bad when Pavo's trident strikes him hard in the gut, impaling him and knocking the kobold flat. The one who suffered the head wound continues to meander away, not making much headway, while the one disrespecting Spitter walks away, into the brush.

The remaining armed kobold turns and runs at top speed away from everyone, having finally lost his nerve. He is about 80' away from the place he is shown on Roll20, and about 80' from the caves.

You could try and stop him or let him run and drop out of combat mode, up to you all.

"That's right, you better run" Pavo shouted at the retreating Kobold as he moved over to retrieve his trident. He knelt down, grabbing the trident near the three blades and gently tried to pull it out of the unconscious Kobold.

"Uh, does anyone know how to stop the bleeding? I mean they're just defending their turf right? Shouldn't have to die for it, right?"

The fight over (at least in her estimation), Maellyra stows her crossbow away and walks to where Spitter stands over his fallen kin. Taking the greenscale's limp arm with both of her hands, Maellyra proceeds to drag the unconscious kobold down the rocky incline. "We should leave... before they come back... with reinforcements," she suggests in between heaves.

Spitter quickly moves to cast stabilize on the bleeding kobold in front Pavo. He speaks as he tends to the fallen green-scale.

"Further violence here is useless. They have learned we are not to be trifled with. If they return empty handed, their chieftain might even have them killed. Worry not! Prisoners here are more valuable than corpses, unless one of you can talk to the dead?"

At the last point, Spitter glances at the pale-skinned witch.

"So uh, what do we do with them then?" Once Spitter had finished doing what he was doing, Pavo hefted the still unconscious Kobold and tossed it over his shoulder.

"We can't exactly just take them back to town, can we?"

Waving a small clawed hand in a dismissive gesture, Spitter spits into the grass near one of the fallen kobold's feet.

"Let the pink-skin chieftain decide that. Just carry them for now. We have an important message to deliver."

Maellyra blinks owlishly under Spitter's scrutiny. "I can speak to the dead, yes," she answers hesitantly, as if she senses a trick question. Letting the kobold's arm flop to the ground, Maellyra straightens up and elaborates. "They don't... speak back. Usually," she admits the last part quietly before going back to dragging the kobold. "So, we should probably leave them alive if we wish to learn anything from them."

She manages to drag the greenscaled dead weight a few more steps before Pavo's assumption brings her to a halt. "Why wouldn't we be able to bring them to Belhaim?"

"I don't know. We we're hired to go talk to them right? And we're gonna go back with a couple of them as prisoners? Doesn't really speak to our negotiations skills, does it? I'm not a smart man and it don't make me no never mind, but if rumors have spread about kobolds and the collapsed tower, well, people may wanna string them up. It's not like Spitter got the warmest of welcomes, know what I mean?"

Pavo walked over to give Maellyra a hand. "Here, I got him."

Leng hauls one of the other kobolds up under his arm and carries it like a sack of rice. "We need somewhere safe to put them before we go talk to the tribe and say 'hey, we have your scouts, we want to talk, maybe we'll give them back.' What about the cavern that we were in before? Nobody from town will go in there, we could drop them off, maybe lock them in with some food, then go talk to the tribe."

Sighing heavily, Spitter slowly starts walking and rubbing some sore spots from the villager's initial meeting with Spitter. They were very accurate with thrown rocks for some reason...

"Talking is useless now to the Blood Vow. If the red-scale I spoke with is to be believed, then the chieftain of the Blood Vow is...broken in the head somehow? He will be...I think your word is 'paranoid.' Such a strange language. Anyway...HE is probably the one who sent these scouts after us. Belhaim's options are limited now as I've said before. So...what does your kind do with prisoners then? Most kobold tribes use a deep pit or cave that is not easy to climb out of. Easy to guard. Doubles as a 'latrine' if needed..."

Leng says, "Yeah, some places use a 'gaol,' which is basically a hole in the ground. Like I said before, maybe we can find a way to lock them into one of the rooms from the cavern. If we think that we can deal with the Blood Vow tribe after a little 'persuasion' of the leader, then we might as well keep them alive for now."

Maellyra nods her head slowly as Pavo makes clear his concerns, but she goes back to moving the kobold in short, sharp jerks anyway. "I see now, but I wouldn't worry. Given the inability of her deputies are, I think that the Baroness has a high threshold for disappointment." The group's next points do give the witch pause, however. After a few moments of quiet consideration, Maellyra suggests, "We could hide them in the tower? We still have the keys to the dungeon cells."

Maellyra nods her thanks to Pavo when he takes the kobold off her hands. While grateful not to have to drag him back to Belhaim, the kobold will likely​ be more grateful at having full use of his limbs when he wakes.

By the time the crew relocates the kobolds to cells in the Witchtower dungeons, the one Leng knocked out comes to.

The captive's eyes dart about, his voice is shrill and panicked.

"Well, Spitter, time to give him the offer," says Leng with a grin.

Ro'gram puts his bow away and crosses his arms, watching.

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Spitter shrugs and speaks to the awake prisoner.

Diplomacy(Unskilled): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

The captive narrows his eyes, distrust showing on his face.

Maellyra comes forward to stare down the captive kobold. Although she remembers Spitter asking to be allowed to do the talking, the greenscale's disrespect for him has the witch thinking that they need to take a firmer hand in these negotiations.

The kobold hisses in anger and glares, but the one who was conked in the back of the head by Leng's chain speaks up.

The angry one spits at Head-wound, uttering a Draconic oath. Head-wound looks at the other and speaks quietly.

Showing real surprise, Spitter takes his staff and taps the bars near the one with the head-wound.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16

The kobold passes out, the exertion sapping the energy from him.

Turning to the others, Spitter looks as serious as he can for a small reptilian humanoid. He points his staff at the unconscious kobold.

"This is NOT good. It seems the Blood Vow have some pink-skin prisoners! There is a possible ally...a kobold named Nighttail. A hunter...probably tried to stand up to the chieftain and let the prisoners go and was caught. It seems they may all pay with their lives if we do not move quickly! Should we alert the Chieftain of Belhaim?"

"If this is the case, then we don't have time to waste." Ro'gram says.

"Leave a note or tell the sheriff," says Leng. "We better get these people before they become food. Especially if one of them is the pregnant woman."

Nodding, Spitter seems to like this plan, and points deeper in the tower's ruins.

"The tunnel dug here into the tower by the Blood Vow most likely ends in or near their lair. That is our most direct route at the moment."

Spitter will then cast stabilize again on the unconscious kobold, through the bars. While he wishes he could do more for the poor green scale, he is worried that he will need his stronger magics for later.

"We must all be in agreement on this however. Many kobolds could die, but the alternative is for the Blood Vow could kill their prisoners and the tribe end up disintegrating from within like a rotten tree with an infected heartwood."

It really would not be feasible to take the tunnel here. It is simply too tight for the medium sized characters. I am pretty sure the type of magic you'd need to make it usable are way beyond anyone's reach at the moment. Though I love seeing players pull things out of nowhere...or you could always commit the big sin of splitting the party.

Either way, I moved the Roll20 page back to the lair map and dropped the icons in the bottom left. When you do return, you can enter from either the north or south end of the ledge where the cave mouths are located (unless you find a way to use their tunnel, but that's different). If you were to return to the quarry soon the way you came, you would get there just a little after nightfall.

For the injured kobold's helpfulness, Maellyra slips the last of her trail rations and her waterskin through the bars of the cell. Considering their size, she expects that it'll be enough food and water to last the both of them for a day.

"I agree. It's best we move now. Given the urgent nature of the matter, I'm sure the Baroness will appreciate our not seeking her permission beforehand."

If agreed, then let the assault on the Blood Vow lair begin! BTW: I'm not seeing ANY map on Roll20 right now.

Map should be fixed. It was originally prepped for a live game,
so had the lighting effects turned on.

"So what are we waiting for? Let's go save some people. Are we trying to be all sneaky or just charging in? What's the plan here? I'm good either way but I'm not really used to working with others on jobs like these" Pavo confessed.

Moving towards the exit hastily, Spitter answers Pavo's question to the best of his abilities.

"Sneaking is possible, but I doubt can be maintained for long. Once a commotion within the tribal lair boundaries is noticed they will all be on full alert for intruders. Even simply disarming a trap will alert them to an outside presence, as they are checked constantly for maintenance and resetting as needed. Remember, kobolds aren't like goblins: They are neither generally lazy nor stupid. They will be like an ant nest, once disturbed, then they become quite dangerous in numbers as they swarm to defend the only home they know. I recommend we move quickly rather than sneak, so the tribe is slower to react to our presence. It is not much, but it MIGHT gain us a few minutes before they realize where we are and what we are doing."

Leng lets the slack on his chain out and starts lazily swinging it in a circle. "Very well," he says in his moderated voice, "let's hurry and we will just have to cut our way through resistance if we must."