The Flaxseed Lodge Core Campaign (Inactive)

Game Master Mike Tuholski

"I told you we should get some rope around him! Tie him up now while he's slowed down and heal that ankle!" the cranky wizard demands.

Titian eyes widen. "Eh, did my pack just talk?" He asks the group, but quickly forgets his question as Falco issues his complaint. Sighing and rubbing his jaw, he moves to tackle the man.

CMB: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13

From your description, BS, it didn't look like he was badly injured. He got back on his feet easily enough, after all...

Sighing, Jonah comes back and heals Kalkamedes before resuming his duty as scout.

CLW wand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
CLW wand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
CLW wand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8
CLW wand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
CLW wand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
Use as many as necessary, and let me know how many charges are used, thanks.

The compulsion is keeping him ignorant of the pain. The injury listed is only 1d4+1 damage for the sprain, but it still causes what just happened if he is allowed to continue walking on it without intervention. He took an additional 10 points of damage by walking on it, at which point the scenario lets the players know a bit more forcefully that he is hurt and that he has no regard for his own safety.

1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Jonah uses four charges of the wand to heal Kalkamedes, sending the man back into his long gait, moving quickly overland and seemingly healing his ankle back to perfect health as Titian falls to grab the man.

After about another hour, Jonah spots a large copse of thorns in the direct path of Kalkamedes through his scouting. It does not look pleasant. At his current speed, you have two rounds to react to this new danger.

"Oh well, this time, you should really to something about it, Titian!" says the sorcerer on a worried tone.

"Thorns ahead! Find a way to take care of it. Falco, can you burn them with your blast of fire?"

The cleric will help Titian slow Kalkamedes down in order to buy time for another tactic to be put into motion.
CMB aid another: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (16) - 1 = 15

"Shelyn's sweet breasts!" Titian curses as he races forward to restrain Kalkamedes.

Tackle!: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17

Titian leaps to grapple Kalkamedes with the help of Jonah as Pandoor encourages(?) his cousin.

CMB @ 16 CMD: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18

Kalkamedes breaks free of the grasp of the two small halflings with relative ease as he continues to trudge forward. They delayed him fora few seconds, but the other halflings have yet to do much to help.

Falco/Pandoor: 2.5 round; Jonah/Titian: 1.5 round

CMB (Tackle): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21

Seeing the situation gets worse, Pandoor tries to restrain the pathfinder.

Trying to capitalize on Pandoor's fortuitous tackle, Titian tries to pile onto the scrum.

Aid Grapple: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14

Pandoor leaps on the escaping man after he breaks frees from Titian as the halfling readies to aid the Pathfinders in keeping the strong man restrained.

The human struggles against the arms of the other small halfling.

This is a losing battle unless something beyond grappling occurs, I think.

Round of Actions Remaining:
1st Round: Falco
2nd Round: Jonah; Titian (Grapple Aid); Kalkamedes-Grappled; Pandoor; Falco

Yeah, I wanted to restrain him before we untied him but I guess I didn't post/suggest that fast enough.

Falco pulls out a scroll of unseen servant and hands the rope to the invisible helper. "Just slip this over his head and around his waist, please." Falco then holds the other end and tells everyone else, "Help me hold it. Maybe together we can stop him if need be."

The unseen servant places the rope around Kalkamedes while he is grappled by the other two halflings.

Round of Actions Remaining:
2nd Round: Jonah; Titian (Grapple Aid); Kalkamedes-Grappled; Pandoor; Falco

How about my idea of casting burning hands on the nettle to overcome that obstacle?

Jonah also helps restraining the sleepwalker by casting guidance on Titian.

Jonah bolsters the power of Titain and Pandoor, who are holding down Kalkamedes while the group encourages Falco to blast the smithereens out of the nettles.

"RAWWWWR!" yells Kalkamedes as he tries to break free.

CMB @ 17 CMD: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

Luckily, the aid of everyone seems to hold him back long enough for people to do something.

Round of Actions Remaining:
2nd Round: Jonah; Titian-Grappled; Kalkamedes-Grappled; Pandoor-Grappled; Falco
3rd Round: Jonah; Titian-Grappled; Kalkamedes-Grappled; Pandoor-Grappled; Falco

Titian lets out a small breath of relief as Kalkamedes fails to break free from the halfing group hug. Looking around, he says. "This man is strong, very strong. Even with rope, I suspect we will have trouble restraining him. Does anyone see something heavy we could tie the other end of the rope to? A log? Boulder? Something?"

Pandoor tries to pin the pathfinder but doesn't succeed.

Pin: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

[ooc] Sometimes I sit when Mufasa dies![!ooc}

Sometimes I sit when Mufasa dies!

I don't have all that many spells but sure....

Falco quickly runs ahead of Kalkamedes and blasts the nettles with fire.

burning hands: 2d4 ⇒ (4, 3) = 7

I have a wand with 4 charges too but I think I'm going to end up expending all of my resources this way and then I'll be back to my magic missile wand for another level or two.

Meanwhile, Jonah tries to put bandages on Kalkamedes's sprained ankle (or whatever it was) to ease the pain of the sleepwalker.
Heal: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25

Falco bathes the nettle pit with flames, searing most of the brambles from the area as Jonah investigates the ankle of Kalkamedes, finding that his ankle appears to be healed from the magic and requires no extra care. The path through the brambles seems to be eased and none of the party nor Kalkamedes suffers any ill effects.

After another hour, Kalkamedes abruptly turns to the west, foiling any attempts by Jonah to range ahead and plan for potential obstacles. Shortly after he does so, Kalkamedes marches straight into a watery bog, a standing pool recently made much deeper by the rainfall from the prior night. While the water is only 2 feet deep around the bog's periphery, it gradually gets deeper-eventually Kalkamedes submerges himself as he tries to sleepwalk across the bottom. Despite his mystic affliction, he still needs to breathe and if you do not help him, it appears that he might drown.

Jonah - Longstrider; Kalkamedes - Rope Around Waist

How long does the path throughout the watery bog appear to be? Would putting an empty backpack on his head to give him air to breathe be sufficient?

Would the backpack have some way to not let water through the cloth? Cloth isn't exactly waterproof, right? The path appears to be about 40' long.

You have a point. How about dragging him north or south and try to circumvent the obstacle this way?

The deepest part looks to be about 100' on either side and your dragging would have to beat his attempts to walk, but you can definitely try!

Falco orders everyone to hold the rope to prevent Kalkamedes from getting too far out in the water. "Now let's think of something. I have a scroll which could summon a horse for two hours (scroll of mount). Horses can swim; we could put Kalkamedes and one or two of us on its back and let it swim across. Then those can try to hold him back while the horse returns for the rest of us and we can continue together on the other side."

So with the rope around his waist, it should still reach across the water so everyone can hold him from one shore or another and he won't go running away while the horse goes back-and-forth for everyone. That's my only idea so far.

Titian tightens his grip on the rope and digs his heels into the ground as he attempts to arrest Kalkamede's plunge into the lake.

Str: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

"Well done, master Falco!" shouts Pandoor with energy.

When he sees Titian struggling to stop Kalkamedes, Pandoor rushes to help him and he helps Titian pull on the rope.

Strength: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (9) - 1 = 8

The group tries to restrain Kalkamedes as Jonah runs back to meet the party while Falco suggests a plan. The other two halflings offer no thoughts on Falco's plan and fail to hold back Kalkamedes as he plunges head first into the water. He trips a bit, but quickly rises up and the group sees that he is up to his knees in the water at this point.

STR: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19

"Heave!" Titian hollers as he digs in and pulls with every ounce of his short body.

Jonah appears to be greatly distressed by this situation, and aids Titian as well as he can, by providing him with guidance.

Falco casts from his scroll and summons a horse to swim across the water and carry everyone. "Ok, let's get him to mount up. I hope he recognizes it and climb aboard. I'll hold the reins so he can't go riding away without us."

Sorry for the delay! Got back today and am ready to press onward!

Titian slows the walk of the man to a standstill as Jonah aids him. Falco uses this opportunity to summon a horse to ford the river, but Kalkamedes seems uninterested in pursuing the intended goal of him mounting said horse.

4d20 ⇒ (10, 13, 7, 19) = 49

Falco and Jonah look at each other as the same idea pops in their heads. If he won't mount it, then the horse will drag him through the water... The pair has the whole group hop on the horse after securing the rope to the horse. Horse can easily hold two humans if movies and real life are any indication and halfling are half the size of humans, so...

Kalkamedes struggles against the rope, but doesn't gain any ground as he is unable to move the horse with his strength. The group then fords the river with the ex-paladin lurching forward and nearly falling face first into the surging water. The man goes underwater, but the halflings set the horse in gear and quickly pull him across before he can drown.

Once on the other side, two of the halflings disembark from the horse to preserve the stamina of the creature while the other two remain on to preserve their own. By attaching Kalkamedes to the horse, they have assured that he can only trudge when they allow him.

"You lot are smarter than you look!" erupts from the bastard sword attached to Titian's back as the group comes across a steep precipice that would have been disastrous without the aid of the equine.

There seems to be a trail leading down the canyon to the left and the halflings drag him forcibly down the path with the aid of the horse, but now they have to ascend 70' to reach the other side.

Pandoor's eyes widen as he hears the sword speak. He shouts "ooooooh!" then laughs and points at Titian's back and says, bursting out laughing: "Titian! Your armor is talking! Or is it a fart?"

The sorcerer strokes a nonexistent beard in suspicion.

Jonah disregards his foolheaded cousin's remark and gazes at the high wall.

"If anyone was able to climb that high, we could lift him up there. I know I can't."

"I know I can not. And while the horse was useful before we may now have to leave it behind. I don't think more of my magic will be useful here so I hope one of you has a brilliant idea."

"Titian, would you be able to climb up there and toss us a rope?"

Titian frowns and looks to Pandoor. "I do not know. I heard something earlier, but dismissed it as my imagination."

When then party stops, Titian pauses to open his pack. "Hullo? Anyone in there?"

Looking up at Pandoor, then the cliff, Titian shrugs. "Probably. I wold need to remove my armor to make it easier", he replies, casting another glance at his pack.

Titian opens his pack and calls in, but doesn't see anything. Suddenly a voice erupts from the same pack filled with inanimate objects. "Are ye going to let him do his thing, climb 50' and fall to his death or are ye going to search for another route, ye idiots?" the disembodied voice says.

Titian shakes his head in astonishment. "Who are you? Where are you? Are you a tiny man hiding in my pack? And don't call us idiots!"

Pandoor's widen even more, then he wrinkles his eyes. "Before, we were smarter than we looked and now we're idiots..."

Suddenly his face brightens and he shouts "A riddle, I'm sure it's a riddle!"

"It could be Desna, but she isn't knows for calling people idiots, she's more the gentle, guiding kind." comments Jonah, unsure what to think about it all.

Titian looks further as the thing speaks. "I am Gamin the Perfect. The sword, you bloody fool. Haven't you ever seen a sentient sword before?" the sword asks of Titian with an air of superiority.

"How are you going to let Kalkamedes up the cliff safely?"

Falco frowns at the sword's insolence. "Look for a way up!" he commands the others.

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11
Survival: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

At Falco's demand, Pandoor looks for a way up.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22
Survival: 1d20 ⇒ 11

Jonah shrugs, then mutters something about being a Pathfinder, after all. He joins Falco and the others in their quest for a path.
Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (13) + 11 = 24

The halflings work together and think that they spy a trail leading up the ridge about a half-mile down the canyon. Due to the weight of the horse and Kalkamedes sleep-walking nature, the man is dragged bodily behind the slow moving horse up the trail, much of it against his will until they reach the top and he makes a beeline for a copse of trees in the distance.

The Flaxseeds cross the plains into the nearby woods and come across a berry patch through which Kalkamedes insists of travelling. You see a black bear rise up on its haunches with berry juice staining its maw as Kalkamedes blunders into the area.

Raaaawr!

The horse spooks and takes off a medium trot back towards safety, nearly running over the halflings, yanking the ex-Paladin from his feet and dragging him bodily through the brush.

Damage @ Kalkamedes: 2d6 ⇒ (6, 2) = 8

Horse is retreating and bear is getting aggressive. What do you do?

Titian curses loudly. "Shelyn's beautiful bosom! Can someone stop the horse? Or the bear?"

As soon as the horse starts causing problems, Falco makes sure everyone has a good hold on the rope and dismisses the animal. Upon seeing the bear, he shrugs and pulls out a wand. "I've got one trick that might work for a while."

Wand of cause fear. I think the DC is only 11. But animals usually don't have great Will saves so maybe I can scare it away a little bit.