The March of Kings

Game Master Daniel Rust

"Very well. But what of Kreg?"

He looks startled at Sanglamore and his giant hammer. "Ok, ok, I'll tell you whatever you want to know.

"The camp isn't far from here. Back to the river, follow it west to the ford then follow a small stream north for about half a mile.

"It won't be heavily guarded but there are a couple of lookout posts. There are 14 of us based there, although some are on a job. I guess you met those guys already. The leader is a vicious woman called Kressle although I think she works for someone else. She and some of the older ones talk about the Stag Lord. I don't know who that is though."

"If Kreg dies, I will guide him into the next life"

"And what does that exactly mean, Rhaegal?" Guðrún asks.

"Our charter gives us leave to execute unrepentant bandits. We should take that responsibility seriously. Killing in the heat of battle is one thing, but judging a wounded man after the event takes more thought. We can't judge Kreg at the moment."

She then turns to Rhodeus and says:

"What is Kreg's condition? Could we safely leave him here while we take care of things at the camp, and then return for him later? Is he likely to wake up and escape within the next day? Can we restrain him? Should we, with the wounds he has?"

"I suggest that we follow Jorquimo's suggestions regarding Valin, and give him a chance of redemption. It will be his only opportunity to prove himself to us. As for Kreg... we leave him here if Rhodeus thinks it wise, and come back for him later."

"When we reach the camp we will be outnumbered eight to five. If we can attack from surprise then we have a chance to even those odds. We should move out soon.

Beyond all of that, have any of us heard for the "Stag Lord" or the "King of Pitax". Guðrún almost certainly hasn't, but I can roll on any knowledge if either of these characters are human.

What is kreg's condition? Heal check?

Heal : 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

ok so I can throw another use of AL (3/8) to get three rounds and hopefully 3 knowledge checks

so....

Kn - Local :1d20 + 1 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 3 = 6
Kn - Nobility :1d20 + 1 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 1 + 3 = 7
Kn - History : 1d20 + 1 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 6 = 8

well - how the mighty have fallen!

Kreg is in a sorry way. He's not getting up and walking anytime soon. He's not going to expire of his wounds just yet but if you leave him here is likely to die eventually. He would be ok for the rest of he day unless a wild animal (or pack of gremlins) comes across him.

The other relevant knowledge might be Geography so Jorquimo can have a chance of a reprieve. There may be human involvement so Gudrun could roll Local, Geography and/or Nobility.

well i'll blow another AL (4/8)

KN : Geography 1d20 + 1 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 1 + 6 = 26

Huzzah

Huzzah

Can't outdo that even with daft luck. But my contribution:

Knowledge (Local): 1d20 - 1 + 2 ⇒ (19) - 1 + 2 = 20
Knowledge (Nobility): 1d20 - 1 + 2 ⇒ (19) - 1 + 2 = 20
Knowledge (Geography): 1d20 - 1 + 2 ⇒ (1) - 1 + 2 = 2

Rhaegal responds to Gudrun "The soul is trapped within, and upon death it seeks release. By consuming the hearts of the fallen, the strength of their body will move on within the material world, within me. The body will then no longer obstruct the soul, allowing it to move on into the spiritual world. An easier transition."

Geography (26)- South of the Stolen Lands is a loose collection of independent realms known as the River Kingdoms. They have little to bring them together aside from an economic dependence on the rivers that wind through them and a rejection of interfering government.

Some way west of you, directly to the south of the Stolen Lands is the river kingdom of Pitax. It is a small bustling kingdom, known as a centre of trade and a hub for smuggling. Recently it has also become known for its patronage of the arts and the foundation of a new bardic college.

Nobility (20)- The King of Pitax is Castruccio Irrovetti. He has recently taken the throne - rumour has it he won rulership of the Kingdom in a card game. It was previously ruled by a few merchant/smuggler families. You have heard he is Numerian originally but no friend to the Technic League who rule there.

Local (20)- You've heard a few of the more disreputable mercenaries that you've come across mention former comrades of theirs who have gone off to "join the Stag Lord". He seems to be a new bandit chief gathering reprobates to him. You've also heard of attacks on caravans along the South Rostland Road led by a man wearing a stag's skull, with antlers, as a helmet. You have no idea where he might be based.

Rhaegal responds to Gudrun "The soul is trapped within, and upon death it seeks release. By consuming the hearts of the fallen, the strength of their body will move on within the material world, within me. The body will then no longer obstruct the soul, allowing it to move on into the spiritual world. An easier transition."

I have no reason to doubt you that YOU believe it to be true Rhaegal, but to my mere mortal ears it sounds likes mere sophistry.

"I do not question what you believe and your customs seem alien to me. I would not expect one like you to understand - your perspective of the cosmos is so limited."

Sanglamore rolls his eyes and makes a loud sigh. ”Comrades. I don’t give a damn what happens to our defeated foes, but I think we should reach an agreement, rather than have a debate every time the group is confronted with a stiff. “

He turns to Jorquimo ”Jorq – you surely aren’t going to bury everything that we kill. Did you even bother to bury those bandits at Olegs place? Would you bother to bury deer or kobolds or gremlins or beasts?”

”If the answer is no then can I suggest a compromise. That you can bury any humanoids that we kill as a collective, that you wish to. Any non-humanoids, go to Rhaegal, as well as any humanoids that you just don’t want to bury for whatever reason. Sound reasonable?”

humanoids do not get eaten.How is allowing wild beast to consume the fallen "showing a better way" Sanglamore - control your beast, please. Deer, boar etc. I have no qualms over. We humanoids consume these - why shouldn't Rhaegal.
Anyway, Kreg is not dead. I beleive Gudruns suggestion to stabilise him and leave him here is sound. He can be left a Dagger for proection vs wild beasts. He will be in no physical state to pursue us and cause rearward hinderance. We take Valin with us a previously stated. I agree that with ~Valins help we maybe abvle to catch some look-outs unaware and maybe edge the odds in out favour.
Rhody - can you take a look at Kreg and make sure he is stable enough to fend of wild beasts - but not so healthy as to be minded to follow us.

Although it wasn't stated in the haste of these message board posts, but Guðrún would certainly have wanted to bury the bodies of the four bandits at Oleg's place. She's a great believer in showing respect for the dead.

"I agree, Sanglamore, we can't keep having this conversation. The truth, as I see it, is that our commission is to do more than simply pacify these lands. We have to make them ready for civilisation, we have to make them want to give up their barbarous ways. I came from a tribe where force and power ruled over reason and justice. That is no way to command a country and no way for us to behave either. We need to strive to be better than that. I have no qualms in killing in the heat of battle, but survivors are different. We need to treat them fairly. Our remit dictates that we put to death only those that are beyond redemption, we must make those decisions wisely. We may achieve more through compassion tempered with steel than force of arms alone. That is one of the reasons I am so concerned with Rhaegal's predatory calling. Eating the hearts of the fallen will not be perceived as "honouring" them. It will do us no favours in the long term."

Well stated Gudrun.

"Rhaegal, please do not think I am attacking your beliefs. It's the perception of those beliefs that concern me. You say Jorquimo is unenlightened, well so am I and so is everyone else we're likely to meet. We can't afford to become known as the group that eats the dead, or we'll never achieve real change in these lands."

”It is my right to choose with those that I defeat” he growls.

Sanglamore speaks to Gudrun, ignoring Rhaegal and Jorquimo"Very diplomatically put Gudrun”

”You actually care what happens to these lands?" Sanglamore says looking a little surprised.

"The way I interpreted the charter, we were to explore, execute any unrepentant bandits and then head back so that we can get paid."
"It is clear though that I need you, all of you, if we are going to succeed in this." He turns to Rhaegal who gives him a look that could wither flowers. "My bond with you my friend though is stronger than I share with any other, but we must compromise if we are to do this. When the job is over I will have enough coin to start up my own enterprise again and then we will make the rules."

”So do we all agree. Jorq and Gudrun can bury the humanoids that we defeat. Only humanoids have a culture of burial so that seems ‘right. Any animals, beasts and monsters shall pass on in Rhaegals way. Anything else . . . . I mean a gremlin is neither really . . . if they bury their dead then I guess we should do the same.”

”You actually care what happens to these lands?" Sanglamore says looking a little surprised.

Guðrún shrugs. "I do. I think we have to."

"So are we ready? Let's make Kreg safe and Valin ready to travel. We have some miles to cover and a hard fight at the end of it. Rhaegal and I will take point, if that's acceptable to you?" she nods politely at the cat.

With that sorted (well kind of), you tie up Kreg and pop him against a tree. He can be roused to consciousness but only barely. He's not going to be able to fend off much, but you've only got a short journey.

Before you secure Valin, he scratches out a map of the bandit camp in the earth. He explains there are two lookout posts, one either side of the stream, that are always manned. The lookouts are equipped with thunderstones for rousing the alarm.

The majority of the band's gear and loot is kept under the tower nearer the centre of the camp.

Then you gag him, bind his hands and tie him securely to Jess (so he's walking along behind her). That's my assumption. If you want to do it differently, please correct me.

You walk back to the river (which Valin refers to as the Thorn River - the geographers amongst you think that could be right) and continue your previous journey.

Before long you reach a ford in the river. A small stream branches north, along which Gudrun can make out tracks of both horses and men. Valin nods in that direction.

Right chaps, what's the plan? How do we take out the lookouts without raising the alarm? Guðrún has a +9 to her stealth and Rhaegal has a +6... there's only a thin chance they we can get to one of the lookout position (and climb up to it) without being noticed. And even if we do manage that we have to take out the lookout before he gives the word. I think that's beyond Guðrún's skills.

Can we use magic to incapacitate them? Anyone have a Silence spell or equivalent? Or are we able to approach the camp from another direction that doesn't take us within line of sight of the watch-posts? Is it worth waiting until after dark?

There's eight bad guys in the camp including Hatchet Annie (or Kressle as she's calling herself). At first level, I don't much like those odds. So please we need something more sophisticated than "Job them!"

If we can take out the sentries quietly, and then get surprise on the other bandits in the camp, then I think we have a better than average shot at this. Otherwise, we're not all walking away from this fight.

Rhodys magical ability is well, 1st level. Good for a bit of healing but next to nothing else of use. I too was wondering if we could circle around and approach from the north - looks to be less well protected from that side. Should be able to get the drop on them.

Failing that, "Job them!" is a tried and tested plan, with focused ranged fire we have a slim chance of dropping one of the sentries without being noticed. Dropping both would be unlikely admittedly.

One final thought, if we can somehow set fire to one of the platforms (spark?) and they all come out to put it out we would be able to get the drop on them then..

The fact our most offensive spell is Spark fills me with dread. The only other thing that could be useful is Sanglamore's Grease, but that's doesn't create a flamable coating (in this edition). Did we hang onto any of the bombs from Oleg's?

What if Rhaegal and I scouted around the camp and tried to come at the bad guys from the north? Then when we're in position, the rest of the party could firebomb the look-out platform nearest camp, and use ranged attacks on the look-out on the far left platform. Guðrún and Rhaegal then attack from the north in the confusion, while Sanglamore hurries into melee. Would that work?

are there any Guerilla Tactics we can employ. Our original assertion that hitting them before they came back to Oleg's seems a bit overly cautious. We could ask Valin how many more horses they have? As they are now down to their last 8 - are they likely to send another bunch out? Is there any way we could pick them off individually? where do they get their water from, do they have an internal well? Other than that we're down to trying to set fires under each of the look-out posts and igniting them simultaneously ; that at least reduces the numbers to 6 (assuming the lookouts in the towers are more concerned about surviving the flames than actively partaking in the fight!

the other option is to ask Valin to fight on our side.... it's a risk I know. It could tip the odds to 6/8 or if he turnscoat again 5/9 ... i'm not for/against this - I just mention it as an option.

I'm not convinced asking him to help. There are more of them than there are of us to start with and will probably be intimidated by them into going back onto their side.

Yeah, I agree. Valin's is too much of unknown element: the benefits of using him are out-weighed by the danger of him betraying us. I do like the other suggestions though. This doesn't have to be a big fight. In fact it might be in our interest to stretch this out and pick off the bandits one at a time.

What happens when Kreg and Valin don't come back with dinner? Someone will be sent out to look for them. Maybe two people. If we ambush them, then the odds are cut again.

I'm guessing their water comes from the river, so they won't have to stray far from camp to get it. But they can't stay in the camp all the time. They need to go out and go bandit-type things. While they away the camp will be weakened. We might be able to take the camp while Kressle is gone, and then set up an ambush for when she comes back.

Of course, that means interrogating Valin some more.

Valin,
I have some more questions for you please. I will remove his gag to allow him to answer!

Firstly - where do the bandits source their water from please?
Secondly - how often do they send out "hunting" groups like the one where our paths crossed, and are they usually 2-man?
Thirdly - Have hunting parties gone "missing" before, if so - what was the reaction of Kressle ?
Fourthly - Apart from the raid on Oleg's Stockade - were there any futher planned raids?

Let's make a point of backing away into a more private locale before asking these questions.

You back into the woods and interrogate Valin some more.

"They get their water from the stream. It's pretty clean.

Hunting groups head out whenever food is low. We weren't going to be away for long, so we'll be missed before the end of the day. No-one's gone missing for this long before. There are lots of critters in the forest but we're pretty careful.

They don't tell me about any raids until just before. It's just "get ready, we're heading out tonight". I don't know much."

You do have the alchemist's fire from Oleg's.

So in summary: we can't ambush them when they go to get their water as the stream is too close to the camp and the watch-towers. There's no telling when any portion of the group is likely to head out on a raid, but it's likely that they'll become suspicious of the disappearance of Valin and Kreg long before that happens. So basically we need to hit them soon before they become suspicious.

Having the alchemist's fire is going to he helpful.

Thinning the odds needs to be a priority. I have no access to Google Docs at present, but is can watch platform on the left hand side be reached without being seen by the camp or the other platform? How high off the ground is it?

could we somehow pollute the water upstream(dead carcass?)/dam the flow and force a small group out to investigate the problem and pick them off out of sight of the watchtowers?

Interesting! Better to dam it than poison it - and not for hippy tree-hugging reasons - we want to their attention quickly. Can we investigate this, Daniel?

The watch platform on the left hand side can be reached without being seen from the other platform, but the platforms are in view of each other. So, you could sneak up from the west but if you were on top of the platform you could be seen from the other.

The platforms are 20 feet high, reached by a built-in ladder. There are plenty of big trees around, so they by no means have an unobstructed view. They can see up and down the stream and have a better view of the forest, but stealth is certainly possible.

The stream is a rapid brook. No more than five feet wide and a foot or two deep. Damming it would certainly be a possibility.

Hey guys. The move went reasonably well. The only problem is that BT cant connect my new house to the internet until the 9th which is very annoying. I am currently logging on at my mother in laws so I cant be long.

Trying to lead some of them off to form a smaller group sounds like a fine plan to me. Sanglamore / Rhaegal will pretty much defer to whatever you decide if you begin before I can log on properly again. We do have some disposable allies which you may not be aware of. Sanglamore can use Summon Monster 1 as a spell like ability 7 times a day (i think) and they last for 1 minute. He could use eagles, dogs or Ponys to try and lure some villains off and it doesn't matter if they get killed. The drawback is that it would then take him 10 minutes to re-summon Rhaegal. It is up to you guys but I thought I would mention it. Grease could be pre-cast for when the small group of bandits chase the dog/pony away from the camp. While they are slipping about we hit them with the alchemists fire and ranegd weapons. Sanglamore wouldn't mind using all seven of his summon monsters and then save Rhaegal for the main fight

Can we not just make a camp rather close (but out of sight) and cook the deer? That's sure to have them come running, and if we lie in ambush expecting them to come running to the succulent deer we're bound to ge the drop on them tying to get the drop on us...

The issue with the Deer is that we might get too many of them, all hungry for a venison burger. The blocked stream is likely to have them thinking a tree or something has dammed the stream and they might just send out a couple of chaps. We are, I beleive, looking for a way of taking them out using "Salami tactics".

Sorry chaps, haven't really been paying attention over the last few days.

Let's make our way up stream and find a good place to dam the stream. Ideally, we'll choose a location that will also provide cover for an ambush. I agree that it might be advantageous for Sanglamore to dismiss Rhaegal and summon a different beastie when the combat starts. Save Rhaegal for the next fight! Although that assumes everything goes according to plan here.

Steve: what sort of creature do you have in mind? Some sort of ambush predator would be nice. As far as I'm aware Summon Monster I provides a Celestial/Fiendish version of the dire rat, dog, eagle, fire beetle, poisonous frog, pony or viper. It also does the dolphin but I'm assuming that might not be too effective in a forest.

If possible, Guðrún will use her woodsy skills to make the dam look as though it could have been caused naturally - such as the fallen tree than Jorquimo suggests, or the work of a beaver. We don't want the bandits to be too much on their guard before we attack.

Not sure if she can add her favoured enemy bonus to this. She is trying to fool humans. Does that count?

Survival: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

Add another +2 to that result if she can use her favoured enemy bonus, another +2 if someone uses the Aid Another action, and another +1 if Sanglamore casts Guidance. So the result for making the dam look natural could be as high as 27! Yay!

Sounds Like we have a pretty good dam coming along. I'll throw in an aid another:

Survival (aid another): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

Hey guys. Steve is back online!

Regarding the ambush, blocking the stream sounds a good shout. If that doesn't work I could send a Pony so that it is just visible outside there camp. and try and lead them off to where ever we want. I think they are most likely to chase a pony as it has some value to them (if it didn't disappear a minute later). Then when they are in a position I will summon a dog or something to charge in and take the hits while we pepper them with ranged weapons.

The direction you were heading in is upstream (the brook flows into the main river here), so you will have to move considerably further north, through the woods, to get beyond the camp. Valin can lead you there if you're happy to have him do so?

welcome back Dan. If we want to move this on, i think that getting him to lead us will be best. Lets try and get this sequence of events done before it snows

As long as "considerably further north" doesn't equate to a day of trudging through the forest, then I'm all for this. Let's get there and lay the ambush. My die rolls still counts, right? It doesn't expire after a month or anything?

One thing we need to consider is "what if they all come out to check the dam". It is unlikely I know ; but is there anyway we can get a lookout position of our own and maybe try and reverse the positions ; by circling around them and taking over the fort while they come to investigate the dam.

I just didn't want to have you lead blindly into the words by a bloke you were just fighting, without checking first...

You spend a couple of hours marching deeper into the forest, Valin leading the way. You reach a spot which Valin identifies as about 500 metres north of the camp You can be closer or further away if you like. The stream is only a couple of feet deep and Guðrún finds a suitable spot where she can build a dam, with Rhodeus' help. (She does not get the favoured enemy bonus to pretend to humans that she's a beaver unless she actually goes up to a human and does a beaver impression, but nice try.)

If you want to do anything else in terms of planning, please do. Otherwise, the dam will work quite quickly and divert the flow of the stream in a different direction. The ground will swiftly become boggy around here as there is no clear path for the stream to take.

do we have any magical means of creating a pit for the overflow? either directly or via a conjured creature than can dig quickly?