Many thanks. It took much pate rubbing and ale drinking to get the right inspiration and words. I surprised myself once I hit submit. Of course, I still have no clue what is going to happen, and thanks to the Beetle for that. It is rare to be an adventure in which nothing is predictable.
Although we seem to be rapidly dispersing, Karek asks Moonpate and Breach: Moonbade, ser, mid'ed be good do send oud sum'uv are scouds do? I know ye need us close, bud sum'uv us can dravel vasd an' var. Send Dalia, berhabs?
. . . Karek asks Moonpate and Breach: Moonbade, ser, mid'ed be good do send oud sum'uv are scouds do? I know ye need us close, bud sum'uv us can dravel vasd an' var. Send Dalia, berhabs?
"Send me back out into the desert? No, I've got something a little different in mind."
Thalia has a bit of a wicked smile about her.
Donkor will shuffle out of the tent with the others, continuing his obsequious behavior.
Donkor almost succeeds in leading the charge out the door, when he hears a voice from behind:
"Most gracious Exemplar, if I may, I believe the Potentate, has one more important thing to relay. . ."
Suddenly all eyes are on Thalia and Moonpate - we'll most eyes - there's an awful lot of eyes here.
Her voice trails off and for a moment you could hear a pin drop.
"Most gracious Exemplar, if I may, I believe the Potentate, has one more important thing to relay. . ."Suddenly all eyes are on Thalia and Moonpate - we'll most eyes - there's an awful lot of eyes here.
Her voice trails off and for a moment you could hear a pin drop.
Thalia continues. “. . . What the so-called Potentate neglected to say, is that he is lying and that he and his goons are in truth a band of treasure-hunters who have come to raid and pillage Ahn’Selota!!!”
A gasp runs through the crowd – and possibly a few PCs.
“You must arrest them - seize them right now Exemplar! They are dangerous and powerful. As a patriot of Osirion, I warn you to see through their lies and . . !”
At the treacherous words of the druidess, Donkor whips around in horror and points at her, preparing to call down the terrible wrath of Pharasma upon her, willing her to the void to spend eternity servicing those worshippers of Asmodeon who might wish it. Sooron generally takes almost all things in stride, knowing that The Plan is beyond his comprehension, and things must come as She wills. If he survives this room, he will likely recover that equilibrium going forward.
However right now, through the sheer surprise and anger rushing through him, he merely gesticulates at her wildly and says through clenched teeth, "You...you dirty filthy...."
Thalia barely gets that far before Karek moves to intercept. Her words are cut off by a truck of a dwarf as tackles the lying traitor to prevent her from saying anything else.
Grapple check vs. Thalia's CMD:
Thalia barely gets that far before Karek moves to intercept. Her words are cut off by a truck of a dwarf as tackles the lying traitor to prevent her from saying anything else.
Grapple check vs. Thalia's CMD: d20+13
That's a cool visual - this will be Karek's second flight through the air this adventure. Maybe it's a thing for him. Thalia should be an easy grapple - sounds like a call for initiative.
If so, I'll also need to trace where everyone is located. A lot of the party was looking to exit the tent. Maybe people should just let me know what they are trying to do in general then and hold off the dice for the moment. And if we're breaking things down into seconds, if anyone is attempting any emergency dialogue, maybe limit it to two to three sentences at a time so it fits into a round.
Initiative
Initiative:
"Master Moonpate. I am sorry that I let you daughter become unruly. I thought the spell I had cast to calm her outbursts down was still functioning!" screams Hal.
Hal turns to the Exemplar, "I mean no disrespect by addressing you directly. The girl has not been well since the ... incident".
Hal casts silence on Thalia to atop any responses by her.
Bluff
Initiative
The words have barely left his mouth as Thalia's words reach his ears. "Ooohhh,boy.", he says knowing what is to come. "There goes the experiment of having a dwarven war-rager at a human negoitiation, hahahaha."
"STOOOOPPPPP!", roars the battlehardened dwarf,"This is not the time or place!" Hoping his barotone voice will shake everyone enough to cool heated tempers, Breach prepares himself to deal with worse case scenario.
"Master Moonpate. I am sorry that I let you daughter become unruly. I thought the spell I had cast to calm her outbursts down was still functioning!" screams Hal.
Hal turns to the Exemplar, "I mean no disrespect by addressing you directly. The girl has not been well since the ... incident".
Moonpate, almost out of the tent, turns at the commotion, his face a deep red and eyes wide in surprise. After Hal's hasty explanation and Karek's tackle the Potentate beseeches the Examplar, one arm flung wide in dramatic consternation, the other tightly gripping his comfort mug latched to his wide belt. "Great Examplar, hold your wrath at this profane outburst from my sick daughter and let me address her wrong."
Initiative Roll if needed:
Thalia's traitorous announcement catches Gandel completely off-guard in the middle of bowing deeply toward the Exemplar as the party is taking its leave. He freezes for a split second, an expression of horror passing quickly over his features, then he looks toward the Sand Sage with a sheepish grin and vanishes.
Assuming nothing stops him - specifically, Thalia - Karek will pin Thalia to the ground with his hand over her mouth to keep her from talking. Then he will look to Breach for instructions. He might have said something, but the Silence spell prevents him from being heard. That may have been for the better.
In the silence that followed Thalia’s proclamation, you could hear a pin drop. Wait, that wasn’t quite true. He couldn’t hear anything at all. Karek briefly wondered if he had gone deaf at her words… it wouldn’t have been the first time.
You never thought a dwarf would get so much air time, Karek pondered as he launched himself at the elf witch before him. His hammer was off somewhere, lying in the snow, caught by some vile spell. The witch needed to be dealt with right now. He had yet to find a spellcaster that reacted well to the “up close and personal” treatment.
She struggled hard, but Karek realized his folly – there was more than one witch here. Several, in fact. They had joined hands and were now chanting in some arcane language. Dad cand be good. Karek stated dryly, as he punched the witch again. His companion, the Pathfinder Lord d’Ashmount, nodded in mute terror, staring at the light that was coalescing into a shape on the material plane. Quite a large shape, really…
Karek sighed. The witch had stopped moving anyway, so Karek let her go as the shape became a massive beast. It must have been thirty feet tall, supported on two legs and huge tail. It had two spindly arms that didn’t look good for much, but the creature’s maw was lined with razor sharp teeth. Karek wasn’t sure how he would go about fighting this, let alone what it was, while Lord d’Ashmount had turned white and begun to flee.
Ah, no ye dond! Karek yelled. Ged yer webben and face dem! Dey’ll only find y’… That was as far as Karek got before the creature scooped him whole into its mouth.
Karek tumbled down into the thing’s gullet, unable to compete with the creatures digestive muscles. He was tossed around and splashed with searing-hot digestive juices. At one point, it seemed as if the creature were hit by a blast of concussive force, but it still staggered forward. There had to be a way out, though. And if he didn’t see it, he resolved to make one.
He drew his dwarven mining pick from his belt, and channeled all of his power into a blow directed at the first available wall. Karek had hit a weak spot in the creature’s stomach, and light poured in, allowing Karek a chance to scramble out of the creature before it fell.
Karek was hit by a blast of cold air, climbing from the warm recesses of a creature that was already beginning to vanish. With a quick motion, he discarded his glasses, long since broken and riddled with fog. He hefted his pick to hurl at another target, but he was surprised to find that nearly all of the witches were down, either dead or dying. He looked at Lord d’Ashmount, who was standing stock-still, staring at his dagger.
One of the witches was still standing, though. With a furious look on her face, she yelled several foreign words that he couldn’t quite make out. Karek hefted a boulder and flung it at her. It hit her dead on, and she unleashed another string of what Karek assumed was invective, not at him, but at a small shape by her side. She pointed her finger right at him. With a few more words of power, a loud bang sounded. Karek reeled, deafened at the sound, but that clearly was not what the witch intended with her spell. She looked as shocked as Karek did.
In the silence that surrounded him, the witch turned, completely ignoring Karek. She was focused on a spot on the ground. Once again, he flew through the air and took her down, but he came up grasping snow. The witch had gone, teleported away at a moment’s notice. He shook in disgust, and almost collapsed against the stones from the exertion of the battle.
Karek took another pair of glasses from his pack, and picked up his hammer. Lord d’Ashmount was right where Karek left him, still staring at the dagger. Now, he said, We run. He slapped the Lord, which seemed to shock him out of his reverie. Whad did ye say do dem, anyway?
I only asked them if I could see their chicken houses. Apparently, they get offended when you call them that. Who knew?
Karek shook his head. Zo diblomacy vails ag’in. Led’s go.
I hear Qadira is lovely this time of year.
Karek shrugged. With his glasses on, he could make out shapes moving in the distance, shapes that could almost be houses, moving in their direction. His hearing had almost fully returned as they began to hurry south, desperate to flee before they met reinforcements. That’s how he heard the squeak. He turned to investigate, and saw a weasel, curled into a ball. This would have been what the witch was yelling at.
Ye bedder come wid me, liddle guy.
Diblomacy vails ag’in… Karek thought.
In the silence that followed Thalia’s proclamation, you could hear a pin drop. Wait, that wasn’t quite true. He couldn’t hear anything at all. Karek briefly wondered if he had gone deaf at her words… it wouldn’t have been the first time.
Oh perfect timing! We get an origin tale from Karek during our intermission.
Excellent stuff Flamethrower! Love the swallowed whole scene.
P.S. Time to get this turkey back on the road. . .
Moonpate is mentally ripping out the hair he remembers once having long, long ago. His "assistant" has just vanished into thin air that is rapidly thickening with impending doom. Thalia, who has suddenly become kin, has turned traitor and is grappled by a dwarf that may start foaming at the mouth at any moment. Mage killing monks abound. THE Sand Sage is present and may unleash who knows what kind of arcane calamity upon all of them. And Donkor's decanter can only produce stinking water! Moonpate's suddenly dry mouth matches the bleakness of this cursed desert. In the crystal clarity and calmness that comes to some in the moments before disaster, Moonpate envisions a cool oasis filled with laughing gen, fountains spewing the finest wines and spirits, and nothing to do for days but drink, riddle, and joke. The moment between moments dissolves into the harsh reality before him and he wonders if any gen are around to witness what may be his last moments. If so, he hopes they craft an amusing tale to share with the daivrat brotherhood back home.
In the disturbing abyss that is the mind of Hurgah the Reaver, orcish voices cry out for blood while human ones council deception...and somewhere beyond it all, the blood of the Dragon whispers "Patience...there are more ways to power and destiny than one."
Here are the rolls for the NPCs
*Unless it becomes necessary to distinguish them, Anyo and the Scribe are considered part of the crowd – I will roll their initiative at any time if it becomes necessary.
Oh yeah, these rounds won't take long to resolve at all.
And so it begins. . .
It happens so fast that none of you notice it. As soon as Thalia begins her act of betrayal, two of the Azmodean monks, the eldest and the female are already beginning to move closer towards the exiting "guests".
But they stop - unsure whether they have orders to kill, they hesitate, waiting to explode into action.
Karak Launches!
Grapple check vs. Thalia's CMD: d20+13
. . . Karek moves to intercept. Her words are cut off by a truck of a dwarf as tackles the lying traitor to prevent her from saying anything else.
I think so.
I see my error and I've edited the initiative order to drop Hal to 16.
Gandel hasn't quite gone yet though, I've only made it to initiative "segment" 22. When Gandel's turn comes up I'll check in to make sure he's still good with the vanish. I won't hold you to it, if it no longer makes sense in context.
Next up, is the Exemplar.
Heh. Well at least he's reacting faster than the crowd - there's like 15 of those guys so it's almost like Breach is in the middle of the road.
At initiative count 22 (before the Exemplar moves), Karek follows through and applies the pin to Thalia, preventing any further speech. Note: He hasn't raged yet.
At initiative count 22 (before the Exemplar moves), Karek follows through and applies the pin to Thalia, preventing any further speech. Note: He hasn't raged yet.
Oh crap! I did a lengthy post to resolve this, but it appears to be gone. My first eaten post - unless I somehow caused it by not submitting it properly. That post should have appeared before I wrote "Next up, is the Exemplar." I will post again.
Thalia barely gets that far before Karek moves to intercept. . .
Where there was no description to aid me in placing a PC on the map, I rolled to determine it randomly between possible squares that would make sense. Critical for Karek is whether he can get adjacent to Thalia to pull this stunt off.
It turns out he is 25 feet away. He needs 20 feet of movement to get adjacent -- just enough for a dwarf. I thought this would be a piece of cake for Karek, as a barbarian he gets fast movement. However, Karek has subbed fast movement out for another class feature.
Under the Pathfinder rules, Karek only needs to be adjacent to Thalia to intiate a grapple so he passes the first hurdle. (And given that he has to vault over Gandel to get there, hurdle is a particularly apt term.) I didn't look this up, but I believe under 3.5 he would not have had enough move to get in Thalia's square to initiate a grapple. My point is the party may have just been saved by rules evolution.
Karek moves 20 feet to close with Thalia. He attempts to grapple as his standard action.
Karek does not have Improved Grapple. Therefore he draws an attack of opportunity from Thalia. Thalia however, is not currently threatening her adjacent squares - she is not armed. As such, Thalia does not get an attack of Opportunity. Karek passes the second hurdle.
As per his post above, Karek rolls a 5 adding 13 for a total of 18 to his CMB. This beasts Thalia's Combat Maneuver Defense of 14. Both Karek and Thalia now have the grappled condition.
Does a grapple prevent Thalia from speaking? Or does Karek need to get a pin first? Good questions. It turn out that even a pin doesn't prevent speech. But this is precisely what Karek's primary objective is. I elect that beating her CMD by 4 is enough to achieve it for one round. And since I am making it up, this will simulate a hand clamped over her mouth. This leaves Karek with only one arm managing the grapple. For that I give Thalia a +4 circumstance bonus to any attempt to escape. Though I am doubtful a bonus will actually assist, she is severely outmatched in close quarters.
And so. . .
Her words are cut off by a truck of a dwarf as tackles the lying traitor to prevent her from saying anything else.
And now we are off to the Exemplar.
"MMmmmm Mmmm MMMMM!!!!!"
You do not speak Mmmmm.
IC:
The Exemplar hears part of Thalia’s declaration but it is sharply followed by a flying dwarf who dive tackles the half-elvin scout to the ground.
“What!? What is the meaning of this?!” Khymrasa demands.
“Guards! Arrest them all!” to which she adds, pointing to the tangle that is Karek and Thalia “Her too!”
Khyn is up next. However, for reasons that are no doubt unclear to you – he delays his action. Khyn has a lengthy nasty looking chain weapon coiling around his waist, but he’s not doing anything with it (yet).
Next up is Hurgah.
At last we shall learn which voice the Reaver will heed.
The Exemplar's words makes Hurgah tense and shift his position slightly, moving to interpose himself between Moonpate and the monks. But he does not take any hostile action.
Hurgah 5 ft steps to put himself between Moonpate and the monks, if possible, and readies an action to begin casting Enlarge person if any of the Exemplar's people take hostile action against the group.
Quick question: My claws/teeth are a free action to activate. Will I be able to bring them out in order to take an AoO if someone provokes, or do I not threaten until they are active?
Is now accessible from the maps folder found in my profile - I'm gradually catching up.
"K" (Karek) is now at N11 (unless he wants to be M11 or M10 instead).
"E" (Exemplar) is now at N5.
Please do not think that now that there is a map you cannot move off of it or interact with objects not depicted on the map. It's just to help us, not limit us.
The Exemplar's words makes Hurgah tense and shift his position slightly, moving to interpose himself between Moonpate and the monks. But he does not take any hostile action.
There are three monks to his left and two to his right. Moonpate is directly in front of him. If he moves forward and to the right (to N12) he can cut off Nigh-Halar and Khym from reaching Moonpate - they are probably closest to Moonpate. But the bad news (or perhaps good news depending on Hurgah's perspective) is that you are surrounded regardless.
Readied action noted!
I can see both sides to that one. But I think the answer is 'no', if they are not "out" he's not threatening as he otherwise lacks a weapon. Otherwise someone with their sword sheathed would threaten as long as they had the Quick Draw feat.
There are six soldiers with ceremonial short spears outside the Golden Tent. Although they were previously facing outward, upon hearing the Exemplar's cries they spin around - just before Donkor can exit. The priest suddenly finds himself facing a wall of guards, spears at the ready. He does have a powerful dwarf to either side just behind him (Breach and Hal), but it looks to be six on three.
"Halt!!" cries the first guard.
"Hands up! Reach for your ancestors - and buckle your knees!" orders the second.
Looks like yet another set of readied actions - probably that involve poking Donkor with spears - this is getting to be some serious brinkmanship.
The monk with the scar tissue raises a hand as though he is preparing to signal an attack.
His eyes dart from "guest" to "guest" looking for any sign of an excuse so that the neck snapping can begin.
However, he restrains himself, waiting to see if the soldiers' order will be obeyed.
I think so.
I see my error and I've edited the initiative order to drop Hal to 16.
Gandel hasn't quite gone yet though, I've only made it to initiative "segment" 22. When Gandel's turn comes up I'll check in to make sure he's still good with the vanish. I won't hold you to it, if it no longer makes sense in context.
And now I have caught up to you. Let me know if Gandel is spellcasting. There's a lot of chaos - it's possible he won't be noticed disappearing, but with this much adrenaline, there's no guarantee.
"Do not resist!,Breach bellows from the entrance of the tent. Seeing no possible manner in which they will be able to turn this situation to their advantage if they actively resist, Breach continues,"They be lawful orders she be makin' and bein' that we are here to serve her interest following her orders 'll be just that." Raising his hands above his head, Breach turns and shouts to the Sand Sage," Ya might be checkin' if this area is free of any fiendish intervention, Sand Sage. I'm believin' the girl's mind might ah been touched by some less noble attendees in the Exemplar's presence.", he finishes with his eyes resting squarely on the female monk as he takes a knee.
Ah! Now I understand. I couldn't figure out why you were so convinced Karek could get a pin in a single round - I was combing his stats for some ability like Greater Grapple.
Currently we are resolving Gandel's action - I'm just checking to make sure he's still cool with his plan to cast vanish.
Then we're on to:
Halstadt Morgrym - 16--
Jason - 14
Moonpate the Potentate - 12+
Karek leans in close to Thalia. Dey hab blaces ver beeble like ye, elf witch. Aye will be glad when I dak'ey dere.