The Ruby Phoenix Tournament with GM Deadly Secret - Table 3 (Inactive)

Game Master Deadly secret

"Where are these Golden League enforcers?"

"I do not know now, they ran off and it's late."

X seems to pause for a long minute thinking. Not a lot was known about him save for his abilities but he understood where this man stood and how he had very little legal recourse. There was only so much he could do however with the tournament going on. He flips the man a gold piece. "Find a place to sleep, food to eat. If the Golden League give you any more trouble come to Yon Lon's Noodle house."

He turns and walks away heading into the noodle house.

"Oh thank you sir, hey you're one of those teams. Man I shoulda put my money on you guys, you're doing really well. None of this would have happened if I did." The man parts was as you step into the noodle house.

The place seems calm. No events will happen here tonight and you may do as you please before heading to bed. Let me know when you're all ready to move onto the next day.

Sounds good to me.

X comes back to his companions and shares his quiet company, reflecting on the day.

I'm ready

Good to go here.

Thumbs up, but before, Wong is going to ask at the guard part about the poison. No need to stop to much for that, though.

Wong doesn't learn anything about the poison. The officials suspect they just ate bad food and nothing more has come of it. All contestants that reported ill is feeling fine now.

Day 3

The morning of the third day of the Ruby Phoenix Tournament is dismal and rainy. A steady drizzle lasts well into the afternoon, when the rain lets off, though thick, gray cloud cover remains.

There are no fights or exhibitions for you this morning but some fights are going on at the Grand Pavilion on the towers.

What would you like to do?

X looked around at his companions the next morning and spoke in Celestial tongue to reduce the chances of being overheard. "There was a man last night who was hurt in an alley. He claimed that The Golden League beat him after he lost a gamble and could not pay them back in time. I am going to look into things until our match."

He would wait for responses before slipping out the door and beginning to discretely ask around where one might place a wager on the tournament.

Shinobi slips away to investigate. Almost everyone you approach shrugs as they indicate they don't know anything about gambling for this tournament. Some people inform you it's forbidden to gamble on this tournament and some indicate they are interested in doing so but not sure who to seek. Go ahead and roll a gather information roll to see if you learn anything more; diplomacy.

Also, let me know if anyone goes to watch the first match of the day at the Grand Pavilion.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (15) + 16 = 31

Going to watch possible rivals seems a thing Wong would do.

Deathless will watch as well.

X looked around at his companions the next morning and spoke in Celestial tongue to reduce the chances of being overheard. "There was a man last night who was hurt in an alley. He claimed that The Golden League beat him after he lost a gamble and could not pay them back in time. I am going to look into things until our match."

He would wait for responses before slipping out the door and beginning to discretely ask around where one might place a wager on the tournament.

"I'll go with ya, lad. No sense in ya goin' by yourself. Plus, I'm curious as ta how this might play out. Maybe we might find out who this blasted 'Golden League' is and maybe we can pound some 'kindness' into 'em."

Wong & Deathless head to the Grand Pavilion to watch the first match of the day. The contestants are given some time to buff up before the match starts.

If either of you have Knowledge (engineering) go ahead and roll it please.

Kn Engineering: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (6) + 15 = 21

Wong has a good look at the fight stage today. You seem to suspect there was foul play as you see sabotage to the towers. The fight has not started but you're confident these towers will collapse if they start jumping around on them.

"Oh, damn!" Not sure if this is intentional or not, Wong doesn't hesitate to go and talk to one of the judges. "The towers are not stable, they will collapse as soon as someone climbs up there. Is this supposed to happen?"

Wong informs the officials that the towers seem to have been sabotaged. The Emissary calls a halt to this mornings matches until investigated and repaired. They don't inform any contestants or the crowd of your discovery to avoid panic and advises the crowd to participate in the exhibitions scheduled for today and they hope to have the pavilion set back up to continue the matches.

Shinobi & Darnak eventually find someone stupid enough to tell you where you can find a Golden League member to place bets. He directs you to a man sitting in the grand pavilion. When you arrive you can see the crowd is getting up and leaving the pavilion and Wong is talking to the tournament officials doing his best to help.

You find the man you're looking for but it seems he's slipping into the crowd and goes out of your sight among the crowd.

How would you like to proceed?

The next exhibition I have written out of the book since it's for a single player and has proven to be fruitless at the other table so we aren't going to bother. So you have a short amount of time to proceed how you want.

X watches the man slipping into the crowd and whisper to Darnak. "I wish to follow him, I will try to find you again if we lose you." He then attempts to stealthily slip after the man following him back to where ever the Golden League call their base.

Stealth: 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (6) + 22 = 28

Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (2) + 15 = 17

"Not by yourself, lad. Plus ya got me curious." The dwarf - although not nearly as light on his feet - works to keep just as silent as his teammate while also keeping an eye out for their target.

Stealth: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (13) + 12 = 25
Perception: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (12) + 20 = 32

"BOOOO!!" Deathless jeers in the stands when the announcement is made.

You follow the man, it seems he's heading to another exhibition to watch a fight. He sits down among the crowd. The current exhibition seems to be starting soon. It does not seem the man has noticed you following and it doesn't seem like he's talked to anyone.

In the center of the fight stage stand a tiger and dire boar, each held in place by a hold animal spell, 50 feet apart. From each animal’s right hind leg extends a 15-foot length of iron chain with a shackle at the other end. Ruby Phoenix monks ensure both contestants are appropriately shackled to their chosen animals. For the duration of the match, contestants are not permitted to allow harm to befall their own beasts. Neither can the beasts become unfettered. Contestants win by slaying their opponent’s beast. If a combatant wishes to move more than 15 feet from her tethered animal’s current location, she must make a drag combat maneuver against the animal, and can use the reposition combat maneuver to move her animal without moving herself (both of these maneuvers can be made at range as if the PC had a 15foot reach).

The match has not started yet. What would you like to do?

X sits down beside the man pretending to watch the match. He leans over and says to Darnak just loud enough for the man to overhear. "This looks interesting. Who do you think would win such a match? Surely the odds favor the tiger."

Pondering it a moment, the dwarf eventually nods. "I gotta agree, lad. Mainly because I think tigers are a fantastic animal. Never been a fan of a tusked pig; they're just to blasted ugly," he says with a shrug.

Wong witnesses without commenting. He's heard somewhere that tigers are stealthy animals, so maybe if that advantage is lost then the boar has a small lead, but he hasn't studied animals enough to be certain. Plus, the influence of the fighters tied to them can hugely turn things around.

The man hears your conversation and says, "Would you like to make a wager on that?"

X turns to the man and examines him pretending to be friendly as he memorizes his distinct features at close range. "What did you have in mind? I would not wish to anger the officials if they heard of such a thing."

Bluff: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (15) + 16 = 31

Wong's ears capture the man's offer and he puts all his attention to it. "We might have a chance to deliver this Golden League a good blow..."

"Oh this will be between you and me. Let's say you make a wager and if your teams win at the end of the day you will get your earnings, if not we will collect. What do you say? How much would you like to bet. Gonna need to decide soon as the fight is starting." You see two women step into the arena as they are getting tethered to their creatures.

"My wagers may be too rich for your purse, who backs your bet? I will wager on the tiger, 100 gold coins. There is no way a predator like that could lose. If you wish to back out I understand." X assumes a cocky inflection to his tone and tries to sound like an easy mark.

"Deal!" He stands up and sizes you up. You think he's making a mental note of your appearance. "One of the collectors will come for you in the evening to pay out if you win or to collect if you lose." He then walks away. If you observe him you notice he stops elsewhere to watch the match.

I don't gamble so I don't know much about it but it's kinda like the horse races just underground.

My goal then is to keep an eye on him and follow him secretly until our match is called. The wager doesn't matter to X as it was just bait.

"So, X, what's your plan at the end of the day, when the collector comes back?"

"I either pay the money or collect from them. Then they take the money to their boss. We follow. Then we share this information with the officials."

Nodding, "Clever plan, lad. Quite clever."

X bows his head toward Darnak accepting the praise modestly as he looks back at the match. "There is a beauty to simplicity. We will compete with honor in this tournament and earn respect from many who may one day seek us out."

You watch the fight take place and in the end last years champion Nearidei and the boar win again. The crowd starts to part ways and are looking for new fights to observe.

Marthysan approaches your party. The paladin seems concerned and asks, "Have any of you encountered anything strange lately or heard any rumors that may not have reached my ears while I've was focused on the tournament and other official business."

Wong looks around before answering. "Um... could we talk in a safer place?"

X nods to Marthysan and assuming they are in private speaks in his short way. "There are many things that have become revealed as we compete. Someone poisoned the food. The Golden League seeks to provide illegal gambling. The sorcerer in the boat during our exhibition failing to cast the magic to protect those who fell off the wall."

Marthysan responds, "Interesting, after investigation it appears there was sabotage to the three towers and if what you're saying is true, it seems someone is trying to rig the tournament."

You all hear a call out for Marthysan to return to the Emissary's side as the next match will start soon. He turns to you after listening to the call out, "Something is going on here and I'd like to get to the bottom of it, would you meet me at Yon Loi's at 9 pm to discuss the situation. I'm afraid I can't trust anyone else and your team has always been honest and fair." He trots off.

The Emissary calls out for 'The Silence' to head to the Grand Pavilion for your next tournament match. You are instructed to remove any footwear and stand ready to fight atop the smoldering coals. Yes this means, no shoes. This also means if you have 'magical shoes' you will not get their benefit from this match. Players have the opportunity as they wait to cast spells to preclude fire damage (such as energy resistance or protection from energy), but the tournament officials warn you that the crowd disapproves of such actions, seeing it as taking the easy way out. The crowd also disapproves of flight.

Hot Coals Combat Map

You may cast 10 min/CL or longer spells before fight.

Initiative
Hou Wong Xia 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
Darnak Deepstone 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14
Deathless 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20
X the Shinobi 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11
Chanter (pink & orange) 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
Chanter (blue & green) 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

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Up first, everyone! I will be taking your actions in order of initiative, this is not block. If you want to delay your turn til after an ally or ready action just let me know!

You will need to make a reflex save each round to reduce the damage from the hot coals.

Deathless trots forward on the hot coals without concern. As he walks, he shouts to the enemy with the lightest armor, "Aww! It's you guys with the finger painted faces! How cute!"

Move 30ft forward

Intimidation: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29

Begin raging

"Hot coals? Okay..."

Ref: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21

Even though his feet are burning, Wong casts some spells to aid himself and his team, grinding his teeth from the hot.

Concentration: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (17) + 14 = 31

Blessing of Fervor as standard (+2 attacks, AC & Ref)

Channel Vigor: Mind as swift

Reflex save for coals: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (7) + 20 = 27
Free action Blessing of Fervor (+2 attacks, AC & Ref). Move action 30 feet to C8. Swift action to Vanishing Trick. Standard action to fling 1 shuriken at monk on C15 with -6 from range increment penalty. He should be flatfooted.

X nimbly moves onto the coals as he blurs into ghostly unseen form, a handful of shurikens coming out to his hands. A single spinning blade of metal flies from seemingly no where at the topmost monk.

Shuriken attack w/ range increment vs FF: 1d20 + 20 - 6 ⇒ (13) + 20 - 6 = 27
Shuriken Damage w/ SA: 1d2 + 1 + 6d6 ⇒ (1) + 1 + (4, 3, 3, 1, 6, 6) = 25

Will go into Dragon Style during the "casting spells with 10/CL or longer" time.

Blessing of fervor(+2 attacks/ref/AC); Charge(100') at D 15(Can charge over difficult terrain with dragon style/ferocity)

Reflex: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (3) + 16 = 19

Unarmed Strike(Magic/Lawful/Cold Iron/Silver): 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (6) + 14 = 20
Damage: 3d8 + 15 ⇒ (8, 6, 1) + 15 = 30

AC 31; Hp's 113/113; CMD 43 trip

Which one are you intimidating Deathless? Also, could you roll the reflex for the hot coals? or I can for you, either is fine.

the enemy with the lightest armor

They are all the same, should I just pick one? I'll be here til late tonight so let me know and I'll get the post all done for ya'll. Thanks for the patience.