Sergei stops a moment to stare off into the woods, and then cranes his ear towards it. He shakes it off and continues to advance towards Inuki so the fool bard doesn't get himself killed so far ahead. He expertly loads his pistol as he creeps forward towards Inuki.
Jutmon continues forward to where Inuki is. He tries to keep low and use the trees for cover when he can.
Inuki continues to watch from his hiding place. If nothing happens this round, I will approach close enough to use Sleep on the lookout.
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Roga 140' from Inuki;
Sergei is 80' from Inuki;
Nareth 10' from Inuki;
Jutmon 50' from Inuki.
Inuki, as you turn around, a large green skinned bestial humanoid slips from the woods at an amazing pace. It to be stalking Nareth, moving very quickly, the giant ends his movement just five feet to his rear. Nareth feels the hot, rancid breath on his back at roughly the same time the creature is spotted by Jutmon and Sergei.
Troll
This tall creature has rough, green hide. Its hands end in claws, and its bestial face has a hideous, tusked underbite.
TROLL CR 5
CE Large humanoid (giant)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +8
DEFENSE
AC 16, touch 11, flat-footed 14; (+2 Dex, +5 natural, –1 size)
hp 63 (6d8+36); regeneration 5 (acid or fire)
Fort +11, Ref +4, Will +3
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee bite +8 (1d8+5), 2 claws +8 (1d6+5)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks rend (2 claws, 1d6+7)
STATISTICS
Str 21, Dex 14, Con 23, Int 6, Wis 9, Cha 6
Base Atk +4; CMB +10; CMD 22
Feats Intimidating Prowess, Iron Will, Skill Focus (Perception)
Skills Intimidate +9, Perception +8
Languages Giant
ECOLOGY
Environment cold mountains
Organization solitary or gang (2–4)
Trolls possess incredibly sharp claws and amazing regenerative powers, allowing them to recover from nearly any wound. They are stooped, fantastically ugly, and astonishingly strong—combined with their claws, their strength allows them to literally tear apart flesh to feed their voracious appetites. Trolls stand about 14 feet tall, but their hunched postures often make them appear shorter. An adult troll weighs around 1,000 pounds.
A troll's appetite and its regenerative powers make it a fearless combatant, ever prepared to charge headlong at the nearest living creature and attack with all of its fury. Only fire seems to cause a troll to hesitate, but even this mortal threat is not enough to stop a troll's advance. Those who commonly battle with trolls know to locate and burn any pieces after a fight, for even the smallest scrap of flesh can regrow a full-size troll given enough time. Fortunately, only the largest part of a troll regrows in this way.
Despite their cruelty in combat, trolls are surprisingly tender and kind to their own young. Female trolls work as a group, spending a great deal of time teaching young trolls to hunt and fend for themselves before sending them off to find their own territories. A male troll tends to live a solitary existence, partnering with a female for only a brief time to mate. All trolls spend most of their time hunting for food, as they must consume vast amounts each day or face starvation. Due to this need, most trolls stake out large territories as their own, and fights between rivals are quite common. While these are usually nonlethal, trolls are aware of each others' weaknesses and will use such knowledge to kill their own kind if food is scarce.
Begin Round 3
Order:
Sergei
???????
Jutmon
Roga (Once he is aware)
??t??
??d??
Inuki
Nareth
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"Troll!" Inuki yells out a warning as Nareth turns around. He begins chanting and a swaying dance in an attempt to distract the troll.
"What the bloody hell is that!? Get away!" He turns and moves at double speed back to his horse. He shouts at Roga as he comes into view, "Someone large and foul burst from the forest!" He points into the night towards where Inuki and the others are.
Inuki moves 30' directly away from the troll (draw bow). Looking back and seeing Nareth, he turns and fires his longbow at the troll, hoping to distract the monstrous creature.
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Miss
-11 Distance, -1 Wis, +2 Favorable Conditions, Sergei warned you.
"Rooooagh" the troll bellows as his claws tear into horse flesh.
A loud, horrendous sound, somewhere between a whinny and a shriek floods from the horse's lungs as his wides go wide in terror for just a moment before the poor beast is torn in twain.
The sounds of the troll, the horse dying, and Sergei's yell alert Roga to the creatures presence.
Looking back over your shoulder as you retreat, you notice that the wooden platform in the trees is gone. Completely vanished. There is also a noticeable lack of laughter at the moment.
Inuki bravely runs away in the direction of the party, avoiding the troll if he is in the way.
Jutmon takes the opportunity to escape as well, he only hopes that the troll will feed on the horse rather than pursue.
If not, well Jutmon does have a flask of alchemical fire. Though he doubts, that there is enough flame, to burn the troll away completely.
Roga will ride over to Sergei's mount and untie its reigns. Then he will attempt to keep the beast calm while he waits for the others to ride back.
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Jutmon breaks into a dead run back towards the last known location of Roga and the horses. (90') Making the distance in just six seconds. As the troll turns to glare at the fleeing mage, it is suddenly encased in a dense black cloud. Nareth follows the leads of the others, as the beast in the black fog roars angrily. . Thankfully, the creature is unable to see Nareth as he moves past. Noticing the quick escape made by the priest, Inuki follows his lead, singing of the brave Sir Robin as he sprints past the troll, and overtakes the priest. (Now 50' from Roga.)
"Lets get outta here!" Roga says to his newly returned companions.
Whew! Not used to running. Jutmon takes a deep breath. Ah. At least we only lost a horse.
The Wizard nods his head in agreement with Roga. Indeed.
Inuki will try to get away from the troll and onto a horse. Once on the horse, detect magic to try to figure out what is going on.
Jutmon doesn't mind walking. The ground makes a far more stable platform, for spellcasting than does a saddle.
The troll ate the bandits? Jutmon wonders. And where did that black cloud come from?
The Wizard frowns. I was hoping we could find Svetlana's ring, but seems like our path is a dead end.
"Seems to me like we were tricked. The bandit in the tree just disappeared. Probably an illusion to begin with, presumably from the same person who created that black cloud. Who knows. I still have hope of finding the bandits, it just might take longer than we thought. For now, lets get away from this troll."
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Day 1:
Travelling Northwest into the forest, you spend 3 days exploring the area thoroughly.
Day 1.
No.
No.
no.
Day 2
No.
No.
no
Day 3.
No.
No.
no
Day 1
No.
Yes.
No.
No.
Day 2
Three days spent in the wilds yields nothing of particular import, but you are able to get a good mental impression (and if you have a journal, or atleast 10 pieces of paper and some writing instrument, a decent map of a large area of forest. Several species of fey appear from and disappear into the thickets and brambles. Several large species of trees seem to make up the woods including oaks, beech, rushleaf, and a wide variety of smaller scrub and brush. Pine trees are scattered here an there, but mostly limited to the higher elevations within the forest.
Game trails abound, and your tracker is able to identify elk, deer, bear and boar tracks on the criss crossing paths. Rabbits spring across your path on a regular basis making it an easy task to keep your all well fed throughout the days and nights. Luckily the weather seems to be more cooperative as well. Although it generally sprinkles in the evenings, it is nothing requiring any special care beyond those normally taken.
On the fourth day, as you move into the plains, everything seems to be going well until late on the first night: Pick your watches.
Inuki is glad to not be troll food! He makes a mental note to get paper for mapping next time they are at Oleg's.
"I will take whatever watch is needed."
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- First Watch:
- Roga
- Second Watch:
- Inuki
- Nareth
- Third Watch:
- Jutmon
- Sergei
Jutmon and Sergei are sitting just outside the ring of sleeping individuals, enjoying the warmth of the fire, when out of nowhere a boar appears and charges Sergei. . Unaware of the boar, Sergei stands to prod the fire, and is surprised by the furry mass bolting past him in the pre dawn hour.
Initiative Order:
Before Boar: Jutmon, Roga, Sergei
Boar
After Boar: Nareth, Inuki
"Boar!" Sergei shouts in an effort to wake his companions as he draws his pistol and begins to load it.
What the..! The boar was totally unexpected, but Jutmon recovers soon enough. He grabs his staff, then flings it at the boar; at the same time he speaks the word that allows him to control the stave with his mind. It is no mere flung implement, the Wizard controls it's flight with his mind.
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DC=-10
Justmon's staff flies past the boar's head before returning to the wizard, failing to connect. The boar catches a glimpse as the staff returns to Jutmon and turns on the mage who attempted to strike him. Switching targets so abruptly proves to have unbalanced the over sized hog, and he fails to connect. The clamor of the ensuing battle rouses all those sleeping.
Inuki hears the clamor and opens his eyes to see the back end of a large pig. He rolls from his sleeping bag and stands up (move) and speaks a word to Daze the boar (standard action).
Roga leaps to his feet, and grabbing his lance from his bedside and moving to Midnight.
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Round Summary
A large boar charges the camp in the early pre dawn hours. Luck favors the prepared. Sergei and Jutmon manage to survive completely unscathed as the rest of the party awakens, and each grabs their weapon of choice.
Begin Round 2.
Initiative Order:
Before Boar: Jutmon, Roga, Sergei
After Boar: Nareth, Inuki
Jutmon realizes that he is not as good with the 'Hand of the Apprentice' as his practice had led him to believe.
It leaves him with decisions to make. Should he strike, and hope they can bring the boar down, before it can attack him again? Or should he defend himself? The boar should find it very hard, to get at him through the defense, provided by his magic shield.
Jutmon makes his decision in an instant. The familiar silver bolt, tinged with purple, shoots from his hand and finds the boar.
Sergei will move to get as close as possible then level his pistol at the beast and the woods are filled with the thunder of the black-powder.
Roga mounts up on midnight, and guiding the horse with his knees moves to attack the boar with his lance.
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Poor boar. Jutmon's magic missile was a powerful as he has ever managed to conjure, striking the boar square in the head. As the creature turns his attention again towards the mage, a thundering mount appears to his flank, skewering him through and through. As his body begins to convulse, a hot leaden ball pierces his skull, immediately quashing his thrashing death throes.
Roga is capable of salvaging enough meat to feed you all for a couple days.
"Have to love it when dinner provides itself." Roga says, after skinning the boar and chopping it up. "I guess there's no more point in trying to sleep now." He muses, sitting up around the fire with the other watchmen for the rest of the night.
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Nareth scrambles up, swearing when his chain gets caught and it takes him another moment to get up. As he turns around to fight the boar...he realizes his companions were more than capable. Heart pounding from the sudden adrenaline rush, Nareth breaths deeply to calm himself. "Well done all, the free dinner is appreciated"
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Continuing on with the exploration, you come across a band of natives with a vast sprawl of tempting foods laid out. Dozens of roasted birds, venison, elk, boar and rabbit are all turning on spits over the fires strewn about the encampment. Bread stuffing, a half dozen varieties of potatoes, several varied berry dishes ranging from jellies and compotes to plain mixes of raw varieties, roasted vegetables, pies, cakes, and even some fine ales cover at least twenty long tables. Spotting the fresh boar, several of the local wild folk approach.
"Welcome! Winter is almost upon us, so we are meeting to take a moment to relax, give thanks for our year, and prepare for the coming season. You are welcome to join us if you like. We can throw that boar in with the rest, and feast until dawn!"
Thirty or so of the other huntsmen of the greenbelt raise mugs singing loudly, and some drunkenly, from the field of casks and kegs of freedom and life as you enter the makeshift camp
Altogether you would guess there are at least one hundred, maybe twice that if you counted women and children.
"Oleg and Svetlana should be here within the hour with more kegs of ale and casks of wine. The bounty is yours to enjoy so as long as you are willing to share what you have. No fees, no dues, and best of all, No Taxes!"
At the last, a roar of "No Taxes" breaks from the gathered throngs.
"We are all free men," another chimes in before he is interrupted by the woman at his side, who adds, "And women..."
"We are all free men, and women. Treat us as such an we will return the favor."